Interesting aesthetics

Last weekend DH Jeff & I went with a friend (and a puppy!) to her mountain place for a relaxing weekend. On her property was a deer carcass in the late stages of decomp - so of course we had to take pictures. I printed a shot of the deer head, then inverted the colors to make a "negative" image. Then framed them. Weird and spooky - and very cool. Jeff says he wants me to frame a set for his office to properly set the tone. Heh. Here, let's see if I can upload them:



Inverted:



Cool, huh?

Realization

No matter how small a residence is, there is always housework to do. Mewl.

Reaction: pick yer battles; tackle the worst spots and accept the not-so-bad spots until tomorrow.

Too much stuff

Because I [we] keep losing track of all of our stuff, and because I'm a bit OCD, I'm going to create a searchable list of where stuff is. For instance: doorstops removed from our 100 or so doors so we could fit more stuff into 980 square feet: in the cabinet above the fridge; removed door from study: under bed. You get the picture. Yes, I am serious.

Rambling on Tuesday

Ok, so I'm totally burnt out on politics & news in general that I'm simply not going to comment about it. Sick, sick, sick of all of it.

Well, maybe a little: Obama's "Infrastructure Plan." Slogans & gimmicks but no real substance. Like that's a shocker. BTW, I cheated and just read DH Jeff's assessment of the "Plan." You too can read it here.

Obama smokes. What a wonderful and life-affirming example not only his daughters, but the nation's youths as well. Yeah cigarettes!

I often toy with the idea of buying stock in Philip Morris or one of those Evil Empire cig companies. Why, if I'm so against smoking? Simple: observation & the potential for financial gain. In other words, I see people smoking downtown every day & in bars here in unenlightened Virginia; ergo, folks are still buying the things for their daily poisoning, and since smoking is unlikely to kill them right off, those companies must still be making money. Look, no one's holding a gun to smokers' heads - they can conceivably quit. Why shouldn't I profit from others' stupid choices? After all, I'm already paying for people's stupid choices, so...

On another topic, I've finished a very interesting book & I'd like to review it - yet I've been avoiding it. Hmm. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I seem to be incapable of coherent, succinct summary as of late.

Do you ever get the impression that when folks (of all ilks) say "Middle Class" they mean "having kids, a mortgage and car payments" and not "child-free, renting & dependent on public transportation"? Just saying...

Ok, must go work on my resume. Pooh.

Stuff on parade [long post]

Ok, so, in order to make my job search easier (less painful), I've decided to do an "application resume," ie, take my regular resume and insert all the crappity-crap that these online applications require so that I could just copy & paste instead of having to research the stuff from scratch each time.

Good thing I'm OCD, because I actually HAVE all data going back to my first job, in classification folders. Heck, I have tax records going back twenty years, neatly filed. I'm that sort of girl.

Yesterday, DH Jeff calls out to me, "um, Scooter, come here a second." He'd found my classification folder with all the WaPo "Second Glance" puzzles I've ever done. You know, the ones where there are two pictures and you have to identify the twelve differences between them? "Why are you keeping a file of these?" Well, I had no plausible answer to give him that didn't include impending alien invasions and coded messages imbedded in the images. He gave up that query after I said something like, "because."

One application requests the reason for leaving each position. While I'm tempted to put, in the one case,* "I quit before the unethical, snake-in-the-grass asshat could procure an excuse to fire me, after side-lining me under one of his quintessentially mediocre lapdog administrative hires and making my work life completely miserable," I have the time to craft a more palatable and succinct reason: "was planning to leave the area with fiance," which was also true at the time.

More on that boss: I once ran into him outside of work with his two small children and he made this grand gesture, like, "see the children! aren't they wonderful? don't you love them (you're a woman, after all)? aren't I wonderful - I'm playing Daddy?" Uggh. It might come as a great shock to you, dumbass, but I don't melt around children, especially if I know they're growing up under your influence. And the thought that the sight of them (around you) would make me more positively inclined towards you doesn't work because I know your wife is raising them, while you play executive. Ahh, vitriole of the past.

So, yesterday Jeff & I were moving furniture and stuff in advance of some ADA-required modifications to our apartment which started this morning. I'm a pretty good housekeeper, but one thing I've always neglected is this set of metal trays under the stovetop grill thingies, which catch the splatter & cooking detritus. Once the stuff gets on the trays, it's loathe to come off with anything weaker than concentrated acid. As a result, they had become pretty disgusting. I've soaked them in hot soapy water & scrubbed them with various abrasive cleansers, to no avail. Yet last night I was on a mission to overcome this particular obstacle to stovetop cleanliness bliss. Guess what worked? Scraping off the gunk with a small screwdriver. Desperate situations...

After this feat was accomplished, I started getting kind of manic, because I started seeing other things in dire need of cleaning, lest the workmen get the impression that we're (I'm) slovenly. After I finished cleaning to an acceptable level, I told myself sternly, "get a hold of yourself - they won't even be looking at the top of the fridge and probably don't care either way." Then, I congratulated myself on this useful exercise & how much I learned about myself in the process." Yeh.

Alright. I believe the workmen have finished for the day, so it's time to reclaim our apartment.

Next effort: solving the mystery of the "self-cleaning oven."

*This was a LONG time ago, so back off!

Project or exercise

Well, since I've been unemployed, I've started a project or "exercise" which I've wanted to do for a while. I call it "exercise" because if it doesn't turn out, I can tell myself what a valuable experience it was & how much I've learned from it. If it turns out awesome, I'll call it a quilt or duvet cover (not sure which yet). Hah!

Ok, now I'm going to file for unemployment...mewl. Did I mention how clean the apartment is?

A little rant

Well, it would seem that a couple of throw-backs to the Soviet era have moved onto our floor in the last few months. What's my support for that assertion? The ever-present, invasive stench of some foul brand of cigarettes (Victory Cigarettes? Get it - 1984?).

Those of you who know me know that I detest cigarette smoke. Usually smokers in this building keep their detestable habit to themselves, ie, in their apartment, so one doesn't smell it in the halls. Well...I know not if this couple smokes in the halls (a no-no) or not, but one can smell the stench upon exiting the elevator and all through the halls. We can even (bonus!) smell the rank odor INSIDE our apartment, coming beneath the door. We've taken to puting a bath towel and other block to keep the smell out. Doesn't work! Even when the couple is at work, the halls smell of STALE Victory Cigarettes. Oh, the joy!

Now, I've complained to the management about this. They've visited the floor and our apartment. They've brought an engineer. They've promised a solution. Well, I don't think it's the air circulation system that needs fixing. They may end up installing a blocking lip to our door threshold. But that means that the halls will still reek.

Those nasty things can't kill our neighbors fast enough.

Pleasing things

No, not any of the debates.

1. Whole Foods changed their round plastic containers to square ones. In an effort to save the environment, I had already been re-using the round ones, but let me tell you, the square ones are so much cooler. They use space more efficiently. I've used some to store Q-tips. Yeah!

2. Torchwood. Spin-off of Dr. Who, much racier.

3. Iridescent green nail polish - Wet n Wild's Caribbean Frost, 99 cents at CVS. So cool.

4. Playing hookie today...and DH Jeff's working at home.

5. Collapsible mesh containers (Container Store, $8-12 each) - stores in laundry closet, no more eye-sore bulky laundry baskets.

Have a groovy day!

More: Yesterday morning I took my blood pressure: 118/78 with a pulse of 62. Yeh.

The scoop

Well, gentle readers, here's what I've been up to:

- Finished shredding all old receipts and unnecessary documents and filing all the needful;

- DH Jeff & I re-org'd the "workroom" for aesthetics and better space usage. It looks SO much better now. Then,

- I tackled the closet...and continue to tackle it. I re'org'd all our clothes & shoes and am now trying to decide what to give away or throw out. And I keep finding more things. Gaack. This weekend, I will finish off that task.

- Perhaps this weekend I can also find time to finally give myself a pedicure, and

- Finish a book for a book club on the 29th, and

- Catch up on my book & movie reviews. And other blogging.

Who said I would have so much free time once I finished with school?

Also, I'm trying to lose ten pounds. That's it. Unfortunately, I love libations and victuals a bit too much. Well, I decided that I probably could shave off a few hundred calories by not drinking alcohol every day of the week. So, it's kind of one day on, one day off and on off days, I just drink water with dinner. No real progress yet, but I haven't gained any weight.

A few weekends ago, we went with a friend to her mountain home (Blue Ridge) to chill and went wine tasting. Lots of fun! I took lots of pictures, some of which I'll share with you soon.

Oh, and I joined Netflix. I figure, I can check out all the movies I want & then MAYBE buy ones with bona fide replay value. The plan I signed up for (after the free 2-wk trial) is $8.99 per month for one movie at a time, but unlimited rentals within the month. I just got The Kite Runner. I think this will be a good deal and I can save some money without foregoing entertainment.

And I need to replace the photo of me on this blog, because my hair is longer now.

Whew!

We're ok

You'll be glad to hear that even if the DC area was hit with severe thunderstorm and tornados, DH Jeff and I are safe and sound. All we suffered was a brief power outage and that happened before we got home...so the clocks had to be re-set. Minor.

I impress myself...

...and you're like, "yeah, so what's new?" Well, remember I said I was rising early in the mornings with DH Jeff because of his training? And how I've been organizing? Well, this morning I out-did myself in productivity! I did laundry (and folded it - can you stand it?), unloaded the dish washer, made my lunch, blogged, made the bed, shredded some more old statements, took out the trash and recyclables, labelized some file folders filled with school-ly goodness (yeh, I keep my notes) and made it to work before 5pm. It's only 1pm, but I think I should get some time off for good behavior.

Home progress

DH Jeff smiles benevolently while I race around the apartment, excitedly querying him, "isn't the apartment clean, doesn't it look better, see we have more room?! Shred, shred, shred!" The impetus for this result has been bubbling away for a while, but it wasn't until Jeff had to start these early morning training classes this week, that I've been on overdrive.

Overdrive to what, exactly, you ask? Well, our apartment has gotten pretty cluttered thanks to the fact that both of us are pack-rats and I'm totally OCD about keeping every important document that I might conceivably need some day, going back to, oh, 1985. Well, because he has had to get up really early, I join him for coffee and noshes before he heads out. Then I bound into action, straightening up, vacuuming and in an unexpected burst of energy yesterday morning, dusting the whole apartment (yes, you heard me right). I'm also weeding out my files and shredding the unnecessary, because I just don't need all the time sheets from when I was temping in 1986. I just don't.

The result is that when I come home from work, I feel much better about the place and am provoked into doing more. Eventually, I'll have a neat inbox and a continuously emptied shred box, instead of various piles all around. Life will be beautiful. Then I can work on reorganizing the "workroom" for aesthetics and function. I dare to dream.

Grousing about grout...

...otherwise known as "the many uses of school glue." Case in point: some of the grout between our bathroom floor tiles has, in recent weeks, started to crumble. I reported this twice as a service request. Each time, the request was "completed" within 24 hours. That's the good part. The bad part is that not only were areas completely missed the first time, but the treated areas immediately started to crumble…both issues necessitating a second request. In the second go-round, all areas were patched but just yesterday I noticed that those areas were crumbling.

My two responses: 1) this burns my butt because we pay a premium to live here and should have handy men/women who actually know what they’re doing…and actually do it, and 2) I retrieved my CVS school glue and patched the crumbling areas. Not an optimal choice of grout material, but hey, I wasn’t going to submit yet another service request. The glue dried clear and secured the crumbling grout. Jeez.

Thoughts on…

…recycling. DH Jeff & my apartment building provides bins for newspaper, cardboard and mixed recyclables (plastic, glass, aluminum) and we are conscientious about depositing our recyclables therein. Recently, though, I’ve been thinking that there are so many things we “use” once and throw into the bins. It does in fact take energy to transport and recycle all these things. It seems a waste not to use some of them more than once, when practical. Case in point: we frequently buy those yummy mini croissants for breakfast and toss the plastic containers in which they are sold. But if one washes them, they’re great for saving leftovers, half-used vegetables, etc and for packing lunch.

So, small effort to reuse these containers, but in the aggregate, I’ll bet it really pays off. For instance, using these instead of ziplock bags. We’re terrible at cleaning and reusing those…so not only do we save money on frequent ziplock bag purchases (not doing away with them totally, though), but we’re also saving the energy that would be used in recycling the containers. Also, I’m not even sure that Arlington recycles the particular type of plastic of which they’re made, so if not, we’re keeping plastic from ending up in the waste stream. Yeah! I wonder why I didn’t think of this sooner!

Because I must...

...but it makes me feel better anyway. I'm currently going through my files and shredding old account statements in an effort to decrease clutter (one of my new years resolutions). And because I actually DON'T need ALL documentation on accounts going back twenty years. I just don't. I've accepted that fact. I've now shredded several reams of paper. Hah!

What I did on my summer vacation...

...i mean, long weekend.

- DH Jeff & I had a zombie movie marathon on Saturday

- my dear husband alsso graciously shared his cold with me

- but we had no plans to go out

- and had carpet picnics

- as a result of the cold & equal measures of laziness, I didn't work out all weekend

- but I made a whole chicken plus veggies in a crock pot

- I put too much liquid in the pot

- but the chicken turned out great

- & we had ready-made chicken soup for lunch the next day

- and what's better for a cold than chicken soup?

- I didn't get to start my Arabic lessons (Rosetta Stone)

- but we moved around our apartment

- and we both went "SNONK!" every five minutes

- the "den" is now a cozy bedroom

- and the bedroom is now the workroom...in progress

- the other night my lamb chops turned out a little bit overdone

- but tasty and moist nonetheless...

- and much better than my last attempt!

October showers bring...

...cockroaches? Well, one cockroach to be exact. But that was quite enough to freak me out this morning. There it was, just sitting there near the shower. Now this was unusual for two reasons: 1) our place is CLEAN and crumb free (especially the bathroom!) and 2) I don't think I've EVER seen a cockroach in this apartment building, period - and we've been living here since 2001.

I won't take it personally. I think the reason for this is the weather. The insects thought, wow, we have it made, because of the lack of rain lately. Then yesterday, it poured. Mad little scramble indoors.

The offending insect is now dead, thank you.

Our house

Really, it's an apartment. But this time around, we're trying to have a theme and actually decorate it with that theme - instead of the themeless, half-baked college attempt at adult living.

Just yesterday we received some nifty leaning bookshelves, thanks to Jeff's parents (thanks guys!) and with their assembly and use (the bookshelves, not the parents), the place is starting to look - well - cool. Next, coffee tables from Target on the way. Never have ordered anything from them before, but if they work out, I might be going to the site again. Target actually has some cool stuff.

More on the minimalist Asian-inspired living room as it develops.

Juicy Pulsating Candy

Two items of note:

-Swiffer products rule!!! Early on Sunday morning (eh, slightly after midnight), I found myself in the midst of a cleaning frenzy. Now, this doesn't happen often, so I just went with it. Using my new Swiffer "mop," I cleaning all tile floors in the apartment - in a matter of minutes! Amazing. I also bought the Swiffer duster & that saves all kinds of time too! Equally amazing to have a mostly dust-free living space! Yes, anyone who has visited our place would undoubted note the inch of dust on everything - but no more!

-Jolly Ranchers Chews rock! I've always been a fan of the hard candy variety, but just tried the chews yesterday at the movies & was totally hooked. Yummy, sweet & tart!

On a More Happy Topic...

Last evening, I spent the most peaceful, non-muggy hour on our balcony, just reading away. Watched the sunset. Drank a beer. This is amazing because usually DC is nightmarishly hot and humid during August. Really nice.

Then my sweet made buffalo meat tacos which were to die for! Yeah Jeff!