Can you feel the love? February 14, 2008 ~ 4:02 pm
Posted by Julie in : Da Cats , comments closedThis morning, in a very special Valentine’s present to me, Freddie discovered he can knock over the bathroom trash can and paw through the debris. When I got out of the shower, it was to see him lying amongst stray tissues, hair scrapings from the tub drain, and bits of foil, looking at me with an expression that said “Dude! Look what I did! Aren’t I the best kitty ever? I’m so smart!”
The crushed look on his face when I tapped him on the nose and said “No! Bad kitty!” was almost heartbreaking. Or it would have been if I hadn’t had to pick ninety-seven pieces of garbage off the floor. When the day starts out this well, there is only one thing that can make it better. And yes, I am expecting that cat puke on one of the rugs when I get home. Let’s just play some music from Lion King and call it a day, shall we?
Dilemma February 13, 2008 ~ 12:55 pm
Posted by Julie in : Technobabble , comments closedI met up with my accountant yesterday and my taxes were done in fifteen minutes, and I’ll be getting a pretty big refund. My guy charges $305 to do my taxes, but he is so worth it. I get a much larger refund now than I ever did when I filed my own taxes, and I don’t have to stress over it. Sometimes, you just have to look at an expense and decide “This is worth it for the time and anxiety I’m saving myself. Plus, he more than pays for himself.”
Because of the refund, I’m looking at getting a new laptop to (finally) replace the one that bricked about a year and a half ago. I’m looking at Macs, of course, because I heart Macs, and I’m trying to decide between a regular MacBook and a MacBook Air. MacBook Airs are the super slim ones you’ve probably seen commercials for. I played with one yesterday at the Apple Store, and it was a joy. It’s got the same technology in the trackpad as the iPod touch and iPhone have, so you can flick or pinch or scroll (that sounded really dirty, didn’t it?). It’s got a beautiful bright screen, the battery life is supposed to be much better, and oh my god, is it light. The reason it’s so light is that it doesn’t have an internal CD-ROM. You can buy a USB drive for an extra $100, or you can just import stuff wirelessly from other computers including PCs. (I would probably buy the USB Drive.) About the only thing that this computer doesn’t have is the same amount of memory as a regular MacBook. The MacBook Air has 80GB, the regular MacBook has double that.
So the question is…do I go for the light, pretty, cutting edge thing? Or do I go for the cheaper model and save myself some cash? What would you do?
We’re mature February 11, 2008 ~ 12:04 pm
Posted by Julie in : Coupledom, Rick , comments closedSitting in traffic on the way home from Manhattan Friday night, I extended one finger to within an inch of Rick’s leg and said “Not touching you.” He quickly moved his leg so that I was touching him. I pulled my finger back and looked out the window on my side of the car, waiting for the red light to change.
The next thing I know, there was a flash of orange light on my left side and I looked over to see my boyfriend had ignited a lighter by my left leg. I jumped away from it, at least as much I was able to with a seatbelt on. “Not burning you,” he said sweetly.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I asked. “Why would you do that?”
“I’m just taking it to the next level,” he replied.
Many things flashed through my head, but in the end I said the only thing I could: “I am so blogging this.”
Nada. February 8, 2008 ~ 4:54 pm
Posted by Julie in : Shorty , comments closedI’ve spent all day logged into my blog, trying to come up with a post. Now that it’s nearly five, and I still haven’t come up with a good idea? I’m just going to wish you all good weekend. Enjoy it, and if you have Lincoln’s birthday off (like I do) and were also able to take Monday off (like I was), really enjoy it.
Office Monkey Daycare February 7, 2008 ~ 4:24 pm
Posted by Julie in : Academic Office Monkey , comments closedMy boss is sitting at the desk across from me, proofing the transcripts of students who have just graduated to make sure that there is no reason they shouldn’t have graduated. She has a tendency to break out into song for no reason, and has done this several times while she’s been working. When she burst out into “If I Were King of the Forest” from The Wizard of Oz, I threw a balled up piece of paper at her head. She came over and pinched me. She went back to her desk and asked what I was typing so fast said it annoyed her that I type so fast. I said I would type on her head. She threw the paper ball back at my face.
If this isn’t an ideal working relationship, I’m not sure what is.
Not an approved weight loss program. February 6, 2008 ~ 11:42 am
Posted by Julie in : Assorted Ailments, Politically Incorrect , comments closedI lost five pounds on Monday. And while I am always happy to lose some weight, having the flu is not my preferred weight loss plan. I would rather avoid anything that leaves me with zero energy, lying in bed waiting for my body’s next betrayal, and seriously wondering if death would be better. And hey, I’m lucky because I had the flu shot! This could have been so much worse! I would have had it for days on end or multiple versions of the flu! It’s true, if there’s a way to puke, my body is going to go for it - it’s a serious difference of opinion between my body and my mind, but ever since I was little, I’ve been a puker. It is apparently my lot in life, and I’ve accepted it. I do consider it a major accomplishment that I finally figured out how not to puke out my nose while praying to the porcelain god, however. People, it’s the little things that count in situations like mine.
Yesterday I was no longer contemplating death, I was able to hold liquids down, and I was even able to stagger the block down to my local polling place and back. (And I never want to hear an excuse from anyone about why they couldn’t vote again. If I could drag my sick ass to the polling place, you all can get up and vote. I feel strongly about this.) I sat up watching returns, and I was encouraged. It was not the blowout that had been predicted. In fact, although the whole “super delegate” concept still eludes me, the Democratic race was pretty close. And the Republican race, well, wasn’t that entertaining? I don’t really like Huckabee’s platform, but anyone who causes Mitt Romney to scream foul at McCain? He hath served a purpose. Thank you, Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris!
Today I managed to make it into work, but I am still achy. And tired. And I might go home early. So there.
The case for Obama. February 1, 2008 ~ 11:50 am
Posted by Julie in : Politically Incorrect , comments closedDid anyone catch the Democratic debate last night on CNN? Rick and I saw something interesting, which was later voiced by Keith Olbermann in his analysis of the debate: for the first time, Clinton and Obama were not picking at each other so much as they were picking at the Republicans. It was as if they looked around and realized “Hmmm, we’re the last two standing, we don’t have to do the backbiting anymore, let’s focus on the Republicans.” It looked like a Democratic ticket, people. And while I would still rather have an Obama/Edwards ticket, as Rick said “I wouldn’t mind an Obama/Clinton ticket with John Edwards as Attorney General.”
Bear in mind that I said an Obama/Clinton ticket, not the other way around. I still like Barack more than Hillary for several reasons. One, he is one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever seen. He makes people excited about getting involved in politics, especially young people. With him as president, I really feel like America would be a forward-looking nation again, the kind we haven’t seen since JFK was in the White House. I could be proud of that country and be proud to be an American again instead of somewhat embarrassed or at worst, defensive about it. Two, while I remember the Clinton era with fondness, I am a little wary of having the same two families in charge of this country for the past thirty years. We kicked the English out of this country two centuries ago because we weren’t fans of dynasties. Three, Hillary’s latest health care plan is what they’ve done in Massachusetts. Rick lives in Massachusetts, I know about that system and how it doesn’t work for the middle class and the poor. I don’t think that taking it national will get rid of those problems. And four, perhaps most importantly, Hillary supported this war and voted against the Levin amendment, which would have required Bush to go back to Congress for approval before actually going to war. And she has never once said that it was a mistake. She has sidestepped about that relentlessly, saying “With the information I had…” I hate when people don’t admit they made a mistake. Just own up to it and get over it. I would find it much easier to get behind her if she could just do that one little thing, like John Edwards did. “Yes, I made a mistake. I should not have voted that way, I admit it” sounds like a grown-up, and a responsible leader. “With the information I had” sounds like someone who can’t admit their mistakes. We’ve had that in the White House for the past seven years, and look where that’s gotten us. I worry about four more years of that.
That last paragraph was a lot longer than I originally intended, but what the hell. Yes, if it comes down to it and Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for her in November. I am a yellow dog Democrat at heart, and I cannot abide McCain or Romney (why I can’t deal with McCain would be another very long paragraph, and we just won’t go there right now). I cannot abide any more years of Republicans in charge of this country in general, watching my rights and civil liberties be eroded before my eyes every day. But on Tuesday, when I get to vote for the candidate closest to my heart, I’ll be voting for Barack Obama. And I will be proud to do so.
