Live and in Color

technology is AWESOME!

2008-07-17T17:09:00.001-05:00

So today I went to the ATM at my local Bank of America, and apparently they have this new deposit system...you just put the check in, and it scans it and confirms how much it's for. YOu can then scan more doing the same thing until you're done, and it prints out your receipt with pictures of the checks on it. Amazing! Science! Magic!

It gave my a little technology ladyboner, I'm not going to lie.

So I think my new favorite TV show is "Gs to Gents." It's on MTV, and it's like, gangstas and guidos in a charm school (a la "Charm School" with Mo'nique) with Fonzworth Bentley. It's pretty hilarious, and I highly recommend it:

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/g_to_gents/series.jhtml

Anyway! I just wanted to share those two incredibly important things with you. It's time for me to stop killing time and go home now! (Yes, I'm at work, but it's after work, so it's OK for me to be posting blogs and whatnot...like buying tickets to see the Dark Knight!)

I can taste you everywhere

2008-05-22T20:04:00.003-05:00

OK, so this weekend is Memorial Day, and I am sitting in my living room, under a blanket, with the HEAT ON. I hear that in parts of the country it's spring, but apparently New Hampshire didn't get all of the cold weather out of its system this winter. You would think that with record-breaking snow it would be time for some heat, but apparently not. It had better stop this, though, because I plan on planting our garden outdoors this weekend, and I will be pissed if everything dies because of the cold.

But I am looking forward to garden completion, I think we're going to grow more of the things that we will actually eat this year (fewer summer squash, no carrots and more greens). I would like to grow asparagus, but those are perennials, so what's the point, really? It's not like we'll live here forever, but maybe someday when we own a home.

For now, though, all the extra income is going to vacations. Which is just fine with me, as I haven't really gotten my fix of travel for the past few years. Luckily we already have three trips planned over the next year, and a list of a million more places we want to go. (Actual conversation: "You can't judge all sushi on theirs, if you get it from a good place, it's much better." "OK, let's go to Japan.") I am going to need a new passport at this rate! But in a month we will be in Maine, with limited cell phone service and nature, and that's about it. I'm excited!

Actually though, our first trip is June 14-15, we're going to Hartford, CT, to see Dave Matthews Band. It's for the boy's birthday, and it's a surprise so far, so don't tell! He says he doesn't want to know, so I'm just going to kidnap him and make it a real surprise. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't figured it out yet, though, since he'd been talking about wanting to see them for a while now, and I just kind of blew him off every time he'd mention it! We would be going to Great Woods (I resist the "new" corporate name), but those shows are the week we're gone, so this makes it a nice little pre-vacation getaway.

I had a strange dream last night -- I was at some kind of a house, waiting to go see Matt Nathanson. Ben Lee was there, playing, and I woke up with "Begin" stuck in my head. I think there was some kind of pool at this house, too, because I seem to recall someone who should not have been there swimming. It always confuses me when people who should not be there show up in my dreams.

Although I have been reflecting a lot lately, as my relationship is as of right now the longest I've ever been in (a year and a half, which I know is pathetic). But it's just bizzare. Also not helping is the fact that I realized the other day that I am about to enter into my "late 20s." And my 5-year college reunion is coming up. It feels weird to think that as "old" as I've felt, I'm not really. And I know I won't be "old" when I'm 26, but it just feels like I'm supposed to be a grownup now.

i'm getting old

2008-04-20T10:21:00.002-05:00

So last night the boy and I went to see Rustic Overtones at the Paradise. It's been a really long time since I've been there...but anyway! I felt like such an old lady. I didn't want to deal with people all up in my space, the sound was too loud (actually my ears still hurt a little...I really really need earplugs), I was tired by the end of the show -- although actually I was mostly tired because I got up at 7, carried a bunch of crap around, set up a table and stood around talking to people all day, so I wasn't feeling being surrounded by people again all night and standing up for 3 hours. But! It was a fun show and it was nice to actually get the boy to come to a show with me.

The thing yesterday was a spring fling-y event sponsored by the Concord food co-op. It was pretty neat, they were giving out lots of samples and free stuff. The worst part (other than getting up really early on a Saturday) was some lady telling me that she had received our newsletter and thought it was boring and repetitive. wtf? She was like, it seemed like the people who wrote the articles didn't talk to each other about who was going to say what, and stuff got repeated.

Actually lady, I wrote (or at least drafted) most of the articles in there, and I can tell you for sure that I consulted with myself about what I was writing. I really have no idea what she was talking about, so I don't really feel bad about it (I just think she's nutso), but it really upset me at the time. The funny part is we purposely tried to make the newsletter more interesting than other ones! (Since generally our newsletters are just a way of recognizing the people who help us out -- major donations, important partnerships, etc.) Oh well!

OK, I'm going to try to find some nice, comfortable ear plugs.

April showers bring May flowers

2008-04-13T07:42:00.003-05:00

ahhh, so it's Sunday morning and I'm up...I've actually gotten up around 8:30 both days this weekend, which is good. I'm working on this whole "actually having a sleep schedule" thing, because I generally have a hard time getting up in the morning, and I would like to make it easier. Of course I go to bed at 10 and can hardly get up at 8, yet D stays up until all hours (12 or 1, usually) and gets up at 7 with no problem. Actually, he does have problems, but it's like one day a week it all catches up with him and he's really tired in the morning. I don't know how he does it; I need lots of sleep all the time.

Anyway, this last week really flew by. Work was generally busy, moreso since I wasn't there all the week before. It was the end of our fiscal year March 31, so we have end o' year stuff to work on, plus a lot of donations came in at the last minute. We are also sending out our newsletter, and doing the labeling and mailing in house. We'll see if we're any faster than the mail house, but I'm pretty sure we're cheaper. Plus I can drop off portions of the mailing once their done, so it's faster for some, probably slower for others.

Isn't my work interesting? Ha, I know it's not really. I guess it is if you are in fundraising (development or "resource development" for those in the nonprofit world), but most people don't understand. I'm pretty sure most businesses don't think about the cost/time difference between doing a mailing themselves or outsourcing. But we have to go with the cheapest option (only sometimes we do go for the easy way -- if we're on a tight schedule or something.

My task this weekend has been working on painting my office. Last night I plugged holes and started taping off the trim. Today D and I are going to head over and do at least the primer. I would really like to finish it all today, but I guess it depends how long the primer takes to dry. I think it's pretty fast, but we'll see. It is supposed to be rainy, so who knows.

Alright, well, boring blog post, time to end it.

it's been a long week....

2008-04-05T10:57:00.001-05:00

I had a weird dream last night that kind of inspired me to start with the blogging again. I don't know why, but I apparently got hired to write for Gawker. Oh, and my name was Leslie (or something similar). Oh, my crazy subconscious.

Anyway, I would like to write more, but it's kind of hard because I can't really do it at work, and by the time I get home, after spending all day long looking at the computer, I just can't bear to do it anymore. Oh well!

So this week I was at a training in Boston, learning how to use our (relatively) new database. It was good overall, but man, I could never do that commute on a regular basis. I basically spent all my non-commute time sleeping or feeling like a zombie. I think anything more than a half hour would really require a job that I loved and couldn't do anywhere else. Although if that was the case, I would probably just move.

Although last night I did go and do a little shopping after I got back...I was taking the bus every day, and we got out early yesterday afternoon. I got on the 4:15 bus, but still didn't get to Concord (which is normally an hour trip when there's no traffic) until 6. I felt I had deserved it. I got a sweater that I am in love with, and also two new pairs of jeans, because all of mine are falling apart! I like my new clothes, but I hate spending money! I like buying things, just not spending my money! I need someone else's money to spend.... :)

I think that in a moment I am going to head over to the gym...I don't really feel like going, but I also didn't feel like going all this week and feel lazy. This afternoon we are heading to Plattsburgh for Jess B's birthday, which will be my first time on the ferry and also first time in P-burgh.

Anyway...I will try to be better with this. I know I say that all the time, so we'll see how long it lasts....

----------------
Now playing: Scissor Sisters - Contact High [Demo]
via FoxyTunes

once upon a time...

2008-02-13T15:41:00.003-05:00

Today is a crappy snowy/rainy/yucky day, so I am taking the opportunity to do nothing. Fun! Actually, I've done some things that needed doing, and I'm starting to think about a bath. Mmmmm....

Anyway! Life has been good lately. I've had two weekends in a row that involve socializing, amazing! I think after the unavoidable constant human interaction/nightlife action of the Rock Boat, I couldn't just come home and go back to hibernating. Although days like today make me want to sleep until spring....

The Rock Boat was crazy and fun. People kept asking me if I was "hooked yet." I'm not really sure what that means. I think it was fun and awesome, but maybe because most of the music I love is Boston-centric and I get to go to crazy shows featuring a lineup of entirely my favorite bands all the time, I'm a little spoiled in that sense anyway so it wasn't that overwhelming. But I came home with a few new favorite bands/artists (and girlcrushes, Hi Aslyn!), and lots of crazy stories. The highlights were definitely going onstage for the SK6ERS middle school dance and getting called out as "beautiful but scary" by Matty Nate. Speaking of Slayer (the short version of the MN story is that I was drunk, and cheered (loudly) for playing Slayer as set-the-mood music), Here's a funny picture:

Why the dude from Slayer was at the Grammys is beyond me, but there you go.

Being on vacation really made me excited to take another one, and especially to take one with the boy. I am lobbying hard for a kind of ecotourism vacation in Central America next winter, but I'm not sure I'll win that this year. I would like to go visit Jandi in El Salvador, but I think Dan would like to go to an island and chill. We'll see. For now we're debating places to go in June. Probably somewhere not far, like Canada or the Cape....

Anyway, I think it's time for a nice warm bath. I can't wait to have my own house and get a nice big tub that I actually fit in. Mmmmmm....

earth to the republicans

2007-12-19T20:05:00.000-05:00

Can someone please tell the crazy anti-immigrant politicians and people out there that English is not the official language of the United States? And there IS NO OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. Yes, the majority of us use English in the majority of our day-to-day activities, but NO, there is nothing in any law anywhere that requires us to use it.

Thank you!

It's possible I had a day full of dealing with annoying people (not the whole day, actually, just the end), and tomorrow I have to sit around at Borders and wrap presents, which I am SO PSYCHED about. Can you tell?

The past few months...

2007-11-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

Let's see...how have things been? Not so bad for me, I guess....

The Boy and I found a new apartment, so we're going to be moving shortly...actually at the end of this week! Yay! I can hear the music the guy upstairs is playing, and I woke up in the middle of the night to the people downstairs talking. I can honestly say that I am very happy to be moving!

I also just today got back some results from a gyno thing that happened...I just got a message on my voicemail, but it looks like I have to have some more stuff done...hopefully that will clear up anything that might otherwise end up scary.... I had been really stressed about all this, but honestly, I feel OK now. The doctor who's been dealing with this is really nice, and has made me less worried. Otherwise I think the last two weeks would have been HELL! As it is, I nearly forgot that I was due to get results. This is kind of vague, I know, but if you really want more information about my cervix (and you are of such importance that I'm OK telling you), you know how to find out. :)

I have been kind of hermit-y as I have been paying off some bills and stuff (damn you, IRS!), so I haven't really been up to much lately...going to the gym, hanging out, the usual. I am looking forward to the new place, and if you are ever in or around Suncook, you should plan on visiting. (I know, who would have ever thought that I'd be living in dinky little Suncook, NH! It's kind of amazing when I think about it....)

Hope all is well with the people who actually read this....

hi

2007-10-31T17:30:00.001-05:00

I know it's been like 18 months, but didn't I just say I was a bad blogger?

I am about to head to the gym, but I will attempt to start back here in earnest soon. Well, I'll try real hard, anyway! :)

xo,
c

the part where i regurgitate news

2007-06-19T20:21:00.000-05:00

so i know i've been a bad blogger lately, but i can't help that my work only lets me do worky things online! anyway, i promise that this will happen 803 more times, so get used to it. :)

anyway, i just saw this on wonkette:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3293191

they break it down like this:

Cheer up, Americans! You aren’t just overweight illiterate underemployed TV addicts with $25,000 in credit card bills and a house worth less than you owe — you’re also short! The shortest people in the industrialized world, in fact.

Now the depressing part: We aren’t shorter because, say, illegal aliens are short and they’re bringing down the averages. We are short because for the past 30 years, we’ve been eating garbage and raising kids on McDonald’s. Also, this nation doesn’t have a whaddyacallit, a health care system thing. Height is an indicator of diet and health care and lifespan. Oh yeah, you’re going to die earlier, too.

I knew being tall was awesome. Turns out I'm just healthier than all you midgets. ;)

And in depressing news (for me, I'm tall so I'm not concerned about that prior item), this comment on a story about the impending ban on smoking in restaurants and bars in NH (which the gov signed today and will go into effect in September). Something to note might be the fact that 79 percent of people in NH support such a ban. Anyway:

I am sooo glad that our law makers have chosen to take away the chioces of the patrons of restaurants as well as business owners across the state. This is as rediculous as repealing the parental notification law... Good thing you law makers are on top of what really matters to the citizens of the state. Making sure we don't smoke in our favorite establishments and making sure our daughters, who need a parental permission slip to go to a field trip to the zoo, have the ability to have a fetus removed nooo problem without a parent even being made aware . Who will pay for the child's care should an error or complication occur? I have been a "democrat" for my entire life until these events and the many others that have occured (ie: civil union) Why? for what? So they can take a portion of our tax dollars? This is all garbage... why don't you start passing laws that will really improve the quality of New Hampshire like say...Outlawing Illegal Immagration perhaps.
- Greg Cadarette, Concord

I'm honestly not even sure where to start on this one. The numerous spelling errors? The fact that NH's parental notification law was ruled by the US Supreme Court as unconstitutional? The fact that most abortion providers will indeed cover, free of charge, any illness or complications from the procedure? The fact that civil unions and taxes are in no way interrelated? The fact that illegal immigration is ALREADY OUTLAWED, HENCE THE TERM "ILLEGAL"???? Seriously, there are some really really REALLY stupid people out there. And this person is/was a democrat??? It really makes me concerned for the future of this state, let me tell you.

a good week

2007-05-10T12:28:00.000-05:00

So then. This week has been great. I was really nervous about telling Mo at NHFTM that I was leaving, but she was really very happy for me. She said that she had told Brian (Treasurer of the board) that I would leave soon if I wasn't hired full time. So it wasn't really shocking. She also said that I was too smart to be working part-time anywhere, and that she expects to see me as an executive director someday. Which of course will happen.

I forget if I said it or not, but the Roommate moved out last weekend. He still has some stuff up in storage in the attic, but the whole apartment is ours now. :) We need some things (like we have no dining room table), but it's good. We're going to look for a kitten this weekend, and I'm so happy! Things are going so well my brain is going into "What's going to go wrong?" mode. There are some no-so-great things going on right now, but I'm going to just try to enjoy what is good.

So that's the basic rundown. I've achieved both of my goals for the year (moving out and full-time job)...now I just don't know what to do with myself! I'm sure I'll find SOME way of keeping myself busy and challenged....

!!!

2007-05-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

I got the job!!!!!!!!

This would be the "in Concord, full-time, awesome job I wanted"!!! I'm so excited!!

:D

eeek!

2007-05-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

Good news! I have a second interview at the full-time place on Monday. I'm a little nervous, but it feels good. I know this would be a great job for me, and I know I would be great for the job. It's just making sure they see that, too.

Also in the good news category is that the Roommate is starting to move out now! So we'll have the place to ourselves in a couple of weeks. It'll be nice to have more space, but it'll be annoying to have to pay all the rent ourselves. (Since combined we make pretty much equal what the Roommate makes...he also makes 4x what I make currently....) But it's doable, so that's good. Also if I had a new job, that would make it even better. :)

Anyway, it's almost time for me to leave here and head off to job #2. The Boy and I took yesterday off, and it was really nice. I slept late, then we had lunch and went and did some chores (got keys made for me, dropped off our application for a garden plot, registered him for some classes this summer, had drinks at Smokey Bones...) and basically took it easy. It was a nice break, and I feel better today. But not looking forward to working until 8:30 tonight.

At least tomorrow is a "normal" day and then we're going up to Burlington. The Boy has a softball game tomorrow night which I get to be "Supportive Girlfriend" at, which I'm looking forward to. Jesus, I'm so domestic it's scary. Seriously, I've lost all of my street cred for sure. Oh well!

Have a good weekend all 2 people who read this! ;)

old-timey lesbians.

2007-04-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

This morning, I so did not want to get out of bed. Cases in point: No shower. Large coffee. Hey, it was raining. I thought Mondays were supposed to be the day I was all rested and ready to go to work? Apparently not so much. Last night I freaked out a little because I really didn't want to go to work anymore. I really mostly just need a vacation. This is why starting a new job would be nice, because I could stagger it a little and get some days off in between. But also not nice because you know that time off would not be in the cards for a while. But I know that part of why I'm so burned out is that I'm just tired of doing what I'm doing. I have many things that I could do at work, but not a ton of things that I really want to do. Oh well.

I have another interview tomorrow, wish me luck! This one is kind of far away, so that's a minus, but it would probably be a fun job. A little out of my comfort zone, but that's alright. Apparently there are going to be some shakeups at the college, so there could be a full-time position for me there in the next couple of months. That might be nice, but it probably wouldn't be doing what I'd really like to be doing (OK, it definitely wouldn't be. But benefits!). So we'll see. It is comforting to know that regardless of what happens now, I have options.

Dinner on Saturday went really well. Well, there were a couple of hitches at the beginning (who would have thought there'd be no eggs at my parents' house?), but otherwise things went well. Obviously everything I made was delicious. I'll have to post the recipes here sometime, they were all good.

Last night, we watched Babel. I liked it, but the Boy didn't think it made sense. It probably (OK, definitely) isn't my new favorite movie, but it was OK. I also watched "Fried Green Tomatoes" for the first time this weekend, and I did like that a lot. I even cried! I love old-timey lesbians. :)

This weekend, we're heading up to visit Alison. I'm excited!

finally Friday

2007-04-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

So yesterday's interview went well. I think she liked me, although who knows if I'm the best person for the job. She asked about references, so I guess I should probably tell some people. Yuck. But it's not like it's for no reason. It just sucks that I feel loyal to these places, and no doubt I totally appreciate being here for the last year, but really, it's time to move on.

There you go. I'm glad it's finally Friday...although, this week has really gone by fast, so that's good. I'm excited for the weekend, though. Tomorrow we're going to my parents for dinner, and then Sunday I'll be driving my Dad down to the airport for his trip to England...I'm always willing to work for a quick $50!

just kidding...

2007-04-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

Please disregard that last bit about the housing situation. The Boy cut a deal with the Roommate, and I'll be on the lease shortly. It'll be nice to (finally) have keys and all, but I'm still looking forward to moving at the end of the year. It's always nice to actually choose the place you are going to live. :)

ups and downers

2007-04-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

So the "conversation" the other day didn't go so well. It's ok if I'm there, just not if I "live" there. Or act like I do, which apparently I had been. Anyway! It's not really a big deal, and my plants will probably do better in the sunnyness of my parents' house anyway. I was sad about it, but we started talking more about what we'll do when the Roommate moves out (he's planning on leaving in a couple of months to move closer to his office) and after their lease is up. So I'm starting to look to the future, and I like that.

In other news, also related to my goals of 1. not living at home officially and 2. having a full time job, I had two e-mails in my inbox this morning asking me to go on interviews! So the first one is on Thursday at a place in Concord. This would probably be the best position (and location) for me, but I don't really know much about this org or what they do, so we'll see. That would be a marketing and development job, which is really ideal. The other job is a little further away, and is just marketing BUT it's marketing MANAGER, which clearly sounds awesome. :)

Anyway, I'll be freaking out about that in the coming days (and also starting to worry about having to leave my other jobs (she types as she sits at one job!)), so wish me luck. It would basically just be sweet to have a normal, regular paycheck and health insurance. Oh, and PTO. That is so friggin sweet.

Also it bodes much better for my edumacation track, which I kind of started on last night. I went to an information session about the MPA (Master's in Public Administration) program at UNH last night. It was interesting, and I'm pretty sure it's what I want to do, but I'm not quite ready to start yet (courses run about $1500 each...yeah, not so much!). So when that will start basically depends on when I can afford it, but I'm pretty excited about doing it eventually.

So all in all, a weird week. But I'm happy!

whoa!!

2007-04-23T17:57:00.000-05:00

This is sure to be earth-shattering, big Big BIG news for everybody...I'm going to grow out my bangs. I know, they were fun while it lasted, but I'm getting tired of them. Well, I've been tired of them for a while, but go figure that happens at approximately the instant bangs become cool. Ah well. It's been fun, my face fringe, but it's time to say goodbye.

So I'm here at work, basically just waiting to go home. Except I don't really want to go home. I should just go to the store instead, but I don't think my check has cleared into my bank account yet.

The Boy and the Roommate are having the "Caitlin moving in" conversation tonight. I kind of feel like I should be privvy to this, but I trust that the Boy will represent me well and do what's best. I'm a little worried. I'm sure I shouldn't be, but...I guess you never really know what people think about you until you ask. I'd so much rather prefer not knowing, sometimes.

What I WOULD rather be doing is knitting. I anticipate I'll be blogging quite a bit on here about my knitting and cooking adventures. I've been reading a lot of cooking and knitting blogs lately, so I've been eager to do a lot of both. Knitting I've got down, cooking is still pretty much limited to the basics. I am VERY excited, however, to attempt a Limoncello Cheesecake Square recipe that originated from a Food Network show (Everyday Italian), and I found on a blog somewhere. My parents are OBSESSED with Limoncello, and if you've ever been to a holiday at my house or on our boat, it's probably been forced upon you. It's not really my thing, but since my Mom's birthday is coming up, and coincides with my sister's graduation party, it'll end up being a bigger deal, so I think baking this will be rewarding, at least. And it's basically a surprise to all but the Boy, so if I screw up too bad, the world won't screech to a halt.

Anyway...it's about the time where I can safely leave. Or spend more time browsing online, and then leave, just to be certain. :)

starting again

2007-04-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

alright, so i've decided to give an "official" blog another go. i had to start all over, because i forgot my password for my old blogger account, and also the password for my smc e-mail (which i haven't checked in approximately 3 years).

anyway, here's to new beginnings. i'll try to get something up for real soon. I have some pictures that need uploading....

happy earth day!