gush
I think I'm in lurve...
2/28/2002 10:20:18 PM  



still here
Scandalously lazy two days (keeping in mind that lazy in Jenniespeak sometimes expansively includes decimating Mount Laundry and scrubbing down the kitchen).

I've managed other little things while avoiding the computer. Which include:

* Improving my score
* Visiting very old friends
* Long siestas
* Trimming the tresses (in preparation for some redding)

And watching no TV.

Well, okay. Almost none. You can blame my recessive PWT gene for that.
2/28/2002 06:12:38 PM  



what about all that doesn't end well?
Not a banner day, today.

It actually began last night, with a big argument. You know, one of those rare venomous fights that leaves someone sleeping on the couch. Don't even know where to begin with that one.

I wake up with a good three hours of sleep behind me and a ripping sinus headache. Fine. Whatever. Easily fixed with decongestant and coffee. I do not fall asleep behind the wheel. One point me.

Suddenly, after two years, the administration has decided to do employee evaluations. Today. Just like that. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm lacking in a couple of distinct areas - mainly my supervisory handle on the kids, and my relations with some of the more agressive staff members. While I didn't get horrible marks in these areas, it never makes you feel much better to see, on paper, that the faults you've only previously worried over privately are being noticed by others (who seem to barely know you exist otherwise, strangely enough).

Okay. I put a mental band-aid on this, and move on. I can be a grown-up, after all. Sometimes.

Two hours in the end-of-semester meeting. Pie was had. Headache was flaring up again, but nothing unmanageable.

Time to turn in the monthly time sheets. This is how my week works: I'm technically only part-time, six hours a day. But last year, the administration and I came to a verbal agreement that had me working two extra hours a day so that I could be open after school. I don't get the full-time benefits, but I get the money. Which is fine.

[That phrase, "verbal agreement." Pretty powerful foreshadowing there.]

Or it was fine. Until today, when the administration denied knowledge of this agreement to my face, even though they'd been signing off on my overtime sheets for nearly a year, and I've been getting paid for them. Even while I stood there, mouth agape, and tried to sputter out the details of that long-ago meeting around my disbelief (I'm not terribly eloquent in any case, much less when upset). So I may not even have my little monetary bone next semester.

And now I'm sitting here, teary-eyed and tired and cranky and in pain and generally feeling like the world's biggest ass, not sure if I have the energy to weave through an hour of rush-hour traffic just to get home so I can open up a whole new can of worms, the moment I'm supposed to be whooping joyfully that it's all over for a whole month.

All will seem better after a glass of wine and a nap. I will repeat this mantra until I get home.
2/26/2002 04:31:16 PM  



hee!
You'll never guess what I saw on my way home from work today!

Damn, I need a PenCam.
2/25/2002 07:17:30 PM  



she said, as she munched another samoa
Girl Scout cookies are in. Samoas, as always, get four stars. The new lowfat Ole Oles (like hard little pecan sandies) are still under scrutiny. Much testing yet to be performed.

I always wanted to join the Scouts when I was in elementary. Though I think my desire was more about collecting the badges than anything else. My mom had kept her guide book from the sixties, and I'd pore over the pages, picking out my favorite badges and dreaming of the day when I'd wear a green scarf encrusted with them (much to the obvious admiration and jealousy of the others in the group).

Alas, it was never to be. I was bussed to a specialty school far across town, and my mom didn't have a car to pick me up from the after-school meetings.

So I took the extracurricular path that would seal my nerdly fate - playing the violin.

I think I'll go have another Samoa.
2/25/2002 12:04:42 PM  



finale
School is out tomorrow at 12:47. Of course we get to have a three-hour meeting at 1:00. Just when everyone is champing at the bit to leave for the month.

I suppose, at least, there'll be fresh-baked pies. There always are. About eight different kinds. Banana cream, pecan, blueberry, mixed berry, peach, chocolate silk...

Oh, the sweet taste of sin. [mentally adding "bake pie" to March to-do list"]
2/25/2002 10:20:51 AM  



a fling with spring
Spring is here, it's undeniable. The trees are flowering in a profusion of pinks and whites. The robins are back. And I've got an energy streak that just won't quit. Not only did we traipse around downtown all day, feeding the squirrels and checking out the open-air plaza (and pigging out), but I hiked over to Trader Joe's to score some peasant bread to make french toast tomorrow morning. And I feel like I could just keep going. Guess I'll go bounce on the tramp for a bit.

See a few pics in the visiblog.

2/23/2002 08:11:57 PM  



burning in hell
There have reportedly been three trashcan fires on campus today so far.

Funny/scary: there wasn't one fire alarm.

There are news crews hanging around.

I hate it here today.
2/22/2002 12:38:36 PM  



bon anniversaire
for the friday five
1. Hey, baby, what's your sign? Do you think it fits you pretty well? Virgo. To a tee. Except that whole hyper-organized thing. You should see my desk right now.

2. What's the worst birthday gift you've ever received? Hmmm. I can't think of anything. There've been a couple of times when I didn't even get a token card or cupcake from whomever was my current significant other, and that sucked (bothers me way more than V-Day oversight, for some reason).

3. What's the best birthday gift you've ever received? My Elli - I gave her to myself in 1997. Just a teensy little ball of fluff :-)

4. What's the best way you've celebrated your birthday thus far? Last year - my 30th in Vegas. Though a surreal mix of celebration and tears (being just three days after 9/11).

5. What are your plans for this weekend? If it's going to stay this nice out, I'm sure not going to be in front of the PC all weekend!
2/21/2002 10:15:02 PM  



pour me a ball horn of zeese
Did you know?

Nestled in the scenic backroads of Mendocino County lies the small town of "Boonville." It's a place known for its apple and grape harvests... but especially for its unique language: Boontling.

Learned while leafing through a book.
2/21/2002 12:57:10 PM  



looking for tre-jhah
More even older buried goodies in the visiblog.
2/20/2002 09:03:13 PM  



block
Hardly anyone is writing today, it seems. And I sure as heck don't feel like it.

What do I feel like is eating a pint of Häagen-Dazs. With a Marshmallow Fluff chaser.
2/20/2002 07:22:45 PM  



not barbie
Look for the Emme doll to break into the popular market soon (she's a limited-distribution pricey hundred bucks now).

"We do have curves on the doll, hips and broad shoulders," Emme said on Good Morning America. "Give your children, if you can find them out there, dolls of all different hues, of color and different shapes and sizes..."

(Emme links pilfered from Metafilter)
2/19/2002 06:02:49 PM  



prison break
Happiness is...

...arriving at work thinking the semester is over next Wednesday, but for once, you've erred in your own favor - the last day is Tuesday! Woo!

Yes, one day really does matter that much. Trust me.

I'm thinking about going to Seattle in March. Amtrak has a rail sale going, and I could hop the Coast Starlight for a paltry $89 round trip (!!!) 'Course, I should probably clear that with the friends I'd be imposing upon before I decide. Heh.

To do list for March:
* Still need to make the Best Meatloaf Ever
* Finish new site design, get Vegas journal/pics up (really).
* Spring cleaning a-go-go, being completely ruthless in preparation for the Next Move. Everything must go.
* Finish yearbook.
* Read.

To do list until March:
* Maintain sanity beneath quickly-eroding veneer of nice (i.e. don't strangle any thirteen-year-olds when they again mutter under their breaths something to the tune of "F*** off, b**ch", or people who "borrow" things like furniture and supplies from my room without asking or returning).
* Research and order insane number of titles, thanks to the other wonderful, beautiful, stellar librarians in my district, who, when told of my Great Disappearing (stolen) Budget plight, unanimously voted to share with me some bonus state funds they received.
* Get out thank-yous for all you bloggers that donated from our Wish List (you still rock!).
2/19/2002 10:25:37 AM  



wired
My alma mater is #24 on Yahoo's list of "Top 200 Wired Colleges 2001."

Beat out that Big Ten school I couldn't afford to attend by 11 spots. Nyah.
2/18/2002 09:41:23 PM  



invitation
I hereby formally invite anyone (not that I'll name names, but you know who you are) who takes issue with my three-day weekends to spend a week running my library.

Yeah. Didn't think so.
2/18/2002 11:48:55 AM  



fairly forgotten
Pics I've neglected for months now in the visiblog.
2/17/2002 06:49:46 PM  



hopped up
What casual acquaintances wouldn't begin to guess about mild-mannered me: I like to jump. When I get fidgety, I jump. I used to be addicted to jumping on the bed. Unfortunately, our adjustable air mattress doesn't allow for that amplitude of tumult.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me before. I need an exercise that I don't have to force myself to do every day. Something that I can do when the whim hits me, and not according to a schedule. I liked my evening walks well enough in the summer, but now it's cold and dark and not necessarily safe. And I hate our little community "fitness center." It's so stuffy and never cool enough, and the treadmill makes me feel inadequate.

So I ordered a mini trampoline. Oh, the fun! It arrived today, and I got a real workout just constructing it. I've jellied my legs jumping on it (making up for lost time, and all).

Oh, if I only knew where to store it, life would be perfect...
2/16/2002 03:28:20 AM  



apropos
Pop music can be the best therapy.

When I left work, I was burning red. Just your typical administrative poop, but far too much for one short week. I was ready to ram my car into the main office.

But I turned my radio on, and up pops this spunky little ditty, which I'd never heard before, by Jimmy Eat World. Voila! Instant mood improver.
2/15/2002 04:10:24 PM  



gastronomically speaking
for the friday five

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked? Nasty little chocolate cakes in my brown and yellow Easy Bake oven. Mmm.

2. What's your signature dish? Egg hole sandwich. No. I'm not kidding. I can bake, but I can't cook my way out of a pastry bag.

3. Ever had a cooking disaster? (tasted like crap, didn't work, etc.) Describe. In college, my roommate and I had three neighbors a couple of chalets away - one from India, one from Pakistan, and one from Morocco - who were always cooking delectable spicy foods and sharing with us. Neither of us were any kind of chefs at all, but we thought we should at least attempt to reciprocate with an American meal. Beef roast, potatoes, carrots, salad, and chocolate cake - we figured even we couldn't screw that up. But, alas, we failed miserably. The potatoes and carrots were still hard. The roast was dry and stringy. The cake fell. And, I hate to say, our friends were less than tactful about our mess.

4. If skill and money were no object, what would you make for your dream meal? Something with freshly-caught salmon. A fattening pastry. And maybe baked Alaska.

5. What are you doing this weekend? Oh, this question tires me so. You all know by now that I have no discernible life.
2/15/2002 06:31:38 AM  



the obligatory pink and red



My first ever completely from-scratch Illustrator project! Yay me! :-)
2/14/2002 06:24:18 AM  



dohrr
Morning staff meeting.

Get up at 4:30. Eat two freezer waffles and drink enough caffeine to convince myself I'm awake. Use copious amounts of Visine and undereye concealer. Out the door before six. Drive through the darkness to campus.

To an ... empty campus.

That meeting is next week.

Jennie can read. Read, Jennie, read.
2/13/2002 07:17:18 AM  



more Chinese immersion
...mostly to satisfy my own curiosity:
* SF parade photos (links to other California celebrations at bottom of page)
* another nice slide show of last year's parade
* wish I could visit Toronto again
* order a lion or dragon dance costume (lower middle of page)
* my Chinese horoscope
* "Chinese New Year brings hope of prosperity to New York City's hard-hit Chinatown"
* a pretty screen saver
* write your name in Chinese (fun!)
* red paper good luck wishes
* give someone lucky bamboo
2/12/2002 10:09:05 AM  



happy Chinese New Year!
* some pages to color
* send greetings
* what's your sign?
* open a fortune cookie
* some recipes
* the art of Chinese papercut
* taboos and superstitions
* a history of fireworks
* make a box-shaped lantern
2/12/2002 06:57:18 AM  



ahh, Detroit
Why didn't we stay in Detroit? I see this, and am immediately transported back to the broken streets and crumbling war-zone mansions and the aroma of death.

People say, "Well, the suburbs are nice!" And I suppose they are, in all their omnivorous ever-sprawling hulk. But I personally couldn't drive into the city without a turning stomach and righteous anger, thinking of the former glory of a marbled urban utopia - the "Paris of the Midwest" - lost to wars of race.

Link via plep.
2/11/2002 04:30:45 PM  



flapjack fever
Tomorrow is National Pancake Day.

What, you mean you didn't know?

To celebrate, some national IHOPs are flipping free stacks. They only ask that you "consider donating a portion of what you would have spent to the local charity that is being supported in each market" (here in Sacto, it's Big Brothers - Big Sisters). Link via the local news.

Before starting out on trips to the UP, our family would always stop to fuel up first at the IHOP around the corner (when I last visited Milwaukee nearly four years ago, that blue-roofed chalet had been made an insurance office or some such nonsense). I always ordered the Silver Dollars. The rack of syrups still fascinates me. Boysenberry, yum.
2/11/2002 11:24:46 AM  



a to-do list even I can manage
On the schedule for today:
* Watch some Nigella
* Watch some Martha
* Watch Martha on The View
* Finish nice Victorian novel
* Wait impatiently for movie based on wonderful post-WWI novel
* Finish Valentines
* Make some freezer waffles
* Wash sheets, towels
* Learn to increase
* Lay around in robe with English breakfast and warm purry kitties

2/11/2002 10:18:49 AM  



I hate Mondays
No school today, and I owe it all to Mr. Lincoln.



Next week will also be Monday-less thanks to dead presidents. I will honor their memory by baking cupcakes in my robe and ducky slippers.
2/11/2002 08:25:01 AM  



resurfacing
Last night we were doing a little channel surfing (a bit lost without "Invisible Man" on Friday nights. I know - geeks). And stumbled upon the Winter Games opening ceremonies. I don't watch the Olympics, as a rule. But I stopped, compelled.

Did you see? When they carried out the broken flag unearthed from the rubble of the WTC to the "Star Spangled Banner," solemn and tearful?

Not a dry eye here. The waterworks, it seems, spring eternal.
2/9/2002 12:36:02 PM  



you sexy thang
Eighteen and older only for the friday five

1. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone else? Oh, how can I pick just one? ;-) No, really, I'm not that original, I guess. I've sent plants and Shari's Berries (heavenly little delicious berry yummies, I send them sometimes for different reasons now) to various workplaces for a nice surprise, because that kind of thing always makes my day.

2. [pardon the cosmo question] What are your erogenous zones? Neck and upper arms. Aside from more obvious ones.

3. How old were you the first time you had sex? Care to expound? Eighteen. And I don't like to think about it. Ew. You should ask me how old I was when I had real sex for the first time.

4. What's the most unusual place you've ever had sex? On top of a small mountain in the moonlight. Tee hee.

5. Do you have plans for Valentine's Day or is it just another Thursday? I hear tell we're maybe going to Fat's and a movie downtown. Sounds perfect to me!
2/8/2002 10:37:53 AM  



urgent care: the sequel
D. couldn't breathe when he got home, so off to the local Urgent Care we went. Not really comprehending the "urgent" part, since the whole thing took over two hours. I'm glad I wasn't one of the sick, because the staff ordered a big steaming bag of food, and whatever it was began to make my healthy stomach turn.

When it was far too late, I realized I should've grabbed my knitting. The magazines were worthless. Watched the giant plecostomus eat algae. Cleaned out my purse, and got all weepy when I dug up a store receipt from my trip home in November. Found my JoAnn gift card.

Charming little family of four in the waiting room the entire time. The wife bitched and nagged the husband to death until he could escape to the exam room. I nearly felt sorry for him, until she mentioned something about taxes, and he barked "You have to work to pay taxes. You don't work." That, being a monumentally stupid thing to say to a woman with two tired and cranky children past their bedtime, of course started a wee bit of a row. Yay!

At least there was fresh bread in the machine to come home to.
2/7/2002 10:49:44 PM  



much ado about
Apparently, Rush is releasing a new album. By household decree, I'll be going to the closest concert - "first row seats."

Label me a horrible rock fan (it's been said), but I just don't get the whoopty. Instrumentally and lyrically speaking, yeah, I can see that (lyrics based on Ayn Rand? don't hear that every day). But, damn. I just can't get myself past Lee's vocals. I wouldn't go so far as to say nails on the blackboard...

Fan much?
2/7/2002 10:29:42 PM  



let there be light
Have I mentioned just how much nicer it is to drive to/from work when it's fully light out? It is. And the bit of extra warmth sure doesn't hurt, either. Scraping ice off the windshield and California just don't mix.

I have horrible night vision, and avoid driving unfamiliar territory after dark. While I'm intimate with every bump and turn on the route to work, I still worry that I might hit a quick little cat or something.

Maybe I need some of these. Tres chic, no?
2/7/2002 08:52:43 AM  



AIM game
To amuse myself a little at the end of a long day, I've decided to do a bit of an experiment.

Even though I don't have an AOL profile, and I never go into chat rooms, I still manage to get crackpots and perverts IMing me ("HotBambiXXX"???) whenever I log on. Did someone sell my ID? So I left AIM open this morning. Just to see what I can collect by the end of the day.

You can leave me a message, too, for funsies.
2/6/2002 09:51:14 AM  



daemonic
Turns out New Line is doing Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" series, after all. I'm not sure what to make of this. I'd love to see it on film, and yet... It's so much more beautiful and complex and intelligent and heartrending than Harry Potter (or even LotR, in its own way, for that matter). Almost seems sinful to try to condense it.

Well, I guess we're going to find out, trepidation or no.

Link via MeFi.
2/5/2002 07:28:02 PM  



like Christmas
I spent the morning opening an unexpected windfall of books and supplies, and the last of the Wish List gifts (thank you!). It really started the week off on a positive note. Having enough of the proper bookends for all the shelves. Finally getting repair glue and brushes to take care of the inevitable spinal injuries. Plastic covers so I can circulate those pesky paperbacks. And magazine covers and cases, and shelf dividers, and other miscellaneous little things that make running this three-ring circus a bit more sane.

I'm a moderately happier camper today :-)
2/5/2002 02:04:51 PM  



the day, in summary
I know it hardly seems believable. But I would be the happiest girl on the planet if I were out of debt. Truth.
2/4/2002 07:20:59 PM  



hermit-in-training?
I don't know quite when it happened. But I've come to loathe the telephone.

I hate it when it rings. "You must pay attention to me now!" It's so rude, holds no regard for what I'm doing at the time. It doesn't ring often anymore, and I don't often answer it if it does. At least at home. At work, when it's usually most inconvenient of all, it seems to ring all the time, and I have no choice but to answer. I think I despise it for the same reason I've essentially stopped using IM (but also part of my departure from this was the liberal dose of concern that I'll be similarly bothering someone else in the middle of something more compelling, and not a little nagging fear that they just plain wouldn't want to talk to me).

I think it's just one stroke in a big picture. Increasingly, I find myself rebelling against anyone or thing that tells me "you have to." Taxes, auto registration, stupid district paperwork, yearbook deadlines - I hate and avoid them all. I O.D.ed on toeing the line when I was younger, driving myself to constant sickening anxiety. The endless pursuit of regimental-grade perfection. I'm guessing my body, not able to support that kind of stress indefinitely, did a complete 180 in an attempt at self-preservation.

I don't think it worked. The new "put off until next year what you should've done a month ago" me still feels, if not the surface anxiety, deep-seated guilt. Hardly much healthier. Some middle ground would sure be nice, for once.

But I don't think there's much hope for even partial reconciliation with the telephone. Not when I've got a nice reliable answering machine.

And e-mail.
2/3/2002 10:19:37 PM  



ER-rr
...for the Friday Five
1. Have you ever had braces? Any other teeth trauma? No. But I wish I had (braces). My bottom teeth are crowded, but my family could never afford to get them straightened. Then I spent x years struggling through college. And now my dental insurance is crap (yet another good reason to get back into University library digs). At least I don't have any cavities.

2. Ever broken any bones? The tip of my finger. Stupid story... I was about eight. Our family had just had dinner with some relatives, and we were all standing about gabbing. Suddenly, I spied what I thought was a quarter glittering on the pavement in the moonlight. Unfortunately my mother, who has a penchant for high heels, was standing with her back to me about a foot away from the object, and stepped backwards the exact moment I went for the grab. I'm sure I've never screamed that loudly again in my life. The icing - it wasn't even a quarter. I believe it was a plastic insert from a Six Million Dollar Man doll.

3. Ever had stitches? Twice. The first time involved an unfortunate marriage of a Red Ryder wagon, my cousin pulling five-year-old me in said wagon, and a steep gravel-coated driveway. Ended up with a giant tear in the back of my head and a bloody trip to the ER. The second time was just a couple of years ago, when I had my septoplasty/turbinoplasty. I still get grossed out thinking about the removal of the stitches.

4. What are the stories behind some of your [physical] scars? I only have one semi-major one, on my left knee. Metal rollerskates meet bumpy cement parking lot.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Working on the yearbook. I've got a deadline on Monday, which I kinda sorta forgot about. People who sign up to advise extracurriculars are into self-abuse. Big time.

2/1/2002 05:30:40 PM  



pro
Yes, I dug deep (for me) and went with Blogger Pro when it came out. I really can't complain about paying into something I've gotten such pleasure from every day for well over a year. I'm satisfied, so far. The file upload feature has been useful already, since I can't directly access our server from work. And it seems to be nice and snappy. I'm not sure if I'll switch to their comment system when it becomes available. Never used spellcheck, since I'm generally pretty anal about spelling on my own. Haven't posted to the future yet, though if I go on another trip where I don't have access, I can see how that may come in handy.

So I guess MT isn't in my near future. Sigh.
2/1/2002 12:33:12 PM  



update (or, what really matters)
As predicted on Wednesday, the Mrs. Fields cookies were the first item to disappear from the vending machine.

Except for one, wedged uncomfortably between the coils and the wall of the slot (perpendicular to the glass). Taunting everyone with its 75-cent milk-chocolatey goodness.

Pound, curse, as hard as you can
You can't have me
I'm unreachable, man!

On an entirely unrelated note, does anyone else feel icky whenever the whole Joey/Rachel thing comes into play?
2/1/2002 09:12:17 AM