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March 31, 2004

On Preview
While I was seeing Eternal Sunshine in SF (I like Jim Carrey serious, and David Cross was, as always, a kick, but other than that it was only interesting), I caught a couple new trailers that look good. First and foremost was Garden State, written, directed by, and starring Zach Braff (gush!). Trailer here. And then Saved! (trailer). I will ignore the presence of Culkin for that of Matarazzo.

I'm also finding myself drawn a bit to The Chronicles of Riddick, though I just realized that it's kind of a sequel to Pitch Black, which I didn't particularly enjoy. And also Van Helsing, if only because it's so pretty.

I think I should be able to squeeze most of these in before the sequester begins!
03/31/04 08:29 AM |  Comments


March 30, 2004

It's a...
The ultrasound was a success! The kid once again wowed us with its acrobatics (giving the tech a rather hard time of getting all the needed images), it has the right number of parts... and it certainly wasn't shy about giving us a peek at its gender.
03/30/04 03:03 PM |  Comments


Cruel and Usual Punishment
I'm sitting here chugging the last of the 32 oz. of water I'm supposed to slam in an hour before our ultrasound appointment (a full bladder conducts better... so they say). I thought I'd be in severe pain by now, but my main problem at the moment seems not to be with losing it down there, but with keeping it all in my stomach (all the valves in your body seem to loosen up when you're pregnant - fun!).

Keep your fingers crossed that the legs aren't!
03/30/04 09:06 AM |  Comments


March 29, 2004

Bleh.
I'm sitting in this nice little pastry shop on the corner of New Montgomery and Mission, drinking chamomile tea, paying for 'net... and freezing my ass off. When I checked out of the hotel this morning (and left my jacket in the luggage locked away for us by the bellman), it was sunny and fine, warm enough to wear light capris and sandals. Now people on the street are wearing puffy jackets and knitted hats, and I looked more cold and stupid by the minute, wandering half dressed and heartedly around the shopping district. Eh, dumb tourists, what can you do.

Out of desperation, I went to fetch D. too early (encouraged to do this by D. but acting against my better instinct), where I proceeded to feel like shoe TP in the office. And I loathe being That Guy. How to kill an hour without shopping already tired feet past their blistery nubs??? I hit the street again, luckily not going far; this place - only two doors down - is at least a couple of degrees warmer than outside, and has decaf teas, and cheaper internet than Kinko's. Things could be worse.

Unrelated: movies are a little expensive around here, aren't they? Or did I just pick the wrong venue (the Metreon)?
03/29/04 06:20 PM |  Comments


March 28, 2004

Mighty Fine View
One night at the Argent, deluxe style: $199. High-speed internet in your room: $10/night. Looking down at the city from the top floor while you blog: priceless.

I can see the sign for Britex Fabrics from here, it's only a couple blocks away. Wonder if I should wander over later...
03/28/04 07:34 AM |  Comments


March 24, 2004

Oops
Technical difficulties, lost any comments from the past couple days (sorry!). At least it had the good grace to happen before we leave tomorrow.
03/24/04 05:53 PM |  Comments


Itinerary Extension
Our two nights away have doubled. D. has some contract stuff to take care of in SF, so it's two nights in Monterey, and then two more in downtown SF. I'll be left to my own devices on Monday - a good time to take in SFMoMA? And/or Union Square?

And then a scurry back for the ultrasound. I hope the poor kid won't be too bushed to move/uncross its legs for the technician.
03/24/04 12:15 PM |  Comments


March 23, 2004

Five Month Top Tens
Top Ten Best Things:
10. Saying "I have to have new clothes" - and it's absolutely true
9. Oh, The Books I'll Buy!
8. I get packages from my mom about every other week - it's like year-round Christmas
7. There are baby clothes out there tiny and cute enough to make you tear up a little, if you're in that mindset
6. Not feeling guilty about eating real ice cream
5. In fact, what diet?
4. What birth control?
3. Planning a room meant only for cute
2. Seeing the little dervish spinning away on the last ultrasound
1. Tiny nudges and knocks

Top Ten Worst Things:
10. A few months back, learning that there's an entire faction of society that not only doesn't like kids (this I sympathize with), they hate the people who have them with steaming vitriol
9. Nagging mother (ugh)
8. Some days feeling like I just want to kill the next passerby that looks at me the wrong way
7. [yawwwwwn]
6. I very much dislike monthly OB appointments
5. Dearly missing wine/rum/Claritin/Ibuprofen/Diet Vanilla Coke/coffee with caffeine/tuna
4. Round ligament pain (ow), lower back pain, and Braxton-Hicks contractions - that first one was a little frightening
3. Extreme fear of failure as a parent
2. TLC, once just a mildly emotional diversion, now has the power to scare the ever-living crap out of me
1. Three months of all-day sick and toothbrush puking
03/23/04 08:18 AM |  Comments


March 22, 2004

Yeah, I Know, Stop the Presses.
I don't know about your Target, but ours has racks of Barnum's Animal Crackers in odd places throughout the store. Lightbulbs - Barnum's. Birdhouses? - and Barnum's. It's just weird.
03/22/04 08:19 PM |  Comments


Only for Ben and Robert
I guess I'm still looking forward to Meet the Fokkers, regardless...
03/22/04 11:00 AM |  Comments


March 21, 2004

Surgeon General Warns Against Gardening While Pregnant
Ahh, Sunday gardening. Relaxing backyard pastime.

Not.

I headed out as early as possible, knowing that it would be far too warm by the time I was really motivated (or, more accurately, when D. became motivated and I felt compelled to join in). Sheer futility. I'd only finished translating my meticulously-drafted grid to string and thumbtacks, and already I was overheated and shaky, sweating through my tee and cotton plaid manpanties (the Valley gardening outfit of champions). Add that to somewhat grudging and definitely hormonal, and you've got yourself a recipe for fun.

The soil in the vegetable plot was far too dry for planting, so I watered it and decided to weed the second flowerbed while I waited for it to de-mud. I could do this by kneeling and plodding away with handtools (not necessarily comfy with a constant low backache and closely-related lump in the gut), or by whaling on it with the heavy-duty rake. If we had your garden-variety weeds, this wouldn't have been a problem, but our flowerbed is drowning in deep-rooted grass.

After ten minutes of bushwhacking with all my might while gingerly avoiding the poor little rosebushes but not making any progress, the lawn got a frustrated earful... and then I started to bawl. Dirt is, among the sane, not something worth crying over, but, let's face it - I haven't been able to claim anything remotely approaching sanity in five months.

So now we're both disgusted with me, my hands are sore and I smell, and the vegetables still aren't planted. Screw it. I'm going to take a shower.

P.S. The Garden Weasel is possibly the suckiest tool in the world.
03/21/04 11:51 AM |  Comments


March 19, 2004

I Guess It's Question Day
Regular hair dye is potentially carcinogenic, but henna is not. I don't have enough gray yet to do it as a routine, but every now and then I get the itch for some red. Have you colored with henna? Were the results natural? My hair is very curly dry, and I've heard it can make that worse - does it? Will salons do this?
03/19/04 02:55 PM |  Comments


Close Approach, Indeed
Did anyone out there (Europe, Asia, Southern Hemisphere) get to see the record-breaking asteroid pass yesterday?
03/19/04 09:03 AM |  Comments


March 18, 2004

I Forsee Great Renal Pain in My Future
I'm beginning to think the Nublet is controlling not only my french fry lust, but my very energy. Yesterday, it played jumping bean all day, and I was a cleaning dervish. Today barely a poke, and all I want is a big, fat, day-long nap.

I'm wearing some full-on maternity pants now, a bit unflattering though they hang. Most of the shirts continue to look like circus tents, but my own are just snug enough to make me feel dumpy - and most of them don't come close to covering the stretchy pants panels! So getting dressed is a bit of a trial (not that I'm usually a fashion maven by any means, but don't expect anything resembling haute couture in our Monterey photos). Still, anything's better than the nausea, and every day I'm grateful it's behind me.

We're in for a cooler spell next week, and that's when the nursery will be painted. Little clothes and trinkets are beginning to pile up in there, so I'm itching to get at least a dresser set up. I could just turn on the A/C and do it now, but I continue to stubbornly maintain that March is too early.

Eleven days until the big ultrasound. Not that I'm impatient.

Nope, not me. Hum-dee-dum.
03/18/04 05:03 PM |  Comments


March 17, 2004

That's Edutainment
Dr. Wei Siang Yu presents a rather novel approach to boosting Singapore's fertility rate: the Dr. Love Super Baby Making Show, which will "feature couples from around the world in competition to conceive first." Not just realiteevee, he'll also be hosting a partner show (The Dr. Love Talk Show) that tackles sexual issues.

Don't let the American networks get wind of this (even though we don't really need it here, but that never stopped FOX). Or, wait... it's okay to have downright slutty realiteevee, but discussing the real issues of sex and reproduction outright would probably be a big no-no. So just the conception competition then - but tackier.
03/17/04 02:13 PM |  Comments


Calling All Backyard Ornithologists
We like birds. We want them in our yard. Still waiting on the hummingbird garden, we hung a feeder for other little birds on our tree. But it's been a week, and no visitors (aside from a spider who's made her home in one of the spouts). No, the cats probably aren't a deterrent - at our last place, the guys downstairs hung a feeder below our balcony, and birds still frequented it, even with three drooling fanged heads leering from just two feet above. Here they're three yards away, behind glass and wire.

What do we need to do to let them know the feeder's there? Put out a menu board in chickadee? Spray l'eau du worm on it? Learn the finch call for "hey, over here, guys!"? We want birds!
03/17/04 10:19 AM |  Comments


March 16, 2004

Day Tally:
Pros:
  • My car is clean and shiny, because I found a car wash that doesn't have a slippery bar you have to drive over with wet tires (last time, unaccustomed to a lighter car with a less powerful engine - I guess? - I got very stuck, and consequently gun-shy)
  • I have a new, grownup chef's knife. Nothing terribly extravagant, but no one will lose a finger using it.
  • Some people are still doing Blogathon-type things - yay!


    • Cons:
  • Yes, you may think the Liz Lange maternity line at Target is all hip and fresh (for a department store), but good luck finding a decent selection there. And just try to find your size, I dare you. Also, you can forget about swimwear.
  • Another challenge - try to find the maternity bras in lingerie. Then spend half an hour digging out your size.
  • It's still too warm for March. Dammit.
    • 03/16/04 04:32 PM |  Comments


    March 15, 2004

    Sigh.
    No Blogathon this year. Not that the gestational timetable would probably allow me to participate by blogging, anyhow, but I still looked forward to sponsoring and reading. It's been such a positive and unifying annual force, and the absence will no doubt be felt.
    03/15/04 10:05 PM |  Comments


    [Cue Twilight Zone Music]
    Last night's Alias featured guest star Ricky Gervais, of whom we knew absolutely nothing. After the show nothing good's on, so D. played our first-ever ep of The Office. I slept through most of it (the current norm), but what I did see was pretty entertaining.

    "Is that the guy from Alias?"

    "I was just thinking that."

    I had to turn to the media for confirmation. Sure enough, and bizarre.
    03/15/04 05:51 PM |  Comments


    Cool Blue Days
    We decided against Sedona in favor of a couple nights in Monterey at the end of the month - neither of us particularly feels like flying. Found a nice package deal at a modest inn downtown. We've made day trips to the Aquarium, but there's so much more to see and do. Unfortunately we'll just be missing the monarchs. But I'm determined to finally play in some tide pools while we're down there!
    03/15/04 10:23 AM |  Comments


    March 14, 2004

    Pure Unadulterated Leaf Lust
    I've cut waaaaaay back on the caffeine, of course - in the weeks before I left The Job, I was literally sucking down a Thermos of homebrew a day. Healthy, yeah, I know. But you realize that, at the end, it was either coffee or crack cocaine.

    I can still enjoy a little kick occasionally, and the healthiest way to do it is with Tejava. This iced tea is better than the stuff I make at home. No preservatives, no sugar, nothing but water and tea. And of course no calories, but all the delicious antioxidants! After years of choking down unsweetened posers, last summer I was finally saved from citric acid nastiness.
    03/14/04 07:09 PM |  Comments


    March 13, 2004

    It's Official
    Universal has finally made the official announcement that the "Firefly" movie Serenity is in the works. Yeehaw! IMDb says production begins in June. A bit strange, though, that Alan Tudyk (Wash) and Ron Glass (Shepherd Book) aren't on the cast list in either source. Hope it's just a matter of negotiation.

    We'd been spacing out the viewing of the DVDs, and just watched the first unaired ep last night. It's difficult to imagine all the work that went into one hour of show, only to have it never seen on the network. Stupid FOX, I say for the hundredth time. Of course they've been making out well on DVD sales; ranking at 65 on Amazon isn't too shabby for a show not thought fit enough to air, no?
    03/13/04 09:35 AM |  Comments


    March 12, 2004

    The Smell of Censorship in the Morning
    Well, the local ABC affiliate pulled Living permanently from the lineup as of this Tuesday. I was momentarily confused that Jack Hanna was on instead. Which was quickly replaced with pissed.

    I'm no fan of Howard Stern (ick), but I'm still angry about that, too.
    03/12/04 07:43 AM |  Comments


    March 11, 2004

    While the Gettin's Good
    I love the time of open windows. An all-too-brief period here, shmushed between four months of cold rain and six of searing heat. But I enjoy it while it lasts. It feels less isolated with a little breeze puffing through, birds visiting the yard, or voices passing. Even chores seem a bit less antagonistic.

    That's one of the things I miss most about the house in Escanaba. Sitting around with coffee on summer mornings, the corner windows open to let in just enough lake chill to freshen before whatever humid heat settled for the day.

    But there are plenty of windows that open here. Even in the master bath, which makes me giddy, because showering near an open window is one of my particular joys. I can wash pans in front of a window, or make the bed in a cross-breeze between two set in opposite corners. The only unstirred air that remains is in the office, a deliberate cave for the glare-sensitive among us. The window latch is far beyond reach, so fresh air will never enter. I may have to abandon my computer for the month of spring. Which might not be such a bad idea in any case.
    03/11/04 04:35 PM |  Comments


    March 10, 2004

    At Least the Giant Anteater is Original
    I got sucked into Kingdom Hospital, even though the commercials made it obvious that it would be tacky and lame (turns out it rams straight past those to cringeworthy). And I've seen almost every Steven King movie, but the only two I respect are "Shawshank Redemption" and "Green Mile." Maybe "The Shining." So I should know better. Chalk it up to Wednesday boredom fortified by a lingering fascination with Andrew McCarthy. I'll probably watch it again tonight; the fact that it's only an hour this time helps.
    03/10/04 11:46 AM |  Comments


    March 09, 2004

    "Mommy, There's A Whale in the Pool!"
    It doesn't bode well - not one bit - that it's only March 9th, and a short trip to the library and drugstore has me sweating like a pig. And my new car has A/C, and I'm wearing a tee shirt and sandals.

    At first, I only joked to myself about getting a small inflatable pool for the summer. But now that the annual scorch is approaching, it may just be practical. The complex pool-in-progress will be less than inadequate for the couple hundred families that live here, and I really don't think I'll want to show off my swollen, bloated bod by the time it's finished anyhow. But I know I'll want a nice quiet soak in the shade.
    03/09/04 04:31 PM |  Comments


    March 08, 2004

    No Corpses Out There Yet...
    Despite yesterday's pseudo-hangover, the vegetable plot (an old makeshift built-in sandbox) is ready for planting. Not much room for veggies, but I'll cram in as many cukes, carrots, green onions, peas, and tomatoes as possible. We're fortunate enough to get two or three growing cycles in the warm season here, so plenty of time to experiment with different stuff, too. I laid out some hummingbird & butterfly mix in one of the smaller plots, and we've got a new birdfeeder, so hopefully our yard will be colorful and interesting (especially for kitties behind glass) by April.

    Much to D's back's chagrin, the soil everywhere is sandy and poor, so we've had to mix it up with a dozen giant bags of planting mix.

    I can hardly believe how thick and green the lawn is, considering it began as mud. D's actually cut it three times in the past two weeks!
    03/08/04 10:29 AM |  Comments


    March 07, 2004

    Leaving Solitary
    We stayed out way too late, eating baked potatoes and sugar and playing board games with people I hadn't met aside from a short acquaintance through an online group of locals. It was fun! but if you know how uncommonly introverted I am, you'll imagine how physically exhausting spending eight (!) hours with a large-ish group of people can be. I'm wiped.

    Sigh.

    Now I'm here because I'm fantastically sugared-up and a bit past the point of no return for sleep, and it's going to take some serious nonfiction reading to get me into snooze mode.
    03/07/04 01:46 AM |  Comments


    March 05, 2004

    Oh, for an Espresso!
    It's ridiculous, how exhausted I am most days. I'm getting 10-12 hours of sleep, and it still doesn't feel like enough. Everyone tells me this is normal. But how could something that's only supposed to be needing 300 extra calories a day (and well getting that) sap so much energy?

    And there are things I wanted to do this next couple of months. You know, before walking and bending over become hurdles. Get the vegetable and wildflower gardens started. Unpack the rest of the office stuff. Hang shades and curtains. All near impossible when you're ready to take a nap by the time your morning toast has popped up.
    03/05/04 04:08 PM |  Comments


    March 04, 2004

    Slack Attack
    It looks so nice out today. I'm feeling better. I should go have a shower and get out there. Yeah. I'm, uh, gonna go do that. [yawwwwn] In a minute. Really.
    03/04/04 09:49 AM |  Comments


    March 02, 2004

    All the Pretty Houses
    Look at this darling Portland bungalow D. sent me. Pretty much sums up my dream house (built-ins? stained glass? greenhouse?!?). Sigh. You'll never find a price like that for a 4-bedroom in California.
    03/02/04 02:04 PM |  Comments


    Shredded Meat and Finger Stubs
    Last night I attempted Martha's Pork Tenderloin Parmesan. There's nothing like trying to cut thin wafers of pork off a roll to remind you just how awful (and dangerous) your c1992 ShopKo knives are. I think the whole endeavor would've been much more successful if the cutlets could've been thin and uniform. So I think I'm going to work on collecting new knives for our block, beginning with a basic chef. Any preferences to share?
    03/02/04 08:48 AM |  Comments


    March 01, 2004

    Voting for Dummies
    I voted a few days ago. Permanent absentee status forces me to vote in every election, no excuses. A good thing, since I'm the master of excuses (especially when faced with such incredible hopelessness).

    Unfortunately, I forgot that California currently has a "Modified Closed Primary" system, and, because I've always declared myself nonpartisan, I would've had to request a special ballot for either Democrat, Republican, or American Independent (the only three parties that are allowing unaffiliated voters to vote in a Primary) in advance.

    So I ended up voting on a lot of propositions. Which, considering my stance, is probably more meaningful at this point, anyhow.

    Please, if your county is "saying goodbye to Chad and hello to Mark" - don't be that guy.
    03/01/04 12:29 PM |  Comments


    Paper to Gold
    Check out these wonderful paper creations. And be sure not to miss the animated models at the bottom!
    03/01/04 10:09 AM |  Comments