January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:53:33 -0800

My goals don't seem to change much from month to month, year to year, mainly because I don't get them done! Here are my January goals. 1. Get work. (Of some kind. Freelance, day jobs, whatever.) 2. Finish Nano 2005. 3. Finish Nano 2011. 4. Fix bathroom faucet. 5. Clean bathrooms. 6. Clean and rearrange kitchen. 7. Continue detoxing my diet. 8. Do a one-day fast. 9. Clean home office. 10. Do a feng shui space clearing. 11. Continue to do visualizations. 12. Look into some kind of stretching or yoga routine. 13. Donate some old clothes and stuff. This will do for the moment.

Re: January Journeys

Zookeeper — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:39:09 -0800

Hello? I guess I just abandon this one, or it becomes my personal log. Whatever. :-(

Re: January Journeys

Bill Moonroe — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:25:17 -0800

I'm on my way to day 1 of my yoga challenge, but I thought I'd wish everyone a happy new year. I'm going to start the new year off with a shock to the system by following the hot yoga with a quick jump in the ocean. Will post more about January plans later...

Re: January Journeys

Smartiez101 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:48:08 -0800

Sorry, now this can be the thread. ^^ I just don't think i realized it was a group chat. o.0 1. Finish the first drafts of my first series (Trapped). o.e It's at such a low point right now I don't think it'll be all that easy. 2. Clean my room (much less stress for my dad) 3. work on Chosen series. It's at even more of a low point than Trapped is. o.o I don't expect to get anywhere near the last novel though... 4. Survive the rest of 8th grade and beginning of high school. ._.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:01:04 -0800

-Write a script -Get a second job -eat a cookie -draw something -Take a photo to use as a Facebook cover -prep for Script Frenzy -organize room... somehow... -lose weight -exercise -get back into stretching in the morning. -replace broken phone. That's enough for on month I think. -X

Re: January Journeys

J.Kievsky — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:36:26 -0800

I still can't get over the personal finance stuff from last thread. I feel like you can't win no matter what you do. My parents were huge on money management, but even avoiding credit pitfalls didn't help me much! I worked through college and half that money went towards it, half to stock, which got wiped out in the 2008 crash. Then I worked, saved about 40% of salary; 50% of that got lost in the market in 2010. My SO had investments worth 6 years of work and they lost 80% value and haven't recovered. I ended up pulling my remaining money out of the market and throwing it into real estate when prices hit nadir in an area I liked. Thankfully we are young and have time to rebuild, otherwise that would have been it. One thing that is definitely worth doing in the US is what he and I call tax hacking, when we sit down in October with tax laws and balance sheets and see what needs to get shuffled where and when to maximize refunds and minimize taxes. It is surprisingly useful. Zoo -- the list looks attainable but time-consuming. Maybe if you start with #9, you'll gravitate towards the office because it'll be the only really clean space in the house and #1 will be easier to attain... Smartiez101 -- IMO middle school is the worst and you made it through that, so you'll be fine. January: -- Apply to volunteer at the small animals division of the shelter -- Try to set myself up as an 'unpopular pets' pet sitter for snakes, lizards, & tarantulas -- Reassess how long savings will last to refine job search plan and job criteria -- Pick up some spare change as a study guinea pig for the zero-risk ones -- Keep my email and magazine queue under control -- Register with the temp agency -- Clean the kitchen at the end of each day -- Finish half of my DP book project -- Learn 1 area bird per day by sight and sound -- Resume going to night seminars & ratchet up networking at the department I really, really want a job at, also the department I think I will apply to grad school at -- Start studying for the GRE

Re: January Journeys

Zookeeper — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:18:19 -0800

I know what you mean about the finances. I had finally, after half a century, struggled up to middle class. I finally had a house, a small IRA, a small nest egg, and even some stocks. Then the Recession hit, and one by one they all went away. Now I'm in "middle class poverty" as Lily put it. I don't want to go back to living like I did when I was 20 -- living in crappy apartments, no money, dead end jobs, no future. I don't have another 35 years to struggle back up to lower middle class again, and I don't want to be one of those elderly lonely ladies living in a tiny one-room apartment in a bad neighborhood with a cat. I want to be an elderly lonely lady living in a nice house in a decent neighborhood with several cats. ;-) I think my best financial decision is to try to keep the house no matter what. The Recession will end eventually, but if I lose the house, I don't think I'll ever be in a situation where I can buy one again. I've been in a bad mood this morning. The cats peed on my socks. My nightlight stopped working last night, and when I went to pull it out of the socket I noticed something beside it. I had almost grabbed a big, brown spider! I thought caulking would keep them from getting in, but I've had to deal with several in the past couple of days. So I started cleaning the kitchen. I've got a load of dishes going, and I've got the oven set to self clean. Just no more spiders, please. I'm too tired and down to have to deal with several more hours of being freaked out.

Re: January Journeys

Smartiez101 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:19:13 -0800

lol, number 4 is for the year... just noticed that. xD

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Tobaeus — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:50:17 -0800

It's a new year, and it seems there's a bug going around at my house. Last night my oldest had a fever that made him hot everywhere but on his head, this morning the husband is dragging because he "feels like crap", and I've been feeling a lot of tension in my head. Not headaches, just the distracting pressure that makes me dizzy. But despite all that, I hope to get a few things done around here today. Going to set myself a few easy goals to go with the complicated ones (weight loss looks really complicated this year with all the changes I want to make): 1) Take down the Christmas decorations 2) Print off husband's W-2 and get our taxes filed 3) Make a "super list" of things we need/want to do with that money 4) Finally get the back porch under control. (Paper is taking over, but I refuse to throw it away when we have recycling bins all over town for paper. After we get that car, it'll be easy to get all of that out and start again with a smaller, more manageable box for recycling. Or better yet, start a mulch pile with some of it. My garden might just thank me.) 5) Sort paperwork inside the house. 6) Begin the Great Bug Purge. A few different types have moved in here in the last few months and I'd like to take measures to make it clear they are not welcome. And the spiders aren't doing a good job of that. 7) Edit and submit my pegasus story to the site I've been following. 8) Update my mp3 list and back up my computer. The baby deleted my "My Works" folder from the desktop. (No idea how he managed that... Thank God I had a copy of it on a flash drive. What I can't get back is either research, or posted to deviantart. A new backup would be stellar) 9) Exercise twice a day when the kids are at school. Well, once before they get up and once while the baby naps, but you get the idea. My main channels for that are in need of repair, though, so I'll be using the youtube widget to find some belly dance posts and the like in the meantime. 10) Pick up a Missouri Driver's guide so I can study for my permit and eventually (finally) get my license and make use of the coming car. 11) Continue making time for reading. 12) Clean the house. Vacuuming, mopping, dishes, etc. I want this place to sparkle. 13) I'd also like to find some time for meditating every day. Sitting still and quiet, with my meditation balls in hand and some incense burning nearby. Sounds like great stress relief.

Re: January Journeys

dutchbando — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:58:31 -0800

There are lots of other goals I have that have pretty much become habits so I don't really need to list them here but here are the main goals for January: 1. Get a new job – send out one application a day during the week, go to the job seminars at church 2. Read six books (including one nonfiction) 3. Use chapstick 4. Finish Excel workbook 5. Finish impressionist puzzle

Re: January Journeys

Smartiez101 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:51:32 -0800

question: would this be more fantasy, or more SciFi? (I'm completely clueless about genres, so sorry if either of them doesn't fit at all.) And whoa, why did I say the trilogy 'Trapped'? Those books are strictly for NaNo projects. I meant at least the first book (or at least 55K of it. I'm expecting probably over 100K in the story looking at how large the summary is) of my series 'The Drakkon Reborn' Aria Yang was a famous planetary racer, until her rival Dariah Samson frames her and gets her arrested. After going to court, Aria Yang is found guilty and sent to the outer ring planets. However, Dariah Samson has only just gotten started. She then plans out a way for Aria to die, but when that fails, Dariah sends an assassin after her. Barely escaping with her life, Aria turns to another planet, one full of magic and forest. There she meets Avery, who accidently makes her stumble upon the Drakkon Reborn (group of those who can control all elements except fire). Is she willing to practice magic, the very thing that got her kicked out of her home in the first place? Willow always claims she was born to be the Last Drakkon Reborn. All throughout childhood she practiced alongside the master in the temple, learning all she could about the four elements. She does, however, find trouble when two other pupils, Aria and Truvik, give her a hard dose of competition for the same title. Truvik Darius Fruik lived the average life in the inner circle planets. His parents had a decent amount of money and plenty of friends. He has never thought /once/ about practicing magic, which was highly illegal. However, when his parents die and he is left alone with his druken Uncle Darius, Truvik decides to escape to the outer planets and try life there. The first thing he is able to cling to is magic, something he dreaded in his life before. Now he has plenty of magic and healthy competition, but is that supposed to build friendships or destroy them? Wow, that was long. And that's only a brief summary of the first book. 0.o NEW LIST!!! My UPDATED list for January: 1. Get at least 55K in my first book of The Drakkon Reborn (55 because I did five thousand yesterday, and that's not January... I've already got 10K out of 55K woot!) 2. Get out of that plothole in Escape (a different novel I've been working on for three years. I've only got 60K in, but I'd feel really bad scratching it, it's not a terrible plotline without the plotholes...) 3. Clean...out...my...closet. 4. Don't go insane because I have to go to school two days from now. D: Such a small list. I love being young. *little dance*

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Bill Moonroe — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:00:58 -0800

My goals for January: 1. Complete the 30 day challenge at the Bikram yoga studio 2. Write and submit two short stories 3. Learn one new banjo tune... my next lesson is on the 8th of January, so I think that'll be my next tune 4. Learn one new slack key guitar tune 5. Complete the first four lessons in Samoan 6. Walk 20 minutes a day, five days a week 7. Go for at least two donkey walks

Re: January Journeys

Hepatica — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:25:54 -0800

Smartiez, that's fantasy because it has magic in it. The difference between science fiction & fantasy is that sci fi is based on science & is logical with fantastical ideas being able to be explained by science or maths or the like. Think Arthur C Clarke, e.g. "2001: A Space Odyssey." Fantasy might be based on history or science, but includes magic / magical beings / unexplainable actions. Think Tolkien, e.g. "The Hobbit," "The Lord of the Rings."

Re: January Journeys

Tobaeus — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:28:18 -0800

I think that you might want to consider it "science fantasy, considering how much science is actually presented here. If there isn't much at all, then you should probably go with fantasy, as Hepatica suggested.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:33:42 -0800

I'm such a div. There was I, merrily posting to the December thread, wondering where everyone was! I opened this thread only because it was new! Sorry. I'm turning 47 at some point in Jan, so it's more than just a new year for me. In line with my year-target of getting healthy & staying there, I want to include the following for Jan: 1. Exercise every day 2. Try to each a piece of fruit every day, as long as finances allow 3. Increase my water intake In addition, I want to get into the habit of: 4. Washing up every day 5. Writing every day - whatever type it is And I really need to: 6. Sort out my gardens - dig over the front one for veggie growing & perform some hair cuts in the back! 7. Apply for teacher training 8. Finish tidying up around the house Think that's enough for one month! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:36:49 -0800

Oh yeah - checking my post before submitting might be another good one! Number 2 should read "Try to EAT a piece of fruit every day ..."!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Faeiri — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:26:43 -0800

And I completely failed to even follow these group chats after the first two times I posted. Go me. Maybe I can have the bonus goal of stay part of a thread for once. Main goals for January: 1. Write 30,000 words. 2. Write at least 1,000 words every day. I want to see if I can be consistent for once. 3. Practice violin at least four times per week. 4. Work out characters for Currently Untitled Novel I'm Trying to Start Today. 5. Work on arrangement of Black Hole/Green Sun. (I'm a Homestuck nerd, okay. And I really like violins.) That's it for now. Happy 2012, everyone!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:31:05 -0800

Not too many things this year. I'm gonna try to read 150 books, instead of 100 like this year (though, I think I ended up with more like 109 or 111 or so books. That's, like, three a week, so, we'll see how it goes or if I get too far behind. And, there is supposedly someone retiring where I work this year, so, we'll see if they actually fill the position or leave it open. If they fill it, I'm workin' on being the one they chose, but, we'll see... (and with the recession still on, you never know if they chose not to fill it right away, ugh... local government, don't ya love it... :)) Of course, there's always the writing. Fanfic and real publishable stuff, but, that's been on my list for years now, so, back to chipping away at various stories. I think that the site's Jan goal should be an edit button, Sheesh I miss the edit button....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:44:54 -0800

Faeiri, how long have you been playing? I played for years and years, but not having any time (and a half busted that needs to be fixed, new peg holes, new strings, etc. violin) has prevented me from doing that unfortunately.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:42:28 -0800

Oh yes, I almost forgot. New year, January goal. Get my bleepin' computer to work for more than one day.... hopefully the new motherboard will be winging its way towards me sooner rather than later this month. *cough* edit button *cough*

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:21:33 -0800

Wow, 150 is crazy. I read pretty much constantly and top out ~105 a year so hats off to you! You do realize you're going to spend most of the year picking books to read based on how many pages they have, yes? ;)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:05:15 -0800

I'm in a snit now! Yesterday, I treated myself 6 months of membership to a dieting website I used to belong to for years. I ummed and ahhed about it, on the basis of going back to things is not often a good idea & thinking about what else I could do with the money, but then I decided I needed help to sort out my food (the healthy bit), so just went for it & they gave me 1/3 off, completely out of the blue, for good measure! :-D It offers forums to help & it's these that have caused the snit because I couldn't get on them yesterday - site kicks me back to the logon page - but I just thought that was because they hadn't had time enough to process stuff - bank holiday & all that. However, I can't get onto them today, either, & nor can I even email the site admin to ask why! I just get kicked back to login every time! So annoyed! So I guess I need to get on with the washing up, then! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

ESylvia — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:49:49 -0800

January is going to be quite busy for me... 1. Stick with my deadlines (AKA have all my planning done by Saturday and chapter 6 written by the end of the month) 2. Clean my room... Tackling that today. Somehow writing on the couch in front of the television never leaves me inspired. 3. Work with my horses every day possible. Weather is terrible and so my whole field is ice, but hopefully it will either snow a LOT or all melt so that I can get some work in. 4. Do all my homework (and not the night before it's due!). I can't wait for high school to be over. I'm starting University in the fall, and my school of choice is UBC for Creative Writing, but I'm also planning on taking some acting and music classes. #1 goal for the year: self-publish the first novel in my series before August. It'll take a lot of time, and a lot of money, but I feel this goal is attainable and will make me feel better about my not having done anything beneficial in all my high school years.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:25:41 -0800

I wanted to see if I could push myself a little. That's why 150. Maybe I'll have to amend it a little later in the year, maybe not. I don't generally worry about length, # of pages. I read a wide variety of stuff. I mean, I read Wizard's First Rule in about three or four days, even though it's 800 pages, and I read a lot of Graphic Novels mixed in with my mysteries and sci fi and fantasy. (I've already read three this year, so... off to a good start). So, as long as I don't pick up one of Henry James classics (when I read Portrait of a Lady it took me like, four months, ugh... :)) I think I have a chance. We'll see. Off to keep reading 'Wonder Woman', which, although I thought it was when I put it on hold, isn't actually a graphic novel/comic book but a novel book. Not a bad one yet either, very bloody.... Heh....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:43:24 -0800

Well, I still can't access the forums on the dieting site, though I've sent off the relevant missives to the relevant people to sort it out. I *have*, however, done the washing up (lol!) & been for a walk (it was a lovely sunny day here today, if cold), I'm working on drinking more water, I included my fruit with my tea & I'm planning to clear up the lounge whilst watching Young Morse in half an hour. So I'm not doing too badly! :-D I'm also planning on getting up *really* early to clear up my bedroom & dressing room before 9 (will I make it?! lol!) because I'm having an energy surveyor come round to see if I'm eligible for free insulation. I don't think I am, due to the construction type of my house, but it never hurts to ask. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:25:31 -0800

It has been a very frustrating couple of days. The computer hasn't been working perfectly. I've had to deal with multiple spiders. The cats have been acting up and fighting. And twice in two days they've peed on my clothes. Last night, just as I was getting ready to get to sleep, I found that they'd pulled a pair of almost new WHITE pants down and peed on it. I don't know if I can save them or not. I'd only worn them once! My goal has been to read 100 books in a year, and I haven't made it yet. Last year I finished 77, the year before 86. So that goal is going to stay at 100. I was so depressed last night that I ordered a couple more books to cheer me up. I've got to stop that. Books are becoming my chocolate. And I had anxiety dreams. I blew finishing college in the dream and left some paperwork on the counter in the college. I was chosen to sing for a performance but never got to the rehearsals, just the performance. I didn't do very well, and the other singers were mad at me. I was trying to practice my stepdancing but couldn't get it right. Then I dreamt that there were train tracks going through my back yard. Don't know what that means. Other than the fact that I slept long hours but didn't get enough rest. Well, back to cleaning and decluttering.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:05:07 -0800

Sympathies on the cats, Zoo - why are they acting up? Is it too cold for them to be out? I know mine goes a bit stir crazy when he's kept indoors for too long. As to the pants, not sure I'd want to wear them, even if I got them clean, knowing they'd been peed on by cats! lol! Sounds like you're getting a bit of anxiety depression from your description of your sleeping pattern. Strikes a bell. I went down that route about 10 years ago. My doctor gave me some anti-depression drugs that made me sleep deeply. If you can't afford that, spend your book money on something from the pharmacy to make you sleep better - something like St Johns Wort or Kalms or you can get tea made from Valerian - neither of these is as costly as a book & would do you a lot better. You need to get into the habit of not sleeping more than eight hours, too - invest in an alarm clock if you don't have one & get up when it goes off, even if you're still tired. And then go to bed at the same time every night. You'd do well to get some fresh air at some point every day, too, even if it's cold outside - that'll help you sleep, too.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:59:20 -0800

We've just had nearly two days of no Internet due to some local DSL system malfunction. Felt very weird. Husband's iPad worked, of course, and his smart(ypants) phone, so at least we didn't have to look out the window to get the weather report. How life has changed in the past decade. I'll post a list of January goals when I can do it without whining. This is not a high-energy time of year for me. I have a personal finance blog at http://hopefullily.blogspot.com/, in which I discuss many of the financial issues that continue to concern Americans. I've noticed we keep making the same kinds of financial mistakes, just with different details, over and over. I think it's because we have very high expectations of success. We don't plan our financial lives for winter, but for spring. We take risks, some of which do not pay off. Perhaps we could have predicted the current economic climate, but such a prediction would have seemed ridiculously negative, not worth taking seriously. Thinking about our exit strategy before we even walk in the door for the first time does not come naturally to us. I know people who are constantly angry about how our world is run. I can't live that way. I can only control the outcome of a very limited range of things. Worrying about what I can't change is a waste. In dreams, of course, my illogical, emotional side is in charge, and I am constantly missing math exams, or not finding the right classroom even though it is late in the semester, or being unable to get to work on time or even get to the city at all. My waking life is a good deal more orderly, and I aim to keep it that way.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:52:20 -0800

Ah, OK. I read lots of stuff but have fairly strict criteria for what counts towards the total. My mother and I compete so it' standardized to adult novel > page count and nonfiction > page count below certain ratio of illustrations: text, so graphic novels and gardening books with lots of glossy pictures are just for personal amusement. Henry James, ugh. I read a ton of Victoriana but still have never made it all the way through one of his books.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:56:02 -0800

Isn't it horrible that no matter how many years you've been out of school, those dreams never go away completely? The spiders are likely eating something that lives unseen in the clutter, if you can sustain a big enough population of spiders to be running into several in a few days. As you clean I hope (& would expect) they move on to greener pastures.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:18:00 -0800

A lot has changed in the financial commons in the past decade or so also, which I think bears mentioning. When I started out (like I mentioned, my parents thought it was important to let me play with tiny amounts of money in their stock and bank accounts even when I was really young), predicting where the market would turn was educated guesswork and if you could read a prospectus and calculate dividends, indicators, and keep up on the performance of your market sector, you were almost guaranteed to either break even or beat inflation. Globalization has made indicators obsolete in a lot of cases. I still have some holdings in one sector I understand very well but find that the stock performance is barely affected by the company's specs--they can come out with a great blockbuster product and beat earnings expectations for the quarter but will plummet 30% because of debt problems in Greece. The paradigm has shifted and the methods I and probably a lot of other people were taught to appraise risk and reward aren't valid anymore. On a happier note, I finished two magazines today, including the chemistry one which gets backlogged the fastest because it's dense and arrives weekly. We were stuck in Brooklyn an extra day because of a snowstorm at home, but hopefully will leave tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting back home, just not the even/odd parking ticket I'm going to get. We made use of the extra day by reading, going for a walk, visiting a friend, and working on my project which is supposed to be done by the end of January. Oh, and catching up on episodes of Downton Abbey.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:29:27 -0800

Stinks you got stuck due to inclement weather - but yay for Downton Abbey! I love that show. So excited for the new season starting next weekend!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:03:27 -0800

I know! I missed the reairing of episodes 1 & 2, so watched them online; now I am freshly enthralled by it and can't wait for season 2.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:22:28 -0800

My cats are indoors only. They never go out. They wouldn't even know what to do if they were outside. And besides a lot of neighborhood dogs and two busy streets nearby, this is Colorado, and they'd also have to worry about raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bears, and cougars. I haven't seen or heard of any bears or cougars nearby lately, but the smaller predators are still a concern. Mittens started out as a big, aggressive, stray tom cat, and he was getting into fights with the raccoons. I was afraid that at some point the raccoon would get the drop on him and it would be bye-bye Mittens. So I adopted him and brought him indoors. He still runs to the door and meows to be let out, after two years. Fat chance. As for the spiders, that's occurred to me, that if I can get things all clean and decluttered they'll get bored and go elsewhere. As for my once-white pants, I have them soaking in some enzymatic stain and odor remover, which usually works pretty well. I can't afford to be fussy.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:53:31 -0800

Actually, in the UK at least (if not the US), the latest financial bust was totally predictable & should have been predicted by the powers that be - maybe not the specifics (although the stupidity of lending mortgage amounts to people with no income is gobsmacking!), but the likelihood in general. It's part of a pattern that has happened at the beginning of every decade since the 1970s. When I was studying accountancy a few years back, we used some texts by Terry Smith & JM Samuels / FM Wilkes / RE Brayshaw: the Terry Smith text explained how it takes about a decade for people to get lulled into a false sense of security & financiers to take advantage of this again & then get over-cocky, resulting in bust. It's all to do with companies loaning to each other: e.g. company A reports a loss; a few months later, they get a loan from company B & report a profit on the strength of the loan; company B then demands their money back, which company A can't pay so they go bust. When a few companies suddenly go bust after reporting profit, that heralds a national (or, in our current situation, global) bust. The Samuels / Wilkes / Brayshaw text explains how ratios can be used to forecast company failure: Altman is a US finance writer who created the Z score model which can predict liquidation in 1 year with 95% accuracy & in 2 years with 72% accuracy. A UK chap, Taffler, worked on the same basis in the early '80s. The Bank of England, however, does not feel this prediction method is worth it! Says a lot!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:14:42 -0800

Well, the energy surveyor has been & gone & I can't have free insulation, as I thought - but it's still disappointing! The reason the kitchen's the warmest room in the house is because it's the only room with insulation!!!!! He could see the marks in the brickwork outside that showed that wall had previously been insulated. However, apparently, wall insulation can't happen upstairs (at least in these houses - I don't know whether that's across the board, but my house is ex-council & has a peculiar wall construction) & the downstairs back wall is totally glass with double-glazing that (apart from one panel replaced earlier this year due to vandalism) no longer works! My roof space also can't be insulated with the rolled out type of padding the surveyor's company provides because I have a flat roof with no access to the space, which is only about a foot & a half. So that's that, really. Bummer! I did ask his opinion about other options, though. Tacking up the roll out padding to the inside of my ceilings upstairs would pose a health risk & also reduce headspace (I'm not so worried about headspace! lol!). However, there are two companies that make a sort of thick, insulating board that could be tacked up - Celletex & Kingspan - the first is apparently the cheaper & the one used by builders of new houses - so I'm going to investigate those & will report back because Zoo might be interested. :-) The other option is blowing fibre into the roofspace - the main company recommended is Insta Fibre & the chap gave me their telephone number, but it's a UK number. They might be able to provide the blown fibre on a grant basis, but it should cost more than about £200, apparently. I showed him the laminate backing & rugs I had bought for the floors, on the basis that it seems to me there is a problem with drafts from the connexions between wall & floor. He didn't think it was worth putting these down (it's been warmer weather since I bought them & Mum was here, so I haven't put them down yet) because it's more likely the downstairs heat is leaking out of the walls at the upstairs level & any upstairs heat is leaking out of the ceiling. So now I have to decide whether to go ahead & try putting them down to see if they make a difference or whether to take them back & get a refund so I can get some fibre blown into my roofspace (my experience with grants is that they never come through or I have to pay out first!) or buy some panels from Celletex. Mmmm. Going to check out the companies first, but that's really only putting off the decision! ... lol! As a silver lining, my bedroom is now 95% clean & clear, I am able to walk from door to window in the dressing room & the rest of the house is still safe to walk around! lol! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Faeiri — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:11:48 -0800

I've been playing for nearly ten years now. It's one of my favorite instruments, although starting so early is probably why. 150 books is quite the goal! I read pretty quickly but I still doubt I could do that.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:45:49 -0800

My goals for the month are 1. Finish and polish the short story I'm writing 2. Drink more water. I'm going to try to work my way up to six glasses a day. Also included in this is to cut out sodas and such 3. Practice the piano 4. Read five books I'm sure there's more but I just can't think of any right now. Zookeeper, I'm sorry about the spiders! I would never be able to stand it; I'm scared to death of the nasty little things. My grandma would sprinkle baking soda on the floor wherever spiders would be to get rid of them. I don't know if it works or not though.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:04:16 -0800

Zoo, are they big honkin' scary looking ones, or the ones that I like to call 'bathroom' spiders? Those are the smaller ones that have skinny legs and are a light, light brown, almost white? I don't mind the normal lookin' 'bathroom' spiders. They catch some of the little stuff that comes in when the doors are open, or the little fruit flys. But the big honkin' scary ones, especially those that are black in color with hairy legs get squished. Oxford, make sure you don't drink it all at one time. You can die from drinking too much water too fast too. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill Our bodies are water, but not that much water... :)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:40:45 -0800

Danie, Oxford should be ok with 6 glasses. One glass is usually defined as 250mls, so 6 glasses = 1.5 litres. Recommendations for "drinking more" - whether for dieting or for medical reasons - usually cite 2 litres, i.e. 8 glasses a day. These should, however, be sipped throughout the day, which fits with Verbalis' advice in your article to drink according to the rate of sweat. It also depends on the local climate. In the UK (i.e. a temperate climate), not more than 3 litres is recommended in the summer, with 4 litres being recognised as too much & tempting water poisoning. In a hotter climate, however, 4 litres might be ok because the rate of sweat would be increased. The person who died in your article had read 6 litres. A good indicator of whether or not enough water has been drunk each day is the colour of one's pee. Lovely! lol! The clearer it is, the more hydrated one is. A light yellow would be the ideal. What a lovely subject this is! Sorry! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:43:53 -0800

Sorry - I should have re-read my post before submitting it! I meant the person who died had DRUNK 6 litres!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:02:45 -0800

Granted, I am a spider apologist, but [quote]the big honkin' scary ones, especially those that are black in color with hairy legs get squished.[/quote] Those guys do a more effective job of capturing prey then the web-building spiders and eat quite a bit more! We coexist peacefully with our spiders and I've discovered that if you cultivate the big guys as your friends they'll take care of your larger prey--a few wolf spiders and the mantids I brought from my old apartment completely obliterated all cockroaches and army ants in the new house and since that first week there I haven't seen a single insect indoors except my spider buddies.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:06:23 -0800

edit: haven't seen a single insect indoors, just my arachnid buddies.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:23:52 -0800

We used to have a children's book called "Spiders are Our Friends" or some such. Cute book, and it's probably true that spiders do control mites and many other creepy crawlies. However, we sometimes get very large spiders around here, and we don't like them. This past summer I must have killed at least five black widows, most of them lurking on our trash cans.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:39:04 -0800

I've got a plethora of spiders here, and I'm of the opinion that if they don't bother me, I won't bother them. The only drawback to having them around is the bites we sometimes wake up to. But as long as they're helping to keep the other bugs' populations down, they're welcome to stay as long as they like. Maybe they'll move on when prey becomes scarce. Goalwise, I'm trying to make the most of my time. If I have downtime while performing a task, I try to do other things as well. Like if I have pork chops frying, I can wipe down counters or switch out the dishes in the dishwasher while I'm waiting. The hope here is that it's a little extra bit of exercise and it keeps me productive while I might otherwise be idling. Haven't done any real reading lately in favor of a Bleach marathon with the family. (Nearly) all of us like the show, so it was a good way to spend the last few days of break. The list has been accomplished, though it's still growing. We're nickel and diming this tax return to death, but we'll get a lot of good out of it at the same time. Tomorrow I'll be up early, so I'm going to check out some workout videos on Youtube, since my wii and ps3 are broken and won't read discs. Also in my near future are refilling my mp3 player and editing this short story for sending out. I want to get serious about having it submitted before month's end.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:40:30 -0800

Curse the lack of edit button. I also got my Christmas decorations down and back into their storage area.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:46:37 -0800

I'm good with most spiders. And I don't always squish them, sometimes I deposit them outside. But, uh uh... wolf spiders, I know that they're pretty much harmless, but, yikes. They are totally outside spiders.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:29:09 -0800

I spent most of today in bed. I got called to sub, but it was for a very short job that would have required almost as much drive time as work time. Not worth it. Thank goodness I didn't take it because the next time I woke up I felt like death. There are times I curse being female, and today was one of them. I haven't had symptoms this bad in a VERY long time. The only solution was to put on a heat pack, go back to bed and sleep. Thankfully I felt much better when I finally woke up. Not great but better. I even felt well enough to go for a walk and to the library late this afternoon.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

iamborg1of1 — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:33:37 -0800

I'm keeping track of one of the writing buddies I met here. I've already read some of her blog entries and I'm enjoying her work immensely. As for my own work, I'm going to organize a poetry blog I have with a friend which got away from us and turned into a personal journal. Not what we intended. As for my novel, someone suggested to keep working on January and, since I didn't finish, that's what I am doing. I started writing without an outline, a tool I always use for essays. I decided to work on an outline for my novel because I have not idea what am I doing. It was supposed to be a love story and I knew the characters; however, it is now a political satire with a lot of narrative but no characters. Can you believe that? No characters. I tried to introduce two (the original two I had in mind when it was supposed to be a love story) and some dialogue, but the truth is that they are not even stick figures. No depth, no personality, no nothing (as my students would say). The story is getting away from me. The narrator is taking over. If the characters were taking over, I had less of a problem. I was talking to one of my sons, and he gave me WWZ to listen to. He was suggesting different narrators because that way I should be able to keep them in check. Not a bad idea. Give the narrator the responsibility for the introduction of the characters. Feedback and comments will be welcome.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:28:13 -0800

I don't think it's unusual not to have a planned plot when you start. A lot of people - me included - are in that boat, according to the posts on this site! lol! I find plans have a way of changing & stories write themselves & get "off-plot" as I write - this seems to have happened to you, too - that's ok - it's actually quite exciting to see how it's all going to turn out. :-D However, I'm not certain (lack of understanding) how you can have writing of any sort of fiction that does not involve characters - if you have a narrative going, you must, by definition, have at least two people speaking - aren't these people characters? Even if it's all written in the present tense, there must surely be some difference between them. I'm confused! As to introduction of characters by the narrator - this is also an idea a lot of us have developed. For me, it allows me to keep a consistent thread running through the whole because my story jumps around in terms of timeline, but the narrator is pretty much always there. About halfway through, though, to lend verrisimilitude, my narrator is introduced as a character, herself, but then goes back to narrating. It depends how you want to do it. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:48:24 -0800

Morning peeps. :-) Not a lot has changed here! lol! Was kept awake all night by my bunnies again! Going to have to find another room for them, I think, now that Mum has gone. Maybe the downstairs hall. It's too cold for them in the living-room now. The problem is, because they're not getting outside to play during the day any more - they could probably stand the cold in short bursts, but can't eat wet grass! - they've switched back into 'wild bunny' mode & are sleeping all day & then awake & making noise all night! I've tried splitting them up, but whichever one is not in the smaller (ex-guinea) cage still makes a racket! Discussed the carpet situation with Mum, following the energy surveyor's proclamation that carpeting the floors wouldn't make a difference, yesterday. Mum reckons carpets still make a difference to warmth, even if not a huge difference. So I'm going to put down the laminate backing & rugs in the spare bedroom, which is the coldest room in the house, to see if that room gets warmer: if it does, I'll put down the rest; if not, I can take the others back (not yet having opened the packets) to get most of my money back. I'm not going to bother with the ceiling panels because they're a permanent solution & the beauty of the laminate backing / rugs is that they're temporary & can be taken up, come spring. If I put the ceiling panels up permanently, I'd have to paint them the same colour as the walls, too, as the whole house is painted the same colour, except the kitchen & bathroom. But I am going to look into the blown fibre idea. Mum also said the idea of just putting insulation in the downstairs walls is that it's supposed to trap warm air in the upstairs wall space by not letting it seep down to the ground. I have an odd wall structure, though, & that doesn't happen. I'm also mid-terrace &, therefore, supposed to get warmth from the houses either side of me, but either they're getting my warmth or its fizzling out, somehow, in the wall spaces! There is the option of that wall insulation stuff I found before to put on the insides of the walls & that would help but, again, it would be a permanent solution, requiring painting. So I think I'm going to stick to the floors & windows idea & just huddle in the cold when the snow comes. It hasn't yet, so hopefully .....! lol! I have noticed a difference in electricity usage now I've paid off all that debt, though - it costs a lot less :-D, although the difference does seem to be taken up by the gas increase! :-( Ha ha! Such is life. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:21:15 -0800

This is such a lovely thread! Vomit, urine, and spiders. Lovely topics. I kill all spiders indoors. I can't abide them. I have the little blonde spiders, that are almost white, and the big honkin' wolf spiders. I've also found a black widow just outside my back door. Plus all kinds of other spiders. My house would be an arachologist's dream. I do try to leave the nonpoisonous spiders alone outside, although I hate them. As for yellow pee, if you take a lot of vitamins, that can turn your pee yellow, too. And if you're overweight, you should drink more than the requisite 8 glasses a day. It's difficult to overdose on water. Possible, but difficult. You really have to work at it. I stayed up and then slept almost the clock around. What happened to Tuesday? When I woke up, I had six cats on the bed. Turned out they were completely out of kibble, and they were trying to keep warm. Somebody knocked over the downstairs heater, and good little heater that it was, it stopped working. So the downstairs temperature was about the same as the outdoors temperature. And since it's the middle of winter.... I set it back up, then went upstairs for a little while. I came back down and the heater was off again. The cats had run across the cord and pulled it out of the wall. Errand day today. Get kibble if nothing else.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:29:19 -0800

I cleaned the kitchen this morning, including wiping down surfaces. There are still small things to be done, and I need to clean out the fridge, but it looks better than it has in a while. Also, I got to scout out where the bugs are hiding so I know where to put down all my kill-y things for them to find. No exercise today, save for walking to an ATM to pull the rest of the money we have for rent. Sleep became more important today, and with hubby's crazy work hours, sleep is a hard thing to get enough of. I've got anxiety problems surrounding being the only adult at home at night. This meant watching Disney Junior for almost five hours before my alarm went off to start the day. It's a job, though, so I can't complain while it's paying the bills. A nap may be in order later on, though.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

thomlina — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:31:26 -0800

Well my list hasn't changed much - Clean room - Lose weight - Finish current writing project [It's a rewrite of last year's nano] - Pass my exams [So nervous about this!] - Start my next fan fiction project - Seek some sort of employment or volunteer hours [Or both cause I'm really behind on my volunteer hours] Well there it is...Hasn't changed much from last month's....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:48:26 -0800

Um... I try to always do what my Mom says, so I'm not saying go against your Mom, but Heat never seeps downward. That's probably why the insulation guy said that the carpets aren't really doing anything. 'Cause heat always goes up unless it's stopped by insulation. And yeah, it's not totally as cut and dried as that, but for the most part, heat up, cold, down... Anyway... back to vomit and spiders and insects.... :) I'm just glad that I live in a place where we shouldn't have black widows!! Yay... :)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:34:36 -0800

I finally managed to write up my list for this year. It's long, but not particularly exciting. Here's what I want to work on in January: 1. write every day 2. read a couple more books 3. get a library card (yes, I know, I should be ashamed of not having one. I only just discovered that the library here in Leonding is actually open long enough for me to go there after work.) 4. continue to reread comic magazines and sort into “keep” and “give away” boxes. 5. start sorting through box of story-stuff, put away into the shelves I got for that purpose 6. plan balcony garden 7. propagate/pot up houseplants to sell 8. start German balcony gardening blog 9. knit second sock 10. shop for a camera 11. buy new work trousers 12. go without internet for at least 3 days I just finished picking out the photos I want to get printed, I just need to send in the CD in tomorrow, so that's not on the list any more. I'll try to write a little more now, and tomorrow, get started on looking for a camera and trousers. I don't really want to do either, but if it needs to be done, it needs to be done.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:43:56 -0800

It is never to late to join all those who library. Of course, I'm not a great example of joining the library late. Uh... I didn't even sign my own library card, my Mom did 'cause, well, I was drooling and thought that sucking on my toes were the bee knees at that point in my life. Never been to an Austrian library, but, the librarians can't be too different from here in the US or in the UK or wherever. We're an insane group, but usually it's a good insane... ;-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:20:02 -0800

Taxes, taxes taxes. We're learning the ins and outs of the new rules (there are always new rules), and of the proprietary program that will allow us to prepare hundreds of returns, mostly e-files, for the tax-challenged. The amount of minutiae is astounding--even though all of us are long-time veterans at this. We do our best, but there is always something we miss. Who knew that incarcerated people on work release cannot use that income to qualify for the Earned Income Credit? Not I. I dressed like the Michelin Man for the library meeting room we use. The building apparently was erected pre-insulation and portions of it are dreadfully cold because they have limited or intermittent heat sources. Or none, like the elevator. Once the season gets going, our room will be warm from all the body heat of the people waiting their turn. Heat rises. When we lived in Massachusetts, we had a home with slab heat, which means the heating elements were in the concrete foundation of the house. If you wanted heat tomorrow, you put on the heat today. If you wanted heat today, you were out of luck. Only one bedroom had only the original linoleum floor, and it was warm. The others and the living room had been outfitted with wall-to-wall carpet at some point, and the nicer the carpet was, the colder the rooms were. The carpet trapped the heat below instead of letting it rise into the house. It was a rental, so we couldn't do anything to change the situation. Slab heat (also called radiant heat) is efficient in very cold climates, and the bathroom floor was always warm, but most people who own such houses today install electric baseboard heat to be comfortable. My point is, if you have a downstairs heat source, and that heat doesn't just exit via leaky windows and doors, putting rugs on the floors upstairs might deprive you of the heat that would otherwise rise. Just a thought. All this concentration on taxes would be keeping me from writing anyway, but one of the library books I've borrowed has given me a new and rather hopeful perspective on one of my manuscripts. The old "I not only can write better than this, I already have a manuscript that is better than this." I needed that. This weekend I hope to write out an action plan for my writing for the next several months.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:41:52 -0800

Well, I don't understand what's going on, then! When I do use my central heating, the whole house is heated because I've been through that phase of turning off radiators in particular rooms & found that the one radiator that's on just works overtime to heat the whole house! So I use them all in short bursts. The downstairs heats really quickly - only takes half an hour for the downstairs to get nice & warm & toasty. So then I'll go upstairs &, about 3 steps from the top, it's like I walk through this walk of cold & the upstairs is still cold, like it's not been heated at all. I have wooden plank floors upstairs with holes in them, so the warmth from downstairs should rise through the planks - yes? But it doesn't. I think that's why the energy surveyor said it was seeping out through the walls but, as Mum said, I'm mid-terrace, so I should be getting warmth from the houses either side. Or does that mean they don't use their heating & rely on mine? Any ideas?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:51:08 -0800

But the heat doesn't rise - not in my house - it doesn't get upstairs at all! I know it's supposed to, but it doesn't - something is stopping it before it gets upstairs & I don't know what! And it's driving me nuts! lol! How did you keep warm in the house with concrete base (mine's concrete downstairs, but doesn't have any heating elements in it) if you forgot to put the heating on a day early? It's warmish out today, after a day & night of storm, so I have the windows open for a little while to air the place & we haven't had the snow yet, so it's not as cold as it was this time last year, so I'm lucky in that respect. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:01:49 -0800

I had a really bad day yesterday. I was a complete couch potato or, in my case, kitchen chair potato, staring at my laptop screen! I managed to do one thing from my daily list of six things! And that one thing involved email, so it didn't exactly help to get me up & moving! The storm outside didn't let up, either, so I didn't get a walk / outside exercise & I didn't stir from my butt for any inside exercise! AND I ate extremely badly: from going from breakfast, I ate nothing again until about 4.30, when all I had was a few savoury biscuits & then, a couple of hours later, a WHOLE pot of meringue nests, by themselves, & then, at about 9pm, two trays of home-cooked chips! Not suprisingly, I have put on weight this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'm coughing & feel crap this morning, too, which doesn't help, particularly as I have a service to sing in tomorrow evening (Epiphany), followed by a choir party, so I have to go! So, today, I'm going to be better - says she, who hasn't had any breakfast yet & it's nearly 11am! So, I'm going to have breakfast & then I'm going to do the washing up & then I'm going shopping & to the PO to post a parcel for Mum (things she left behind!) & then I'm going to find my mortgage insurance form & photocopy all the proofs it needs & send it off & then I'm going to start my application for teacher training that I wanted to have sent already & then I'm going to clean out the bunnies & find somewhere else for their cage, which will probably involve moving things around a bit to accommodate them &, if it's still nice out, I'm going to fit in a walk at some stage & THEN I might come back to my laptop for a bit of comp love! lol! See ya. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Faeiri — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:40:31 -0800

I had one of these days yesterday, too. Ack. I wrote a little bit, but most the day was spent parked on forums. I /will/ practice tonight.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:28:47 -0800

Lily. I love the EIC! But, oy, Taxes... well, I do have an excuse, I can't do 'em yet, 'cause, well, I probably won't get any of the info until the very, verrryy end of Jan. At least, that generally when it gets sent out. Ah, working for a town government. Gotta love it.... :D OMG slab heat, the heat of my youth (not too many years though, soon after I was born a brilliant heater guy came in and figured out how to change it to baseboard heat, louder, but much better, and *sniff sniff* no more warm tiles in the morning) The funniest thing was when they were knocking down the house to build a new one and we're out there watching it all happen (them taking down the chimney, real bricks, was really impressive). Anyway, so these guys have gotten down to the slab and are starting to hack away at that and then everything stopped and one of the guys in the biggest backhoe stops and in his big pinchers he lifts this one piece of copper (though they would find more) with a look on his face like, 'what the hell, copper in concrete... :)) Now we have forced air, or, I think it's called hydro air. Basically it forces either hot or cold over something in the big machine that rumbles in the attic and in the basement and the air gets blown out of vents either in the floor or the ceiling. Hotish in the winter, coldish in the summer. (The best one is in the kitchen, it had to be redirected so it actually comes out of the peninsula, and you can stand it front of it in sock feet and it's like... ahhh.... feet heat.... :)) Anyway... back to you Hepatica. So, when you're on the upper floor, is there a roof above you? I know that in a lot of houses over here the attic is vented to the outside. Perhaps the upper floor was made like an attic? Do you have insulation in the ceiling of the downstairs? Or, what's the ceiling made of? Some things, like wood, keep in heat just a little bit more than metal or tile, or concrete. And, have you tried to see if there are drafts on the upper floor? If you have a candle, that's an inexpensive way to see. Turn on the heat downstairs and see where it's going. There could be holes that you don't even see or whatever. Stuff around the windows. You never know, the houses on either side, could they have insulation in their walls? They could be not leaking too much heat if that's the case. In the end, I think that the insulation in the walls upstairs may help a little, but the rugs, they're mostly for your comfort. They don't technically 'save' any heat, but man, if your floors are cold, they may save your feet.... :)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Smartiez101 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:28:28 -0800

Writing my first message on my new Eee PC Netbook. :3 That was probably one of the best things that happened today. >.> First, we go to school and there's a storm. My friend's umbrella was wrecked because of all the wind. It was so terrible sometimes that I literally could not breathe. I left my algebra homework at school, so I had to redo it in seminar. As I found out later our teacher didn't even bother checking it. In band, we had to copy notes word for word and then label EVERYTHING in our sheet music. In algebra, we were just reviewing for a test we have tomorrow. And then we have an exam on the 24th (the same day I'm getting confirmed in the church. o.o) It's sad, how we, the 8th and 7th graders in algebra, are moving a bit faster than the high schoolers themselves are. xD L.A. We went over runons and blahdeblah the stuff that I learned in fourth and fifth grade. oi. Tomorrow we have a practice Spelling Bee. If I end up being a winner I'm not even joining the spelling bee. I /loathe/ spelling with a passion. I don't care if my best friend won the school one last year, bleck. Lunch. Is. Too. Short. Me and my friends were talking on the bleachers (remember? storm.) and then we realize we're the only ones still on the bleachers. Everyone's lined up to go eat lunch (we have recess then lunch.). I finished eating lunch just for our table to go throw out all our trash. We have strict lunch rules. :/ U.S. History. Oh, the agony. My teacher has a monotone voice. He spent the entire hour going over notes that I HAD TAKEN THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS BREAK!!! Dx that was bad, plus I had a headache. Science was the same, but in the end of class we just had a worksheet to work on. I was done in two minutes with everything. The teacher had to explain each section of it to the entire class. Guh. Next week we have screening on eyesight, hearing, scoliosis, and height/weight. I have perfectly fine eyesight and hearing during class and at home. I have scoliosis. Last year, the nurse checked and she warned me that I might. I then had to remind her that I did and she had been informed of it. She remembered. xD But I even have a back brace because it's so bad now. How bad? If it got about 5-10 degrees worse, I'd need surgery. My friend is the same way. In fact, after school I had to go to physical therapy for scoliosis. We just stretch in different ways and have me breath into different parts of my lungs. It's not easy though. :/ When it comes to my back, I just can't win. BUT!!!! I got my netbook. So the day has been perfected. Forgive me for spelling; we don't have an edit button. :3

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:54:55 -0800

Do you know, that's something I hadn't thought of - that there might be insulation in between the downstairs & upstairs. I'm going to investigate. Thank you. :-) My house has a flat roof. Do you remember that 60s song, 'Little boxes on the hillside'? That's what my house & most of the houses on my estate remind me of. Most of the houses are built like boxes, terraced in lines. The downstairs floor is concrete, lined with wood laminate. The upstairs floor is wooden planks & I know there's a sizeable gap between the upstairs floor & the downstairs ceiling from when I had my kitchen / bathroom done - about a foot, at least, if I remember right. The upstairs ceiling is about 3 feet from the outside roof with nothing in the roof space (just space, literally), but no access to it. When I had my bathroom built (3 tiny rooms were knocked into one), the vent was put where an old boiler pipe went to the roof so I had a quick look. I had the outside of the roof re-tarmacced (or whatever it is they do to rooves) three years ago, but I don't know if that affects heat levels on the inside. I'm not entirely sure what makes the walls. The outside ones contain sheets of asbestos (I had some taken out from my bedroom wall) & of metal (amazingly!) on the inside, which makes them incredibly cold to touch in the winter. I'm not sure what else. I had some plaster board put up as a liner to the metal in my spare bedroom a couple of years ago because the bed is against the wall &, I kid you not, it felt like my skin would stick to the wall, it was so cold! It didn't help with the cold so much, but was psycologically comforting on the basis that skin doesn't stick to plaster board so easily! lol! The inside walls going to my neighbours are breezeblock with a few inches of space between, only enough for the wires needed for plugs). I'm going to go & do my investigations now - just watching the last of the flamingoes on the tele! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:39:45 -0800

Yesterday was actually fairly productive. I got all of my errands done, on one bus transfer yet. The two big bins I bought at Lowe's set me back less than $2. The clutter is noticeably less in the bedroom because I'm putting things in the bins. I'm also finding things. Like a pair of shoes and several bras that I'd forgotten I had. I got the cats more kibble, so they should be happy. Today I started putting books in a bag to donate to the library at some point. I actually had a Writer's Market from 2006. Today I'm going to concentrate on cleaning and decluttering, and maybe some outside work since it's so nice out.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:01:31 -0800

Hopeful lily: Taxes--oh joy. I wish I had the money to hire someone like you. Any big changes this year worth knowing about? Smartiez: Aw, spelling used to be my favorite. Sometimes the bar hosts an adult spelling bee with a money prize, but that's the only place those skills get put to use anymore. Finally got back home Tues. We came in on the bus, then had to get the car unfrozen--it was too cold for the gauges to work, so we drove back without a speedometer. Next morning the temperature rose to a balmy 7 degrees F and everything was working again. I wish I hadn't sold all my old extreme winter gear, since my clothes now are all light ones fit only for a city winter, or ragged, with holes or tears that let the cold in. Was having trouble getting started on the BFS list, so I went to the campus store and bought a 2012 planner. The only way I made it through so many classes in college was with a book like this, where every hour of every waking day was allotted to a different task. It's worth trying again. It has sections for priority-rated daily, weekly, and monthly objectives, weekly goal summaries, phone calls, &c. and I like the format a lot. Today: Finished reading 1 book (2 for the year so far, aiming for 102), cooked some food (new recipe, ended up terrible, oh well), reviewed some stats, went for a 3.5-mile walk, cleared 1 magazine from backlog, and made a phone call to an insurance company (a big coup for a phone-o-phobe who goes into panic attacks whenever I need to make a call). Tomorrow's a dr. appointment--I'll only have insurance for another 4 months so anything amiss has to be fixed now. The rest of the night is for GRE study. Ugh. After not having been in school awhile, the absolute last thing I want to do is take a standardized test.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:38:23 -0800

I do tax preparation as a volunteer for Tax Aide, which is jointly funded by the AARP Foundation and the IRS. Thousands of volunteers like me are training and setting up right now in public libraries, senior centers, and other spots to do taxes completely free for anybody. Anybody, young or old. Free. No donation, no nothing. Just show up and wait, or call and make an appointment. I am sure we have outposts in your state. There is also the VITA program, which does the same thing. We are not trained to do all kinds of taxes, but we can handle most situations people in the low- and middle-income range encounter. All ages are welcome, and so is anyone with just a question. Most of the changes are small things. Possibly someone who has spent a lot of money on new windows, new heating, new doors, or green energy systems will be frustrated because now there is a lifetime cap of a $500 credit, and your past tax credits in this category count toward it. The credit is smaller than ever and more restricted. I'm sure there are other things, but most of the big changes coming will start next year, either when when certain laws expire, or when new ones go into effect. That was carefully calculated to happen after the presidential election. People are in for some shocks then. That is, unless Congress enacts new laws, always a possibility.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:15:37 -0800

Ok. Done my investigations - two lots, to see the difference between the heating being on & off (scientific enquiry & all that! lol!). :-) Downstairs: all the heat rises straight up, no matter where it is in the room (i.e. over the radiator, near a wall, near a window, in the middle). The exception is on the fourth step from the top of the stairs, which is, coincidentally, the level of the downstairs ceiling: at that point, the flame bends towards the neighbouring wall but also down the stairs, like there's a gust from upstairs - only there isn't because that's the only place the flame bent towards the downstairs! I checked in the downstairs cupboard to see if there was a hole or something, but the flame goes straight upwards in there. Upstairs: the heat goes out the neighbouring walls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The flame ignored the windows & I passed it in front of the frames as well as the glass, but bends towards the neighbouring walls every time! When it reaches the ceiling, about 6 inches from the ceiling, it bends over at right angles towards the windows, but then it divides again towards the neighbouring walls. When there is no heat on, the flame goes straight up towards the ceiling with no bending. I also checked it along the floors upstairs - apparently, there is no draft coming in at floor level, although my bare feet tell a different story! Then I stuck a ruler down some of the larger cracks in my planks upstairs. The gap between downstairs ceiling & upstairs floor is a foot, even, which includes the width of the planks at about 3/4 of one inch. Shining a torch through the gaps, I could see a solid level of chipboard, the sort that is finished with a shiny glaze. So that would explain why no heat is getting upstairs - it's being blocked by the chipboard! So, with the exception of the wierd gust down the stairs, that means that all the heat upstairs that's generated by the radiators is being sucked into the neighbouring walls & my neighbours are getting all of my heat! Lucky them! Heat from downstairs can't get upstairs because of the chipboard in the ceiling & is sucked sideways into the neighbouring wall if it tries to rise up the stairs! So, questions: 1. Do I take back everything I bought - laminate underlay, rugs, plastic for the windows, strong tape - & get my money back on everything because nothing on the floors & windows is going to make any difference? 2. If I cash it all in, is it worth spending the money gained back on thick curtain material to hang against the neighbouring walls to try to keep the heat in the rooms? I'd probably not be able to achieve that on the stairs, though. 3. Does that mean the downstairs neighbouring walls ARE insulated? 4. I wonder if that blown fibre company could fill the gap between the upstairs neighbouring walls, rather than the roofspace? Any ideas?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:25:09 -0800

I achieved most things today - didn't get to two things, arguably the most important! My mortgage insurance & my teacher training application! Must get to those tomorrow! Did quite well on everything else, though, & the bunnies are now ensconsed (don't think it's happily on their part! They keep giving me looks & haven't eaten their tea yet, when they normally pounce on it! lol!) at the bottom of the stairs. I'm going to leave them together tonight, not split them up, to let them settle & to see how much noise I can hear from my bedroom: hopefully, not enough to wake me up! Got approved by Textbroker at level 4, which I well chuffed with! :-D There are no jobs I'm immediately interested in, though. Decided to wait till there's one that I'm confident in answering without too much research to be done, the first time, to make it a proper start, if you see what I mean; when I'm a bit more practised at it, I can relax a bit & take a few chances on subjects I'm not totally confident in, but know where to find the information. :-) Still can't access the forums on the dieting website I joined, although they've approved me for a blog - not much use if I can't access it! Apparently, it's a systems-wide outage. I emailed to say I thought they should make it clear on their homepage that they have a systems-wide outage on the community pages & suggested they make some sort of small reparation to those of us who have joined since the outage began as we're not getting the full service we've paid for! Haven't had a reply, though. lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:30:30 -0800

Interesting--thanks for the info. Do you happen to know what income range is used for the low-and-middle-income designation? I can't locate it on the website.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:31:20 -0800

With your finances as tight as they are, you probably should take that stuff back so you can afford more appropriate insulation. Beyond that, I dunno. I'd consider the curtains, and it couldn't hurt to ask the blown fibre company if they can do your walls instead of your ceiling.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:48:56 -0800

Tax Aide doesn't have a specific dollar figure. What happens is that most people whose income is over, say, $75,000 a year use TurboTax or something like it, or go to an accountant. We don't get many people who earn more than that, at least, not here in West Virginia, where a lot of people are poor or retirees on fixed incomes, or kids working at Mcjobs. Some people have substantial income but they are thrifty, so they come to us. Morally, they probably ought to go elsewhere, and leave space for the people who truly need us. But we only turn people away if their tax situation is too complex. We do plenty of returns for people with a lot of stocks and bonds. Ownership of such investments is no guarantee that you are rich, anyway. When people get into complex trading like wash sales, or they have passive loss activity or other arcane situations, we have to say no. We don't do pyramid marketers (e.g., Avon ladies) regardless of income level, because we can't do inventory. They always get suckered by the parent company into buying a lot of product, much of which they end up stuck with and unable to sell. We aren't trained to do depreciation or capitalization of assets. Or losses from a home business. And speaking of homes, Hepatica, you certainly have an interesting heating situation.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:27:15 -0800

Another phonophobe. I thought I was the only one with that weird fear. I'm at the point where I can make calls now. I have to, if I want to call recruiters about jobs. But it's not something I like. So it's hard to explain to people who think my problems will all be solved if I just work part time at a call center or as a telemarketer that this is not something I'd be good at. But then they just get mad. Spelling bees were always a source of frustration for me. I was good at spelling, but not infallible. I'd often be second or third but I don't think I ever won. And second or third meant nothing.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:56:32 -0800

I don't like making phone calls, but during a very busy period in my career many issues had to be discussed and resolved by phone, and immediately. There was no excuse for delay. So I forced myself to make lots of calls, to be casual about doing it, even. That was fine for then. As soon as I had a different job, I reverted to my avoidance feelings about phoning. Later, I had another job that required me to make dozens of phone calls, often placing rote messages on people's answering machines: "The book you ordered has arrived..." So I know I can do it, but I also know I still don't want to. That's why phone calls end up on my "to do" list for weeks at a time. It's interesting how much "don't want to" influences us despite sometimes serious consequences. This also is the reason that cold calling sales jobs are always available. Very few people want to make them. I met somebody who loves inside sales and cold calling, and her company basically just gave her anything she wanted, they were so thrilled with her.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:53:36 -0800

Don't worry, Danie; I'll drink responsibly ;) I actually drank a lot of water today. We went to a restaurant for dinner, and it was so easy to keep drinking there because the waitress kept my cup full. I wish I had service like that at home! My other goals aren't really going so well. I've had a lazy past few days. I haven't really written or read anything or even glanced at the piano. Tomorrow I made a schedule for myself though, so I just need to stick to it! I was in a spelling competition when I was in middle school. They had one guy at the front of the room call out words, and all of the kids would write down the word, spelling it correctly. I thought I did really well during it, but when they announced the winners, I didn't even place! I was so upset. Come to find out later, because I had capitalized the first letter of every word, they couldn't count any of my words so I came in dead last! But if I had used lowercase, I would have won! Oh well.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:33:09 -0800

I hate phones, too. One of the things I most disliked about growing up was that I couldn't get my mother to make calls for me. I've gotten better, but I still have to rehearse what I'm going to say before I make a call, and hope the other person reacts the way I expect, so I can go on with my rehearsed sentences. Spelling is another thing I dislike. I have no problem with spelling things right when I'm writing, but I can't do it out loud. I've even managed to misspell my last name. But then, Austria doesn't have spelling bees, so I hardly ever had to do it at school. (And I'm still a little grumpy about a game we played on New Year's Eve, where one of the things you had to do was spell words backwards. "Romulus" should be easy enough, right? Nope. It was misspelled on the card ("Romolus"), so I lost that point. Bah.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:41:58 -0800

I did go to the library as a kid (fond memories, walking home from school with my best friend, stopping for a book or two along the way), and I still have a card for the libraries in another town, which right next to where I live now, but they close too early for me to get there after work.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:42:34 -0800

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:29:55 -0800

Whoops. Why is that post here AND on the previous page? I want an edit button!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:36:40 -0800

Booh, I hate it when they do that. Happened to a lot of us at the apprentice competition. There was one part where we had to write down the names of all sorts of tools, plants and bugs, and hardly anybody thought to include the brand name of the fertilizer injector (except for the people who'd gone to the school where the competition was held, because they already knew what their teachers would ask for.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:40:31 -0800

Thanks Tobaeus. I think you're right. It's such a disappointment, though - I enjoyed all the measuring up & figuring sizes & going round the shops choosing the rugs - & I was looking forward to seeing them on the floors. But it would be an expensive & cosmetic only process if I still laid them, knowing they wouldn't make a difference! I only wish I'd done the candle investigations & looking down the floor cracks before! Ah well - hindsight is a wonderful thing! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:59:25 -0800

I don't feel well today. I stayed in bed till 11.00, hoping to feel better, but then I got up to have some breakfast to see if that made a difference - it hasn't yet, but I'll give it a bit longer. Supposed to be going out to church & a party this evening - missed the last choir party, too, as I recall! I think it's down to the piece of Christmas cake I ate before bed last night. I was peckish for something sweet & had a large slice, then felt a bit overful & sick. But that was the only bad thing I ate yesterday & I didn't have too much sugar, but the cake also has alcohol in it, so I don't know whether it's my liver thing kicking in - I hope not! The bunnies *were* noisy last night, pretty much all night, but I didn't mind because I was removed from it, so I didn't feel I had to get up & separate them. I will separate them tonight, before I go to bed but, if I go to the party, I won't get back till midnight, so they might, hopefully, have got most of the bouncing around out of their system by then, anyway! Once I feel better from my breakfast, I need to make some individual pies (I'm doing nutty, mushroom & blue cheese pies - my favourite! :-D) to take to the party & then I think I'd better do some sit-down, stay-in type jobs so, probably, the gathering proofs for my mortgage insurance & packaging it up, & doing my training application. I've only got 6 hours before I'll have to leave if I'm going, so I don't want to pack too much into the time, either. I used not to like talking to phones. I think it was more of a confidence thing, rather than the actual talking to the phone - more of a 'not being able to see the other person's facial expression & judge how they're reacting' sort of thing. I don't have that now &, looking back on it, I think it was just through practice that the fear went away. In the last 20 years or so, I've always had jobs where I've had to talk on the phone, pretty constantly, either to members of the public or to people higher up the heirarchy (which actually scares me more, again due to confidence) - mostly admin type jobs, but also some customer service jobs. Also, having your boss sit next to you or near you makes it more difficult: in my last job, which was customer services, they used to be paranoid about the words I used - either too long / complicated for most other people (by which they meant themselves, I'm sure!) to understand, e.g. 'liaison,' or simple words that the deputy's daughter used to mean rude things at her school, e.g. 'pop,' which I said a lot in the context of 'I'm just going to pop you over to the right person for you to speak to,' etc. It had the effect of my not knowing what to say, so pausing longer than was thought appropriate (more than 30 seconds) to organise my thoughts before replying & then I would get in trouble not only for the words, but also for the pauses. They started recording all my phone conversations so they could listen & disect them later & knowing this also made me more nervous. Thankfully, that is one of the situations I have now left behind! And I don't think I'm likely to come across that situation again because it was the product of two very paranoid & bullying control freaks working together, which is unusual - normally, I find, control freaks work on their own in order to maximise their control.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:25:25 -0800

I'm a bit of a phonophobe, but only when calling people that aren't friends or family. And it's especially bad if I think that the person on the other end might be mad at me. (Example, calling the meat company to place my monthly order when I know I complained about missing items the last time I was there.) I worked at an answering service a few years ago, and that wasn't bad since the people were calling me, and all I really needed to do was be pleasant and read from the screen. Very rarely were those calls unpleasant ones. I remember spelling bees in elementary school. In first grade I made it to district finals. Out of the entire group, I was the only one to take home a second place medal. Not sure how they grouped people to get multiple first and third place winners. Every year after that I ended up sabotaging myself somehow. Not on purpose, mind you, but my attention would wander for a split second or I would work myself up into a panic and write a different word- hamburglar instead of burglar, etc. In progress news, I got my mp3 player emptied and then filled with music I'm sure I'll like. Strangely, I had space left over this time. Haven't touched that short story yet. I think I'm avoiding it. Time to stop making excuses. If it's not done by the end of the day, I'll revoke my internet privileges for the next day until it is done.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:53:27 -0800

Hello everyone, happy new year! It feels like I've been away from the forums for ages! I'll come back tomorrow and update my goals for last month and this month, but just wanted to come and say hi. Haven't written in a couple of weeks because of my broken wrist, but it's on the mend and I feel like I should be able to do some more writing in the next few days. Had some feedback on one of my novels from a friend, who was really vague - she liked it but felt like she knew what was going to happen at the end, but without specifying which bit at the end, so I can't look at it to fix it. I'm getting back into a phase of thinking "Oh what's the point, there's too much competition and I'll never be published" etc etc, so need to get back into it and shake off the negativity.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Smartiez101 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:07:22 -0800

School went well today. The test in algebra was pretty easy. There was only one question on the part I was having trouble on. L.A. was finishing some work and then the class spelling bee. She decided to choose the two class winners to go, and I ended up third. On purpose mind you. ;) I spelled 'inflammable' with one m. At first she wanted the three people standing (I was the third) to get a permission slip to go, but after seeing my expression, she changed her mind. Only the top two had to go. Thank goodness. During class me and two friends were figuratively beating each other up. :3 It's always fun. Friend number 2: "Hey (friend #1), you're sitting in a glass coffin, tied with rocks and I just threw you off a cliff. At the botom is a huge ocean. Enjoy. :)" Friend number 1: "Well.. you're (me) in a small room with walls closing in on all sides. :P" Me: "Well you're paralyzed with your eyes open in a coffin, and all sorts of bugs and snakes are crawling all over you. You are kept alive through tubes and you can breath, but no one could hear you screaming." It's a very fun game. :3 not that we would do any of that stuff. *innocent smile* Lunch was pretty quick again. U.S. History involved looking at the board with notes and watching a short video. That and listening to the teacher again. Science: we were talking more about waves. But today we also got shown some pictures of nebulas and galaxies and stuff. It was pretty cool. I love learning about planets, stars, etc. :) Next friday I have off, so that'll be spent typing on my awesome netbook. I'll probably listen to some adventure movie soundtrack while writing (Star Wars, Pirates of the Carribean, etc.) :/ but overall it was a pretty good day (not for the cheerleading squad. Their uniforms have a little triangle cut that is tiny but goes against the dress code, and ALL of them were told to wear their uniforms to school by their coach. Every single one had to go to the principal and wait for their parents to bring them more clothes. They. Were. Ticked. Off.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:10:44 -0800

I manage to get about 95% of what I need to done in person or over e-mail, including doctors' appointments. It's only the really awful, especially scary ones that have no alternative way of contact besides the phone--things like health insurance and loan administrators.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:12:51 -0800

[quote]"don't want to" influences us despite sometimes serious consequences.[/quote] Definitely. Mine also end up on the to-do list for weeks at a time. Usually they fall into the category of problems that solve themselves when ignored for long enough (by becoming irrelevant) but I've gotten burned badly by the few that got worse.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:19:48 -0800

That sounds absolutely nerve-wracking, Hepatica. It's just the more technologically advanced equivalent of your bosses watching over your shoulder for every call. I managed to escape the phones at my last job. 1 phone per row of 10 people. Supervisors were required to pick up the phone, but if there wasn't a supervisor around, we could just let it ring since callers were only supposed to talk to the higher-ups.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:20:09 -0800

Yesterday was my first no-internet day for this year. Well, actually, I was online briefly to look up a recipe, but since that was all I did, no checking of mail, forums, blogs..., I'll still count it as an offline day. (And I have to remember to get back the cookbook I lent out.) I tried to find some new trousers for work, but no luck. I meant to continue today, but then remembered that today is a holiday. I also finished reading two books, started the second sock, and started to clean up my computer. Since I couldn't go work-clothes- hunting today, I just went for a walk, and then propagated a couple of houseplants to sell. I'd meant to do that a month ago, so I could take them in to work as soon as I go back (next week), but always was too lazy. I've mostly finished cleaning up my computer, too, deleting some stuff I don't need any more and organizing the rest. I'll try to finish that now, shouldn't take too long - but of course, then I have to clean up the flash drives, too, and back everything up...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:29:08 -0800

Edit: As for monitoring, the answering service's company monitored *every* call. They were all recorded, and then random ones were selected to listen to to see if the employees were doing what they were supposed to do. We were also warned at training that there would be an occasional call from management, pretending to be a customer, making sure we were handling them properly. It was easier not to think about it and just do the work.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:35:05 -0800

I read an interesting article this morning that I'm going to try out. The idea was called "Just make the bed." The idea was to take a big project and break it down into small ones. "We have to make the bed. That's all." When that's done, "We just have to unpack this one box. That's all. One box." The purpose is to stop thinking about all the other things that have to be done, or all the things that one job means and just do it a little at a time. Applied to writing might be "I just have to write this one page. That's all." or "I'm just going to write this query letter." For the interested, it's here: http://sarahockler.com/2012/01/05/just-make-the-bed-overcoming-the-problem-of-writers-resolutions/

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:37:50 -0800

Found a lot of amusing old stuff - files that have been moved from my oldest computer to disk to newer computer to flash drive to laptop... mostly stuff my little brother wrote, a ten-year-old's random rhyming, and drawings we'd made in MS Paint, some of my old stories, lists I'd kept... that was pre-internet for me, so no baby names sites, so I wrote down every name I came across. And lists of comic books. Lists of visitors (at one time, 20 at the same time, for a New Year's party... most of them spent the night.) OK, on with it. Music, then flash drives.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:39:55 -0800

I've been doing this for a while now, especially when cleaning. I go through phases where I let everything get messy, and I've learned that if I think about all the things that need to get done, I just become overwhelmed and discouraged and don't do anything at all.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:49:12 -0800

I'm terrible about that, too. I think "The place doesn't look so bad. I can get away with not cleaning today." A few days later, "What a wreck. How did it get this way? I'll never get caught up." Then despair follows until guilt prompts me into action. It's a cycle I'd love to break.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Bill Moonroe — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:45:17 -0800

My January's gotten off to an interesting start. My goal 1 of the 30 day yoga challenge came into conflict with my music goals as a result of a schedule change at the yoga studio that gets me home about 10 pm and too wiped out to engage my brain any further for the day. I think I've found a fix for that by moving my writing time to the evenings, and going to the 5:30 am yoga class before work. Two days into that routine, it seems doable, it's a great way of starting the day, and it gives me a good 3 1/2 -4 hours in the evenings to devote to writing and music. I'm up at 5 am most days anyway, so it's just a matter of getting there on time. The Samoan language study is on hold for a bit as I adjust to the new routine, but I think I'm going to aim to kick it back up on Monday. I spent New Year's Eve cleaning and managed to clear off my coffee table. For now, my goal is to keep that clear. There's some decluttering that I need to do, I've identified what needs to go to the Goodwill, it's just a matter of getting around to it. I've had one good donkey walk so far this month. Wish we could post pictures here, the donkey is my big buddy, and he follows us even when he's off the lead. Walking with a friend is great. Walking with a friend who can carry 50 pounds of beer is even better.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:05:36 -0800

[quote=Hopeful lily]Ownership of such investments is no guarantee that you are rich, anyway.[/quote] Especially these days. Ouch.....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:14:01 -0800

Edit: Lily, you're awesome for doing the Tax stuff. At my library we have some group that sounds a lot like yours. Aren't able to host as many sessions this year since the library's own programs are jumping, but it's an awesome service. And there are always long lines outside before 9 am (when we open) waiting for your equivalents to show up and help them. The only thing that has ever brought out the same lines of people was our annual magazine giveaway! (Don't do it anymore, so, taxes are the bomb. Those are the days that we want to count how many people come in the door at opening... :D Pad our stats a little...)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:16:43 -0800

Finished cleaning up my computer, wrote and posted the first post on my German balcony garden blog (so weird to write in German again), worked on my story a bit, and started backing up. I'd like to finish that before I go to bed, even though it's pretty late already.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Bill Moonroe — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:24:03 -0800

Hey, another library person! Library technician here. I can attest to the insane part, though as a sometime follower of the "My First Dictionary" blog, I agree the with the "usually" part.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:37:03 -0800

Had an uneventful week. I subbed three of the four possible days and none were particularly trying. I'm still pretty glad its the weekend though. I made some major progress on the impressionist puzzle and on a few books I'm reading. Unfortunately, my computer also thought that this would be a splendid week to come down with a virus. I thought I killed it on Tuesday when I noticed it, but apparently not. Looks like I'm going to have to put in some major time and effort this weekend to debugging and killing the stupid thing. The virus blocks my ability to access the internet, so I'm posting this from safe mode. Thankfully my brother is a computer guru who deals with these things for a living, so he gave me some tips for how to kill it. Wish me luck! Speaking of phone conversations - I dread them! Magpie, I'm with you, I tend to script out my talking points - especially when it deals with anyone other than family or friends. I had to make a job-related call this afternoon and had written out a message in hopes I'd just encounter an answering machine, but she picked up. I suddenly had to stammer out the message and hope I wasn't sounding too horrid. All things considered it didn't go too badly.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:56:24 -0800

Here's an interesting blog rant "25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing." Lots of the f word, but plenty of good advice: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/03/25-things-writers-should-stop-doing/ In other news, I just discovered I have been driving around all week with an expired inspection sticker. This must be at least the third or fourth year this has happened. I've got my appointment for Monday morning and am hoping nobody pulls me over tomorrow. I'll be safe if I go out of state for the day. Safer still if I go nowhere, but that's no fun.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:00:29 -0800

I slept much longer than I'd planned to, so no farmer's market this week. I don't particularly want to continue my quest for work clothes and cameras, either, because Saturday afternoon at the mall is my idea of hell. Actually, I don't want to go out at all - the weather isn't actually bad, it's dry, not too cold - but it's so depressingly boring, grey sky and nothing happening... But I need to go out for a few things I actually need, before I come back home and curl up in my pillow-nest again and pretend there is no outside. I keep trying to get up early to practise for going back to work, but I always fail at it. But today, I can't even be grumpy about it, because if I'd gotten up earlier, I'd not have dreamed a couple of funny dreams, and would have one story idea less. On the other hand, I also wouldn't have been disappointed because there is no secret room off my bedroom.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:19:54 -0800

Your story idea sounds fascinating, whatever it is. I'm so frustrated. I've dedicated yesterday and today to cleaning and decluttering. I thought that if I blocked off time to do specifically that, that it would make a difference. Not so much. Although I've done stuff, and I can see where I've cleared places, the house still looks as messy, cluttered, and dismal as it did before I started. No real change. Depressing. I've filled half a recycle bin with broken down cardboard boxes, junk mail, old catalogs, and stuff. One paper shopping bag is filled with stuff that I'm giving to charity. And I've put a couple of books into a bag to donate to the library. But I don't think that any of this has changed the feng shui energy at all. The job market has totally dried up. I figured I'd give myself this weekend to try to get some decluttering done, and then Monday I'd start looking for work in earnest and start working on my writing again. I really had hoped to make some positive, visible changes by then, though. My schedule is constantly screwy. I don't even think I can live "normal" hours anymore. Not after four plus years of not having to get up for work. I feel like I'm just becoming weirder and weirder as time goes by, and I'm not sure if I even can fit into "normal" society, whatever that is.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:23:26 -0800

Even people who've carefully sanded off all their square edges are having trouble fitting into our current economy's round holes. The trick is to figure out a way to be yourself and make a living anyway. Easiest method: marry someone who has a good job. I'm not really kidding. I know so many struggling freelancers who, if they could just hook up with a lonely, well-paid person, would not find life so difficult. (Such types are readily found at sf cons. Lots of nerdy, lonely techies.) They would be able to contribute financially without the awful responsibility of earning a full living on their own. Bonus: no more loneliness for either person. As for decluttering, the key to success is volume of things that are going out, not volume of things organized or neatly put away. If we own too much stuff, our homes will always be cluttered. Which reminds me, today's plan is to go check on my hoarder/clutterer relative, whose wastebaskets are always full. Would it kill her to empty the trash once in a while? We all own multiple garbage cans. Why not use them?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:28:03 -0800

Hi Buddhist, You need to ask your friend to be more constructive & tell you which bit she doesn't like. She may be trying to be tactful & not upset you, but objectivity is the name of the game here & you may need to let her know that you welcome that. :-) There most certainly *is* a point - don't let lack of self-confidence get in the way here! If you felt your novel is good enough for your friend to read, then it's good enough to be published eventually & that's the point, so jump back on that wagon & ask for clarification. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:32:50 -0800

You may like Galaxy Zoo, then - it's a website full of astronomical phenomena - sometimes, they ask you to view & identify said phenomena to help them categorize them. :-) What's LA, in terms of a subject? I can only think of Los Angeles, which I'm sure does not apply! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:37:43 -0800

[quote=Bill Moonroe] Walking with a friend who can carry 50 pounds of beer is even better. [/quote] lol! :-D Hope you're not drinking all that in one go, though! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:45:12 -0800

Zoo, it said on our news yesterday that the rate of unemployment in the US has gone down to the best level in 3 years & there were several hundred thousand (can't remember the exact figure) jobs created during Nov - so, hopefully, when they filter through the system, there may be something you feel you can apply for. Try to stay positive & keep looking. :-) There was an article required about Feng Shui on Textbroker yesterday. I haven't looked today, so I don't know if it's still there, but I seem to remember you said you were a Textbroker author. Might be worth checking out. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:51:11 -0800

I'm still ill. I felt better enough by about 2pm yesterday to get up & bake the pies, & then I had a shower & got dressed & went to the service & party. The service did use up my energy somewhat, but I felt better with some food inside me at the party & fine by the time I got home, after midnight. But woke this morning with a thumping headache, one of those face hugging ones! It was bin day, so I got up to put the bins out & feed the cats & bunnies, & then I went back to bed & slept till 12 midday. Still had a headache, so it wasn't due to tiredness, as I hoped! I've still got the vestiges of it now, but decided to be up this afternoon & am sitting here, in my PJs & dressing gown in a sleeping bag to keep warm, in the kitchen. :-) I had planned to go out to the local shops this afternoon, but can't face it - there'll still be there tomorrow - choir master wants me at the service in the evening, so I can go to the shops in the morning. Just frightened the living daylights out of the cat, too, shuffling along in my sleeping bag! lol! Had to open it to show that it's me inside! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:59:32 -0800

I'd try to get the stuff out of the house as soon as possible - even if the bag is only half full, just get it out. I don't know anything about energy, but I know stuff-I-want-to-give away still bothers me even if it's boxed or bagged up, just waiting to be taken away. As long as it's not actually gone, it just feels like moving stuff from one pile to another, the way I used to "tidy" my room as a child - put all the stuffed animals up on the little platform next to my loft bed, and when I needed that space, toss them all back down on the floor... Then again, I remember you mentioned you have to take the bus to the library, so you might not want to make the trip more often than absolutely necessary...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:06:37 -0800

For me, it's more, "I know it looks horrible, but I don't care. I'm tired." and "It's already a mess, I might as well make even more." I'm usually good about keeping the place neat and clean (not that difficult, since I live by myself*), but every once in a while, I come home and feel tired or grumpy and just drop everything everywhere. And then it just gets worse for a couple of days... *unless you count the 150-ish houseplants, one of which regularly decides to become an acrobat and hang upside-down from the edge of the table, and one that's always dropping leaves, and two that love each other so much that they won't let go if I move one, and the second one tries to follow and throws itself off the windowsill in desperation... thank you, but I'm not going to plant flowers on the couch, I don't need soil there...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:14:35 -0800

I had an indoor gardening sort of day, followed by some cleaning. Now, I should probably write or something, but I'd rather mess around with my new blog for a bit. One problem I've already noticed with writing a German blog (apart from the fact that I usually write in English, so German feels a lot more awkward than my native language should feel) is getting an audience. When I started an English blog, I was already reading a lot of English gardening/houseplant blogs, and could link to mine when I commented. But German? I don't read any German blogs. Well, at least the one German forum I visit is a gardening forum, so I put the link in my sig there. Now I just need to remember to post there more often!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:15:53 -0800

Here for the feel like crap party. Felt kind of off for a couple of day but wasn't sure if I was sick. Had work yesterday and got through it with little trouble, but half of my co-workers left early. Started to feel my lunch trying to come back up in the afternoon (spicy chicken sandwich, you don't want it to come back up), and had my gaming night afterward and was A) very woosy, and B) sneezing like it was going out of style. Hoping that it is just allergies, (it's been 70 around here! Mold allergy city) but that still requires me to find my Allergra.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

lackadaisikat — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:37:11 -0800

Hello everyone! I'm a longtime reader, second time poster, but I'm aiming to post more in the future. I'd like to join the 'feel like crap' party. I've been down and out with whooping cough since the week before christmas. Though I've had my list of New Year's Resolutions ready, working out and eating right are difficult when just talking brings about a coughing fit. I had to go on a mostly liquid diet for a few days just so the inevitable vomiting would be easier on my throat. I'm finally getting better, though, so I should stop putting off posting my list of resolutions. Art/Craft: Use up half of stash yarn Finish (or frog) all of started and planned projects Finish painting of my brother Start next family member painting Education: Graduate from grad school Financial: Spend less money Save more money Save money for a new computer (laptop is 5 1/2 years old, it still works wonderfully but I'm not expecting any miracles) Health: Attempt the 'cough to 5k' program again and finish it this time (has to wait until after the coughing fits have stopped) Eat healthier (more vegetables, fruits, and calcium, less simple carbs) Job: Get a job in my field Quit part-time job Reading: Read 30 books currently on my GoodReads account (I have 100 books to-read on there right now) Writing: Write 250k for WriYe 2012 Participate in JulNoWriMo Participate in NaNoWriMo Participate in one of Camp NaNoWriMos (not both like last year)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

lackadaisikat — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:42:02 -0800

That should be "Couch to 5k", not "cough to 5k". You can tell I have coughing on the brain.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:16:13 -0800

I'm currently camped out at my mother's using her internet to try and fix my computer. Turns out the reason my 'fix' of my computer virus didn't work earlier this week is because I misread the instructions and downloaded the wrong thing! Oops. Well, now I uninstalled the previous things, downloaded the proper fixes and am currently running the search and destroy program. Not quite the way I envisioned spending my Saturday, and I'm going to miss my walk today. but a fixed computer will be worth it.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:27:00 -0800

Ok, my December goals: - Finish the first draft of this year's NaNo - nope - Write 3 blog posts - done - Write every day - nope, mainly because I broke my wrist - Read one Buddhist book - done, I read "Who is the Buddha?" by Sangharakshita - Start a meditation diary - done - Half an hour on the wii fit each week - generally given up on! - Fill a charity shop bag - done So my goals for January are as follows: - Finish the first draft of this year's NaNo - Begin edit of previous novel - Write a specfic short story - Write 3 blog posts - Read one Buddhist book - Continue keeping a meditation diary - Meditate at home once a week - Fill a charity shop bag - Finish clearing out/tidying - Submit an article to the BATOD magazine Some are going by the way, the exercise one I can't be bothered with right now, and the writing every day isn't comfortably possible with a broken wrist. Hopefully January will see it mending and me getting back into the flow of writing. I've still been gradually getting through the tidying, and there are just two main bits that need doing - the contents of the bedside tables and a massive pile of relocated junk that's in the living room. I'll definitely get another charity shop bag or seven out of that! Apart from that, I think it's just a question of working my way through something from the list every day.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:31:15 -0800

Oh I did, but the problem was that she still didn't specify! She just said "I just knew what was going to happen" which could apply to about four different plot points - I know that at least one of them was definitely not foreshadowed, but she could be talking about others, and I want to know which but she said she didn't know. It was all very vague. Ah well! I'll re-edit soon and do my best to sort it out.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:05:19 -0800

You could set a page limit that "1 book" would count as. Like say if the book is 500+ pages you could count it as 2. Seems a bit more reasonable in the long run. Even if you spent an entire week reading a 900 page book it wouldn't seem like only one book

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:15:12 -0800

I'm back from the land of the mouse!! (aka Disney World - yes the one in Orlando, FL) Can I just say that it can be super annoying when TONS of foreigners are also at the land of the mouse? I mean like half of the park didn't speak much english, and that can be awkward when the workers tell you to move all the way down and those couple of people aren't budging. Yeaa..... AND that would be why I decided to try to learn a foreign language (or at least part of one) this year. I'm thinking of French... Any suggestions?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:35:47 -0800

After following all the instructions and downloading multiple programs my computer is once again virus-free. *knocks wood for good measure* Just to be on the safe side though, I did a bunch of research and got myself a free anti-virus program so there will not be a repeat performance in the future. Thank you CNET! They have super helpful reviews and free downloads - and I am all about the free. So now I can go back to my internet-surfage in peace. My computer was too haywire last night for me to be able to use it and I don't like being without my computer! Its one thing to voluntarily try to cut back on silly-waste-of-hours-looking-at-nothing surfing, but not being able to access the internet at all is highly annoying. I need my internet fix!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:27:05 -0800

I'm feeling very sorry for myself. My wrist really hurts, the worst it's been since I broke it, and my OH is away up north looking for work so I'm missing him a lot. I've been trying to break habits of eating junk food, but right now I am struggling to fight the urge to fill my fridge and freezer with cake, ice cream and pizza. Ugh. It's times like this I wish we had the space and money for a dog, then at least I would have company and a necessity for going outside.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:02:50 -0800

Buddhist, it's Sunday: allow yourself a day of rest - curl up in front of the tele with a warm duvet, watching whatever's on or DVDs. There's a new series of that vet soap set in Africa (I forget the name) on ITV1 at 8.30 tonight, the one with Dup (Dupre de Plessis) & Danny in it - fascinating background scenery & up close animals, if nothing else. :-D Broken bones often respond negatively to the cold. It's not the warmest down here (at least 300 miles south of you), so I can't imagine it's greatly warm in Scotland! Wrap something warm around your wrist & make sure the rest of you is warm, too. Have a cup of tea, too - always helps me. :-) Maybe play a silly computer game, the sort that only requires one hand - check out games.co.uk - there's lots of different sorts on there. (((HUGS)))

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:07:01 -0800

Chinese is supposed to be the up & coming 'must have' languge. Something to do with their constant expansion. Depends on how good you are at languages (I'm crap! lol!), but German might be easier - it's more Anglo Saxon, so a lot of English is based on it & the meanings of some things are obvious: e.g. "der koolshank" (not sure of the spelling there!) means "the fridge" - i.e. something cool. Italian is good for if you're musical - most musical terms are in latin: I once travelled round Italy with musical terms, learning only the numbers & a few extras such as the word for 'information centre.' lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:11:14 -0800

I'm still ill, but getting better. Today, I'm just incredibly tired & incredibly cold & just feeling under the weather, so I'm going down to the service this evening to show willing &, in a mo, will walk up to my local shop to buy more electricity & gas for my meters & a sunday paper, if they've not all been sold yet. Lost 1.5 lbs & 4.5 inches from hips & chest this week, though, which brightens my day! lol! There was a point last week, before I got ill, when I'd gained somewhat more, so it was a pleasant surprise when I weighed this morning. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:12:23 -0800

P.S. Also achieved my goal for writing each day yesterday. I can now access the forum & blog pages on the diet site, as of yesterday morning, & spent a couple of hours last night writing my first blog post. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:27:18 -0800

I'm so fed up with this weather - or should I say, non-weather! Grey skies, half-hearted drizzling - I can't stand it any more. I'll take knee-deep snow, rainstorms, howling winds, any day, but not this greyness, and nothing happening! Staying inside all day is depressing, but going for a walk is depressing too, when there's nothing to see other than wet streets, bare trees and mud. (This is also why I hate having a February birthday, because that's the kind of weather we get then.) Neither sparkly snow and ice nor flowers to look at. And I can't go to the forest, because it's too muddy, and just miserable-looking anyway, and walking on the streets just depresses me as well, because I keep playing the "I want"-game when I look at gardens/houses, or sometimes even balconies that are bigger than mine, and start thinking about how unlikely it is that I'll ever be able to buy a garden at all, let alone one as big as I want. I think there were other things I wanted to say, but they were all drowned in grey-sky-misery. I'm beginning to understand why my father moved away, to a place where he claims there is more sunshine. I managed to get up early-ish, but it still took me about three hours to get off the couch and start doing useful things, and then not much - fold and put away some laundry, wash another skirt, go for a walk and take cuttings of a plant I hope to be able to sell. And resist the urge to simply put one of my freshly washed, very bright green towels over my head and pretend to be sitting under a beech tree in the spring sunshine (the towel is the same colour as young beech leaves in sunshine). I think that counts as a major accomplishment.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:28:28 -0800

It's "Kühlschrank" :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:35:55 -0800

[quote=Zookeeper] Your story idea sounds fascinating, whatever it is. [/quote] The dream was about what we think is imagination actually being a telepathic connection to someone else's mind - so the things we thought we were making up for our stories were actually happening to someone else (gaping holes in that theory, of course - what about fantasy/science fiction/historical fiction?) And then there were two people who realized they were sensing somebody else's thoughts and fell in love with each other, without ever having actually met. I'm not sure it's a story for me, because there is just no other plot, and I just don't do plain romance, but while I was waiting to fall asleep last night, I already started fleshing out those vague dream-ideas and turning them into actual characters.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:03:23 -0800

I just woke up to grey skies, too, but since it'll be nearly to the fifties today I'm planning to take out the lawn tractor, attach my big cart to it, and haul branches from all over. Maybe power up my tiny battery chain saw and work on some of the bigger ones. Maybe talk my husband into getting his big gas chain saw out and cutting even larger ones. All to build the burn pile in anticipation of some rain later in the week. Maybe I'll even get organized enough to use the stump remover chemicals I bought several years ago. We've got a ton of stumps because our land was logged before it was built on. Some of them have rotted out, but some need help. I'm also going to tackle the pile of papers that have populated the top of my desk ever since I neatened up all the drawers. Moving them from one place to another just doesn't cut it. Time to eliminate them. Yesterday my visit to sis went well. Lots of outdated items tossed, trash cans emptied, kitchen counter cleared, and I obtained information that will allow me to do one entire section of her income taxes. It's a long, drawn-out process, usually, so this is encouraging. As for the rest, she was tired, but in good spirits. We keep hearing of people who survive cancer. Now that treatment has finally begun, maybe she'll be among the lucky ones.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:43:10 -0800

Good luck to your sister, Lily! My boss called to say he needs me tomorrow, a day earlier than expected, so no clothes-hunting. Can't say I'm sorry, actually. But this means I have to remember to go to bed at a reasonable time.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:20:54 -0800

I hope that weight loss isn't just from being ill! Make sure you're stil eating something, even if all you can stomach is a protein-rich soup. Your body needs the energy and nutrients to repair itself.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:50:54 -0800

Well, it seems one of my sneaky tricks is working so far. With my snacks in the kitchen, I'm less likely to walk in there to binge on junk. I make a trip to the kitchen for a meal or drink and decide on one snack to go with it, and that's it. With all of them at hand, I was likely to just reach down (or across) and pull something out for some mindless chowing down. Once I'm sure this works, my next sneaky task will be to make sure that almost all my snack foods have some healthy qualities. (read high fiber, protein, low calories or carbs, etc.) I know this isn't written down as one of my January goals, but I figured since it's a step to my overall goal of losing forty pounds, it would be a good idea to chart progress on that front.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:31:03 -0800

I have the opposite problem - I put my apples in the cellar, where they'll store better, and now I always forget to eat them! Finished a couple more small tasks - finally made a calendar for myself, and printed my NaNo winner certificate, and sorted and put away some recently-reread comics (turns out I have one that's nearly twice as old as me, and a few from the seventies.None of them worth a damn, but I wouldn't sell them anyway.), did my daily bit of story-writing and my weekly blog post about writing, and now, time for bed. Tomorrow, I really have to get up early!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:16:56 -0800

lol! :-D Thank you! I got some of the letters right! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:18:43 -0800

Well, it might be from my being ill - chances are, it is because I had gained earlier in the week. But it's ok - I've been eating - I've actually been eating properly whilst ill. :-) I wasn't eating that well before - lots of junk type stuff - things like chips & meringue nests. :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:25:43 -0800

I don't like healthy snacks. Somehow, the 'healthy' bit detracts from enjoying a snack. I am trying to get there, though. Yesterday, my snack was very healthy - a banana & a small handful of nuts! :-) Can't say my snack today was good, though - it involved leftover blue cheese pies & Polos! lol! Oh yes, & a wadge of chocolate an hour before! In my defense, I'm still ill & had driven 60 miles to church & then had Practice for half an hour, with the prospect of an hour's service & another 60 mile drive to come, so I think it counted as medical! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Bill Moonroe — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:44:11 -0800

[quote=Hepatica] [quote=Bill Moonroe] Walking with a friend who can carry 50 pounds of beer is even better. [/quote] lol! :-D Hope you're not drinking all that in one go, though! lol! [/quote] It's usually when we've got other friends out for a walk. Forget about drinking like a sailor. If you want a profession that seems to be able to put away vast amounts of alcohol, it should be "drink like a nurse".

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:04:45 -0800

I got a lot done today. However, I am rather dismayed that my list of books to find, copied from all the reviews and notes I'd torn out of Publishers Weekly and other mags for several years, has already reached four pages. And I think I've only gotten rid of half the pile. Now that I barely read twenty books in a year, a list this long will be impossible to conquer. Still, with typical doggedness, I intend to finish copying every book onto the list.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:17:27 -0800

My goal was to spend Thursday through Sunday decluttering and cleaning. It's Sunday night, and nothing looks that different. I did do some decluttering and cleaning, but simply not enough. Tomorrow I want to switch gears and work on writing and job hunting. I do have some more clothes to try on. If they don't fit or don't look good, then they're going into a charity bag. It's cold, grey, snowy, and dark here. I hate being chilly. I really do. Lily, cancer isn't necessarily a death warrant anymore. After over half a century of smoking, my stepfather developed lung cancer a couple years ago. Then his wife (my mom) died, so it was a very bad time for him. But he's been in remission now for a couple of years, so it looks like he beat it.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:44:20 -0800

Back to work today. I did go to bed early, but I just could not go to sleep. Hours of twisting around and trying to get my feet warm, and not even any useful thoughts or ideas - I hate it when that happens. At least I didn't sleep until the last possible moment, but actually got up when the alarm went off for the first time, so I don't have to rush through breakfast and packing up my things for work.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:15:11 -0800

:-D lol! Too right there! lol! Glad you're not drinking it all by yourself! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:27:29 -0800

Isn't that always the way, Magpie? When you go to bed early, you can't sleep? I find that, too! I was lucky last night. I went to bed "on time" (although that time has become "early" over the last few weeks!) & slept for about 12 hours! I do feel a bit better today, though - only the headache & sore throat to conquer now, the feeling of being 'unwell' seems to have gone, thank goodness. Going back to volunteering at the school tomorrow, so it's just in time! It was nice & sunny & warm here when I got downstairs (11.20), so all the windows were opened & the front door. Freaked the bunnies out, now they're at the bottom of the stairs, having warmth & fresh air & natural light flow past their cage! Poor souls! lol! But it went back to grey skies & cold very quickly - within 20 mins - & now looks like we're going to have another storm (storms all last week!), so all the windows & door have been shut again. Should've got up earlier to make use of the light! Ah well! lol! I've some really important things to do today - things that have been put off & now the time is running out! 1. Photocopy all the proofs needed & send off my mortgage insurance form 2. Complete & send off my DSS mortgage form (the DSS payments came through earlier than the insurance last time & can be stopped as soon as the insurance pays out) 3. Complete my teacher training applications & send off the electronic forms I also need to: 4. Find a book that I've sold on Amazon, package it up & send it off 5. Wash up 6. Work out what I'm wearing tomorrow & get it ready 7. Work out what I'm taking for lunch & snacks tomorrow & get them ready 8. Go to the health food shop if there's time Coo! Just as well I'm feeling better! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:15:39 -0800

I slept terribly last night. Went to bed late, took forever to fall asleep and then kept waking up for extended periods of time. I also am having an extended bout of very mild heartburn. I took something for it, but woke up with it this morning again. I have no idea why. I didn't consume anything that would give me heartburn (spicy food or alcohol) - stress maybe? I turned down both jobs offered today. More like, turned down one last night in favor of trying for a full-day job, got woken up with the offer of another one and accidentally ended the call while trying to type in my pin. I think it was the universe telling me not to take it. I hope so anyway. So now I have the day off. And I have plenty of stuff to do: puzzle, Excel, laundry, reading, pay some bills, make a trek to the library, cook soup and take a walk. A full day awaits!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Smartiez101 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:58:14 -0800

Wow, I haven't commented in a bit on here, eh? dutchbando, it sounds like you'll be having a full day. My day included: almost falling asleep in algebra, almost falling asleep in L.A., a short lunch, almost falling asleep in U.S. History, watching a couple videos of a bridge collapsing in Science, doing algebra homework, (still have to) pratice saxaphone, eating, and blogging. Maybe I should start taking naps after school... My blogging/reading other people's blogs has probably been the most seemingly productive project today and yesterday. That's just sad. :/

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:21:02 -0800

Since we're talking about sleep, I'm about ready for a nap right now.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:41:28 -0800

First day back at work was nice enough, but exhausting. Looking forwards to a nice long bath later - I won't do the dishes today, so I can use all the hot water for my bath, hah! (My water heater only turns on between midnight and 6 AM, when electricity is cheaper, so I have to be a bit careful with how much hot water I use.) But first I need to figure out at which temperature I can let the chicken soup simmer without it boiling over. Chicken soup is not a good thing to cook on a weekday night. But I've been wanting it for several days, and I don't want to wait until the weekend again! So I'm eating some leftovers now, and soup before bed.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:50:07 -0800

It's been a slow few days, made worse by a spate of gray weather it seems everyone else has been having. My being in a bad mood meant almost nothing got done. Doctor on Friday, no problems. Went to the pharmacy to pick up some meds, and was in line behind some poor working-class guy (torn up paint-spattered clothes) who came for an asthma med that turned out to be $200 and not covered by insurance. He couldn't afford it and just left. I felt horrible watching; the same thing happened to me a couple of months ago. You just go back to what you were doing and just hope nothing bad happens. It sucks though, I hate to think he could have a fatal asthma attack for lack of $200. I was on the phone with health insurance for four hours this morning. The usual story--insurance says doctor isn't in-network, doctor says they've been in-network for 20 years and insurance is lying or crazy. The consensus is to try to bill the claim, it'll be rejected, then file an appeal, which means slogging through the whole mess all over again. There have been almost no job openings so far this year, which is sinister, since the research grants would have been doled out in December. Unless no one got funded. Then I'm in really big trouble. Even our Burger King now requires fast food experience! Today I made $5 on a study; it's pocket change but can cover three or four meals so I'm not complaining.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:15:43 -0800

As far as sleep goes, I've been having some trouble with it this last week. Hubby's on a crazy work schedule right now. Every January, actually. It means he could be going out the door at 3am or getting in from work at 1am. And since I don't do well as the only adult in the house, it's hard to sleep, or to stay that way. Aside from that, even when I do sleep well I tire out by about midday and crave quality time with my pillow. If I exercise instead, the tired goes away for a while. So maybe this is a sign that I'm supposed to be moving around more. Health front, my oldest son has some sort of bug bite on his forearm and it's swollen enough that the school nurse is calling it an allergic reaction. He's covered by state health insurance, but the problem is transportation. We won't have a vehicle until this weekend, and those with vehicles are loath to give us a ride right now. Goalwise, editing is moving forward, and I finished reading another book last night. I'm not starting the next one until after this one story is revised and possibly submitted. This may be a few days, depending on how lazy I get about it...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:01:49 -0800

I am horrified by reading your stories about the US medical system!!!! $200 for an asthma prescription?! That's outrageous! The US government ought to be ashamed of themselves! And the school ought to arrange transport for your son, Tobaeus - they are, after all, responsible for your son's welfare whilst he's at school! As bad as the NHS is, I'm so glad we have it! A few years ago, the cost to the NHS for an asthma inhaler was around £40 & there is no way it would have risen to anything approximating $200 now - there'd be a public outcry! A prescription charge is now £7.40 & it's only ever raised by a few pence each time. Being unemployed, I get my prescriptions free, as do children, students, homeless, retired (I think) & people having particular medical conditions (e.g. coeliac disease / diabetes); people with excessively low incomes & dependants can apply for help, too. This also covers dental treatment & optician tests & frames, but not lenses. I know the UK is only a fraction of the size of the US &, so, have a lower population - but still! I remember Obama putting forth some sort of bill to get the US system onto more of the UK system & the Congress blocking it - it's them who should be ashamed of themselves! ... Don't let me anywhere near any of them - they'd so come out with their tales between their legs!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:17:43 -0800

Hepatica- That would be nice, but the only medical transportation provided for a student over here is an ambulance, I think. Transportation won't be as big a deal when we pick up that car this weekend, and even less of a deal when I have a full license. His school is actually a really good one. It hasn't passed the "annual yearly progress" as set down by the last administration, but they make sure my kids are being challenged, they give them free breakfast, and host a lot of other activities that don't cost them a thing to do. I'm happy to have them, and I plan to stay in this district as long as possible. In the meantime, I've got to watch fro my husband to be dropped off work so I can beg his ride to drop me and my son off at either his doctor, or urgent care, whichever can see him first. And yeah, our nation's health system seems only to truly care about those who can afford the constantly rising prices. My hope is that Congress continues to screw up this year so that the people might vote them all out and things can start really improving. Far fetched, maybe, but I can still hope.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Kilyra — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:44:17 -0800

Okay so...I see the conversation here is flowing really well, so I hope you don't mind if a back track a bit. The January Journeys seems like just the perfect place for me to post a couple of my goals :) First goal: Get involved with NaNoWiMo for the first time ever (check) Second Goal: Push myself into more writing challenges. Just submitted one yesterday so...check but I want more :) Third Goal: Get back into my healthy eating and work out routine I think that's a good start. And...hello everyone! I'm looking forward to getting to know as many people as I can and gear up for November. I know it's a ways away still, but I'm stoked!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:50:12 -0800

It's all about different views on the health care issue. Personally, I'm rather against it. But, being a child, I've only heard a few things about it. One of the things I have heard is that if America went to health care, you would be assigned a doctor (correct me if I'm wrong) and that you would only be able to see that one doctor. If this is true, then the issue would arise of bad doctors and good ones and so on. Inflation is getting pretty bad right now, isn't it? Good grief. I hate reading about people on here who don't have as much as I do. Makes me feel sad... Hope your son feels better!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:21:01 -0800

One of my worst fears is running out of money and not being able to afford my prescriptions. Since a couple of them are of the close to life and death variety, my only option would be, well, to die. And no, no one cares. I wouldn't even be a footnote on the TV news. The elections are really scaring me. The only people who matter are the wealthy and connected. And I'm neither, so my well-being is of consequence to no one. Even the people I voted for don't care. Whinge off. Carry on.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:03:06 -0800

Tobaeus--how bad is it, is it just ugly & swollen or is it swollen to the point where it's red, painful, and his skin feels hard from being stretched out so far? I get localized allergic reactions a lot (work w/bees) and have found that all the doctors really do is give a cortisone shot if your arm is a balloon but leave it be if not. Without treatment it'll go down on a few days, but Benadryl can take off the edge in the meantime.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:31:40 -0800

Sounds like you're talking about universal health care, which is obviously a really complex issue--and since we're the only developed country that doesn't provide it, there are plenty of examples internationally of UHC in action that should make it easier to engineer a system with more of the good and less of the bad aspects. Whatever we end up with, the current system is not sustainable. I've been without health insurance because I couldn't afford the $400/month fees (plus deductible, meaning I'd have to shell out $1000 before insurance paid for anything), so I didn't get to go to a doctor when sick and ended up doing microscopic tests on my own throat swabs (never was I more glad to be a biologist) and treating myself with fish antibiotics from the pet store. I can only go to the doctor now because of the new law allowing parents to cover children up to the age of 26, and because of it, for another five months I will be able to afford antidepressants. After that, who knows. My prescription is $5 with the insurance, $68 without. The doctor charges $150 per 15 minute consultation without insurance, compared to a $15 copay with insurance. Even with insurance, if you end up with a condition whose treatments are not covered (for example, oral chemotherapy for certain cancers) you are only one major illness away from bankruptcy. They're not *required* to cover most procedures, even if you are facing death without it. Sorry for the rant ... UHC as proposed may not be the way to go, but I just hope we can get away from where we are now. Revel in the fact that being a child means that you don't have to worry about it yet.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:40:11 -0800

It looks like an adult went and slapped his arm real hard with their palm, so about three inches across, and warmer than the skin around it. The doctor that saw him said he was going with "allergic reaction" and prescribed him an oral steroid to take for a few days. We were also encouraged to buy Benadryl, and we had just enough to cover that cost. He says it doesn't itch or hurt or anything, but it looked like something that shouldn't be ignored.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:46:45 -0800

I've gotten everything on this morning's list done except for Excel and soup. And the soup-making will commence shortly seeing as that's what I'm eating for dinner. Still not sure about doing Excel, but maybe I'll get through a chapter while the soup is simmering. That's really all I'm hoping for.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:49:39 -0800

Ahh... Thanks for the intel! Yea we do have ridiculous prices here, don't we? Now is not the greatest time, and I don't know where we'll be by the time I graduate college (not looking forward to that), but there will be change. There always is. Hang in there a bit longer! God will open the right doors for you in their proper time. It might not be now, and there might be many trials ahead, but rejoice in the fact that he is always with us, watching out for our every need, no matter what. Change will come. And (as Walt Disney would say) there's a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:52:06 -0800

Tonight, I'm hoping to finish my english mini-project, finish my math homework, read a couple of Psalms, read at least 1 chapter of Gone With the Wind, and read my other book (Clockwork Prince - borrowed it from a friend today!!). And write a thousand and some odd words. And get to bed by 9:30. I have an hour and forty minutes. What am I doing here?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:13:01 -0800

That happened to me once. I got a mosquito bite on my arm (and I know it was a mosquito because I swatted it). Mosquito bites usually turn into large welts the size of a quarter or half dollar, but the redness and swelling on this one just kept creeping up and down my arm. When it hit my elbow and my wrist, I left work and went to the doctor. That's what they said. Allergic reaction. Took a couple doses of Benedryl before it stopped advancing and started to go down.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:28:21 -0800

That's one of the reasons why I'm so concerned about detoxing my diet and getting my health in shape. I can't afford health care if I get sick. They'll just let me die. And as I grow older, the situation won't get any better. This really, really concerns me. I don't want to end up as a crazy, sick old lady pushing a shopping cart around the slums. I dedicated today to reading, watching Netflix, and more decluttering. The cats dedicated the day to war games, hostile takeovers, police actions, and driving mommy crazy. Found out I had more in the bank than I thought I did. That hasn't happened in a while! J. Kievsky, I fully understand. My situation isn't that dissimilar. And most of my jobs have been contract and short-term jobs, where health insurance isn't offered, and I can't afford to get individual insurance, especially not at my age. My health's not that bad compared to a lot of other geezers, but I have issues that require medical care and treatment. Nonnegotiable. I'm just glad my stepfather is being as generous as he is. Kind of strange, in a way, considering that my mother always refused to help me financially when she was alive, and she blamed it on him. Hmmm.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:35:18 -0800

Soup is simmering and I did a chapter of Excel! I got everything on my to-do list done today with time to spare! Go me =)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:47:31 -0800

Healthcare in the U.S. is crazy expensive. Our country should be deeply ashamed, but apparently, large numbers of our citizens view other people getting sick without being rich as a moral failing. The recent healthcare law has helped some people, and I am happy about that. But so many compromises were written into the law that it does not help enough people. If you are working poor, you can't qualify for free care because you earn too much, yet you can't afford health insurance premiums (even subsidized ones), either. It's either keep a roof over your head or have health insurance, but not both. It doesn't have to be this way.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Lilia Sparks — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:54:01 -0800

All right, let's get on to a non-depressing, non-political topic! Like flame throwers! And Achmed the Dead Terrorist! And... *shiver* school... How on earth did we get on to health care? Ah, whatever. This is NaNoWriMo for crying out loud! Let's be sad and depressed about things the government should or should not do on someone else's website. Heck, write about it! We NaNos are pretty good at that, right?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:07:37 -0800

In the spirit of being non-depressing, here's what I learned when I reviewed all those book titles I'd been saving for years. I found a huge chunk of chick lit novels, ones I never got around to reading, saved at a time I was contemplating writing a chick lit novel. But back then I was still in the throes of decades-long writers block. Couldn't write a manuscript over 85 pages if you held a gun to my head. More like 50 was typical, and then the whole project would just slip away from me. I lost my chance to write a chick lit novel and sell it easily when the craze was at its height. But now I am glad, because it was such an ephemeral subgenre, and it had so many unpleasant aspects, from the selfishness to the miserable sex to the fights with boyfriends and mothers. I liked the coming-of-age aspects of the stories and often found them uplifting, but there was a lot of temptation to write silly stories about ditzy, shallow people. I would rather write better books, books that will not be instantly passe once a fad fades. In fact, I missed out on taking a wrong turn in my writing. Lucky break.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:27:56 -0800

At the moment, in most places, the US government has nothing to do with Healthcare.... that may or may not change depending on who wins this upcoming election, but... at the moment. You can't blame the US Government for the 200 dollar prescription, only the health care companies and the drug companies.....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:34:24 -0800

See, that's the problem. Lily hit it on the head. Everyone is compromising here and there and everywhere. There are two ways that the US healthcare would be better. If the government totally got out of the way and let the angry consumers change the market, or go all in and make it universal healthcare. It's not UHC or no UHC that's gonna kill this country, it's the fact that we will have this in between.... that'll be the problem. I speak from experience (which'll give you a clue where I live) when I say that being 'required' to have healthcare coverage sucks in multiple ways (especially when you're in the middle, not to mention not covered through work 'cause you're part time). And these past few years I've really wanted to take the state HC forms and just rip them to shreds... *sigh* Anyway....

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:11:25 -0800

I'm dead tired today. But that's because I stayed up all night reading, so I'd say it's worth it. It's been grey and rainy here for the past couple days, perfect reading weather! So I've finished three books now! I've only added about 100 words to my short story though and I still haven't practiced the piano at all. My piano teacher will be very upset with me! As far as Health Care goes, while I'm normally somewhat conservative, I'm in support of it. To me, it's worth it if it can save human lives. I don't see why other conservatives can't see that. And in other news, my big toe has been killing me lately. I'm afraid that I might have an ingrown toenail. =( Has anyone had one of these before? Are they easy to fix?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:43:26 -0800

Hepatica, you've said exactly what I always think when I read about that topic.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:56:39 -0800

I can't see why anyone would be assigned a doctor. I'm pretty sure we here in Austria are free to choose - I don't actually know, because "my" doctor is one of the few not covered by health insurance. My mother wanted a homeopath, and I like him and he's known me most of my life, so I'm not going to switch as long as I can afford it. The only limitation I know of is that you can one medical specialist each quarter year (well, one of each kind of specialist, I think). And if you get a referral from your GP, you can see more.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:02:40 -0800

Being back at work is nice, but exhausting. I thought yesterday was though, moving around a lot of plants. Hah. Today we planted lettuce seeds, over 10,000 of them. That's about 100 bloody heavy wooden boxes that must be moved from the soil cube machine thingy to a cart, taken to another greenhouse and lifted from the cart onto a table. My poor back! And I think I'll add "get a haircut" to my January list. I wasn't sure I wanted to, but now that I'm braiding my hair again for work, I can see how thin and ragged it has gotten at the ends. And I spend far too much time playing with it and biting off split ends (other people chew their nails, I chew my hair...)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:48:49 -0800

Well, sorry, back to the depressing! This is the first time I've got back on here because I've been mega ill today - thought I was getting better yesterday, but had the most awful night & feel like my ribs have been kicked in today! Couldn't even sit up this morning, but have managed to transfer myself downstairs this afternoon, although I've only had one mug of soup to eat so far! Too ill to go back to school, unfortunately, but I'll go back next week. I happen to be going to the doctor tomorrow to get the results of my Dec bloods, so he can help with my illness, too, I hope. I'm so sorry to read of the appalling US medical system. I really feel for you guys. I think the only answer is for you all to move to the UK so you can benefit from the NHS! The 'choosing the doctor' thing here is dependant upon the size of the practice. At my last practice, there was only one doctor, so seeing him was the only choice. I didn't like him, though, or trust him - he didn't understand the symptoms of diabetes, etc.! So I complained to the powers that be (PCT: Primary Care Trust - between practices & government) & was moved to my current practice, where there are about 5 doctors, 2 nurses & a dentist. Although I'm registered to one particular doctor, I can choose who I see. The doctor I see is always available because no one else likes him - I do, because he's straight talking & very good on the serious things, but can't be bothered with the stupid little things. He has a sense of humour, too, which is unusual with doctors & asks pertinent questions. So I trust him. In general, the way it works here, is that you have to do the legwork to find a practice that has spaces when you move into the area & then ask to register. If they accept you, you're pretty much stuck with that practice unless you have a good reason for moving, like I did. However, they can strike you off their list, too, for things like not attending appointments without good reason, which is fair enough, I think - they're busy enough as it is - they don't need no-shows wasting their time. The system's good, though, because it engenders mutual respect.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:52:03 -0800

Oh Zoo, I understand completely. I worry about health insurance even more than the money, honestly. Glad you have someone who is willing to help. Too bad the cats won't do their part helping get you through the tough times! It seems they're organizing a conspiracy to take over.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:14:29 -0800

A better day today, though I overslept my alarm. Supposedly I turned it off, said, "It's eight," then fell right back asleep (I have no memory of this). I've always had trouble falling asleep; last night was particularly bad, since lying down for bed is when my brain takes the opportunity to worry about everything it wasn't allowed to during the day. Magpie--did you say in one of the threads you were planning a container/balcony garden? I'm curious to hear what you come up with so I can shamelessly steal ideas for mine. I found out today the university has a new garden, a one-acre Winter Garden. I'm excited to go see it. Horticulture is a major field of study here and their other displays & collections are gorgeous. It would be nice to find some small plants that were locally tested for year-round survival on the balcony, so I'll probably check out that and the Alpine collection for ideas. My mother, a horticulturist, thought that nothing could survive in containers because it would be too exposed to the cold, but the alpine plants are so small, maybe their root systems won't be so susceptible? Went for a walk today through a nice residential area and spent most of it peeping at yards to see what people are up to in terms of landscaping & outdoor renovations. Now I have all kinds of good ideas, if I can afford it by then or come up with a way to make a free knockoff.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:01:15 -0800

Ugh. Why is it every time I sit down to edit, all I want to do is run away and pound on things? I'm only a page away from finishing this.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:18:02 -0800

Well, I didn't get much done today. I didn't get called so I had another day off. Today wasn't nearly as fun as yesterday since I'm getting bored of staying home. I'm really glad I get to work tomorrow. I worked on a puzzle and listened to a bunch of podcasts for most of the day. I took a walk and finished a book. I agree with others that we're having really boring and weird weather. Its unseasonably warm and we haven't gotten any snow. In some ways I'm glad for the lack of snow since it makes my getting to work much easier but it really doesn't feel like winter.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:22:22 -0800

I encountered some snow yesterday, and although I knew it was not supposed to stick, it worried me anyway. I have to go over a mountain to get home, and the mountain has different weather from the land below. Usually, worse. I would not mind if we had no snow at all this winter. To bring up another depressing topic, today I investigated the new bankruptcy law on my sister's behalf, since she might have to declare it if Medicaid won't help with her back medical bills (and especially, mediate with the providers and get their inflated invoices lowered to something reasonable, on a par with what insured people get billed. For your edification, Hepatica, the system here is that if you don't have insurance, providers charge you the utter maximum. Thus the people who have the least get charged the most). The current bankruptcy law really screws people over. Bankruptcy used to be very straightforward and you could keep your home and your car and make a fresh start. Now, everything is subject to appraisal and you may only get to keep a portion of it, and not your car if it is worth anything or nearly paid for. How can a person who does not live in a city earn a living without a car to get to work? There is no other way to get to most jobs, as Zoo often notes. Ugh. I hope I can sleep tonight. I must trust that help will happen, somehow.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:24:15 -0800

I had to declare bankruptcy 11 years ago, mainly because of medical bills incurred from my accident. It was pretty straightforward and went through without a hitch, but then, I had nothing. No house, no car, no savings, no stocks, no IRA, no jewelry or anything else worth squat. I lived in an apartment and was trying to get by on temp jobs. It was pretty obvious I had nothing to hide, and it was a simple matter to push it through. Now, I don't know. But that's another thing that I'm afraid of and have nightmares about. About the only way to get ahead in this country is to be born rich, have important contacts, and never ever ever get sick or unlucky. I got an e-mail about a job today. I called the recruiter, but he never called me back. On the decluttering side, I've got three charity bags ready to go, and two recycle bins. Progress is being made, although it still doesn't look like it. I'm giving away stuff that's still good, and that disheartens me somewhat. But I have to admit, however nice the clothing, I will never fit into a size S again, and I don't need the hat that I haven't worn in a dozen years, or the nonsquirrel-proof bird feeder, or the refrigerator soda dispenser. They're all better off rehomed.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:54:11 -0800

Well done on your tenacity, Zoo. I have to say, I do tend to hold onto things that 'might be useful in the future' & I have boxes of stuff that I haven't unpacked since I moved nearly 5 years ago, but which were deemed to be necessities at that time! The bulk of my belongings at that time went to the local cancer shop & they started to look on me like I was burgling houses, I was giving them so much stuff! lol! I think the only way I can react to the US system now is ... "sick!" Sorry if that offends. Again, the bankruptcy laws here are so much kinder. As I understand it, from a third-party obversing perspective, they can take anything they deem an asset that does NOT belong to a child or to a business or form part of the potential to get work - so they wouldn't be able to take a family's / person's only car / computer, etc. However, they do take the home, after any debts secured against it, including a mortgage, have been paid off but, if the house makes a profit when it's subsequently sold AND the profit provides enough pay off all the debts with some left over, the person bankrupted can apply to the courts to be awarded the bit left over. They're not allowed to start up a business in the same name / industry & the usual 6 year rule applies to having credit cards / loans, but they are allowed basic bank accounts, although not many banks offer them. I'm feeling a bit better today. Better enough to be up & about, anyway. Been to the doctor this morning & been told I have vit D deficiency exacerbated by a mild flu - just my luck, huh?! Vit D has nothing to do with liver function, so it's a separate thing to that, too! He's given me meds to replace the vit D & stronger anti-histamines so they don't kick off my allergies because the meds contain milk & I have anaphylactic responses to milk! You couldn't make it up! I just have to get over the flu by myself, which is fair enough - it's a virus, so antibiotics wouldn't make a difference, anyway. Going into Tescos shortly to get the prescription made up & to stock up on things that might make me feel better! Beginning to think it might be worth seeing if I still react to fish as it seems all the fat-soluble vits are now in play - A, E & D!!!!!!!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:26:59 -0800

So I finished baking the cookies. All that's left to do is frost them. And in a strange twist of thinking, I kept myself in the kitchen and cleaned it up, as a "thank you" for having all the things I needed at hand. Seems weird when I explain it, but it made perfect sense in my mind. No "I'll get to this later" nonsense. I might try doing something like that more often, or to convince the kids that some of their chores are "gratitude" chores. Or this might just be me having one of my more weird moments. In terms of weather, my weather app is teasing me with a prospect of snow tonight, which is ill timed since my husband will be on the road in high wind and possible low visibility due to the flakes. Then if we do get the snow, it'll have the good grace to clear out before our trip this weekend. One cold day to remind us of what January is really supposed to be like, and then back up into the mid 50's. Oh well. At least our gas bill isn't outrageous this year. One good thing to come out of a mild winter.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:47:35 -0800

I finally got the editing of this short story done. It's only four pages, but it took me far too long to complete. In fact, it got so ridiculous that I have been making myself carry the clipboard around with me and making myself look at where I left off. The poor thing looks like it's bleeding red ink. I posted a picture to my dA scraps and my tumblr so that people who follow me understand why I haven't been submitting much to those places lately. Now I get to type the revision into my word processor, maybe upload for some private critique, print it off and start all over again. :D Ah, the joys of being a writer.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:48:30 -0800

Also, finally got that snow the weather people promised. I'm glad I got my shopping done ahead of time, and some small part of me is holding out for a snow day. I know it won't happen, but I can still dream.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:59:03 -0800

Did a lot of work today. I set out two heavy recycle bins and three bags of garbage to be picked up, and I have three charity bags filled, yet the house still doesn't look that much better. It's aggravating. And a short story got rejected today. We've had snow, and it's bitter cold, in the single digits right now and it's going to be colder tonight. I turned the oven on for the heat, and I lit a fire in the fireplace. I have to bring in more logs. I'm running low. I don't know if the fire makes a lot of difference, but at least it's the one source of heat that's nearly free. I have plenty of wood in my back yard. My hips and my knees really screamed about my carrying the heavy bags and bins out to the street. God, I feel old!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:04:17 -0800

Every year, people die in house fires because they turned the oven on for heat. Be careful. Fireplaces aren't efficient, but they've done the job for millennia. If the chimney is made of brick or stone, it can radiate the heat beyond the immediate area where the wood is burning. Anyway, efficiency isn't an issue if your wood is free. And speaking of fires, I ran out and torched the burn pile today in the pouring rain. When I called in my burn to the fire department (so they didn't suit up and come out, thinking my house was ablaze; that's the rule here), I learned the forestry department has declared burning allowed 24 hours a day as of this new year. Yippee. No more having to wait until it's almost dark to start the fire.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:33:37 -0800

@J.Kievsky - you might want to look at my blog posts from last year: http://ivynettle.wordpress.com/category/leaves/balcony-gardening/ I'll keep posting about my plans and projects there. Yesterday was my second "offline day". Though it hardly counts, because I fell asleep right after dinner, so it's not like there was much temptation to go on the internet. OK, I did have a moment or two, but then it was just more tempting to curl up on the couch and not do anything. We ran out of work for me yesterday, so I'm at home for a week again. Not complaining, yesterday was bad enough - stupid cramps! And even though I fell asleep so early, I wouldn't have been rested enough for work at 6:30. I spent about 15 hours on the coucht/in bed, but I spent at least as much time trying to fall asleep as actually sleeping. Yesterday afternoon, my boss and I went to a workshop (which I was very grateful for, because it meant I got to sit down). We were sitting at the back of the room, and I had a look around to see if there was anyone I knew from other workshops, or school, or the alumni society - kinda hard to tell if you only see the back of people's heads, but I did actually recognize two people, colleagues from my apprenticeship. Luckily, they were two of the few people I kind of get along with, otherwise it would have been awkward when they came over to chat during break (well, it was still kind of awkward.) Doubly lucky, actually, because the one guy I absolutely can not stand was supposed to come, but didn't have time, so a much nicer guy came instead.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:13:53 -0800

I used to light the oven for heat. It heats up the kitchen in a remarkably short space of time! :-D But that was before they whacked up the price of gas from <£3 a week to nearly £8 - say no more! My crappy little electric fire that Mum insisted on buying me at Christmas has now broken, too - I brought it into the kitchen the other day when I was seriously shivery & set it up on one of the spare chairs so it would be about level with my body, sat at the table, but it just didn't switch on. I hadn't left it on at all & I hadn't moved it whilst it was on. So I have to take that back! That's on tomorrow's list, along with the rugs & stuff if I'm well enough to heave them around. Had another awful night, but feel marginally better today, helped by having now collected both hard-copy references for my teacher training (one from my choir master & one from the school) & they are both brilliant! I'm so chuffed they think so well of me & of my teaching potential! :-D So that's given me the impetus I need to finish my applications & then I can send them all off together. :-) I'm hoping to be able to get back to school next week, too, if I continue to get better: haven't yet got my vit D meds but, if they don't phone by tomorrow morning, I'm going to phone them because the jobcentre wants an update in two weeks so they can work out how my vit D deficiency / liver concerns are going to affect my work potential & I'll have had to check with the doc & taken this month's lot of meds before that!!!!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:40:19 -0800

Just had a bit of a scare today. After putting the big kids on the bus, (why did they have school today with a wind chill of -2? sigh) I came home and puttered around. Then I started having trouble getting warm. Thought it might be me starting to get sick, so I took a nap. When I woke up I was colder than ever, and worse, the heater wasn't going. I panicked, thought maybe the heater went out for a second time this season, but it turns out I managed to turn the thermostat all the way down before I left this morning. I think it happened while I was looking for the light switch for my room. And now I'm a little embarrassed of myself on two fronts.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:09:26 -0800

A beautiful sunny day today, but I was still feeling so icky that I could barely make myself go out for the most important errands, let alone do any of the other things that I had planned. Still, at least I got out at all, and I made myself write again, after skipping yesterday. And I even seem to have the self-discipline to make myself finish one of the books from my TBR pile before I start on the delicious new books I picked up from the post office today.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:11:54 -0800

My oven's electric, not gas. I turn it off when I go to bed, and I only use it when nothing else does the job, and the temperature is falling enough to actually be unhealthy. Even so, I got my electric bill today. This month and last month is almost $500! I am so tired of being cold and poor. I never was able to get a hold of that recruiter, so I think that job's probably gone. I suspect it was at a place where I couldn't get to, anyway.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:05:34 -0800

We finally had snow today - its still snowing actually. Hooray for pretty snow, but unfortunately that meant my commute home took more than twice as long. Sigh. At least now it feels and looks like winter. Not really looking forward to the morning commute tomorrow though since its supposed to keep snowing through sometime tomorrow.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:45:08 -0800

Somehow the snow missed us completely, even though we have the lake effect and a decent average snowfall. Is it bad that I'm disappointed? We were back up in the 40s today, and I'm not a fan of the mild weather. I look forward to winter as the only season to hike unaccosted by mosquitoes or ticks and both are still going strong this year. I wonder whether the many local vineries have been able to do an ice wine harvest this season; variable temperatures in winter can also kill the vines, and the farmers already had a lot of losses from the flooding in 2011. Started the GRE study, but can't stand to sit down and work on it for more than an hour and a half or so a day. It's stupid, but I'm wary of the writing portion. I haven't written a thing besides forum posts and bad fiction in years now. (That's also why I haven't signed up for Textbroker, because they said they want a writing sample and I haven't got one, and wouldn't have a clue what to write about.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:17:35 -0800

Ugh, the GRE. I took it, didn't do as well as I liked, but it was good enough to get me into grad school. I'm not sure what I think of the writing portion. I had to write two essays, and was told that one was strictly experimental and wasn't graded. Based on my score and how I thought I did on the writing, I think the second essay was the one they really graded. No matter. Don't go overboard studying for it. I think that spending a little bit of time each day reviewing is much more effective than spending hours. I got one of the Kaplan books or similar and did that for a month or so beforehand; granted I was taking the GRE almost immediately after finishing college so some of the stuff was still fresh in my mind. I had a bunch of interesting experiences while subbing today. I was a middle school English teacher and was reminded how some of them really are giant hormones. I had to lead them in vocabulary exercises where 'climax' was one of the words. You can bet that every single kid's brain went into the gutter and stayed there... It was pretty funny, but slightly annoying, since they wouldn't shut up about it and I had more stuff to get through. But I also had several kids in each class thank me. One of them in an especially chatty class said, "I'm impressed! Most of our subs would have given up by now, but you keep trying to make us work!" Well duh, that is my job, and I did make them work in the end. ;) Hehe, behold the power of persistence. It just makes me wonder how many of my fellow subs don't try? Who knows... I'll be back at it again tomorrow.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:16:37 -0800

Once again, a night of amazing wind. Trash cans being blown all over. I hope no doors being blown open, but I must check. It has happened before. Living on the east side of a ridge subjects us to very dramatic weather, and each time I hear the wind at its height, I wish I had a windmill. I'd be getting my electric power for free. They might even have to pay me.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:16:58 -0800

The Textbroker writing sample is fine - you don't need anything pre-written: they provide a dialogue box for you to type into & a couple of subjects to choose from & the sample is only a couple of hundred words. I chose travel: places to tour in my local city. My Mum had spent Christmas with me, so I wrote about her arriving at the coach station & one place to see & that took all of my word allowance - took me about 10 minutes. :-) I think they're really only concerned to grade your grammar ability at that stage, so don't worry - just have a try. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:26:50 -0800

Well, yes - after several years! Windmills costs thousands to erect individually, not to mention all the connexions underground, & don't work effectively when there's no wind, so you'd also need some system to store the electricity produced to carry you over. So, yes, after you'd paid off the initial outlay, you'd get free electricity, but that's reckoned to be 6 - 10 years in the UK! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:37:26 -0800

Pressed 'post' too early!!!!! Meant to add that I feel a bit better at the moment. Didn't this morning (didn't sleep well again & got to the sniffly stage! - & discovered my elbow is bruised in the muscle when the nurse took yet another blood sample!), but my lovely hot paracetamol drink has really made a difference this time. :-) Still managing to stay positive (apart from the odd groan, particularly at night!) & wrote my first article for Textbroker yesterday, so that counts for my writing target & taking advantage of opportunities! :-D Today, a friend has offered to take me out to lunch next weekend (it's my birthday) & organised for a trip out to the pub (I'll be alcohol free) with other friends the following weekend - so I've accepted (opportunities! lol!), but we haven't established the lunch venue yet - I have a lot of food restrictions, so don't usually go out to restaurants, although there's a tofu place in my local town, so I might suggest there. The UK government have come up with two new policies today that are going to be introduced forthwith & that I really agree with. :-) The first is that they're going to withdraw Child Benefit from people with higher-tax salaries - about time! People with higher salaries don't need small handouts & each portion saved will really build up savings for the government & help the country get back on its feet! The second is that, from this coming Sep, there'll be a way of sacking teachers for poor capability within 1 term, instead of the previous 6 months. That's good, too - there are too many bad teachers & some of them are still quite young (i.e. not so long out of training)! Children deserve the best start in life!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:38:46 -0800

Just curious Hepatica - how does the UK determine who is a 'poor capability' teacher?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:10:12 -0800

We do get fairly strong wind all year, and then in winter it's just crazy. Fifty mile an hour gusts right now. I've looked into a windmill, and the chances of getting ripped off on installation costs are pretty high, plus there are few rebates or incentives available on a state or federal level, plus it would take at least ten years to amortize. We have woods here, not lawn, so we might have to cut down trees and ruin our view to put up a windmill. The next owners can log and bulldoze the entire woods, mow eight acres every season and sell the hay, and have their windmill. It would certainly keep the deer and the deer hunters at bay.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:22:07 -0800

OFSTED. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ They inspect schools periodically (depending on the school's rating) & watch the teachers teach & assess them & the schools. With a poor OFSTED report, a school might be put into Special Measures & the capability of the teachers would be looked into.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

lackadaisikat — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:20:24 -0800

I should probably put up my list of goals for January. Art/Craft: Finish 2 of started projects (dark blue sackboy, green hat); Start gauntlets for both M's Education: Rewatch all lectures before next class and take detailed+legible notes; Start homework before the weekend Financial: Don't go out to eat; Take checks and xmas money to bank Health: Don't eat solids after 8pm; Track calories; Recover completely from sickness; Stop drinking soda after 5pm; Go to sleep as early as my schedule will allow Job: Write a few good basic cover letters and resumes for various fields that have openings Reading: Read 4 books (Once on a Time-DONE; Pyramids; Dark Road to Darjeeling; Pride and Prejudice) Writing: Write at least 8,000 words I love green energy and windmills/wind turbines seem like an awesome idea, but after going to several seminars about them I've only heard about how difficult it is to make them reliable energy sources. Chicago had one installed somewhere downtown to show their support of 'going green', but it was placed where it could be easily seen, not based on where there was a lot of wind. Now they've got a pretty statue instead of something that will eventually pay back the initial cost. *sigh*

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:37:08 -0800

I made myself go out for a bit of sunshine and wind (quite strong wind, too - I like getting blown about!), and a rather half-hearted search for work clothes (not surprisingly, it was unsuccessful) and a bit of bookstore-browsing (even though I just got two delicious new books this week), and managed to make it back home before it turned wet and yucky again. My whole back still hurts, but at least the cramps have stopped, and I can hope my body will stick to its rule of "if it's bad one month, it will be much better the next". I've cleaned my apartment, too, and now I should go and write my blog posts. Even if I'd rather read.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:23:30 -0800

Well, I have just spent 2.5 hours setting up a PayPal account for Textbroker! Can't say I'm very impressed with its transparency! Refused to complete a direct debit mandate it requested, because it didn't say why or how much was being withdrawn or what for! So I don't know if it'll allow Textbroker to pay me, but we'll see! Have to say, though, the concentration required effectively stopped my coughing & sneezing! Of course, as soon as I realised, I had a long coughing fit! lol! Can't be bothered to cook now, though - it's 8.20pm - so I've just wapped a couple of trays of homemade chips in the oven - probably not very healthy, but I'm actually hungry for the first time in 8 days! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:48:18 -0800

Blog posts are written. Writing in German is so odd again, but it's going better than I expected. Whoops. Nearly forgot I still have a bit of story-writing to do as well, if I want to keep writing every day.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:00:09 -0800

Well I'm back, for now. There is a lot of convo on this section, I'll try and not make this a huge post. I've got another cold that's keeping me down right now. I can't pretend that I'm surprised though. The week before christmas I was working on planning for the local group near full time. That and job hunting and christmas plans. I got around 4 hours sleep a night. I also got sick and missed christmas with the family. When I recovered I went full on back into the local group planning full time. Four hours of sleep a night, and then on the sixth spending 10hours a day out in the cold organising and working at the site. I manages about three and a half hours a night until the 10th. The 11th was the first half of debriefing. and then wee all took some down time. I crashed hard and woke with this cold. I hope I'm better by monday. Debriefing part 2 and some conflict resolution is on the table, then I have a interview for tuesday and meeting on weds. Then maybe I'll make it to families for Christmas exchange. Reguarding windmills, there are sources on how to make your own from treadmill motors and car batteries for energy storage. as supplemental energy to cut costs it's not hurting anything to try. Reguarding health care systems. Back when NDAA happened and Sopa was on the table in it's original form, I started looking at other countries for future conscideration. New Zealand looks like it's got it's collective head on straight in a lot of ways. I'd only be mainly concerned with an economy so heavily dependant on import. I've done some wild things since october not the least of which has been going from a shy guy who didn't care much for speaking in front of people to being on National TV, International Radio, and quoted in international print. For somebody who fears being responsable for other people I have managed to take responsability for state wide meetings and supervised sites of of over a hundred people from all over the US and a few from outside. It's been a bit eye opening. It has also ... what's the opposite of disenfranchised?... reenfranchised? me to socially conscious participatory citizenship. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here. But One thing is sure, I must start my list for the year and keep living my life as my own outside of any job I might get and any of my voluteer time. I'm off to post some of my ideas for this years list.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:19:53 -0800

Hi folks, sorry I've not been around for a while but I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself. Had a week when the only thing I could think of to post was "I'm exhausted and my wrist hurts!" so didn't really want to bore you with that repetitive whinge! Anyway.... I spent the weekend looking round an activity centre for people with disabilities, and it was pretty amazing - they truly are fully inclusive. They have a wheelchair climbing and abseiling wall, they can take young people with very complex needs canoeing, caving etc. Excellent facilities and staff who genuinely want to make sure everyone can access everything. It made such a refreshing change from the usual definition of accessible, which unfortunately fairly often means "Oh, we put a ramp in". Back to the BFS stuff! This week I'm hoping to be a bit more positive! Got to carry on clearing/sorting out the last main pile of junk, make sure I write a little every day, as long as it isn't hurting my wrist, and take some stuff down to the charity shop. I've finally finished the article I was writing and got that submitted, so I'm glad that's out of the way. Work things are low priority for the moment, want to get stuck into writing again! I've also got the fracture clinic on Thursday, hopefully there'll be some good news about my wrist. Hoping to catch up with you all a bit over the next few days, I've not been on and read posts in a while.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:46:18 -0800

Brrr. I think I read a little too much. My brain has gone all foggy and fuzzy. I spent the last couple of days buried in "Assassin's Quest", except for a couple of hours yesterday I when I visited my best friend. And even for a part of that time, I was thinking, "I want to go home and read! Read! Read!" Messed up my sleeping pattern again, and even slept in the living room, which is a better place to read until all hours (I do not turn on the light in the bedroom for plant-related reasons), and let the householdy things slip... cooked no proper food, didn't wash the dishes... books can be an evil thing. I'm tempted to reread the Liveship Traders trilogy now, but I won't. I think I need a bit of a book-fast now. Reading too much can be similar to eating too much - nice while you're doing it, because it tastes good, but unpleasant afterwards. I'm kinda proud that I kept up my daily bit of writing, though, and the blog posts that needed to be written. And reading keeps me from wasting too much time on the internet. (Speaking of... off to bed with me!)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:20:17 -0800

Rovingjack: That's a long list of accomplishments. Glad things are turning out so well for you so far, except the illnesses, unfortunately there's not much to do about that. Keep getting your voice heard. I kind of wasted the weekend. Especially today, because it was just too cold to go outside. I did read another book, and when I was about to give up on finishing my web project for a website I volunteer on, committed myself to it by contacting a site vet to mentor me through completion. It's still in the setup phase but not wanting to waste too much of his time is a much stronger motivator than not wasting my own time, so I have high hopes for getting it done finally. One cover letter got written this evening, out of two; the finished one is the real job (the cattle one) and the other temporary. I have to mail it tomorrow. Can you believe that? Mail.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:08:02 -0800

As much as I want to call my weekend a waste goal-wise, it was actually a very fulfilling one. We traveled down to the Ozarks to get my husband's grandma's car, celebrated the youngest son's second birthday, and I had a surprisingly good time bonding with my sister. I think maybe having kids and helping my mom with bills has really mellowed her out. Now I'm back home and looking forward to getting more goals accomplished before month's end. Like getting all the recycling paper off the back porch. Then moving the dining set out there. Lots of shuffling, but I know that progress is being made. For me it starts out slow and might even look like I'm going backwards, and then something small will shift and all the progress just shines. In the meantime, I plan to get this edit back into the computer and get these dA contest entries written and submitted. Then I shall reward myself with the book my friend emailed to me.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:21:46 -0800

I spent the day driving to and from a family get-together. I made it there and back in one piece so that's good. My brother's family wasn't there which sad to say made the entire outing much more enjoyable since my sister-in-law is unbearable. I also got to hang out with my aunt and uncle from Phoenix whom I almost never get to see. It was fun despite watching our football team lose badly. Honestly Packers, way to not show up! Ugh. I also got offered a possible solution to my piano problem so I may not have to pay for storage for much longer. For financial reasons I'll probably take them up on it. I have the day off tomorrow for MLK day - I think I'm going to try and finish my puzzle, read and work on some Excel.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:51:33 -0800

J.K., Monday is Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday. No U.S. Mail. Jack, you have found your metier, and obviously you are capable of far more complex work than what you were being paid to do a year or so ago. I hope someone is smart enough to get you situated doing administration/organizing for pay. I tackled my big sewing project yesterday, attaching the new binding for an old Hudson Bay blanket. It's a simple enough task on a sewing machine, but I knew that somehow I'd screw up the stitches, which are top sewing and are supposed to be even and pretty. Little did I suspect that my bobbin would betray me. The tension kept slacking, ruining many inches of stitching. I finally outsmarted it by running the sewing machine very slowly. The results were ugly, but after several reinforcing lines of thread, I believe will hold. My relative won't even notice the awful stitching. Of course I finally did the sewing project because I should have been rewriting the beginning of any of my novels to enter a couple of contests that ended tonight. I did spend some hours on one ms. today, but then got wrapped up in creating a synopsis and trying to member how I had changed the sequence of the action in a prior revision, and then in making more revisions. Obviously, I am not ready to enter any contests. If I was ready, I would have done so. But there are other contests with other deadlines. Tobaeus, I'm thrilled you now have a car. Of course no one will get sick anymore and need a trip to the doctor. It has a been a cold, windy weekend but I went outside for an hour each day and messed around on the property. Happy to see that some of the saplings I sawed short last year have died (the drought plus the deer), and can be easily pulled. We don't have a bush hog, and until these are removed, we surely can't use one, either. Keep warm, everyone.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:38:20 -0800

I'm still ill & I haven't achieved anything! I didn't get to church yesterday & I'm not going to get back to school tomorrow. Feeling a bit sorry for myself - how can you tell?! lol! Lots of extra time to work on my applications, though! Oh yes, & I lost another 2 lbs this week - flu is great for weight loss! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:11:44 -0800

So it is. Darn. I lose track of days of the week, let alone holidays.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

alicerabbits — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:36:26 -0800

Well, I've been out and busy, but on the plus side things are evening out and I'll be back online in a regular schedule. The coursework is heavier than I was originally thinking it might be for grad school, but I'm getting through it. I'm also working 20 hours a week now as a grad assistant! yay for work! So that's two items off my "to do" list. I'm also on my way to losing weight, a biggie for 2012 as we're planning to get married late this year/early next year. I haven't been sick so far this season, and I'm hoping it stays that way. And a new Terabyte backup system for Christmas is helping me get my writing organized! In other words "Everything's goin my way"

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:02:45 -0800

Trying to settle back into a normal life after far too much reading. There was a mountain of dishes to wash, and some other messes to clean up, but that's done now. I made another attempt at finding work clothes, and was almost, almost successful, but of course they didn't have my size. I could probably wear the smaller one, but I prefer having a bit more freedom of movement. At least I bought and wrapped my mother's birthday present, and refrained from reading it first. And I stayed away from the bargain bins at the bookstore.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:25:20 -0800

Looks like this week is going to be slim pickins for work - its the end of the semester. Rats. Oh well, c'est la vie. I got both more and less done than I would have liked today. I finished the impressionist puzzle. Finally! Huzzah! That thing took me forever. I'll think twice before getting another one. I also got to read a bit and took a walk, but then got sucked into helping my mother all afternoon. She's downsizing from a two bedroom to one bedroom apartment at the retirement home and needed to weed a lot of stuff from her storage unit. Very frustrating, but it needed to be done; my brother is being extremely unhelpful in this regard. We got lots of stuff sorted into donate and keep piles which are getting picked up tomorrow. I'm also getting some new-to-me furniture that she won't have room for. I have enough furniture already, but I'm planning on freecycling a couple of old easy chairs in exchange for the new chairs I'm getting. This is the only way I can justify taking more furniture and I like the new ones a lot more than the ones they'll be replacing.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:38:15 -0800

My husband once bought me a Ravensburger 28,000 piece puzzle. I think it was a Breughel. Ugly as sin, full of complex little stuff, and in four separate plastic bags of 7,000 pieces each, plus a bottle of glue. As if I would ever put it up on a wall. Ick. No way. That burned me out on jigsaw puzzles for a very long time. I still like jigsaw puzzles but I only do them when I am stuck in strange places and someone has started one up. A small one. Preferably something pretty, not filled with grotesques.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:22:12 -0800

I like 3d puzzles or puzzle globes. I tend to do them all in on go. I think it's an obsessive compulsive sort of thing. It's hard for me to walk away with it half built. So I tend to favor something that can be built in around five to eight hours. todays group meeting went decent enough, and the mediation went way easier than anticipated but it was still cumbersome and a bit frustrating. But it's one of those things that we needed to get that ironed out for the immediate future and there will future events related that we have to tend to but we eased some of it and the rest comes up down the line with a bit of distance between the problem, emotional responses that got out of hand, and the final putting it to rest and learned strategies for how to handle it in the future. On other news, today the faucets started spurting brownish orange water that was ice cold. Lovely. When did this first happen... right as I was washing my hair during my shower. It's entirely possible the landlord needs a new water heater. So I didn't get a nice hot clean shower that might have helped ease the last dregs of this cold. and tomorrow I've got a job interview to be at. Sigh. I'm sucking it up. When this week is said and done I'm takin a few days off for christmas. No I'm not mistyping that. This will be the first chance I have to visit family for christmas.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:30:32 -0800

Christmas in Jan - or even Feb - is a good idea, Jack. I went through a few years of that a while back & it really makes a nice little holiday. It started because both I & my MIL were ill one year & then we got to enjoy it - it meant we could each have our own Christmas (go to church, etc.) & then have an extra one with family. :-) I'm not really one for jigsaw puzzles. I used to do them a bit as a child, but I used to get frustrated that all the time spent putting one together was then wasted when it was broken up & put back in the box. That said, I do have a little cardboard briefcase of four puzzles on my top shelf in the kitchen for when things get really dire round here, but I tend to turn first to my board games - Monopoly, etc. - so I haven't got to the puzzles yet. I'm feeling a bit better this morning. I started feeling better yesterday afternoon & haven't become worse today, so I'm hoping the pattern's broken. :-) It seems to be since I started taking the vit D meds, too, so I'm wondering if vit D helps break the flu, as well as prevent it. I hope so because that means I won't have any more flu for the next year, whilst I take the stuff! :-D So I've had a shower this morning & planned a shopping trip - I'm hoping to take back all the plastic I bought for floors & windows, & possibly some of the rugs, too. I'm not so worried about the rugs because it might be nice to have some underfoot, anyway, but I won't need the plastic, so I hope they'll accept them back - I'm sure I kept the receipts somewhere.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:43:55 -0800

I used to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles when I was a kid. With six cats, though, there's too much chance that pieces will go missing before I can finish. The cats have been very affectionate lately, but that's because they're using me as a heat source. It's only 5 degrees outside, and I can't get the indoor temperature up past 60 degrees no matter what I do. I really don't think it's healthy to spend the entire winter in what's basically jacket weather. And when I'm this cold I just don't feel like doing anything. The charity bags are waiting to be picked up, so that's one more thing off my list. And here's a different cat looking for a heat source. Three dog nights? I have six cat nights!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:11:57 -0800

A 28,000 piece puzzle? Yikes! That would put me off puzzles too - if I ever finished it. This was a 1000 piece Renoir that my roommate lent me. It was really hard since all the colors are really blends of other colors and nothing looks like you think it will. This 1000 piecer is the biggest one I've completed; most of the ones I do are landscapes between 500-750 pieces. It helped stave off boredom for a few weeks and I got to listen to a lot of the backlogged podcasts on my iTunes. I am one of those people who will finish the puzzle, let it sit for a few days so I can admire all the work I did, and then it goes back in the box. And yes, I have completed puzzles more than once - albeit with a few years in between. Despite the urgings of relatives, I am not one who would glue them together and display them. Where would I put them? The box is my preferred storage method. This one is kinda ugly but its not mine, so I won't feel bad about breaking it up and returning it to its rightful owner. I got called for work today, but it started in an hour, is a 45 minute drive away in the best of conditions and we're having a snowstorm. So it was a no-go. Alas... I think I'll get a bunch of reading and Excel done today.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:06:40 -0800

Jigsaw puzzles are the best. I don't mind breaking it up and putting it back in the box; for me, the interest is in the act of putting it together, and looking at the finished product makes me a little disappointed it's all over. The same feeling you get when you've read a book or a series for awhile, and finally finish it. Re-reading or re-piecing(?) brings back all the fun. Where my parents live there's a big hobby shop that carries anything and everything expensive and fiddly, and I used to stand there staring up at the shelves at all the Ravensburger puzzles. Never even thought of attempting something like a 28,000-piece though!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:12:42 -0800

Agree completely!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:35:42 -0800

I collect rare and unknown boardgames, sort of. I hunt through the thrift shops and find games that I never knew existed. There are some nice ones. I even aquired an Anne McCaffrey dragon riders of pern board game complete in rather worn box. and one of my other finds was a aviation combat game I played with my brother in law. It was WW2 combat planes over maps of area of europe. it was very interesting. I gave that to him for a holiday, he's a military history buff (restores korean war era jeeps as a hobby and remote control aircraft). Of the games I current have here I rather enjoy the game fire and ice, for some of the unique gameplay style. it's like a tic tac toe but you can move your peices along lines or curves and from island to island, but each space you move out of you put one of your oppponants spare peices into. So your moves expands your opponants options for play and your options are expanded by what your opponant decides they do with their peice.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

golfgal08 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:21:54 -0800

[quote=DanieXJ] Um... I try to always do what my Mom says, so I'm not saying go against your Mom, but Heat never seeps downward. That's probably why the insulation guy said that the carpets aren't really doing anything. 'Cause heat always goes up unless it's stopped by insulation. And yeah, it's not totally as cut and dried as that, but for the most part, heat up, cold, down... [/quote] Hot air tends to rise, because it's less dense than cold air, but heat itself (which is a form of energy) can travel in any direction, as long as it's going from a hotter region to a colder region (for example, heat leaves a cup of coffee to the ambient air, as opposed to the cooler temperature of the ambient air entering the coffee). So there might be a layer of warm air near the ceiling of your downstairs neighbor's apartment, and the cold air near the floor of your apartment, and the two temperatures would be trying to reach equilibrium. But if your downstairs neighbor happens to keep their apartment colder than yours, your heat could be escaping down into their apartment. Insulation just reduces the rate of heat transfer; it can't stop it completely. (Sorry, I'm a mechanical engineer, and heat transfer is part of what I do for a living.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

golfgal08 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:23:42 -0800

Also, Hepatica, have you looked into hanging heavy curtains in front of your windows? This might help reduce drafts. Even hanging heavy fabrics on the wall can help insulate things, and if you tack them up, you can always pull them down again in the warmer months (think tapestries; they were hung in doorways and windows to reduce drafts).

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:47:34 -0800

Had a good couple of days, managed to get a scene done each day, so there is only one scene left on my '11 NaNo, woo! Very happy, hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow. Then I can finally move on, put this draft aside, edit something else and get submitting again. I'm also quite excited about the next novel I intend to write, although the idea is still in the first basic stages. It feels good to be writing again, because it seems to be helping to pull me out of a bit of a glum patch I've been going through. I don't think it was bad enough to really call it depression, but I've been very mood-swingy and I've found it difficult to do much around the house after work. As for other goals, I'm still keeping my meditation diary and have managed to meditate a few times at home and I've got a charity shop bag waiting to go, so those will be ticked off by the end of the month. I can't give blood at the moment because of the broken wrist, but hopefully I'll be able to go back and donate in the next month or two. Apart from that I'm not pushing myself on anything - the writing goals are the most important!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:09:13 -0800

Funny to see jigsaw puzzles discussed here, when at another forum, somebody just linked to a site where you can do puzzles online, which immediately stole over an hour of my time. I think I still have a couple of 1000 pieces, but I haven't done one in ages, not since my parents sold their house and I had to give up my enormous desk. I was needed at work today - of course just when it finally snowed, and it was bloody cold, even though I was dressed in so many layers I could hardly move any more. And now I'm too tired to do much any more.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:48:50 -0800

There's a puzzle game on Shockwave that gives you recipes for the food-related puzzles that you complete. Virtual or physical, I'm a fan of doing both... when I have the time and a work space that won't be violated. I think I found my brain twin today on dailysciencefiction.com. She wrote a story that has a lot of similarities to one I wrote a few years ago. It was entertaining and a bit scary at the same time. And a nice ego boost. One more reason for me to keep polishing my short stories and send them in. Goal wise, not much done today except cleaning. The landlord's water bill for this place is skyrocketing, and we can't find the source of the leak. He's worried it might be at the place where the house's plumbing meets the city's, and that will be expensive to fix. I'm crossing my fingers that it's something easy to fix. Our landlord is a nice man, and he doesn't need any of that kind of stress and aggravation.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:34:58 -0800

Was it Jigzone? I'm on there all the time, lol, although it's very tricky with a broken wrist, my mouse skills are fairly useless at the moment!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:05:41 -0800

I've heard of that Anne McCaffrey game - not seen one though. :-) I've not heard of Fire & Ice, but it sounds like a good strategy game - just the sort I like. :-) But only one of my games is more than about 20 years old because I've bought most of them & most of them new at the time. The one older one is called Amoeba. It's a really good game for 2 people, but can't really be played by 1 person or more than 2. You have a pack of cards with amoeba shapes on them & a board of tiles of swirly shapes that each person takes in turn to move to make the shapes on their cards. It's best played fast & furious, but I don't have anyone to play it with at the moment. :-(

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:19:19 -0800

I recently found a puzzle game online called Patchworkz - it's on games.co.uk but, of course, it won't load at the moment. It's quite a time-zapper, though, & requires a lot of lateral thinking - I find it quite frustrating, myself, but I've had the odd go. I've had a good day today - better than the last two weeks, anyway. I still haven't done my applications or mortgage forms - they really must be done tomorrow! Time is running out! But I took back all the plastic & underlay to B&Q & they didn't mind giving me my money back, even though I was on the last day of the month & the plastic had lost its label. :-) Then I went food & meds shopping & spent all the money & more that I got back! lol! Would have had to spend that money, anyway, so I'm quids in really. :-) I'm coughing a bit now, but I still feel "well" & not "ill" - makes a really nice change. :-) Bit worried about one of my bunnies. I ran out of greens to feed them a couple of days ago, so they've had main food for both meals, instead. So I went a bit overboard & bought them some broccoli spears that were on sale - normally, I don't buy broccoli for me because it's so expensive! The one bunny fell to as soon as I put the broccoli in, but the other one didn't & I can't see that she's eaten any of the greens I put in, either. The trouble is, their tummies sort of stop working if they don't get greenstuff every day, so now I'm hoping she's ok. I can't afford to take her to the vets & it's the wrong time of year to gather blackberry leaves, which are a sort of "cure-all" for bunnies. Don't really know what to do.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Faeiri — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:07:26 -0800

Well, my weekend was a complete waste of time. There's a reason why I don't get into new things in November--even when I'm not watching or playing them, I get sucked into the fanart and lurking in the communities. Sigh. Falling behind on my word count, so I'll have to rectify that. Now that I think about it, I haven't done a jigsaw puzzle in a long time. I think one problem is that I would never want to disassemble them.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:32:02 -0800

I had a very productive day today - I got through three Excel chapters! Only three more to go! I will definitely get this done this month. =)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:11:04 -0800

Seems like a lot of sites are going "black" in protest against SOPA, so to do my part, I'll be abstaining from any form of internet use for the whole day. This means I can get on things like sorting paperwork and cleaning house. This place should be sparkling before sunset.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:31:12 -0800

Is NaNo? Its an interesting concept, but I'm not sure if I can abstain. ;) Perhaps I'll forego facebook, but I need the internet to book subbing jobs... I heard a debate on tonight's Newshour about it, and the guy they had defending it (an NBC Universal exec) seemed like he was completely full of crap. Speaking of protests... I am very proud of my state today. Today was the deadline to file recall petitions against Scott Walker and organizers turned in over a million signatures. They needed 540,000 to launch a recall. Woohoo! On Wisconsin! Of course, now they have to scrutinize all of them and delete the duplicates, but still, the ball has begun rolling. Nobody here should be surprised by this - especially not after my fellow citizens took over and occupied the Capitol building for about a week last spring.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:17:42 -0800

I went with my sister to the gym yesterday. I haven't exercised in years, but I thought that if I would just jump in, then I'd improve. Well I guess I should have eased myself into it, because, well, I ended up throwing all over myself and the gym.... But I finished another book this week, so I'm up to four now. And I've made significant progress on my short story. Just a few hundred more words and I think I'll have finished the first draft. I'm now up to four glasses of water on average per day, and I haven't had a coke for the past week!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:44:05 -0800

My '11 NaNo is FINISHED! At last! Hurrah! It feels great to be writing again and to finally get those last couple of chapters out of the way. I'm not going to give myself much time to pause, because I have another novel to edit and I want to start planning the next one. I'm really quite excited about the next novel idea I have, so hopefully that one will get started without too many problems.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:28:28 -0800

Abstaining from the internet doesn't help the cause. The point is to blackout websites with information on SOPA and PIPA to enlighten those who do not know about them. NaNoWriMo is not particularly effected by these bills, though if they were passed a single stupid person could destroy this community. (I'll resist making comments about the recall, that is, beyond praying that Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse aren't on those petitions) -X

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:19:00 -0800

Enlighten me. I tried looking up something on Wikipedia earlier & got the blacked out screen, but it only said it was due to the US considering access to the internet, or some such. Fortunately, I managed to get what I needed from Google. Being selfish & not knowing what's going on, I don't think it's particularly fair for the rest of the world to be cut out of the sites just because something's being considered by the US government!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:27:03 -0800

I have just spent the last 4 hours completing all my jobs & education since the year dot on the first of my teacher training applications! They even wanted specific dates! I can't remember the exact date I left the last job in September, never mind what was happening 30 years ago! So ALL the actual dates are made-up (the month & year are accurate, pretty much, apart from on the really old ones - got the year accurate on those & made educated guesses for the month). I know it's a competitive process & difficult to get in, but still!!!!! Fortunately, once I've completed the whole thing, I can turn it into a PDF so I can just copy it for the other applications. So tomorrow's aim to to complete the *** thing! Apart from that, I've had an ok day. This morning, upto about 3pm, was spent in researching various teacher-ish areas to help me get into the swing & to think about what I'm going to be writing in the other part of the application - the form is just the first part. I've had a game of Ancient Empire, too, as a distraction to help me think better. Might just have another game now or I probably won't sleep, being wound up with the application!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:04:07 -0800

Here is a primer article for you a from Ars Technica and London-based writer Peter Bright: "What Does SOPA Mean for Us Foreigners?"

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:07:22 -0800

If you click the 'Learn more' button the Wikipedia page it does lead you to a very confusing page about it. Here is a better one: Compete history of SOPA/PIPA via Know Your Meme (pop up leads to icanhazcheezburger.com's blackout infopage) Stop Online Piracy Act in the US House of Representatives and the Protect IP Act in the US Senate are meant to prevent illegal distribution of materials. Not just torrents of music that people have to actively use, but aimed directly at websites that may host copyrighted material. Currently a easy way to get around copyright law is to have your servers based in another country that doesn't have laws concerning online piracy (this is how Wikileaks can function). Both bills would prevent online piracy by blocking websites at the domain level. I.e. they redirect all traffic at that web address to somewhere else. I think the way the Wikipedia blackout is working it very similar to how it would look. The biggest problem with this is how they chose what sites are blacked out. YouTube has thousands of copyrighted videos posted to it everyday, most is removed automatically but much has to be removed manually. As soon as something is posted, YouTube could be blacked out, even though YouTube has procedures to remove that copyrighted material. Remember that you have to pay royalties to cover someone's song, otherwise it's a copyright violation, aka most of YouTube that isn't cats. Same goes for Facebook, if someone posted a link to a copyrighted download. Someone could post that same link in this forum and it would allow the US Government to block the NaNoWriMo.org domain name. No trial, no time frame for review, your website just does not exist until they decide to bring it back (if they decide to bring it back). There is a lot of worry that if the US starts doing this it will make it look okay for other countries to start doing it (Though many, such as China, Iran, and North Korea already do). Wikipedia is being criticized for a complete blackout (there were early rumors that Facebook and Google were going to join them in complete blackouts) since the bills are losing support fast (insert comment about rats and ships here). The simple fact is that many companies, like Wikipedia, feel like they would be forced to close down if either bill was passed. Losing the American market would shatter these companies, even if it was only for a few days. Does that explain it and make sense? It looks like a big long rant from here. -X

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:37:33 -0800

Post written by Seanan McGuire author of the October Daye series (and Newsflesh under the pen name Mira Grant) Warning for some very strong language in the link. http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/414267.html [quote=Seanan McGuire]Now, I am a creator of things, and I appreciate and enjoy making money off of them. It enables me to do silly little things like keeping the power on and feeding the cats. I appreciate and enjoy it even more when people don't steal from me. But you know what doesn't steal from me? Book reviews. But SOPA could make it a crime to post book covers or quote inside text, something my favorite book reviewers often do. Hell, SOPA could make it a crime for me to maintain my own website, since I use art that is technically under copyright to either my publishers or the original cover artists, and if someone wanted to be a real dick, they could report me for posting pieces of my own books.[/quote]

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:47:35 -0800

Ha. That's a good point, that oftentimes your publisher will hold the copyright to the work.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:16:57 -0800

Hepatica -- I had to fill something like that out for my gov't job that asked every address I'd lived at since age 18. I used to move every 2-6 months in college, so I just approximated the dates and omitted a lot of information. They never looked at it. It turned out to be one of those things where somebody designed a form, they put everything that could possibly be asked on it, the form got accepted, now since the accepted form had all those boxes they had to all be filled in. Another kind of wasted day. I woke up with a bad crick in my neck, which sort of put the kibosh on things like exercise, reading, or turning too far to the left or right. Mailed out that job application (couldn't do it yesterday, unsafe to go out w/slush, high winds, and ice). It doesn't feel like an accomplishment--every job I apply to (and get rejected from), I feel like I close off another opportunity, and make it more and more awkward to walk around town for fear of bumping into these people.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:27:41 -0800

I had another pretty productive day despite not officially working. I did some data-entry for my landlords so I'll get at least some pay for today. I just booked a job for tomorrow, so at least I won't go all week without working; hopefully I can pick up something decent for Friday too... I went and picked up the new-to-me chairs from my mother and got a bunch of books from the library. And I took a walk. We're due for some bitterly cold temperatures in the next couple days so I may not get to go outside. I'm a dedicated walker but sometimes its too cold even for me. I finished Excel! YAY! So we can scratch that goal off the list. I'm not an expert by any means but I can at least fake my way around the program and do some basic stuff. Good enough for me. I also finished book number six for the month- scratch another goal off the list. =)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:13:47 -0800

actually the think that does it for me is that there doesn't even have to be actual copy right violation, just under suspiscion of containing things to which the web page owner does not own the rights. That could easily be Lawyered into meaning copylefted materials and open source software. SOPA and PIPA are thinly veiled attempts to have regulatory control of virtual properties established within this country and to control what is electronically imported or exported. "We control all that you see and hear." This means that there will be a firewall going up around the US that is in the control of a government who is currently at 9% approval rating and enacting governmental policies that are tearing up the bill of rights (NDAA 2012, Patriot act, ect...) .

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:24:54 -0800

I was reading a Russian news article a couple weeks ago and their Security Council Secretary was advocating (loose translation) "reasonable regulation of the Internet, like in China and the U.S." Putin's Russia. Russia saying, "Damn, our censorship is lagging behind." Almost had a heart attack.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:50:42 -0800

It would be a sad day if we moved to similar internet censorship as exists in China. Trying to get around those censors so I could read the news was a pain in the butt. When Russia wants to emulate OUR proposed censorship you know its bad...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:06:58 -0800

It's a little-known fact that during the height of the Cold War, the U.S. restricted the movements of visiting Soviet citizens just as severely as the U.S.S.R. restricted the movements of U.S. tourists there. We played tit for tat the whole time. We broadcast propaganda on Voice of America, and they jammed it. We bugged their embassies and they bugged ours...and so on. I think in the U.S. the effort to muzzle the Internet has happened too late. It's too well established here, including as a major source of commerce. Break it, and you'd also destroy the most energetic part of our economy. However, Congress appears to be populated by some of the stupidest people ever, with such skewed agendas that they can't see the forest for the trees. They might actually want to destroy our economy, as long as they also make sure you can't watch a pirated Adam Sandler movie. That will surely keep the U.S. safe from terrorists.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:03:38 -0800

TED.com has a video of Clay Shirky discussing the history and implications of pipa and sopa. I think he misses the potential of making it essentially like a firewall was in place and the government controlling the import or export digital materials.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:21:24 -0800

No, jigsawplanet. I had a look at jigzone when I saw your post, but I like jigsawplanet better. Not that it matters, I won't let myself go back to either. I always get too obsessed with things like that and spend hours there.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:48:15 -0800

I had a good day yesterday. I was woken up earlier than I'd have liked, by the postman ringing the doorbell to give me not one, but two book parcels. Since it was a beautiful sunny day, I didn't go back to bed afterwards. I'd decided to make it a no-internet day, because I'd wasted so much time doing stupid jigsaw puzzles the day before (I think I played for 3-4 hours, until my hand hurt too badly from all the drag-and-dropping. I was getting bored by it, but I still couldn't stop.), so instead of lazing around on the couch, I watered a lot of very thirsty plants and cleaned most of the apartment. Only the kitchen left to do today. Then out to enjoy the sunshine, cycling through the villages for about an hour. Another unsuccessful attempt at finding a new pair of trousers - I just don't understand sizes any more! The one I tried on was one size smaller than I usually wear - and it was far too big for me! (And no, I haven't lost that much weight. If I did, there wouldn't be much left of me!). So I comforted myself with a few hours in the bookshop, reading books I don't want to buy. I visited my family for dinner, and when I finally came home, despite being quite tired, I made myself do my daily bit of writing. I wrote more than I have for weeks (still only about 1K), and I'm now at 8888 words this month, and 88 pages in Word (plus a couple of handwritten pages). Crazy coincidence!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:55:11 -0800

Thanks for explaining - & for the links (I'll read them later when I've finished my applications) & further info below. I do understand now - it doesn't make sense for a country that advertises its freedom of speech &, as others have said, one could argue that absolutely every single written word could infringe copyright - or, indeed, plagiarism - law. It seems to be shooting the messenger, so to speak - the internet (& identified sites) are not the source of the problem - Wikileaks happens because some stupid 'high up' officials choose to divulge secrets; music is illegally downloaded because music companies make the music available on the internet; likewise, literature, etc. The problems of potentially having to prevent illegal copying was discussed quite widely when moves were first made to publish books on line: I remember - I was studying publishing at the time & the problem was mooted on the basis that systems would be put in place. Human nature is such that people will always want something for nothing. If the US government want to prevent the misuse of information, they need to go to source & stop it being published at source - not at the place which copies it! Given the current economic situation world-wide & the position of the current US government, I would have thought there are more important things to worry about than trying to stop the copying of pre-existing information! Unfortunately for the US government - & the US as a whole, if these policies are made law & start to affect business in the UK, at least - if not other Westernised countries, I can easily imagine us withdrawing support from the US. The UK-US relationship is already incredibly fractured & on tenterhooks among many UK people, including those 'high up', largely fostered by the US tendency to, what we see as, "gun happy culture" & to invade & try to conquer other countries for no apparent reason. We have a saying here - "Well, they are American!" &, unfortunately, that feeling figures large in the general UK populace & covers for a lot of sins. So I really can't see any move on the US' part to effectively increase the current recession by killing off multiple internet sites is going to help!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:46:22 -0800

I had a pretty productive day yesterday. Exchanged pants that were too small for my son, picked up the meat order, cleaned house, and sorted and put away the clean laundry. It was really piling up. And not once did I turn on my computer. It was a strange feeling, but I also didn't have any weird cravings for internet time. Maybe I can find more days to do this. This evening needs to be set aside for rewriting a short story, and perhaps more rewriting on another. If that fails, maybe I can curl up with a big box of paperwork and start sorting.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MaddieMcMoomin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:24:53 -0800

I don't think my "start a family" goal is gonna work this year :( it's the one I want the most! However, my progress on my novel is going well, I've lost weight (without meaning to - it wasn't even a goal but I feel good so I might carry it on) and I've hopefully passed my exam today and will pass the other on Monday maybe even with As *crosses fingers*.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:57:53 -0800

Our household budget is going to take a dip come February, so I'm trying to be more mindful of everything I'm spending so I can stick to the new budget—it's just sort of scary how much I buy without thinking now. It may hurt to give up eating out, but at least it'll help out with my 'eat healthier' goals. I just wish I knew how much was 'reasonable' to spend on food. :p On that note, much love to all those blog out there that post 'eat healthy cheap' tips and tricks—I'd be meal planning nothing but PB&Js without you! *grin* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Writing | Horses | Warcraft | Business | Random | WordPress)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:24:39 -0800

Martha, in the UK, the government allows £98 per adult as the absolute lowest figure for all food & household items per month. I don't know how that translates into dollars & it will depend on your local economy, but it might give you a starting point. I worked mine out by saving all my food receipts for a month & then dividing up my purchases into basic / luxery / pets / one-off. The 'one-off's were things, mostly household, that I buy every few months & just happened to fall into that month, like washing powder, etc. I took out all the luxery costs & divided the 'one-off's' by however many months I thought they'd cover. Then I totalled everything & divided by 12 for the average monthly cost. Amazingly, it did actually come to just over the £100 mark, so that's the figure I work to now, even though I now have £20 or so in non-prescription meds to add into the mix. I finished part 1 of my application! Spent about 5 hours writing my Supporting Evidence & then precis-ing it. I had a fixed wordcount to work to - 600 words - & wrote 1000 in my first draft. So then it took several rewrites to get it down to 600 & that was really hard because I had to cover why I want to be a teacher, why I want to be a Primary teacher, comment on what I learned from my School Experience, comment on previous "teaching experience" & what I learned from it, why I chose the training method I did ('on the job' training in school, not the usual university route), why I want to stay local & what I can bring to teaching - &, at the same time, giving examples & showing I know what I'm talking about! Phew! Got there in the end, though. :-D And then I spent about another hour checking the whole thing through & discovering I'd missed a bit, so fixing that. And then I submitted it. Massive feeling of relief! lol! Now I just have to do Part 2, which is really just about gathering evidence. And I also need to write a definition of learning, but I've been gathering bits & bobs together for that, so now I just need to write it. Then I have two other places to apply to, but I've made a PDF of my submitted form, so I can just print that out & copy most of it, just tweaking the Supporting Evidence a bit to make it personal to each of the other places. And then I sit back for a couple of months and wait to see if I get an interview for either one of them! Worst bit! lol! Tomorrow, I need to take back the rugs to IKEA & get my money back. Also to complete the mortgage forms & get them off. And phone up the mortgage company & see what they want to do about this month's payment because they're not going to get it from the insurers because I haven't applied in time!!!!! My fault. I just hope they might be a bit lenient or I might have to spend all the money I've saved for other things, like car services, etc.! And I've got to check out the restaurants for Sat, which I haven't managed to do yet! It's all go! Don't know when I ever had time to be in work! lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:45:25 -0800

That's about $158. I used to survive on about $78 but my food restrictions now that I'm sick force me to pay for somethings that are more expensive as they are the only foods I can eat without risking killing myself slowly and painfully. My food costs have actually gone up $12 (7 pounds) in the two weeks due to price hikes.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:13:46 -0800

Yeah - I can survive on one bowl of porridge (oats & water, tsp of sugar) a day, if I have to. Done that for upto 3 months before, buy it wasn't a nice life & I got sick! Which foods are you eating, Jack? I eat mainly vegetables & tinned beans & cheapy-cheap white rice & eggs, which are cheaper than most other foods, together with the odd pint of goats milk or bit of goats cheese when the gas / electric hasn't cost as much as projected one week. Mum sends me food parcels of nuts every so often because nuts are too expensive for me to buy & I only go to the health food shop once a month for rye flour.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:34:40 -0800

I've been tracking my expenses in the year I've been living on my own now. I just played around with my lists a little, and I've averaged about € 130/month for groceries and other necessities (toilet paper, shampoo, cleaning supplies...) (and the monthly costs have varied quite a lot, with € 225 in January, when I moved out of my mother's place and didn't own a single edible thing, and less than € 50 in December, when I was still living off the things I'd stocked up on before NaNo, and spent a couple of days visiting family). I could probably get by on less, but thankfully I don't need to.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:36:41 -0800

I try to eat only organic now, so that sends my food bill higher, but OTOH, eating organic has diminished my cravings considerably, so I'm not eating junk food, processed foods, or very many sweets, and I almost never go out to eat anymore, so my going organic probably hasn't raised my food bill that much. I got some things done today. I did a lot of paper sorting and decluttering. I've filled up another recycle bin. Yesterday it was so cold I was miserable all day. I couldn't get the indoor temperature up above 60, and that was with two heaters and the oven going. Expensive way to heat the house. Today was warmer, so I was able to go out and bring some firewood in. I also managed to take a hot shower comfortably, since it was actually room temperature in the house when I got out. Still no news on the job front.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:04:56 -0800

I haven't even bothered to total up the monthly budget recently; there's no unnecessary items bought. A $25/16 pound difference in the monthly expenditures from going onto a one-meal-a-day regimen isn't relevant when it's only 3% of the mortgage/fees (and that's with a mortgage lower than any rent I ever paid). Saving $25/month for three years still wouldn't let us stay one extra month on the property. Today we ended up going on a small home renovation blitz, since we had to go to the hardware store anyway after the maintenance organization said we'd have to pay damage if any of the pipes burst because we didn't have an air conditioner cover (what idiot decided to run the water pipes underneath the one part of the unit exposed to the outdoors, anyway?). That was luckily only $5 but while we were working around the windows & AC we did some insulating on some trouble spots we found after hearing the wind whipping around last night. Been doing some cleaning around the house, too. Not decluttering so much, it was more organization of piles, especially sorting through old archival records to see what can *finally* be discarded.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:25:34 -0800

I wish I understood electricity. I like to keep a nightlight in our bathroom, but the one I had went out a few months ago. While out running errands with my mother today I finally remembered to pick up some lightbulbs for them. I get home, put in the new bulbs, plug them in - and none of the spare nightlights will light up. I have no idea why they won't work. Other than that, nothing much happened in my day. I worked today and got to read for most of the time since I was proctoring final exams. I took a walk, but had to cut it really short since we have a windchill around -10. It was freezing cold and windy. Brrrr... We're supposed to get a snowstorm tomorrow, but hopefully I'll be home from work before it really starts snowing in earnest. After that - a three day weekend! YAY!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:54:27 -0800

shadybrook farms natural ground turkey, generic frozen green beans, generic frozen carrots, and honey. That's the usual, If I splurge it's on cucumber, and squash. and a new addition is certain brands of smoked gouda but I try to save that for a rare treat.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:07:02 -0800

Jack, you're eating too little. You need oily fish, at least, & fresh vegetables or you'll get even more sick - I now have liver problems & vit D deficiency because I've been veggie & allergic for 25 years +, so I know what I'm talking about! Go see a pharmacist if you can't afford a doctor - there may be some antihistamines you can take that aren't expensive & are sold over the counter - with those inside you, they'll depress some of your allergens so you can eat more.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:22:55 -0800

One bowl of porridge a day doesn't only cost £16 less a month - it's more likely to be nearer the whole budget saving! Let's see: porridge costs 75p for 1kg & I use 125mls a time = 0.093p per time - let's say 1p for round figures Sugar costs £3.99 for 5kg & 1 use 1tsp / 5mls a time = 0.159p per time - let's say 1.5p for round figures Water costs £7 for a whole month of household usage: for porridge, I use 250mls per time, so it's basically free at that level Total cost per bowl of porridge = 2.5p x 31 for a full month's allowance = 77.5p Which is a saving of £99.23 (rounded up) per month, from a £100 per month budget £100 a month wouldn't cover my mortgage, either, but I could save enough in 5 months for 1 extra month of mortgage. I don't buy organic food, apart from eggs. It's more expensive & the fresh stuff goes off quicker, even in my fridge, so that I have to shop every week, instead of every two weeks, & that's a more expensive practice because there'll always be other things that catch my eye. Whilst I'm poor, I buy bog-standard; when I'm rich, I'll reconsider! lol! Dutch, take the bulbs back. It sounds like you were sold a duff lot. We've been lucky here this winter - touch wood - we haven't had any snow that's lasted more than a couple of hours & it's quite warm outside - double figures, anyway. Wet & windy, too, but not ice & snow, which is they main thing. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:16:07 -0800

Funny, I've found that organic veggies last longer for me - I've still got parsnips, a Hokkaido squash and potatoes I bought in October and they're all still good - actually, I got the potatoes for free, because they were damaged at the harvest, so the farmer warned me to use them up quickly - but not a single one has gone mouldy. Last year, we had carrots for a similarly long time, while supermarket carrots always go mouldy before I can use them up.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:35:45 -0800

Many items you'll find in a supermarket that are supposedly fresh have actually been sitting in a warehouse for a while. Check out eggs, an easy example. You can test any store-bought egg in water and see just how far gone it is with the old float test. They all are starting to float, which is proof of their age. We currently don't have to watch our nickels and dimes but we got in the habit when it was necessary, so we watch anyway. In the summer we buy as much of our produce as we can from a nearby farm, but that just means the items are fresh, not that they were grown organically. The "farm fresh" pies they sell have the same partially hydrogenated oils you'd find in a supermarket bakery product, and their apples surely were sprayed.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:46:58 -0800

You've got a point about the supermarket veggies not being fresh, either. But the fact remains that no matter when I buy them, whether they could have been harvested a few days ago or must have been stored all winter, they never last more than two weeks in the fridge, as opposed to several months like the farm-bought ones. (And that farm is organic. I actually used to work there, and now it's conveniently located along my way to work.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:59:16 -0800

It probably just depends on the shop's sourcing. When we were in the city buying at the corner fruit stores, those places had the cheapest food because they got whatever surplus or blemished produce had already not sold in the larger shops--and that was always a crapshoot where you had to use up whatever you bought that day. Supermarkets vary; one supermarket here, things typically go moldy in ~4-5 days, from the other I've gotten lettuces that last 10-14, both organic and non. And of course the things I get mailed from my mother's garden in the fall last forever, on your 2-3 months scale--helped by the fact that when it goes straight to me, I know how to store it to preserve it for the longest time possible. The shops don't bother to do so.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:56:17 -0800

I'm still trying to suss out that happy sweet spot between 'not eating well enough' and 'spending unreasonable amounts'. I've been tracking my spending through Mint for the past year and I've been trying to be good about not falling into impulse buys—I'm just never sure when I've hit the Good Enough™ mark. I'm trying for $200 a month for groceries, $50 pet food for the three dogs, and $80 for fun money (I eat out with friends once a week)... I'm just not sure if I need to pull it back more. *pokes budget* Right now I'm leaning on chicken and eggs for animal proteins, frozen veggies (the local markets here are horrid for the most part), and I'm trying to suss out what beans and starches I can work with before going stir crazy (stir-fry crazy?). However boiled shredded chicken is my new best friend—bone in chicken is massively cheaper plus I get a nice chicken stock out of the deal! :D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writing | Horses | Warcraft | Business | Random | WordPress

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:32:09 -0800

The local markets here are fond of putting up signs that say 'locally grown' but the stickers on the food say 'from Mexico'. *sighs* I've given up trying to buy anything that hasn't gone rotten a day later—the only store that seems to sell decent veggies is Walmart and I'm not up to fighting through their parking lots. Frozen veggies aren't so bad, but I'm sure to put them into other things instead of eating them as a plain side. I really just need to learn to make batches of salsa and nom those—so many good veg in those! :D (tomatoes, corn, black beans, olives, avocado, onions nomnomnom) I should start a thread about all the ways to use boiled shredded chicken; I'm getting pretty good at making it yummy! *grin* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writing | Horses | Warcraft | Business | Random | WordPress

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:52:29 -0800

One of our local grocery stores puts signs by all the local stuff and then a sign saying exactly how many miles away it is. It has to be less than 200 (I think - it might be 100?) to be considered local. Madison is sometimes known as 'Hippieville' and people here are much more food conscious about buying local and organic than other places I've lived. Of course, it helps that Madison is home to one of the best farmers markets around. Every Saturday morning it takes over the entire Capitol Square and there are mobs of people. I'm horrible at cooking vegetables mainly because I don't like chopping things, but even I think their veggies are top notch. Meat from the farmers market is fabulous. More expensive than what you get at the grocery store but oh so much tastier. And you get to support local farming which is always a plus.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:51:42 -0800

I get some salmon from time to time. and I do use coconut oil in some of my cooking. and very rarely I eat a rotting banana but that's really not something I like to have to do. It's not allergies. It crohn's my digestive system and immune system disagree. The result of which is damage to my digestion and inability to absorb or even tolerate most things that pass through my tract. The result is often pain and fever with other sysmptoms of severe food poisoning. If it persists too long severe scarring will worsen and could cause strictures and necrosis, rupture and sepsis, or internal hemorage. Persisting symptoms over 7 days can lead to a starvation response in my body. My body stops absorbing any food and shunts it through in under an hour while it canabalises my other tissues. Aside from restriction on the types of food that my body will break down and absorb without making me sick; quantity, frequency and method of preparation are also factors. Every 4-6 hours, small to moderate portions, steamed or poached soft. Pharmacies, nutritionists and doctors are all interlinked here and you really can't partake much from one without going through our complex and expensive health care system. But on the occasion that I've had to consult with a nutritional specialist they usually walk away having learned more from me, that I do from them. Generally speaking the only way to know what will work for me is to try it and face the consequence when it goes wrong. There is no assured plan of approach for my situation, as every person with my condition presents differantly. So can do eggs, I can't. some can eat tougher meats, I've yet to find one. Some can eat tomatoes, but I also have joint issues that worsen with nightshades. I used to eat lots of peas and spinach but the buildup of certain things in my system brought on full gout bad enough to make a couple months of hell and eventually hospitalised me for going into shock (80/40 blood pressure) from the pain. I'm still exploring some things, at a rate of about two or three a month when I have the chance to rick being sick for a few days. Many of the meds perscribed don't work, and half don't can exascerbate symptoms in people and almost all have organ damaging sideeffects. I can be functionally healthy and symptom free for months by sticking to what works for me. And when I do have a bad morning it's usually for about an hour and then not again. The only thing other than the occasional bad day that is currently an issue is the build up of keratin in my skin from so many carrots. it makes the skin on my palms and soles of my feet yellowish orange (occasionally when I tired or sick the rest of me looks jaundiced, accept my eyes don't yellow, because it's not actually jaundice just pigmentation in the skin from the carrots.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:20:09 -0800

WOW! And I thought I had it bad! I really feel for you - that must be so awful. I have no experience of Crohn's, though I know 'of' people with it & they've said the same thing - about how it presents differently. I don't know if this will help at all, but we recently had a very good tv series about conditions relating to nutrition & Crohn's was featured. This is the link, if you want to have a look: http://foodhospital.channel4.com/conditions I would say that I'm shocked that you can't even go to a pharmacist without it costing an arm & a leg but, having had the earlier conversation about medical care in the US, I'm not. Which is sad. It is shocking in itself & I feel very sorry for you. (((HUGS)))

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:45:05 -0800

I have to say, I definitely agree there's differences between supermarkets! I don't buy veg from Asda because it's gone off the next day & other people say the same. Tescos (where I do my main shop) are ok - the bog standard veg (i.e. not organic) last a couple of weeks in my fridge, provided I take them out of their wrapping before I put them in there, so the air can get to them. When I have the energy (which I haven't recently), I walk down to the local market on a Saturday with my box on wheels. The veg there is cheaper & fresher & lasts longer. Some of it is sourced from all the allotments we have round here & I can buy veg types there that aren't sold in the supermarkets. A new farmers' market has just started up in one of my main local roads, too, once a month & I got some brussel tops there in Dec - very nice & I do pay top notch for brussel tops because they're so nice & they're only available in winter, but they were still more than twice as much as I'd pay for greens in the supermarket! I've had a funny old day today. I tried getting up earlier because, now that I'll be going back to school volunteering next week, I need to get back into the habit - but ... the alarm went off, I turned it off & then I went back to sleep! lol! Once up, I then spent a couple of hours writing my 100 words on learning. Actually, it only took about 45 mins to write the paragraph, but it had to be handwritten & I'm so out of practice with handwriting! So practising that took the rest of the time until I had a fair enough copy that I was happy with! lol! Then photocopied all the other evidence, put it together & posted it off. Felt really good to have finished it! :-D Cost over £5 to send because I sent it by special delivery, so that I could track it & it would have to be signed for, so they can't turn round & say they didn't receive it by the deadline - trusting soul that I am! lol! Then a late lunch. Then went to get my bloods results from the GP & had some bad news! The liver count has gone UP!!!!!! - it's now very high & he couldn't tell me why, but he thinks my antihistamines have caused it. Which is really bad news because I have to have my antihistamines - without those, I can't take my vit D meds & I'd be at risk of anaphylaxis. So that really knocked me for six! He's reduced the dose of my anti-h & is organising for me to have a liver scan, but .... So felt really depressed for hours afterwards. Supposed to be going out to lunch with my friend tomorrow because it's my birthday & she's offered to pay. But it turns out (did a recce after the doctor's) that the three local restaurants I was planning to hit are all closed - one for cleaning, one for refurb & one because it only opens in the evening! So then I was trying to find somewhere on the internet, with little success, & thinking I don't really want to go out - it's too hard! There's a reason I don't normally go to restaurants & that's because I find it too hard to find anything I can eat! And, in the way of these things, I actually started feeling resentful of my friend for putting me in this situation! Anyway, then she texted & I phoned her back & the upshot is that she's found a restaurant she knows & it does food I can eat & I've phoned them & they've said there's lots I can eat & now I'm happy again! Isn't it amazing how one little thing can change mood in an instant?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:01:57 -0800

The veggies I prefer are the ones from my own garden. Minutes old is very fresh, and they have the full flavor. In the supermarkets it's sometimes a crap shoot. I can buy organic blueberries from Chili, or I can buy pesticide laden ones from America. Organic usually trumps local.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:27:31 -0800

Since we are talking about keeping vegetables and fruits fresh, I have recently had success keeping berries for nearly two weeks in special plastic bags sold at the grocery store. Hefty does those, which I think must be a takeoff of the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. Berries we get from stores around here just don't keep; clearly they've been sitting too long. Using these bags has allowed me to enjoy a few raspberries a day instead of feeling I must eat all of them the very day I buy them. Putting a fresh paper towel in the bag seems to help. The strawberries don't get any better over time, though. If they go in underripe, they'll come out underripe.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:47:51 -0800

I've been having a quite useless couple of days. I meant to go and get a haircut, but the weather was yucky, and I decided that as a cyclist, cold-and-rainy was sufficient reason to stay at home and spend two days snuggled up on the couch. Today it's off to the grandparents again, so I'd better go and wash the dishes now before my mother comes to pick me up.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:06:47 -0800

I'm not really into berries - except frozen - because they're just too expensive: for the cost of a tiny tray of fresh raspberries, I can buy a jar of coffee or about 4 days of electricity, for example! However, my usual game plan with storing veg in the fridge is that I: * clean out the fridge every shopping day, so that there are no gunky going off things or water pools to hasten decay * line the bottom of the fridge & half of the glass shelf just above it with several thicknesses of kitchen paper * remove all the packaging from all the veg - the exception being salad leaves, but I open these packets right up so they're just really acting as bowls * carefully arrange the potatoes in rows on the bottom left of the fridge so they're either touching the kitchen paper or hanging over it * ditto onions on the other side * ditto carrots on the kitchen paper on the glass shelf * cauli & cabbage go on the glass shelf without paper because they're already full of water & it helps them to stay fresh * other, smaller, veg (peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, celery, cucumber, etc.) are lined up on the wire shelves so that air can circulate * salad leaves are removed from their packets, a piece of kitchen paper put in the base of their packets & then they're replaced in their packets, broken open, so the air can get to them Even shiitake mushrooms last for a couple of weeks like this. Often, the things that do go manky at the back are onions that have been in there for a month or so. I don't tend to buy fruit - just because I don't tend to eat it, so it's a waste of money - but, when I do, I'll go for bananas or apples or pears & these stay out of the fridge in bowls on the side of the kitchen worktop with a piece of kitchen paper lining the bowls. I've not found anything to stop the bananas going off, but the apples & pears stay fresh this way for a good couple of weeks.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Smartiez101 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:30:38 -0800

I feel so happy to still be young. 0.0 Also, I haven't gotten on here in a while. :/ Well, I've got a bunch of work to do today. Studying for that semester exam on Tuesday would be important. Also, writing that paper on my Saint Name since I'm getting confirmed on Tuesday would also help. Getting a political cartoon that has to do with the Constitution is due on, you guessed it, Tuesday. L.A. I really, REALLY need to get down and work on those critiques. Let me tell you, the stories I'm critiquing for other nanoers are really good. :3 Can't wait to start 'em. Then, there's the saxaphone practicing. I got new music for Jazz Band on Thursday, and I've had new music since the beginning of the year for normal, Advanced Band. One part of Transformers is really getting on my nerves. Also, that part in Gotta Fly Now (I think that's what it's called). I've got to practice every day but two every week. >.> Finally, cleaning. I really need to get the floor good enough to vacuum. (vacuum? vaccum? I don't know) Then, we've got all the stuff to help me start cleaning out my closet. I should really go through my drawings and notebooks also (figure out which notebooks are empty so I can save them to write in them and then panick when they go missing, even if I haven't started writing in them yet.) This year has been so BUSY for me recently. There's been so much Algebra finishing up chapters and reviewing for the exam. I've had a couple of days where I stay up until almost 12:00AM doing Algebra homework just to figure out that my teacher isn't going to check the homework/I did more than I had to. I had a L.A. project which I'm pretty proud of. (well, half of it. The 3D map wasn't exactly what it could have been. The writing, however, was good. Hmm, I wonder why? :P) Science is always really light on homework. We've had two homework assignments this /year/. I know, really crazy. :3 U.S. History normally consists of taking notes, reviewing, or getting Editorial Cartoons. >.> Well, time to officially start the day! (Yes, I know it's 1:30PM where I live)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:29:12 -0800

My mother is finally on her way, so I guess it's time to pack up the laptop. And stop worrying whether two books are enough for one weekend away from home - even if I run out of books, I can always write. In fact, I should write, too. I finally finished that half-knitted sock while I was waiting. So when I come back, I can finally start a sweater. And it's also finally snowing. Thank God I don't have to drive!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:27:53 -0800

Hey, not all US blueberries have pesticides on 'em. I know for a fact that a lot of the farms in ME are pesticide free, and holy moley ME blueberries rock!!. Now, South America, Brazil. I worry about stuff from there. (Chili a little bit, but not quite as much). Fungus for the rest of us! Yay.... (okay, sarcasm done)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:58:11 -0800

I started reviewing my January goals, looking at what hasn't gotten done yet--since I have to post the completion log here at the end of the month, and don't want to look like a slacker :/ ... haven't made as much progress as I'd like. This week or so has been bad, relatively unimportant things have been making me freak out from stress to the point of not being able to sleep or concentrate on anything, just because they come on top of other, difficult-to-solve stressors. The university is back in session, though, which means more distractions, more excuses to force myself to leave the house for work (i.e. sitting at my favorite spot in the library writing job applications instead of the living room) and recreation, and more chances to go out and hobnob/interact with people. I made a schedule for the last week of January that involves several free arts exhibits/performances, a couple talks, and a trip with a local meetup group.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:39:30 -0800

Well, I had intended to do lots of editing today, but I've done none. Never mind, will start chipping away at it during the week. At least I've finished my NaNo, which was the more important writing goal for this month. Today I've been planning food for the week and trying some new exercise stuff, working towards my weight loss goals. To be honest, I've had my head in the sand for the last three weeks and really eaten an awful lot of rubbish. I'm determined to stick to my plan for this week, though, and see what I can do. Other than that I don't have an awful lot to report! Wrist is on the mend; reading, blogging and clearout goals are all going well. Health and editing are my focus this week!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:53:08 -0800

I think I'm coming down with something. I felt ok when I got up, but then I got to church and suddenly felt lousy. So back to pajamas I go. Thankfully I did my grocery shopping on the way home and stocked up on tea, orange juice and soup to help stave off whatever malady this is so there is nothing I need to do for the rest of the day. I was hoping to go for a walk today since I didn't get one yesterday, but looks like in the interest of getting better I should stay inside. Our weather is terrible today anyway - a snow/freezing drizzle mix. Yuck. Other than feeling under the weather, there is nothing to report.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:50:43 -0800

I've survived another weekend at my grandparents' place. I mean, I like my grandparents well enough, but my aunt and uncle can be a little ... exhausting. I refused to go to the ball with them and my mother, but of course that meant I was teased about that decision before and after. If I'd gone, I'd just have felt lost and awkward the whole time, not to mention that they - especially my uncle - would have kept pointing out guys and asking me what I thought about them, or, if they knew them, told me all about them. As it was, I was told a long story about some DIY store employee looking for a girlfriend. *rolls eyes* And my cousin announced she's going to get married. Remind me to stay well away from my uncle at the wedding, he's probably going to be insufferable. I didn't even manage to read as much as I'd planned. I always underestimate how much time I have to spend "socializing". And I came home with one more book than I'd left with, courtesy of my cousin. It seems I will never be allowed to get rid of that monstrous TBR pile.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:05:52 -0800

TBR piles are fun. Mine's so big that it's not even literal anymore, but various places on the internet and on my computer (yay for Excel/Calc) I'm pooped, and I've lost my voice a little 'cause I just got done watching the Pats/Ravens game. Yikes that was a sucky game, but, hey, I'm happy. Pats won. Now I have a week to rest up for the Super Bowl. Of course, then comes the question. Do you pee during the commercials or not. Can't pee during the game 'cause gotta watch my team, but the commercials can be good too. Maybe I'll go during the insufferable Doritos commercials.... :)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:48:35 -0800

Thought I'd get a lot of writing done today, but was riveted by the live stream from Munich of Don Carlo, with Jonas Kaufmann, Rene Pape, and Anja Harteros. Free opera from across the sea. Wonderful. A couple of years ago, I wrote my NaNo novel about this opera. It hardly fits into anybody's "Oh, I've got to read this!" list, but I love it a lot. Worked on coming up with a way to tell this story for many years, finally struck on a good one (I believe), and now need to make it sing from the first page. Revisions. Killing my darlings. Etc. Although January is winding down, I am still holding out hope that I can do some creative writing this month. So far, it has not happened, which is par for the course in winter, but I still find the situation frustrating. Adding 5,000 words to that incomplete novel I was working on in December shouldn't be such a struggle. But it is. I hate winter.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:24:21 -0800

My TBR list is pretty out of control too. All of those are modern books I have to find somewhere (the libraries don't have them all), but most of my reading is pre-1923 texts because I have access to a never-ending queue of them. I could probably break down the TBR list in a couple years' time if I really really made an effort to, though. I got five books from the library today on some nitty-gritty aspects of livestock management to study up on just in case that job calls back or if I find others to apply to. It is an odd assortment with some rather strange titles, so it was a bit of an awkward stack to check out. Fortunately the librarians are pros and don't bat an eye. I made use of the last night with the car to go out bowling last night, and ended up on the same lane with a master's graduate who just got a full-time job in a sandwich shop. She gave me some tips on how to pare down a professional resume to look more appealing to minimum wage, entry-level employers, which I hope will be useful, since the minimum wage jobs have so far been even less enthusiastic about my applications than the salaried positions were. Today was the first day since ... December sometime that I took some time to do some writing on the NaNo project. It's huge and sprawling and I don't plan to ever do anything with it, but it always makes me feel better to tack some more on and play around with a set of characters who are all like old friends. Immersing again into their story will also give me something to think about before bedtime besides the endless loop tape of anxious thoughts that usually keep me up.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:04:49 -0800

I ended up having a more productive weekend than I had expected. I got a lot of decluttering and cleaning done as well as polishing off a couple of model horse customs who are now grazing the fields on Etsy. I was hoping to get the last three posts for the Monday serial story (The Wolves We Are) finished off, but that's still on the docket for this week. I really need to learn how to pre-write things before Script Frenzy and Camp NaNoWriMo eat up all my spare time… *sighs* I did get a massive crockpot chicken soup done, so I have the Nummy Fuds™ for this week nicely out of the way. The goal is not to spend any money this week at all—but I'm not sure how realistic that will turn out to be. Still going to try though—figure it can't hurt. :) I'm not even looking at my To Be Read pile right now, because I really need to winnow out my books again and I've been putting it off. If only I had room for more bookshelves! :p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writing | Horses | Warcraft | Business | Random | WordPress

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:48:33 -0800

I've spent a lot of time lately decluttering, and I think that my office and bedroom look much better. They're still cluttered, and there's still work to be done, but there's obvious improvement. I have no plans to get rid of my books, though. I like books. I like having books around me. I'm not going to get rid of something that gives me enjoyment because other people don't want them. And there's plenty of decluttering to do getting rid of things that are obviously and undeniably crap. I've almost filled up both recycle bins. I need to start working on other things, like job hunting, fiction writing, and house repairs. And I haven't done a guided meditation in a while.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:21:36 -0800

See, takes all sorts. I love books, but generally don't want to own them. I know that there are a whole lotta people out there (lots of 'em are on LibraryThing.com and Goodreads.com) who love to own their books. Love my library. Of course, I also work there, so it's sorta like someone who's just quit smoking working in a Cigar bar or something... :) Right now at the top of my TBR list (I guess since I don't actually have a pile since I get 'em from the library) is a bunch of Superman TPBs. I'm trying to catch up on the Year Later stuff. And I can't wait until they start putting out the restarts of all the DC Comics in Trade Paperbacks. And, by some miracle, I believe that I'm still ahead in my reading 150 books this year, I think I'm at 13, 4 ahead. Wonder how long that'll last... :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:08:44 -0800

I resolved today to get going on my next novel. So I wrote an opening scene. A stupid opening scene, the kind that serves no dramatic purpose other than to inform the reader of who's doing what. It should be cut entirely in revision. But it's a beginning. A little over 1,000 words. My current goal is quite modest, 10k a month until I have a solid plot. This opening scene did spark some ideas for dramatic twists, which is good, because I need a plot more than I need an increasing word count right now.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:03:42 -0800

I feel like I've been horribly unproductive. About the only thing I accomplished in the last few days has been getting groceries and doing a beta read. Last week was incredibly slow for work, and we didn't have school yesterday. Probably just as well since we had freezing rain and the streets were in our subdivision were an ice rink - I couldn't even take my walk it was so slippery! I also haven't been sleeping well at all - I think I got three hours last night - part of the reason I'm not working today. I partially attribute this to not having the chance to take a walk for too many days in a row. Being a lounge lizard is not good for my well-being after getting so accustomed to taking a long walk every day. Hopefully its less icy today and I can go walking.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:33:12 -0800

I did a couple of miles yesterday, but it was all on the treadmill in the basement.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:59:32 -0800

Nothing wrong with using a treadmill. Walking is walking is walking. I would have liked to have a treadmill in the last few days.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:38:47 -0800

This is why I'm trying to turn the library into my main source of books again, that way I don't feel guilty for having brought bad looks home. *grin* Decluttering has been a habit I picked up over the past year, and I'm rather fond of it. I come from a long line of crafters and it's in my blood to want to keep things for what they could be. Which is why I play Hoarders on the laptop whilst I clean—helps remind me of the actual value of things rather than the perceived value. ^_~;; I've been trying to get on the treadmill more myself (I've got a treadmill computer that I play games on and surf the web), but I tend to get easily distracted after work and end up on the laptop instead. I need to find some way to convince myself to have my feet on the tread at a specific time each day, come heck or high water. *mutter* I got almost nothing done yesterday that I had planned to, but I'm hoping today will be better. I'm going to set a whole slew of eggtimer.com timers when I get home and try to change tasks every 15 minutes. I get a lot more done when I do that… but I keep forgetting to do it. :P ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writing | Horses | Warcraft | Business | Random | WordPress

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:44:31 -0800

Some days the only way I convince myself to go on my walk as soon as I get home from work is the knowledge that if I don't go ASAP, it'll get too dark for cars to see me. Not that there is much traffic at all in our cul de sac but sometimes they can be rather speedy. I don't own a flashlight and certainly don't want to walk with one, so I have to go walking immediately. Knowing there is a time deadline every day makes it easier to get motivated to go walking. Its funny though, my family now knows I walk every afternoon and my mother will sometimes say 'oh wait, you can't come over now, you have to go for your walk first right?' My neighbors have even commented they know the approximate time of day by if they see me walking or not. Hehe, its great to be predictable. =)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:51:10 -0800

I'm back. :-D I haven't been away, but I've been feeling sorry for myself since my liver results on Fri & have been lurking, but not posting. Today, I feel much better about it: I've been to school & enjoyed my day there, & then phoned the British Liver Foundation when I got back & they think the high count is due to my having the flu when the bloods were taken, so another blood test done when I'm completely better (still coughing a bit) may show a lower result! :-D Can't tell you how good that makes me feel. :-D In the meantime, whilst waiting for the scan, I can pick my pharmacist's brain about whether or not there's a different vit D meds I can take - ones that won't cause my allergies to kick off - so that I can stop the antihistamines every day - we already investigated the antihistamines, but it turns out liver damage is a known side-effect of antihistamines, as a group! And I've actually eaten properly today, for the first time in a loooooong time! lol! So that can only help. :-) I sort of enjoyed my meal out on Saturday with my friend, too. She had chosen an Indian restaurant in the next town where she had eaten before. When we got there, it was all locked up & said Closed. But they opened it up just for us & we had the whole restaurant to ourselves - which was a bit spooky, actually, & the waiters kept coming to ask if everything was ok! lol! I think there was something in the food that triggered my allergies because I felt a bit grotty in the afternoon, but one of the good things about being permanently tanked up to the eyeballs with antihistamines is that I had the meds inside me, ready & waiting for the bad stuff, so the reaction wasn't bad at all. :-D So, back to school tomorrow. Mum's about to phone now & then I'll watch Masterchef & then it'll be bedtime. :-) And, for all those of you who feel guilty about how little you've written - I haven't written any fiction whatsoever since the end of Nano! lol! I will get there at some point. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:44:16 -0800

Yep, another thing to love about the library. The ability to get out books that would cost an individual like, 30 bucks, and if they suck... they go back in a couple of days, and a new one is chosen... :) Plus, ILL rocks! As does the taking out of entire TV seasons and the movies too of course, but there are lots of ways to get those other than the library, but the TV seasons can be wicked expensive, just to watch the episodes once, so, take 'em out, watch the epis, return, repeat... :) Sorry, I'll shut up about the library now.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:39:53 -0800

Oh libraries. I usually read books from the library first, then buy the ones I loved to keep like a book-miser; that way my whole bookshelf is filled with happy memories and wonderfulness. I'd take out more library books but for some reason so many have pencil underlining and that drives me absolutely bonkers.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:10 -0800

I try to go out for a walk every day, but since the temperature went up again it's just been muddy and disgusting. We still go out but for half the distance we used to cover in the fall. Today is State of the Union so the SO and I sat down after dinner for our State of the Household meeting; now we have an agreement and an action plan to improve our own very local economy. I'm a bit obsessive about the management of things so it's nice to get both of us on the same page and to have strict limits and goals, and emergency and contingency plans in place. I ended up doing a lot of reading today, and a good amount of cleaning and inventory. I've been lazy, papers and things have been building up, and it cuts down on my motivation--a variation on the broken windows theory, I guess. Now the only non-furniture objects lying around to catch my eye are things that need doing; they won't get lost in the mess.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:20:55 -0800

I love the public library. It's the only way to go with popular nonfiction, which often is just hot air wrapped around one or two ideas. I like to read those books but seldom are they worth owning. Nowadays, living a half-hour drive away from the library, I tend to borrow books only when tax season takes me there a couple times a week. I get my information and entertainment from other sources the rest of the year. The good fiction writers only write a book a year, anyhow, so it's easy to catch up during the winter when I can't go outside.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:28:24 -0800

I still have not got myself a library card. While I still have so many books on my TBR pile (and another order on the way, and I'll need to reread the first part of that series too), there's no point. And while I'm not yet working full time, I can just spend my afternoons in the bookshop, reading books that the library probably wouldn't have anyway. I haven't been there for a while, but fantasy was never their strong point. (That's where I've been the last two days, at the bookshop - finished two books and started a third.) Yesterday was my fourth offline day this year. I'm doing pretty well at one-a-week, so far. Luckily I checked my goal list for this month the day before, because I'd almost forgotten about the box of story-stuff. It started out as a moving box full of writing-related papers, almost all of it about the Kivailo world. But it never got unpacked (mostly because I don't have a desk any more, and so, a lot less drawer-space), and then it stood in the living room for months, and whenever I had something I was too lazy to put away properly, I just tossed into that box as well. Now it's been several months since I got two chests of drawers I meant to use for the story-stuff, but it took me until yesterday to start unpacking the box. So far I've found: - print-outs of several old stories, including a couple of Kivailo legends that I do not have on the computer - old Kivailo language dictionary - the handwritten parts of NaNo 2010 and 2011 - my writing journal - 3 or 4 ragged notebooks of the kind I always carry with me, containing anything from story-notes to shopping lists - notes from the Dutch classes I took last year - an application with which I might get some financial support for the classes. (Finally filled out and ready to be mailed off.) - dozens of post-its and scraps of paper with old shopping lists, recipes, notes for blog posts, story ideas, things to look up for work... some of those notes just made absolutely no sense any more. - some empty writing paper - a bag of snap pea seeds. From where I'm sitting, I can see a scary amount of old notes that must be sorted through, some thrown away and others organized, a ridiculous amount of mostly-useless index cards, secondary school history textbooks and some of the notebooks with the old handwritten stories. There should be two more NaNos in there as well, and I think some more seeds, too. I also got out the yarn box and knitted a swatch to get my gauge - I really like the way this yarn feels, and now I can't wait to start on my sweater.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:06:34 -0800

Oh, are you getting them from an academic library or a public one. I'm at a public one, and for the most part I don't find that most of the books have underlines, but, when I was an undergrad and grad a whole lot of them had underlining, highlighting, and even worse, pen in there with circles and notes and stuff... argh.... respect the library book.... :) And, yep, that's what I do too. I love serieses, so, when I really, really like one I'll try and get as many of the books as I can find (though, usually not as new books, but used ones). Same thing goes for the TV serieses too. I love watching TV, but only a few select serieses (L&C:TNAS, BtVS, X:WP) do I like enough to own.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:23:06 -0800

Magpie, I definitely have to say that if the library you're referring to is the City Library, yikes, it definitely looks awesome from the pictures on the website. :) Do you guys have ILL (InterLibrary Loan) like we do over here? We have the individual library, and then a Consortium of libraries that share a catalog (basically since there's only one library per town, it's the same as a big city who has branches) and we can get books from within that through the catalog pretty easily, and then we also have another catalog where we can search the entire state. (and then, our ILL librarian can also use the WorldCat.org site to see if anyone in the rest of the US has it, unfortunately most libraries don't want to lend DVDs across state lines, understandably, quite a bumpy ride in all the trucks and they get beat up on that trip). But, you're definitely right that a lot of the time fantasy/sci fi will be mushed together, and so one, or the other, or both get lost in the shuffle. Can happy to mysteries too. Never seems to happen to the milliions and trillions (okay, so, only thousands) of paperback romances though... ah well... everyone reads differently... :) I do find the whole 'library can be used on Sat. as a self service library' interesting. No staff at all. Weird, but interesting.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:45:01 -0800

Public, but always nonfiction books. I don't have the underlining problem in the academic libraries, but then again the books I take out from there are usually of such narrow interest, hardly anyone else has read them ;)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:42:07 -0800

Been working on my health goals a lot this week - done Zumba for the Wii every day since I bought it, and sticking to the healthy eating that I planned out for myself at the start of the week. I'm really enjoying it so far! Hopefully I can keep it up over the next few weeks and make it a solid habit. I've also made a start on editing the novel I'm going to be submitting to agents, although it's going quite slowly so far. I can't decide what order I want certain scenes to come in, and can't get my head round it well enough when I'm so busy. Still, hopefully if I chip away at it, it will gradually improve over the next few weeks. I've been reading less this month, so I want to try and rectify that as well, because I know that I write better when I'm reading more. Funny how much we stick to habits: I often tend to read in the bath, and since I broke my wrist I've not really been able to get in the bath very easily, so as a result I've read less. There are so many books that I want to read, though, that I need another day in every week!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:47:34 -0800

That's what it was like on the day I broke my wrist, and we've had a few icy days since then - I'm now instinctively terrified of walking on or near ice! I find myself tensing up every time the pavement is even the slightest bit slippery. It's been mild for the last couple of days, but I know it's too much to ask for it to continue!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:57:37 -0800

The "Wissensturm"? Yeah, it looks impressive from the outside, but only a part of the building is actually library. (And personally, I liked the old library more. It was a dark old building, true, and probably not wheelchair-accessible, but it was cosy. And along my way to school.) The Fantasy department was really pathetic the last time I was there. I'm pretty certain I have more right here in my living room - not so sure about the total number of books, but definitely about the number of authors (the library had multiple copies of the few books they had.) And then there is the fact that I prefer to read books in English, if that's the language they were originally written in (I'm getting increasingly picky with translations. Lately, I can't read a single book without finding mistakes, without even having read the translations), and the English department was as small as the Fantasy one. I didn't even try finding a book I would be interested in. About ILL, I don't even know. I think they had it in the State Library, but that's only for non-fiction. I checked the city library website, but I couldn't find anything, so I don't think so.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:45:02 -0800

Ah, see, if it's only partially a library, slightly less impressive... :) As for the ILL, I know that even in the US there are all different ways it works. I just happen to live in a state, MA, where we're crazy about libraries. There's at least one in each town (though most of them don't have branches). There are about 360 cities and towns in the state, and more than that number of library 'systems' (i.e. libraries by themselves or libraries and their branches) in the state. Not to mention the fact that there's a boatload of amazing colleges that have stuff too (Harvard has a surprising number of great fiction in it) It's crazy, but... I love it 'cause I'm in book/library heaven basically. :D Anyway, I've said before, as much as I love 'em myself, libraries don't work for everyone. Because of their distance from them, or if the libraries have good collections or not, or whatever. To each their own.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:10:02 -0800

As I've said before, there are so few library branches here, and the bus fare is so expensive, that's it's more cost-effective if I just buy them used on Amazon. Then they're mine forever and ever. I think I've got more books than some libraries. I just have to put them in order. That's one of my far off goals, for when I get a couple more bookcases -- put my books in order according to topic and author. I've been working on decluttering today. This is like the neverending task. I finally had to stop recycling because I'd filled up both bins. I have to move on to some of my other goals, like looking for work, making jewelry, and working on writing. I have five novels to work on. Three Nanos that are done in first draft, or nearly so, Nano 2011, which needs about three more chapters written on it, and a pre-Nano that I have to rewrite. It was another cold, cold morning today. The house temperature fell down into the 40s, and both heaters were on high. And the cats had pulled my space blanket off me, so I woke up shivering. My hands are still ice cold, but at least my feet have warmed up some.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:39:24 -0800

Zoo, I cannot possibly imagine our house getting into the 40s - and we keep it in the low 60s to keep costs down. I'm a natural popsicle so when I get home and the house is 58, I'm shivering like mad. Last year our furnace broke and it got down to 52 before they fixed it and that was plenty cold. Sending you warm thoughts!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:20:22 -0800

I feel like I can rightfully call myself a reader again. Over the last few years, I've been spending so much time on the internet, always jumping around and clicking on things, that I completely lost the patience to sit down for a few hours and just read. But I'm finally regaining that - even if I'm in the bookshop, where I can't dress as comfortably as I do at home, and have to sit up properly with my feet on the floor (which I hate, and I never sit that way if I can help it - as far as I'm concerned, chairs are totally unnecessary), I can now sit for five or six hours straight, until closing time. And then go home and read some more. Reading at home has the definite advantage that I can knit while I do it. I cast on for my new sweater yesterday, but had to rip it out again. On to the second try now! As for the library, even though it doesn't always have what I want, the plan for this year is to go there instead of just randomly buying books. I bought a lot of books out of bargain bins last year, and only one of them was worth reading/keeping around, and a couple were downright horrible. Definitely not worth the three or four euros I spent on them. So when I run out of books, and can't think of anything I really want to read, I'll have to go to the library. Like Zoo, I like having books around. But I also like my prettily painted walls, and don't want to be completely walled in by bookcases any more. So I have to get rid of those books I won't read any more, and watch what/how much I buy.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:08:07 -0800

I wish I could shut off my computer and internet more often. Unfortunately I rely on the internet to book subbing jobs and so for fiscal reasons can't untether myself from it. Yet another reason why I'm seeking a different job. I want to be able to unplug. A friend of mine found this: http://thequietplaceproject.com/thequietplace Enjoy!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:26:47 -0800

I have no idea where it is going, but so far I have 4,000 words on my new novel and have introduced half-a-dozen characters. At least one is planning some mischief.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

rovingjack — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:45:37 -0800

I have to go to bedm early tonight because I need to make extra special sure I am ready for my first day of work. It's a retail job, but it's money right now, and it gives me a chance to not teeter on the edges of empty accounts and more bulls than I can pay. If I can make it work for a few months I may even get a cushion under me and the dental care I need taken care of.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

artofcheatery — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:10:45 -0800

So time for me to geek out a bit. I entered Paizo Publishing's RPG Superstar 2012 contest and have been selected as a competitor. The grand prize is they contract me to write an adventure module for Pathfinder RPG, a Open Game License (OGL) spin off of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition. Fun fact! Anyone can vote for the winner! All you need is an internet connection and a Paizo.com account. The upcoming round (design an organization) is a creative writing challenge, so I think anyone around here is capable of voting. My username is the same there, but since I'm (almost) a Superstar, it's magically turned into my real name (Alexander Bennett) Now for me to moan about the task. I have 400 words to describe something that Paizo takes 1,400 words to describe. I understand why, there are currently 32 contestants (or 12,800 words for our poor defenseless judges to read and critique). There are no rules for creating an organization in Pathfinder RPG, we all just get to wing it. Probably the worst part is trying to decide what the best section to add something is. Oh, and the organization has to be antagonistic, no fluffy teddy bear cults, these have to make paladins want to break vows of non violence. Okay, I'm done. For now. I'm waiting for a couple more reviewers to get back to me and then I'm submitting this round. Horrible pile of nerves. Worst thing is, I submit it tomorrow, the judges look at it over the weekend, it's posted to the real forum on the 31st, and then I get to live in torture for a week while voting is open. A whole week that I cannot talk about my organization (note how I haven't gotten into specifics?) Now I'm really done. Going to be nervous somewhere else. -Xander

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:46:30 -0800

I'll have to admit, I don't always follow my rule quite strictly - even on "offline" days, I sometimes have to check the weather forecast or look up a recipe (I really need to get my cookbook back!). The difficult thing is to limit my internet use to just that one thing, because I always get sucked into checking "just one more forum", "just one more blog" (I'm not even on facebook or anything, I shudder to think what that would do to my life!). Obviously, I don't now what your reasons for wanting stay offline are, or if they're similar to mine, but what works for me to limit myself to doing just that one thing when I do have to "cheat" is simply to use a different browser. In Firefox, I have my bookmarks, and I'm logged in everywhere, so the temptation is too big, but in in internet explorer, I have neither bookmarks nor am I logged in anywhere, and the two simple acts of typing in the address and, if necessary, user name and password, are enough to remind me I shouldn't, and remember to do "offline" things.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:14:37 -0800

Thank goodness its the weekend. I had a rough couple of days on the subbing front. Today wasn't so bad, but Wednesday and Thursday were horrid. To add insult to injury I feel like I'm getting a cold - probably courtesy of a kid I worked with on Wednesday. I've had postnasal drip and a scratchy throat with fatigue for the last few days.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:07:53 -0800

I have not written my 1,000 words on my Wagner novel so far today. Instead I spent five hours listening to Gotterdammerung live from the Met, and well worth it. I am more committed than ever to writing a novel that in some part communicates the appeal of this amazing music.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:48:16 -0800

WOW! How exciting! :-D I know what you mean about restricting word count, particularly in something like AD&D, but .... WOW! Well done! :-D I used to belong to an AD&D group about 25 years ago & have hankered after it ever since! lol! They don't have them round where I live now, though. :-( Typically, I used to play off-the-ball characters - things like dwarven thieves called Squirrel who didn't like going up trees! lol! One time, our group play morphed into a live weekend in Malham Cove in the Pennines - we met up with other AD&D groups in the area & each group became a team; we had to dress as our characters & take along made up weapons of the sort we used in gaming, but, obviously, without any sharp tips! Then we ran around for the whole weekend (camped out over night), killing off the enemy! Our team came near the bottom, but it was still brill! :-D:-D:-D Another time, we morphed into a similar game called Assassinator or Assassination or something like that. Everyone who wanted to play put their names into a hat & then, every week, everyone reported to the GM & was given the name of someone else. We had to 'kill' that person during the week & only our own bedrooms & the inside of a church were safe from attack. If injured, we had to replicate the injury's consequences - so an arm would have to be tied to a torso & not used or a leg would have to limp, etc. If killed, we had to report back to the GM & were out for that week. We had brilliant fun running round the city, dropping water bombs on people, etc. It was fabulous fun, but it only lasted for about a month because no one had thought to advise the police & they started getting reports of potential terrorism! A couple of people were even put in jail for a few hours until stories were verified! So we had to stop! :-D

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:52:29 -0800

Vitamin C (citrus, red pepper, green leafy veg). Vitamin D (oily fish, eggs). Garlic. Onions. Leeks. Mint, particularly peppermint. Lots of hot water (to drink). Wrap up warm. Don't do silly things like go outside with wet hair! Make sure you get some fresh air, though. Try to keep up with intake of these foods when you don't have a cold, too, because you'll be less likely to catch them in future.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:12:27 -0800

To go back a few posts (sorry! lol!), I don't like libraries! When I borrow books, I tend to keep them for too long for one reason or another & then I end up paying late fees, so I may as well just buy the books in the first place! And they cost an arm & a leg to copy or scan or fax something for you & it costs an arm & a leg to park near a library & then you're only allowed to get onto a computer for 30 mins to an hour, when it probably takes about 10 mins to load the thing up! And my local library (in walking distance) is like a cave - it has swing doors, so no air gets in the front, & it has no air conditioning, so no air gets in the back & I get a headache & feel sick within about 2 mins of being in there! So I buy books when I can afford to (which I haven't recently) & I have my own printer which copies & scans (courtesy of Mum). It was a bit funny a couple of weeks ago, though. There are a few books I want to read which were only published last year, so I asked Mum for a book token for my birthday (last week). She asked for the names of the books. I told her, but said they were only published last year, so they'd be h/copy & too heavy to send. She said she'd go to her local book mart to find them & they'd be in paperback there! I did try to explain the process & time-frames involved in h/copy becoming p/back, but she knew better, of course! lol! So she reported back a few days later &, of course, the guy didn't have those books in. He did have 4 earlier books in the series of one of them (which I already have) & said that other books written about the same era (Henry VIII) were just as good! lolololol! So then she decided to send me a cheque for a CD Player instead! hahahahahaha! I went out for a drink with my friends last night. I was very good & only drank J2Os, but we also went to a place that sold "Bottomless Chips" - I love chips! :-D The first portion was tiny & I was a bit underawed by the difference in size to cost, shall we say! But the 'bottomless' bit meant that we could go back & get some more for free, so we did - twice! lol! We had a great evening out, too, knattering about various things. :-) I enjoyed my week back at school & learned all sorts of things, not necessarily related to teaching! lol! Things like, Pritt stick is good for sticking sweet wrappers to paper, but you need stronger, proper, glue if you want to stick sweet wrappers to sweet wrappers! lol! And children don't necessarily understand what "natural" means when it comes to picking up bits & bobs from the ground to make pictures - one 10 year old was absolutely insistent that a piece of tar blown down from the roof would count! lol! I booked myself into a teaching conference for people wanting to be teachers held in one of the London museums in March, too. Tickets are free, so I'll just drive down to church & then get a tube - won't cost too much. I'm looking forward to it. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:01:03 -0800

Haha, that reminds me of some stories I heard from someone at my medieval dance group (oh, must check when the next meeting is! Thanks for the unintentional reminder!) - they had the police called on them at least one time when playing in the harbour, and that was just for "suspicious" people lurking around. I never even heard the end of the story about the time someone was "shot" out of a passing car on a bridge!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:08:20 -0800

Had a good time at my grandfather's 80th birthday. A pretty low-key celebration, because his health isn't that great any more, but one neighbour family surprised him with life accordion music (the father and son both play). We all enjoyed it, and I haven't seen my grandfather so awake and alert in years! Today he even got out of bed and walked to the kitchen all by himself when he heard visitors, and he never gets up without someone telling him to! I did lose a day of writing, though - I expected I'd have time in the evening, so I didn't write before we left, or on the way. Who could know we'd all sit up eating and talking (and drinking, except for me and the neighbour girl) until way past midnight?

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:06:46 -0800

I was out of it a couple of days this week with nothing to do but take acetaminophen and sleep, but was back up and having a little more success with getting things done yesterday and today. I have a couple more jobs to apply to by Monday--slow going for those cover letters as usual--and got a little bit of cleaning and project work done. Today was warm, so we went out for a good 6-mile walk to the gardens. Amazing to see some of the little plants and shrubs still green. Time to start thinking about what to do for February, and how to wrap up the unfinished January goals.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:57:21 -0800

I finished a book today and another one today, so that brings me up to six books so far this month. I think I have a problem though; I read way too much classic literature. I think that's been making my writing sound a bit archaic. So next month I'll have to stipulate a certain amount of recent books to read. And as far as writing goes, I still haven't finished that short story. But I did come up with a whole new direction to take my unfinished NaNo novel (which would mean scrapping it and starting over), and I came up with a great new idea for a new novel as well. Now I'm torn between writing this new idea and writing the old one. I've been to the gym twice more with my sister and no vomit these times! I'm really glad that I'm exercising now, and I feel better in general. It's really great having someone to go with too, so I don't have to feel intimidated by all the muscle-ly gym regulars.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:06:22 -0800

Speaking of vomit, I think I was nearly attacked by my CVS these last couple of days. (CVS = Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome) The tell-tale sign is when I begin burping sulfur, and my stomach was really upset. But this time when it started I began taking doses of Pepto-Bismol, and it went away without the usual full system purge. I know you guys were really worried about this, so I figured I'd give you a progress report. (LOL!) I have to admit, I've been putting off looking for a job. Maybe it's superstition, but I want to get some more of the decluttering feng shui out of the way before I dive into job hunting again. And I have to admit, too, that I'm kind of beginning to lose faith. I've been desperately hunting for work for over four years, and nobody wants me anymore. I have a college degree and over 20 years of experience in my field, and that's worth exactly nothing in the job market. Another cold day today. House temperature got down to 51. I hate having to have the oven on. It's a really expensive way to heat the house.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:51:52 -0800

I don't think there is such a thing as reading too much classic literature... I almost never read it, but feel like I should. Loads of the classics are on my TBR list but always get passed over in favor of something else.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:10:28 -0800

I've been able to knock several books off my lifetime list of classics to read via convincing my library book club to read them. Uniformly, they have hated those titles: Lost Horizon, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, On the Beach, Giants in the Earth, The Age of Innocence, The Chosen, Marianne (by Georges Sand), The Call of the Wild, My Antonia, and I Heard the Owl Call My Name (sort of a classic). In exchange, I suffered through Marley and Me and some other modern ephemera. Most useful has been the mid-range list of bestselling serious fiction, a species I would never pick up otherwise, including works by Barbara Kingsolver, Sue Monk Kidd, Paulo Coelho, Ann Patchett, and more. Lost Horizon meant nothing to me, but The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was a heart-wrencher, a truly wonderful book. On the Beach was a polite kind of read, not at all sensational like the ads for the old movie. Giants in the Earth, My Antonia, Call of the Wild, and I Heard the Owl Call My Name were all somewhat romanticized tales of pioneering times or places, showing different kinds of life and struggles against nature. I'm glad I read them. I don't know that I would have had the patience for some of them when I first put them on my list (cribbed from some official-seeming list) in high school. The pioneering stuff in particular would have irritated me, since part of my family was only one generation off the boat. You don't really find such struggles quaint when they've occurred in your own family in living memory. I also liked The Chosen, which was all about smart Jewish boys in New York, because I used to live in New York and I married into that culture. It was like getting an inside view of the more extreme people I'd never had anything to do with. I didn't know yeshiva boys, only the far less serious types who liked reading comics. I was pretty happy to finally knock Chekhov off my lifetime list of playwrights by seeing Uncle Vanya last year. I keep trying to pick up plays and playwrights I've only read, never seen. For some reason I read a vast quantity of plays in my teens. I've seen only a fraction of them. Last year I saw An Ideal Husband live, and then rented two movie versions of it to compare. I suppose they're all available in movie or television adaptations, but here I run into the same stumbling block we all do: other stories seem more current or appealing, and the classics get set aside for another day. I have wondered if I ought to go back and reread Madame Bovary, but then I wonder if I should be reading it in French. So I don't read it in any language. Maybe I should see a movie version...

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:37:33 -0800

Right there with you on paragraph #1. I do a "decade published" breakdown of the books I read; for 2011 75% were pre-1923 and the other 25% (except 3) were nonfiction. 2012's young yet--I'm going for 5 2010s fiction books this year.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:46:37 -0800

Madame Bovary. Ugh. One of the few books we had to read in high school that I remember with loathing. I might have a different view of it now given life events, but all I remember of it was her endless whining then eating arsenic followed by more complaining when it wasn't working properly. Believe me, she wasn't the only one sad that it wasn't working. I could reread it, but there are so many other classics I haven't read that I think I'll skip that one.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:05:32 -0800

Great to hear you managed to prevent the vomiting, Zoo! I'm still wondering what caused my own digestive problems last year. I don't really think that it's some food intolerance, as I suspected at first, because it doesn't seem to make much of a difference what I eat. It happens almost exclusively on work days (I don't think I've had a single one of those quick dashes to the toilet during my winter break), so either it's some odd psychosomatic thing, and I'm nervous about going to work without knowing about it, or - as I suspect now - it has to do with when/how/how much I eat. On work days, I need rather a lot of food, and I don't have much time to eat it, so I eat three rather large meals a day, and I've been getting the feeling that it's just too much for my body, and it simply doesn't have time to digest the food properly before I stuff myself on the next meal. During times when I eat less, such as winter break, or days spent on trains, I've had no problems (and if it were truly related to nervousness, travelling should make it worse, not better.)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:37:45 -0800

Hey Zoo - that's great that you've found something to help with your CVS. :-D I wonder if it's related to indigestion, then? Might be worth investigating. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:41:11 -0800

Hi Magpie, You could be right about the quantity & timing of food thing. I'm in the process of learning to eat 7 times a day, wherever I am, which means smaller meals. It's something my GP's told me to do & designed to help the liver / blood sugar levels / digestion, etc. It's quite hard - I keep wanting to have 3 big meals - & I've gained weight this week! :-( But I'm trying to stick with it. Perhaps you could try it? It would mean you'd have to take a morning & afternoon break for 5 mins as well as a lunch time, even when you're at work, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, surely? Lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:42:27 -0800

Have to agree with Dutch about Madame Bovary. I had to study it at uni & I remember "trying" to read it on several occasions & falling asleep every time, a few pages in, because it was so awful! I'd skip another reading of it, were I you. lol!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:14:13 -0800

It wouldn't be a bad thing, but it'd be hard to put into practise - I'd need to either take that time out of my 30min lunch break, or stay longer, and with walking across the nursery to where I keep my bag, and scrubbing my hands clean, I'd lose a lot more time than 5 mins. I thought about keeping a little snack in my pocket to eat while working, but it would just get squashed/wet/dirty, and there's still the dirty-hands issue. Besides, most things that could be kept in a pocket would be packaged junk food, which I neither want to eat nor spend money on. Maybe I can bring something to eat on the train home. That would add a fourth meal, at least.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:30:53 -0800

1. Get a new job – Not yet and no new applications submitted - but I did make a second follow-up phone call about an interview I had in early December; I actually spoke to my interviewer as opposed to leaving a message like the first time. She assured me that no decision had been made yet. That was several weeks ago, now I'm trying to decide what the next step should be. 2. Read six books (including one nonfiction) - DONE! 3. Use chapstick - DONE! 4. Finish Excel workbook - DONE! 5. Finish impressionist puzzle - DONE!

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:44:12 -0800

I'd better not say anything about classics. I'm still "traumatized" from school, even though that's already... what... almost seven years ago now. Seven years since the German final, for which I had to write an essay about how the books I've read have shaped my personality - I used it to mock the books we'd read for class. :D (And I did get an A on it.) I recently realized German class would have been much easier to tolerate if I'd read City of Dreaming Books while I was still at school. Sadly, it wasn't published until my last year of school, and it took me a couple of years longer to discover it - and until a few weeks ago to discover that the names of authors mentioned in the book are anagrams of real authors. It's hard to take any book seriously when you keep calling the author by a silly anagram of it's name. (Just today, I had the radio on, and they mentioned the poet Friedrich Hölderlin - my mind immediately said, "Dölerich Hirnfiedler" ("Brainfiddler"), and I started to laugh. I've had an odd day. I guess I needed some recovery time after the the day at the grandparents' place, and dealing with so much family. Stayed up until about 5 AM, reading, knitting, writing, reading some more... up at lunchtime, no breakfast because I was too lazy, a short walk, and back to reading and knitting, until I was sore all over from hunching over while holding the book open with my toes. At least the sweater is beginning to take shape, but I didn't even eat dinner (which was also my first meal of the day) until about 8 PM. Guess I needed time to recover from my grandmother's constant feeding - I know she means well, but she just can't accept that sometimes, someone might simply not be hungry! One funny thing I've discovered this weekend is that working with customers had made it much easier to deal with my uncle. He's a very pushy person, and I've always been rather shy, so I avoided talking to him as much as I could. But over the last two years, dealing with so many people, I've learned to quickly come up with a more or less witty reply, and keep a smile on my face even when talking to someone I'd rather strangle, which are both useful skills for talking to my uncle. I can say what I think, now, even if it's not what he wants to hear, and not feel self-conscious about it.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:58:42 -0800

I loved The Chosen, but I'm also well versed in the Hasidim and in yeshiva culture. I'm always unsure how much people unfamiliar to the Orthodox Jewish world would get out of the book, and subsequently hesitant to recommend it to them.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:52:27 -0800

The job hunt is one of those things where there isn't really an alternative to continuing to try, unfortunately.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:15:21 -0800

Yeah, it's a matter of banging your head against a brick wall until one or the other breaks, your head or the bricks. In my case, I think the bricks are going the distance. Another problem is that I've gotten used to staying home. It's a lot more appealing than going out into the cold muck in high heels and makeup. That's a dangerous attitude, I realize. My stepfather called tonight and seemed disgusted that I haven't found a job yet. My brother, the family success story, otoh, might be getting a telemarketing job selling insurance.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:50:54 -0800

What about a little bag (small freezer bag sized) of mixed fruit & nuts? 2oz is about right for one snack. Keep it in your pocket with a plastic glove, one of those sort that's used in medical care - not the washing-up type variety. I used to volunteer as a gardener & I kept a little bag of mixed fruit & nuts in one of my pockets, actually with a packet of wet wipes rather than gloves - but my gardening was in the winter months, so I wore thick gardening gloves to keep my hands warm, so they weren't that dirty when it came to my snacks. :-) I also used to have alarms on my mobile so I didn't forget to eat them. :-) It didn't get squashed because it could move around in my pocket & the plastic bag kept it from getting wet / gungy. :-)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:15:33 -0800

I've had a strange couple of weeks. My Grandad is very ill, and has been diagnosed with an inoperable cancer. It's unlikely that he'll come out of hospital now, so I've been trying to deal with that. It's been a shock because he has always been very strong and active until very recently, when he started having severe pains in his hip, and in two months he has deteriorated rapidly. They live at the other end of the UK from me, so I've not been able to go down and see him, although I've been told that he might not recognise me anyway. Also having problems with my partner, in that he's gone to stay with friends in order to look for work but hasn't called me in 3 weeks now, nor emailed. I'm fairly certain that we might be separating, and it's really annoying me that he doesn't just have the guts to talk to me about it. Anyway, I can't be bothered with him right now, I have more important things to worry about with my Grandad. Other than that, I'm trying to carry on going with a normal routine. I've managed to get myself into better eating habits, which I need to maintain now; work is going fairly smoothly, which is a relief, as I've been dashing backwards and forwards between departments recently; my wrist is much better, and I'm just waiting for an MRI to check that it is healing properly; I've started editing the novel I'm hoping to submit soon, but I've been quite busy and unsure about it - I know that I want it to be better, but I'm not sure how to make it better right now; and I've started planning a short story that I want to write for a competition. So, busy busy! It may sound strange for me to say that I'm feeling pretty positive at the moment, considering the two major issues with my Grandad and my partner, but I am dealing with things well and finding the right outlet for it.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:30:04 -0800

My dad came down for a visit this weekend and we have gotten an enormous amount of DiY stuff done with the house. My husband is coming back from deployment in the next week or so and I keep stumbling over the fact that so much has changed in a year. I know if you drop pebbles in a glass long enough the water will rise—it's just odd to look at the full glass and forget that it started out empty. And now I'm sort of itching to see how much more I can stuff into the time I have left. *pokes budget* Not a lot of wiggle room left, since there are other large changed in budget on the horizon, but I do sort of want the house perfect when he comes home. It's never been perfect, so that's not really a realistic goal (nor a necessary one), but I want something I can point to and say 'look what I did with a year!' *grin* Now if it would just decide if it's going to be 70 or 40 out, I'd be happier… *waves fist at sky* Stupid wishy-washy state! :P ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martha.net -- Unquiet Bones (Writing) -- Custom-Models.com (Model Horses) -- Perish Twice (Warcraft) ... because you can never have enough hobbies.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:31:34 -0800

Hm, might be worth trying. And I do have all those hazelnuts I found, and some peanuts, and dried apples... I need to remember to eat those anyway.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:20:32 -0800

My stepfather has been getting patches of skin cancer. Some he had removed, and the more visible patches he's having radiation done on them. He's of fair-skinned English stock, and back then they never worried about the sun or used sun screen. It was manly to be leather-tanned. What he said upset me more than I realized, and now I feel depressed and guilty. He actually cussed this time, and he doesn't usually do that. It's been going on five years since I've had any kind of steady job, and I have to ask myself what am I doing wrong? How come nothing's happening for me? I looked at the job alerts today. The few tech jobs they had listed were way off somewhere that I couldn't get to. Just last week, RTD canceled another 20 bus routes and all of the Call'n'Ride trips. The few jobs within get-to-able range had nothing to do with my qualifications. I just don't know what to do. Is the Universe punishing me for some reason? And all the "advice" I get is, in a word, stupid. No, becoming one of the working homeless doesn't have any appeal, and I don't see why I should get all happy and excited about the idea. And while I have a mortgage to pay and have had a couple well-paying temp jobs, I don't see why my brother's so superior to me because, in the same span of time, he's gotten a free ride and doesn't have to pay rent, and he got a couple minimum wage temp jobs. Okay. Rant over. I just feel really depressed right now is all. As far as the world is concerned, I'm just pretty much useless. :-(

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:28:40 -0800

I don't know what to tell you Zoo. I've been keeping your situation in my prayers since it is all I can do. Sending you hugs and happy thoughts. I got another rejection email today. It wasn't a surprise but would have been a swell job with an awesome paycheck if I'd been deemed good enough. Oh well. I applied back in early to mid-November and just got rejected today. I guess that means that hiring really does take that long. Hope springs eternal for all the other job applications I've heard nothing about. I subbed for first graders today. They were super squirrely (VERY excited about the science experiment we were doing for most of the day) but not the worst class I've ever had. I had a job lined up for tomorrow but it must have gotten cancelled since it suddenly disappeared off my job queue. Alas. And none of the alternatives are looking appealing as of yet. Hopefully I'll get called for something better than an aid.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:39:06 -0800

Eek! I just called my boss to ask when he needs me again, and found out that I'd missed a call from him last week, and didn't see the "missed call" message. I put the blame on my phone, but then discovered that it was actually my fault - I forgot I had to look after my brother that evening, and when I turned my phone on again, I only noticed the missed calls from my mother, asking where I was. Crap! I've only been doing rather small useful things the last two days. Exchange a skein of yarn to a different colour, putting more air into my bicycle tires and buying a couple of seeds yesterday (though it's debatable if buying seeds is useful, or just an unhealthy obsession), a dental check-up and a haircut today. I got praised for the good condition of both my teeth and my hair, so that was nice. Now I just have to keep myself from plucking/chewing on my hair, otherwise it will look ragged again in no time. I'd been planning to finally go and look for a new camera today, but it's so windy that cycling is really hard work. And I'm too cheap to pay for the tram, and too lazy to walk longer distances. So, even though it seems a shame to spend a sunny day inside, I'll see if it's better tomorrow (and it's not like I haven't been outside yet - I've been to the dentist and the hairdresser, after all. (And, unrelated to the weather, I was so glad I'd brought a book, because I'd sooner claw out my eyes than read those silly women's magazines they put out for me. I can't think of anything that interests me less! And it was kind of ironic to have a cover with a headline about some diet or other stare at me when I'm struggling not to lose weight - if I'm not working, I tend to forget to eat, or simply don't have an appetite.) Well. If I'm not going to go anywhere any more today, I'd better finish inventorying my seeds. And eat something, before I forget I'm hungry... bad enough that I hardly ate anything yesterday.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

MarthaBechtel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:31:29 -0800

*hugs* Your stepfather is probably just in a bad spot and is being grumpier than normal—don't take it to heart. Jobs are few and far between for most folks at this point, your situation is more normal than people like to admit (because then they'd have to accept it could happen to them too). Spring will come eventually, we just need to hunker down and survive the winter first. :)

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:49:09 -0800

My grandad died in the early hours of this morning. I was expecting it, although not quite so soon. It is better this way because he was suffering and would have only deteriorated further, but I'm still kind of in shock. This is the first time anyone in my immediate family has died, so I've been very lucky up to now. Not sure when I'm going to go down, but hopefully I'll be able to spend some time with my parents as well as going down to where the rest of my dad's family are.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:55:11 -0800

Buddhist- I'm so sorry for your loss.Sending positive energy your way since I'm too far away to offer a hug.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:20:45 -0800

So sorry to hear that, Buddhist. *hugs*

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:22:22 -0800

I'm very sorry to hear that, Buddhist. My thoughts are with you.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:41:10 -0800

Thanks folks, it's much appreciated.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:13:42 -0800

For those of you looking for work, have you been on odesk.com? I have a friend who gets a lot of contractors from there and there seem to be quite a few freelance editing/proofreading/copy-editing kind of jobs. She showed it to me, and I thought it might be suitable for a few of you.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

BuddhistOnABus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:17:50 -0800

If you check it out, use this link: https://www.odesk.com/jobs/?sid=2001&g=&clear_button=1&utm_source=cj&ref=cj&AID=10745189&vt_src=cj&vt_cmp=work_from_beach_125x125&vt_med=banner Ok, I've not bothered to find out how to make that a real link, sorry.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Oxford-Dreamer — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:43:02 -0800

I'm so sorry about your grandad, Buddhist. I'll being keeping you in my thoughts

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

DanieXJ — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:59:16 -0800

*hugs* Buddhist. It sucks to lose someone, family or not, that you love. Lotsa *hugs*.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:15:47 -0800

*hug* By what you wrote it seems he was able to enjoy many years of good health and happiness. I hope you'll be able to find the chance to see parents & family whenever you're ready.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

dutchbando — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:47:43 -0800

I'm sorry to hear about your grandad, Buddhist.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Zookeeper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:12:51 -0800

Time to look back at January. 1. Get work. (Of some kind. Freelance, day jobs, whatever.) For something like the 50th month in a row: No. 2. Finish Nano 2005. No. Although I finally found my fight scene notes, so this has become more doable. 3. Finish Nano 2011. No. 4. Fix bathroom faucet. No. 5. Clean bathrooms. No. 6. Clean and rearrange kitchen. Not completely. 7. Continue detoxing my diet. I have been doing this. I've continued to eat organic, and I've had very few sweets. 8. Do a one-day fast. I actually decided not to do this, not until the weather gets a little warmer. 9. Clean home office. Done! The floor is almost completely clear. I've finally finished setting up my brick and board bookcase, and I found my crystal mobile and hung that from the ceiling as a feng shui cure for the missing Wealth section. Still needs vacuuming and some other things done, but it looks lots better. I even mostly cleaned off my desk. 10. Do a feng shui space clearing. No. Not yet. 11. Continue to do visualizations. Didn't do a single one. 12. Look into some kind of stretching or yoga routine. Thought very hard about this, but basically no. 13. Donate some old clothes and stuff. Done. Three bags went to charity this month. I also cleaned off most of the floor and decluttered the bedroom as well as creating clean patches in other rooms. So some stuff got done.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

J.Kievsky — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:15:54 -0800

Month in review: January: -- Apply to volunteer at the small animals division of the shelter: Not yet. Application is too much like a job application, and I can't bring myself to face it yet. -- Try to set myself up as an 'unpopular pets' pet sitter for snakes, lizards, & tarantulas: Not successful. The shelter did ask whether I could foster a 6' boa constrictor but I didn't have the infrastructure to do it. -- Reassess how long savings will last to refine job search plan and job criteria: Done. -- Pick up some spare change as a study guinea pig for the zero-risk ones: Done. Earned $35. -- Keep my email and magazine queue under control: Magazine backlog ~4. Email is cleaned out once a week. -- Register with the temp agency: Not done; I don't fit into any of their jobseeker categories. -- Clean the kitchen at the end of each day: No. Ha. Funny. -- Finish half of my DP book project: Sort of--I started it at least. -- Learn 1 area bird per day by sight and sound: Learned 3 new ones total. It's harder than I thought it'd be. -- Resume going to night seminars & ratchet up networking at the department I really, really want a job at, also the department I think I will apply to grad school at: Not done, mostly because there was no seminar in January (break). -- Start studying for the GRE: Started, then stopped. Ongoing: -- Job Search: 4 new applications, 2 rejections, no interviews. 2 applications still open. -- Reading: 10/102 books for the year. -- Exercise: Strength training is erratic, walking ~4 miles/day average for January. -- Writing: Hobby writing only, no attempts at professional work.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:01:57 -0800

Buddhist, I am sorry for your loss.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hepatica — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:59:39 -0800

Hi Buddhist, You're having a tough time! (((HUGS))) Is it not possible to take some annual leave to go see your Grandad? I know you might not feel like it, but it might also be worth trying to contact your husband to let him know what's happening with your Grandad because he will then understand if he can't get hold of you. I know it sounds odd but some men seem to take it awry when they can't get what they want & providing an explanation up front might prevent any ill feelings that might push in the wrong direction. Well done on focussing on your editing & keeping in routine - that will help keep you straight in the immediate term. (((HUGS)))

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Magpie Ilya — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:32:25 -0800

1. write every day - I missed three days, but I expected that 2. read a couple more books - 13. More than a couple! 3. get a library card - no 4. continue to reread comic magazines and sort into “keep” and “give away” boxes - yes, but I've still only read 2.5 of 19 (?) magazine files 5. start sorting through box of story-stuff, put away into the shelves I got for that purpose - started 6. plan balcony garden - no. But I organized my seeds 7. propagate/pot up houseplants to sell - yes, but not sold yet 8. start German balcony gardening blog - yes 9. knit second sock - yes, and I've started a sweater, too 10. shop for a camera - no 11. buy new work trousers - no, but not for lack of trying 12. go without internet for at least 3 days - four days 13. get a haircut - yes

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Hopeful lily — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:02 -0800

I never posted a list of January goals, which is probably just as well considering what a low-achievement month it usually is for me. I am happy to have started my next novel. At least I can say I've got 4,000 new words of something. February goal is simple: Write more of it. Write more of anything. Revise, if I can bear to. All other goals are the usual, and thus too boring to mention.

Re: January Journeys [Group Chat]

Tobaeus — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:09:29 -0800

Let's see how this month stacked up: 1) Take down the Christmas decorations- done 2) Print off husband's W-2 and get our taxes filed- Didn't print them off, but got this done as well. 3) Make a "super list" of things we need/want to do with that money- An ever growing list. Done. 4) Finally get the back porch under control.- Not yet. Hoping to do it soon. 5) Sort paperwork inside the house.- Pitiful attempts yielded pitiful results 6) Begin the Great Bug Purge.- Can't happen until our tax money comes in 7) Edit and submit my pegasus story to the site I've been following.- Nope, but a new project has come up and eaten some of that time. 8) Update my mp3 list and back up my computer.- Can't do a proper backup until I can afford a jump drive. Mp3 player got done, but the play order is kind of wonky. Will have to fix. 9) Exercise twice a day when the kids are at school.- Not yet. I tried, but it's hard to find all the parts to one video on YouTube on the tv. 10) Pick up a Missouri Driver's guide so I can study for my permit and eventually (finally) get my license and make use of the coming car.- Nope 11) Continue making time for reading.- A little, but that sort of trailed off 12) Clean the house. Vacuuming, mopping, dishes, etc. I want this place to sparkle.- No sparkle, but it's not a pit either. 13) I'd also like to find some time for meditating every day. - Nope. Not at all. It's all right. I got a few things done. More to be done this new month. Optimism, away!