Marriage License by Norman Rockwell
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Thursday, April 28, 2005

Slept a little better

Current Mood:

I slept a little better today: I was able to get 6 hours' worth. The past few days I was only averageing about 5 hours, with little half hour naps in the afternoon.

Thank goodness tomorrow's the last day of training :-).


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Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Getting used to it :-)

Current Mood:

One of the neat things about working nights is that, when you go to the bathroom, a stall will ALWAYS be available :-).

I haven't completely gotten used to it yet. You watch--I'll be fully adjusted by Friday, which is the last day of training :-).


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Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Oh, well...

Current Mood:

Watching people leave the building at 5pm makes me very envious. My day hasn't even started.

Oh, well. At least it's Tuesday.


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Monday, April 25, 2005

Nyama nyama nyama...

Current Mood:

It's 10 til midnight and I'm here at the office. Like jet lag, shift changes are usually worst on the second day.

At least I only have 4 hours to go then I can go home :-). That seems more promising than when it was 10pm and I had *6* hours to go before I could go home :-).


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Sunday, April 24, 2005

Shift change

Current Mood:

Just found out that the training that I'll be doing tomorrow from 8am-5pm has now been moved to 7pm-4am.

If we train during the day, the videoconference equipment and connection will tamper with the call center floor's productivity. The only time that would be feasible to do training would be during Manila days, which is Memphis nights.

I'm going to need to stay up tonight in preparation for tomorrow. I should be okay after the first couple of days :-).


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Saturday, April 23, 2005

Star Wars vs. Star Trek

Current Mood:

Can a light saber deflect phaser fire?


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Ah, weekends...

Current Mood:

Few things compare to the feeling of being up at 5am on a Saturday knowing you have the whole weekend ahead of you. It's like taking a deep breath. Sure, you've got a gazillion things to do, but right now, with the world all quiet, the solitude is very calming :-).

I'll go have some coffee--decaf. I want to enjoy the calmness a little longer :-).

{looks at "decaf"} Ever look at a word and think to yourself, "That can't be the way it's spelled," and yet it is? It just looks weird.

decaf. DECAF. Decaf. Dee-kahf. De Caf. The calf.


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Friday, April 22, 2005

A little stressed

Current Mood:

I've been a little stressed lately. I've got two things due on Monday and I'm not done. Add that to the allergies and that all adds up to me being tired and grouchy all the time.

I think I'll go take a nap.


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Terra Chips

Current Mood:

I love these chips, they're SOOO good :-). They're vegetable chips, so naturally Steve doesn't like them :-).

There are six different vegetable chips in the bag: taro, yuca, sweet potato, ruby taro, batata, and parsnip. They each taste different, but they all taste great :-). I always buy the big bag, and it never lasts more than 2 days :-).

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I learned...

Current Mood:

I learned that if you forget your hairbrush at home, a zen garden rake is a good enough substitute :-).


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Thursday, April 21, 2005

More boys will be boys...

Current Mood:

Steve bought Crixpix cereal last week so he could mail this in:

The bowl beeps and whistles when you apply pressure to it.

Ah, boys :-).

Oh, and if you're wondering if he got the saberspoon found in other Kellogg's cereals, the answer is yes :-).

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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Steve and Sin City

Current Mood:

Steve watched Sin City yesterday. It's not the kind of movie that I usually watch, but I offered to watch it with him last weekend because it was his turn to choose. He said we didn't have to watch it and he could just catch a weekday showing.

"Besides," he said, "I want to save my movie credits for when I really need them--there's going to be a lot of movies that I'll want to see in a few months :-)."

He sent me a text message yesterday saying that he won a Care Bear from the crane machine at the movies. Naturally I was excited about that, not because I like Care Bears (they're okay), but because we FINALLY won something from a crane machine. We've been trying for the longest time :-).

A few minutes later Steve sent me another text message. "Here I am, a grownup man, watching Sin City with a Care Bear and a kiddie combo."

And then... "This big black guy just came in the theater and he looked at me funny."

And then... "If I get too scared I can just hug my bear :-)."

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005

...But I HAD to shop :-)!

Current Mood:

Steve and I went to the mall Sunday since we haven't gone there in a while. We went into JCPenney and decided to look at light sweaters just because.

Oh MAN they had all these deals! I just had to shop--we don't go to Wolfchase very often and the next time we go these sweaters may no longer be available.

I mean, 4 sweaters--3 of them regularly $36 and one of them $30--each now $3.77! Then I got two more sweaters which were buy one, get the other one for a dollar.

And these were good sweaters too...the only reason why they've been marked down is because it's spring and no longer the season for sweaters. I, on the other hand, am always a little cold (I haven't fully acclimated yet), so that works out perfectly :-).

According to the receipt, I spent $49.25, but I SAVED $150.92 :-)!

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Monday, April 18, 2005

Uncanny resemblance!

Current Mood:

Steve and I saw this Trigun action figure in the bookstore when we went to the mall yesterday. We thought it was so funny because the action figure looks SO much like my brother. And as luck would have it, he likes the series.

Here, lemme put the pictures side by side so you can see just how uncanny the resemblance is :-)...

And here's what the entire action figure looks like:

I still haven't decided whether I'll be getting it for him or not :-)...


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Loved it!

Current Mood:

1602 was REALLY good :-)! It's the kind of comic that sparks conversation after you read it :-). One of the really cool parts is that the Marvel superheroes' names were changed to fit the era, and with some of them you're left guessing as to who they are until their true natures are revealed, towards the end of the story.

Take the picture in Saturday's blog entry, for example. That kid on the far left--his name is Peter Parquah. The person three people down, that's Carlos Javier (Charles Xavier--get it? :-)). The guy with the hat and eye patch is Niccolo Fury.

The American Indian (I don't think it's politically correct to say Native American anymore)--you'll NEVER guess who he is. I didn't know who he was until much, much later in the book. Steve figured out faster than I did who he was.

Then again, I figured out faster than he did that the guy with the red bandana over his eyes was Daredevil, so I guess that makes us even :-).

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Saturday, April 16, 2005

Interesting Comic

Current Mood:

Steve has a huge library of books and comics. I picked up Marvel 1602 and started reading. It's really very interesting. It was created by Neil Gaiman, the guy who did Sandman (I haven't read Sandman myself but I've heard good things about it).

What Gaiman did was create a comic that answered the question, "If today's Marvel superheroes lived in 1602, what roles would they play?" The story is a mix of fact and fiction.

I've only read the first few pages so far, and it looks really good :-). I may end up finishing the comic this weekend :-).

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My other Ikebana book arrived :-)...

Current Mood:

The Ikebana book I ordered from Australia arrived today :-). I really like it :-).

As much as possible, I get books that are from the Sogetsu school of Ikebana. In Sogetsu, while classical rules are followed, personal creativity and interpretation are encouraged. There are no limitations on the materials that you could use, either. There are arrangements in this book that make use of plastic tubing, baskets, rocks... and they're all pretty :-).

What I didn't realize the time I bought this book (and which makes it even more of a bargain to me now), was that the author was a Sogetsu school master who pioneered Sogetsu in Europe. She begins her explanations with a western perspective, then proceeds to compare it with the Japanese perspective.

Even though there isn't a Sogetsu Ikebana school in Memphis, I'm learning a lot :-).

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Friday, April 15, 2005

The best deals aren't always on eBay...

Current Mood:

It really does pay to shop around... I sort of feel bad for the person who bid on the boots on eBay. On eBay, the boots cost $45 and the shipping is $14, so this person's going to end up paying $59 for something they could've gotten cheaper somewhere else.

In this case, I found the exact same boots selling for $39.99 at the NBC shop. Even when you add the $4.99 shipping and handling, that's still only $44.98. Here's a picture:

17 pairs available. Hmm. Maybe when I can shop again, there'll still be a few pairs left :-)...

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My first spring, my first sneezing fits

Current Mood:

This is my first spring in the U.S.--and my first bout with pollen. In Manila, I would sneeze only once a week. Over here, I'd sneeze 4-6 times a day.

And it's not a demure "achoo" kind of sneeze, either. It's more like, "AhhhCHOOOO!" One of these days I'm going to end up sneezing my brains out :-).


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Thursday, April 14, 2005

Boys will be boys :-)...

Current Mood:

A friend of mine, Kevin, came up to me and said that he'd visited my blog.

"Did you see the entry about Steve and the Star Wars gun?" I asked.

He wagged his finger at me and replied admonishingly, "It's a Clone Trooper Blaster Rifle. Get it right."

Goodness, what is it with boys and Star Wars? :-)


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Look, but don't touch

Current Mood:

I've decided to just watch the auction and not get the boots. For one thing, the seller had increased the starting price to $45--that's too rich for my blood.

Besides, another person has already bid on the shoes.

And another thing, I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything on eBay until payday. This just makes it easier to keep that promise :-).

My sour graping isn't TOO obvious, is it? ;-)

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Ooooo!

Current Mood:

Ooooo I want!


The starting price is $35, though. And shipping is $14.

I'll watch the auction. It's a 5-day auction, so that'll give me enough time to decide: do I really need these boots (just so you know, the answer today is yes :-)).

Besides, someone else will bid on this for sure. That'll jack up the price to where I'm really not willing to spend that much.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2005

That's my husband :-)...

Current Mood:

Every time Steve and I would go to the store, he would stop at the toy aisle and pick up the same toy and play with it for a few minutes. The fourth time it happened, I finally asked if he wanted to get it :-).

He shyly nodded his head. "Yeah." He was just like a little boy--he was so cute :-).

I don't know what's funnier: that he wanted a Storm Trooper rifle so badly, or that there was always at least one other grownup guy in the toy aisle also looking at the Star Wars toys :-).

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Monday, April 11, 2005

This week's ikebana arrangement

Current Mood:

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Our next concert :-)!

Current Mood:

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Memphis Symphony Chorus will be performing Carmina Burana on April 30 :-). Steve and I bought tickets; we can't wait to see it :-).

What's Carmina Burana, you say? It's one of those classical pieces that people easily recognize but don't know the title to. Movie previews play it all the time, especially during a battle scene :-).

Here's a 1-minute mp3 sound clip of Carmina Burana. When you hear it you'll probably go, "OOhhh THAT one!"

Imagine that clip played live with a full orchestra and a full chorus. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it :-).


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Sunday, April 10, 2005

The search for boots

Current Mood:

Warning: mostly girl talk--this entry is about shoes :-).

You'd think it would be easy to find black, knee-high, stretch leather, stiletto-type-heel, not-pointy-toe boots (okay the boys reading this entry might think that this is being too particular, but all the girls would understand that this kind of boot should be easy enough to find).

Apparently it's NOT easy. First of all, it's spring. The popular shoe types nowadays are open-toe sandals and flip-flops. It's not the season for boots.

Second of all, even if you COULD find black boots, they would all either be pointy toe or clunky heeled, neither of which look good on me (pointy toes make me look like I've got witch's shoes on, and clunky heeled, well, they don't look as feminine as I would like).

I did, however, finally find a couple of boots, both on eBay. I bought the one on the left (don't worry, this is the only eBay thing I'm getting this pay period :-)).

The ironic thing here is that I already OWN the exact same pair. I call them my Baroness Boots because they remind me so much of the Baroness (you know, on the cartoon series GI Joe). I wear them so often though that I think the boots are starting to lose their shape. At least now I have a spare :-). Besides, it was only $13.85 and that includes shipping. The boot on the right is $34.95, and that's without shipping (and the heel looks awfully high).

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Saturday, April 09, 2005

Apartment available :-D!

Current Mood:

Talked with the leasing agent--an apartment is going to be available on June 8! She said it'll most likely be ready to move into on June 13, so she was asking us for a move-in date anytime after the 13th.

After looking up good move dates according to feng shui (hey, it doesn't hurt :-)) and discussing it with Steve, I called back to let her know that we'll be moving in on the 15th.

I was actually kind of relieved to find an online feng shui calendar. Most feng shui consultants charge money for this kind of thing :-).

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Friday, April 08, 2005

FRIDAY :-D!

Current Mood:

MAN I love Fridays :-). Fridays are especially good when your week didn't start out too well :-). I wish I could fast forward today to 5pm :-).

Steve and I were channel surfing last night when we came across BBC's Battlefield Britain. I think whoever conceptualized that show was a genius :-). It's about a father and son team, traveling through Britain, reviewing all the battles that shaped the country. The son talks about what it was probably like at the front lines, the father talks about the battle strategies that were used.

The part I like most is that they hired actors to play the soldiers and the people and these actors were interviewed about their "experiences," what it was like on the battlefield. It felt like a contemporary news feature instead of your typical history show. I also like how they used computer graphics to show you how the battle was won :-).


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Wednesday, April 06, 2005

"I think I'm turnin' Japanese, I really think so..."

Current Mood:

Another thing I bought from eBay was a Zen Rock Garden Kit :-). A rock garden is meant to inspire tranquility and meditation since it mimics mountains and water flowing through and around them.

If you like the idea of owning a small rock garden, don't buy the kit at a store. It retails for $30 and it isn't really worth $30. I paid $6.99 for it (the product itself is $.99 and shipping is $6.00), and I'm happy with the expense.

I read some reviews about it, and many people were disappointed because the kit has a cardboard base that was just stapled on. Because the sand is so fine, it ends up leaking out of the box.

What I did when I got my kit was run the inner and outer edges of the box with glue. That way, the edges are sealed and the sand won't leak out :-). It's working really nicely :-). When I don't have an ikebana arrangement at my desk, I have a zen rock garden :-).

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