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Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
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7:25 am - Cheesecake
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So, last week I decided that I would make a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dinner. This is instead of a traditional pumpkin pie (although I came across and made two amazingly good pumpkin pie recipes last year), and in addition to the family tradition of cranberry pie. Well, and I know this will amaze you to hear, but I'd never made a cheesecake before. Ever. It was only recently that I acquired a spring-form pan. So, because I couldn't very well show up to Thanksgiving dinner with a sub-par cheesecake, I decided I needed to do a test cheesecake. I knew that I'd have willing hands to help eat what I didn't need to (and I didn't need a whole cheesecake sitting in the fridge the week before Thanksgiving!) at the theatre where we're getting ready for the first of the holiday shows. I also made arrangements for my mom and aunt to taste it and give me critiques.
Well, I got rave reviews from the crew at the theatre and they said it was "perfect" and "amazing" and that I shouldn't change a thing. From my mom and aunt I got more helpful suggestions like more crust and blind bake it a bit longer, be sure to use the called-for water bath to avoid the outside of the cake being over-done, and that the flavor of it was spot-on.
Yesterday at the theatre I was asked if I would bake a pumpkin cheesecake on commission. I said yes. This is the first time ever that somebody has offered to pay me for cooking. It is highly flattering and a little exciting.
I need another spring-form pan (which he's said he'll pay for and keep) and more cream cheese.
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| Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
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8:08 am - The Hum of the 96-Rack
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I'm sitting backstage at the American Society of Human Genetics conference in Ex. Hall 1 at the Honolulu Convention Center at the moment. It is 8:20 a.m. and I've been here since 6 a.m. 6 a.m. is officially very early; the sun doesn't even rise till around 6:30 a.m. these days. There are sessions schedule for most of the day until 6:00 p.m., so I've got a long day ahead of me. I've (obviously) got internet access, which is great as it allows me to be both more productive and procrastinate more!
I'm listening to the hum of the 96-rack (which is kind of overkill for this little show since we have <50 lights hung). I'm also watching element tutorials which I downloaded this morning from home (not anticipating being online) and getting more familiar with MVTs new light board. If I'd been paying more attention this morning I could use the offline editor to patch my show, but I grabbed the wrong show folder. I knew when I got handed the second dark blue binder that it would lead to trouble! You shouldn't have two shows working at the same time with folders that are the same color. Oh well. I still have lots of work I can do (and I'm hopeful that my mom will come into town sometime today and drop me off the Winter Wonderettes folder).
October has been (is being) a good month for work. HSLR has had a number of shows, I've been getting ready for tech for shows at both MVT and HPU, and I've done a little organizational work for a friend who has recently moved and needed some help setting up and organizing his home office. The mix of different kinds of work is good. November is looking pretty good too. I've got a couple one-offs at HCT at the beginning of the month, I open (and get paid for) those shows at HPU and MVT, I'm on the call for the Jim Nabors show at Hawaii Theatre, and MVT has one or two dark night rentals that I'm running the lights for. I'm feeling a bit better about work and finances with two busier months in a row.
In light of that, I finally bought a new TV! It is a 40" flat panel HDTV. I still haven't called the cable company to hook it up to HD, but just having it wall-mounted and larger is a huge improvement over the 20" model I had perched on the display counter between my desk and kitchen counter. Now I can put objects d'art there instead!
This is pretty much what's going on with me these days. Still loving my kitchen and cooking in it, still loving being back in town in my own place, still single and more-or-less okay with that though I'd love that to change one of these days.
I made a version of this recipe last night and it was amazingly good. Instead of on the grill, I roasted everything in the oven and tossed the shrimp under the broiler for a couple minutes at the very end. I cut up a jalapeno pepper and roasted it along with the rest of the veggies and it added just the right amount of heat to the dish. I used normal couscous and the vinaigrette that was already made in the fridge and everything came together wonderfully. A glass of white wine and I was in culinary heaven.
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| Friday, September 25th, 2009
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8:17 am - Home Remedies
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| Thursday, September 24th, 2009
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1:25 pm - Hearty Peasant Loaf
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Hearty Peasant Loaf
Originally uploaded by Ninicat.
Yesterday I made bread. I altered the "One-A-Day Baguette" recipe on Eipcurious to make something I've called Hearty Peasant Loaf in my recipe file. It came out really nicely and, I think, just dense enough. By adding an egg to the dough I solved the too dense (but still very tasty!) loaves I was getting before with this recipe.
Check out the picture next to it on my Flickr page for what I had for dinner that night. I'm now thinking about amazing panini, garlic-sauteed local mushrooms crostini, and just plain old toast with jam! I don't have bread around very much but, when I do, I like to have it be something I've made myself. And, with a decent store/bakery loaf of bread between $2-$6, it makes sense (pun intended) financially as well.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°-115° F)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more (up to 1/2 cup) if needed
1 large egg
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tsp dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, etc.) (optional)
seeds for sprinkling on top of bread (optional)
Preparation:
In KitchenAid bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar/honey over warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Combine flours, herbs, and salt in a bowl. With a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour until combined. Add the egg and stir to just combined. Stir in remaining flour until mixture forms a stiff dough. With the KA kneed on speed 2 for 7-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking. When kneeded through, shape into a loose ball by kneeding a few turns by hand. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
Place baking stone near the bottom of the oven and preheat to 400° F.
Punch down dough and form into one large or two smaller peasant loafs. Place on parchment paper and leave to rise for about 1/2 an hour.
Make several artful slashes on loaf with a sharp knife and lightly brush top with an egg wash or olive oil. Add seeds to top of loaf is desired. Bake on stone on parchment paper for 30 minutes, or until golden, and transfer to a rack to cool.
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| Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
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12:40 pm - Ingredients for Fine Living
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I went to Costco Waipio this morning with my mom. Now, you're probably thinking, what's so great about going to Costco? Well, I now have in my apartment some of the essentials of finer living: lemons (lots of lemons!), butter (it would have been terrible had I run out of butter), bay leaves, ham and hot sausage (for red beans and rice this weekend 'cause it is John's birthday and he wanted that kind of food), and fresh figs! Oh, the deliciousness of it all! I need a bit of prosciutto to go with my figs (I already have parmesan) and a bit of white wine, I think. Yum . . .
As my uncle remarked some time ago when he brought back a similarly sized bag of lemons, "Good things happen in the kitchen when there are lemons." So true.
current mood:  optimistic
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| Sunday, June 28th, 2009
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6:40 am - Exercise Again (Finally)
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I'm off for a walk this morning. The second time I'll have gone this week, but only the second time I'll have gone since moving into my new condo. Not so good. And I've been getting lax on the eating front too. The result is that I'm slipping up above my weight maintenance target. So, it's back to walking for me. And perhaps a few more salads and a few less pasta dishes again. (But, oh, I do like pasta!) But, I'm still getting complements from people who haven't seen me for a while ("You look really good. Have you been working out?") and my clothes still fit (yay!) so I'm not too worried. But, walking is all kinds of good: for sanity, for exercise, for my heart, for my emotional well-being (is that the same as sanity, or are they different?), everything except for my knee.
So, my first cup of coffee is empty and my bowl of fruit salad and yogurt is finished. Off to get dressed, put on shoes, and walk around Punchbowl.
current mood: determined
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| Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
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8:09 am - Goals, Body-wise
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This morning on Calorie Count I switched my goal from "weight loss" to "weight maintenance." I set out at the beginning of January to lose weight till I reached 150 lbs. (about 11 pounds) and I'm there. In fact, I'm a bit under. Once I moved in and put new batteries in my scale I discovered it read lower than I'd been used to seeing. And it has stayed there for 4 days so I know its not a fluke. I think the "I'm too busy to eat and have no food in my house" diet was pretty effective in getting me those last two or three pounds. Which is a little strange because you'd think that with eating out I'd be eating less healthy. I guess being selective about where I eat out from (the Thai place, the hippy sandwich shop, sushi, occasionally a Safeway sandwich, and very rarely a Korean plate lunch) did make a difference.
What is even better than what the scale says though, is the reactions from other people - both my friends and from strangers - and my own reaction to this new body. My friends tell me how good I'm looking and are surprised when I tell them I've only lost 10 or 12 pounds. I guess it looks like I've lost more! Strangers look at me differently (which says something about this culture, where you are only viewed as desirable by strangers if you aren't chubby). And as for me: I'm not quite used to having hip bones that I can feel when I lay down in bed; all of my clothes fit so much better (except for the few things that are too big) and I'm tightening my belt tighter than I've done - ever; I like the way I look in the mirror; and I'm confident that I can keep this up and keep looking the way I do now.
I made a few other adjustments to my profile on the Calorie Count site and have come up with between 1700 and 2000 calories needed daily to maintain my weight (depending on how active I am on any given day). I've been eating somewhere between 1500 and 1700 calories since the beginning of January and I'm not entirely sure how to up my intake and still be healthy and feel like I'm not just eating because I can or because I should. I guess I can start adding the heavy cream back to pasta sauces, and eating a second chocolate chip cookie if I want to, or have a handful of nuts or that piece of cheese when I'm snacky at random times. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.
current mood: accomplished
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| Friday, April 24th, 2009
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12:03 pm - Condo!!!
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It's official! I own a condo!!! I have keys in my pocket, and my car in my parking space. It is beautiful and clean and empty and I can't wait to move my stuff in. Like a chair. That'd be a good place to start.
I will post pictures soon, and will move in next week sometime. I hope. My schedule is stupid. I need boys with large vehicles. In the meantime, I've got not much time to do house stuff because my work schedule is busy, busy!
I'm excited! I want to move in! I want my bed and my stuff and my food in the kitchen!
Okay, I'm off to find something for lunch and then to work at MVT for a while. Maybe I'll come back here and have a picnic dinner later ;-)
current mood: excited
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| Saturday, March 14th, 2009
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1:39 pm - Update
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A couple of things struck me yesterday when I got out of the shower.
First, this whole loosing weight resolution is going pretty well. I've lost about eight pounds (three more to reach the target weight I've set for myself) and am liking what I'm seeing in the mirror and feeling under my hands. I'm not loosing it quickly, but it seems like this is something that will be lasting. At least as long as I keep my eating under control. I'll be able to be "bad" a little more often if I'm trying to maintain instead of loose weight, but I think that a lot of the changes I've been making to my eating habits will likely stick: more fruits and veggies, more salads and yogurts, less breads and pastas (though not cut out entirely! I couldn't do that!), even less meats than I'd been eating and no red meat at all anymore (which has more to do with ethical and environmental factors and the fact that I don't like dealing with it raw, than with loosing weight or it's tastiness), and most importantly, smaller portions.
On a side note, I made these today. ;-) At around 300 calories apiece though, I'll be taking most of them to rehearsal this evening.
Second, I'm so pale! I know those of you on the Mainland will scoff and laugh at me, but I've not been this pale since I returned from London. I feel like I look like I'm sickly. It's strange. But, I've not been to the beach in months - maybe not since November - so it really isn't all that surprising. The weather here has been cool and windy and rainy for ages, and it is really starting to get to me. It has been in the high 50s or low 60 for the past few days (I think. Nobody has thermometers right outside their doors.) which would be fine if we were prepared for this sort of thing and/or acclimated to it. But, when it is 56 degrees and windy outside, it is 56 degrees inside. Houses in Hawaii aren't built to keep heat in or cold or. Or vise versa for that matter. I'd really like to get some color so that I don't look so ghostly white, but I'll have to settle for what I get. Which is to say, I'll be staying my white-a#$ self for a while yet. At least until we get some sunny warm weather. Which, being in the tropics, you'd think we'd get plenty of!
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| Friday, March 6th, 2009
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8:14 pm - At Rehearsal
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Unfortunately, it is not a run through. Normally, by this time (we have dry tech on Sunday, wet on Monday) they are pretty much doing runs onstage. With stops and starts, of course, but for the most part, just straight-forward runs. Not tonight. The director is still stopping to fix and correct and run things over and over before moving on. It is really starting to drive me nuts. I need to see runs so that I can cue the show!
Just talked to the director. Apparently, NOW they are going to start a run. Rehearsal started nearly 2 HOURS AGO!!! *grrrr* If I'd known this, then I would have gone to dinner somewhere instead of rushing to grab a sandwich.
Okay, I guess I should pay attention now. *sigh*
current mood:  frustrated
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| Thursday, February 26th, 2009
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4:26 pm
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| Saturday, February 21st, 2009
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9:44 am - Moving On
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I'm sitting on the one piece of furniture left in my empty apartment; the couch that belongs to my landlords. I've got a car full of cleaning products and stools that belong to MVT. Keys sitting lonely on the kitchen counter. Clean and quiet and empty. I'm doing a walk-thru and handing over they keys in fifteen minutes. I'm leaving this place in much better condition than when I walked in two and a half years ago.
It feels odd to be moving back in with my mother, however temporary. It's not that I anticipate any strangeness to come from it, and I'm not moving back because of financial constraints. Although it certainly will help for a few months. I'm really hoping that I find somewhere to buy sooner rather than later.
I wrote in a status update on facebook a few days ago that I don't mind the idea of living elsewhere, it is the moving that I don't like. This is true. However, I'm looking forward to moving in to somewhere new. I enjoy finding homes for everything, and organizing all my stuff into nooks and cupboards. I'm looking forward to painting walls and making a place my own.
But, for the time being, I'm sitting here in an empty apartment. With tech rehearsals to attend this weekend, and my mothers house to return to.
I haven't hardly even thought about turning thirty this week.
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| Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
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7:30 am - Busy, Busy!
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Today I have lots of things to do and places to be:
9:30 a.m. - Meeting with financial planner about shifting assets around a bit to facilitate condo-buying.
10:30 a.m. (or whenever I'm done with previous meeting) - Go to the bank. I have a paycheck to deposit and, while cleaning out the room I'll be staying in at Mom's she found a $100 savings bond from ages and ages ago which I will also deposit.
11:00 a.m. - Inspect storage facility in Kaimuki. I think I got quoted a decent rate and I want to check out the place and see if they'll hold it for me till Feb. 15th instead of Feb. 2nd because I really don't need it until the 15th.
2:00 p.m. - Meet Realtor, Mom and her Husband at Kukui Plaza downtown to look at the two, one-bedroom units that are on the market in that building. I've been to them both before, but Mom and Husband haven't been to the second one and it'll be good to compare apples with apples.
Either before or after 2:00 meeting - call costumer at HTY and meet with her to look at the costumes she's pulled so far for KHS's Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (hereafter referred to simply as "Forum"). I need to pick some side light colors ASAP because otherwise I won't be able to reach the onstage electrics as the walls of the houses are really high. I'm not sure what MJ's plan is for burn-outs during the show, but since I'm not there for the run, that isn't really my problem.
5:00 p.m. - Production Meeting for Tuesdays with Morrie at MVT. They cast my least favorite director as Morrie, but I think it'll be okay as long as he's only an actor. I just hope he can remember his lines, but I'm not very optimistic about this hope.
6:30 p.m. - Attend first read-thru for Tuesdays with Morrie.
OR
7:30 p.m. - Attend preview for DHT's next show. I think it is Souvenir.
And this is a day when I'm NOT working!
current mood: determined
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| Friday, January 23rd, 2009
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10:16 am - Resolutions Update
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In this post I listed my resolutions, despite not having formally listed resolutions before. Or, in fact, ever making them. Here, mostly for my reference, is an update:( Read more... )
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| Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
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8:07 pm - A Food Post!
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I made some very tasty fish tonight for dinner. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it until I was half way through eating it, so you don't get a picture. Here, simply, is the recipe:
1 swordfish steak
1 tbsp olive oil (give or take)
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 cup (or so) local mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, in olive oil, chopped
1 tsp capers, drained (or not, it probably doesn't really matter)
1/4 cup (or so) dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
Salt and pepper swordfish steak. Saute the fish on both sides in a hot pan with olive oil, then take it out and cover with foil. The fish will not be cooked thru at this point. To the still hot skillet (now to med/med-high) add the shallots, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Saute those together until they start to come together. Add tomato paste. Continue cooking. Add more olive oil at any point as necessary. Once the ingredients in the pan have cooked most of the way, add the wine. Then, add the fish back in. Cover, and cook until the fish is just cooked thru. Serve immediately.
I had the fish with some steamed broccoli, and cumin roasted fingerling potatoes. It made for a very tasty dinner. I think you could also make this with chicken and it would still be tasty. But, being in Hawaii and having fresh fish readily available, I used fish.
Now, I'm off to try to figure out how many calories this meal was, and enter it into my log. (P.S. - I've lost 4 pounds since New Years!)
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| Thursday, January 8th, 2009
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8:34 am - Resolutions
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Sweet! I broke 160 today. 159.6 lbs. Way to go walks and counting calories! Calorie Count is a great way to discover how many calories are actually in the foods that you're eating. I'm finding it an interesting exercise and a useful tool. I've also been going for my walks more regularly this week which hasn't hurt either.
current mood: pleased
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| Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
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11:45 am - Moving
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As some of you already know from facebook, I got some fairly major news on Sunday night. My landlords will be renovating their house and, during the renovation, will be living in the cottage behind their house. My cottage. Which means, as you may have guessed, that I have to move. I need to be out of here by February 21st, so I'm looking for something starting the middle of February.
There is the possibility of moving back here once the renovations are complete but I've been unable to get an answer to the question of "how long will it take?" from the landlords. So, I'm not sure if I should be looking for something temporarily, or something for 6 months or a year at least. And yes, I've started looking at apartments on Craigslist (though I haven't actually called anybody yet to ask about places). I've updated by monthly budget to figure out how much I can afford and am thinking about what I've accumulated over the past 2 1/2 years that I don't need to take with me.
On the other hand, I'm starting to consider looking a buying a place. Now, I've just started conversations with a realtor so I don't even know how much house or condo I could afford. With my stated income (on my tax returns, which is apparently what they use to determine your eligibility for a mortgage) I wouldn't even qualify to pay my current rent! Which obviously isn't the case because not only am I affording what I'm currently paying but I'm putting a fair amount aside each month. Which also means that a down-payment wouldn't be a problem. My mom has offered to help me out as either a co-signer or a co-buyer (which I'm not entirely sure how she thinks that would work since I'd be making all the payments), so hopefully her steady (and significantly higher income) would qualify me for a high enough loan to get something I'd want to live in. I'm going over to their house for dinner to night to talk about how she and her husband would be willing to help.
But, even if I decide I can buy something, I highly doubt that I'd be able to walk thru the door by the middle of February. So, I'm still thinking about somewhere to live (mom? auntie? you've got spare bedrooms, right?) temporarily. And I've begun to think about storage for some of my bulkier stuff. Which really isn't that much; I've got a bed, dresser, three bookshelves, a desk, chair, and two rolling file units. And of course, all my kitchen stuff and personal items. But not that much in terms of big furniture items.
I'm also an emotional wreck. I've dissolved into tears three times in the past 24 hours. But, I'm trying to keep a handle on that too; I went for a long walk this morning and I'm planning to bake a cake this afternoon and take it to dinner (and leave a good portion of it there as cake doesn't really fit within my resolutions). I'm also aware that when life closes one door it nearly always opens another one. I'm really trying to handle this whole process like an adult and explore all my options.
Just thought I'd let you all know, and add some more details than on fb.
current mood: overwhelmed
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| Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
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6:35 pm - Resolutions
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Okay, here we go. I don't usually do this because it has always seemed to me that you shouldn't wait till NYE to better yourself. If you're not going to have goals and pursue them the rest of the year, then why make a big deal out of it on January 1st? However, I heard a story on NPR this week that said making resolutions (and having friends check up on you and prod you along the way; hint, hint!) ups your odds of success from 4% to between 40-46%. With that in mind, I'm going to list a few things that I've been either working towards already, or have been putting off but really need to do.
- Loose ten pounds. I've been hovering around 160/161 for the past three or four months. I'd like to get to and stay at 150 lbs. A year ago I was nearly 167 lbs., and over the summer I got down to (I think) 157, so I know that ten pounds is a reasonable goal.
- Deal with my knee. Yes, my knee still hurts from time to time. More if I'm working hard, or climbing lots of stairs. I'm wearing some kind of knee support nearly all the time now. I've still not seen a doctor about it and I know I should. So, step one is to find a knee-savvy doctor and set up an appointment.
- Be more proactive about being social. This will probably be the most difficult, but the most fulfilling. A sub-goal to this resolution is that by being more social, I also up my odds of meeting someone special.
So, there you have it. Nothing too surprising or, I hope, too hard to achieve. However, if writing them down will up my odds to getting them done by 40%, then I'll write them down!
current mood: resolved
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| Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
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8:08 am - December
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I've been feeling like I haven't had a day off in a while. But, I thought to myself, I haven't been working for a while either. Then I looked at my calendar and realized that, since the weekend before I started in on the Caz Christmas show (the first weekend in Dec.) I've maybe had one day truly off. The day after Christmas. Between Caz Christmas, Nutcracker props, hanging Gutenberg at MVT, cooking, shopping, parties, seeing people who were in town, and the corporate gig I just did with Hide, I've had next to no time off.
No wonder if feels like I haven't had a day off. No wonder my desk is a mess. No wonder my Netflix movies have a slow turn-over rate. No wonder my cat misses me. I think I need a vacation from the holidays. Fortunately, after tomorrow night, I get one. And I can go back to my normal busy schedule that doesn't involve all the extra holiday stuff. I'm glad it is only for about a month; any long and I'm not sure I'd last!
On the other hand, I've really had a good time cooking, shopping, getting together with family and friends. And yes, I've even had a good time at work. I learned a new console, I created pretty bows, I got to hang out with people I enjoy. I really shouldn't whine about this December; it has been good. Busy, but good.
current mood: reflective
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| Sunday, December 28th, 2008
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8:24 am
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I wonder if there are any resolutions that I should make for this year . . .
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