Friday, March 09, 2012

Riffday: taking it slow

I'm feeling the need to post, but I don't really have anything to say (will start up more interesting posts again next week), so this will turn into a Riffday post, even though I just posted one earlier this week.  But I'm just riffin', it's all I can do today.

1.  The procedure-which-shall-not-be-named that I had done earlier this week was no problem to get through, and I felt fine Wednesday night.  But yesterday I was wiped-- headache-y from the drugs, tired, and a bit sore in the middle if you know what I mean.  Not exactly in pain, just tender.  On the plus side, I wasn't hungry, which made three days in a row of not eating much food.  It makes me a little bit disgusted that I'm happy about that.  All that blather about "I'm not in this to lose weight, I'm in it to be more healthy" is just bullshit sometimes.  *sigh*

2.  I haven't tried my new drug yet so can't report on it.  I thought it was better to wait to start it until I recover from the-procedure-which-shall-not-be-named. Maybe tomorrow.

3.  Another in the series of observations about e-readers:  I've discovered another downside to e-readers, which would apply to any of them, I think.  I can't remember the books.  I was going to review several that I read over the break, but when I pulled out my Kindle and looked at the list of names, I couldn't remember what a single one of them was about.  If I had a book with a picture on the cover, I'd remember.  So.  I know I told some of you I'd post some reviews, but I'm going to have to change my method to do it.  Eventually it will happen, in the place where these things happen.

4.  We live in an area with very hard water, with a high mineral content.  We have a water softener, but it can only do so much.  So we used to go through a coffee maker about every year or so.  And once I quit drinking coffee (other than the occasional decaf), we ended up throwing out half a pot of coffee every day after Dean was done.  So a couple of years ago, on a whim, I bought him a Keurig for Christmas, which makes a single cup of coffee at a time.  We love it.  It makes great coffee, and it also makes tea (peppermint! chamomile!) and MadMax uses it for hot water for hot chocolate and various other things that need hot water. 

So why am I telling you this?  Because I can't think of anything else to tell you about, mostly, but there is something new:  a couple of months ago, I discovered a decaf that actually tastes as good as regular coffee.  It's like a miracle.  I had to wait till Dean ran out of his favorite before I could order more, but our new shipment came bright and early this morning, and I'm sitting here sipping Tully's French Roast Decaf and I am happy.

5.  I'm reading Moby Dick.  You hear the most awful things about it.  I arranged my entire undergraduate career as an English major to avoid having to read it because I'd heard it was so boring.  But then I did read it in [my first shot at] grad school, and I loved it.  It's fascinating.  It's next up in this class on the novel, and I'm about 50 pages in.  I still love it.  I don't know why people think it's so awful.  It's not a quick read, and you probably don't want to take it to the beach, but after you get past the setup, what's not to like?  great story, great characters, narrator with a snide sense of humor.  and we're spending three weeks on it, so I don't even have to finish it by Monday.  yay.

6.  My thesis, on the other hand, is not going so well.  It's not going badly, it's just that it's too easy to forget about it.  I meet with my thesis adviser* occasionally, but other than that, I'm on my own.  I need somebody to force me to do it.  I'm making progress, but it's going far more slowly than it should be.  (at this point, I'm just reading, haven't started writing yet, although I have the 18-page paper I wrote last semester as a starting point.) (*I think it should be "advisor" but Blogger is telling me that is spelled wrong.  whatever.)

7.  Shower update.  They're actually here!  Tile is being installed!  I think they will be done putting the tile up today, and then Monday or Tuesday the plumber will come and hook everything up, and then I will paint, and then the carpenter will come back and put up the trim, and then we will have two bathrooms!  The end is in sight. 

I was going to blatantly steal the 7 Quick Takes idea from Debbie, but I have an 8th, so oops.  8) 95% of my books are in boxes over at the storage unit.  Dean won't let me have them until we finish unpacking all the other boxes.  He is wise, that Dean.  He knows that once the boxes of books get here, I will spend hours arranging them to the neglect of everything else.  There's so much to consider.  Type of book, era, author, frequency of use, color and size and how they look on the shelf, how much I love them... it's endless.  And far more important than whether or not dinner is made, don't you think?

9.  Well, this just goes on and on, doesn't it?  MadMax takes his drivers test tomorrow-- he doesn't get his official license then, but if he passes it, and then logs (50? 90?) hours of driving with one of us in the car, THEN he can get his license.  We are both ready for it to be over.

Ten?  can I think of another?  nope.  Have a nice weekend.

10 comments:

  1. Always good to hear all your news. The Keurig note was useful. Mom has started drinking decaf only. So now I have to make one cup for me somehow as I only drink one cup of regular coffee a day. Maybe I need a Keurig. I'm going to check it out.

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    1. There is a mini-Keurig which is cheaper, but you have to fill it every time you use it. Ours has a reservoir, which holds enough for 3-4 cups. They're pretty expensive, but on the other hand, our original Keurig lasted 3 years, which is triple the amount of time any previous coffee maker had lasted, so there's that.

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  2. 1. I am older than you and I have managed to avoid that certain procedure...but I don't think that will last much longer. But I know it will be a fabulous blog post.

    3. Yes, that is a problem. The only way that I remember what I read and what it was about is to immediately enter it into my data base after I finish it.

    8. Steal away. And there is no reason why you couldn't have more than 7 Quick Takes. It happens. Oh and doesn't it feel awesome when you get your books out and have them all arranged "just so".

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    1. I've tried keeping a reading database before, but I never remember to do it. Maybe if I came up with some slick way to do it on my iPhone I'd remember. I'm easily entertained that way. And I can't wait to arrange books! I'm starting to get impatient. So why aren't I attacking the 6-8 boxes that are left?? beats me. except that I am damn tired of unpacking.

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  3. 1. The procedure-that-shall-be-unnamed always leaves me feeling a bit puny for a few days. Take it easy and eat gentle foods for a few days.
    2. What new drug?
    4. Huh on the Keurig. We've got French press over here in 3 sizes - individual, 2-3, 4-6 or so depending on mug size so all we need is boiling water which is good when the power goes out.
    7. Woo-hoo on two complete bathrooms!! Yay for not having to share a bathroom with a kid!
    9. Girl child has passed the test, but can't get her permit until the end of August when she turns 16. I'm just trying not to think about it.

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    1. 2. oh, it was buried at the end of the last 4letter-word post. When i went in for my checkup, my cholesterol hadn't changed AT ALL. Which my doc says means that it's genetic, so I'm going to try taking a statin and see how it goes. I took the first one last night, can't really tell anything so far.

      4. I used to use a french press years ago, I'd kind of forgotten about them. They do make good coffee!

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  4. 1. Glad you are resting, it's a good idea. We tend to forget how taxing stress is on our system. Plus, you had a procedure!

    4. Hanna worked for Tully's for years! Every time I see their coffee in the store I smile about how she is no longer trying to make enough tips to pay rent.

    7. Pictures?

    8. If I could organize my books, my house would look like a library, LITERALLY. I'd use the Dewey Decimal System.

    I can't comment any more, I'm all misty-eyed with fantasies of alphabetization now.....

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    1. Yes, I will post pictures when it is done! They got the tile up on the wall yesterday, but won't start grouting until Monday, and then it has to be sealed? on Tuesday, plumber Wed or Thurs, etc etc.

      lol - your comment about arranging books cracked me up. I can just see it. Dewey Decimal system wouldn't work for me, though, because I have to have my VERY MOST BELOVED books altogether in a prominent place,and there are all different kinds of things on those shelves. Then the ones I use all the time in an easily accessible place, then all the mass market paperbacks in one area (by author, but not necessarily alphabetical by author), then reference books together, etc. I'd better stop thinking about it and go and unpack some boxes.

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  5. - Maybe if you install kindle on your computer too, then you can see all the covers. Isn't Goodreads on iphone? I have it on my ipad.

    My main ebook downside is I can't pass the books on to others after. And if it's a book I paid for (as opposed to a 75 cent second hand book) and I don't like it, I can't offload it at the library sale where someone else might like it! Hmph.

    - Always thought I should try Moby Dick one day. But I've only heard good things (greatest novel of all time bla bla).

    - "once the boxes of books get here, I will spend hours arranging them to the neglect of everything else. There's so much to consider." OH MY DAYS YES. Currently I have my fiction books by country, except for the genre stuff.

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    1. I have kindle on the computer, and you can see the cover both there and on the kindle, but you only see it if you go to it--usually kindle books open automatically to the first page of text. As opposed to a book, where you see the cover every time you pick it up, plus lying on your bedside table, etc. And I agree about not being able to pass books on! Supposedly you can loan them out with a kindle, but I have yet to figure out how that works-- and I know it only works if the other person also has a Kindle.

      Still unpacking boxes. But the shower! it is good!

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