slacking, questioning, ellipses

I have a new officemate... he is not the new Rentals Manager... my approach to running rentals can best be described as being similar to Slovenia holding the EU presidency... it supposed to snow tonight... i'll believe it when I see it... the landlord has supposedly fixed the bathtub... why does a lightbulb burning out throw the circuit breaker every time??? the TANBI clan is in my thoughts and prayers... did I get enough stuff for my Xmas basket family??? what is the point of seeing the psychiatrist or therapist every week??? why is it so hard to get everything on the truck the first time??? I should go to the grocery store... on-site sheets amuse me, they probably shouldn't... there are spindle kits at Piddleloop, go buy them for your fiber-addicted friends (but not me, I made them)... why isn't there a subscription to The Economist on offer from Chicago Public Radio this year for a donation??? how does a doctor run out of prescription pads??? why is the health care delivery system in Chicago so backwards compared to Minneapolis??? at least Pittsburgh has Walgreens now... I totally failed at NaBloPoMo... Lacey bought a car... What color is it??? the new Rose Brand snowflakes are awesome, I don't care if no one believes me that they will survive being on the truck... feel free to answer the questions I have... my freezer should regenerate the cookies after I eat them...

Eats Shoots and Leaves

No, its not a book review, just an example of how punctuation (and spaces) can make a huge difference in meaning:

To Do:
-buy pan ties

Multiple times today, I saw that as "buy panties"... which made me wonder why a purchase of undergarments was on my to-do list at work. Someone once bought a bunch of lingerie for a job, but in my case, I should have written zip ties, or cable ties, or just about anything else that wouldn't have distracted me throughout the day.

Things we do do around here

On a more positive note than the previous list meme, here we have:

Things we do do, even if there is something wrong with them:

• ice cream for breakfast
• water, all the time
• water, sparkling (but never flavored)
• water down the cherry limeade
• church (there are 3 links there)
• Christmas Baskets
• recycle cans
• lakes
• mountains
• TRAVEL
• Books!
• wool
• grilled cheese
• pop tarts (no more than 4 boxes per year, only on sale)
• Thai food
• computer games
• use the wash, dry, fold service at the Laundromat
• choose a bank because its in the grocery store
• take Dad's investment advice
• call Mom
• fake Xmas trees
• pizza
• vote

Sarah Louise and McCellania and blackbird have all done this one!

Beta

Well, it turns out that I can't upgrade to Blogger Beta. They are taking it slow (which is good), so there isn't a link on my dashboard page to even give me the option. The random decider of who gets the link must have known that I am not the type to switch just because its there. But now that I'm starting to see the new, fancy, upgraded blogs, and I hear about how much easier the navigation is (even if the commenting on non-beta blogs is less easy) I was starting to warm to the idea.

Oh well, its not going to happen today. Maybe after car show season, but before bonus time.

*edited to add*
There sure are a lot of different kinds of plywood around here. Some things never cease to amaze. No wonder it doesn't always get racked... its like a freakin' lumber yard in the land of commercial scenery.

Badger's Inadvertent Meme

Things we just don't do over here, not that there's anything wrong with them

• scrapbooking
• camping
• cross-stitch
• pick-up trucks
• acrylic yarn
• filing cabinets
• non-down comforters
• store-bought quilts
• bake the store-bought Toll House cookie dough
  
• coffee
• biscotti
• beef
• non-fish seafood
• Survivor
• 8am church
• very tall socks
• knick knacks
• pork
• wine
• sweet potatos
• jogging/running
• mayo
  

Go check out blackbird and Joke's lists!

There sure are a lot of food type-things on the list, but then again, I don't have kiddos who might cause me to add things like scouts, action figures, gaming systems, and attachment parenting.

Canticle of the Turning

There was a great song as the Offertory Hymn today at church, Canticle of the Turning. I will write more later folks.

Here is a link where you can hear the first 60 seconds.
Scroll down a ways on this page to see all the words.

pre-yarn activities

I am, so far, failing at NoBloPoMo, but maybe I'll make it up as the month goes on. The new tires are still great, the visit to Michigan was nice, Nicole's set was well-done at the Boarshead. I would have stayed to see the play, but we were headed to the movies when we stopped by, not having eaten yet, and there is no popcorn at the theatre. My stomach voted and we went to see "Man of the Year". It was very good, I highly recommend it. While it was very funny, it was also a reflection of current politics that may have even hit too close to home.

This weekend, I am going to NW Indiana to visit Jennifer and Erin and folks while helping out as the "money lady" at the SELF School Christmas Craft Fair. I'm not exactly sure what its called, but its in Valporaiso, IN. If you are interested in more details, visit Piddleloop or leave a comment here. Piddleloop Sewing Team, Mustache Factory and Friends will have two tables. On the "and Friends" table, I will have some spindle kits to sell. They will have a Babe Spindle, instructions from Interweave Press (and hopefully my own instructions for tying on the leader and blending two colors without handcards), leader strings, 2 oz of natural colored BFL wool and 2 oz of dyed BFL, all in a handy canvas bag. I will have up to a dozen with me, as that's how many bags I bought.

Tonight I have been dying up wool, using Easter egg tablets and Kool-Aid, in 1 oz lengths to put with the kits. I think that I will have a basket with all the little bits in nest-balls and when someone buys a kit, they can choose two nest-balls. That way all the color options are there from the get-go, I don't have to decide how they are going in the kits and I don't have to repack them all. Easter Egg tablets are far superior to Kool-Aid in both color range (something besides red, green and blue) and the lack of a smell. However, before embarking on using 24 tablets, you should make sure that your vinegar is in good supply. I ran out tonight, which is why I switched to drink mix at the end.

I think that in the basket of 1oz wool nest-balls I will have some other types of wool as well, and a little sign explaining what they are. I have Shetland (moorit), Wensleydale (ecru), Domestic Wool (white), superwash Merino (white) and maybe something else as well. If I put out 2 oz of each, that might be a good way to mix it up and I might not have to dye up the rest of the nests that I didn't have vinegar for tonight, and still have sufficient wool for all the kits that I bring. Jennifer will be putting any kits that don't sell up in the Piddleloop store, and if you want one directly, you can email me and we'll work something out.

Difference?

I am sick with a cold.

Right now, I am taking Sudafed PE because that's what Anne had when I found that there was no Sudafed in my house. Normally, I would take the 12-hour tablets, because there is no reason to only take the stuff for 4-6 hours at a time. But I am clearly out of them.

Has anyone used both original pseudoephedrine and the new PE stuff for the same cold? How do they compare? I think that the real, original stuff probably works better, but its hard to tell with 4-hour doses.

The Michelin Man

Today was drive to Michigan, get new tires, see Nicole, Mandy and Jay Day. And I'm going to tell you about the new tires.

WOW! What a difference 4 new tires, an alignment and balance makes. I went for the quite good, step above mid-range tires, that are good for, supposedly, 80,0000 miles. I'm intending to have my car until it totally bites it, and is of no value to anything except Mr. Scrap Metal. Its fully paid for, all I have to worry about is maintenance, gas and insurance. I think that eight more years is reasonable. I've had it since 2002, its got 65,000 miles on it and is 7 years old.

The old tires, Pirellis, were new when I got the car from Poquet Motors in Minneapolis, 40,000 miles ago. They weren't totally shot, but weren't going to make it through the winter and the right front wheel/tire was out of balance. Once it got fixed, I would need a new tire, and then, well, may as well do it all at once.

The gentleman at Sears was helpful, a good salesman and the fancy-schmancy tires I picked were dramatically on sale. Nicole's grandpa (he knows cars!) was helpful on the phone on deciding that since the car still had 80,000 miles on it, and the 40,000 mile tires were more than half the cost of the 80,000 ones, I should get the 80,000 ones. So I did. And it made a noticeable difference (no more mystery vibrations or rattles!) on the drive back from the Sears.

I will be driving down to Mandy's tonight. Just to try out the new tires.

Does anyone know anything/have an opinion on the fuel system flush/cleaning services offered? It is supposed to make your gas mileage better, and clean sounds better than dirty, but it also seems like it might just be an upsell thing. Please let me know.

Its a post, and not a blogthing

Today was the first day of muddling through Rentals, and I survived. My head doesn't even hurt right now. Its not a mess, and as of today, I haven't screwed up any orders. *knock wood*

I finally beat level 10 of Big Money over at Pop Cap Games. I think that I can stop playing this game now. There are more levels, but I am not confident of passing them, ever. I had a screenshot for you, and then it was just a beige box when I put it into blogger.

Its really cold in here. Why is the radiator not warm? It is going to be 18 degrees Farenheit tonight.

I'm going to Michigan this weekend to see Nicole, but I'll try not to fail at NaBloPoMo. Anyone need anything from Threadbear?

So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye --So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music

Today was the official last day for Debra Miller at Chicago Scenic. She has been with the company for 15 years, starting in soft goods. Today she leaves two positions open at the company, Rentals Manager and Soft Goods Department Head, as well as the other desk in my office.

Deb is leaving us to pusue her career, that she has had at the same time as working full time+ at CSSI as a "part-time" employee, as an actress. She is Mary Todd Lincoln (aka Crazy Mrs. Lincoln) in a show that tours to schools and other educational venues. You may also have seen her on TLC as the "crazy cat lady" or in Flanagan's Wake in St. Charles, produced by Noble Fool. If you would like to hire Debra for voiceover, camera or live performance work, she is represented by Karen Stavins.


I'll miss you Debbie! Don't think that I won't call you to come in every now and then to help with rentals until Ken hires someone new.

And that is the first post at The Inconsistent Mixer for NaBloPoMo. We'll see how I do.