7/13/06

Accomplished. (My weight loss site is here.)

* * * Pet store kitty pics from Monday are here. * * * Yesterday, I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, getting last-minute things accomplished. I had a hair appointment at 11:00 and before that I did a couple of loads of laundry and actually started packing. I decided to take two suitcases with me, because I always have extra crap to bring home and I could have fit everything in one suitcase, but would have had no extra room left over, and since I’m allowed to take two suitcases, I figured I might as well do so. I usually only start packing the night before my flight leaves, and only if it’s leaving early, so to have started packing a day in advance is a HUGE deal for me. I hope it means I didn’t forget anything, but who the hell knows? After my hair appointment I had to go to the optometrist because when I was there three weeks ago, I got a new kind of contact lens, one that was supposed to be better and supposedly lets more oxygen into your eyeball, except that when I wore them, the opposite sort of thing seemed to be happening. That is, about halfway through the day the contacts would start fogging up, and nothing – eyedrops (yes, I use the ones specially formulated for contacts), saline solution, swearing loudly – would un-fog them. Luckily I had a couple pairs of Acuvue2 lenses left over, so I tossed the Optix and went back to the Acuvue2s. Which left me with the problem that I had four boxes of Optix because I try to get 6 months or a year’s worth of contacts at one time so I don’t have to keep going back to get more. And I couldn’t find my freakin’ receipt, and I just KNEW they wouldn’t take the Optix lenses back without a receipt. Two weeks went by, and when I went to pay bills, I found the receipt stuck in with the to-be-paid bills, DESPITE the fact that I had looked in that exact same location at least twenty times and never once saw the damn thing. So yesterday I took the four boxes of Optix lenses into the optometrist’s office and told the lady working at the desk of my problems, and asked if I could exchange them for Acuvue2 lenses. Not only was she happy to help me out, not only did she not even glance at my receipt, but she told me that the Optix were a bit more expensive than the Acuvue2s, so I walked in with four boxes of lenses and out with five, and didn’t have to pay anything. Woot! I went from there to Dick’s Sporting Goods with the idea of finding some of those hand warmers that where you open the package and the little whatchamacallit inside warms up immediately. ‘Cause I know we’ll be going to at least three movies while I’m in Maine, and despite the fact that I brought a corduroy shirt to the movies when Fred and I saw Superman Returns, I still froze half to death*. So I thought hand warmers would be a good idea, and what better place to find them than a sporting goods store? I thought they’d probably be either in the Camping section or the Hunting section, and though I looked carefully through those sections, I found nothing that appeared to be what I was looking for. I found two employees who were standing and idly chatting about something or another, and I waited politely for them to complete their NON-WORK-RELATED conversation, and I cleared my throat and they each glanced over at me… and kept on talking. I waited a couple of minutes, then grumbled “FUCK THIS” and stomped out of the store. Then I called Fred and demanded that he stop by Dick’s on his way home and get me some hand warmers, since I was SURE they wouldn’t just ignore HIM. Fuckers. I went over to the pet store and bought a squirrel feeder and some squirrel food – since we’ve moved the bird feeders closer to the house and not so close to the tree, I suspect that the squirrel won’t be spending as much time on and under the feeders, and we wouldn’t want the little porker to STARVE, would we? – and then finally headed home. Where I spent the afternoon installing iTunes on the laptop, because I intend to do some walking while I’m in Maine, and I need to have access to my Keith and the Girl podcasts to listen to, and then I made sure that my memory card reader would work with the laptop, and then I did some more packing and switched all my crap over to my “traveling” purse (ie, a Healthy Back Bag in size large, to hold all my crap on the plane) and did some more laundry, and the next thing I knew, it was time for Fred to come home from work and for me to exercise on the elliptical (which I’ve started doing to make up for the exercise I’m not getting since I stopped hiking with Fred) and it was dinnertime, then TV time, and time for bed. And 5:20 came mighty damn early this morning, believe you me. Now I need to go scrub down the litter boxes, put fresh litter in them, clean the bathroom, change the sheets, vacuum and dust the entire house, and possibly wash the kitchen, dining room, and hallway floors, if I decide they need it. Not to mention watering the plants, putting fresh food in the hummingbird feeder, watering my Petunias (on the front steps), cleaning and putting fresh water in the bird bath, making sure the bird feeders are full, and…. crap. What the hell else was I going to do? I think I need a nap. *Yes, I’ll be having my iron level checked when I get back from Maine. * * * I have exactly two songs ping-ponging around in my brain, and they are DRIVING ME NUTS. The first is from that fine, fine show The Golden Girls. There was an episode where they wrote a song about Miami, which they entered into a contest to win something I don’t remember, and for some reason that freakin’ song has implanted itself in my brain, and I find myself singing it at the oddest times. I have to say what I feel Miami has so much appeal A great place to get a seafood meal MIAMI Miami, Miami you’ve got style. Blue skies, sunshine, white sand by the mile. When you live in this town, each day is sublime. The coldest of winters, are warm and divine Miami, Miami, you’ve got style Blue skies, sunshine, white sand by the mile There’s ball clubs and night clubs, all with in reach Dance the Samba till morning, then lie on the beach Each view is a postcard, each day a great time! Cream of the crop it’s the top of the line! Miami, Miami you’ve got style Blue skies, sunshine, white sand by the mile. MIAMI, you’ve got style! (Especially the Miami, Miami, you’ve got style part of the song.) The other song, I know where it came from. Last week when I was in the pet store, I bought the cats a can of Kookamunga Catnip treats, and they have the distinction of being the only treats we’ve ever bought that all six cats like. Anyway, the can sits on my dresser, and every time I go by it, I catch a glimpse of the name, and my brain immediately starts singing: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, Merry, merry king of the bush is he, Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Kookaburra, Gay your life must be. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Eating all the gumdrops he can see Stop, Kookaburra, Stop, Kookaburra Leave some there for me. It’s driving me NUTS. * * * Sorry, no cat pics today. The camera and memory card reader are both packed away (one in my purse and the other with the laptop). But here’s a flash from the past – one of my favorite pictures of Mia and her babies from over a year ago. * * * I’m off to Maine in a few hours, so I’ll see you when I see you! * * * Previously 2005: Hey. What’s worse than not being able to stop yourself from crying? WHEN A MOTHERFUCKER KEEPS LOOKING AT YOU TO SEE IF YOU’RE CRYING. 2004: She looked simultaneously confused and disgusted. “When do I eat CHICKEN eggs?” She wrinkled her nose. 2003: No entry. 2002: No entry. 2001: Sh’yeah. I’m sure Brad’s reallllly worried. 2000: Could that paragraph have been any more rambly and pointless? ]]>