I cherish my luck.

I am on one of my mood highs the last few days. I think it is a combination of the end of my period, getting my hockey tickets (GO WINGS!) and a long trip to Houghton, Detroit and Chicago coming up in 2 weeks. Even getting my car towed for expired tabs and unpaid parking tickets Friday (Yeah I know, I'm a lazy irresponsible bum, but at least I recognize that it is entirely my fault.) can't ruin my mood.

I have the best friends. Really, I can't express how completely captivated I am with all of you. You are the most amazing, caring, fun, outragous, inspiring, intelligent, wonderful people. How I get to be lucky enough to have the honor I don't know, but I wouldn't trade my friends for anything.
Moving so far away, and I have great friends, some I hadn't talked to in years, or only knew casually, that include me and invite me out all the time, help me when I need it, give me crap when I need to be straightened out. Even their friends are great, treat me like one of the group and like they've known me forever.
Friends that I moved away from or moved away from me, they keep me included, come out when I'm in town, open their homes to me without a second thought, stay in touch although I am terrible at it myself. I miss you all so much.
People I haven't seen in years, we pick right back up like there was no time in between. I marvel at that every time. Some of them I haven't seen in ten or more years, but as soon as we say hello, it's like that time apart never exisited. How does that happen? We've all changed, but at the core, we are still friends. It is remarkable.

Follow my thoughts...Houghton to Orange Roughy.

I was trying to explain how far Houghton is from Milwaukee. So I was looking at Michigan on Google maps. And Mackinaw caught my eye...

My Wisconsin-native coworker is adamant that Mackinaw and Mackinac are pronounced differently. Which is irritating for 2 reasons.
1. They aren't. Both are pronounced "naw".
2. I'm from Michigan. She's from Wisconsin. Mackinaw is in my state so it is pronounced the way I say. I'm not even getting into the proper spelling of Cheboygan...

So I then went to http://www.m-w.com/. Which also has the handy tool of pronouncing words for you. Which proves the correct pronunciation is naw" Listen here yourself: http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?ggmack02.wav=Mackinac It's silly I have to prove this, but...

I also searched Mackinaw. And found out there is such a thing as a Mackinaw Trout. Which is described as 'a large dark North American char '. Char? They just aired an episode of Iron Chef where they were cooking Arctic Char, I wonder if they are related...

So I search Arctic Char. Same genus, different species. But the wiki entry also refers to 'the Monterey Bay Aquarium "Seafood Watch" program. So I look that up...

And find this very cool Seafood choice guide. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx Which makes me very happy as I can remember a few eat/don't eat fish rules, I can rarely keep them straight and this comes as a printable pocket guide too. Did you know...

Orange Roughy is on the avoid list. See the notes from the site below.

Orange Roughy
This deep sea fish, once known as the “slimehead,” grows very slowly and doesn’t reproduce until it’s 20 years old.

Consumer Note: Orange roughy live 100 years or more—so the fillet in your freezer might be from a fish older than your grandmother!

Health Alert: Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for orange roughy due to high levels of mercury.

Summary: Unfortunately, years of heavy fishing have decimated orange roughy populations. Although fishery management plans are now in place, it’ll take decades for this slow-growing fish to recover. Another concern with orange roughy is the way it’s caught—by bottom trawling. This fishing method can damage the seafloor habitat, and we don’t know what impacts that damage might have on fragile deep sea ecosystems.

Have a nice day.

I had to ruin another person's day today. She was sure the qwerty in the qwerty keyboard was the inventor's last name. Because her 3rd grade teacher said so. I think teachers get bored and make crap up all the time. Or maybe it's just this: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/03/state/n182420D74.DTL&type=science Actually my Mom used to have fun doing that to me. The inventor is C.L. Slope by the way and he invented in in Milwaukee.

Boys are bad drinking buddies.

...and by bad I mean I feel like crap for at least a day after, and feel disgusted about the amount of money I just paid to feel like crap. I try telling them I'm not drinking, then I get strange looks and exclamations of complete disbelief. I try and have managed not to drink or drink in moderation (2 per evening) but that has not been consistant.

It is either go out with them or languish in my house, what am I to do?

What other activities can I entice them into that does not involve drinking, or at least is limited? And at a reasonable price?

A month of no internet, yikes!

I finally have my computer functioning after nearly a month of issues. My video driver was being a brat, so I got the IT manager at work to fix it for me. It's strange not to be able to read my email and look things up, I mean really, am I supposed to use the phone book to find things instead of go0gle maps, are you kidding me?!

I'm watch Pr0ject Runw@y so I'll make this short.

1. My old house in Berkley is now listed at $149,000. When I bought it just over 2 years ago, it was listed for $234,900. It makes me happy work bought it from me, but sad that no one loves it as I did.

2. I got digits from a guy on Match, right before my computer crashed. A month ago. Too late to call? Yeah probably, but a poor excuse on my part... if I had really wanted I could have gone to an Internet cafe and looked up his number.

Later!

What is the Pep+o for verbal diarrhea?

Okay, I've realized for a long time I talk way too much and way too loud. The loud part I'm not sure what I can do without obsessing about it and that would make me really unhappy to be that controlling of how I am. I try to dial it down when I hear it, and being around my family helps they are all exactly the same and it lets me hear it and recognize it. The only things I have found my volume level useful for is ordering drinks in a loud bar and leading Sound Off. :) Oh and if needed, I can speak to a large room and everyone can hear without amplification, but I've never spoke to a large enough group to make that impressive. Any votes for how many poeple I could handle in about my normal speaking voice? I'm thinking at least 200. ;)

But I'd like to work on the verbal diarrhea. I'm in a class right now and it is so obvious and annoying to me. I have NO filter. It's not going to be good for me at work in the long run.
I think the top 3 aspects are; interrupting by starting to speak before someone is done; finishing people's sentences; and wanting to answer every question, or even offer unsolicited help.

The first part might be helped by really trying to be a better listener, and to do that you have to keep your trap closed until the other person closes theirs. And not be thinking about what I would say. I think I am listening a lot because I do have something to say back, but I miss things. Maybe starting with the sales tool, "I think what I just heard you say is ..., is that right?"

My mom exacerbated the finishing sentences, she stops and waits for me to do it or asks me to all the time. I tell her to "use her words" now. My boss stops mid-sentence all the time and doesn't finish the thought, but I've tried really hard not to guess the ending and I think I'm doing ok.

I'm not sure what to do about answering everything and giving unsolicited "help". Stop and count to 5 or 10 and see if someone else will talk? Try thinking to myself what I would do? I even make little noises when I think of something and don't say it. I'm afraid I am incredibly desperate for attention, from a chil dhood of not seeing my parents much and now living alone for the last 8 years. How can I 'warn' someone on my M@tch profile and make it sound like a positive?

I really want to be quieter. I have the utmost for those people that don't say much, and then what comes out of their mouth is almost always the exact perfect thing to do. Since I never shut up, people stop listening, and since I have no filter, for every 20 bad ideas, I might have one decent one, but everyone understandably stopped listening after the first few bad ones...

I think I just need to get laid. It's been a frighteningly long time. No I won't admit to how long, it's that bad.

Why can't I sleep?

Thinking of all of you tonight, hope all are well. have you all given up on me blogging? I would.

Thanks a lot Bolte, now I'm hooked on Project Runw@y.

Does anyone else like Mad Men?

Laura, Invite me to your blog.

Heather,
I'm so sorry everything has been so crummy this summer, but I hope the cat will help. Can't believe she didn't kill you in your sleep for attempting to bathe her though, mine would. Indoor cat food should help, I think it is sort of "diet" for their lower activity level. If you can't get her groomed then brushing and they make something like handy-wipes for cats that might help. Why do I always try to give too much advice? Sorry.

I've actually written back to someone on M@tch which is is a big step for me. That's enough of that. Although he's and Av's fan ,so it may already be over.

Saw Delrue at Whorley's BBQ Sunday. He and G-friend live less than a mile from me. My liver said, "Ut-oh'. He already called for Margarita Monday. yikes.

I'm going to Matt's going away party in the Port (30 min north) Friday. Not drinking 'cause I have busy Saturday and to avoid kissing the same guy I did last time I was drunk up there. I'm hoping I can play the I don't know what you're talking about card. Matt's moving down here and will be less than 10 minutes away. Sorry liver.

Running/playing in a work kickball game Saturday. It's BYOB. Gotta love Milwaukee.

I miss all you girls, Jackie's wedding was great, but I miss you all so. Silly fun is the best fun.

Come visit me!! soon!

I'll be in the D the weekend of October 10th (the 9th is the first Wings home game), who wants to party?

I'm not tired and I am in this rapid improvement workshop project thing all week, I need to be sharp. Too bad I guess. I'm going to try to go to bed now.

Hope the cat comes when I call and isn't out "playing" with another mouse.

'Nite.

I wake up at 4:50am, I get to work at 8:20am.

Where does 3.5 hours go?

I signed up for a boot camp exercise program. The health coach at work recommended it as I had not followed through on any of the grand plans of exercise and changing habits I had for myself. (Yeimy, it may take 21 days to make a new habit, but I can't get to 3. :) )
Since I am very impulsive, I signed up for a 1 month, 5 days a week (the max) class right after talking to the coach. Today was day 3. Camp is a 5:30 am to 6:30 am, at a beach on the lake front about 10 min from my house. I really do like it, but last night I was having dreams of class being cancelled in the am. but I do love that sore muscles, feel like I really accomplished something feeling first thing in the morning. Since I am back to about my highest weight ever, I hope this works.

I flew home for game 1 and 2 for the Wings in Detroit last weekend. Spent time with my family, went to see Ironm@n with Dad (I heart Robert Downey Jr.) and saw Mom for Mother's Day. I have the game on right now, so GO WINGS!!

Bad Mood / Good Mood.

I was in a bad mood leaving work. My boss is getting very snarky and it's really bothering me. It's worse than that, I thought we were sort of friends, but the smart remarks from her lately are not the way you treat a friend, and certainly not someone that works for you.
The guy that hired me, who was my boss's boss, left for a new job at the beginning of the month. I really liked him, worked well with him, he's a big reason I took this job. Bastard, I can't believe he abandoned me.
My boss has started behaving much more sarcastic and bitchy every day since he left it seems. (he also hired her, maybe she feels abandonded too.) Before this change, I thought we got along great.
Either we are sick of each other from sharing an office 10 hours a day, and/or she's overwhelmed with having to do her job, half of the old boss's job, and the job of another guy that left for a new job last week, and/or I am likewise overwhelmed from sh!t rolling down to me, and/or I am now finally seeing her true colors. Regardless, things need to change, because she is making me dislike a job that until recently I really enjoyed. Mean people suck. Grrr, I'm getting angry again just re-reading this,must put this out of my mind. I've never worked for a woman before, is that the problem?

After work though, I chatted on the drive home with the MTU student soliciting for cash for MTU. He was fun and is really excited for Senior Walk this Friday.
I took Isabelle for a walk in the park.
I called my friend Matt and finalized plans to watch the Red Wings game together tomorrow night. GO WINGS!
I found a way to fly home for the Red Wings game next weekend for $5.00. Thank you frequent flier miles! I HAVE to get a N*rthwest Airl!nes Cr*dit card and start racking up more points. They share flier miles with the local airline that flies direct Milwaukee to Flint. SWEET!
I read a few blogs. Allana and Laura, thanks for the BM laugh!

So now I am in a great mood.

Health stuff:
I went to a Sleep Disorder presentation at work today. We get points for going to things like this that add up to gift cards and cash if you do all the healthy reward steps. Anyway, I'm tired and grumpy all the time. I get up and wake up a lot at night and seem to need a lot more sleep than most, but even with 9-10 hours sleep, by the end of the week I can hardly function at work. The only way I seem to function is taking at least one pain reliever PM every night at 8, then go to bed around 9 and get up around 6:30. But I'd rather fix what's wrong than medicate. This presentation gave me a lot of hope that this part of my life could be much better. So I plan on making an appointment soon. Does anyone else have problems with sleep?

Isabelle's little friend

This is Isabelle. She's 6 pounds of fun. Notice her little friend at the end of her paw. Nice how I got her to point for the picture right? I love how they are the same color, how cute they match.

Isabelle's been having a wonderful weekend. Lots of time outside in beautiful weather, lots of quality time with me. Best part, she made a little friend. Unfortunately, it's a rather one sided relationship. Every time she goes out she finds these little mice. I can't tell if it's the same one or if she's slowly picking off a family. The first two were really small, look like half grown babies, the one in these pictures from this afternoon looks bigger and is much faster. A much better challenge for Isabelle and she doesn't have to throw it around as much to keep it interesting.There you can see it's face in the lower left. It may seem cruel, heck I guess it is,but she keeps them out of my house and lowers the pest count for the neighborhood and at the same time stays entertained and in the yard. I've never heard her purr so loud. FYI it was tradition in my family for my Mom to take pictures of the first bird our cat killed of the year. I figure, Isabelle wears a bell, so birds are fairly safe, but she's welcome to kill all the mice she can catch. Unfortunately for both the mice and the pest control, as far as I can tell, she doesn't kill them. I do pull her off them and bring her in on occasion, but I can't tell if that is worse. Maybe she would finish them off if I would leave her alone.

Procrastination

Ah, you all know I am the queen of procrastination. Why clean my house when I could read back 6 months of Laura's blog? Fascinating by the way. Very interesting read backwards too, kind of like the movie, Momento, but without the violence and murder.

I'm afraid, very afraid, of writing anything remotely incriminating about work, so I don't. But I love reading about someone elses.

Isabelle is my workout partner. When I wake up she runs around and cries for my to take her for a walk. No leash, she likes to sprint from tree to tree, but she comes when I call, mostly, and stays close. I'm her back-up from nasty dogs. When I get home from work, same. If I let her out she just meows on the porch until I go out and walk around with her some more. My life would be very boring without her. Thank goodness no one else in their right mind wanted her for the 6 months I was taking her to adoption events.

Right now she's my blogging buddy, she's sitting about 3 inches from me. I love that she likes to be near, but not necessarily on top of me. Unless I should be up getting something else done and then she sits on me. good cat.
Ooo, DEA in Detroit just started on Spike. I like watching it and Animal Cops Detroit to get a little view of home. Okay, they are actually in the D, not Berkley and Royal Oak, but it still seems homey to me. So sad.

Great weekend, soo tired.

I had a wonderful weekend back in Detroit. I left much to late again and got stuck in Chicago Friday afternoon traffic AGAIN, but once I got to my friends' house and got to see them it was the start of a great weekend. My Saturday started out way to early, but I was very excited to get a haircut. I can't or don't want to find anyone new in Milwaukee, I let one girl try and it was a hack job so back to Tracey, I've been seeing him for about 12 years now. After that, I notice they opened a SEE Optical in Somerset, so I went over and bought a new pair of glasses. I love the styles they have there, I now have to wear glasses every day at work (no contacts allowed in the lab), and I "accidentally" left a large amount on my pre-tax benefit account, so I might as well buy fun new glasses. I such an impulse buyer. I ran down to the Royal Oak farmers market (West Allis is okay, but I still like Royal Oak better) looking for BlueRidge Bakery from Capac, MI syrup. They make these fruit syrups that are outstanding, my favorite is Strawberry Raspberry over ice cream from Ray's in Berkley. Or homemade waffles. Or all 3 together, YUM! I digress. Sadly they were not there, I'll have to go back and look for them in July, but I bought very tasty Pistachio Nut Butter (just ground the day before) and some grapefruit body lotion and aloe hair gel from another stand. I met my brother and work friends at Royal Oak Brewery for lunch, then my bro and I went to the Wings game. It was outstanding, I miss it so much. (We're winning 2-0 right now). Then I stopped at Jenni's and we met a bunch of folks for dinner and hanging out at Marinelli's in Madison Heights. It was great to see everyone and very fun except the WAY TOO LOUD music in the bar later. (DAMN 2-1 Wings/Preds). It was nice to stay at Jenni's, I miss my old condo, it certainly has some advantages over my current place. We went to Toast for breakfast the next morning (yum, Cinnamon toast crunch) then the long drive back here. (DAMN 2-2) I even miss the NPR weekend programming, like Splendid Table, although Says You on WHAD on Sunday is fun. I was beat when I finally got home so napping and bed time. Now how can I have this job back in the D? I suppose I need to get out and meet people here so I won't be so homesick, but my friends in Detroit can't be replaced. Can everyone please move here?
I was grumpy and tired at work today, right after the game tonight, I'm going to bed.

p.s. Ooo, I like how Blogger spell checks...

Go Wings!

Heather, just caught up with your blog and I'll give Twitter a try, too. Maybe I'll be better at that. Besides I can update from my phone, otherwise I can only update at home.

I am so excited for the Red Wings playoffs. No, a season away from Detroit has not dampened my enthusiasum for hockey, although it has been not nearly as much fun, for what I thought would be a hockey state, Wisconsin REALLY isn't.

Coincedentially playoffs also coincides with a great time to take a break. I do like my new job here, thank goodness since it's all I do, but sometimes, like this week, it's overwhelming. So I can't wait to hop in the jeep this Friday and head back to the D. I get to go to the game with my brother and hang out with my friends who I dearly miss. If I miss you this weekend, have no fear, I'm sure I'll be back soon for the next round.

BTW, I am a season ticket holder to the Wings. My name finally came up on the season ticket holder list just when I accepted my new job. My Mom and I discussed it and we decided to get them. She and my brother go to about half and then I found other people to buy all the other ones. But if you are interested for next year, let me know. :) I guess in the back of my mind I think I'll be back in Detroit in the next few years so we're taking it one year at a time, if it becomes a hassle, I'm done.

WOOHOO! The Wings just one 3-1.

That's about it, the reason I don't blog much ( besides the fact I've never been good about it) is all I do is work. Which is really boring to blog about, mostly because I don't want to say too much in case it ever could get back to work. We just had two people in our group take new jobs and you guessed it, they are not being replaced. So there is all the work, and not all the people. Most if it is landing on my boss who just started here in October (she's got a lot of company experience, but just moved to Wisconsin too) and you know what rolls down hill. Oh well, I do like my job, the group, my boss, and that goes a long way to making things worth while. But it's a little sad the thing I'm really excited about is I think I've found a way to weasel into the one office in my area that is a non-shared office, with a door and a window (there are only 2 in the whole area). It's also kind of out back so more laid back and fun. Seriously I dream about moving back there. Which is better than my normal work nightmares when I wake up in a sweat about things I have to do the next day or didn't get done the day before. Or hatch secret evil plots I'll never get to do against the few people that do drive me nuts there. ;)

Everyone also knows my priorities at work, there is a 6 foot by 3 foot "flag" of Zetterberg hanging on the wall in front of my desk. My Mom and bro got it free at one of the last games and sent it to me for Easter. The way my office is now, you can't see it if you just stand at the door, you have to be behind my desk. So it's subtle, until you walk in a ways and then it's so not.

Hee hee, the intermisson and post-game commentary both have Manny Legace as their "guest host". He used to be the goalie for the Wings. He's adorable, such a baby face, and just now he was so cute looking like a little kid trying hard to pay attention, but really, really bored.

Arhg, I need to find a few more documents to finish my taxes, I so need to do them earlier next year.

I love winter but enough already.

Okay,

I'm official tired of winter. I always thought it was my favorite season, but that may be from back in high school when I spent every free minute at the ski hill with my friends. Now, I am tired of the long drives to work, the cold and the dark, although that is slowly getting better.

I asked our IT lady to take a look at my computer and give it a tune up. The fan was getting super loud and it was taking forever to start up and shut down. It's 5 years old already and needed a physical. So now it is all fixed up, and I decided to have the cable guy come and hook up the internet in my living room so I can sit here in a warm front room and listen to the TV, much more comfy so maybe I'll keep up better with my blog and actually read my email more than once a week. Well, it can't hurt. :)

Here's a picture from better times, Labor Day in Houghton 2007. I'm really happy with some of the pictures I took, now I just have to actually print and frame them.

Hope I get to see you all up there again soon. But not too soon, let's wait for the snow to melt first.

How Bizzare, how bizarre

So I was writing back to Yeimy about what's up, and telling her about my house in Berkley. I ended up selling it to my company, at a loss from a year ago, but given the terrible market in Michigan, it could have been far worse. I went on realtor com to see if it was still listed and if so, how much. (They've dropped the price already.) Here's the site if you're interested, http://www.realtor.com/realestate/berkley-mi-48072-1093478175/ .

Now for the bizzare, I'm pretty sure the current Realtor is my former personal trainer. I'm not sure, because his name is common, it's not a great picture, its been a couple years since I've seen him, but if it is, what a small world.

Every vote counts...

Hi All, thanks Yeimy for the petition, I will try to do better, and it is always nice to be missed.

I just finished making up a cheesy hash brown slow cooker recipe to take to work tomorrow for the "Packer tailgate", here's hoping it turns out, I had to improvise quite a bit because it's late and I don't want to go get more stuff. I didn't have a recipe, so I just bought stuff then searched the Internet until I found a recipe that was close. I also made a quick bean cheese dip as back up in case the potatoes don't turn out. I'm waiting for my Mom to call back, I think it might need a little more liquid, but this is the first time I've used my new slow cooker and my new mandoline slicer. Both were gifts for Christmas, I'm very excited about each, the slow cooker especially, it comes with 3 inserts, 2 quart, 4, quart and 6 quart. So making food for work party, 6 quart, making food for just me, 2 or 4 quart. and they all nest together very neatly. The mandoline just shredded through the onion like nothing, very fun.

Just got done talking to Mom, she thinks the sour cream will curdle on low, so I turned it up to high and will set an alarm to turn it off tonight. Actually now that I think of it, maybe I should just put it in the 'fridge and cook it on high at work tomorrow... nah, I want to have it pretty much done before I go to work so if it is a total loss, I don't have to lug it in.

I didn't even leave work until after 7 this evening and need to be in at 6 tomorrow to do tests and get results so they will know the right trial to do on line at the customer's plant. Nothing like cutting it close, right? It's been one of those weeks, my boss is moving this week, so she's been out since Monday afternoon, and the other group's boss and their boss were in Detroit at the auto show and meetings Tuesday to Thursday, so I've had to try to hold down the fort and try to keep things going. I could reach them by phone occasionally, but it's not the same and it is so hectic without them. They are not all allowed to leave me again!

My Mom is coming to visit me next weekend, I am so excited! She's flying out Thursday night, I took Friday off and we're going to the Milwaukee Admirals vs the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game on Friday night. Of course the only way to lure her out was with a hockey game, the Griffins are the 'farm team' for the Red Wings, so we might see a few familiar faces.

I do have a issue I could use all of your help with. I live in the 1st floor flat of a old house in Milwaukee. My upstairs neighbors are a couple, the guy moved in around the same time I did in the fall, but his girlfriend/fiancee? just moved in a the first of the year. They have the second floor and the attic which is a finished loft space for them as well. I use the back bedroom as my bedroom, they seem to be using the front bedroom.

Here's the deal, I hear then every time they 'get it on'. I can live with all the other noises of having upstairs neighbors, and I love the house and the location, but the moaning and rhythmic thumping is getting old fast. Heck, it was old the first time, and it gets more irritating every single time since. I remember the landlord clearly making a point that when he and his wife lived upstairs they used the loft as their bedroom for more 'privacy', but if they mentioned it to my neighbors apparently it went over their head. My problem is my mom will be here next week, and right now, my guest room is right below moaning central. Can I tell them my mom is coming to visit and ask them to keep it down, for the weekend? Is it out of place to suggest they might be more comfortable with the loft as their bedroom? Or do I ask my landlords to talk to them about knocking it off in general? Do I have a right to ask? Or do I get passive aggressive and play Barry White or porn really loud when they get it on and see if they take a hint? I'm at a loss and looking for suggestions... unfortunately I don't have a willing partner to 'fight fire with fire'. Besides, he moans like a girl, I don't think I could do it with a guy that sounds like him. Help!