"Let me explain... there is too much. Let me sum up."
I've missed you guys! I'm sad to have been out of touch for so long. I'm trying to read through back entries to catch up with everyone, and it seems like I've missed a lot going on in your lives. Sorry I've been wrapped up in my own scene over here for a few weeks.
Ian got a job!
Ian started his new job Monday, working in QA for a financial services company which is only about 3.5 miles from our house. Ian's commute to work is shorter than mine! It's a permanent full-time job, not even contract or temp. No one in the office seems to be a geek, but Ian says they seem like nice people, and his first impression is that he'll be happy there. The benefits are decent, the money is good. We are understandably ecstatic to return to normal operations around here.
Day 3 of trying to settle into a new routine: I wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal to share space in the upstairs bathroom while we're getting ready, and then make Ian's lunch for him. A little extra time is nice since it results in a more productive morning for me. Yesterday I had extra time, so I even made a nice salad for myself for lunch instead of relying on my usual Lean Cuisine microwave meal which hardly actually constitutes "food" by any sense of the word. I suspect that most evenings I may have 45 minutes or so at home to myself after I get home but before Ian does. Monday night I used that time to clean the kitchen, wash some dishes, get the cats fed, start a load of laundry, and even take the Dust Buster to the interior of my car! I think this schedule may work out quite nicely, actually. Tuesday nights, our friend Higgins comes over for dinner, and last night I managed to do some cleaning AND make broccoli slaw for dinner, and get a great dinner together of marinated filets, roasted rosemary potatoes (which Higgins kindly helped prepare), broccoli slaw, and then a simple strawberry shortcake for dessert. It's nice returning to domesticity for a bit.
Home Improvements
To celebrate the return to two incomes we are immediately running out and spending all the money we haven't earned yet... well, okay, that's some hyperbole in presentation although it is an accurate description. We're getting central air conditioning installed, and replacing our 26 year-old furnace. It will mean going into some debt for a few months since we don't have the cash for pay for the whole thing, and I refuse to drop below $5 grand in the bank as an emergency fund if we can avoid it. Ian and I hate debt, but therefore we fortunately don't carry any but his student loans and the mortgage. (Mortgage! Because we own a house!) We'll see what we can do about paying the shit out of this bill to get it out of the way quickly. Meantime, I am hopeful this may cut our heating bills by about $60/mo. for 6 months of the year -- that'd be pretty nice!
My thyroid levels seem to have finally normalized (I hope!), and I feel energetic and creatively inspired once again. I've returned to the process of really making our new house into our home -- unpacking, decorating, thinking about what to plant. Planting doesn't start here until Mother's Day, or possibly as late as Father's Day to avoid late season hail storms. Trees are only barely starting to bud here. We hired some landscapers to do a full yard cleanup and clean out the gutters this past week, and the yard looks great! I think I can safely start a few container plants in springtime, but the tomatoes and peppers, onions, sunflowers, morning glories, night-blooming nicotania and moonflowers, and all the other things I'm dreaming of will have to wait until true summertime here on the Front Range.
JESUS, I GOT INTERRUPTED AGAIN, AND I STILL HAVE NOT POSTED THIS MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jury Duty
Part of my recent disappearance is attributable to recent service on jury duty in the local District Court on a 5-day civil trial. The whole thing was a really interesting academic experience, actually -- if, of course, incredibly inconvenient, thus making for a busy and stressful week. The case was a dispute between neighbors to the tune of possibly around $100,000 if not more. The Plaintiff's house has foundation problems. The Defendant had a swimming pool leak, and their sump pump discharge was aimed at the fence line to the Plaintiff's house. We listened to 5 days of expert testimonies about ground water, and soil, and heave and settlement, and foundation problems, and types of cracks. It was really interesting, actually. I was pleased that everyone on the 6-person jury (12 is only for criminal cases) really took their duties seriously. Everyone seemed conscious that amount of money is really significant in one party's life; this was serious stuff! Everyone took detailed notes, and we deliberated for 3.5 hours. In the end, we found for the Defendant, and awarded no damages to the Plaintiff. We decided that the Plaintiff had no adequately proved one of the elements of Negligence: Breach of Duty.
The timing of the summons was particularly apropos since I'm taking that Civil Litigation class this semester, which is all about this level of court cases. I absolutely found my education helpful both as a juror in understanding the process (and the elements of Negligence which get drilled into your damn brain in any sort of legal or paralegal education), and as a student in expanding my academic knowledge with what I saw in the courtroom.
I really was happy to serve. I consider this not only an important civic duty, but really an honor to be part of the process... Of course that honor involved getting up an hour earlier every morning during the week after "spring forward" daylight savings. That felt like getting up two hours early! It was 8-5 at the courthouse 40 minutes from my house (albeit 40 minutes of spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery). Then I'd come home after Thinking (TM) all day, eat dinner with Ian, and then login to work at my day job for 2-3 before hitting the sack. On Wednesday, add classtime to that mix! It was indeed a busy and exhausting week.
And some other stuff...
Saw "John Carter," and despite that the trailers were really lame and made it look entirely uninteresting, THIS FILM ROCKS!! Ian and I both waving devil hands loved it! Fun adventure, really interesting characters, elegant design that reminded me of some of the elven designs in "Lord of the Rings," and of course lots of great scenery and special effects. If you like action movies, take my word for it and check this out on the big screen -- don't let the lame trailers scare you away.
Also saw "Hunger Games," and although neither Ian nor I have read the books, we also thoroughly enjoyed this film. I went in with admittedly low expectations, expecting maybe the quality of "Twilight." To my pleasant surprise, the story was good, with provocative food for thought about the dystopian future, and again great effects. WARNING: It starts out with shaky cam. Fortunately that seems to clear up as the movie progresses. Kristen loaned me the first book, and I look forward to reading it now.
Then in the realm of Young Adult fiction gone bad... My love of the TV series, "The Vampire Diaries" prompted me to try the books on which the series is allegedly based. You noticed use of that word "allegedly," did you? Let me tell you how the TV show compares to the books:
There are some characters with the same names. Some of them are vampires. Some of them aren't.
That's about it. The first two books (published in one volume; not like I went seeking another one after the first) are, in my opinion, "such trash." Perhaps to the intended Young Adult audience, there might be some greater connection with the main character Elena, or less frustration that the story pretty much sucks, really. In any case, everything that I enjoy about the TV show is entirely absent from these books. I give the series a big ole frowny face, and shake my finger at my own image in mirror for thinking I'd find something more redeeming in Young Adult vampire fiction... O.o
Learned how to knit socks. They're awesome. I'm now a sock-knitting fool.
That's me -- how have you been?
Trace
Ian got a job!
Ian started his new job Monday, working in QA for a financial services company which is only about 3.5 miles from our house. Ian's commute to work is shorter than mine! It's a permanent full-time job, not even contract or temp. No one in the office seems to be a geek, but Ian says they seem like nice people, and his first impression is that he'll be happy there. The benefits are decent, the money is good. We are understandably ecstatic to return to normal operations around here.
Day 3 of trying to settle into a new routine: I wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal to share space in the upstairs bathroom while we're getting ready, and then make Ian's lunch for him. A little extra time is nice since it results in a more productive morning for me. Yesterday I had extra time, so I even made a nice salad for myself for lunch instead of relying on my usual Lean Cuisine microwave meal which hardly actually constitutes "food" by any sense of the word. I suspect that most evenings I may have 45 minutes or so at home to myself after I get home but before Ian does. Monday night I used that time to clean the kitchen, wash some dishes, get the cats fed, start a load of laundry, and even take the Dust Buster to the interior of my car! I think this schedule may work out quite nicely, actually. Tuesday nights, our friend Higgins comes over for dinner, and last night I managed to do some cleaning AND make broccoli slaw for dinner, and get a great dinner together of marinated filets, roasted rosemary potatoes (which Higgins kindly helped prepare), broccoli slaw, and then a simple strawberry shortcake for dessert. It's nice returning to domesticity for a bit.
Home Improvements
To celebrate the return to two incomes we are immediately running out and spending all the money we haven't earned yet... well, okay, that's some hyperbole in presentation although it is an accurate description. We're getting central air conditioning installed, and replacing our 26 year-old furnace. It will mean going into some debt for a few months since we don't have the cash for pay for the whole thing, and I refuse to drop below $5 grand in the bank as an emergency fund if we can avoid it. Ian and I hate debt, but therefore we fortunately don't carry any but his student loans and the mortgage. (Mortgage! Because we own a house!) We'll see what we can do about paying the shit out of this bill to get it out of the way quickly. Meantime, I am hopeful this may cut our heating bills by about $60/mo. for 6 months of the year -- that'd be pretty nice!
My thyroid levels seem to have finally normalized (I hope!), and I feel energetic and creatively inspired once again. I've returned to the process of really making our new house into our home -- unpacking, decorating, thinking about what to plant. Planting doesn't start here until Mother's Day, or possibly as late as Father's Day to avoid late season hail storms. Trees are only barely starting to bud here. We hired some landscapers to do a full yard cleanup and clean out the gutters this past week, and the yard looks great! I think I can safely start a few container plants in springtime, but the tomatoes and peppers, onions, sunflowers, morning glories, night-blooming nicotania and moonflowers, and all the other things I'm dreaming of will have to wait until true summertime here on the Front Range.
JESUS, I GOT INTERRUPTED AGAIN, AND I STILL HAVE NOT POSTED THIS MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jury Duty
Part of my recent disappearance is attributable to recent service on jury duty in the local District Court on a 5-day civil trial. The whole thing was a really interesting academic experience, actually -- if, of course, incredibly inconvenient, thus making for a busy and stressful week. The case was a dispute between neighbors to the tune of possibly around $100,000 if not more. The Plaintiff's house has foundation problems. The Defendant had a swimming pool leak, and their sump pump discharge was aimed at the fence line to the Plaintiff's house. We listened to 5 days of expert testimonies about ground water, and soil, and heave and settlement, and foundation problems, and types of cracks. It was really interesting, actually. I was pleased that everyone on the 6-person jury (12 is only for criminal cases) really took their duties seriously. Everyone seemed conscious that amount of money is really significant in one party's life; this was serious stuff! Everyone took detailed notes, and we deliberated for 3.5 hours. In the end, we found for the Defendant, and awarded no damages to the Plaintiff. We decided that the Plaintiff had no adequately proved one of the elements of Negligence: Breach of Duty.
The timing of the summons was particularly apropos since I'm taking that Civil Litigation class this semester, which is all about this level of court cases. I absolutely found my education helpful both as a juror in understanding the process (and the elements of Negligence which get drilled into your damn brain in any sort of legal or paralegal education), and as a student in expanding my academic knowledge with what I saw in the courtroom.
I really was happy to serve. I consider this not only an important civic duty, but really an honor to be part of the process... Of course that honor involved getting up an hour earlier every morning during the week after "spring forward" daylight savings. That felt like getting up two hours early! It was 8-5 at the courthouse 40 minutes from my house (albeit 40 minutes of spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery). Then I'd come home after Thinking (TM) all day, eat dinner with Ian, and then login to work at my day job for 2-3 before hitting the sack. On Wednesday, add classtime to that mix! It was indeed a busy and exhausting week.
And some other stuff...
Saw "John Carter," and despite that the trailers were really lame and made it look entirely uninteresting, THIS FILM ROCKS!! Ian and I both waving devil hands loved it! Fun adventure, really interesting characters, elegant design that reminded me of some of the elven designs in "Lord of the Rings," and of course lots of great scenery and special effects. If you like action movies, take my word for it and check this out on the big screen -- don't let the lame trailers scare you away.
Also saw "Hunger Games," and although neither Ian nor I have read the books, we also thoroughly enjoyed this film. I went in with admittedly low expectations, expecting maybe the quality of "Twilight." To my pleasant surprise, the story was good, with provocative food for thought about the dystopian future, and again great effects. WARNING: It starts out with shaky cam. Fortunately that seems to clear up as the movie progresses. Kristen loaned me the first book, and I look forward to reading it now.
Then in the realm of Young Adult fiction gone bad... My love of the TV series, "The Vampire Diaries" prompted me to try the books on which the series is allegedly based. You noticed use of that word "allegedly," did you? Let me tell you how the TV show compares to the books:
There are some characters with the same names. Some of them are vampires. Some of them aren't.
That's about it. The first two books (published in one volume; not like I went seeking another one after the first) are, in my opinion, "such trash." Perhaps to the intended Young Adult audience, there might be some greater connection with the main character Elena, or less frustration that the story pretty much sucks, really. In any case, everything that I enjoy about the TV show is entirely absent from these books. I give the series a big ole frowny face, and shake my finger at my own image in mirror for thinking I'd find something more redeeming in Young Adult vampire fiction... O.o
Learned how to knit socks. They're awesome. I'm now a sock-knitting fool.
That's me -- how have you been?
Trace