Ramble Write

Ok, I should be mopping the floor right now but, in the true spirit of procrastination, I'm gonna ramble write for a bit.

We saw The Kid this past Sunday; she came over for a few hours on her way back to college. She told her dad, "I'm looking forward to a good meal". So, we made a few of her favorites (chicken salad in pitas and junior mint brownies (she took about 1/2 the pan back to school with her)) and a new recipe, "Loaded Potato Soup", which is, in essence, what it sounds like; a fairly basic warm potato soup with crispy bacon bits, green onions and cheddar cheese provided as toppings. It was good to see her and hear all about how school is going. So far, so-so; she is not getting along too great with her roommate and she's struggling a bit with trying to figure out how to take tests (she never really took tests at Waldorf). On the positive side, she's making friends, enjoying some of her classes, and is working one afternoon a week at her nearby Irish dance school helping teach classes for younger students.

She is looking forward to her upcoming week-long fall break (I don't recall ever getting one of these when I was in college). 

After The Kid left, we went to the local Friends of the Library sale but all the books had been fairly well picked over. So, instead, we went to have a few pints at a new local brewery, Fullsteam. Mr. B loves their basil ale (I can't seem to wrap my taste buds around that, even given how much I adore basil). I satisfied myself with their cream ale and an IPA. BTW, as a ha-ha aside; they offer full pints and half-pints. On their price list for half-pint is a picture of Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm not going to explain this; you either get it, or, you don't.

Last night was my book club discussion group. We read "Candy Freak" by Steve Almond. What a rolicking time we had! My SIL bought a ton of candy for us to share. So, we were sugar buzzing and wine buzzing; in general, having a blast. Here is my review of "Candy Freak".

Two of the ladies had recently returned from a two week trip they took together to Italy. Hearing them talk about their adventures made me nostalgic for the time I went with my friend Pam to Italy; also for two weeks. This was eight years ago. Holy moly. Anyway, this thought processes sent me down the path of considering how different a person's life is when they are living alone vs. living with a significant other. And, don't get me wrong, as much as I ADORE my life with Mr. B (and wouldn't trade it for anything), I got a bit sad because there are some aspects of "that" life that I do miss. This is probably fodder for another entry, though.

Mrs. B in Italy 2002

Speaking of past lives, I married my first (ex) husband 19 years ago today. All in all, it wasn't a bad day (it's what came afterwards that eventually took a downturn into true "suckdom"). Although, in all honesty, I should have called off the wedding that morning after he called me (I was at my mom and dad's, he was at our apartment with his family). I thought he was calling to tell me something sweet and romantic, you know, like "Honey, I just wanted to call you and let you know how much I am looking forward to becoming your husband later on this afternoon". No, what he DID say was, "Where's the fu$$ing coffee?"

Oh well. Live and learn. And this I have.

Mrs. B 19 Years Ago Today

On a happier note, this is also my mom and dad's wedding anniversary; #42. Thinking back again to my first wedding, one lovely memory is of the two of them dancing to "The Anniversary Waltz" during the reception.

The weather has begun to cool down so it's definitely time to start wearing jeans again. I have a lot of pairs of jeans, but only one that I truly love. I bought them maybe 8-10 years ago. They are Levi 518 Super Low Junior Size 7 M. For whatever reason, this particular style is da-bomb on me. I should have bought more than one pair at the time, but, I didn't (I've since learned if you find something you love that looks great on you on top of it, buy more than one). My original pair got a huge hole in the seat several years ago. I sewed a patch on (an old Girl Scout Cookie patch circa 1973; Mr. B now refers to the jeans as "Your Girl Scout Jeans") so that I could at least still wear them without showing the world my undies (or...) I went through a stage where I was too fat to wear them. Not so any longer. Anyway, this is a long way in saying that, they don't make this style any longer. They still make 518 Super Low jeans, but, they've added 1% stretch material. Believe me, that 1% stretch has completely ruined the look and fit. I know, because I bought a pair. They are ok for the first few hours, but, then they start to stretch and bag and I'm forever yanking them up. So, I've been on a hunt to find the non-stretch variety, which means eBay. I finally found two or three people selling them. I asked all three of them to go look at the label and make sure it read "100% Cotton". Two got back to me and assured me that they did, so, I bought one pair that is supposedly in "excellent" shape. For not a lot of money. Assuming they fit the way I'm hoping they will, I'm going to go back onto eBay and find a few more pairs and buy 'em up. Of course this means I'll need to stay around my same size. Good incentive.

Anyway, I'm excited about a pair of used blue jeans. What does that tell you?

Seriously, I'm also jazzed about the upcoming World Beer Festival here in Durham on Saturday. Always a good time (although we're really gonna miss my step-mom, who usually goes with us but can't make it this year).

I have well over 200 comments now on my post (from two years ago) about Microsoft Hearts "cheating". There are a few regulars who routinely post new comments. One person has been attempting to reference my Blog on Wiki, but, Wiki won't allow it/keeps deleting the reference. I commented that this is likely because my Blog is NOT about Hearts, just that one entry was. And, hey, by the way, I do appreciate all of your visits, but, why not read some of my other posts while you're at it?

The posts that continue to get a lot of hits (in addition to the Hearts one) are: the one about Henry VIII wives, the one about Facebook being a time suck and, for whatever weird reason, the one that I simply entitled "February 2009".

Ok, I guess this has been a long enough diversion from responsibility. The floor is calling.

Mrs. B

Old Habits Die Hard

I remember when I was in high school and college and, then, later working, I had the tendency to put off working on a project (usually something that involved writing something) until the bitter end. Now, this didn't mean that I was not thinking about it, or, perhaps, even researching the topic and gathering data; but, when it came to doing the actual deed, I always waited until a night or two before it was due.

I'm sure you could query my good pal Kathleen (who, I believe, was of the same mind regarding this); she'll tell you all about the times (more than once) that we'd wait until the night before one of our Psychology papers were due (a big deal because, not only did the research and writing have to be good, they were very picky about the format of how it was presented as well) to finish writing the paper (long-hand) and then type it out. These were back in the days when there were no word processors (that I knew of) and so we'd take turns typing a page on her electric typewriter. We'd literally be up all night doing so.

In all honesty, I always felt that, if under the gun, I tended to produce a much better product than if I had completed in days before it was due.

To that point (and this is an extreme one), one year in college I was taking a Women's Studies course. Actually, it was my second semester and I'd really enjoyed and been extremely interested in the first semester. It was the same instructor. But, alas, I got involved with a particular person who wasn't the best influence on me. I ended up not going to that class more often than I went; I missed papers, tests, and, obviously, class instruction and participation. About the only thing I did (half-assed) was peruse the text book.

Anyway, one day I "woke up" and realized I was in real danger of flunking out of that class. I hung my head and went to talk to the instructor about it. Of course, I had to hear (rightfully so) how disappointed she was in me for not showing up and how much they'd missed my active involvement. As to be expected, she informed me that I was currently receiving an F in the class. Oh my God! To think it was one thing, to hear it confirmed, quite another. Luckily for me she had a heart. She told me that the final exam was the next day (this is likely why I'd gone in to talk to her; I can't imagine I was so out of it that I didn't know when the final was). It was a essay exam, meaning, each person in the class would receive a different topical question (on the day of the exam) and they'd have to spend the entire exam time answering, in essay format, that question. Sounds easy enough, however, the questions were all based on what everyone else had been learning/discussing in class. She said to me, "Whatever you get on that exam, I will give you as the grade for the course". I must have looked quite pathetic standing there and she obviously took some pity on me (why I'll never know because I did not deserve it). She added, "Look, I know you've missed the classes and the discussion. All I can tell you is, read the book, it will help. And, think, too, about what we learned last semester".

That is exactly what I did. I wish I could remember the question I was given but, some 25+ years later, I cannot. However, I remember my grade.

B+.

Why I'm blogging about this is because the folks I'm doing some consulting work for asked me to put together a summary of the pros and cons of implementing a fairly minor executive compensation element. There was no discussion as to when they wanted it. But, in my typical fashion, I did set about to gather data by researching a few key HR web sites for information, talking to another compensation consultant, reviewing past practices of companies I've worked for, etc. I've written a lot of notes and have just as many unwritten thoughts in my head. Last night while talking to Mr. B, I rattled off a few very well presented points on the topic.

BUT, I have yet to write it all down! I said to Mr. B, "It's just like having to write a damn paper in high school or college! I'm procrastinating!" Now, obviously, if the company I'm working with had said, "Could you get it done by such and such a date?" we would have negotiated and, yeah, it would have been done. But, since they didn't, I'm having to self-monitor. And, a lot of other things have all of a sudden become more interesting to do, more important to do, etc., including some of their other projects.

Anyway, last night I told myself that, "Enough is enough!" I want to get it off my plate, even if they haven't asked for it. I'm going to buckle down today and tomorrow and take the (probably no more than 2-3 hours total) to pull everything together to write this (likely one page) summary.

That is, unless I decide it's time to mop the floor, put the dog food into zip lock bags (freaking pantry moths), pick up dog poop, clean the toilets, scour the stove, organize my closet, etc., etc.

I suppose one side benefit of procrastinating one thing is a bunch of other things than need to get done get done.

Mrs. B