Oh, what a long day

I was awake far too early for a Saturday - 7:30am. Yuck. Still this did not help the general craziness of the morning because we went to the vetrinarian for our yearly check-ups.

This was not fun. Chaucer and Dante howled all the way to the vet, from the minute they got put in the carriers. I had to make a side trip to pick up some breakfast and make a deposit at the bank; the howling was so awful the bank teller asked if my child was OK (yes, the fur-baby is fine, just mad). When we arrived at the vet, I realized that someone furry had peed in the car; luckily I have a thing for extra napkins so that soaked up most of what leaked out of the carrier. Still, ewwww. The kitty-boys have gained weight this year (again) - one pound each - bringing Chaucer to 14 pounds and Dante to 18 pounds. My kitties are spoiled. The vet and I talked about trying a different diet formulation next time I need to buy cat food.

Back in the car the cats didn't utter one peep (smelled a little, since Dante not only peed on the carrier but also himself). They didn't even start crying when the interior of the car got cold - my driver-side window went down when I stopped at the mailbox to send something, made a clunking noise, and then refused to go back up (#@yqe*rt&w$eti&t aka black cloud). Did I mention that it was snowing and blowing today? Fun. Thankfully, I was able to get the car into my go-to mechanics at Boubin Muffler and they got the window back up (changed the oil, too, but I'm going to need to replace the window motor in the door).

I knitted a lot on my scarf today. I'm almost ready to start the last skein (finally); that scarf is really taking me a long time and I don't know why. It's just plain knitting (it is a lot of yardage, though).

I finished John Adams last night; it really is a remarkably well-put together mini-series. I've been having a chuckle at the number of actors playing "Americans" who hail from the British Isles (Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin, Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton, and Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, to name a few); it does make sense since at the time all our "Americans" were British subjects and more likely to sound like the mother country than the current accents we all have. The acting is quite well done; Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney especially give very moving performances as the two lead actors (Linney also reminds us how tough Abigail Adams was for her time, holding her household and family together sometimes through sheer will and faith). Sarah Polley gave a beautiful performance as Nabby, particularly the scene where Nabby tells her father she is dying (Abigail "Nabby" Adams Smith died of breast cancer at age 48, having previously survived a primitive mastectomy to attempt a cure). Tom Hollander also appears, for less than ten minutes, as King George III and does a marvelous job of looking both unbalanced and regal at the same time; I think it was the eyes. I've not read the biography John Adams by David McCullough but I understand from a few sites that the mini-series' creators shifted some scenes and dates. The production worked well from a purely entertainment point of view, so for that I give it five stars, but I think the producers should have tried for more historical accuracy as to correct persons, places, and dates.

I've now got Guns, Germs, and Steel in the player. I quite liked the book by Jared Diamond, so I think I'll like this National Geographic presentation.

Current book-in-progress: Death Comes for the Archbishop, an ARC for First Look, and I just got Drood
Current knitted item: I will finish that scarf!
Current movie obsession: I recently received DVDs of two Royal Ballet productions - The Sleeping Beauty with Viviana Durante and Zoltan Solymozi and Mayerling with Irek Mukhamedov and Viviana Durante; I've had these on VHS since high school and haven't been able to watch them due to the age of the tape - eeeeee, ballet, fun!
Current iTunes loop: old "All Songs Considered" podcasts (last week iTunes just downloaded like 80 old podcasts, sweet)

Today does hold some good news

Good news: Blagojevich got booted from office

Bad news: My friend lost his job for no good reason other than people just aren't spending money.

Kind of outweighs the good.

Hodge-podge

I had a Monday yesterday. For example, I got a parking ticket ten minutes after I put fifteen minutes of money in the meter. How does that stuff happen?

I think people suck. This is nothing new for me, but right now I think one person sucks on an entirely different level. The problem is that I'm not sure who this person is, except that he/she has done something way wrong (i.e. illegal) and I really dislike whoever he/she is right now. He/she will not be a happy camper when I'm finished (and I'm really leaning toward this sucky person being a "he" right now, based on said illegal activity).

I think Tim Daggett is not very bright. He keeps mentioning that Shawn Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, once coached gymnastics at an Iowa university before opening his own gym. Great, but there's one problem. Tim keeps saying the university is Iowa State - wrong! Chow coached at the University of Iowa which makes him a Hawkeye not a Cyclone. Get the facts right. Grrrr.

However - WAY TO GO SHAWN!!!!!! That's how we do things in Iowa. Number 1!!!

Current book-in-progress: The Time-Traveler's Wife, The Gargoyle (which is really, really good, I was surprised), How Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken, and Feather Man
Current knitted item: seams...but I started a pretty top for myself
Current movie obsession: The Olympics are on! GO USA!
Current iTunes loop: Filmspotting

And the new reason why my job is the pits...

My fellow RA went on vacation last week.

And didn't tell us.

We didn't realise this until Friday at 1pm.

My only comment: She is very, very lucky that I am not her boss.

The Joys of Homeownership

It's really cold in Iowa.

How do I know this?

Because my furnace totally crapped out some time earlier today (maybe last night, who knows). It's about 50 degrees in my house and about 10 degrees outside (that's Fahrenheit to anyone not in the US). My fireplace works but it really just heats the living room.

The first repair company I called doesn't have parts for my furnace. Oh, and my furnace is out of warranty. Laaaaa! Just my luck. So if the second company doesn't have any parts I guess I get to buy a new furnace. Shitty.

Current book-in-progress: This is going to be a free-for-all night, also known as grab some tea and as many books as are at hand because the house is freezing
Current knitted item: My red scarf when I can feel my hands again
Current movie obsession: Northanger Abbey (yes, I realize the Oscars are on Sunday, but it would help if they would release all the movies more than one week prior to the ceremony)
Current iTunes loop: Chill tracks shuffle on iTunes (John Mayer, Amy Winehouse, Jewel, etc)

If I went crazy no one would blame me.

And if you do, I'll kick your butt. I mean it, I'll be crazy.

Insurance adjusters (particularly the one I'm dealing with) are scum. This one also happens to be stupid. And selectively vision-challenged. And rude. And not particularly interested in maintaining good relations with clients. AAA is going to get an earful.

I'm about to be screwed 110 different ways over this car accident (and also, by extension, my parents as well because they are nice people who try to help out thier kids). I love it. I get plowed into at a red light and I'm the one who's going to take it up the rear, if you get my drift.

IRB is officially pissing me off. Usually it's only informal irritation.

I watched some movies this weekend because that's all I could concentrate on. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix released so yay. Watched a 1982 production of Kenneth MacMillan's Manon starring Jennifer Penny and Anthony Dowell (now Sir Anthony). Manon is not generally a ballet that I like, there's far too much exposition between the major points of action, but the redeeming quality of this performance is to watch Anthony Dowell dance; he has the most beautiful ballet line, Royal Ballet trained all the way, and such beautiful control in the adagio. Unfortunately, he's been retired for the last 20 years, so I have to watch on DVD. Sigh. I also slogged through The Squid and the Whale which is a short movie, but absolutely excruciating in the way that the film is so truthful. Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels are excellent and the actors playing the kids are very good as well. A well-made movie.

Current book-in-progress: Middlemarch
Current knitted item: Christmas sock #2 is mostly done
Current movie obsession: Harry Potter #5

STRESS!!!!!!

Anymore these days, when I get really stressed out it all goes to my stomach. It gets upset, doesn't want to digest anything, etc. etc. The worst part is that it will growl for food then pretend there's no room for food because of all the acid reflux. Prevacid is wonderful.

I'm stressed because we're starting a new clinical trial Monday. And I have to consent every admit to both units because the trial is at the unit level, but the patients have to consent so we can access their medical record. And I have to keep all the product stocked on both units. And answer all the questions. And do all the ICU unit surveillance (which really ought to be done by the medical staff). And do whatever random crap the boss asks for. Sigh. It really stinks because there are three RAs and I feel like everything gets dumped on me because the other two have a tendency to mess stuff up (which brings up the other question of why they're still working for us, but don't get me started). The clinical trial really is a good thing because we're trying to do good things for patients but it is very labor intensive. All my labor. No one else's.

And...I'm stressed because I got rear-ended two days ago, right when we were finishing the inservices for the clinical trial. If you haven't heard this story, truth can be stranger than fiction. The guy who rear-ended me was driving a big, old pickup, so lots of damage to my car, minimal damage to his, and he plowed into me at a red light. I couldn't even accelerate to get out of the way. The cop was going to cite him and let him go until I pointed out the guy had been driving about 20mph in a 40mph zone without headlights before he hit me (this was about 6pm, so it was dark out). So the cop asked me to wait in my car and went to talk to him again. Then another cop showed up and they gave the guy a sobriety test. Then an ambulance showed up and took the guy to the hospital (I was thinking, "Damn, that guy got wasted pretty fast").

This is when it starts getting really weird.

I realized that both cops left in the ambulance with the two paramedics. WTF? Then this other woman got out of the front seat of the second squad car - she had witnessed the guy side-swiping a vehicle up the road and the cops brought her down to my accident to identify the offending vehicle. So the cops left us there at the scene of an accident. By ourselves. After about 5 minutes a third cop showed up to sort us out. Then he realized that my ID, registration, and insurance had gone off to the hospital with my responding officer and the guy's paperwork was left in the squad car (brilliant). So I got sent on my way (1 hour late for my shift at the bookstore) with assurances that my paperwork would be returned to me shortly.

Ha.

At 9:30pm I had to call dispatch and remind them to send my identification (I mean, what the hell was going on?). So my responding officer showed up right before we closed. Turns out the guy who hit me had a stroke while the cops were administering the sobriety test - holy crap. When I pointed out that he had left two women alone at an accident scene with two empty squad cars (one unlocked and running), he was completely dismissive of my concerns that something could have happened - we had adequate warmth and he didn't think it was neccessary to tell us both officers were leaving and another squad car was on the way. So long story short, I got really pissed off and compained to his watch commander. Now, Sgt. Clarahan was understanding of my concerns, which mostly centered around his having abandonded the victim and witness of an accident scene with no information whatsoever and then being rude when compained to; so we worked that out without having to go up the food chain.

So...gah! My car, the new car I've only had for maybe six months (that we got a really great deal on), has about $3000 damage. Luckily, none to the frame. I'll let the insurance companies duke it out.

Current book-in-progress: I finished Why We Read What We Read so just Middlemarch and Idylls of the King
Current knitted item: I went back to the blue sock because I don't have to concentrate on it (I turned the heel last night).
Current movie obsession: Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead

I hate Mondays.

Here's why:
1. Forgot to set the alarm. Woke up really late.
2. After ballet, some girl from one of the other classes passed out (or something, I didn't witness this) so the entire building was one huge clusterf*ck with campus police, firemen, and paramedics. None of the emergency services workers were cute.
3. Forgot my lunch (again) and had to spend money I don't have (again).
4. Had a chiropractor appointment (yay!), but the one joint that's been bothering me didn't want to co-operate and re-align itself (boo!!).
5. Got back to work and wound up getting nothing done because I got a phone call regarding parking at the AXS house. I ended up by giving up my parking space for the next two weeks or so because I am a good person and I remember what the First Object says.
6. Went to my Restoration Lit class. Found out that I read the wrong assignment. I read next Monday's assignment instead. Sh*t.
7. Returned to work. By this point I'm pissed and can't get any work done period.
8. Went to the AXS house to help with tutoring. Had lots of good talk with Ani because no one showed up (besides Rachel and Tina, who came to help tutor but wound up needed help with their Pchem II homework). Just wait until next week - they'll get their first exam back and all the freshmen go "Aw, crap." But I pretty much didn't get doodle done today.
9. Didn't get any time to knit.
10. Forgot to go to the grocery store (again).

Current book-in-progress: Aphra Behn's play The Rover, to be followed shortly by her novella Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave so I can participate in the discussion on Wednesday
Current knitted item: Whatever is in the knitting bag - I think it's the Christmas stocking.