I just haven't posted much of anything, anywhere, for a while. The long and short of it is, I've been battling various Close-Contact-With-Kids cooties (various sniffles, 2 rounds of pink-eye, upper respiratory problems), last-minute (in come cases, last-HOUR) work calls, trying to find permanent employment, and dealing with various government and insurance agencies.

On the whole, things are decent right now. The bills are getting paid, the freelance things are picking up for the holiday season, and we've been able to get out and visit people occasionally.

Tomorrow I'll be finalizing my project from my CAD class; I missed the actual final session due to one of the above-mentioned episodes of pink-eye. I'm hoping to export a few of the files as .jpg so I can show them off...at the very least I'll be able to take the raw .dwg and converted .pdf files.

I also recently dug out and fired up my laptop (the hubby's is the one with the intarwebs). Went through my Digital Quote Board. Some day, I'll load all the hard-copy ones I have. It'll take a while...last I recall, there were a total of 11 18"x24" pages.

A few of my faves:
"Actually, this is the life I ordered. But the bus-boy cleared it before I'd finished." -Conan D.

"All my little ducks in a row just turned around and mooned me!" -Jenni M.

ME: What does he keep working on during lunch?
DEREK: Hard to tell with him.
BOB: Could be a mobile, could be a small nuclear fusion reactor.

And for my HLM:
"And now, we'd like to play Pat's Bitch in D-minor...[singing] Weeeeeeeeeee're off to seeeee the wizaaaaaaard!" -Rob R.

Tags: quotes, update

Don't get your teeth in the way of my boot, you ass.

Hi! I'm alive, I've been busy, though not in the ways I would like. Been doing a lot of last-minute jobs. And need to plan the handing-out of several beatings.

Synopsis:
-Am taking a CAD class, specifically Chief Architect. It's for home/landscaping design, but works like AutoCAD or MiniCAD with trainingwheels. Helpful.
-Still frantically seeking one of those full-time job things.
-My GP doc is a twit.
-My GP's NP is teh awesomesauce.
-Agenceis (governmental, temp/employment, and insurance types) suck the Big Sweaty One.
-Am still working MadScience gigs; lots of last-minute-ness. Mostly enjoyable.
-Have made some new friends recently who are just the best.
-All friends are helping me stay sane, or offereing to buy me ammo, or asking to join me on the clocktower. All are equally awesome.

And you?

Tags: update

I just sent this one:[lightly edited for the sake of personal info]

Dear Company As Yet Unnamed,[they didn't reveal their name in the ad]

My name is S and I am applying for the post of Administrative Assistant / Receptionist in your team oriented office.

Having worked for a wide range of companies in various capacities, I am always up for the next challenge. I learn information quickly and retain it easily, I ask questions when I have them, and I can usually coax cranky fax machines into cooperative moods. I am reliable, responsible, and reasonable. Plus, I sometimes show up with cookies.

I have attached my administrative resume for your consideration, I would prefer a minimum of money/hour or $$$/year (payable in U.S. dollars), and I will be pleased as punch* to furnish any additional information upon request. I look forward to speaking with you in the near future.

Sincerely,
-Sylvia Bagaglio

Phone/Email

*I am, of course, aware that punch is inanimate, and thus likely unable to comprehend any emotion or feeling. This is merely an idiomatic statement meant to convey my potential for happiness should you decide to contact me for additional information. Hopefully, it will also give you a little laugh. Perhaps a snort. A giggle maybe. A chortle? Does anyone chortle anymore? Myself, I tend to guffaw or bray...I'm not exactly dainty. But if it helps to be dainty in your office, I think I have a lace handkerchief somewhere! I could flutter it about, dab my lips with it at lunch...I'm straying, right?
Right.
You probably want to go read the resume now. I'll leave you to it then.

*********************************************************************

Would you hire me?

Tags: job, letter

The weekend started off not so bad, what with the good weather. Saturday was pretty lazy at my place, but I helped clean up the party place for D's bash rather well. Turns out the people who own the space had a big'ol kegger the night before. I got there AFTER an hour of cleaning had taken place.

There aren't enough Es for the "eew" I need to spell, people.

Cleared bottles, cups, cans, and general trash. Swept. Vacuumed. J, bless her, mopped. Put fresh throw-covers on furniture. Got the lights working right. I volunteered to clean the bathroom, and my mom would have been proud. Set up tables, cleaned tables, helped set out food and drinks. Finally, the party! Had a REALLY good time, re-connected with some people and got to meet some more. Turned into a pumpkin around midnight, when the kind-of-a-maybe-sore-throat became a oh-boy-tomorrow-I'm-gonna-wake-up-dead feeling.

Sunday: Woke up mostly dead. So did Isaac. So instead of going out to Marlboro to help my sister and her hubby pack and clean, we spent the day mostly dead. I took a brief time-out to venture forth for such neccessities as tissues, flu medicine, orange juice, and bread.

Monday: Another mostly dead day, though Isaac was a little more dead than me. Managed grocery shopping, which wiped me out. Isaac managed laundry and dishes, which wiped him out.

Today: I'm feeling aboout 75%, Isaac is at about 50%. Better, but still with the sniffles and getting wiped out by little effort. I did manage to make dinner this evening.

Tomorrow: More work searching for me, hopefully actually getting to work for the hubby.

And now, a think a cup of tea is in order.

QotD is from TWITTER:
lundegaard: Alistair Crowley loved ice cream so much that he used to finish decrees w/ "So ala mode it be." History is just lactose intolerant.
sylliebee: hey @lundegaard : Alistair Crowley kept that ice cream in a Cthuler. He also kept his frozen Yogsothothurt inside.

Tags: quote, update

Not that we'll be taking it particularly easy...

Tomorrow I do get to sleep in, but then I need to do some cleaning around my place, get my poop in a group, head over to D's to help clean and organize for The Bash, probably make at least 1 trip to get ice, forks, and whatever else everyone forgot, attempt to make myself presentable, and then, finally, enjoy The Bash. Get home eventually, collapse.

Sunday we head out to Marlboro to help my sister and her hubby pack up, since they will be moving soon. Much drama has ensued, but the summation is their landlord has become a hypocritical dip-headed nong-nong (50 points if you get that reference), and they no longer wish to deal with his special brand of dickheadery (nor his asshattery, assbaggery, nor goatblowery). So a-packing we shall go.

Monday is so far bereft of anything. Which, I feel, is good. I don't want to travel too far. Maybe we can scrounge together a picnic - the weather is supposed to be cooperative. Anyone up for a picnic somewhere in the greater Boston area?

The interview on Thursday went well; I was asked for references, and told that they really want to make a decision by the end of the coming week. So hopefully, I'll know soon.

Your QotD is a punchline. Please supply it with a joke, cuz I can't seem to come up with one:
Q: ???
A: A Polka-dot matrix!

Tags: quote, weekend

This one has been running around my brain for a while - comments and constructive criticism appreciated.

THE OGRE'S LAMENT
It wasn't so bad when I was little
Even if I was the last-
I could play with the fauns and nymphs and sprites
And we'd splash in the rivers
And run in the fields

I was just a bigger kind of different
I could reach up high for the best fruit to share
And carry the heavy sheaves at harvest
Blow away the chaff while the smaller folk winnowed
And just get along

But I found out I never stop growing
I blow gales and tempests
That make Spring meadows into barren winter fields
The tallest trees tremble when I try to sneak by
And I can't hold on without crushing
Not even my dreams

So I have decided to travel as far to the West
As the Earth will let me
Lie down and sleep where the land is bare
Let the soft winds cover me in dust
I'll grow into a mountain
One that shall maybe have some trees with ripe fruit
That everyone can share again

And when some future night
Your grandchildren look past the fields
To watch the sun hide behind my back
Maybe they'll say "That mountain looks like an Ogre."
And I'll just keep sleeping
So they never have to know
That they are right.

Tags: poem

...Isaac and I were in Vegas, getting hitched on Chapel Row.

Three years with my most wonderful hubby. I love you, pumpkin. You make everything better.

/mush

Feelin'...: gooey

Applications currently out for the following positions:
-Prop manager with a full-time year-round company in NJ.
-Production Assembler with a company that included no info on what I'd be assembling. But the pay rate looked good.
-Flute assembler. Yes, really.
-Wardrobe manager (two different companies, I think CT and NJ).
-Shop Manager for a tattoo parlor in the next town over.
-Various administrative positions with small non-profits, big corporations, arts organizations, schools (from elementary to university), and a few construction companies.

Still recuperating from the latest round of back nonsense. Should be able to teach again next week.

Today's big project was making a vat of sauce. Which means tomorrow's big project is cleaning the kitchen. Also on tomorrow's list, getting in touch with the doctor's office about the fact that they never re-billed my physical as a physical. I get 1 physical a year for only the office visit co-pay, but they billed it as a visit about a pre-existing condition. I thought it got straightened out, but now I have a bill. So people need to be spoken to.

This coming weekend is Fisherman's Feast. Isaac has been told, by one of The Boys, that it would be 'really nice' if he attended this year. So I think we're going.

QotD:
"Well, here I am with all this skin just doing nothing except keeping my organs from falling on the floor..." -me, in discussing the potential perk of free tattoos if one works in a tattoo parlor.

Only good stuff:

-J & J are now happily the parents of another J, born on July 29, big and strong and healthy! I am a psuedo-auntie again! Can't wait to taste those soft tender baby cheeks...

-I won tickets! ART here in Boston ran a contest to pick the new name of their "club" space, which will be christened with a production of "The Donkey Show". I was one of the people who picked the name that won, and I won tickets! Woo-hoo! It'll be a week-ish late, but it will make a fab anniversary evening for me and the hubby.

-Saturday night I will be hanging out with people I see far too infrequently, indulging in practices decidedly not approved by the Harper Valley PTA.

-Sunday I get to see my Grandma-in-law up in NH, along with my brother and sister in law, and possibly cousin-in-law. Lots of in-laws. But I like these people a bunch, and Isaac's cousin S is a theater geek like me, so yay!

-Next week I have some steady work, teaching another MadScience camp. I'm told I will have more than 8 students this time. We'll see what happens.

And because I NEED to share the madness:

EIN! ZWIE! DIE!

Tags: good stuff, update, video

So the first question the NP asked me after looking at my throat:
"So, have you been around a lot of kids lately?"

Ha. My little angels gave me cooties.

Seems strep is running around with 7-10 year olds quite a bit recently. She planned to run a quickstrep test, as well as a full throat culture. I'm not particularly sore, but my voice is still scraggly and I feel pretty blech. I'll have results soon. She also informed me that the reason she's doing a full throat culture is it's more likely as we age that if we get strep, it is not a difficult thing for us to get thrush as well...so if you have both, you can't just treat one or the other will take off like wildfire. Oh the joy.

I hope to be diagnosed and better within a few days - I have a dental appt on Weds (my last for the study I'm in), a class to teach on Thursday, a meeting on Friday, and a full weekend planned, plus another session of 1/2 day camp programs next week.

Now if only I could find a real job.

Your Quote of the Day is from a conversation with one of my campers (age 9, btw) last week:
CHRIS: And what's THAT for?!?!
ME: Well, you'll just have to be patient and wait to find out, Chris.
CHRIS: I can't wait! I can't be patient! I'm far too anxious a person for that!

Tags: couch hack wheeze, quote

Well, a number of you have asked:

Yes, my head feels lighter and cooler. I was on the couch the other night and wndered why I felt so chilly...I no longer had a big blanket keeping all the heat in over my back (which, along with your head, is where your body disspates a great amount of heat). I'll have some pics from the front as soon as I feel more human again (more on that in a bit). It's actually cut into a slightly angled bob- longer in the front. My hair curls more toward the front, so it ends up looking even unless it's brushed and straightened out. My hairdresser is just plain old awesome. (After 40+ years, he ought to be). I suppose if I ever decided to flat iron and blow-dry and what not, I'd look mighty stylish. The cut also allows the bottom curl to face in or out, depending on how you brush it. Did I mention his awesomeness?

Anyhow, it's still long enough to pull back into a pony-tail (well, a pony-nub at least). I'm still getting used to not having it to play with - winding my hair into a coil has been a boredom habit of mine for ages, and I only notice it when I don't have enough hair to do it. But I like it - if nothing else, it makes turning my head in me sleep 20x easier. Don't have to get woken up by sleeping on it and getting caught wound around my arm... just turn over.

Now about not feeling human:
I spent this past week teaching a MadScience summer camp program, 1/2 days. My students were all awesome, but they were all 8-9 year old kids. Plus I ran a birthday party for kids the same age. Which means cooties. Which means I have a throat infection of some kind, concentrated on the right side, including swollen glands and soft-pallet, coughing that tastes like copper, a puffy tonsil, a stuffy itchy sore ringing ear, and almost no voice. Oh, and a cyclical fever that never gets too high (99.4 was the peak yesterday), but makes my eyeball feel hot and watery. My Doc's office has a weekend answering service, but will be open for calls again tomorrow at 8:15am. You can bet I will be calling for an appointment ASAP, because this is definitely an infection and not allergies. While my throat is not severely spotted, it is mottled with red and white, and I've had both strep and thrush before, and I won't go into the more disgusting details but they add up to being one of those. So joy. Luckily, my boss is understanding and found a replacement to teach my class tomorrow.
The good thing is, if I say the magic word "Strep", my docs office WILL get me in ASAP. I learned that a long time ago: You have a sore throat, you're pretty sure you're sick but not sure what it is? Tell them you are afraid you might have strep. Contagious things like that must be contained. Plus, strep left unchecked can lead to scarlet fever (which I have had and would wish on NO ONE), and can also trigger shingles (if you are an adult who had chicekn pox when you were a kid). There is your helpful hint of the day. Even if it ISN'T strep, you'll be in the office and they can diagnose what it is, instead of telling you to drink lots of OJ and chicken soup for 3 days and call them back if you still feel like ass.

Your Quote of the Day comes from my darling hubby, about a really bad movie on the SyFy channel this morning:
"The movie is definitely crappy. It's being sponsored by Fiber One."

*sigh* This is why I luuuuuuurrrrrvvveee him.

Tags: couch hack wheeze, quote, update

*ahem*

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you before:





And, after:



Total cut off: about 16-17".
No, I did not donate it to anything/one. My hair was far too processed and damaged to be usable.

Why?
It was time.
Note: This is the shortest my hair has been since the summer of my 16th birthday.

Tags: pics, update

Depends on where you are and how "authentic" you want to be.

Clafouti/s is a custardy fruity dessert which is totally out of fashion these days. Which is a shame, because it is super easy and super deliscious. And, when it comes down to it, much better for you than many alternatives. I made some this evening, basically just doubled a recipe from Betty Crocker (hers was for an 8x8x2 dish, I used a 9x13x2):

FRESH CHERRY CLAFOUTI
4ish cups pitted fresh sweet cherries (just pitted, don't cut them up)
5 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsps vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350*F, and grease up your favorite 9x13x2 baking dish with butter. Yes BUTTER. I used salted, unsalted would also be fine. Got imported sweet cream Irish butter? Go for it. Be fancy and use Yak butter for all I care. Just don't use margerine. Or FSM forbid, Aerosol Baking Lubricant (such as PAM). *shudder*
2. Lay in the cherries - you want a solid layer covering the bottom. I needed 4 1/2 cups for this - kind of depends on the size of your cherries. [go ahead and giggle]
3. Mix eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and vanilla with either a hand mixer or a whisk until the batter is smooth and free of lumps. I have good baking muscles, so it took me about 2 minutes by hand.
4. Pour batter evenly over fruit - some of it may begin to float. That's totally fine.
5. Bake at 350*F for 50-60 minutes. It will have the consistancy of a quiche or baked custard. If you are unfamiliar with these items...um, Jell-O. It'll be like well set Jell-O. Just, you know, hot.
*YEILD is 10-12 servings. And if you actually eat only 1 of the 12 servings, Betty's approximate calorie count is 175.

It holds together really well, and the cherries are these little explosions of delisciousness when you bite into them.
Betty suggests topping with powdered sugar. I say have it warm with some vanilla ice cream. Either will increase calories, and therefor, tastiness.

Other accomplishemnts for today included reorganizing my bookshelves, locating and purchasing a cherry pitter (at the 6th place I tried), picking up a few more items for my MadScience classes on Weds and Thurs, taking a little afternoon stroll, inquiring towards some voice-over work, making a nommy dinner including green bean salad and turkey burgers, and shaking my head over the fact that a job I turned down - for which I KNOW I was not the only candidate - has been re-posted. Wonder if they'll realize no one with the amount of experience they want will work for what they want to pay.

Qote of the Day is stolen from barbie_toes (via Twitter):
Cnn sez "'Bruno' is no 'Borat'". To me, this is like saying "ptomaine is no dysentery".

Tags: quote, recipe

Emailed C today concerning the work she had mentioned to me. Turns out while she was on vacation last week, a meeting was held and her budget was cut. So instead of getting to overhire 4-5 people for a staggered amount of time, she gets to do it with just her usual assistant. No cut in workload, just in budget. Cuntmuffins.

Had an interview with MRT today for the Prop Master post. I've worked for them before. J said he was torn between interviewing a bunch of people and just plain hiring me, since he knows me and knows I have the skill set, connections, and work ethic to do the job. But there is a bit of a glut of skilled people in the neighborhood right now, and he said he couldn't in good conscience at least talk to some of them. Which I totally understand - you want the best possible person for the job. I'm a known commodity, but...
The good news is, though it IS seasonal, it's 9 month full time with benefits.
The REALLY good news is MRT is one of only 10% of theaters in the US to finish IN THE BLACK last season. No promises for this season, but there is also no real chance that the organization will fold any time soon.
The funny part? J said to me "Oh, by the way, you were a reference for another person I interviewed for this job." One of my cohorts at NSMT, it turns out. She'd actually do VERY well in the position, as they need someone with developed carpentry skills (along with sourcing, borrowing, upholstering, and all the other proppy skills).

No word yet from the interview with Chamber, nor any word from either of the 'out there' jobs.

We'll see.

QotD: "There's weird French clowns in there. They're in waiter outfits." - Lars N.

Tags: job, quote

Latisse.

Are you f*cking SERIOUS?!?!?!?

Ladies and gentleman, I fully understand Rx meds for severe skin issues. Your skin is the largest organ of the body, it blocks a large amount of the surrounding planetary cooties from entering your system, and when it begins to break down in any fashion it can easily affect many more parts of your well-being.

There are numerous Rx products which are, when it comes down to it, aesthetic in nature. Whatever. You want to pay $700/month to think you are staving off wrinkles for an extra year, go right ahead.

But a prescription product to grow your eyelashes?!?!

Now I am not unaware that those who go through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and several other forms of toxic treatments to address cancers (as well as parasitic infections) are prone to losing hair. Which can include eyebrows and eyelashes. Which sometimes choose not to grow back well, or at all in some cases.

But this product is NOT being geared to that. That is a VERY small audience. This is a multi-nationally advertised product to be used in place of mascara. Okay? The most expensive mascara I ever purchased cost me about $12. I know there are some really high-end ones which cost around $45. Probably someone makes one with organic otter testicle extract and botanical butterfly jizz guaranteed to quintuple the length, breadth and heights your soul can reach and charges you $286 for the priviledge of owning one of the 1000 vials produced annually.
But any douche with more money than brains can get it.

This new banana oil is still banana oil. Only requires a prescription from your doctor, will turn your eyelids darker temporarily, and may very well cause your irises to brown. Your irises, people. The iris is an internal muscle, surrounded by your eyelids, cornea, and aqueous humor. And this shit can change its color (which is normally pretty much set by the time you reach the age of 2). It also may cause itching, burning, and eye pressure problems. And other "eye problems". Right on their website, http://www.latisse.com/Latisse.aspx?state=10, it also states:
"You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA."
What a ringing endorsement!

Well I'm so glad we have a cure for the common cold, cancer has been wiped out, we have universal effective healthcare, and no child anywhere is going hungry. Billions of dollars spent on research, testing, and clinical panels to clear it for FDA approval. Not to mention those dollars spent on advertising.

Oh, but if you go to the website, http://www.latisse.com/Latisse.aspx?state=10, and you sign up for Latisse LashPerks, Allergan (the mooks who made this stuff [who also make Juvederm and Clinique Medical, btw]) will donate $5 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Well, thank goodness.

Is anyone else pissed off by this as much as I am?

Tags: rant, soapbox