floatingleaf: (blue viggo)
Floating Leaf ([personal profile] floatingleaf) wrote2010-04-03 06:45 pm

a serious case of speeding brainwaves, yet again :)

So... I'll be going to my parents' house for Easter tomorrow. I'm not particularly looking forward to it, since I have to stay overnight (dad's neurologist appointment is on Monday, and it wouldn't make sense to drive back here tomorrow night only to drive back there the next day - it's over 40 miles one way, after all) - but I guess I'll find something to occupy myself. I might actually use the time to go through all the stuff in my old bedroom and decide what should go in the recycling bin - or make a dent in my sister's impressive gothic novel bookshelf.;) They do have a computer, btw, but it's situated in a very "public" area of the house - so I don't expect to be able to do much more than perhaps check my email. And I probably won't be responding to comments and stuff until Monday night or later (depending on what time I get back here etc.).

In other news, we had another company meeting at work this week, and our CEO announced that, financially speaking, we are slowly getting out of the dump and that there will be raises in July. No more than 2%, probably, but we haven't had any since 2008, so we'll take that, thank you very much. *relieved sigh* Oh, and btw: the management of my apartment building did get their act together and send me the lease renewal, only about a month late.:P And they did NOT raise my rent. I think they are very anxious to keep the tenants that they've got at this point, because there are several empty apartments in my building alone. Anyway - there is hope that my bank account will not reach negative balance.;) Unless my car breaks down again, that is - which it hasn't done in a while. *knocks on wood fiercely*

Also, I've added another wonderful recipe to my list of favorites: Mexican Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad, with chipotle-chili dressing. OMG... yummmm.:D It has a rich taste, with just the right balance between heat and sweetness. It's also pretty quick & easy, as well as equally delicious either warm or cold. Definitely a keeper.:D

Oh, and I've finally seen Michael Moore's Sicko - but I'm not sure if I want to write about it. I would probably end up ranting for hours, and I don't really have the time. Just... the irony of my parents having immigrated here, of all possible places on earth, just so our family can have a "better life", is killing me sometimes. I mean... UK was much closer. So was France. My mom had some long-lost uncle in France, for heaven's sake. But no - in Poland, in the eighties, US was THE place to go. Everyone we knew had a relative in the US. Or somewhere in America, at any rate. We could have at least picked Canada - one of my cousins lives in Canada. But no - here we came, to the country with the most fucked-up healthcare system in the world. And yes, we have so far been much luckier than most of the people whose heartwrenching stories are told in Moore's documentary - but for how long?... Who knows? And just listening to those people in Europe talk about all the amazing benefits they take for granted: completely free, excellent healthcare; a MINIMUM of 5 weeks' paid vacation per year, even for new hires (at my company, you get 5 weeks after TEN YEARS OF SERVICE); 6 months of paid maternity leave; unlimited sick days, for heaven's sake. How can you limit sick days?, says this woman in the film. If you're sick, you're sick. Logical, no? Well... not in the US.:/ Which reminds me of one job interview I had back in 2006, where the hiring manager said: There are no sick days. You've got to be here, no matter what. (to be fair, that was a Polish-owned company, LOL) And don't even get me started on that "medical reviewer" woman who confessed before the court how she got endless raises and promotions at her health insurance company for DENYING care to people in need. Or on that $120 medicine for the lady with respiratory problems, who then bought it for about 5 cents in Cuba (!!!). And here, in this great, amazing, cooler-than-cool country a mob of miserable idiots, who can't even spell the word "moron" correctly in their own language, is hysterically protesting socialized medicine. Which they are under no threat to see anytime soon, anyway. While some of their fellow citizens are dying in the streets because of their lofty (mostly fictional by now) "freedoms". Btw, on the drive back from work a few days ago, I saw this elderly guy standing at the side of the road with a huge sign that said: OBAMA MUSLIM TERRORIST. A one-guy demonstration, as it were. How deeply insightful, grandpa. I hope you have good health insurance - because if you don't, then you are even more stupid than you look. WHY IS THE WORLD FULL OF IDIOTS, ANYWAY???... AAARRRGGGHHHH. *takes a deep breath*

Okay. That was a condensed mini-rant that just had to come out. I feel better already.:P

And one more thing, just to end on a positive note: I LOVE MY FLIST, and I love LJ in general. There are some absolutely amazing people on it. Some of my most wonderful friendships started here, and I can't think of a better way to CONNECT on a very deep level. Which reminds me of this conversation I had recently with a coworker. We were talking about the internet and various ways of online interaction, as well as being anonymous versus revealing your legal name on a public forum etc. - and I said that I usually prefer to use a nick, unless I have a deeper personal connection with someone. Whereupon my coworker stared at me like I was insane. "Deeper personal connection? Through THIS???", he asked incredulously, pointing at his computer screen. He just couldn't fathom what on earth I was trying to say. Well... I wasn't about to go into any details of fanfic porn and general awesome silliness/mental exhibitionism that goes on in these parts, LOL. So I'll just let him think that I am slightly off my rocker. And I will never tell him that my flist actually includes people who have met their SIGNIFICANT OTHER through LJ and are now LIVING TOGETHER as couples in real life, because they first had a deep personal connection through THIS.;) Just saying.

Oh, and THANK YOU for more postcards, [livejournal.com profile] dissonant_dream! They are gorgeous. Especially the one from Charlecote Park. Oh, how I'd love to live close to such a beautiful spot!... Damn, I miss Europe so much. Not just Poland by itself, but all of Europe - including places I've never been to, LOL. I miss historic areas, cultural atmosphere, my friends... everything. It's just... displacement syndrome, I has it.:(

Have to go do some cooking now. I might be able to respond to some comments later tonight, but if not, then I will hopefully catch up with them sometime next week. The main addressee of this cryptic remark certainly knows who she is.:D <333

[identity profile] floatingleaf.livejournal.com 2010-08-19 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
I always found men´s bodies both fascinating and in many ways aestethically beautiful to look at - mostly from a distance somehow.

Really?... *snicker* Yeah, from a distance they're OK.;)

But joking aside, a well-maintained (that is, slim and toned -> *points at icon* ;) male form has its merits. Except for the body hair. Body hair seriously creeps me out. It's one of the main reasons I find women more appealing - smooth, hairless chests, legs & armpits. If men started shaving more than their faces, I might consider giving them a go.;P

I would never want to actually have that thing dangling between my legs on an everyday basis y´know.

Haha!... Yeah, me neither. *chortle*

[identity profile] illuins-lair.livejournal.com 2010-08-20 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Body hair.. *shivers* Who invented it I ask?

And on that note, I guess I need to claim that I do have very smoothe skin.. as well as a very high body tempereature ..Or at least that´s what I´ve been told.. *snerk*
(might as well point me towards being an alien) *promotes self*

[identity profile] floatingleaf.livejournal.com 2010-08-22 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I do have very smoothe skin.. as well as a very high body tempereature

You're a good bed-warmer, then?... *snicker*

might as well point me towards being an alien

LOL!!!

[identity profile] illuins-lair.livejournal.com 2010-08-22 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Woot! Yes, I´ve a certificate somewhere.. (bedwarmerTM) =P