Floating Leaf

Just because I can...

( Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail )

So... the car repairs will cost "only" about $600. That is pretty optimistic compared to what I was expecting. I supposedly got a discount - not that I have any way of knowing if that is indeed the case, but yeah. There are a few different things that needed fixing, so I guess it could have been worse. ( Read more... )

So here's the latest on New Zealand: due to an insufficient number of volunteers for this year's trip, my friend is postponing it until 2012. "So get ready and start saving", she said to me. Of course, a lot can happen in two years and nothing is guaranteed at this point; but I feel infinitely better.;) I feel like I have a PLAN now and time isn't just simply slipping through my fingers... if that makes sense. ( Read more... )

Also, I have finally watched the movie Frida - an amazing film about an amazing woman. Salma Hayek was fantabulous - and so was Valeria Golino, whom I adore, and Ashley Judd (the sexy tango OMG!!!), and pretty much everyone else. An absolutely wonderful cinematic experience, vibrant with color and emotion. I can't believe it took me so long to discover this gorgeous work of art. *headshake*

In other news, I am scandalously out of practice in the dating department. Even virtual dating, as it were. ( Read more... )

This is totally unplanned, but I can't resist. Here's another article. A therapist is talking about the role of innate predispositions - versus outside influences - in shaping our lives.

http://www.alternet.org/health/147676/do_our_personalities_pilot_the_way_we_live_our_lives

What compels me to post it is that the author is using her own personal experience as an example to illustrate her points, and some of those autobiographic bits gave me a few serious OMG THIS IS ABOUT ME moments. Except I never deluded myself that I could somehow become a completely different person if I tried hard enough - the way she seems to have done. I wasn't even aware that the concept of inborn "temperament" had been nearly dismissed by science and is only now making a "comeback". To me, there's nothing more obvious than the fact that some basic psychic core (or "character") is already in existence when a person comes into this world. It is then shaped by said world, obviously - to a large extent, perhaps - but even the ways it is shaped are somehow predetermined. Of course, someone could say this is a convenient excuse to justify your flaws instead of making the effort to work on them - but to me, the very fact that some people need to put this gigantic effort into overcoming something that others don't seem to have a problem with at all is proof enough. By all means, try to get a handle on the traits that are making your life difficult - but don't expect them to disappear just by sheer force of will. Telling people they are capable of that is pure bullshit. Saying: "If I can do XYZ, so can you" is bullshit too, and I apologize if I ever did that to anyone (I know I might have... lol).

But anyway... the author mentions her cat-like tendency to seek "warmth, light and solitude", and finds herself "smiling into the sunshine" while curled up on a comfy old couch with a good book, a steaming cup of tea by her side. That's me right there, basking in the golden afternoon light coming in through my west-facing windows, savoring my hard-earned peace and quiet (my rent almost equals my whole bi-weekly paycheck, so you can be sure the privacy of living alone is worth a lot to me and ranks pretty high on my priority list). And yes, just like the author, I too have a vivid memory of sitting alone in a sunlit room with a children's book in my lap when I was but a few years old. The HAPPINESS of it. 30+ years later, I can still feel it every once in a while. Funny that, isn't it?...:D

Thank you, stormatdusk, for the virtual Dessert Waffle! It looks so yummy I wish it was real.:D I've been wondering about you, girl, and I'm very happy to see you back in LJ-land. <333

Also, here goes a Very Important Message for illuins_lair: We've been missing out on another film by Ferzan Ozpetek!!! I found it accidentally last night while I was browsing through Netflix's "Watch Instantly" movie database. ( Read more... )

So, that whole big 4% raise I just got?... it translates to about $25 per paycheck. A bi-weekly paycheck, that is. A freaking goldmine, that. *snort*

I don't know why I thought it was going to be a bit more. Oh well. Now I feel really bad for all the people who supposedly didn't even get as much. All this big talk about raises, and then... this. God have mercy. *an embarrassed cough*

Also, I am definitely gaining weight and it definitely has to stop. Before it ever gets to the point of shopping for bigger sizes again. I am NOT shopping for bigger sizes. I am getting myself under control, dammit. If only it wasn't so blistering HOT. My brain feels half-melted half of the time - how am I even supposed to be planning some ambitious diet modifications in this muggy, lethargic state of mind?... It takes a few hours of the air conditioner going full blast to bring the temperature in my room down to 30C/85F - which I currently consider relatively cool as compared to the kitchen & bathroom. *drapes herself over the back of the chair in a floppy swoon* Strangely enough, this has no negative impact on my appetite. It has, however, a very negative impact on my willingness to exercise.:/ So, perhaps, the results are to be expected. I have gotten lazy in my approach to grocery shopping as well, overlooking one "little, harmless indulgence" after another. This won't do. Like with money, I have to become stingy and calculating all over again.:/ For example, do I absolutely need to try those donuts/cupcakes that some birthday boy or girl brought to the office?... Hell no. It's not like the person will be offended if I don't. I don't even LIKE that shit anymore, for heaven's sake. It all tastes like pure sugar - or high fructose corn syrup, to be precise. *gags a little* Why don't I bring a bag of fucking carrot sticks instead?...

Anyway... this is the plan for Very Near Future. As soon as I finish off all the high-calorie food that I shouldn't have bought in the first place. Because, you know, food shouldn't be wasted. It's one of those uncompromising principles of my upbringing that I can't seem to shake. Namely, If It's Not Rotten Yet, You Shall Eat It (as opposed to throwing it out) - whatever it is. I find myself amazed at how adamantly I tend to stick to it now in my old age. *snort*

It is INSANELY hot. My air conditioner is on full blast, I have a rotating fan blowing on me from the other side, I am drinking ice-cold water and still feeling kinda stuffy.:/ That's officially crazy, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, I lost power last night. I blew a fuse, because I had this stupid idea to toast a piece of bread that was still slightly damp after having been taken out of the freezer. And I KNEW I shouldn't turn on the toaster oven while the air conditioner is on. The last time I did that (about two years or so ago), I blew a fuse. Except I somehow didn't connect the dots this time.:/ So yeah... it was 11:30 p.m., and I had no power. Fortunately, only in the room, so the fridge was safe; but the air conditioner was dead. And I wasn't about to go down to the basement at midnight, looking for a fuse box (which, as far as I knew, wasn't even accessible to me, since the previous time I had to call the building management to get the problem fixed). So I cursed myself for a profound idiot and went to bed. I slept completely naked, on top of the covers, sweating profusely and feeling miserable (I couldn't even use a fan, since the power cord wasn't long enough to reach my bed from the closest working outlet in the kitchen). In the morning, I called the building management, and finally got the power back sometime around noon (and only THEN did they tell me where the fuse box actually is, and that yes, I DO have access to it... *headdesk*). So yeah... no more toast for me. Just cold salads. VERY cold salads. And ice-cream, because dammit, if THIS infernal heat isn't a good enough excuse for some ice-cream, then I don't know what is. *nods*

Also, remember that Polish fantasy comic series I was so crazy about that I almost killed my computer last summer trying to find a free download of the latest installment?... Well, a kind and merciful soul actually bought the print version and sent it to me by snail mail. ( I feel very spoiled right now.:) )

Still recovering from the sunburn. Monday at work was agony - I wore a long-sleeved shirt to avoid any further sun exposure, but the fabric was chafing against the damaged skin, which actually got redder overnight, instead of dulling down.:/ Besides, it is always freezing inside the office - but I couldn't stand to wear a jacket over my shirt (too much chafing), so I was doubly uncomfortable. ( Read more... )

Good news: Good the movie will be released on Region 1 DVD in September!!! *bounces*

Bad news: I am gaining weight gain, and I just don't have the energy for some strict meal control right now. I also don't have the energy to exercise, because it's freaking HOT and my air-conditioner doesn't work too well, and I cringe at the thought of doing anything that will make me sweat any more than I already do, thank you very much. *cringe*

News that could be either good or bad, depending on how you look at it: I am thinking of writing a loving, peaceful, happy, post-coronation Aragorn/Arwen/Legolas threesome fic. I'm not sure at this point how much bedroom activity might be involved, because me & het sex don't really go well together - but I just want to give everyone a happy ending. Possibly even with offspring included (see, it will NOT be a Mary Sue, because me & offspring don't go well together either... LOL). And I can't really make myself write mpreg - so it will have to be Arwen who brings forth the next generation. And maybe - just maybe - one or two of said generation will have surprisingly light-colored hair, and an incurable tendency to climb trees a lot. Just saying.;)

Of course, now that I couldn't resist blathering about it, my muses will probably take off into the sunset and the fic will never get written - so don't get your hopes too high (I am evil, am I not?...:P). I just felt like sharing this strange little trip my brain seems to be on. Whatever it might possibly imply (other than my feminist guilt for repeatedly cheating Arwen out of a husband... LOL).

And that is all for the time being. Good night.:)

We're having a particularly tempestuous summer this year. There was a major power outage in our office building yesterday afternoon due to the sudden deluge of truly biblical proportions. It was almost uncanny: one minute the weather seemed relatively fine, just a bit overcast on one side; the next, the sky opened up and lights started flickering throughout the building. There wasn't even much thunder or lightning; just this torrential rain, like in a tropical jungle or something. It took mere minutes before all lights were out. Most of our computers died within a few seconds. The boss told us to go home - and better leave the building ASAP, because she'd been trapped in there twice before during a storm. So out we went (by the stairway, obviously, since we'd been warned to steer clear of the elevators just in case). Of course, I didn't bring an umbrella. Not that it would have helped much, anyway - the water seemed to be coming from all directions. I was drenched by the time I reached the car. Then I just sat in it, on the parking lot - because, seriously, who would drive in that??? The traffic didn't look like it was moving, anyway. Except for several firetrucks that went out all at once (there is a fire station right across the street from our office). When finally the rain eased up a bit, most of the traffic lights in the neighborhood were still out. So the drive home was a painfully slow crawl. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any outages in my area - to my great relief, upon getting home I found both the fridge and the laptop still in working mode.:)

That's all my exciting news at the moment, I'm afraid. Unless you want to hear about the movie I've seen, which troubled me a little for, perhaps, the wrong reasons. My guess is that you don't, but I'm going to write about it anyway - so if you couldn't care less for gruesome historical dramas without a happy ending (yes, I'll be giving major spoilers too, because without them, I can't explain what my problem was), don't follow the cut.;)

The movie is called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and tells the story of an 8-year-old German kid whose father is a major Nazi officer in charge of a concentration camp. ( Read more... )