Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I had a nice time with Steve's family. We played 20-minute Monopoly and ate a lot of good food. I made the green bean casserole as usual and I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast for all of us on Christmas day. Steve got me a jewelry box and a Hogwart's baseball cap. Steve's sister really liked the necklace, earrings, and stick pin that I made for her. Some of you have already received the gifts I made for you and others will be getting them soon. I was sick for a few days and wasn't able to finish everything on time. I will post pictures here soon of some of the things I made. I hope you are all doing well.

I am no longer an opera virgin!

I saw the live simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera's production of "Thais" in HD at a local movie theatre today, despite the snow. I really enjoyed it. The music was beautiful and the singers were fantastic. I didn't quite have a "Pretty Woman" moment, but I was moved several times. The violin solo meditation between the set changes in act two was particularly poignant. The only thing I didn't care for was the mix of traditional and modern in the costumes and props. The entire first scene (and the story itself) are set in Egypt in early AD but all of a sudden, at the beginning of scene two, a shotgun appears in a servant's hands. I found that kind of jarring. Also, the last act seemed a bit short. I do, however, want to see another one and Jane and I will probably do that in late January or February. Big thanks to Jane for getting me to do this and for buying my ticket!

In other news, I spoke to Arthur, Julia, and a bunch of other Guardians of Gallifrey today when I called down to their annual Christmas party. It was nice to catch up with them and talk a little "Dr. Who".

Don't worry, I'm okay. (Chapter 2)

I had a nice half day at work. I went in at 10 and worked until Philippe, Scott, Owen, & I went out for a special lunch courtesy of the president of our board of directors. I ate the best BLT (Tempeh, lettuce, tomato, swiss, cheddar, avocado, and spinach) I've ever had and followed it up with an amazing Meyer Lemon Torte (gigantic blackberries, fresh whipped cream, and a mint leaf). Yum! Anyway, the snow had begun to fall by the time we left the restaurant. I worked for a little while longer and then realized that I could finish the rest of my work from home. It took me two tries to get up our hill, but I made it. Hopefully, I'm going to see my first opera tomorrow, that or I'll be snowed in. :)

The party was awesome!

I had a great time. (Big thanks to Susan for helping me, really putting up with me, pick out something to wear!) There were lots of nice people there. It was kind of a funky, artistic, aging hippie crowd of stalwart New Englanders. :) There were people gathered in every corner of the apartment. Some of us talking, others singing, even performing for each other. I also did some networking. It was the first time I have really felt comfortable talking about work stuff in a non-work situation. I think that's because I like my job and because these were all nice people and we have similar goals. There were three of us MHC alums there and it was nice to reconnect with them as well.

Oh, and I even made a singing contact. One of the other guests is a local performer and, when he found out that I can sing, he invited me to sing with him sometime. I might even end up in the show he does with some of the other musicians and performers who I know that were at the party.

I really had a great night!

Don't worry, I'm okay.

I was worried that if you were seeing storm damage reports you might be concerned for me. Thankfully we are just south of where the ice storm did its worst. (The sunlight was beautiful, glinting off our frozen trees this morning.) Unfortunately, Steve was not so lucky. He is not expected to have power back until Sunday night, which means he has no heat or water. A tree limb also smashed his front windshield. Susan extended an invitation and Steve will be sleeping on our pull-out couch tonight.

Lots of schools have been closed for the last two days as well. I drove home through it late last night but, thankfully, it was more slushy than icy and I was able to get home safely by driving no more than 35 miles per hour. I am so thankful I have a flexible schedule. I was able to go in late yesterday and today, and also do some work from home. By the time I went in today, the roads were clear. :)

The one bummer is that, before the storm we got a lot of rain and, my car got stuck in the mud in our driveway. I had to drive Susan's extra vehicle to work today and yesterday because it didn't get cold enough for me to get mine out. Steve has volunteered to help me get it out tomorrow since temperatures should freeze the ground tonight. Yeah! :)

The Funniest Holiday Song Ever!

I don't often post other people's videos but I had to do this one. I heard this on the car radio yesterday and was laughing so hard the drivers around me must have thought I was nuts. I should also mention that I have heard, and liked, a lot of funny holiday songs over the years but this one takes the cake. And, these guys can really sing! Enjoy!

I had a wonderful day.

I went to bed last night after doing chores and watching Peter Davison (the man can still act and is a joy to watch) in the pilot episode of "The Last Detective" (another Salvation Army bargain---$3.14 for series one, volume one of this BBC show) and felt satisfied that I had not frittered away another Friday night doing nothing but watching TV.

This morning I picked up Jane at her house and we went to the craft fair at her church. The fair was a lot bigger than the last time I attended (back when I was in college). We looked at some interesting crafts and beautiful jewelry, bought some cookies, ate a yummy lunch (zucchini chowder---I loved it even though I hate zucchini) while catching up with some friends I hadn't seen in awhile, then shopped some more. It was nice spending time with Jane (and her husband Tom who caught up with us after his tennis match). She's doing really well, recovering from her stroke, and is no longer using a walker. She even forgets to bring her cane along sometimes because she doesn't need it that much. I felt full of love and friendship while we were all together. Oh, and I also came home with two chocolate-covered marshmallows! :)

New pics & New Year's Eve

Thought you guys would like to see a recent photo of me (it's about 18 degrees outside so I'm wearing layers) and I couldn't resist another shot of Casey (even with the evil, too-near-the-flash, eyes).





I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up to date with all of this blog (comments have gone unanswered, though I appreciate the folks who left them and attempted to start the conversation, and I will be updating my weight loss shortly since I've been keeping track even though I haven't been posting it) but I will be rectifying that soon. I may have mentioned earlier that I am attempting to have a social life and I just received an invitation to a New Year's Eve party. A friend of mine is hosting and one of his bands will be playing. I will probably know some of the other people there and am looking forward to meeting some new folks. Yeah!

I bit the bullet...

I finally bought a portable DVD player! I got a really good deal at Target this weekend and was able to purchase one for $40. I wanted one for a really long time and it has already been put to good use. Now I don't have to borrow Susan's laptop just to watch a DVD.

In other news, I had a blast at work on Thursday morning filming a local high school football game. I love operating a camera and the game was exciting. I can't wait to see the DVD.

Unfortunately, when I left for work on Thursday, I discovered that one of my tires was very flat. Thankfully, Steve was able to pick me up and bring me to work. This morning I got two new snow tires put on for $231. I think that was reasonable but I'll be asking my mechanic (I wasn't able to have him do it) about it when I get an oil change later this month.

Happy Turkey Day Everybody! :)

Okay, so I haven't posted in a week.

Work has been busy and fun. I finally produced my own piece for work. I was sent out to cover a nearby press conference. I fillmed it, edited it, and it aired last night. I'm sooooo excited! In addition, the piece I produced last year, (but didn't quite finish editing) on a local Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, for the station I was volunteering for will also be airing soon. That station had a couple of their interns edit the piece down to an hour (from an hour and eight minutes) and I was given a copy when I volunteered as a camera operator for their latest Town Council meeting shoot on Thursday night.

In other news, I'm going dancing tonight, after I do some chores, and I'm going to a concert tomorrow night. Woo hoo!

I feel much better now.

Hi All,

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've been fighting a cold and was home sick for two days last week. This week I played catch up at work but we had a good time. I work with nice people and get lots of compliments. It is satisfying. I had dinner with Uncle Les & Amy this past weekend. It was nice to catch up. This weekend I'm going to see my friend Jane. She is a member of the community where I went to college and I'll be going to church & brunch with her on Sunday. For those of you on Facebook, I finally checked back in but I'm blocking most application invitations because I don't have time to keep up with them. I do appreciate you all thinking of me, however.

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please exercise your constitutional right today and VOTE!

Having said that, I don't think I've mentioned lately how much I love living in a small town. I got up early this morning so that I could vote on my way into work. The sun was shining, the leaves are beautiful colors, and my polling place is in our adorable little whitewashed town hall (situated between the adorable little whitewashed library and the big whitewashed church, all historic buildings I think). Anyway, our line consisted of three people ahead of me. The poll workers were all very nice (and, Mom, they complimented me on the "Hundred Acre Original" sweatshirt that you bought me, which I'm wearing today). They checked me in (no ID needed) and handed me a large paper ballot which I took to my cubby (literally, wooden box frames set up on the stage inside the main hall). After I was done penciling an X next to the candidates I had chosen, I took my paper ballot over to a large, antique, wooden box with a crank on the side. I put my ballot in a slot at the top, the town police officer cranked the gear, and my ballot was sucked inside---accompanied by a "ding" from the bell on top. Then I checked out and continued on my way to work. My only regret is that no one was giving out "I Voted!" stickers.

How did your voting experience go? Please share it with us by commenting on this post.

Halloween pic for you.

I've been a bit under the weather lately so I have been resting a lot. However, today is my favorite holiday and I thought I'd share a picture that we took at work. I call this my Austin Powers Wannabe outfit. :)

"They Might Be Giants" is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

I got to see them perform live last night and I had a fabulous time. The music was great and I danced the whole time. They did two long sets, the first of which was their entire "Flood" album---in order. That is the only album of theirs that I have and it was really cool to hear it. The second set was all newer stuff and it made me want to buy more of their albums. The band is made up of great musicians, they are very funny, and many genres of music can be heard in their tunes. This post isn't doing justice to the amount of fun I had last night. I'm exhausted and throat hurts a bit from cheering so much. By the way, if you are unfamiliar with their music, search www.youtube.com for They Might Be Giants + Tiny Toons. Enjoy!

Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned before that we have a neighbor who is a professional pyrotechnician. Tonight he held one of his famous parties and I got to see an amazing fireworks display. It was a smaller version of what I saw on the 4th of July and, watching it from the porch off Susan's room, it felt like my own private show. How cool is that?

I spent $400 at the dentist's office yesterday.

I had four cavities that needed to be dealt with. Two minor, one a bit more complicated, and the last a bit more than that. Oh, and I don't have dental insurance. Yesterday's visit felt traumatic and I needed several shots of novacaine in order to get through it. I do feel much better now, though. I am also trying a new regimen to get more flouride to my top teeth because I don't want more cavities.

TV Show Reviews:
Here's my take on the season 5 finale of "Project Runway". I'm not too surprised that Leanne won because I think she was a strong designer all the way through. I preferred Korto's collection, however. I felt that it was vibrant, pretty, and original. I also disagree with the judges; her pieces were not overworked! Quite frankly, I thought that Leanne's collection was repetitive and I was bored before she was through showing it. I understand that the judges are looking for the next new idea and her wave inspired petals and sustainable fabrics are definitely future oriented. I'm just glad that Korto won "Fan Favorite" and will, hopefully, be able to use that money to get her designs sold.

I also want to put in a plug for "Do Not Disturb" with Jerry O'Connell and Niecy Nash. It is very funny. The first three episodes are available to watch for free on www.Fancast.com. Warning: It can be offensive.

It's Fall Festival weekend!

The weather this weekend has been even more beautiful than the weather we had during the week. Saturday I got some chores done and bought groceries. That left Sunday free to attend the Fall Festival, in a nearby town, with Steve and his family. I had invited Wendy & Keith, Lynette & Andrew, Jonathan & Page, and Susan but, unfortunately, they couldn't go. Before I left the house, I told Susan I was planning on eating my way through the event. I had my traditional fried dough with maple cream (YUMMY!), really good clam chowder, some not so great curly fries, and a bit of awesome dark chocolate orange fudge. I had planned to bring something home for Susan but the fried dough would have been too messy and they were all out of apple pie. The fudge stand, however, had an apple pie fudge with pieces of real apple in it. Susan loved it! I had a little but it isn't really my thing. However, after a taste of their dark chocolate orange fudge, I splurged and bought a piece of it too. There isn't much left but I'll be back on my diet tomorrow. Today is still a holiday weekend. :)

It's a beautiful day!

The weather today has been absolutely gorgeous! When I took my break at work I didn't need a vest or jacket. I was able to walk to my car to get a bag of stuff to donate to the Salvation Army store that's right around the corner. Then I headed to the bead store to visit my friend Laura. I really enjoyed the fresh air and the sunshine as I was walking around.

Not much else is going on. My car is completely legal (it passed inspection on Tuesday) but there is an annoying, intermittent, squeaking/chirping sound that I am keeping tabs on. I took it back to my mechanic but they didn't hear anything and said the breaks are fine.

One last thing: CSI season premiere tonight! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly wait! :)

I had kind of a busy day.

I was really good and went to sleep after watching the series premiere of "Sanctuary" on SciFi and then the rebroadcast of episode two, season five, of "House" on USA last night. (I missed it when it was on Tuesday) I was able to get about 8 1/2 hours of sleep and be up by 9:30AM today. The premiere of "Sanctuary" was pretty good. I liked the story and the characters. Unfortunately, though I think she's a great actress, Amanda Tapping's British accent seemed a bit inconsistent to me.

Anyway, after breakfast Susan and I took Casey for a walk in the gravel pit behind the house. It was absolutely beautiful out! We took the trash and recycling to the dump and I was able to find two Garth Nix books, in great condition, in the re-use shed. (This is in addition to the four books I purchased at the used book sale this week at the library across from my workplace.) There is another used book sale tomorrow on my way into town and I may just have to stop there as well. I'm incorrigible! :)

I took a load of stuff to storage (summer/professional clothes, books, games) and pulled out my sheet music/voice lesson stuff (so I can sing "The Rose" at Jessie & Matt's wedding in January), some winter clothes, and my Halloween stuff. I haven't figured out what I'm going to be yet but it needs to be something I can work outdoors in because we'll be filming the local "Rag Shag" Parade. I can't wait! Halloween is my favorite holiday.

After I paid the rent on my storage unit, I headed over to a nearby town to get my hair cut. I brought in a picture of Anne Hathaway as she looks in her new movie "Rachel Getting Married". I saw the picture and thought I'd look good with the same hair cut. The stylist said that it would work for me and we will slowly work my hair into it. Right now it's too short. The nice thing is that my haircut was half price today because Sandra didn't really have to do much to it but snip the back a little.

Next stop, the mall. I made another attempt to purchase winter boots. Sears was having a big sale but I wasn't sure that the boots I wanted were really made for snowy outdoors. I think they are just supposed to look "wintery". On the upside, I finally used some of my JC Penny gift card by getting a new pair of, "stylie" (to go with my "sporty" car) sunglasses. No, really, I finally accepted that I needed a new pair. My old ones were plastic, all scratched up, and had been a giveaway at an expo quite a few years ago. I feel a bit like I'm re-working my whole image (with the car, haircut, and sunglasses), or maybe finally finding out who I am and what I like. Plus, I really like myself most of the time now and I think that makes it easier. I've come a long way baby.

I think I mentioned before that I've been watching a lot of "Doogie Howser, MD" lately and I believe the end of that last paragraph is very Doogie diary-like. Too bad I don't really want to end this blog post there. See, I also got to, almost, use up my Macy's gift card as well. Aunt Nancy was very thoughtful and sent me one for my birthday this year. Tonight, I treated myself to a Godiva 16 piece, dark chocolate, assortment. Yummy! I also picked up a cribbage set, for $3, at Target. Some friends of mine got me hooked and now I get to play whenever I want (and have someone to play with).

Anyway, I really didn't mean for this post to go on so long. I came home, told Susan about my day, watched some Doogie, and now I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed. I'd also like to say that I'm still enjoying driving my new car. I listened to my Garth Brooks double live album today. It's fun to listen to all my music again now that it's out of storage. Tomorrow I need to do laundry and go grocery shopping. I'll also hang out with some friends. Monday it's back to work and dental cleaning and Tuesday I get my car inspected. Not much else going on. Love you guys! :)

Lots of catching up to do with you.

So, a lot has been going on and I haven't had a good chance to blog until now. The biggest news is that I am now driving a car that does NOT have 314,000+ miles on it. I said goodbye to my 1994 Saturn on Wednesday morning. I sold it to a friend of a friend and made her part of a 2 Saturn family. I like this shot of my former car because it reminds me of KITT from the original "Knight Rider".I really like driving my new car, a 2005 Dodge Neon. I took Wednesday off to do all the car stuff and was able to get it taken care of that afternoon. I think my new car is kinda sporty (I don't think of myself as a "sporty" person, but I'm enjoying it) and it's smaller than the Saturn. I am grateful to be able to lock its doors, have the overhead light come on when I get in, and listen to whatever music I want on the CD player. I feel like I have a grown up car now! :) The only drawback is that it's an automatic so the gas mileage isn't as good as my old car. Otherwise, I think I love it! :)
The other thing about having my new car is that our yard no longer looks like a used car dealership. See if you don't agree when you look at the picture below. I took it Wednesday morning before I sold my car. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when Laurel (the woman who bought my car), her partner Susan, & I returned from her test drive and the mailman's car was parked in the spot we'd vacated. We had 6 cars in front of the house! We were all laughing at that.
The next two pictures are of the dogs. I've been intending to do a tribute to Allegra and Susan suggested that I put up a cute picture of Casey as well. Casey is a sweetheart and she's slowly adjusting to being an only doggie. I sang to her tonight as I pet her and she seemed to really enjoy it.

Susan and I both miss Allegra a lot and think of her often. She was a great dog and lived a long and happy life. She loved to play and eat popcorn. Rest in peace, Allegra.Casey

Car & TV stuff

I heard from the woman from whom I am purchasing my new (to me) car. My check should clear by Tuesday and then she will overnight the title to me. My current car will not be legal to drive after Tuesday (inspection & insurance) but Susan said that I can drive her old one for a few days. Meanwhile, the new car is sitting in our driveway so our front yard looks a bit like a used car lot.

In other news, I have discovered Fancast.com. It's a great way to watch TV, free, online and without too many commercials. I've been plowing through "Doogie Howser, MD" and it's nice to realize that, even after almost 20 years (yikes!), it still makes me laugh.

That's about it. Work is going well and I finally sent most of you my updated contact info. along with my work blog address, since I update that blog more frequently than this one. I'm still getting used to how I feel about Allegra's loss (lots of things still remind me of her) but I think Casey is enjoying the extra attention she's getting from me.

Just wanted to say hi from the great outdoors!

Talk Like A Pirate Day & Oooooh, I'm So Mad! :)

I'm sad

This was a hard weekend. Allegra had to be put to sleep on Saturday. She was a wonderful dog and had lived a long, happy, life. We all miss her a lot and we are giving Casey extra attention. I didn't feel up to going to Jonathan & Page's party on Saturday but I did call them today and left a message. I hope to see them soon. I owe mom and Becky a call and will probably phone them tomorrow night. This weekend is for grieving and remembering the good times with Allegra. She loved to run and play and I had fun playing fetch and chase with her. She was a very silly dog sometimes and she made me smile a lot. May she rest in peace.

I'm listening to an owl.

I had a fabulous night tonight! After a good day at work, I went to the fair in town.

Yesterday we did a live broadcast of the parade, complete with two local announcers. They were hilarious and the parade was great. It was big, had lots of fun people, and the candy being tossed was plentiful. We had one scare when our Tricaster (the computer controlling and recording the broadcast) froze up on us for no reason. Scott was Directing at that point and, while he dealt with the problem, I grabbed the personal camera of one of our volunteers and shot the footage we were missing. I was pretty tired and hungry once we were all done cleaning up but the perk was that I received two free tickets to the fair.

Today I called up one of my friends who lives in town and invited her to come with me. She and I, and her daughter, walked down her street and caught the free shuttle to the fair which was about a mile away. We saw the sights and Laura introduced me to Funnel Cakes. YUMMY! We took our Funnel Cake to the Demolition Derby. I had never been to one but had been hearing about it from people all week. It was interesting. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry as I started watching. It felt weird. On the one hand, I just didn't get the attraction, on the other hand I wanted more sound effects and harder impacts than we were getting. Weird. Anyway, Laura's husband met up with us around 9PM. We walked off our food and went back for seconds (and thirds!). Thank goodness we walked home from the fair. I have over 14,000 steps on my pedometer today and I think that's actually low because my jacket was tied around my waist (that tends to impede it).

I got home about 20 minutes ago and am going to bed shortly. As I began to type this post I heard an owl hooting outside. I love living here! One sad note, Allegra (one of the dogs) just came out to the kitchen to greet me and she's not feeling well. She's going to the vet today because her legs are collapsing under her intermittently. Susan and I are both worried about her but she seems in good spirits. It's just very hard to watch her go through this. Please send your good thoughts her way and our way too. Thanks!

I love my sister's myspace page!

If you haven't already, and you want to see some adorable pictures of my nephews, click on the link to her page (in the list on the right side of this blog). Jacob and Tyler are soooooooooo cute! :)

Did you have a good Labor Day?

I had a nice weekend. On Saturday evening I went to Lynette and Andrew's to house sit and take care of their dog, Sprout. He's an adorable mutt and we get along well. I took Sprout for a couple of good walks and I watched "House" until Steve showed up around 9:15pm with Sushi. We enjoyed the meal and then watched a couple of episodes of "Bones". I really like that show but I don't watch it that often. On Sunday, Steve and I drove out to his mom's house to celebrate the holiday and the birthday of a mutual friend. Steve's sister Nancy made great mac and cheese and we all played three games of "Sorry" after dinner. Steve and I stopped by the mall on the way home today. I bought DVDs for the first time in awhile because I got some great deals. I bought "Northern Exposure" season 1 for $9.99 (usually $25+), "Stargate: Ark of Truth" for $9.99 ($15+), and "Dr. Who: Black Orchid" for $13.50 ($20+). Now I'm home, unpacked, and prepped for tomorrow. I'm watching TV right now, flipping back and forth between the US Open and "The Middle Man". If I haven't mentioned it before, "The Middle Man" is a fabulous show on ABC Family. It's funny and funky and has lots of great sci. fi. in jokes without alienating people who don't like sci. fi. I still haven't gotten to the backlog on my emails and we have a busy week at work this week. We are covering the local fair parade on Thursday with a live, location, shoot. We'll be prepping for it most of the week. I hope you are all doing well.

New Vlog post!

Have I mentioned that I can now use my 5th belt loop?!

Yeah! I had a nice relaxing weekend. I spent Saturday at home resting and doing some chores. Then Steve and I went to see "The Dark Knight" on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't a bad film but it didn't move me. I'll probably like it better the next time I see it. (I think I was bracing myself for a lot of gore that wasn't there.)

Check out the earrings I made!

I took a page from Caissa's blog and made these earrings as a present for my friend's 50th birthday. I think they turned out pretty well. What do you think?

Just checking in.

I got a chance to go through my emails tonight. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to respond to all of them. If you are waiting for a response from me, I apologize and I will get to you soon. To my friends on Facebook, I'll get back on there at some point. I've been watching the Olympics so I haven't been getting much sleep. I just watched Shawn Johnson win the gold on balance beam and I will go to bed soon. In other news, I got a really good deal on a gift certificate to the bead store where my friend works. I purchased a $20 gift certificate for $12! Today I purchased the pieces for a special pair of earrings I am making and a pair of jewelers pliers. My generic leatherman (multi-tool) is great for wire cutting but it's pincers are too big to pinch the wire closed. Oh, I also joined a local Freecycle group (www.freecycle.org) in the hopes of getting a treadmill. Anyway, I need to get ready for bed but I've got lots more to tell you guys. Hopefully I'll remember it the next time I get to post. :)

So much for this being a great way to keep up to date with me! :)

Sorry about that. I just haven't been able to get online as much recently. I did finally get my computer out of storage, and I bought a 1 GB USB drive for $10 at Target, so I should be able to type up blog posts in the comfort of my bedroom and quickly drop them online later at a computer with internet access. That should mean that this blog gets updated every few days again. Now, onto the good news.

I'm now using the fourth hole in my belt loop and I have hit the 20 pound weight loss mark! I'm continuing to be good about eating healthy foods and getting more exercise. and it's really paying off. I've even started some exercises to tone my arms. Anyway, I need to get back to work now but I will post soon with all the stuff I've been saving up to tell you all.

The things that come into my brain!

Does anyone else out there see a resemblance between David Tennant (currently starring in "Dr. Who"), country star Brad Paisley, and Mark (one of the top 10 dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance" this season)? I was hoping to put up some pictures with this post. Sort of a "Separated at Birth?" thing but I haven't figured out how to right click on a Mac. :) Anyway, on to the updates!

We had a celebrity in the office today. Joseph Culp (actor/writer son of actor Robert Culp {"Greatest American Hero"}) came by to record an interview, with one of our regular producers, to help promote his new film "The Reflecting Pool". I loved watching Robert Culp when I was a kid and it turns out that I watched Joseph in an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". He was also in an episode of "ER".

In other news, this weekend I attended my second Major League Baseball game. The Yankees beat the Okland A's in a very strange way. For the first time in 43 years the winning run was walked in because the batter was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded! The game went 12 innings but was a lot of fun. I went with a nice group of people and managed to avoid getting sunburned. Yeah!

At work I am branching out into a lot of computer work. I have been updating our website as well as our blog. I posted our first video blog---or vlog---entry last week and, as a result, will probably begin working on some training videos soon. I really like working with computers and blogging so this is a great fit for me. My boss has assured me that I don't have to worry about losing the production end of things because of all this. We are such a small office that everyone has to do a little of everything.

Okay, so I know it's been awhile.

I had a fabulous and busy Fourth of July weekend and don't have time to be emailing and blogging at work. My Independence Day weekend began early, when I left work at 4:45pm on Thursday July 3rd. I would have been over 40 hours if I had worked until 6pm so Scott said I could leave early. I drove to the middle of our state to spend most of the weekend with friends. We hung out that night and lit some small fireworks. We had a lot of fun with the sparklers and only melted the plastic table on the deck a little. Friday we got up really early (my friend's husband left the house at 6am, we left around 8am) and drove into the state capitol to spend the day hanging out and watch fireworks. We had the best view in the whole place! We were near Ali & Nova so I called Ali but we weren't able to get together. We at least got to talk to each other. I also called my cousin Jonathan because I thought he and Page might be in the area with some of my family. We didn't get back until almost 1:30am. We went to a party the next day. There was a band and we ate fried clams and steamers. The clams were YUMMMMY! I was exhausted, but satisfied, when I finally made it back to Susan's. (Have I already mentioned somewhere in this blog that I will be remaining here and starting to contribute to household expenses next month? I have discovered that I can't afford to move out on my own until I'm making more money.) Sunday I, mostly, rested. I also weighed myself.

As you can see in my weight loss list, I have gained back some weight. I think, however, that the number itself is a bit deceiving. I am now using my third belt hole and my torso looks better. I've been running a little so the increase might be muscle mass. It also might have been water weight gain. I'll have a better idea when I weigh myself on Sunday. On the up side, I took more than 16,000 steps yesterday and I'm already over 10,000 today. My dinner today was very colorful. I had some shrimp, corn on the cob, english peas, blueberries, and a white flesh nectarine. Yum.

I worked 10-6 each day this week so had a fairly basic, if busy, time. I did some more training and got a lot done. I'm not sure if I posted here yet that I'm blogging for work once a week and am really enjoying that. I get to be creative and funny on a regular basis! I've also started playing around with updating our website using Dreamweaver. I'm not crazy about that software but I think we're ditching it soon. It does a lot of stuff, but it's a pain to figure it out. Anyway, I think this post is long enough to make up for my week and a half of silence. Lots of love!

I'm talking with mom! :)

I got home from work around 7:20pm tonight. Since I arrived home I've nuked and eaten dinner, called my dad, called my sister, prepped most of my stuff for tomorrow, and called my mom. Dad & Jan are on vacation and having a relaxing time. Becky is enjoying being a mom of two and she has completed all her coursework at school. She is now qualified for the college of education at the school she attends. Yeah! Mom started a new job and and is doing a lot of babysitting of my nephews. Susan just got home from tennis and we are going to sit down and discuss finances and other stuff. It will be nice to have someone else to bounce my ideas off of.

I did some training at work this week.

It was nice to share my knowledge and have a fairly relaxed time doing it. A couple of women from the community decided to do a show of acapella music but they didn't have any television production experience. They came in on Thursday, with three of their friends, and I showed them how our studio cameras, sound board, and switcher work. They had a good time and have already asked about doing another show. I also taught them some of the basics of iMovie and they have almost finished editing their show. I still have a lot to learn but it feels good to share some of what I already have.

I just finished watching Dr. Who "Forest of the Dead". I liked part two of this story much better. In addition to the episode being less scary, I've had a week to get used to the idea that the Dr. finally finds his true soulmate and it isn't me. There, I said it. I am admitting that I have been in love with a fictional character since I was a kid. Incidentally, I think the first of the Doctor's regenerations that I would have dated was Peter Davison but I'm not sure since I've seen all of them. Of course, the new writers are still tantalizing us with tidbits of the Doctor's backstory that they are feeding us little by little. They have been really good about the payoffs, at least. The upcoming episode also looks like a scary one but I hope they all won't be that way from now on.

I should be in bed right now...

but I needed to balance my checkbook and pay a bill. I didn't get home until almost 10pm and, unfortunately, I've been watching TV since then. I have gotten some useful stuff done tonight. I even got an instant message from Ali. It's been nice to hear from her from time to time while I'm working on the computer. I have to go call one of my credit card companies because they charged me interest after I paid off my balance. I had called them for a payoff amount and was told that all I had to pay was the amount on the bill. We'll see what happens.

A couple of whimsies.

One of my dreams this morning involved me being a contestant on the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance". I was one of the final four or five dancers and was excited because I was going to the finale. I had been in the bottom two but the other person was cut. Unfortunately, the producers came to me after the show and told me they'd made a mistake. It was really the guy I had been on the chopping block with that they wanted to have in the finale. I was bummed but I understood. I couldn't believe how far I'd gotten as a non-dancer! :)

On my way to work I saw a cloud formation that looked a bit like one of the Basestar ships from the new "Battlestar Gallactica".

Also, I had more than 10,000 steps on Wednesday and more than 11,000 yesterday. I've already taken 9,760 today. Yeah, me!

I literally tightened my belt today!

I was really excited when I got dressed this morning. My weight loss thus far allowed me to use the second hole on my belt instead of the first. Yeah, me! :)

I'm writing this at 12:15AM because I only arrived home about half an hour ago. We covered a School Committee meeting at work and it lasted 4 1/2 hours. On the upside, I got some great shots as a camera operator and I don't have to be at work until 2PM tomorrow.

So, it occurs to me that I should change the description of this blog.

Since I've begun my career in television and I'm staying in the same general area for now. I'll have to ponder where I want to take my blog from here.

Anyway, I've lost some more weight, yeah! I can even see some of the weight loss in my torso. At least, in front. In the back I've still got some fat rolls. Oh, well. One pound at a time. I'm being really good about my diet and exercising. Unfortunately, there is some Ben & Jerry's in the freezer that is calling my name. Resistance is NOT futile! :)

In other news, I have finally succumbed and joined Facebook.com. All the cool kids were doing it. Thank you to those of you who strong armed, I mean, suggested, that I join. I've already had a sheep thrown at me, thrown a red gummy bear, and exchanged plants to help save the rainforests. Seriously, though, it looks like a great way to keep in touch with all my far flung friends. I look forward to hearing from you.

Just hanging out.

Susan and I are chillin' watching "So You Think You Can Dance" (SYTYCD). The Cha Cha that was just performed was really hot! Mia Michaels' contemporary routine was fabulous! She said that she was imagining Tim Burton getting married when she choreographed it. I really saw it when she had the dancers use their hands and faces to mimic the face expansion of the Dietz's in "Beetlejuice".

Last night's live election show that I directed was another learning experience but it was kind of fun. I got us into the show fine but I had discovered, as I I went to start the backup tapes & dvds, that the AC in our control room was leaking badly. I felt it hitting my leg and turned around to see a large puddle creeping across the floor towards a power strip. I quickly turned off the AC and moved the electronics out of the way. I managed to find a bucket to catch the water and ran to the bathroom to get paper towels. All of this while the show was going on!

Finally, I'm glad that the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler today than the last two days. 102 degrees is just too hot for my taste. :)

I keep on keepin' on.

Work is keeping me busy. We were scheduled to have 6 big shoots to cover in 4 days this week. We're actually going to be live on two channels tomorrow night and Thursday night. I worked 10am to 6pm today and Scott caught a break because the band that was supposed to play tonight cancelled this afternoon. That was bad for Travis and the show but it means that Scott might actually not work 70 hours this week!

I'm still sticking to my diet and exercise regime and I got a good report at the dentist's last week. I enjoyed watching SciFi Friday and I had a good time filming the concert on Saturday night. I even took a walk around town afterwards, until I had to retreat to my car due to an impending thunderstorm.

A little update

First, Caissa got three questions answered by Margaret Cho. See her blog for details.

I'm continuing with my diet and exercise routine. I've done my walk each morning and run errands at work. I even got to walk with Susan and the dogs one evening. The weather has been beautiful, even the rain. Tomorrow's forecast is for 90 degrees. Oy!

Tomorrow night I'll be operating a camera for the premiere of a new local concert series. It will be nice to get back behind the lens.

Wednesday I directed the Ways & Means committee meeting at work for the second time. I didn't make the same mistakes as last time, instead I made all new ones. :)

Thursday I met some friends after work and tonight I've been watching TV: new series Charlie Jade, Dr. Who, Numbers, House, and Battlestar Gallactica. It means staying up until 1 am but I really want to find out who the final Cylon is.

Next week will be crazy at work. We have six shoots to do in four nights. Scott will be doing four and I'll be doing the other two. One is an election results show that should be pretty interesting. Our schedule will be a bit erratic, thank goodness for my flexible work schedule.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll post my weight again on Friday.

The Results Are In

I got the results of my blood tests and I do NOT have diabetes. My blood sugar is normal at 86. My kidney and liver function, blood count, thyroid, and protein level are all normal. My cholesterol was the only bad news at 216 (HDL 51, LDL 142). I weighed myself on Sunday and was 164 pounds. I have been diligent about walking 15 minutes a day in addition to keeping track of the amount of steps I take the rest of the day with my pedometer. I had more than 13,000 steps on Saturday! I'm also eating much better---less food overall and salad for lunches. My goal is 130 pounds. I'll keep you all posted.

An appointment with my doctor & my tattoo.

I was finally able to go see my doctor today. I am 30-40 pounds overweight and, at the risk of turning this into my friend(Maggie)'s blog, I will probably be posting a lot more about my food intake and exercise regimen. I'm going for some blood tests tomorrow morning to check for Anemia and Diabetes but my doctor thinks that most of the symptoms I was discussing with him are due to the extra weight. My doctor said I just need to walk 15 minutes every day in addition to whatever else I'm doing. He suggested buying a used treadmill so I can't use the weather as an excuse not to walk. He also wants me to swap my whole wheat breakfast bagel for whole wheat bread. He thinks that little changes will allow me to lose 1/2 a pound a week. It feels like it will be hard but I will try to be patient. I walked for 15 minutes after dinner and that's a good start.

I had a great time this weekend!

I spent Saturday with a group of friends at a local amusement park. It was a nice day even though I was really sore after riding the rides. I was able to play skeeball and pinball in the Arcade, which was good because I haven't played those in a while. I also managed to truly relax for a few minutes while eating lunch and drying off in the sun. We rode their water slide ("The Giant Flush") right before that. Oh, and I got a tattoo. Don't panic! It's just a temporary one. :) It looks great and pictures will be posted soon.

Sunday I caught up on my sleep and did chores.

This morning, before I went to work, I was watching TV while eating breakfast. One of those e-Harmony commercials came on and I looked up just in time to see Maggie, one of my friends from high school, in the commercial. She and her husband just celebrated their one year anniversary. I sent her an email apologizing for being out of touch and congratulating her.

I have my veggie dogs!

They turned out to be on sale, too. I had some for lunch yesterday and today. Yum! :)

Last night I directed and ran audio at the same time for the school committee meeting. It was the first time that I've done both of those at once and it was the first time I've done a whole shoot. All four hours of it! It has definitely been a learning experience, seeing how the various school committees work. The previous one I saw seemed to get through business so quickly and---mostly---agreeably, that I wondered if they weren't really functioning in their oversight capacity. This one makes me wonder if there is some micro-managing going on. In addition, one of my co-workers pointed out that after four hours of discussion there were still no decisions made.

Right now I'm watching Sci. Fi. Friday. The Sarah Jane Adventures were cute and Dr. Who is making me laugh out loud. I had a dream earlier in the week that I saved the Doctor's life and then we kissed. It was a really nice dream.

Work is keeping me busy.

Scott says I'm doing a good job! I'm learning a lot and it's nice to have a varied schedule. I'm working 1-9pm tomorrow, because we have a school committee meeting, and Friday's hours will be determined by the amount of overtime I put in tomorrow.

I know some of you will find this hard to believe but I'm organizing things at work. I've been cleaning up the office and sorting DVD's so that we know where we are in our ripping, burning, and archiving process. The other two staff members have complimented me on my organizational skills.

In other news, I've been searching local grocery stores for the Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs that I like and so far haven't turned up any. I'm going to try Big Y on my way home. I'm also going to stop by a bakery that was recommended to me for some brioche. I really want to try to make french toast with the brioche and so far I haven't been able to find any to do that with.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you! Thank you for raising me well. :)

Pictures of my new nephew

Tyler Richard was born on 5/3 at 9:26am he was 8lbs 6ozs and 22 inches long. He and Becky were released on Monday and are at home doing well. Becky wrote that Jacob is so excited to finally have a baby brother.

In other news, I really like my job and my flexible schedule is really nice. On Friday, because we had late nights on Wednesday and Thursday, I didn't have to be in until 2:50pm. Before I went to work I was able to check my P. O. Box, meet with some friends, get a bite to eat, and run some errands. I'm also getting a lot more exercise. I'm going to bite the bullet and start car shopping next week. I'm looking for something a year or two old that gets really good gas mileage. On Monday I'm going to schedule some Doctor appointments that I've been putting off because of my schedule. I have to admit that I slept most of today (because I was watching TV until 3am---Hooray again for Sci. Fi. Friday!) and then went out with some friends tonight. Tomorrow, Steve and I are going to his mom's. We're going out for sushi and he's agreed to do all the driving.

I'm going to sleep shortly.

I worked from 1pm to 10:30pm Wednesday and will probably be doing the same on Thursday. I was really hungry when I came home so, after getting ready for tomorrow, I ate some Spagettios and watched Stargate SG1. I'm exhausted but I don't feel like going to sleep yet so I figured I'd blog. I'm a little sad because the SG1 episodes I watched were the ones in season three where Sharei is killed and then Daniel finds out the next woman he has feelings for is a genecidal maniac. Michael Shanks is adorable and has a great puppy dog expression. I'd still like to see a little more range from him (rage and really losing it with grief) but maybe that wasn't as appropriate here as I thought it was when I first saw the episodes.

My second day at work...

is a bit like my first, only more quiet. The TV station is helping a community radio station to get off the ground and they are putting in the signal tower today. My two co-workers are at there fixing problems.

Hold that thought---I just had to run and do something technical on my own! We lost sound during a show and I fixed it. It's a bit cramped behind the machines but I made it and we have sound again. Yeah!

Anyway, I've spent most of the day typing up my notes from yesterday and finishing entering the contact information for volunteers into my address book. I need to double check it and we have a show coming in to film at 2pm.

Last night I didn't get to go handheld on the live music show because we only had enough cable to run one handheld camera. Oh well. It was very loud and fast paced. It was good experience for me.

I enjoyed another leisurely breakfast this morning and continue to be grateful.

I'm here at my new job!

It's a nice leisurely pace this morning. I'm filling out paperwork and getting acclimated. We will have a show coming in to film in about 20 minutes. This is a really good chance for me to relax into this job.

I woke up around 7:50am and had breakfast at home, before coming to work, for the first time in years. That was really nice. I'm sitting here in my jeans and FAO Schwarz baseball tee. I feel incredibly grateful. Yeah!

Filming the Pride march on Saturday was a lot of fun but I am still sore. We filmed the parade itself from a tripod but then I went handheld to the events afterwards and got some crowd shots and part of musical groups.

I'm an aunt again!!!!!!!!

Becky had her baby, Tyler Richard, this morning! Everyone is doing fine. I reached Becky on her cell and told her to pass on my congrats to Ken and give my love to everyone. Hopefully I'll get down there soon to see them all.

The Saga Of My Car

I thought you all might get a kick out of these emails that went back and forth between me and a woman who works at the dealership where I get my car serviced. She and I have known each other for several years and I brighten her day when I come in, because I make her laugh, especially when she’s having a bad day. As you will see, she also has a wicked sense of humor.

APRIL 16 (The day after my car’s wheel bearing and knuckle were replaced to the tune of $500):

Hi Kim,

Okay, so, now my car is clicking. (Pick your head up out of your hands, I still can't buy a new car yet) :) Anyway, it's intermittent and it sounds like it's coming from behind the left side of the dashboard. It sounds like a turn signal but I think those are fine. The alarm system light seems to flicker in sync with the clicking so I'm thinking it's something to do with that. Can I just disconnect the alarm system? :) (Quit laughing!) :)

Alicia

Alicia,
You know me too well...lol
O.K. I think you can disconnect the alarm. If it is aftermarket (and I think it is). If we do it you're looking at about $95.00.
Let me know.

Kim

I'm glad my email made you laugh. I was hoping that would be your reaction. :) I'm going to see if I can do it myself. I feel really proud whenever I can fix something on my car on my own! If I have trouble, or if the noise doesn't stop, I'll let you know. Just out of curiosity, a friend of mine (the same one who gave me a lecture for not having my wheel bearing fixed earlier) freaked me out by saying that if I'm hearing clicking, then something is sparking, which could cause a fire while I'm driving. Is this true?!?! (picture me freaking out) :) (And, no, it's not better if my car catches on fire, putting itself out of its misery) :) ---Alicia

O.K.... Is it a ticking or crackling? There is a difference!!! If it is crackling - NOT GOOD!!!! Yes you can have an electrical fire while driving if that is the case. Please, please be careful!!!!-K

DON'T WORRY!!!! :) I'm pretty sure it's a clicking, but maybe you should watch the local news tonight, just in case. :) ---Alicia

Don't worry...Yeah right!
What channel should I be watching? Or should I just keep looking north for the black smoke? ;)

The ticking noise was gone when I drove home and didn’t come back in the morning. I didn’t want to pester Kim so I didn’t send a response to her email. BIG MISTAKE! :)

Apr 17, 2008 9:13 PM

Well,
I checked my mail all day, you never wrote back. Is every thing O.K. ? I didn't see any thing on the news... and still no e-mails to tell me you're O.K.- YES I do Worry!

If I don't hear back from you, your other friend may not be the only one yelling at you :)

Please let me know
--
Kimberly

Okay, okay! I was too busy chuckling at your posts to write back! Seriously, the sound didn't come back and I got home fine. It was still gone today. I will keep an eye on it while I study up on how to disconnect the alarm. Maybe my car just doesn't want to work anymore when it's cold. Do you guys sell car sweaters? :) Thanks for checking up on me.

---Alicia

Thank you. No we don't have sweaters but maybe I could learn to knit...lol.
At least I feel better knowing you're not on fire or any thing.

Let me know if anything else happens.
K

Thank you! I feel better too, not being on fire. :) I'll keep you posted. Heck, I could start a new blog just for my car stuff! ---Alicia

That was a looooooong City Council Mtg.

I got home around 11:15pm last night so I am very tired. Otherwise, it was good. I operated a camera for most of it, with a 45 minute stint directing in the middle. I love being a camera operator and last night we got to do some cool camera work because there was some action while new police officers were sworn in and some drama as a hot button issue was discussed. Eventually I think I will be a good director, right now I talk a bit too much and have trouble staying in the moment if I'm tired. Anyway, I'm learning a lot and loving it!

I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This all happened very quickly so I am a bit late updating my blog.

I had a nice visit with my dad and stepmom and returned home (with a touch of a cold or something, unfortunately) on Sunday. Dad and I went out for Sushi on Saturday night. We had a good conversation and the Sushi was teriffic. Steve picked me up from the train station early Sunday evening and took me home. I was exhausted but it was nice to be back. Susan had already returned from her vacation down South and we shared with each other about our trips. Susan brought me back some nice food treats: broth style clam chowder (I've already eaten it, yummy!), chocolate covered peanuts (I've already tried them, double yum!), honey ginger marinade (I'm going to use it to cook a shrimp or fish dinner for us, to celebrate my new job), and some salsa.

I returned to my temp job on Monday morning to many compliments and explanations that I'd been sorely missed. In fact, I found out that several people had been saying "thank you" at their desks, after they'd heard someone paged over the intercom, because the person filling in for me wasn't saying it. When I checked my voicemail on my 3PM break, I found a message from the community television station that I'd applied to asking me to come in for an interview that day. Since I was going to the station anyway, to film the live music show, the Executive Director agreed to meet with me as soon as I got there. It was fairly informal and she was nice. She's also very concerned about her employees burning themselves out so she is careful not to let anyone overwork themselves. Yeah! Unfortunately, after the interview, the band didn't show up for the show so we had to run a tape. The up side was that I got home early and was able to watch the new episode of "House". Hilarious! (Next week's show looks even funnier, I can hardly wait.)

Tuesday on my afternoon break I discovered another voicemail message from the Executive Director of the station. I called her back and she offered me the job. I start on Monday. It is 40 hours a week and has benefits. The hours are great and the dress is very casual. I think this all really fits with my personality and preferences. My duties will range from answering the phone and signing out equipment to editing and assisting with all aspects of production. I've been telling people that it's a combination of receptionist and Jane-of-all-trades. :) It will be a great opportunity to learn a lot and I'll be working with good people. Susan has told me that I don't have to rush to leave. I can take my time to get back on my, economic, feet. I want to get some money in the bank, get a new (to me) car---my mom suggested something a year old, give some money to Susan, and then find a place (maybe within walking distance) to rent in the town where the station is.

Today at noon the company where I'm temping is shutting down and treating everyone to lunch. We are all going to a nearby Chinese buffet. I'm excited because they have Sushi and crab legs! It will be a nice break and a good chance to socialize and say good bye. My two weeks here have turned into more than two months so I've made lots of connections with my coworkers.

Tonight I'm filiming a City Council meeting with the other community television station I've been volunteering for. We're also going to film a parade on Saturday. After that, I don't know how much I'll be doing with them (or for the live music show) because I don't want to overdo it. However, I have told them that I will want to keep learning and doing things with them that I'm not doing at work. For instance, if I decide I really want to be a professional camera operator, I don't want to be told later on that I don't have enough camera experience because I've been doing all kinds of other production stuff.

I'm sick! :(

I caught a touch of something and my throat is dry and sore. I'm going to bed shortly and I've been taking extra Emergen-C, drinking orange juice, and gargling with warm salt water.

In other news, I am going to tour the local community television station tomorrow morning after we get back from Dad's appointment. I also left a phone messages for the manager of the commercial station back home and my friend Janine (because I'm hoping to meet up with her while I'm here). I also had fun with Aunt Donna tonight. She and I were taking advantage of the free kareoke that is "On Demand" with their cable. I've also been using this feature to watch episodes of "Torchwood", "Fantasy Island", and "Silver Spoons".

Live, from Dad's!

Nova and Ali saw me off at the train station on Sunday morning. The train was a few minutes late so we sat at a table and entertained each other with bad jokes. I had a pleasant trip down here. Dad and Aunt Donna picked me up from the train station around 4:30pm.

It's been nice spending time with Dad and Jan. I've been helping out mostly as Dad's chauffer and tv watching companion. :) Today is Dad's birthday. We're going to head over to Jan's parent's home for dinner and a party. Yesterday, a friend of Dad's stopped by to talk and it turned out that he is involved with the local community television station. I'm going to call them in a few minutes and see if I can stop by for a tour tomorrow or Friday. I think Dad's friend also mentioned that the station is hiring.

The weather is beautiful and I'm enjoying a week off from work.

Hanging out with Ali & Alex.

I had a fabulous time with my family at our Passover Seder yesterday. We laughed a lot, caught up, and ate some great food. I met Amy (Les' wife)'s family and they are really nice. I arrived at Ali and Alex's around 10:45pm and we talked until almost one o'clock in the morning. After a good night's sleep, I had my traditional Passover breakfast of matzoh, butter, and honey. Alex and Ali have two adorable pets, a female dog named Abby and a male tiger kitty named Milo. Milo reminds me a lot of Emily and was on my bed getting pet first thing this morning. Ali and I are going to hook up with Nova in a little while and then go to the train station. I'm having a great time and really enjoying myself.

Quick Update

I directed part of the City Council meeting shoot tonight and spent about 10 minutes operating a camera. It was a very short shoot. My plans for next week are coming together. I spoke to my cousin, Jonathan, today and he and his wife, Page, can give me a ride to the Seder. I'm still trying to figure out housing for Saturday night because my Uncle's house is completely full. I have a call into Steve about staying at his mom's and an email out to Ali about visiting with her and her husband and Nova. I can also try the MHC alumnae network. I don't know if I'll be able to post from NJ but I'll try. I do have an email out to my friend, and fellow alum, Janine to see if I can visit her as well when I'm in NJ since she's not far from Dad.

Important video from Moveon.org

I love the fact that my blog is multi-media! Anyway, though I find myself a bit apathetic and tuning out, Moveon.org sent an email to all its members asking people to post this video on their blog.

Pictures of my (very) pregnant sister!

Not much going on...

but I want to get back in the habit of posting regularly. I got a short email reply yesterday from the commercial station’s manager saying it would be okay to call next week. Last night I spent with some friends. I am really tired, seven hours of sleep a night doesn’t seem to be enough for me. Oh well, I’m going to try to go to bed early tonight so that I get eight hours.

My car saga still continues. Monday I had to have the knuckle and wheel bearing on the front passenger wheel replaced to the tune of $530. This morning, when I started the car, I heard a clicking behind the left side of the dashboard. It went away after awhile. I think it’s a fault in the alarm system (which I don’t use anyway, who wants to steal a 14 year old car with 310,000 miles on it?!) and I’ve emailed Saturn to see if I can disconnect the alarm system myself. As long as my car is safe to drive I’ll be grateful.

I’m at work right now but I’m lucky that I’m able to work on personal things in between phone calls because I’ve finished all my other tasks.

My taxes are done!

Sunday I finished my taxes and sealed the envelopes, did some chores, rested, prepped for Monday, and met with some friends. It felt really good to hang out with people.

Monday, after working all day and developing a wicked headache, I mailed my taxes from a post office located inside a nearby mall. In the food court, I purchased a baked potato for dinner and then headed up to the live, local, music show. I had a blast! I was really able to incorporate the experience I had on Friday night at the “Battle of the Bands” and produced some really good shots. I even earned a thumbs up from one of my fellow camera operators (the one who has the most experience). After the shoot we all shared our experiences with job hunting in the field. I found out that some of the other applicants for that station’s Technical Assistant position have more technical experience than I do but that they are looking for a people person, which I most definitely am! I also got an email from the station’s Executive Director letting me know that they are in the process of reviewing applications and that they will call the people they want to interview.

Today I emailed my response to the voicemail from the other station’s manager and will see what happens.

Okay, so it's been two weeks since my last post.

Oooops. :) Quite a lot has been going on. I know that's not really a good excuse so I'll try to, briefly, share what's been going on (in no particular order):

My car is going back into the shop on Monday because I'm pretty sure I have a very bad wheel bearing. I used Susan's Ford to get to work on Friday and to do my errands today. I'm not looking forward to spending another $400 but it's still cheaper than buying a new one and I need a vehicle to get to work and make money (to then spend on my car, oy vey!) Seriously, I'll be glad to be driving a safe car and I'm fortunate that I had a backup so I didn't miss work.

The two community television stations that I've been volunteering for have job opportunities opening up. I've applied for the Technical Assistant position at the one that is farther away from my house. The other station will have an opening for an Access Coordinator in May. People at both stations encouraged me to apply for these full time, benefited, jobs. I'm really excited and hope to have some good news soon. Meanwhile, I'm still pursuing the part time Production Assistant Camera job at the commercial television station. I have been playing message tag with their Station Manager. I will be sending him an email on Monday and hope to have a phone conversation with him in two weeks. He left a message for me on Friday letting me know what he thought my strengths and weaknesses are and telling me to be prepared for some tough questions about how far I live from the station and my lack of a formal television training background. He seems nice, candid, and fair so I'm sure I can convince him that he should hire me. I don't, however, want to commit to him until I know about the other two positions.

Last night I was a camera operator for a local Battle of the Bands competition. It was a lot of fun! I spent an hour and a half using a hand-held camera right in front of the stage. I had a cord wrangler (another volunteer who made sure that I, and the audience, didn't trip on my audio and video cables) and was able to get lots of cool shots. I was getting close-ups of musicians, crowd shots, weird angles, moving shots, and trying out new techniques. I can't wait to film the live music show on Monday because I can try out some more of this. Sometimes when I was getting shots I realized I was doing the same things that I've seen camera operators do on televised concerts. It felt really good, really professional, and I want to do it again. The Executive Director of the station and I were talking after the shoot (I was helping clean up so that I could learn more about the equipment and it's set-up) and he said that I have a lot of heart. That's when he told me about the position that will open up in May.

Dad is recovering well from his hip replacement surgery and I'm going down to help him out from 4/20 to 4/27, after spending 4/19 with family in the eastern part of the state. My Uncle and his wife invited me to Seder and I can't wait to see everyone and celebrate the holiday.

Finally, tonight Susan and I went to see the Smothers Brothers perform with the Symphony Orchestra that I used to work for. They were fabulous! I laughed almost the entire time and the music was great. The Orchestra began the show playing five short pieces by Leroy Anderson (the guy who composed "Sleigh Ride") that were fun. The Smothers Brothers can still sing and play really well and they even brought along a video with highlights of their career. That brought back a lot of memories since I remember watching them on TV when I was little. It was weird, and sometimes uncomfortable, being back at the Symphony but I was able to enjoy it. It was really nice not working the concert. I even had the highest bid on an item at the silent auction that took place before the concert and during intermission. I got a AAA membership for $55, which I think is a savings of between $7 and $13, and helped the Symphony. Yeah!

Oh, I almost forgot. My taxes are pretty much done (that's what's been taking up a lot of my time lately). Every year I say I'm going to get them done early, and every year I end up waiting until the last minute. I'm thankful that I'm getting refunds from all three sets. Yes, I said three. This year I did my Federal and state taxes and then also had to do taxes for the state that I worked in for a week doing that television show. It worked out fine but took longer because that state doesn't have a separate, shorter, form for non-residents. I finished the paperwork today (thank goodness I was able to find and print the forms on their website and read their manual online) and got it all photocopied. I have to put postage on them and mail them on Monday. My refunds, along with the check we're all going to get in May, will pay for my car repairs. Again, I'm grateful that I have the money to pay for it.

Warning: "LOST" season three spoilers ahead

Today I got a lot done. I checked my mail, met a friend in town, paid for and got some stuff out of my storage unit, went shopping, organized my room, played with the dogs, made some phone calls, and watched the final seven episodes of "Lost" season three. (I admit that I'm procrastinating, putting off doing my taxes.) Tomorrow I'm going to meet up with Steve for dinner and trade "Lost" for "Battlestar Gallactica" season three. I'm excited to see it since season four begins on Friday. (The fourth season of "Dr. Who" begins on April 18th, btw.)

At the risk of turning this into Alicia's Bargain Blog again I need to write about a couple of items I purchased today. I was very much in need of new sneakers (my old ones are quite holey and have no support left) and planned on going to Payless. I also needed a new pair of khaki pants because my old ones had finally gotten to the point where I had to throw them out (both pockets had holes, there were holes along the inseam, and the eye hook gave way this week). I decided to check out Steve & Barry's since almost everything in the store is $8.98 or less. I tried on a couple of pairs of pants from Sarah Jessica Parker's "Bitten" line but they didn't fit me well. I really liked some of the other stuff in her collection, especially some of her dress shirts, but I don't need most of it right now. Anyway, I also tried on a pair from another of their collections but didn't like the way they looked. While I was there, I noticed that they also had sneakers. I ended up buying a pair from Venus Williams' "Eleven" collection that are called "Groundstroke". They are lilac and white but I think they'll be okay once I scuff them up a bit. They didn't have the blue and white in my size. Susan is really into tennis (both watching and playing) and she got a kick out of it when I told her whose shoes I was wearing. I was really excited that I got a new pair of sneakers (that I wore home) for $8.98! When I got home, I threw out my old ones and put the chic but uncomfortable ones I'd gotten a few months ago in the bag to be donated to the Salvation Army. Oh, I also went to the Salvation Army store and bought a new pair of khaki pants (that look almost exactly like the old ones) for $5! Yay me! :)

Tomorrow Susan and I are going out to a sugar house for breakfast. Unfortunately, Jonathan and Paige can't come because they're in Texas visiting Page's family.

*SPOILER ALERT*
Last, but not least, "Lost". Wow, I'm not sure I like watching the show anymore. All the people being murdered is not fun to watch. I did almost start crying when Charlie died but, since I knew it was coming, I had kind of braced myself. I had more to say about it when I started this post but I guess I distracted myself with the other stuff. I sort of liked the future scenes toward the end but I also feel like the writers are just about at their shock value limit. I kind of figured Lock wasn't going to die and I don't think anyone trusts any of the others (did anyone, besides Jack, fall for the fake killing of Said, Bernard, and Jin?). Anyway, mostly I'm just stuck on the killing. I liked it when the show was about figuring out the secrets of the island and the others but now that is being eroded by the battles. I don't know that I want to see season four if it's just going to be more of that. Oh, and if one more of the others gets indignant about being hurt or killed by the survivors, when the others are the ones who started this in the first place, I think I'm going to scream. I understand their being upset but they sound as if they have no responsibility for the situation. Okay, I think I'm done for now. I'll get to rehash all of this with Steve tomorrow. Wait, I knew there was another thing: I think that no one really ever dies on the island. Too many people have died and are still walking around. I figure the ones who are "gone" are just elsewhere and all will be revealed later. There are some time and aging peculiarities as well that I hope will be explained eventually. For instance: How come the guy who Ben meets as a chlld looks the same age now that several decades have gone by? Did anyone else notice that in the future scenes Jack talks about his father as if he's still alive? I hope this is all intentional (if Joss Whedon were writing it, I'd be sure that it was) otherwise I'll be very disappointed.

I know you're all dying to know how it went with the Station Manager...

Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to him today. There was a big fire, close to the station, and they were scrambling to cover it. He asked his secretary to find out when I'll be available next week. I gave her a few options and I got his direct email address. Then I emailed him another copy of my resume and reiterated that I'm looking forward to talking to him. I drove by the site of the fire on my way home and it looked like a doozy.

In other news, I read Louis Sachar's (my apologies to him for spelling his name wrong in my previous post) "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom" in about an hour and a half last night. I really liked it even though I teared up a little at the end when the guidance counselor had to leave. There is a line in the book that's repeated several times: "Give me a dollar or I'll spit on you". I shared about it at work today and one of my co-workers decided that it's going to be her new favorite line. :)

I have a busy day tomorrow because I have lots of errands to run.

Update on Dad: He was transported to the rehab facility today. He's still having some nausea due to his medications, and his insurance company refused to pay for the ambulance to take him to rehab, but we were able to have a short conversation tonight. He even walked 10 or 20 steps today! He can't really sit yet, without the probability of popping out the new hip, which is why he needed to be moved by ambulance.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got off the phone with the Station Manager and we are doing a phone interview tomorrow at noon. It's a bit unconventional because it's mostly just him telling me what the job entails. If I like what I hear (Scott has already told me a lot about the job and I like it already) then we will schedule a time for me to come tour the station. I'm very excited! Now I need to go eat dinner. :)

Some brief updates.

Dad's doing okay. He had hip replacement surgery yesterday but I spoke to him tonight. He's groggy and in a lot of pain but my stepmom and the doctors are taking good care of him.

My car is fixed! As I brought it home it drove like a dream. For $1157.76 I got a new catalytic converter, exhaust pipe, front muffler, exhaust hanger and clamp, gasket, seal, front crank, spark plugs, and an air filter. Rad said that the car is actually in good shape for the number of miles on it.

Susan suggested I read E. B. White's "The Trumpet of the Swan" (along with Roald Dahl's "George's Marvelous Medicine" and Louis Sacchar's "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom") and I really liked it. It is sweet and it didn't make me cry. (I bawled for hours after reading "Charlotte's Web" as a kid.) "George's" etc. was okay but I prefer his Willy Wonka books and "James and the Giant Peach". I will probably read the Louis Sacchar book next. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to finish Piers Anthony's "Isle of View". (Say that title quickly, out loud, and you'll get the idea of the book.)

Last, but not least, I'm hoping to go to a sugar shack on Sunday with Susan, my cousin Jonathan, and his wife Page. We've all talked about going separately so I thought this might be fun.

Oh, and I'm planning on calling the local TV station manager again tomorrow. I mailed them another copy of my resume on Tuesday.

It's the weekend!

I've been resting a lot this weekend. I vegged out in front of the TV on Friday night and ended up sleeping in the recliner most of the night. Yesterday I did some chores: balanced my checkbook, did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, etc. Today I had planned on going grocery shopping but I forgot it is Easter Sunday so stores aren't open. Oh, well. I'll go to Trader Joe's on Tuesday. I won't be filming on Monday or Thursday night because both commitments have the week off. I'm going to try to get more sleep this week and rest my feet. (I need new shoes). That's about it for now. I did call the Station Manager on Thursday so hopefully I'll hear from them this week. I'll keep you all posted.

A couple of quick updates and a welcome to new readers

First of all, welcome some new readers in my family! Several of the relatives I saw on Saturday received an email from me this week with my blog address and have checked it out. Thank you all very much and enjoy!

Car News: I have decided to take the plunge and get my car fixed. It is going to cost $1100 but that's cheaper than buying a new car. The mechanic has come highly recommended and would have told me if it wasn't worth fixing.

Career Stuff: On Monday night our producer told us that the music show I run a camera for is working on a deal to have the show air to a potential 200 million homes in Europe! The one we filmed this week will be one of the first five shown. If you are in my area, be sure to check out this week's episode because you'll actually see me on screen. We were filming "in the round" (cameras on all sides of the band) and my camera and I seem to be in a lot of shots. At one point our director quipped that it was actually the Alicia show this week. :)

It's been an eventful few days!

Tuesday and Wednesday night were restful because I relaxed and got eight hours of sleep.

Thursday night I helped film a long and difficult (for the decision makers and the town) school committee meeting. The town is projecting a large deficit for the next budget year and most of it will be in the education budget. There were a lot of people there (usually there are less than 10 people in the audience) and a large amount of public comment. The officials knew that airing the full meeting, live, would be very important. Therefore, they were very understanding when we needed to delay the beginning of the meeting due to technical difficulties. First, we couldn't get the live feed to work. Once we got the live feed going, the sound cut out. The next thing I knew, the director was putting a camera on my shoulder and telling me that we would be going hand-held until he could fix the problem. I spent the first 30-40 minutes of the meeting pretending I was a tripod. I made the committee members laugh when I pointed out that, even though they can be very funny, it would be a bad idea to make me laugh this time. Unfortunately, it turned out that the camera was set for timelapse so the footage and sound we shot with it was unusable. Our director planned on asking the other TV station that was covering the event for their footage of that part of the meeting. I was really sore and exhausted and only got between 5 and 6 hours of sleep Thursday night.

Friday I had a good day of work but Susan's car that I've been driving broke down on my way home from work. I had quite an adventure! Thank goodness for AAA, experienced helpers, nice state troopers, a good friend, and neighborhood mechanics. The short version is that I had pulled over but was still in an unsafe area where three lanes merged into two on a major highway. A state trooper came and used his car to push mine about 200 feet farther up the breakdown lane to a safer spot where I could wait for the tow truck. They towed me to Susan's mechanic and, because he's a friend of hers and lives very close to us, he drove me home. Unfortunately, though I left work at 4:40pm I didn't get home until 8pm. For various reasons I ended up not going to sleep until 1:15am. The plan is now to have Rad (the mechanic) fix Susan's vehicle on Monday. Susan is going to let me use her main car to go to work and she'll get a ride with a co-worker. I'll leave work early and bring her car back so she can go to tennis. The I'll drive my car to Rad's so he can figure out whether or not I should fix it and I'll pick up the car I dropped off on Friday and drive it to the local music show. I told Susan that I would pay for the repair but she said to wait and see how much it is since what happened wasn't my fault.

This morning I got up at 8:30 and Steve picked me up at 9:30 to take me into town so I could meet up with my cousin Jonathan and his wife Page. The three of us drove out to the eastern part of the state for my cousin's, Jenny, baby shower. It was a lovely day. I can't put into words all the joy and gratitude I felt today. Jenny's husband, Jason, is really nice and they make a great couple and will make terrific parents. Her friends and friends of the family all had a good time. I got to see a lot of family on my dad's side, a lot of whom I haven't seen for 12-15 years. My Uncles Les, Mike, and Eddie were there, along with my step-Aunt Amy, Aunts Lisa and Margot, and cousins David, Dana, and Melissa. I really enjoyed just hanging out, eating, and talking with everyone. It felt like we picked up where we left off since we'd been pretty close when I was little. I said that I would not be a stranger any longer and I've been invited to their Seder. I can't wait!

Now I'm watching "U. S. Marshalls" and will go to be soon. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow. :)

Quick update

Yesterday I emailed my resume to a local TV station for their production assistant position. People from both of the community television stations I volunteer with are acting as references and have been very encouraging. I hope to hear from the station soon.

Ok, I know it's been a while.

The biggest news is that I made my formal directing debut on Thursday night! The Access Coordinator for the station started the live feed of the City Council meeting and then, after about 20 minutes, turned it over to me for the remainder of the meeting. It was a long meeting so I got a lot of practice directing. This morning I realized that I may have been bitten by the directing bug since I couldn't stop thinking about wanting to do it again.

I'm applying for an entry level position at a local commercial television station. Several of the guys at the local music show I've been volunteering for have been encouraging me about this and I hope to get my resume and cover letter emailed to the station on Monday. I'm doing this because I heard back from the Directors Guild and unfortunately they have decided to cancel the whole training program for this year. It's a bummer but I'm looking at this as an opportunity to stay in the area that I love and still make money doing what I want to do. Oh, this week I also managed to send out a career update newsletter to most of you and to the contacts I've made in the TV business. I still haven't heard back from my cousin but I did hear from a high school friend who was doing some producing in L. A. and who is happy to introduce me to her contacts if/when I make it out there.

Monday I'm going to be starting my third week in a row temping at the research lab. Unfortunately, the woman I'm replacing is having a slower recovery than she planned. It's good for me to have money coming in though. Especially since my car is really dying. Mark finally got a chance to look at the car and said that I need my brakes fixed asap. In addition, when I got her out of the snowbank after the last storm I evidently jarred loose the muffler pipe leading to the front end. I'm driving Susan's extra vehicle for now and am working on a plan for mine. I was actually thinking of putting a poll here on my blog to find out what you guys think I should do: buy new, buy used, fix mine, something else?

I think that about covers it. I'll try to post more regularly this week but I can't get onto blogspot at work and I've been exhausted when I get home.

I didn't want to let a week go by without posting.

Monday night was very loud at the local music show. We were filming a local punk/pop band. They were pretty good and I was moving my camera almost the entire shoot. I learn more each time I participate and I have a lot of fun. I'm back working in a nearby state at the research company and getting lots of compliments. I stayed home tonight because of an ice storm. My car might get looked at on Thursday night. I'll keep you all posted.

Lots and lots of working going on.

Quick update on my car first: I'm still driving Susan's spare because mine made a funny engine noise after we finally got it unstuck on Sunday. I may take it to Mark & Carol's on Saturday or ask them to look at it when they come here next Thursday. Another option, besides buying a new one, is to have Susan's mechanic take a look at it. Oy!

I've been working all week. (yeah! $$$$) The 3 to 5 day filing project turned out to be bigger than the company thought it would be so turned into more like 5 1/2 or 6 and they asked me to stay an extra two days to assist with a different project. When I finally got the filing done I felt a great sense of accomplishment. The staff keeps saying how grateful they are to have received competent help. :) Next week and the week after I will be returning to the research company who specifically requested my services as their receptionist.

On the TV front, I still haven't heard from my cousin. I'll email Aunt Nancy next week if I still haven't heard. I helped film the city council meeting tonight. It was short and funny and I got some more good practice in. The director is asking more from us now since there are several of us who have logged a lot of camera time.

Last, but not least, I've been invited to my cousin's (Jenny) baby shower next month. It will be at my Uncle's house in the eastern part of the state. I can't wait to see her and help her celebrate this great occasion. I thought Dad would be going with me but it turns out that he has a big fundraiser for his job that weekend.

Whew!

That was a job! Susan and I spent most of today getting our cars unstuck from the ice. I am really grateful to Susan because she picked at, and shoveled out, a lot of ice from around my wheels before working on her own car. Then I rocked them both back and forth while she pushed. Finally we were out but it took hours. Unfortunately, all three of our cars are making funny noises. Hers are clunking and mine has a deep throaty engine noise. Oh well, she's going to ask her mechanic to take a look at it because I couldn't get it unstuck yesterday (even AAA couldn't help) to take it to my friends. I'm going to take her extra car to work tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

BTW, our furnace is also on the fritz. It appears that the part that they replaced (after I came home at X-mas and found the house at 40 degrees) may be bad. Susan called the furnace folks and they said they think they received a bad batch of that particular part. They're coming to look at it tomorrow and, in the meantime, we keep hitting the reset button after we realize it's gone out again.

It's been a long week.

I've spent a lot of time driving this week. Tuesday I got the oil changed in Steve's car and then picked him up to do errands and make a great big circle through the local area. I was exhausted when I got home and then a storm moved in. Wednesday I managed to dig out and get to work by 1:45pm. The employer and the temp agency were very understanding about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it back up our hill to get home that night until the sand truck came and rescued me from a scary experience. Susan was a big help until the sand truck showed up. (I got stuck, diagonally, across the road about 100 feet from the crest of the hill because it was covered in glare ice. I called Susan on my cell phone and she drove to the crest and then walked on the berm down to me. Together we figured out how to get my car turned around and I started inching back down the hill.) Yesterday I worked a full day (doing filing at a local company that does injection molding) and then was a camera operator at a local school committee meeting. I even got to do a voiceover telling people to stay tuned for it! I loved being able to practice the things I learned at the live music program shoot to help make this meeting more interesting for the viewing audience. The director liked it too. (I found out last night that our director recently worked on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". I want to ask him which episode so I can watch for his name.) I was actually watching the meeting on TV tonight after work and I realize I still need to practice keeping things in focus but I'm glad I moved the camera around a lot. I also saw the live music show and my name in the credits. That was an awesome thing to see! Anyway, I'm exhausted because after the school committee meeting ended around 10:20pm last night, I had to drive to Steve's. I slept in his (broken!) recliner and we got up early and drove to my job. Then he took his car, did what he needed to do, and came back to pick me up at 5:30pm so I could come home. Tomorrow morning I'm going to drive to my friends' (Mark, Carol, & Jeremy) house to see if Mark can fix my car for just the cost of parts. I am scheduled to finish the filing job Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday if I need to keep using Steve's car because I'll have to take him to the doctor's on Tuesday) and I've been asked to go back to the research lab for two weeks starting on the 25th. I'll probably accept the job if I don't hear from my cousin this weekend and if my car is okay. Oh, that reminds me----THE WRITER'S STRIKE IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that's it for this post. :)