Another Random Phone Call

Just to keep you abreast of the tortures of having a phone number that looks like a commercial number:

Got this message on my phone at 7.45am this morning. "Hi, it's Jean. The heat's out again. I'll need to hear from you asap. Cheers." I still don't know how American voices that make no reference to a business confuse people, but they continue to leave me messages. I hope Jean gets fired. :)

Worst Day Ever

I am writing this blog after the fact, but I just wanted to share about my worst day ever. On Friday, I was so tired. I have ceased to be able to sleep. I've never slept well, and for this whole week, I've been tossing and turning to a ridiculous extent. After reading up on, I am no longer allowed caffeine after lunch, not allowed naps, not allowed to read in bed, not allowed to watch movies or TV in bed, etc. Clearly, I was an unhappy girl. But, I decided to conquer taking a nap by skipping it on Friday.

Well, I am the only well person left in my office. There is some speculation about how long I'll last. The throat feels mildly sore and I sneeze a bit, but that could be anything. The flat was a mess, work was hard, it was rainy and cold. Then, when I got home, I decided to air out my bedroom; there is a door that goes outside in my bedroom. In an effort to open it, I broke a window panel on the door. I mean, honestly. The door was so warped by the damp that it refused to open. Using my hip to help it, I managed to not open the door, but open a window. Drat. So I called my landlord knowing that there was no way a glass guy was going to come Friday night, or all weekend. Then in a fit of insistence upon said door's opening, another window was smashed when it was closed again. Sigh.

Cardboard went up, tears were spilled, cold damp seeped through the flat with new intensity, but it was after all Friday. There's always another day, another week.

UPDATE: the windows have been fixed. My landlord is even going to try to fix my damp-damaged doors. Lucky, lucky me.

Now, That's What I Call Winter

While winter might just be wrapping up (knock on wood), I finally feel a real winter day. It is sunny, sunny, sunny. But bitterly cold. At least it was this morning. It's the kind of cold that hits from inside your lungs the minute you breathe in. Gorgeous.

See, I think it's important to mention that I haven't been hating winter. I have been hating rainy cold days for months on end. It's been sunny for the past month, I would say, with only spots of rain. I missed the dear sun and when it's this cold, there isn't a lot of moisture in the air.

I bundled up in long jacket, scarf, and gloves and was happy. I hummed a little tune to myself on the way to work. Then; oh then. I saw ice. Of course. I think it's like my kryptonite. But I managed to bravely book it to work only two minutes late. This is a huge accomplishment for me! Usually I have been paralysed by fear, but now I have conquered.

Winter is good for me. :)

Addictions

I thought it might be time for another list of current obsessions/addictions. So here goes:

1. Grey's Anatomy. Remember, we're behind here and there's only two episodes left. I am loving and hating it. It's so intense!
2. Baked beans. Is eating beans on toast a thing in the States? If so, why did I never do it?
3. Sushi. Still. But, I am budgeting my life, so no more eating out for a very, very long time. I shall wither away.
4. Puppies. Though it may be some months before this is a possibility (or a decade... it depends), I am obsessed with looking up dog breeds and guides. I will be well informed.
5. Ducks. Feeding them, that is. I love it. It's getting nicer out, so it's even more fun to do it.
6. Pumpkin soup. I am perfecting a pumpkin soup with garlic and ginger. It's so good. It's shocking it even came from my hand. Most things I cook are basic or weird, but never something you'd savor.
7. Purses. Since my arm is mostly better, I can have bags that I have to hold instead of just sling over a shoulder. I am getting reacquainted with my pretty bags.
8. Naps. They were out of the question for a while there, but the best way to spend an afternoon is still lounging around read a book and drifting off to sleepyland.

Ooh, that reminds me. I had two (count 'em, two!) nightmares last night. One involved people breaking into my house to kill me. Naturally. The second involved this world wide pandemic of mental disease that causes you to kill those around you. Since everyone had it, a lot of people died. It ended very creepily. Like, I don't even want to talk about it. But let's just say I woke up questioning my sanity. So maybe I ought to cut out the naps altogether. :)

Om.

I have started going to a meditation class. It's actually not as "out there" as it sounds, though it is a little. I do like the incense and the hippies that show up, but it is mostly people like me -- just curious and keen.

It was the third class last night and they started in on the religion part of it. After talks of the "ideal lifestyle" that included only wholesome music; vegetarian diet; abstaining from alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and excess sugar; working out daily; and no napping, I realised that I perhaps was undergoing a sales pitch. I mean, waking up early, refreshed, every morning without poisoning my body in any way all day sounds fine. Until I get to work and need a cup of something! Usually tea, so I'm accidentally lowering my caffeine intake. Then I eat my lunch of tuna (which is technically meat, I know) while listening to angsty music. I assume that a glass of wine with dinner will just hit the spot, too.

So while I am keen to sit and learn the meaning of stillness and mental clarity, I am not interested in a new religion. Me and God are pretty good friends. I'd like to keep it that way. It doesn't really help that my entirely well-intentioned leader of meditation seems like she would have gotten obsessed with something -- meditation just got there before anyone else did. She also encourages us to "breathe in" things we want accented in our lives. Let's say you are about to have a very important meeting, you may well breathe in confidence and capability. She continues to encourage us to breathe in happiness, joy, and power. I don't feel unhappy and powerless. This is good, I feel. But I would like to breathe in clarity and connectedness, maybe inspiration and creativity. But if your spiritual leader (as I'm sure she'd like me to think of her) is craving power and happiness, you gotta wonder. After 20 years of meditating, I would hope to have found a hint of happiness.

Then again, she's a lovely person who looks about my age, while I guarantee she's closer to her mid-30's. She can wake up with a smile on her face at 6am - 7 days a week. She does marathons, can play several instruments, can sing, and is ridiculously healthy. There is something to be said for religion, I suppose.

Another Birthday!!

And yet another birthday (which will be a day early in the States)! Happy birthday, Lisa!! Lisa is also one of the most fantastic people on the planet. I lucked out, man. It just so happens my friends are the coolest people ever.