Boo!

So, Halloween is Monday. I bought a pumpkin a few weeks ago and it is inside. And it's one I can cook later and eat, so that's nice. I don't know when it changed, but I just cannot get excited about Halloween anymore. It might have been when I was still married and I just didn't want to greet people at the door, and 3/4 of the time they were yewts barely dressed up, but if you said no, you'd probably get a window broken or something. So now I just avoid. And noone I know holds costume parties. So, I guess I will enjoy others' enjoyment (Mel, Laura I think...etc.).

Boo Moo Who You Too!
Candy Stripers on the Street
Mo' Candy, Mo' Mo'

From Laura - 5 books

I drafted this a long time ago...

1. What book did you struggle to get through but is something you’re glad you’ve read? -.
War and Peace. It’s a classic, plus it’s one of those ‘top tier’ books. If you have read it, you are cool. And I like it even more that I didn’t read the last ten pages. I was just done. No more.

2.What’s a book whose popularity has baffled you?
The Secret. I mean, it’s not really a secret. I just wish I had written it so I could have made bazillions of dollars. A great review from Publisher’s weekly: “Supporters will hail this New Age self-help book on the law of attraction as a groundbreaking and life-changing work, finding validation in its thesis that one's positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, happiness... and did we mention wealth? Detractors will be appalled by this as well as when the book argues that fleeting negative thoughts are powerful enough to create terminal illness, poverty and even widespread disasters.”

3. If you could make everyone you know read one book, what would it be?
Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales – the original ones. Because they are excellent stories, excellent allegories, and they show that it’s not all a happy ending. Which too many people these days expect out of a story. And life.

4. What book have you liked less and less as time has gone by?
Um, I really can’t think of any.

5. What book have you loved more and more as time has gone by?
I’m not sure this is supposed to count, but the original Joy of Cooking. It’s just such a timeless cookbook and has so much to offer in terms of reference and history and such.

Wed nes day

Here is my Saturday

Went up to Mt. Tamalpais to do some top-roping. It was a beautiful, almost hot, day. We got a late start but still had a good day, and saw a gorgeous sunset, marred only by the trail of some jet in the way far distance.


Sunday was the all day concert. It was really good, but not as great as last year. Warm and sunny and hot even - a big change from last year.

Tuesday I had my interview. I went in feeling confident that I was the right person for them. And then they asked me a few questions which I didn't feel I gave great answers to, and by the end I thought the energy was low and I just didn't make it to the second round. So, I couldn't concentrate for the next several hours. I tried retail therapy which helped a little, though ultimately did not buy anything, which is good. Then 4 hours later I get an email saying I've made it to the second round. So much for my sense...

Last night I did 1.5 hours of my radio show. The DJ who is training me left me alone in the studio. What a mess! Dead air, didn't fill out the logs well, played records at the wrong speed unintentionally, didn't clear out the studio for the next DJ, etc. But people said I sounded good. Though, likely all of them were high...so I should take it with a grain of salt. My next interview is in 2 weeks or so. I'm excited-ish for many reasons that I don't really want to get into right now. But it is definitely a good thing to have had a successful interview.

Now I must go focus.

Best Song from Yesterday

It was such a treat!

Time flees, or fleas?

I have thought so many times how I will get to the computer and write, and then I don't because life gets in the way. But, here's an update:

- Fleas are being controlled. I won't say they are gone yet, but working on it still. Three weeks in. Kind of scary though that in the past two days I've had two people tell me how they tried the whole vacuuming thing and eventually just ended up calling an exterminator. I hope hope hope I will be the exception!
- I spent nice time with colleagues, family, and friends last week. Also spent a short time with my friend migraine, sadly she had enough time to visit with me.
- I was a space cadet last week, I guess due to travel. On my connection, forgot my carry on (but got it soon after). At lunch the next day, I got up to leave and walked into a glass door. Too damn clean. Then later I tried to pay for a snack with tampons. The guy didn't really think he'd need the tampons.
- I have an interview next Tuesday! Woo hoo! We'll see how it goes, and I will let you know. It's mental health related, which I know a little about...ya think? Turns out two people I had networked with know the guy I'm speaking with so both are putting in a word for me. I joked with one woman that I'd be happy for her to put in a word for me as long as it was a good word. Such a joker I am.
- It really was nice to take a week off from obsessing about jobs. So nice.
- It was great seeing my nieces and other family. There wasn't much time, but we still had fun.

OK, will go visit.

Posting for my own reference

I was losing this part of my grammar beaten into me by nuns, so had to get a reminder.

The comparative forms of most adjectives, however, are formed by adding the suffixes
-er and -est, or by placing the words more and most in front of the positive form.

RULES FOR FORMING COMPARATIVES:
1. One syllable words form the comparative by adding -er and -est:
brave, braver, bravest
small, smaller, smallest
dark, darker, darkest.

2. Two-syllable words that end in -y, -le, and -er form the comparative by adding -er and -est:
pretty, prettier, prettiest
happy, happier, happiest
noble, nobler, noblest
clever, cleverer, cleverest

3. Words of more than two syllables form the comparative with more and most:
beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful.
resonant, more resonant, most resonant

One more reason to have kids

if you are me.

Advice please - kitty sitting

So, I'll be travelling for work/family in November and December. Our neighbor who has looked in on Billy before said she will be around and would be happy to help. But if I'm away for that long the litterbox would need to be cleaned out, which is not a fun thing. And I would ask for a water or two of plants. And it would be nice if she got the mail. That's a lot. Maybe too much. So that's one issue. I of course would feel like I should get her a gift, and since I don't know her all that well, though well enough to give her a key to the place, I want to give her money. And I mentioned it. And she said no. And I said, well, I would just get you a gift that I don't know if you'd like. And I forget what she said. But thinking about it, I maybe should have just left her a gift card for someplace - restaurant or Target. But I've already made the mistake of saying I wanted to give her money, which I feel has changed the dynamic. Like she's working for me. And it feels weird. And now I don't know what to do.

Any advice?

Every Inch of Her

Just blew through the following book:

Every Inch of Her
Peter Sheridan

It was good. Fluffily handled serious issues, if that makes sense. A bit of Deux Ex Machina. But why not read it?

Flea Bag

So, I literally have a flea in a bag. My cat's been scratching and I thought he must have dry skin or something because he really doesn't go out that much/that far. But this morning I combed out a bug. I put it in plastic wrap because I wasn't sure what it was and was talking to the vet and it almost made it out, so I put it in a plastic ziploc bag. Then I googled, and the fun began. Honestly, I always thought fleas were tiny round dot things that jumped. This didn't jump, and wasn't tiny and round. But it was likely moving slowly due to lots of yummy blood in his system.

So, off to the vet to get Frontline. Off to the pet store to get powder to treat the carpets. Wash all the cat beds and anything the cat has recently been near. Vacuum the whole house, and do it every day for two weeks. Wash all clothing that he's been near. I was going to go volunteer at the radio station today, but that got sucked dry by fleas.

It has one up side. I was fairly depressed about job searching today, after following up yesterday with a job I had applied for, spending literally 2 hours writing a follow up letter, only to get a fairly quick email back from one of the people saying it had been filled Friday. It's so damn frustrating. As anyone who has ever looked for a job knows.

In any event, at least I have fleas to attack to make me feel better. Poor Billy is scared of me right now though... poor guy.