GM (genetically modified) food strikes again

“Looks like an Apple. Tastes like a Grape.”

I saw this in the grocery store tonight. Dear lord, why??

I like grapes. I like apples. I’ve never been eating a grape, thinking “if only this were bigger, like an apple.” I’ve never eaten an apple and thought, ‘mmm, needs more grape.”

Genetically modified food really freaks me out. Like the tomatoes that proudly proclaim “tastes like a real tomato!!” Why don’t I just eat a REAL tomato.

But seriously. Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Graple pie anyone? Gaaaa.

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A first for Tim here I believe

I was supposed to be hosting stitch n bitch tonight, but everyone ended up being busy/tired. It worked out perfectly though, my back was bothering me a bit, and I didn’t mind having a quiet evening. Tim had planned to call Celena to see if she wanted to go out tonight (Celena is Toni’s friend, and as much as I tried to be friends with her, we never clicked all that well, but she gets along really well with Tim). He had thought about cancelling when Stitch n bitch was no longer happening, but I told him I really wanted him to go.

Working from home, he hasn’t met a lot of people. The people he knows, he knows through me and they are usually my friends. So when I said I really wanted him to go, I meant I really thought he needed to go. Celena likes to go out to bars and drink, something Tim really doesn’t get to do with me because I have no interest in that scene. But that was something he used to do regularly in Salem, meet up with Mel or Pete or John or whoever for a beer, to talk, to chill.

Making friends here is really hard, and I’m glad I’ve finally made some good ones. But I know how social Tim is, and as interesting as I am, I shouldn’t be the main source of conversation that he has. And now that we both work from home, I think it is even more important. I go out with my friends pretty regularly, and he’ll stay and play guitar or whatever. But I’m hoping he’ll start hanging with Celena on a regular basis, because I think it will be really good for him. That is still the only thing I would change about our life here, that he could have some of his own friends, so he can get out of the house without me and just be Tim.

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I’m a knitter now!

I went to the Yarn Garden yesterday, and enjoyed wandering around all the wonderful colors and textures. A whole store of soft things to touch. I loved it. A nice woman pointed me to great yarn that is easy for beginners to work with. I ended up with two rolls of this beautiful, soft baby alpaca yarn in a deep burgundy with gold specks, and a roll of this soft green yarn flecked with orange and yellow.

I started knitting with the burgundy, making a scarf, and it is great to work with. It’s silky, so it is easy to move over the knitting needles, and it is so nice to touch I just want to keep working on it. It’s much more fun working with yarn I really like. It looks good so far, and actually looks like knitting. I think I’m starting to make fewer mistakes, and it is getting easier to hold the needles and to make the stitches consistent.

🙂

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Why I don’t like going out to bars

All rolled in one evening.

This woman Kelly called me yesterday, she started at OHSU in the marketing department as a project manager right before we left, and we hit it off right away. I liked talking to her, she’s cool and interesting. Plus, she’s been working as a contractor for a long time, so it’s good to get tips from her. We’ve stayed in touch since I left (two weeks!)

I had suggested going to this puppet improv theater thing, but it was $20 per person and we all decided that was a little steep. She suggested meeting at this bar that was close to both of us.

We get there, go into THE TACKIEST, diviest bar I’ve seen in a long time. Walls are blood red. Wretchedly bad art on the walls. And it is super small and a band is setting up. That means the farthest you can be from the music is about 12′. We sit down and are waiting for about ten minutes, no one comes up to give us water, get our order, we are patently ignored. When Kelly and her boyfriend finally show up (more than 15 mins late), I immediately dislike the boyfriend. I described him to Tim afterwards as “He’s trying desperately to be what you are naturally, but he’s really bad at it.” He was trying to be sarcastic and witty and say insulting things that actually come off as funny. But he wasn’t intelligent enough for that, so he just comes off like an asshole.

There is virtually no food offered there (not even french fries, what kind of lame ass bar doesn’t have french fries), bad beer (meant a coke for me) and then the wretchedly bad music started.

And only that morning Tim and I had been talking about how there’s not much to do in Portland, unless you go out to a bar. I had said I would start trying to go to more…and last night cured that for both of us. Ug.

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Lovin myra’s new habit!!

So, wonderpup has taken to coming back to bed after I let her out in the morning. This is wonderful! For a looong time, she was getting up around 7 and then not letting us sleep, because she would pace and squeak and just insist on us being up with her (even if she only wanted to lay on the living room rug and chew things).

Her life will be spared as long as she continues this lovely new habit. However, as soon as she reverts, it’s off to the pound for her!! (ok well, maybe not, but we threaten her with it anyway).

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Can’t. Stop. Sleeping

I think I got hit with something. I’m not full-out sick, but I am just EXHAUSTED. I’ve been sleeping a ton since Wednesday. I stopped working around noon, slept till 1:30 when I went to pick up the mutt from school, came home and slept with her for another two hours. My stomach felt all off, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to go to Franny’s house for Thanksgiving.

Thursday comes around and I sleep till almost 11, after having gone to bed at 9, make a casserole and my mom’s apple pie (both of which came out really really good), and then was so tired I thought I was going to fall over. Today, I slept till 10:30, went back to bed at noon for two hours, and I’m still exhausted. No energy at all.

I feel like I could sleep for a week and still be tired.

edited to add it took through Saturday afternoon for my energy to be back to normal.

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I’m grateful for…

First and always, T — my friend, my love
Good health
good friends
the sweetest puppy alive
being able to pursue my dreams
my first ever apple pie looking perfect and ready for devouring
good financial health
parents who love me and who gave me a safe, happy childhood — I know what a gift that is
living in an area I love
being done with cooking for the day — phew, I don’t know how people make an entire thanksgiving dinner
having money already set aside for christmas presents and myra’s boarding fees, so christmas this year won’t be a financial hassle
my new laptop — It’s the first big thing I’ve bought for myself, and I really like it

And so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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people who choose unhappiness

I met my friend last night for crepes and coffee, and we spent a good part of the time talking about her problems with her husband.

Her husband is a total loser, and the more I hear about him, the more it confirms that idea. And they also don’t have a real marriage, they are roommates at best. They sleep in separate rooms. They don’t do things together. Not a marriage.

So, my friend was telling me how they haven’t been “together” since Feb, and how he took one of her bra catalogues, and then said some really hurtful things to her about how now that he had the catalogue, he had something to enjoy.

Add this to the long laundry list of complaints I’ve heard repeatedly from her, he smokes pot all the time, he was drinking about six beers a day, he hasn’t worked in almost two years, but yet they are living in one of his mother’s houses on the understanding that he is working, so they have been lying to his mother for a long time. And on and on.

My friend said it got bad enough recently that she was getting her stuff ready to move out, but then things calmed down a bit. But we’ve talked about this before, about how she deserves more, it’s not a real marriage, etc. Her response is that she wants to finish school before she does anything. And even though she will say something negative about him, as soon as I agree with her, she changes her tune and makes it out that it is not so bad.

Apparently, before they got married, she moved out because it wasn’t working, he was being a jerk, blahblahblah.

I guess I just don’t understand how some people can continually choose unhappiness, instead of working to get rid of what makes them unhappy and making their lives better. I suppose there is some element of “well, I already know this life, and I may not like it, but change is hard, and change is work, so I’ll just stay.” And knowing my friend, I’m sure there is also an element of “well, at least i have a husband” — she doesn’t always have good self esteem. I just wish she knew she was so much better than this loserguy and do something to make her life her own, and not be tied to him anymore.

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Never ever see the Inside Man

godawful movie. Painfully slow — and the trailers make it out like it’s an action movie. BORING — a boring bank robbery movie. Bad dialogue. Confusing. Denzel Washington looked like a pimp. Jodie Foster — you are so much better than that role, what were you thinking? And what was your role, anyway? I still can’t tell.

It was one of those movies we kept watching even though it was dreadful, thinking they would explain stuff, or maybe it would get better. It kept getting worse. And it refused to end.

And it was a Spike Lee movie. This proves me right that I do not like Spike Lee movies.

Can I have my Tuesday night back please??

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1h15mins of a GREAT exercise class

So, Saturday mornings I’ve been going to an outdoor exercise class in Tryon Creek. The instructor also teaches a Monday night class downtown in the “park blocks” and she said she needs more people to go otherwise she will cancel it. So, since it is easier to get downtown at that time of night then up the hill to where I worked for my regular Monday night exercise class, I went to the downtown one.

Wow, what a workout, and it was so much fun. We walked up to the soccer field (lovely springy turf that was great to run on), we ran laps, we sprinted, we did weights, we did tons of ab work, we did leg and butt work, just tons of stuff. And let me tell you, I am a little sore today, and I haven’t been sore after exercising for a while now. Yeah!! I am now a Monday night outdoor exerciser.

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