What Entertains Me: 04/01/2007

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Things You'll Find in Second Life

While I was buying some furniture for my new house I share with my partner in Second Life, I bought what I thought was a side table. Turns out, it was a side table complete with Catholic bibles for display. Um, thanks...but no thanks! I mean, I don't mind the Bible...I have a copy of it myself in real life. But I don't have it prominently displayed in my house. It's there more for reference...or in my case, looks, as I don't refer to it very often (it's on one of my bookshelves, collecting dust). My dad's a walking Bible anyway (retired Episcopal priest, probably should have taught seminary), so I haven't really needed to. So I find it ironic that I now have a Bible display table in Second Life. Heh.

My Cat's Sizzling Personality

My orange cat (or ginger cat, as they're sometimes known -- see the pic at the top of this page) has a penchant for chewing on things, namely shoes and electrical cords. Sometimes, she acts more like a dog than a cat in that respect. One time, my phone didn't ring for days, and later I found out why -- she had chewed through the power cord to my one cordless phone. She also chewed through my mouse and keyboard cords (I am now wireless, as a result). She stopped doing that for a bit...but every now and then, I'll find a chewed up cord, and I'll have to do some power supply repair (thank goodness for electrical tape!). Seriously...it's annoying, and I don't know what to do about it (coating the cords with hot pepper stuff has been suggested...but I can see myself touching the cord and rubbing my eyes...OW!). My chewed up shoes are sort of easy to replace (ok, not really), but finding AC power supplies is hard...probably because I don't know where to look. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm getting near my wit's end.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Not Having to Sort Change...Priceless

Before I discovered the wonders of having a check card that works like a credit card (I love you, check card!), I was always awash in a sea of change. Every now and then, I'd wish I'd had a coin sorter. But then, I ended up taking all of my change to one of those Coinstar machines at my grocery store and just get a voucher. Made things a whole lot easier than rolling up coins and taking them to my bank to get some paper money that didn't weigh a ton in my wallet, haha.

Second Life: A Memory Hog, Indeed

My computer isn't that old, but in order to run Second Life, I've had to upgrade my computer memory to 1 GB so that I can have it and maybe one other application running. Last night, I think I tested the limits of my PC by having SL and two other applications open. Got a virtual memory warning! EEK! Yeah, it's not the blue screen of death or anything, but I never like getting warnings of any sort on my PC. And I've been told that Windows Vista is also a memory hog...so maybe I'll need to go up to 2 GB when I upgrade from XP to that (after the first service pack...need the first bugs worked out).

Vacation Anyone?

I know I keep saying it, but I really need a nice, long vacation. Preferably, somewhere sunny with a nice beach. But, there's also the lure of some nice North Carolina mountain real estate. Part of my family lives in Greensboro, and we've had to drive through the mountains in NC to get there. It's really quite lovely and peaceful. It might be a good place to go in the fall, when the leaves are turning. There's nothing quite like the Smoky Mountains at fall's peak, I tell you. Well, Ohio's pretty nice too, especially where I live. But wow, the mountains all ablaze in reds, yellows, and oranges is a sight to behold.

I Miss My Pens

Yes, you read the title right. Now that everything is checked on screen, I miss marking up hard copy with my red, purple, green, blue, or even in some cases, pink pen. I have all of these pens sitting here, waiting to be used. I think they're lonely (okay, not really). Now, I just open up an Adobe Acrobat PDF document and make corrections using its editing tools. It's a necessity, since we now use so many offshore vendors and can't exactly swap hard copy back and forth easily. But I do miss being able to make corrections on a piece of paper. Now everything's just stored on a server somewhere. If it crashes, I'm doomed!

Um, Where Did Spring Go???

The past few weeks, Mother Nature has been playing tricks with some parts of the country. The calendar says it's spring, but the temperatures (and snow...yes, SNOW!) do not. Now, the days are getting longer, but still...when you have to run your heat, a lot, in April...something's wrong. It's enough to make me go online and look at an Orlando vacation home or two, just so I can imagine myself in sunny, warm weather. Because when I look outside, it's cold, rainy, and icky. I prefer my daydreams to reality, in this case.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

My Obsession with Skin Care

I think I might have found a line of products that will help me combat my adult acne, as well as stave off aging a little bit. It's called md Formulations, and I use their line of glycolic acid products. The miracle product for me is their Vitamin A Clearing Complex, which has 5% glycolic acid, 5% salicylic acid (never seen it that high before in an over the counter product), and 1% retinol. It's causing me to purge a little...but the breakouts clear up in one day! I'm hoping that if this stuff really works, and I can get my skin totally clear that I can start using a copper peptide product to help with the scarring I have. I have pits and depressions, unfortunately...maybe not as bad as some, but it's bad enough for me. So, we'll see if the md Formulations works!

Home Decoration in Second Life

One thing that's nice about Second Life when choosing houses is knowing that you'll never have to worry about coming up with house painting ideas. It's all a matter of applying a texture to a prim, which is sooooo easy. Now, creating prims is easy too...depending on how complex one wants to get. But applying the textures is just a matter of clicking a button. It's truly amazing, and actually rather fun to do. Perhaps this will be my Second Life calling...designing stuff. What, I don't know, but I do want to do something besides dance and shop, haha. :)

Shopping for Furniture in Second Life

It's happened...I've found a Second Life partner, significant other, boyfriend...what have you. :) He's asked me to live with him in this amazing Greek-style open house on an island, and he's asked me to help find some furniture for it. Says a woman's perspective is almost always better, haha! Anyway, shopping for home furniture in Second Life is rather challenging, because you can't exactly measure it like you can in real life. What looks great in the showroom might be too big for the place you've got.

The Neverending Search for Quality Pet Food

My poor kitty, Valencia, has feline IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). I've narrowed it down to a grain allergy she has. She cannot tolerate any grain whatsoever...or any dry cat food, even the ones that say they have no grain in them. It's all very frustrating. I'm always on the lookout for a pet supplies place that carries Natural Balance wet food, which she absolutely loves. My local pet food place is going to be discontinuing it, so I'll have to order it online (or from them...but I have no idea for how much).

All This Exercise Is Making Me Hungry!

Seriously...ever since I started back at the gym, I'm soooo hungry! Guess now I might need to find something to control my appetite, as I am trying to lose weight...which is hard when you can't seem to get enough to eat. Read about Tenuate, which is supposed to be an appetite suppressant. But usually with me...appetite suppressants either make me MORE hungry, or make me very jittery. So, I try to stay away from them. But this is ridiculous. I ate breakfast at 7:30 this morning, and I was hungry before I got to work at 9! Ugh. Not fair. Hope this one works!

Internet Censorship

My company has started blocking certain websites using Websense. It's rather annoying, really...as I usually like to surf during lunch and read some of my favorite blogs. One of them is tagged as "adult content" which sleighs me. Next thing you know, they'll be bringing in a telecom consulting firm. I dunno. I can see the need to band some websites...but really, an entertainment blog? That's all it is. At least they haven't banned blogs alltogether...not yet anyway. Guess I'll be doing mobile blogging if they start that.

Slave to Beauty

Every morning, I have to "put on my face" before going out into the world. That is, I have to put on makeup, lest I appear a bit pasty and ill. Last time I forgot to put on mascara, people kept asking me if I felt ok. Sorry, can't help having blonde eyelashes, folks! My bathroom mirror has nice, bright lights above it...but what I really need are some makeup mirrors with lights on the side. Sometimes, I just can't see everything I need to see in my current mirror. I only see it when I look in a mirror in broad daylight. That's always fun to find out something doesn't look as good as it did when you put it on, just due to bad lighting. Oh well.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

My Father, The Antique Collector

Since I mentioned my dad in my last post...I just had to bring up the fact that he's bought even more antique stuff, mostly silver. It's truly astonishing the amount of silver, china, and crystal the man owns. But, he collects it...so more power to him! I'd rather him collect stuff like this than have a ton of grandfather clocks, all going off at the same time (the two smaller ones he has are bad enough). It's just going to be very interesting...and very time consuming...when it's his time to go to the life of the world to come. I mean, my brother and I will keep some of it...but since it's not my thing, I can't see keeping all of it. Anything that has sentimental value or a family heirloom will definitely be kept, but if it doesn't...it'll get sold. Hate to do that, but since I'm not a collector of stuff like this (and neither is my brother), it's what will probably happen. Oh well, c'est la vie!

My Dad the Card Shark

My dad loves to play bridge, so it's a good thing there's a bridge club at his condo complex. Every now and then, he hosts the weekly event, which of course requires folding tables galore since this bridge club is actually quite large. He's always worried if he'll have enough chairs to go with it, not to mention enough food (although that's rarely a problem, since he makes enough to feed 50, it seems). What I love about his playing bridge is...he's terrible at math, yet he has this sort of sixth sense about bridge. He just knows what to bid, and usually comes in first or second with his partner. I've never played him for that reason...no sense in causing a family feud over a card game, haha (we're both rather competitive, in case you were wondering). Think he's not playing this Friday, due to it being Good Friday...and my brother going in for yet another lithotripsy for yet another kidney stone. But I'm sure he'll be back at it next weekend.

Yes, Virginia...I Have a Date Tonight

I signed up with eHarmony.com, and got matched up with a lot of guys, none of whom really seemed to stand out with me...except for one. He's a mechanical engineer, and a self-professed motorhead (probably would love to have a transfer tank in his garage)...but he seems like a really nice guy overall. When I asked what his three wishes were, they all had to do with other people besides himself (and his dog, who he'd like to make a puppy again). That's what I call being mindful of the wants and needs of others, and it's something I have to have in my partner. So, we'll see how it all goes tonight. Perhaps I'm not his type physically, or vice versa...or perhaps he's a little too much of a gearhead for me (although I dated an aerospace engineer who loved to work on his car and his Cessna all the time, which never got to me...he was just a jerk, haha). I'll keep my fingers crossed! :)

Woo Hoo!

I've lost 6 pounds in the last two weeks. Finally, some success in my weight loss goal of 15 pounds. It's about time, I have to say. Of course, I have no one else to blame but myself for taking so long to eat healthier, and learn to make choices. That's been the key for me, I think, is learning how to prioritize food vs. health in my life. Yes, I still eat food for comfort, but not like I used to. I don't eat two hours before bed time, which is usually 11:00 PM during the week, and I just ask myself every time I'm faced with a food I'd normally want to gobble down whether I'd have that food now, or be the size I was 2 years ago. So far, so good...and I'm back with my personal trainer as well. Perhaps that'll speed up the process a bit...at least I hope it does!

Uh Oh, Shorts Season Is Coming Up Soon....

And for women, that means shaving the legs, even moreso than usual (like, every other day in my case). I can't use any of those chemical hair removers, and every time I've had a wax, I have a terrible reaction. Even with shaving, I tend to get ingrown hairs, so I have to use Tend Skin just about every time I shave to keep that from happening. It stings a little at first, but it's worth it in my opinion. If you can't use Nair or go through waxing...it's a necessity!

I. Hate. WebEx.

Most of my conference calls take place via WebEx, where we get to go into comas while watching a PowerPoint presentation on someone else's computer, and having it read to us at the same time. I mean, I understand that we can't do video conferencing all of the time (we are set up to do it...it just costs money). But seriously, I think WebEx sessions are for the most part, evil...I can't stand to have something read to me as I watch it on screen. It's an automatic "tune out" for me, so I don't learn much of anything...even if I do pay attention. Oh well, it's not going to go anywhere anytime soon, so I guess I'll just have to cope and deal, like I do with everything else about corporate America.

Having Success with My New Diet Trick

Okay, I'm not officially sick of all the commercials for diet pills I see. People just need to exercise and learn to control the demons that got them into the spot they're in now (like me). The cognitive behavior thing I'm trying does seem to be working well for me. Heck, I even managed to turn down homemade chocolate sauce, made by my gourmet chef of a father. Now, I did have some sangria last night...but it's not like I'm having it every night, which is what I'd do with Hershey's Kisses (if I kept them in my house, which I don't). So, I think people should stop wasting their money on diet pills and do it the old fashioned way, hard work.

Me and my Headaches

If it's not the weather, it's tension...or my neck needing to be put back into alignment by my chiropractor. I've wanted to try fioricet, which is only available by prescription, but it looks like a jacked up version of Excedrin with all the caffeine it has. Also has something called butalbital, which I'm not even sure what it is...so I think I'll just stay away from it, on second thought. Excedrin usually does the trick for me.

Hangovers

The last time I had a hangover, which was so long ago I can't even remember when it was, I wish I had had one of those hangover cures that you see advertised on TV or in magazines all the time. Granted, I'm not entirely sure how they work, but something has to be better than just taking aspirin with lots of water. Of course, drinking a ton of water after a long night of drinking goes a long way in preventing hangovers (at least it's worked for me), but if you can't do that, then I suppose the hangover cures would be the next best thing.