What Entertains Me

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Home Organization

My desk at home is a mess, a big nest of plugs, network cables, USB cables, etc. It's amazing I haven't gotten myself all tangled up in them. And, I also can't believe that Valencia, the chewing cat, hasn't managed to bite them all in half or something. I really need to look into those cord organization systems, because I don't know what's what anymore. I unplug something, hoping that it's not something vital. Usually, I'm lucky...but sometimes, I'm not (like unplugging the light that's allowing me to see the cables!). Maybe I'll make it a project for some rainy weekend...which this weekend is not going to be (yay!). So, I'll just procrastinate some more.

Winter Has Left the Building

Now that it's warm...I'm not having as many fantasies about escaping to warmer climes, sailing away on one of those crewed yacht charters in the Caribbean. Yes, I still miss the beach, but at least now I can walk outside without bundling up, soak up some vitamin D, and just feel better about life in general. Winter really, really gets me down. And it's only getting worse as I get older. Perhaps someday, I'll move to where the sun shines most of the time. But for now, I guess I'll just have to deal with winters...knowing that they don't last forever.

Porches and Patios

I wish my patio didn't face the parking lot. If it faced the other way, I think I'd spend a lot more time out on my patio, enjoying the new teak outdoor furniture I bought last year to replace the ugly resin stuff I had. But, even if I don't use it now...I'm sure I'll be able to use it, if and when I ever buy a house (which will have a proper deck or patio for sitting outside on perfect days). There's just something about sitting facing a parking lot that makes me feel on display...probably because I am, especially being on the first floor. Oh well. At least it looks nice. :)

The Housing Market Goes Boom

You know, I keep hearing about how the housing market is crashing. I believe them. And I think anyone who took out a variable rate mortgage, when the loan rate was at an historic low, were complete idiots. The rates would only go up, not down! People were so excited to be able to afford the house of their dreams. So, I'm sure there are people in California, where the cost of living is sky high, scrambling to get a locked in rate with a state of California mortgage refinance. Otherwise, they will lose their dream house to the nightmare of foreclosure. This is why I still rent...other than the fact that I really can't afford to own right now (home repair, anyone?). But if I had bought...I sure as heck would never, ever have gone with a variable rate mortgage.

Company for Sale

With my company up for sale, and the winning bidder being announced sometime this month, it makes me wonder what's going to change immediately, and what's going to change over time. There's a database we have to use, which is the bane of everyone's existence. I'm hoping it's replaced with some better, more user-friendly forecasting software. Because really, the system we use now is horrible. It's clunky, buggy, and no one really knows how to use it...the manual is ridiculous. So we all just sort of muddle through it. So maybe...just maybe...we'll get something good out of this whole sale thing.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Spring = Warm Weather = Golf

This past weekend, while driving to Cincinnati for my weekly dinner with my family, I saw a number of people out playing golf. A friend of mine recently took up golf, and she loves it. She's mentioned a brand, Callaway golf I believe, that she swears by. I wouldn't know Callaway golf from a hole in the ground, to be honest. But she wouldn't use anything else, apparently.

What's funny is, she didn't think she'd ever like playing golf...but her dad does, and so does her mom. So now, she's able to go home and play golf with them, which I think is great. Perhaps if she hadn't moved to Columbus, I might be tempted to take up golf with the way she praises it. But, I think I'll pass since she's not here. Think it'd be much more fun if I had a golf buddy...but no one else I know plays it. Oh well, maybe someday.

Reminiscing

I've been reminiscing lately about a trip my family took back in 1990 to the UK and to France. We ended up staying in a lot of bed & breakfast places in the UK, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We met the most interesting people and got good "inside" information on places to see and whatnot. Having tea setups in each room was wonderful too, as I had caught a horrible, awful, nasty cold...and for June, it was chilly (at least for someone from Ohio).

There were only two incidents, as I call them, that ruffled my feathers a bit. One was a place where I couldn't get both orange juice and cereal with milk for breakfast. I had to choose between the two. And the other was a place that ran out of water in the middle of my shower...while I had a head full of shampoo. That was interesting. But overall, I think if you're going to do a driving tour of another country, especially England, that bed & breakfasts are the way to go.