SuzyQMartin

Jury Duty
I served on a jury for the first time, about 5 years ago in Austin. About a year and half later, I received my first summons from New York City. Because I’d served in Texas (within 4 years prior), I was able to have my date postponed for a year. Well, it’s been a year and a half and I finally received that summons. Today is my second (and hopefully final) day. The first day lasted from 8:45am-3:30pm. They only called people for 2 panels and I was not among them. Today we arrived at 9:30am. I was one of 16 people called for the first panel. But I wasn’t chosen to serve on the case. Right now I’m sitting in the hallway, at lunch (sitting across from a nun-all I can think of is a line from The Sound of Music’s “Maria”*), so we’ll see what the rest of the day holds. Using my laptop has been super-fantastic. I feel so hip. Not as many people have laptops as I’d expected. So far, the only site I’ve been unable to access with the city’s wifi is Disgruntled Housewife! Two separate people asked me today if I was a lawyer. It must be my spiffy bag (from the Container Store, of course). It’s certainly not my black acrylic track pants with the white stripe…. Or as I call them, my shooshy pants (named for the noise they make when I walk). Hey if I’m going to sit for hours, I’m going to be comfortable! This is only the second time I’ve used my spiffy bag. The first time was my previous foray at (New York) jury duty. Yesterday I found a pack of Spearmint Trident gum in the bag. I’ve learned that while nearly 2-year old gum can still be chewed, the taste is sorely lacking.

*”And underneath her wimple she has curlers in her hair”.

ETA: I wasn't chosen and they let us go at 3:30pm.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Various cell phone conversations

Shameless Plug
Happy New Year! I had 2 weeks of vacation, during the holidays. I spent it at home with Rick and the kitties. We rang in 2008, as well as Christmas pretty quietly. Spent lots of time napping and even some time sorting through miscellaneous paper work. Fun, right? Well, it was. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken 2 weeks in a row. I still have a few more days that I’ll be using in late February. So Christmas morning found me with 2 copies of Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life! Ha ha!! If anyone wants to shower me with other gifts, feel free to check out my Amazon Wish List. On a completely unrelated note, someone at work brought up the movie “Night of the Comet”. I really liked that one. A little cheesy, but fun. I had the same purse Sam has, in the last scene. And she wore jellies, of course. I can’t believe those shoes are (sort of) back in style. They are uncomfortable and make your feet stink and break easily. But I sure did love them back in the day. And one more unrelated thing. RIP Suzanne Pleshette.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Rick playing Half-Life.

Games
When I was very young I loved, loved, loved to play Candyland. I begged to play it over and over. Next was Mastermind. Then Rummikub (is it kub as in bear cub or ice cube?), which is still my fave. Though I’m not very good at it, I also enjoy Scrabble. Before leaving Texas, we were fortunate enough to play the Deluxe edition with the Deans. Now four years later, we finally bought our own-the Onyx version. All black, naturally. And it has the swiveling board. Rick and I played our first game on Saturday (I even won).
In other news, Rick is almost back in full health and I’m over the worst of it. Yesterday I bought a wreath for the door and a Christmas-scented candle. But no tree. Oh, and I finally added the super cute Christmas stocking photo link to this entry.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Rick playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.

Let It Snow!
Today was the first snow of the season. It was coming down lightly as I made my way to work. The first third of my journey was quiet and white. Then it got a little noisier and slushier as I got closer to 14th Street. I have to remind myself to not stand so close to the curb. I got sprayed with all kinds of yuckiness last year. Now all the snow has melted but it may return in a few days. Also related to the season, I think Rick has the flu. I had it about a month ago and may be coming down with it again. No, we didn't get the shot. I'm the crazy/stupid type that still goes to work when ill. Although last time, I compromised and left early several days.

Current Mood: sick
Current Music: Rick playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.

NaBloPoMo Recap
Blogging every day has been a challenge. Blogging for the sake of blogging is often sort of a drag, especially since I couldn’t go to bed until I blogged! Blogging always takes longer than I hope and that annoys me. Finding and coding links is partially the reason, but I don’t want to leave them out just because of the time factor. Without the “challenge” to inspire me to (Read: make me!) blog daily, I’ll probably lapse into going another several years… When I do blog again (as I’m sure I will), it will probably be more of the recap nature-possibly about my day but more likely entailing a longer time period. Though I have no shortage of random topics on which to expound (I still have a small list left from this project and I’ve probably even touched on many of these in previous journals). It’s the whole sitting down and typing that gets to me. Hence, I’m also an awful email correspondent. Which leads me to my next personal challenge: Answering my backlog of email!! Maybe one per day? Per Week? I’ll let you know how it goes.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Rick playing Halo 3.

Almost finished
So this would be my last NaBloPoMo entry, IF I’d started the challenge on time. Since I started it a day late, I’ll post a day later-to have the full 30 day experience and all. I hope everyone who participated in NaNoWriMo reached their goal and/or had fun and/or gained some insight, etc. Blogging regularly has reminded me that I really should get to bed earlier. On an unrelated note, can you believe it’s nearly December? And nearly 2008?!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None.

Christmas Trees
I have lots of fond memories of Christmas trees from family Christmases of the past. Due to the cats, we only recently started putting up a tree. I used to want it to be all or nothing but now the bulk of my (fairly large) ornament collection is still in Texas, plus we don’t really have the space. For the past couple of years we’ve put up a small silver fiber optic tree. Last year we went monochromatic and used only silver ornaments. Also last year, I melted the tree base (accidentally, of course). It’s more cost effective to buy a whole new tree. I know it’s silly to say but I miss my ornaments. So far, I’m not really inspired to decorate this year. But maybe I’ll change my mind as more tree vendors pop up on my way to work. I do like the smell of Christmas trees. I make sure to always have a Christmas-scented candle on hand for the season.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None.

Cats on the 'net
So obviously you can find plenty of cat-related links on the internet. Here are some of my faves:
Cute Overload (not just cats, and you can view by categories if you prefer), Stuff on My Cat and (my personal fave) I Can Has Cheezburger.
Even though I’m ever so slightly freaked out by the pidgin nature of it, Rick and I visit the latter site every day. Not sure what it’s all about? Wikipedia to the rescue.
Want to see live cats? From Japan? Here’s a link to several cat cams. Oh and how about this nifty set of photos of the day in the life of a cat?
I leave you with our cats, cheezburger-style.

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: "A Marshmallow World" sung by Johnny Mathis

Shoes
I’ve always owned a lot of shoes. I tried to cut down when we moved. If I can’t walk 15 blocks or more in them, comfortably, then they shouldn’t be taking up space in the apartment (especially when I only ever wear about 3 pairs, regularly). That doesn’t mean I always abide by this thinking… I’m really keen on the shoes here. I’m not much of a high-heel gal (I own one pair, basically). But I adore the wedge sandals. Some fall into the “So ugly they’re cute” category. One day, I might own the Corazon sandals. I just wish I didn’t have to order them online. I prefer to know immediately if they don’t fit and immediately try on another size. In High School, I ordered a pair of shoes from the Spiegel catalog and they were too big. I gave them to Hillary. These sandals are a little too expensive to give away.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None.

Zhen Zhen!
I can no longer call her Cubina. The San Diego Zoo’s newest panda cub received her name today. I voted for the winning name (pronounced jun jun as in fun fun)-Yay! Today, on the camera, was the first time I’ve been lucky enough to see her out of the nest. Rick saw her actually outside once, sleeping on the ground. Today she was alone and scuttling all over the place. Eventually mom came in and picked her up and took her back to the nest. Read about (her big brother) Mei Sheng’s trip back to China (the10/26/07 entry and forward). It made me a little weepy (in a good way).

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None.

I never thought I’d say this, but I actually miss doing laundry. Let me clarify. I miss doing laundry in my own washer and dryer. I’ve generally considered taking laundry (to wash yourself) to the laundromat a chore and a bore. But washing it in the comfort of your own home is heavenly and dare I day, fun. Well, fun for me! I really like the act of first sorting and then afterwards, folding. A clean pile of laundry makes me feel accomplished. Having a washer/dryer in the building (which we don’t) is just not the same. You still have to lug everything from one place to another and back and have lots of quarters. Time is money so we drop our laundry off across the street for someone else to clean and fold. Sorting costs extra so I do it myself (because not only do I enjoy it, I enjoy being frugal when possible). I now understand the need for a sturdy laundry bag. Previously they were more decorative but now it’s all about functionality. I think the first thing I bought at the Chelsea Container Store was a blue and white striped cotton laundry bag. It looked great but succumbed to rips. Nylon works best so far with canvas as the runner up. I also miss being able to use the dryer as an iron, because I do not iron (possibly steam, but not iron)!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: The sounds of Rick playing Halo 3.

Garfield
So as I mentioned before, I had a Garfield phase. I’m not totally sure what I liked about him. The story lines weren't anything special. I guess I liked that he was a cute cat, he liked lasagna (which is delicious) and was easy to draw. And most of the supporting characters were cute too especially Odie, Nermal, Pooky and Arlene. I had several of the (comic-strip compilation) books and several plush toys including Odie, Pooky and multiple Garfields. My fave one was given to me by my bro. I liked it because, unlike his usual pose, Garfield was standing on all fours. I still have that one (as well as Pooky) in Texas. I also had a lunchbox. This was right around the time lunchboxes were being mass produced in plastic instead of metal. Mine was yellow. This was also the era of the thermos with the flip top spout (perfect for your straw). But I digress. Around this time, I briefly owned a light orange tabby and guess what I named him?! I was fond of the television special, “Here Comes Garfield” with music by Lou Rawls and Desiree Goyette (with Garfield voiced nicely by Lorenzo Music). My fave song from the show was “Up On A Fence”. I could probably even still sing it…. No, I didn’t see the latest move, even though I have a soft spot for Bill Murray. It’s hard to believe Garfield’s still around and will be 30 in 2008. PS: Wikipedia was definitely used to refresh my memory on this subject.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: The sounds of Rick playing Halo 3.

You're older than you've ever been and now you're even older...
Age is an odd thing. In school, everyone a class or two ahead always seemed so much older, but once I reached that level it didn’t seem so old at all. Just like how 40 doesn’t seem quite as scary as it did when I was say, 18 (ok, maybe still a little). Lately I’ve measured my increasing age by children-the children of my family and friends. Sure, I can look in the mirror but sometimes the passage of time is subtler to detect. But not so with the kids! There’s the brother and sister I knew when they were a pre-schooler and an infant and now he’s graduated from High School and she’s attended her first Homecoming dance. On one side of the family, I'm the eldest grandchild of 18. I recall when my then youngest cousin (but now there are 2 more) was born and how I was 21 years her senior. Now she’s 16. Where did the time go? In keeping with the theme, a belated 1st bday to my first cousin, once removed (not “second cousin”, as I’d previously thought), Anthony. Here’s a pic of me holding his mom (my cousin) when she was nearing her own 1st birthday.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: "Sleigh Ride" as sung by Andy Williams

Thanksgiving '07
Up until we moved to New York, we spent all but one Thanksgiving with family. The first 2 New York years we spent it with our fellow Texans, the Cullar-Ledfords (we miss y’all!). Then they moved back to Texas and since then we’ve spent the holiday with the cats. I miss family but it’s also sort of nice to not have to leave the apartment. This year, since we weren’t sure we’d have a functioning stove, we ordered a turkey (and pie) from Boston Market. We started the day with Mimosas and apple pie then heated up the turkey and made all the side dishes (green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and cranberry from the can). The kitties even had their own plate of turkey. There was chocolate pudding pie and pumpkin pie (I ate too much of the latter, but it’s just so good!) for dessert. Rick even chose to listen to Christmas music. It was nice to have the whole day together and no big agenda-except napping. Now the dishes are done, the trash has been emptied and there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I do have to work tomorrow, but I won’t let that dampen my spirits. Hope your day was just as delightful.

Current Mood: full
Current Music: "Nuvogue" by Thomas Dolby

Appliances
Having always been a renter, I’ve never really needed to buy (large) appliances. Though I have chosen to have a washer/dryer a few times. The first time they were used, so price was the priority. The second time they were new, but price was still important so it was function over form. I miss the washer/dryer by the way, but that’s for another blog entry. So we got a new stove today. The oven on the old one stopped functioning and our landlord had it replaced. It’s fairly similar to the old one except the range top is much shinier. The inaugural baked items were 2 pot pies and a piecrust. The first cooked item was chocolate pudding (to go in the aforementioned pie crust). Currently, I’m doing almost anything to keep the whole thing clean. But check back with me in a few days. It’s hard to imagine picking out a stove (or refrigerator, etc.) from scratch. But if I did, it would probably have to be this and this (in Robin’s Egg Blue or maybe Mint Green). I’m in love with both of these. It would be more like owning a beautiful piece of art. Art that I could cook food with/store food in-awesome!

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: None. But I can hear people outside walking past our building...

Ramen
Every now and again I really enjoy ramen noodles. I mean from the bag, not their close relation Cup-O-Soup (reconstituted veggies, especially ones I'm not even wild about when fresh = yuck). I can’t imagine ramen as a side dish, as it’s often presented on the packaging. I guess it would be like having a side of plain spaghetti. But I wouldn’t do that either. Everyone has their own way of preparing their ramen. I like my ramen more soup-ish (but not too soupy). First, while still in the package, I smash it up. It’s fun and potentially messy but makes for good spoon-sized portions. Then I add about half of the spice packet (I like the chicken or shrimp the best) and any extra seasonings (including black pepper, garlic powder or salad dressing-Honey Mustard is especially tasty). I might add some frozen veggies (mmm, corn) and maybe even an egg. Then I add just the right amount of water and put it in the microwave. Not very nutritious but dee-licious!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None.

Jewelry
I go through phases with jewelry but what always seems to remain constant is a preference for goofier stuff (hmm, kitschy sounds much classier). There was a time when I wore 9 earrings at once and, while the holes still remain, those days are long gone. I tried it once a few years ago and I have no idea how I used to sleep in them everyday. I still own a lot of earrings-many made by my aunt Mary. I haven’t been in an earring phase for awhile. I had a bracelet phase too. It started out (back in the day) with the ”Madonna” bracelets and morphed into silver bangles. Too noisy! Since it came back into fashion again, I revisited (to a much lesser extent) the Madonna thing recently. They eventually all broke off (which I don’t recall happening back then, but maybe I’ve just forgotten). What I’m drawn to most is rings. Which is kind of funny because I pretty much wear the same one all the time (a gift from my Aunt Christine) and I only wear one per hand (and the left hand is already occupied). Though I do have 2 engagement rings, an idea I borrowed from my pal Michelle D. One is my actual engagement ring (silver with Forget-Me-Nots) and the other is my “fancy” engagement ring (fancy being silver and Onyx). Speaking of jewelry, there sure was some cute stuff at the Renegade Craft Fair over the summer and Etsy is an awesome (searchable) source for jewelry (and tons of handmade items). Two of my fave jewelry sites (from which I own one ring each) are: Naughty Secretary Club and Pancake Meow. And anything with skulls is also usually a winner, in my book.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: None.

Christmas Music Redux
Tonight was the first time I’ve listened to Christmas music, since my previous post. This time I listened via internet radio. So as I mentioned, I’m not as fond of the “newer” songs. For example, my favorite band penned/performed 2 of my least favorite songs. I’m not even linking to them. But bucking the trend are the following songs, always welcome on my playilist:
Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” (link includes awesomely cheesy video) and The Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping” (no video). The latter was played in a Christmas episode of The Gilmore Girls (back when I enjoyed that show). Of course, they also played one of the XTC songs that makes me cringe (though I still give them points for playing XTC)!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "Santa Baby" as sung by Eartha Kitt

Breakfast of the Champion(s)
Breakfast is probably my favorite meal to order out. Don’t get me wrong. I eat breakfast every day (well, unless it’s my day off and I sleep through it). Usually I have Cheerios. In High School I preferred Honey Nut Cheerios but these days I love the regular version. While I appreciate the more sugary cereals, I couldn’t eat them on a daily basis. “Fancy” breakfasts (as in basically anything but cereal) are such a treat. I rarely make them for myself (I’m much too lazy) and they wouldn’t be so healthy for every day. I like eggs and sausage best. I prefer my eggs Sunny Side Up (I want the whites to be pretty solid but the yolks to be all liquid). I prefer patty sausage, but link will do. I also like toast. Half of it to sop up the egg yolks and half with butter and jelly (strawberry if possible). Bacon is delicious, as are grits. Hash Browns are good as long as they don’t contain bell peppers. Wish I had some breakfast, right now!
(Apologies, to those who know, for the pun in the title)

Current Music: None.

Blogging Musings
This whole challenge has me looking back on my Diaryland entries and reflecting on the reasons for blogging and the ways to go about it. Most of my entries here have been anecdotal, unlike most of the Diaryland entries. Those were more like recaps, using blogging as a one-way tool to let others know what was going on in my life. And the best part is, the onus is on you. Not interested? Don’t look! I don’t think I could blog like that on a daily basis, unless you want the minutiae of my day. But I don’t even want to read that! So there ya have it, I’m halfway through this blogging challenge.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: None.