The nights have been cool lately, and I'm talking about the temperature. I guess I mean cool the other way too, although the word that actually comes to mind is "lovely." There's something always a bit poignant about the end of August, but I also get a feeling of happy anticipation because the Best Season of the Year is beginning soon. The season of cool temperatures and pretty leaves, apples, pumpkins and Halloween. So I don't really feel too sad.

And you know what else is starting soon? Even sooner than fall. A popular recurring topic here at Miss Rachel's blog: school! I have my first class on September 6. I wrote it in my planner pad. I've sneaked a peak at the syllabus from a previous semester that's posted online and - scary! Lots of work!- but good. It's gonna be good people It's Archival Methods and Services; this is an interesting class No more management theory, no more terrifyingly cryptic technology. This could be the beginning of my new career. The class even includes an internship. I'm going to get out there and begin doing something and making some connections.

Of course, I always have doubts and fears. I'm already thinking: what if it "doesn't work out" in some way? I am sometimes plagued by this nameless, amorphous anxiety which I just need to pretty much ignore and push past. I have to keep going, after all. I just get scared sometimes.

Labels: anxiety, autumn, school

posted by Miss Rachel 8/25/2008 09:22:00 PM

. . .

Have you been watching the Olympics? I've never been much of sports watcher except for figure skating and tennis, and I have been known to "catch the fever" when the Red Sox are in the play-offs but I have been watching some of the action. Mostly, I've been watching women's gymnastics, taping it when it's on too late. I also was pleased to hear Bela Karolyi speak out about the unfairness of some of the judging, such as in the vault event. I'm not a fan of counting metals or rooting for one country (even my own) over another, but I do think people should follow the rules and I do think the judging should be fair. And it sure wasn't in the vault.

********************

I'm still watching a lot of Intervention episodes on YouTube. (I mentioned that here a few weeks ago.) The most recent episode was about a young woman who got high off canned air, you know, the stuff you use to clean your keyboard with? I had no idea that you could do that, although I did know about whipped cream cans (and tried it a couple times. Dumb, I know; it was a long time ago.). Anyway, today at work someone had one of those cans of air and I asked to look at it. It does have some kind of warning about inhaling it on it. Then I told her I had seen an Intervention episode about someone who used it to get high, and I said, "I've never heard of doing that" and she said she hadn't either and then, "Of course we wouldn't, Rachel." Ha. I didn't say anything to that, but if she only knew... I guess I appear pretty "straight" now, but I used to be a real pot head and I also did acid a couple times and mushrooms a number of times. I never tried any hard stuff like coke or heroin though, and meth wasn't even around back in those days. At least not around me.

********************

I didn't work out today. I did work out on Sunday so I felt it wasn't too bad if I let it go. And I let work take over and just wanted to get out of there at the end of the day. That's why I should work out during the day. See, I really like working out, but if I leave it till the end of the day, I'm tempted to bag out because I just want my obligations DONE for the day. My coworker said, "Now you promise me you're going to work out tomorrow?" and I said, "Yes, I promise." Generally, I don't like other people "checking up on me" about my exercise habits, but she and I have an understanding. I don't mind her doing it because she's kind about it, and she knows I feel better if I work out.

********************

Watching: The Princess Bride (1987) starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, and Robin Wright. I think I was one of the tiny percentage of people who hadn't seen this. A coworker foisted it upon me, telling me it was one of her favorite movies of all time. And I did enjoy it.

This is Spinal Tap (1984) starring Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. I hadn't seen this in years, but it's a darn funny movie (it goes to 11). And Christopher Guest's character of Nigel totally looks like my brother. I mean his face, not his rocker look; it's like, that's my brother. I didn't notice it the first time I saw it (in college), but after the movie was shown on campus, some people started calling my brother Nigel.

Note: both of these movies were directed by Rob Reiner and had Christopher Guest in them. Funny, I didn't see the resemblance to my brother in Guest's character in the Princess Bride.

Labels: physical fitness, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 8/18/2008 10:21:00 PM

. . .

Video Update

... in which you can hear me hiss like a cat.

Labels: cats, family, shopping

posted by Miss Rachel 8/10/2008 10:04:00 PM

. . .

Am I Addicted to the Internet?

62% Hardcore Junkie (61% - 80%) While you do get a bit of sleep every night and sometimes leave the house, you spend as much time as you can online. You usually have a browser, chat clients, server consoles, and your email on auto check open at all times. Phone? What's that? You plan your social events by contacting your friends online. Just be careful you don't get a repetitive wrist injury... The Quiz at Quiz Meme!

Labels: memes

posted by Miss Rachel 7/31/2008 07:48:00 PM

. . .

Update

So far so good with Spark People (SP). I finally figured out how to get it set up for someone who wants to lose weight, but doesn't want to us SP's meal plans. You click on "don't show meal plans." Duh. Seriously, though it was not exactly obvious because you get only two choices when you start: either you don't want to lose weight or you want to lose weight and follow a plan. By visiting the help section, I found out that you choose the latter and then there is the aforementioned "don't show meal plans" button you can click. Because the last thing I want is someone else telling me what to eat. Stuff like that definitely pushes my buttons. I would say it makes me want to rebel like a child against her mother, but it's more that I would think, why are you telling me what to eat? I'm an adult, and I didn't ask for your advice; mind your own business!

***************************

This Friday I am taking the day off to relax and to take Trinka to the vet. I feel so bad about taking her to the vet because she hates it so much, but on the other hand (or paw), I ADORE Trinka, and I want to keep her healthy. She's almost 16 years old, and I believe I can keep her around for a while still. She seems very healthy. Her kidneys are not working as well as they used to, but that's to be expected with an older pet, and I have her on special "kidney friendly" food.

***************************

Watching: Just Another Girl on the IRT (1992) starring Ariyan Johnson, Kevin Thigpen and Ebony Jerido. I saw a preview for this movie once, and thought it looked interesting, but I never did get to see it. A capsule review of it seemed to paint the picture of Chantel as a heroine, but this Hal Hinson's review gives a different viewpoint. I can't decide what the director intended. I mean, I felt disappointed in Chantel, but am I supposed to, as the reviewer suggests? At any rate, it's an unusual story about poor black WOMEN (for a change, instead of just the "boys in the 'hood" that we might see occasionally) so I think you should see it, and let me know what you think if you do.

Labels: fat, Trinka, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 7/29/2008 09:10:00 AM

. . .

Today was my "weekend catch up" day since I spent most of the "real" weekend in Rockport. I planned to do a lot of relaxing, but I ended up being quite busy, thanks to a workout, lots of laundry, grocery shopping, renewing Blue's license at the Town Hall and making dinner for Sweetie and me. It's also pretty darn hot out which makes everything seem more strenuous.

Like my workout for example. I headed upstairs a little before noon determined to do 40 minutes on my elliptical trainer, and I did, but it was really tough. I had a fan on me, and the upstairs wasn't too hot at that time, but after a while I just felt so tired, especially in my legs. When I was done, I felt kind of space-y so I had some water, a frozen fruit bar, some Triscuits and a piece of Laughing Cow cheese, and I felt a little better. I've been drinking water all day long too.

In other fitness news, I joined Spark People today! I joined Fitday a few years ago, and found it to be adequate, but nothing exciting, and I had read good things about Spark People on others' blog so today I decided, what the heck, and signed up. So far I'm pretty impressed. For one thing, it has a lot more foods that I eat already in the food database. Like I typed in "Earth Balance" (vegan "butter") and it was there. And that's just one example. On Fitday I had to enter a lot of custom foods. There's also this whole "fun" mood to the site that seems nice. There are teams and communities and such, and although I'm not one for online social networking sites, it does make going to the site more interesting.

Labels: busy life, physical fitness

posted by Miss Rachel 7/21/2008 09:11:00 PM

. . .

Book Meme (plus a movie update)

I got this from Mopie. I assume The Big Read to which she refers is here.

Here are the rules:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.
5) Reprint this list in your own LJ (or blog)

Here is my bending of the rules: I have about had it with editing the html so I'm not going to do the strikethrough thing. Even if I haven't underlined a book, meaning I LOVED it, you can assume that I at least "liked" all of the books I read, because I don't finish books I don't like. All the books left in plain text you may assume I did not read (or only read part of) even if they were assigned in school. I also do not plan to read these books, but that doesn't mean I won't ever.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (No way. Never ever.)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (part of it)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (part of it)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (I'm certainly not ruling this or maybe Anna Karenina out so as to have read something by Tolstoy.)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (or The Brothers Karamazov)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (I actually may have already read this, but I'm not exactly sure.)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (see War and Peace)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (or something else by Dickens)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (maybe...)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (I think this another for the "never ever" pile.)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

***************************

Watching:
The Breakfast Club (1984) starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. I was under the mistaken impression that Sweetie had never seen this so I added it to our Netflix queue. Turns out he had, he just didn't remember it the way I did. "What if your house, your family, no... your dope... was on fire?"

Ballet Russes (2005) A documentary about a ballet company and all the fascinating stuff that went on behind the scenes.

Savage Grace (2007) starring Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane and Eddie Redmayne. Saw this at the Little Art Cinema last night. Didn't get the greatest reviews, but I enjoyed it. Nothing like a wealthy, f***ed up family to get my attention. And it's based on a true story!

Labels: memes, reading, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 7/20/2008 09:30:00 PM

. . .