new pictures!

i uploaded a bunch of old pictures from the 'puter last night - and took some new ones of nilsson! here's the nilsson set: nilsson pictures!

2008

okay, so maybe this will be a year where i actually do stuff that i say i will, like: post more regularly; start working out again; do shit on time, rather than late; be less redundant in speech and action; take more pictures; be creative. all sorts of things. maybe? here's to hoping!

if i had to sum up 2007 in an awkwardly worded sentence, it would be: the year in which i fucked up significantly less things in my life, learned to knit, and got a niece. ! of course, the year was much more than that, and in some ways less. but that first part about f-ing up less things - that covers a LOT of territory, and it is a change that i hope to repeat each year. and learning to knit - that falls under a yearly resolve to be more creative, and i hope to continue more this year. and my niece, madeline, well that's just a perfect way to end a year. :) bessie and david are just doing a great job already, and maddie is just as cute as can be. i'm just sad that i am so far away.

so i've been busy for the past month...

our previous renter moved out, and new one moved in. that involved a shit-ton of work to get her bedroom and bathroom looking good. the old renter was one dirty dirty slob at times. i borrowed julie's carpet steam-cleaner and used up hours of my life cleaning the carpet. i almost threw up the first time i emptied the water cannister. the waste water was blacker than wonder woman's hair. about 6 or 7 cannisters later, the water was the color of a nice grey wool sweater that i have and i declared it was clean enough. then the painting and cleaning. all in all, it took a week - a week in which i should have been doing christmas shopping and addressing holiday cards. you can probably guess which went by the wayside this year...

poor old duchess passed away the day after thanksgiving. rest in peace, duchess. we hadn't planned on getting another pet anytime soon... but some friends of ours found a little wild kitty in the storm sewer in front of their building, and we ended up adopting a very sweet grey and white chubby little one-eyed furball - now named nilsson. yes, one-eyed! the vet suspected that he had a massive infection at birth, which shriveled his right eye. there is still a lingering infection in the ear and nostril on that same side, and his widdle baby teefers on the right side are decayed. but the ear and nose are clearing up and once his big teeth come in he should be fine. poor little kitty! we finally got a new memory card for the camera, so i'll try and get some pictures tonight. he is extremely friendly and feisty and purrs almost non-stop. little stinker.

i had a terrific christmas visit at my folks in ohio. scott got to come for a few days this year, so after 3+ years dating - we spent our first christmas together! yay for that. there was much merry-making, card playing, baby kissing, and general holiday goodness. we spent new years eve at our friend ian's house. i stayed up way too late and drank a smidgen too much sparkling wine - but hey. what are new years eve's for, if not for that?

and now i am back at work for the first time in a week and a half. i am pretty much brain-dead and just farting around on the computer - but i am putting on a good show of getting stuff done. i've developed a system over the years: the day before i leave for vacation, i clean up all mysterious abandoned piles of crap, do some filing. then i put sticky-notes on absolutely EVERYTHING, stating what the next action is for each item. even if it may be obvious: "proof, then return to so-and-so" or "finish list and mail letters" or "catalog and put in archive." then i leave a pile of 7 or 8 easy tasks on my desk. that way if i get hit by a bus, then there aren't any mysteries - and - i have a totally scripted day for my first day or two back in the office. plus, just having a super-clean office makes me look more productive for that first day back. bonus! so today i've done 5 of my scripted tasks, and can prolly knock off one or two more. that, plus tooling around on the internet, makes for a reasonably busy first day back without having to use my brain at all. yay, me.

mid-november updates

• okay, so jessie STILL HASN'T HAD THAT BABY. grrrr. aunty melly is getting m-i-g-h-t-y impatient, let me tell you. but i suppose that kind of impatience pales in comparison to what jessie is going through. so i should probably keep my trap shut and wait.

• my birthday is rapidly approaching, and i haven't quite decided on the tone of the evening yet. i want to have some friends over to hang out, drinks some drinks, play some games - it will either be on my birthday (a thursday this year) or the day after, friday. i need to make a decision...

• i had the worst wendy's-related experience of my LIFE today at lunch. maybe even the worst fast food experience of anyone's life. i was busy down in the archives all morning, and totally forgot that i didn't pack my lunch today. i was planning on ordering sushi delivery, but i spazzed and forgot all about it. so at 1:00, when all my pals were gathering in the lunchrooom, i had to haul ass over to wendy's to buy some emergency lunch. before i left, jennifer asked that i buy her a junior cheeseburger - no tomato, no onion. so i cheerily speed off to the nearby wendy's, i waited in line at the drive-thru, and it came time for me to order:

lady: can i help you.
me: yes, um, can i get a ham and cheese sandwhich, no mayo... (pause)
lady: ham-n-cheese combo, what else?
me: no, actually, just the ham and cheese - no combo, and...
lady: [interrupts] that it?
me: i also need to get a small chili and a junior cheeseburger, no tomato, no onion
lady: so that's a ham and cheese, a small chili, and a junior cheeseburger no mayo no onion... that it?
me: well, um, no mayo on the ham and cheese, and the junior cheeseburger was no tomato, no onion...
lady: *big sigh* junior cheese, no mayo no onion. please pull around.
me: .... [thinking: this is going to be bad...]

• so i pulled up to the window, and my total was $6.59. i had some random change, so i started picking a coin up and she slammed the window in my face and started taking drive-thru orders from her headset. grrr. i waited there with my change ready, and she finally opened back up and took my money - i gave her $20.09. she took a few more orders, griping into her headset "you gonna have to just wait - YOU JUST GONNA HAVE TO WAIT!" to the poor ordering people behind me... she then shoved a pile of money into my hand and slammed the window. i counted $15.00. huh? i was expecting $13.50 - i needed the quarters. so i waited, and eventually she opened the window to say, whilst looking at me like i'm retarded, "what are you waiting on?" i said, "well, you gave me the wrong money... see.." she interrupted with, "YOU gave ME $20.59! i keyed in $20.59!" hmmm. i replied, politely, "no, i gave you a $20 bill, and 9 cents. i didn't have that much change, so i gave you a nickel and 4 pennies." to which she replied, with death in her eyes, "so THAT'S what you're waiting on - 4 CENTS?!?" double-huh? "no, actually, i need 50 cents and you gave me 2 extra dollars..." she stared at me, slammed the window shut and yelled for someone to open her drawer. then she opened back up, shoved 50 cents in my hand and slammed the window, once again. i took the money, then sat there trying to figure out the math of what just happened. i counted, recounted in my head, drew invisible math problems on the steering wheel... i was interupted by the nasty lady slamming open the window again, to say "WHAT are you WAITING for lady?" me: "um.... my food?" (hahaha) so she grumbled a bit, turned around and grabbed my sack of food and shoved it at me. i drove away, head reeling with money math. wtf? i got back to the lunchroom, and expressed my rage and puzzlement at the whole encounter and told the whole dumb story while i doled out everyone's orders. i laughingly said that i was certain that i would end up with mayo on my sandwich. which i did , of course. hardee har har, we all had a laugh at that. then jennifer looked puzzled and held up 2 strips of bacon - "i have bacon and tomato on mine!" when she asked for a regular cheeseburger, no tomato, no onion. i looked at the receipt and it said: junior bacon cheeseburger, the works, no mayo. HAHAHA! moron! but at least i got an extra $2 out of the whole thing... geez.

• the christmas cactus in my office is blooming! i don't know how the hell those things work - i heard you were supposed to put them in the dark for a few months, like a poinsettia. but i never do... and yet, sometime in mid-november, the silly thing starts sprouting elaborate pick and white flowers! i'm not complaining, just wondering.

• scott started his new job and he is busy and loving it so far. his and eric's last music video was mentioned in the washington post today, in a feature on the band. cool! he was also approached by another local musician, carol bui, for a video... she just got a good review in pitchfork.

• it's almost 4:00 on a friday. woot! and i only have to work 2 days next week, then it's a nice long holiday at home in ohio.
  

• the memory card in our camera died and i have yet to buy a new one. thus, the lack of pictures in my posts. but! i think there are probably some new ones on my flickr page, in case you haven't see it in a while. actually, maybe not. i have some from chicago and other places on the computer, but i haven't uploaded them yet... oops. next time!

• our housemate, eric, is moving out in a few weeks and we have a new prospect lined up - she is coming by on monday to take a look-see. i hope she can see past the gouged walls and stained carpet of the bedroom (which we *are* painting before she would move in), and the occassional (okay, everyday) hallway-tinkles of the elderly bladder of an even more elderly cat. i hope.
  

• fall is officially here! the leaves are finally at their peak (mid november!!?? what they hey??!) and it is getting nice and chilly. still highs in the upper 40s, so not quite cold yet - but we're getting there!

• my hair is shameful. i need a cut, but am too lazy/forgetful

• i have learned to knit! and i am planning on doing some crafting/sewing with my friend ashby this weekend. don't worry everyone. you won't be getting popsicle picture frames and crocheted handbags with bobbles and tassles. but! i did make myself a pair of slippers the other day. and a scarf. amongst other secret things.

• i can't think of anything else to say. so i'll leave you with that. goodbye.
  

it's a two-fer!

as in, two-fer-the-price-o-one! two posts in one day! actually, that's cheating a bit. i wrote that last one a few weeks ago, and forgot to post it. it had been sitting in my "drafts" pile until i noticed it there this morning. oopsie.

well, i got back from chicago a few weeks ago. the SAA conference was a success - met some new folks, caught up with old pals, glad-handed and did some networking. drank too much at the swank closing party. all good times! i also did a lot of walking and sight-seeing - at least one of the days, my pedometer (which i didn't even have on me all the time) read 6.87 miles! for one day! that's a lot, for me. it stunk that scott couldn't go with me... but next year, the conference is being held in san fransicso - yahoo! i think he is going to make it a priority to come with me to CA. i mean, free hotel? comped meals? what more could you ask for...

in other news, i started bike commuting last week! i've been talkin'-big about doing it for a month or so, but i finally took the plunge last week. i'm going to try and bike in at least two days per week. last week i did two, this week so far i've done two. pretty good start! and it's getting a bit easier each time. the trip is about 9 miles each way - so that's 18 miles in one day! it sounds more staggering than it really is, but it's still more biking than i'd have the patience to do at the gym. the trip to work in the morning is mostly flat - several miles of gradual downhill (which is nice) and a few short steep hills. unfortunately, that means the trip home (when i am the most weary) ends with several miles of gradual incline. yuck. i am usually ready to kiss the ground by the time i get home. i really need a better bike though. mine (looks like this, but mint green) is so heavy and slow. i have mentally spent my tax return for next year - come spring 2008, melly is getting a new bike!

i had a really horribly day yesterday. i rode my bike to work, and i was about 3 miles from home when i realized i forgot my purse. :( and my lunch. too late to turn back, i just kept going. i was a few minutes late for work, then i got a call from the dentist reminding me that my cleaning appointment was that afternoon. my dentist is in downtown DC. !!! i couldn't just leave my bike at the office and take the metro downtown - since i left my purse at home, i had to go there first anyway. so i changed back into my sweaty clothes and rode home. halfway home, i ran through a huge length of fishing line that some jackass left laying around, and it wrapped all around my gears. without a pocketknife, i hacked away with pointy rocks for about 20 minutes in the blazing sun. i got my bike to pedal forward, but i couldn't coast or stop without my chain falling off. EVERY TIME. and i was stuck in the hardest gear. i almost got run over by two semi-trucks - at the same time. and it took me an hour and a half to get home. then i had to walk to the train, go downtown, walk about 6 blocks to the dentist... then repeat. i was BEAT last night, but had many chores to do and didn't get to bed until after midnight. :( good news being, i was able to remove the fishing line and my bike seems to be okay.

it's finally fall, here in the city... cool nights, warm sunny days. yay! everything is still green, but i imagine we'll start seeing some leaf-changes in a couple of weeks. september and october are already filling up with "events" - virginia state fair, renaissance festival, apple-picking, full moon hike at the arboretum... side trip to visit tammy in hershey, PA. and! jessie's baby shower is this coming weekend!!!!! i can't wait! i have some presents to wrap - i've been crafty lately... i hear there are cousins stay at mom and dad's, and a bonfire/wienie-roast on friday!

i'll post some pictures tomorrow or soon. i have chicago pictures and other assorted shots to put on my flickr page, and i need to empty the camera before i come home this weekend.

the blogs that i check daily

okay, so i've been slow (s-l-o-o-o-o-w) about catching on to this whole "blogging" thing. I still don't really get it all the way, and as you can tell from my own "blog" that I just treat it as a place to update my family and friends and tell them where to find my vacation pictures. stuff like that. but there are a few blogs and websites out there that i check every so often, and i thought you might like to check them out too:

http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com (this site is run by this guy in brooklyn - he knits the most beautiful things!)

http://lonecellotheory.livejournal.com/ (my friend ian's blog, who is an actual blogger about interesting things)

http://www.weheartprints.com/ (pretty things to look at, wish for, and possible buy - because mostly they are affordable!)

http://www.frymyerfamily.blogspot.com/ (bessie and david's blog...)

http://icanhascheezburger.com/ (i am a sucker for stupid cats)

http://princeofpetworth.blogspot.com/ (site run by the "prince of petworth" - just observations about my neighborhood...)

i'm sure there are more - i mean, how else to i waste the first half hour of every workday? c'mon. i just can't think of them right now.

been so long, been so long

so, hey, i've been away for way too long. i realize that. please don't judge me! i am easily distracted sometimes. instead of writing a novella about what i've been up to, i am just going to string together some bullet-points. in no particular order - just whatever i think of first. that way, if you get bored by a section, or if you've heard it before... you can just skip over that one! perfect. so here goes:

• jessie and david came to visit over the weekend! yahooie! i am sooo excited to be an aunt, and bess definitely has a firm, round baby-belly now. she looks very cute and excited. i know they are going to have to cutest baby in the universe. i have some projects planned for my future niece? nephew? nieph? but since bessie reads this occassionally, i can't get into details. :) we did some touristy stuff on saturday - went on a DC Ducks tour! which was fun, even for a DC resident. i learned all sorts of factoids - most of which i forget now. but it was still fun. and we had great weather. the rest of the time we just hung out and gabbed and relaxed. and took naps.
  

• scott and eric are working on two music videos this summer/fall: first, one for the DC band Georgie James kind of pop-y music - great sound. they signed on with Saddle Creek earlier this year, and starting up a tour in england and canada right around the time their album comes out - in september. scott was busy with the video shoot all weekend, and i think they are hoping to finish up this coming weekend. i can't wait to see the footage! it's for their song "need your needs." the other video is for Dead Meadow - who are based out in L.A. now. scott and eric did a video for them back in 2005 (or maybe 2006), for "at her open door." they shot that one here in DC and Maryland, but this next one they are going out to Big Sur, CA to get most of the shots. that doesn't start up until later this month, so i'll keep you posted. they got a mention on Brightest Young Things today - check it out here.

• i finally got a bike! i've gotten to ride it a few times, but i took a long ride and hurt my back and messed up my knee somehow. my back is nearly mended, but my knee is still twinging a bit. but i am planning to bike to work once a week, after the weather turns not-so-ovenly-hot.

• i've re-started crocheting, and my friend jennifer has promised to teach me to knit - starting this thursday after work! i'm pretty pumped about that. there is a swell yarn store near my work, and it seems a pleasant place to hang out.

• the big SAA annual meeting is being held in chicago this year - i'm pumped about that! i went to chicago last fall for jennifer's wedding, and it was such a lovely city that i can't wait to see it again - this time on AIPs dime, not mine! :) i mean, sure i'll have to sit through days of workshops and sessions that aren't nearly as fascinating as the descriptions promised... but i'll also get to see some old grad school buddies and hang out and visit cool places in the evening - right? you betcha. i missed the block of rooms held for the conference, but i snagged a room at the spartan "club quarters" - itchy towels, tiny rooms, but great location and great price. plus, i won't have to continually dodge folks at the conference hotel. those folks who has been to a large conference know what i mean there.

• we went camping back in july - at assateague again. and we're going again in october! i think cliff and courtney are coming with us for the next trip, that that'll be particularly fun. i plan to dribble cheez-its all over their tent and watch the ponies come flocking. :)

• i let my gym membership slide since springtime, but i am going over there TONIGHT to re-up. sheer laziness that i let it slide, since it's pretty cheap. they are raising the rates - again - but it still works out to be $26/month. which is a steal.
  

• well, it's almost time to leave for the day, so i'll stop now. check out my flickr albums, to catch up on some pictures....

~mel

do not put your trash here...ever.

BIG NEWS! there's a feature on scott and eric in the washington city paper this week:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=1773

the lovely picture was taken in the alley behind our house, as some of you might recognize. (thanks for the location suggestion, dad - the photographer ended up picking your shot!) they are also having a screening of their last few projects - saturday night at the DC arts council in adams-morgan. come one, come all! they are showing both sexy stories, as well as the premiere of "the purgatory all-stars."

in other news:

• we went to a nationals game on wednesday night - i'm going to miss RFK stadium when they tear it down. i have a feeling that the new stadium will be much fancier and probably a little bit awful.

• i need to have a party! we had so many parties last year, and the year before. why not this year? i can't figure it out, except for maybe laziness and lack of money. i'll work on it.

• i also need to take more pictures. one of my co-workers said that she was sick of looking at my flickr site and that i needed to get on the ball. i couldn't agree more. :)

• i "won" a breadmaker on freecycle.com yesterday! yahooie! i pick it up tomorrow morning, and i can't wait to try it out.

• i've been running again, for the first time in 5 or so years. yikes! has it really been that long? anyway. i've been doing just-okay. i've been going twice a week, but i'd like to up it to three times a week if i can. so far, i'm running a half mile then walking for a while, then repeating that two more times. so that's a mile and a half total? sounds lame, but i've only been at it for two weeks and i'm pretty proud of it.

• i have lots of work to do today, so i'm not sure why i'm fooling around on my blog... and jennifer is having a BBQ tonight after work, so i can't stay late. off to do real job-like things!