| You Are 38% Open |
You are open at times, but generally you don't let many people into your inner world. It's possible that you have a friend or two that knows you well. But to most people, you are a total mystery. |
Saturday, September 30, 2006
building a mystery
Thursday, September 28, 2006
holy shit, batman
um. wow.
and, there was no "hearing". she just met with a guy she'd talked with once on the phone, who was super nice. min said before she could even sit down he said, 'you're approved!'
holy shit.
and thank god. and thank EVERYONE who was sending all the good thoughts, prayers, etc, because obviously it worked. and another virtual thanks to all her doctors, who apparently sent in all the necessary documentation THE SAME DAY the govt asked them for it. especially impressive given some of those doctors' histories. :-p
but anyway - woooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
progress!
song du jour
let's just say that growth is hard, and sometimes, good as it is in the end, sometimes i get tired of it.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
no WAY
| You Should Be a Joke Writer |
You're totally hilarious, and you can find the humor in any situation. Whether you're spouting off zingers, comebacks, or jokes about life... You usually can keep a crowd laughing, and you have plenty of material. You have the makings of a great comedian - or comedic writer. |
Saturday, September 23, 2006
quilters! the musical!
finally posted a few pics from our little jaunt to bernal heights the other day, including this gem, which made me stop in my tracks.
anyway, also posted a few random pics from the last few weeks, so at your leisure i invite you to browse and smile.
Friday, September 22, 2006
girls in motion
oh except for the "with some girl" part. because if you think i can be a wallflower now, back then i was permanently affixed to the wall.
anyway, i don't know that i've had that type of dream since then either, but my thoughts on why i had that dream last night:
1. yesterday min and i talked about going to a club tonight. which we won't, but still, we NEVER talk about going to clubs.
2. min's preparing to go on a month-long trip. yes month-long! to visit friends east and northward. which means that
3. i'm going to be by myself, free to do whatever, whenever. which made me think of clubbing, apparently, and is soooo likely to happen.
our last therapy session, which i said was almost like pre-breakup planning, also focused on us doing more solitary activities. getting out more in the world, without the other person, to remind us of who we are, and that who we are is strong, when we're alone. granted that was 70% targeted to em, 30% to me, since i am out and on my own more often than she is, already. but this was impetus to really crack on her trip, which had been being thrown around for months. now she is actively planning to go in mid/late october, with some $ help from a friend who wants her to visit. :-) otherwise we couldn't afford it til next year.
anyway, while she's gone, i AM looking forward to getting out and seeing people that maybe i don't see that often, doing things that she wouldn't want to do (maybe ice skate! haven't done that for a while), etc. but to be honest i'm really looking forward to cleaning up the spare bedroom. :-p because it is filled with mostly her stuff, and (i will talk to her about this first, of course, but) i want to get it all down into the basement. i haven't seen most of the floor in a long time. also, my sister & her hubbie are coming at thanksgiving and hope to sleep in there. and no, not on top of all the, um, stuff.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
updates: the short, short version
- saturday we went to SF and:
- saw our therapist, b, for a VERY difficult but also productive session. to be honest it almost felt like pre-breakup planning. very interesting.
- strolled around bernal heights, which i have decided i'm in love with. they have an awesome little pet store with fabulous prices, for starters. and everything else is just adorable.
- had a most scrrrrumptious dinner at valentino ristaurante. simply charming, our waiter let us pick the music that played, and the food….oh my. sooo tasty.
- followed this with dessert at ghirardelli square. any day that ends with chocolate is good.
- had to get a new cell phone last night because cingular is run by punks. just kidding. we used to have at&t and well, finally had to convert. so today my right hand is a little tired from putting in phone numbers. because the old sim card was at&t they couldn't copy it to the new phone. so they said :-p
- OTOH my new phone is much cuter. i wish it was a camera phone, but maybe in a few months!
- marriage is being protected against sharks. i just thought you should know.
Friday, September 15, 2006
word of the day: oscillococcinum
or at least skim it and find these gems:
- But they could also grow and get one or two more balls.
- Roy thought immediately of a homeopathic application.
- Korsakov's first name is often incorrectly transcribed as Semen
- The mass of that container would have to be about a googol googol googol times our world, which would be incomprehensibly larger than the visible universe.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
i <3 hackers (and food)
but i'm fickle and i'm going back to my power bars tomorrow morning i think. i'm too impatient if nothing else. cooking? in the morning? please. meantime if you hear me hacking, that could be because i was choking or because SOMEone was being funny. hopefully teh funny.
not really much up otherwise, although i just remembered: before i got sick i planned to blog about the MOST amazing salad i had in my LIFE. uh...blogging about a salad? but let me get you salivating:
- strips of lean, tender, smoky NY steak
- the most exquisite beets in the world
- the most decadent nectarines in the world
- oh-so-juicy mango
- perfectly ripe strawberries
- black beans
- tarragon (!) vinaigrette
- mixed greens
about every second bite i would start making "yummy noises". and ALL organic - the beets and nectarines were the biggest yummy surprise. although, wasn't sure i'd like the dressing but - damn. oh and i got it at hoffmans, a long time favorite of ours. afterwards we followed up with ice cream at another standby, marianne's.
so what were we doing in santa cruz? well, we *tried* to attend the women's game night at the diversity center. we got there on time, sign said open...but no one home. called, waited 15 minutes...whatever. at least we were in cruz, where there's plenty to do! and so we dinnered, desserted and tooled around downtown.
in other gallavanting adventures (see, i'm getting around to some of it!), a few weeks ago i went to the PWG texas hold 'em poker night. by myself, thank you. after i sat through the 20 MINUTE in-person infomercial about an upcoming 'lesbian fashion festival' or somesuch, and the explanation of the poker rules, i actually had a good time. didn't clean up like i did up in tahoe but all those newbies, it took forEvEr to do one round.
plus as i said, we wasted a lot of time with the fashionista sales pitch. but wait, there's more! while we were playing, the fashion queen came by. does anyone here want a flyer? to pass out to friends, family, coworkers? no! go away. a few minutes later: everyone done signing up to volunteer at the fashion police roundup? yes! and no one signed it, so go away!
but still i had fun. and as liz pointed out, by surviving the sales pitch i've now got ownership in a timeshare in hawaii. kick. ass.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
taking the ring off
when min and i first got together i was a size 6. living on macaroni, hot dogs and working 3 jobs plus full time school will do that to you. i always said i'd marry a cook, so i didn't need to learn how to do it myself.
and that's precisely what i did. min is a fabulous cook and that first summer we were together, neither of us worked. so we had fun in the bedroom, fun outdoors, and fun in the kitchen. before long i had ballooned up quite a bit. i'll leave numbers out of this but suffice to say i hit clothing sizes i never expected to. min could care less, actually said she loved me more, and so for the most part, so did i.
i'd guess six months or so after our wedding (which was march 15, 1997), i noticed that my ring finger was bothering me. oh hi. my ring was stuck! after a good half hour, using a variety of tricks, i finally got it off. and it stayed off for a full day so my little cells could breathe.
i tried to make a point of taking it off every few weeks but after another couple months it was ON. no amount of wheedling would entice it off.
and so it was, until last spring, when it came off relatively easily. huh? i'd noticed my pants were a little more comfy, but whatever. we didn't have a scale yet, but after min's stomach surgery we got a scale to track her progress.
well even though it was for min, of course i couldn't let that scale just sit there. it kept talking to me everytime i went into the bathroom. fine! so i stepped on...oh. nice! i'm down 10 pounds! from the last time a doctor pushed a weigh-in on me that is.
it's been a little over a year since i stepped onto that scale at home. at this point i am just shy of having lost 75 pounds. this morning min happened to come into the bathroom as i was getting ready for the day, and she was admiring some new clothes of mine. this led to a brief discussion of weight (weight loss=new clothes) and then when she figured out how much i'd lost, she practically squealed: you should be so proud of that! good job!
and i am...it feels good. but like jennie said the other day (about her own transformation), it also feels odd at times. stopping eating when i barely begin to feel full? choosing healthier foods because i *want* healthier foods? exercising because if i don't, i feel out of sorts the next day?
um. who is this?
incidentally, min now she says she likes me this size better, if only because it's so nice to be able to reach all the way around me, and be more limber. i agree. i also like the new clothes. min has a pair of camo pants she bought that shrunk, so she can't wear them. i have been eyeing them for months, and last week i finally got them on! they're not comfortable enough for *me* to wear, but if this trend keeps up, i should be able to wear them in a month. just in time for fall!
i don't expect i'll ever get to a size 6 again, and i am totally ok with that. i'd *prefer* to lose another 30 pounds or so, but if i don't, that's ok too. all i really want is to get into those pants. :-D
oh and the ring? i have to wear it on my middle finger now. flies right off my ring finger. i actually lost it for a few days, a few weeks ago, because it *literally* flew away while i was brushing off the bed. even with all the trouble min and i have been having, this ring means a lot to me, and i love having a symbol of her wrapped around my finger. well, most days. :-)
ps. i started this entry months ago, but finished it today, courtesy of clearcase. i love you, clearcase!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
unspoken
the quote was something i never said. something i've never even thought. however it WAS something SHE said. i remember it very clearly because it startled me.
i've tried to gently correct this misremembrance before, but since it has to do with me wanting to be with other people, it's tricky. i understand how she could think that i might have these feelings, and that it might even seem natural given the situation (especially at the time, which was back in april). might even be easier to believe that i just needed a good fuck than the truth, which is that i was bereft on a much larger scale.
at any rate, i'm sorry that that i withheld my feelings and i imagine i'll be apologizing for that til the day i die, although obviously the problems in our relationship are the result of both of us. i wrote to her about all this tonight, hoping that in written form, i am easier to assimilate. and believe. we shall see.
meantime - i'm sad and frustrated. we're doing better in some ways, but this monkey is still not off our backs. and i hate it.
Monday, September 04, 2006
gallavanting part deux
yesterday i gallavanted up to alameda to shop and explore some local parks. so, buncha new pix up on flickr. also, got 2 innertube shots of me from the lake berryessa trip!
as to what else has been going on in my world, well, maybe i'll write eventually. but as you can see, i've been drinking. and giving myself away. i'm not sure it's the best way to whore my way to financial freedom but it's worth a shot.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
if you lived here, you'd be home by now
or could be if you'd acted on the post to scrappy last month, by the woman running code pink. some women are just luckier than others, i guess. since we passed this place on the way home from albany, naturally pictures had to be taken. and so i share them with you.
also pix are up from a jaunt to point isabel. more notes on all the recent gallavanting soon...
Thursday, August 24, 2006
getting my goat
today my little goat, aka pearl, decided to get into something she shouldn't have. and by today, i mean at approximately 3am this morning. and by something she shouldn't have, i really can't elaborate because i have no idea what she ate. whatever it was, it didn't agree with her and she promptly sent it back to the bedroom floor, and across our bed.
yes, she was sleeping in our bed. our girl is more than a little spoiled. and as far as we could tell, the bedroom was clear of anything remotely bad for her, and/or items like medications were safely out of her reach.
so about 315 this morning i woke up to what sounded like a whine or whimper. to be honest i wasn't sure if it was pearl, or min talking in her sleep. i nudged min - what's up? she mumbled or something and i heard it again. not min! i started feeling around for pearl on the bed and she was nowhere.
pearl! where are you? i heard her dog tags clanging from across the room, heading towards me. on goes the light. she's drooling like a leaky faucet. good grief. in addition to her shaking and other sharing of fluids, after a few minutes we got dressed and headed to adobe. well, after cleaning her real quick (quite a mess).
and of course, by the time we got there and seen by the doctor, she was totally fine. mouth dry as a bone, no shaking (well, other than a bit of nervousness at first), no fever, heart rate fine, got perky and everything. we watched her another 15 before leaving... with a very cheap bill. doesn't cost much when they don't really do anything. :-p
we got back home around 5 and though tired, i couldn't sleep yet. wanted to watch her a bit longer to make sure she was alright. started laundry for offending bed items. then i got hungry. tried one snack...waited...not enough. ok pearl's alright, but now i need real food. damn this mac&cheese craving!
fine. i'm awake for the day. made my cheesy goodness, min went to bed, and i got ready for the day. and pearl, she got reacquainted with her kennel. and she will stay friends with it every night from now on.
Monday, August 21, 2006
the wandering minstrel
thursday night we went to a Career Exploration Workshop at The Women's Building in sf. i instigated this trek because, as i've mentioned before, i'm not really grooving on my current gig. i had hoped that this class would help point me in a new direction.
well, it didn't. it's not really the fault of the class (limited scope due to funding - ah, the joys of nonprofits), BUT it did have some good food for thought, and got me thinking about the things that are important to me in a work environment, as well as some ideas on areas to explore to help me find That Thing That I Want To Do.
so yes, that was good. but what was great was there was another lesbian couple in the class. as class was breaking up, min goes: does anyone know a good place for dinner around here? and i said: oh, i already know a good place. we started downstairs and then one of the dykes - sandy, as it turns out - said: are you sure you want to turn down a good restaurant recommendation? i laughed and said good point! so she and her partner sara told us about two places. neither of them sounded good for then, but it was good to know. we were dropping some paperwork at the car, and the other couple was across the street, and min said: should we ask them to dinner?
so in a nutshell: we went to dinner with them, plus a friend of theirs visiting from australia, and had a GREAT time. so great that we all agreed to go out again sometime. pretty nice result for a class that didn't help much!
friday i had my offsite at lake berryessa/spanish flat resort. i must say, before looking up that link, i had no idea how much it cost to rent a boat. wow. but: what a blast. i posted some pics but naturally there are no pics of me bouncing, hovering, and skidding across the water since it's impossible to take a picture of yourself when both hands are grabbing, with all their might, to straps on a gigantic innertube.
and, i had no idea hanging onto a giant innertube could be so tiring and yield so many bruises. but as AG said (yes, AG. more on that later), "they're bruises of honor." i couldn't agree more. especially since, of all the people who rode that damn innertube, i was the *only* one who did NOT go flying off it! that's right - i did better than all those tall guys with the bulging arm muscles.
of course the flip side is, i rode that innertube to death, and it paid me back with the bruises, a good case of wind/sunburn and a (mild) knock upside the head. had a headache for three days straight...it's almost gone now. even so, i'd do it all again. sooo much fun!
oh and yes i attempted to wakeboard. later i heard that almost no one gets up (on the board) the first time. swallowed a bunch of water, got crabby with myself - but i'd try it another time if i had the chance.
also i got to see charissa that morning (but not at the offsite, wah). other than "hi", the first thing she said to me was "you're so tiny!"
what? ohhh. weight loss. for those of you who haven't seen me for a while, i am far from tiny, believe me. but since the last time she saw me (march?) i had dropped about 40 pounds. plus i had clothes on that *fit*. anyway, she asked me what my secret was and i said: stress, a little exercise, a little eating less, and stress. did i mention stress? so, not really a diet i recommend, but there are worse ways to lose weight, as i saw quite clearly with min. still, it was really nice to get the compliment so if you're out there reading, charissa - thanks! :-)
rest of the weekend was pretty mellow. m's birthday was saturday...all we did was get takeout from buca di beppos, because she has been very ill lately. it's just the usual, but she's been worse the last month or so. i seriously think she may be headed for a hospital stay soon - another obstruction/impaction. without going into details, let's just say all signs point to this, but i hope i'm wrong and she starts feeling a bit better soon.
ok...AG. so, for reasons i will not elaborate on but were TOTALLY innocent and well-intentioned (think: apology), i wrote to AG last week. we ended up having some good dialogue (note: i did not use dialogue as a verb) and, i think, left things in a much better place.
and they were so much better that of course, i found myself thinking about her too much again. however i (think i) did a better job redirecting that than i have in the past, and i started to feel better by sunday. the main trick i have learned, if i may say, is to simply not respond. compelling? absolutely. compulsory? absolutely not. so let's put that energy into something more productive! yeah!
in case you didn't know, i am not a cheerleader. but, sometimes i think everyone needs one, at least a little bit.
ok that pretty much wraps it, and good, because this post is long enough. :-p
Friday, August 18, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
loving the light
Originally uploaded by heatherama.
i don't know why, i guess it's the reds, greens, and misty light, but i really love this shot. on saturday i was itching to go oustide, so we went to the thornewood preserve just west of woodside. it was supposed to be a gentle hike...and i guess it mostly was, except for all the areas with slide damage. min didn't make it all the way, but i was determined to make it to the lake. which admittedly was more of a glorified pond. still, i was happy to have made the trek and get a few nice shots.
today we went and saw world trade center which was pretty mediocre overall. loud. it did give a good sense of some people's experience that day, but it was a little slow. went to greek later in mountain view - cafe baklava? - on castro. yum.
and if you've heard about the infamous Pearl Dancing, here is your chance to see the SHORT (but still 5mb) version. on a normal day she probably goes twice as long and is twice as bouncy. :-D
