Well, I'm all settled in my new place (though we still don't have a couch!), but we've had some issues getting internet set up. So I still haven't gotten to catch up on LJ yet, and I miss hearing about you guys and your lives! Hopefully we'll resolve the internet issues ASAP and I can get back in touch with you lovely people!
Apartment hunting is not so easy.
Future Roomie and I got together last night and narrowed our search to 4 places we like. I called them today to see if we could take a look this weekend, when neither of us are at work. Well, I left 2 messages and the other 2 places aren't available for viewing on the weekends. The ads we saw looked like they were owned by individual people, so we figured the weekends would work fine. Turns out these are property management groups who work normal M-F business hours. Luckily, my work schedule is a little more flexible, so I can take time off and make it up in the evening at home if I need to. Future Roomie is not so lucky. So I'm not sure what exactly will happen; all I know is that this is not going as smoothly as I would have liked. Boo.
Future Roomie and I got together last night and narrowed our search to 4 places we like. I called them today to see if we could take a look this weekend, when neither of us are at work. Well, I left 2 messages and the other 2 places aren't available for viewing on the weekends. The ads we saw looked like they were owned by individual people, so we figured the weekends would work fine. Turns out these are property management groups who work normal M-F business hours. Luckily, my work schedule is a little more flexible, so I can take time off and make it up in the evening at home if I need to. Future Roomie is not so lucky. So I'm not sure what exactly will happen; all I know is that this is not going as smoothly as I would have liked. Boo.
The routine I'm in won first place at the UC Berkeley Ballroom Classic competition this weekend! WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Our other two routines got 3rd and 4th. We were SO CLOSE to sweeping we could taste it. Some of the judging was a little fishy, too. Our routine that came in 4th was really the best of our 3 routines, and it should have won. But hey, I'm not complaining. I'm super happy that we did so well, especially for our first competition of the season.
Me and David, my partner for the majority of the routine, with our 1st place trophy
(Yes, that's what I look like with a fake tan, 10 gallons of makeup, and dyed black hair.)
Our other two routines got 3rd and 4th. We were SO CLOSE to sweeping we could taste it. Some of the judging was a little fishy, too. Our routine that came in 4th was really the best of our 3 routines, and it should have won. But hey, I'm not complaining. I'm super happy that we did so well, especially for our first competition of the season.
Me and David, my partner for the majority of the routine, with our 1st place trophy
(Yes, that's what I look like with a fake tan, 10 gallons of makeup, and dyed black hair.)
I feel like every update I've done recently is either about weight loss or ballroom dance. Well, I do have some (kind of awesome) dance stuff to talk about, but I'll save that for another entry. I'm going to talk about the other stuff going on in my life for a change.
And because it's not an entry by
mosaic without some bullet points...
- Adele. Oh man, you guys. 21 is one of the best albums I've heard in a long, long time. I was hooked on "Rolling in the Deep" the moment I heard the opening guitar chords. It's like she's bringing back the Wall of Sound. But I'm also falling hard and fast for "Rumor Has It," "Turning Tables," "Lovesong," and "Someone Like You." NNNNNNNNNNNGH SO GOOD. Seriously. Go buy the album. You will NOT regret it. In case you haven't heard "Rolling in the Deep" yet, here it is.
- Parks and Recreation. I've started watching this AMAZING show. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix, and they're pretty freaking fantastic. The 6-episode first season was a little rough, but they really figured themselves out in season 2 and got awesome. I'm a couple of episodes into season 3 and am loving it (Rob Lowe, never stop being amazing). And, because I can, I'm giving you another clip. If you haven't seen this episode, the context is that everyone in the Parks Department goes on a hunting trip, and the boss, Ron, gets grazed in the back of the head with a bullet. Leslie (Amy Poehler) didn't do it, but she's taking the fall for someone. The sexist ranger is questioning her about what happened.
- Snow. Um. It might snow here tonight! I'm sure that a lot of you are sick to death of snow (*cough*hiddenfantasyandmuses_circle*cough*), but I live in CALIFORNIA. In the BAY AREA. The last time it snowed in my city was, like, 1976. But it's been raining all week, and it's going to get down to the low 30's tonight. So if the precipitation keeps up, it'll probably snow! I heard on the radio that the snow was supposed to get down to 500 ft, and my house is about 400 ft above sea level. So... who knows? I may have to drive up a 100 ft hill tomorrow morning just to play in the snow. :D
- Work has been going well. My boss just gave me a big new project that's sort of overarching and not tied to a specific book, so I'm going to spend a good chunk of time learning all about this product. I'm glad that she thinks I can handle it and wants me to take it on, but I'm already pretty swamped, so it'll be interesting trying to juggle my time around.
- Apartment hunting and car selling are once again moving forward. My future roommate is someone on my dance team, and we're going out looking at places in a couple of weeks, on March 12th. I'm super excited. I'll be moving about 15-20 miles north of where I am now, which means being closer to work, friend's houses, dance practice, and pretty much everything I ever want to do. My goal with the car is to trade it in by the end of March. *crosses fingers*
And now I'm going to go watch more Parks and Rec and apply my last coat of spray tan for my first ever ballroom competition tomorrow. SQUEE!
And because it's not an entry by
mosaic without some bullet points...- Adele. Oh man, you guys. 21 is one of the best albums I've heard in a long, long time. I was hooked on "Rolling in the Deep" the moment I heard the opening guitar chords. It's like she's bringing back the Wall of Sound. But I'm also falling hard and fast for "Rumor Has It," "Turning Tables," "Lovesong," and "Someone Like You." NNNNNNNNNNNGH SO GOOD. Seriously. Go buy the album. You will NOT regret it. In case you haven't heard "Rolling in the Deep" yet, here it is.
- Parks and Recreation. I've started watching this AMAZING show. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix, and they're pretty freaking fantastic. The 6-episode first season was a little rough, but they really figured themselves out in season 2 and got awesome. I'm a couple of episodes into season 3 and am loving it (Rob Lowe, never stop being amazing). And, because I can, I'm giving you another clip. If you haven't seen this episode, the context is that everyone in the Parks Department goes on a hunting trip, and the boss, Ron, gets grazed in the back of the head with a bullet. Leslie (Amy Poehler) didn't do it, but she's taking the fall for someone. The sexist ranger is questioning her about what happened.
- Snow. Um. It might snow here tonight! I'm sure that a lot of you are sick to death of snow (*cough*
hiddenfantasyandmuses_circle*cough*), but I live in CALIFORNIA. In the BAY AREA. The last time it snowed in my city was, like, 1976. But it's been raining all week, and it's going to get down to the low 30's tonight. So if the precipitation keeps up, it'll probably snow! I heard on the radio that the snow was supposed to get down to 500 ft, and my house is about 400 ft above sea level. So... who knows? I may have to drive up a 100 ft hill tomorrow morning just to play in the snow. :D- Work has been going well. My boss just gave me a big new project that's sort of overarching and not tied to a specific book, so I'm going to spend a good chunk of time learning all about this product. I'm glad that she thinks I can handle it and wants me to take it on, but I'm already pretty swamped, so it'll be interesting trying to juggle my time around.
- Apartment hunting and car selling are once again moving forward. My future roommate is someone on my dance team, and we're going out looking at places in a couple of weeks, on March 12th. I'm super excited. I'll be moving about 15-20 miles north of where I am now, which means being closer to work, friend's houses, dance practice, and pretty much everything I ever want to do. My goal with the car is to trade it in by the end of March. *crosses fingers*
And now I'm going to go watch more Parks and Rec and apply my last coat of spray tan for my first ever ballroom competition tomorrow. SQUEE!
Stolen from quidditchkiss
Okay, I got a little ramlby in places here, so bear with me. Also, I would apologize for how much I talk about Sherlock Holmes, but I'm not ashamed! However, I do apologize for not italicizing titles. Too much HTML to deal with!
( Books books booksCollapse )
quidditchkissOkay, I got a little ramlby in places here, so bear with me. Also, I would apologize for how much I talk about Sherlock Holmes, but I'm not ashamed! However, I do apologize for not italicizing titles. Too much HTML to deal with!
( Books books booksCollapse )
Well, I finally saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. I couldn't find anyone to go with when it was in theatres and then I just never got around to seeing it. My expectations were very low because I had heard pretty terrible things about it, and I have to say that I didn't hate it!
I admit, it was really emotionally flat and kind of dull for the most part. Lavender and Luna were the only ones whom I thought were appropriately emotional. Everyone else was too even-keeled. Like, when Katie Bell's friend is telling McGonagall what happened, she was so blase' about it. If it were my best friend who was cursed and then almost killed, I'd be in hysterics. Same thing with the Ron/Hermione/Lavender and Dean/Ginny/Harry love triangles. Like I said, Lavender was great, but the rest of them didn't ahve the emotional depth I wanted to see.
That said, I really liked everything from the cave onward - easily the best parts of the movie. But, you know, I think back to scenes like the end of Goblet of Fire, when Cedric's father is screaming over the death of his son, and this just does not compare. Harry and Dumbledore in the cave were excellent, but other than that, I just wish things were more emotionally charged.
Lastly, one thing that the HP movies always do is make me want to re-read the books. I guess that's a good thing, but I can't help but think that it's because the movies leave a lot to be desired and I need to read the books to get the experience I missed with the movie. *shrug*
I admit, it was really emotionally flat and kind of dull for the most part. Lavender and Luna were the only ones whom I thought were appropriately emotional. Everyone else was too even-keeled. Like, when Katie Bell's friend is telling McGonagall what happened, she was so blase' about it. If it were my best friend who was cursed and then almost killed, I'd be in hysterics. Same thing with the Ron/Hermione/Lavender and Dean/Ginny/Harry love triangles. Like I said, Lavender was great, but the rest of them didn't ahve the emotional depth I wanted to see.
That said, I really liked everything from the cave onward - easily the best parts of the movie. But, you know, I think back to scenes like the end of Goblet of Fire, when Cedric's father is screaming over the death of his son, and this just does not compare. Harry and Dumbledore in the cave were excellent, but other than that, I just wish things were more emotionally charged.
Lastly, one thing that the HP movies always do is make me want to re-read the books. I guess that's a good thing, but I can't help but think that it's because the movies leave a lot to be desired and I need to read the books to get the experience I missed with the movie. *shrug*
I'm still sick. My throat is on fire and I have no energy. I slept 9 hours last night and just woke up from a 3 hour nap. On the plus side, I had already determined I would take today off of work to go to the doctor for my shoulder, so that was nice. And I get to sit around tomorrow and watch TV! Hooray!
Speaking of the shoulder, the specialist thinks it's some tendonitis (inflamed biceps tendon). She gave me a gel to massage into the shoulder to help the inflammation, and she told me to keep taking ibuprofen twice a day for a week. I also have a prescription for 4 weeks of physical therapy to help strengthen the shoulder muscles to protect me from further injury. And I got my very first x-rays taken. I'll get a call if there's anything amiss.
In much better news, I had my first ballroom concert last night, and it was AMAZING. I love performing, and getting on that dance floor and knocking it out of the park felt incredible. It's definitely the best I've ever performed that routine and it was the best my partner had ever done, too! I was honestly more worried about him than I was about me, but he was excellent. I'm so proud of him! My coach told me she got LOTS of compliments about me, too, so that makes me feel awesome. So despite the aching throat and the weird-looking fake tanner and the press on nails that are making it hard to type all of this, it's been an absolutely wonderful weekend.
Speaking of the shoulder, the specialist thinks it's some tendonitis (inflamed biceps tendon). She gave me a gel to massage into the shoulder to help the inflammation, and she told me to keep taking ibuprofen twice a day for a week. I also have a prescription for 4 weeks of physical therapy to help strengthen the shoulder muscles to protect me from further injury. And I got my very first x-rays taken. I'll get a call if there's anything amiss.
In much better news, I had my first ballroom concert last night, and it was AMAZING. I love performing, and getting on that dance floor and knocking it out of the park felt incredible. It's definitely the best I've ever performed that routine and it was the best my partner had ever done, too! I was honestly more worried about him than I was about me, but he was excellent. I'm so proud of him! My coach told me she got LOTS of compliments about me, too, so that makes me feel awesome. So despite the aching throat and the weird-looking fake tanner and the press on nails that are making it hard to type all of this, it's been an absolutely wonderful weekend.
The happiest of birthdays to
darlingdivine. I wish you every good thing in this year of life and many, many happy returns.So I've been thinking a lot about New Year's resolutions. Yes, I have some things I want to do and accomplish, but I don't feel like I need to "resolve" to do them. For example, when I was planning to make a resolutions list, I was going to have something like "Compete solo in at least 2 ballroom dance competitions." But, you know, I'm most likely going to do that anyway. So why would I put it on a list just to check it off?
And other things like weight loss are going to be a continuous process for me over the next couple of years. And I'm always updating my goals on dieting and fitness. For example, in November, I challenged myself not to have any of my mom's homemade cookies, and I succeeded! So, yeah, I don't really want to make that sort of resolution either.
But I was having dinner with a friend last night, and she said that she likes to make one resolution to help her better herself. Her resolution for 2010 was "learn to say no," because she tends to over-commit and wear herself out by doing too much. I really like that idea, so I've been thinking about something I want to work on for myself. Tonight, driving home from game night at a friend's house, I randomly thought of a Bible verse that I've always striven to adhere to.
"Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."
These three things are something I think I'd like to focus on this year in trying to be a better me.
... and that's about the limit of my coherent thoughts for the night. I'm falling asleep at my laptop. Good night, friends! I probably won't post again until the new year, so everyone have a fun and safe holiday! Have a blast!!
And other things like weight loss are going to be a continuous process for me over the next couple of years. And I'm always updating my goals on dieting and fitness. For example, in November, I challenged myself not to have any of my mom's homemade cookies, and I succeeded! So, yeah, I don't really want to make that sort of resolution either.
But I was having dinner with a friend last night, and she said that she likes to make one resolution to help her better herself. Her resolution for 2010 was "learn to say no," because she tends to over-commit and wear herself out by doing too much. I really like that idea, so I've been thinking about something I want to work on for myself. Tonight, driving home from game night at a friend's house, I randomly thought of a Bible verse that I've always striven to adhere to.
"Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."
These three things are something I think I'd like to focus on this year in trying to be a better me.
... and that's about the limit of my coherent thoughts for the night. I'm falling asleep at my laptop. Good night, friends! I probably won't post again until the new year, so everyone have a fun and safe holiday! Have a blast!!
I just stayed up way too late finding and uploading a bunch of new icons.
If you're curious, you can see them here. There's a bunch of Doctor Who, several Never Mind the Buzzcocks, some Merlin, and some stock/Disney/random ones. I can't wait to start using these!
If you're curious, you can see them here. There's a bunch of Doctor Who, several Never Mind the Buzzcocks, some Merlin, and some stock/Disney/random ones. I can't wait to start using these!
My boss gave everyone on our team a $50 Visa gift card for Christmas. She then proceeded to tell us we weren't allowed to spend it on anything practical. :)
So I just used it to buy myself a paid account. I let mine lapse over the summer since I wasn't using LJ as much. But since I've been back, I've missed having lots of userpics and no ads.
I guess I know what I'll be doing over Christmas vacation! Anyone want to recommend some good places for icons? :)
So I just used it to buy myself a paid account. I let mine lapse over the summer since I wasn't using LJ as much. But since I've been back, I've missed having lots of userpics and no ads.
I guess I know what I'll be doing over Christmas vacation! Anyone want to recommend some good places for icons? :)
Hmm? What? No, no, I'm just on the phone with Colin Morgan and Bradley James. No biggie.
My shoulder injury is a sprained rotator cuff. I'll be taking a break from dancing for at least a couple of weeks to let it rest and heal. The doctor gave me some exercises to do to keep from getting frozen shoulder (where scar tissue builds up and can permanently inhibit range of motion in the shoulder) while it heals. If I'm not better in 3 weeks, I'm supposed to call the doctor again to be referred to physical therapy. Hopefully it won't go to that extreme.
Prayers and happy thoughts and things that will make me smile are most welcome. The idea of not dancing for 2-3 weeks makes me really sad.
Prayers and happy thoughts and things that will make me smile are most welcome. The idea of not dancing for 2-3 weeks makes me really sad.
I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THE END OF DOCTOR WHO SEASON 4.
SO
MANY
BUT RIGHT NOW I NEED TO SLEEP. I'LL POST SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE COHERENT TOMORROW, MAYBE. MY BRAIN MIGHT STILL BE FLAILING AND CRYING.
MANY
BUT RIGHT NOW I NEED TO SLEEP. I'LL POST SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE COHERENT TOMORROW, MAYBE. MY BRAIN MIGHT STILL BE FLAILING AND CRYING.
I hurt my shoulder last night. Well, re-hurt it, since I hurt it about 6 weeks ago at dance practice. Now it's even worse, and I'm sitting at work with a heating pad strapped to my shoulder with a rubber band. It's helping, but it still hurts like crazy. It feels like it might be out of socket a little bit. I should probably go to the doctor, huh?
Comments
How're things with you, love? Any news on the job front?