Man, Oihou, Wild

My husband is one of those men that will be handy to have around when TSHTF at TEOTWAWKI (the sh*t hits the fan at the end of the world as we know it, to those on the bushcraft forums).  This is a man who always has several means of lighting a fire on him whenever we venture out of the city.  This is a man who carried me off a Welsh mountain when my sissy arse was in tears from the pain in my decrepit knee.

With memories of the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina renewed from the publicity surrounding the 5 year anniversary this past week, one is reminded just how close we dance to the total breakdown of social order and how quickly daily life could turn into a survival situation.  Even here in the good old U.S. of A.  And if the worst ever happens, I will be in good hands as long as I am with my man.

Sometimes they are actually worth watching (again and again)

I'm a firm convert to watching television via the magic that is the DVR.  It's so nice that I control the TV schedule, rather than it controlling me.  And by I, I mean "he," because I usually happily cede control of the remote to him. Ladies, am I the only one on that - or do the men in your life usually control the remote as well? I don't mind though; navigating the menus and dealing with the quirks of our circa 2006 DVR satellite receiver truly tries the patience.

Another advantage of watching DVR'd TV is that it becomes an interactive thing for he and me.  If it weren't for the pause button, I'd miss out on D's hilarious running commentary on the shows we watch.  Sometimes those pauses become a 20 minute digression, and we get to the end of the conversation and go "how did we get there?"

Anyway, I love that I can blast through the ads and get through an hour's worth of television in 40 minutes.  But every so often, I stumble across an ad that's worth actually watching.  It is a mystery to me how these get discovered, since theoretically we don't watch ads.  But I owe this particular one to D, who specially replayed it for me one evening after I woke from my nightly doze on the sofa. 

I believe this might have been a Superbowl ad, but it's recently gone into heavy rotation again.  We rewind to watch it and I laugh.  Every. Single. Time.





What have you got peeps - any ads that tickle your funny bone?

Confidence (or lack thereof)

On Monday, Nicki posted about getting back on the workout wagon this week.  I really should follow her example.  Last spring, I had undertaken the P90X program and although I frequently cursed Tony Horton during the workouts, I did like the way I felt after they were finished.  But I got bounced off the wagon when I somehow injured my neck, and despite the fact that I'm better now, I'm enjoying being lazy far too much to pick up where I left off.  Maybe when it cools down in the fall.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Nicki mentioned that the motivating factor for her workouts at this point is because she's joining one of her best friends in a few weeks for a family vacation at a cabin (which sounds blissful).  Her best friend is probably going to see her in a swimsuit.  I'm fairly certain that Nicki's friend won't care one bit about how she looks in a swimsuit, but I totally get where Nicki is coming from.

The second leaving of Keenie Beanie

So, big news in Keenie Beanie land... I've entered the ranks of the unemployed.*  Sorta.

* "A-ha!" say a few of my wiser readers, who may realize that this kind of stress could precipitate an existential blogging crisis. 

For the few of you that have been around here for a while, do you remember when my job was eliminated last year due to a corporate acquisition?  Well, it happened again.

But it's a good thing.  Really.  I found out about the possibility last spring... not so very long after I posted this question to the universe.

Now I'm a godless heathen, but if I had been praying for a sign from a god, any god, I really couldn't have received a clearer answer.  It's like the universe was saying, "So you're not sure whether you should give up your job for the good of your relationship?  Bam, problem solved.  Now go sort it out with your man!"  Even better, I was offered a choice: a different job with the same company or a generous severance package.  And let me tell you, if you must lose your job, it stings a whole lot less if you feel you are captain of your own destiny.

I was originally scheduled to finish work near the beginning of June.  We'd had the leaving do (happy hour drinks) to wish me bon voyage on my last day, but the very next day another person in our department quit.  So I was asked to return to work full time through the end of July.  On July 28th, I snuck out to the elevator taking my last leave of the place as a full-time employee... for a second time.  I'm a sentimental fool and I hate good-byes, even good-byes to those who were never more than pleasant acquaintances.  It really sucks having to do them twice.  So I just... didn't.

But the blessings continue: for at least the next four to six weeks, I'll continue working as an independent contractor on a part-time basis, telecommuting from home.  Good-bye isn't a big deal when one is going to be popping in to the office for meetings now and then and interacting electronically on a frequent basis.  The added advantage?  Someday, I'll just fade quietly away and perhaps some people might think, "Huh, I haven't seen Keenie Beanie around the office in a while."  But we don't have to make a big deal about it.
 
I've nearly completed my second week of the part-time working-from-home arrangement.  It. Is. Awesome.  A girl could get used to this style of (sorta) unemployment.  No alarm clocks, no commutes, a little money coming in... all good things.  I am, however, looking forward to really digging in on the still-languishing renovation project once there are no further professional demands on my time.  Let's do this thing.

This change is the first of many to come, so I will keep you all posted as events unfold.  Thanks for stopping by and reading, and many, many thanks for reaching out when I needed a little encouragement.

Color me boring

Meeks over at Juggling Motherhood recently posted about her love/hate relationship with routines. She’s speaking of routines as the glue that holds her family together – making sure everything in the household runs as smoothly as possible… and although I don’t have children, it led me to consider the routines in my life.

As I’ve mentioned before I used to travel a lot for work. And if I wasn’t traveling, I was frequently working at a different client location every few weeks, so it seemed like my life - my work life anyway -was never routine. That bled into other areas of my life… for instance, trying to plan a dentist appointment when I had to book months in advance just to secure a slot felt an insurmountable task. What would I be doing in six months? How the hell should I know? After a long while where I didn’t plan much of anything and watched life pass me by accordingly, I got a lot more flexible. Make plans, keep them if I can, change them if I had to.

Blogger on Blobbing

A while ago, I wrote about some of my favorite summer camp memories.  But we didn't have anything this awesome on the camp activity lineup.  As the video says, a "genius camp director" came up with a great use for a military surplus water transport bag.  How fun is this?!

Let's take some "E!"

Me: (While watching E! ads during Chelsea Lately) I wonder if Khloe Kardishan ever feels inferior?

Him: Why, because she's the ugly one?

Me: Well, yes, I guess you could put it that way.

Him: Well, she did marry an NBA player after about a week.

(Long pause.)

Me: Considering I've seen the Kardishan's show like twice and those times were accidents, it makes me sad you know that.

Him (resigned): Me too, babe, me too.