A Kinder, Gentler Black Panther

The other day I saw a guy walking down the street in a Black Panther beret. A homeless man raised his fist in a Black Panther salute and shouted, "Hey, Panther!" and the Panther turned and waved and smiled quite cheerily. It was a very nice interaction between strangers. Maybe this is the new, less-militant M.O. of the Black Panthers?

In college, I once gave a presentation on historic events in the civil rights movement, including the attempted assassination of James Meredith. The source I was using just said, "he was shot in the head." This, to me, meant death. Naturally, I did no further research because, like I said, I was in college and checking to make sure my report subjects actually died is too rigorous for me. Yeah, I don't remember that going over well.

These two things are related because of (a) civil rights and (b) my concern that my report on the Black Panther walking down the street would make it seem like I didn't understand the Black Panther movement. I am here to assure you that I have done no research.

Let's Split the Bill

For someone who spends a lot of money, I think I might actually be cheap. I loathe going to big group dinners at restaurants, because I hate when everyone throws into the pot with little regard for what they ordered. What I don't understand and never understand is how people so grossly miscalculate what they owe. And this seems to happen just about every time I go out with a group. At some point, someone will say, "OK, everybody throw in another dollar." No. No, I will do no such thing. Why this bothers me is because I tend to order according to what I feel comfortable spending on that meal. It really irks me when I'm expected to pay more than my share because someone else isn't giving what they should.

Last night I went to dinner with a group (it worked out fine, I'm just using this as an example), and I ordered a $4 appetizer and a $12.75 entree. I drank water. I put in $20. I worked it out thus: $16.75 for food, plus 10% tax (a gross overestimate) would be about $18.50. I throw in another $1.50 to account for a margin of error in my calculation. The tip gets added in later. I always work in pretty much the same way--over-contributing slightly so there's no squeeze. Why don't other people do this? I really don't like splitting bills. Yep, I'm definitely cheap. I'd rather eat alone than have to pay an extra $12 for my meal for wine that I didn't drink.

Bag Lunch

Yesterday and today I have packed a bag lunch for myself! Woooooo! I'm hoping I can get into the habit of doing this so that I can save money and overeat less frequently. Even if I splurge slightly--good turkey from the deli, rolls instead of sliced bread--I still end up saving myself a good bit of money. And, on nasty, rainy days like today, it's pretty nice to not have to go out and find something to eat. I can instead sit in my office with the door closed and my shoes off and eat my little turkey sandwich.

Clean House

So, Operation: Keep the Dang Dining Room Table Clean is going quite well. I've even managed to extend some of the neatness to the living room and my bedroom! Maybe I can take some pictures soon! It will be pretty magical if I manage to get everything in my apartment clean at once because I don't think it has ever happened.

I was actually inspired by my brother and sister-in-law's place when I went to visit them. Somehow, they have a very tidy, well-cared-for apartment that feels welcoming and friendly. I think they're just consistent with it, and that's how it works out for them. But, I know my brother--he is a slob. He is also a hoarder. We are cut from the same cloth. So, I figure if he can do it, then I can do it.

I just want to get to the point where people stopping by unexpectedly is a pleasant surprise, and not grounds for panic. I think I'm getting there.

Heyguesswhatijustdid

So, my alumni association gave us all "thirstystone" coasters before graduation. I keep mine on my desk (1) to remind myself that I did manage to graduate from law school and (2) because it's a single coaster. What am I going to do, keep it on my coffee table and make people share?

Anyway, I guess the desk plan is what they had in mind. I put my bowls of hot oatmeal on it (see previous post on fiber intake) and my coffee. And let's just say that it's developed something of a patina. I googled "how to clean thirstystone coasters," and thirstystone told me to clean it with cold water and "a few drops of mild detergent." So, naturally, I soaped the shit out of it. And now! It's practically good as new! It has returned to its original creamy color!

Have we ever discussed my overuse of cleansers? It's something of a problem. I think it's probably responsible for the rapid build up of soap scum in my shower, because a quarter-sized amount of shower gel on my bath pouf translates to a baseball-sized amount in my mind. Also, the counter top spray--I need about 12 paper towels to get it all up and get my counter top dry again. And the dish soap? I go through it like it's the water I'm also using the wash the dishes. That was a good analogy.

Bye!

One Day I'll Breathe through my Nose Again!

So, yesterday I stayed home from work. I left work on Monday sneezing my head off and desperate to get into bed and slip into a Benadryl coma. So, I did. I slept for a couple of hours, which was apparently the worst idea I've ever had, because then I woke up ready to face another day! At 7 p.m. So, yeah, I was still awake at 3 a.m., which made waking up the next morning even more miserable than it would have been if I were just still congested, sneezy, and sinus pressure-y.

So, right! I stayed home! I did a whole bunch of laundry, which made me feel good about taking advantage of my convalescence to get something worthwhile done. And I made creamed spinach. It came out OK. I think I got a little carried away with the "creamed" aspect of it. Oh, and I did some dishes!

And I watched a documentary on meth, "The Witches of Eastwick," and "The Ugly Truth." Those are some of the things I had on my Netflix-on-Demand queue. Is it weird that I feel like I've accomplished something when I can delete something off of my queue? All three of them get three stars.

Tonight I am going to a craft workshop, and then hopefully to bed before 10, because I'm still feeling kind of under the weather and I'd like to get some sleep before I go home this weekend.

Yes! Home! I can't wait. I'm excited because the weekend is pretty much wide open, except for on Easter Sunday, when we have family plans. Word.

Super Fiber Intake!

So, because I tend to make whole meals out of pita chips, I'm trying to pay attention to what goes into my body otherwise. Basically, I've cut a deal with myself, whereby I get to have one meal per day made entirely of pita chips/microwave popcorn/buttered spaghetti, but everything else has to have some value.

I find that the easiest thing for me is getting enough fiber. Maybe it's that you can find fiber in things that are otherwise only mediocre-ly healthy, and I certainly eat plenty of those.

Anyway, I make instant oatmeal at work every morning. Good fiber! I also drink coffee (someone will have to tell me if this is actually a valid source of fiber). Also, I went to CVS today and they had "dried plums" on sale: 2 resealable containers for $5. Excellent fiber!

[I would be interested in a study comparing sales of "dried plums" to sales of prunes, and how the change in labeling affected the demographic of people buying them.]

So, I think that pretty much clears the rest of the day for eating hard boiled eggs.

To-do list for this evening:
- Stop sneezing FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST STOP SNEEZING (this duty belongs to Benadryl)
- Eat at least one of the vegetables I got from Costco
- Depending on whether Benadryl works its magic, make banana bread
- Finish folding laundry in living room and put away
- STREEEEEEEEEEEEETCH goal: bring Snuggie and bedspread to laundromat, wash and dry and put into space bag to store under bed.

I'll be sure to report back on how many of these things get accomplished.

Work accomplishment of the day: flow chart created in PowerPoint

Boo. Boo, I say.

Guess who owes the IRS $1,000. Me. That's who. Me. $1,000. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

It's all because of my second job at Retail Store and the measly withholding going on over there. Ugh. I am so upset because I was going to pay off my big credit card next month and it was like this huge weight that was going to be gone. And now, it'll probably be July before I make the last payment. Now that I have to pay ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS to the government.

It's not all Federal, true, but I would pay Virginia $300 and complain only minimally (I suspected I might owe some taxes this year). But this is a huge amount of money for me! I don't make $1k in two months at Retail Store! So sad.

Anyway, I have a lot to do in the next few days, even aside from all of the fretting I have penciled in on my schedule, so I'd better hop to it.

Art

i there! Oh, yes, the weekend to-do list. Wellllllllll...I did manage to cross off "arts & crafts"! I have started carving stamps. I'm going to try to remember to take some pictures so you can see them. I've been finding good line drawings (embroidery patterns make excellent stamp templates) and tracing them onto the stamp-carving medium. It's working out pretty well.

Otherwise, I don't have much to report.

I was at my book club meeting last night and, as we are nearing the end of this book, someone suggested another one. Then I suggested a book for after that one, and she looked really offended. It was kind of weird, like maybe she thought I was trying to bash her idea? I'm not sure what was going on there. I feel like maybe there was some other weirdness because she sent me a facebook invitation to an event that I probably won't make it to, but I haven't RSVP'd yet because I was waiting to see what my schedule looked like.

Does this happen to other people? I know I'm extraordinarily bad at maintaining social graces--I don't think I've ever promptly returned a phone call in my life--but maybe other people do this as well? I don't think I'm alone, because my sister didn't even put RSVP information on her wedding invitations, knowing that no one was going to RSVP. That's just the way things work in New Orleans. Yeah! It's New Orleans' fault that I am socially ungraceful!

She's No Bob Woodward

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, she looks like an investigative journalist. Most hard-hitting journalists I know wear halter tops to do live TV reporting.

Update on the dining room table: it is clear! I have placemats on it now!! I actually cleared everything off of it and put that stuff away, then wiped the table down. I was able to put out some placemats I've been storing in the closet for a few months! Hooray!

Update on the back pain: I took a bunch of stuff out of my purse yesterday to lighten the load, and spent the evening cleaning and straightening rather than sitting in my favorite chair. I took some ibuprofen right before bed (which I had been doing, with no result) and I had a peaceful night. I did sleep poorly, but at least it wasn't because of back pain.

I think I need to revamp my bedroom and gear it towards restfulness. Step one could be cleaning my room so that there's no clutter, and I can look around me before bed and see tidiness and calm. Step two could be to move the cable modem and router to under my bed so there are no intermittently flashing lights in my room. Step three is probably to find a louder fan to block out some of the worse noise coming from my upstairs neighbors. OK, those all seem like good things to work on this weekend.

I made a to-do list yesterday on the metro ride home and managed to cross off several things, so I'm feeling pretty good about continuing with the to-do list thing. Some items for this weekend:

• Complete at least three loads of laundry (that means washing, drying, folding/hanging up, and putting away)
• Revamping my sleep space
• Arts & Crafts

Whoops! How'd that get on there? Well, it's on the list, so I'd better get it done so I can check it off.