Archive | June 2012

a day at the races

Jun30

Last weekend, the strivingcynics headed out for a trip to Monmouth Park Race Track. I’d never been to horse racing before (and I’d never gambled [unless you count playing the lottery...]). It was a really beautiful, sunny, warm day. It was fun to look at the horses and jockeys, watch the races, and win a little money…I bet on several horses “across the board”  meaning I’d win something if they came in first, second, or third. I lost more times than I won, and I won less money than I lost, but it was all a fun new experience for me.

a horse heading back to the stables post race

a park horse

they run so fast!

there’s a brief “parade” before the horses go to the track, so you can check them out before betting…

a jockey park/hall of fame of sorts

a nice day for horse riding/racing

Have a great weekend!

a wrap-up

Jun28

Remember way way back in February, when I showed off my horrendous gift-wrapping skills (handy-dandy link)? Well…I managed to go several months without another present giving occasion where I had to wrap the present (I either had things shipped/wrapped and once I [and the recipient] got lucky and mr. strivingcynic did the wrapping). But last week…the time had come. It was mr. sc’s birthday…and there were two boxes and a book that needed wrapping.

I’m happy to say, this round of wrapping went a lot better than the last one (little to no puffiness/paper bunches, no hair under the tape…). So..thanks and on to the…okay, I guess you might want to see proof that my wrapping skills were better. Fine.

ready to be wrapped

So, something I learned from the last time that I put into play here. Most of the time, you will need to cut excess paper. Trying to accommodate the size of the box often means that more paper is going to be cut than is needed…but that excess paper makes things awkward when wrapping…so snip snip!

see, that’s me cutting away

And let me just say, extra points to me for photographing with one hand while cutting with the other!

and box one is done!

I’m willing to admit, the stripes on the wrapping paper helped when it came to cutting and lining up cut edges.

If you look at the upper right hand corner, you’ll see I had a [non]observer

he’s pretending to not pay attention, but we all know that cats love the sound of crinkly wrapping paper

box two, for your viewing pleasure

Okay…I can see this one wasn’t as nicely lined up as the first one, but it’s not bad.

The third one is where I got a little loopy. Since it was a book…and I had all the excess paper from before, I decided to challenge myself to wrapping the book using the excess paper. And of course, none of it totally covered the book…so this is what I (and mr. sc) got:

yep, I even made a “bow” with paper scraps

I knew I’d never get anything to line up, so I went for more of a pattern on this one.

The result? Mr. sc complimented my wrapping! Of course, he still tore it off….but it was nice to know my effort was noticed.

Interestingly, this was my first wrapping job on the new kitchen table, which is smaller than the previous one. It was manageable, but I will admit to missing the extra surface space from the previous table. Also, you’re getting some nice views of our new place mats! A total bonus!

Is there an “occasional” skill like wrapping presents that you’d like to improve on? Have you done any “creative” wrapping?

who does that remind me of?

Jun26

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the folks at the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s challenge: Top Ten Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself Or Someone I Know In Real Life. This was another “hmmm…that’s…wait I think I got this” challenge.

Characters who remind me of me.

1. A book I mention a lot, Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. As I’ve probably also mentioned, I totally loved Smilla and thought we had some similarities (short, alienated/outsider, solitude loving…)

2. I so identified with Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations whenever I experienced a “disappointment.” If I could have, I would have stopped the clocks and walked around mooning forever while plotting my great revenge. Lack of money (and hey, who knew? I had an ability to bounce back), saved me on this one.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. In my younger “I have a DRAMA streak a mile wide” days, I totally identified with “poor/obscure/little/plain/no one notice’s me cause I’m just…” Jane. As I’ve gotten older, I feel more like the jaded Rochester, who learned that life had a few joyful and beautiful surprises for him (even if maybe he didn’t quite deserve them…).

4. She has curly dark hair (like me), a streak of romantic impracticality (like younger days), and a tendency to make impossible rules for herself that she feels she must follow even though no one else is looking to enforce them. Zosine from Isak Dinesen’s The Angelic Avengers. How much did I feel she reminded me of me?…she’s where I got the name “Zo” from. Of course, other details are hazy…I even had to google her last name, “Tabbernor.”

Other people

5. Okay…not a person. Two literary cats remind me of strivingcynic cat. The first was a real cat: Dewey from Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat who Touched the World by Vicky Myron and Bret Witter. Like Dewey, sc cat is proud and loving, makes people happy and has a knack for knowing when you need a little more love…and then giving it to you.

totally book (and cover) worthy

6. Milton in Milton by Hayde. An incredibly short book about a cat who is very content with his life because his bowl is always full.

Okay…real people

7. Remember the haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? I had a very snobby colleague where I worked ten years ago. Two things I remember about her. When giving me my editing test (I was an editor, and yes, they would give you a test at interviews to see how good your skills were), she said something to the effect of “This is what separates the wheat from the chaff” (what a thing to say to a nervous job candidate….when I got no call at first I thought “I’m chaff”…when I got the call I thought “I’m wheat!”) Second, she was overly impressed by Ivy League degrees…anyone with one (I, alas, did not possess one), was elevated to a higher status in her elitist mind. She would literally introduce these jewels in the crown as “x who went to [Ivy school].”

8. I have never read the books, but Ripley from Patricia Highsmith’s  Mr. Ripley series reminds me of someone I knew who made friends/got girlfriends by mirroring back what people liked in order to impress them/become their friends. When he got bored or saw someone else he’d rather be with, he’d simply cut the tie and move to the next. I suspect that he had no real personality of his own… I think he was probably a sociopath. Ripley to the core.

9. I’ve known someone like Mr. Skimpole in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. He is an adult with adult responsibilities, but insists he’s like a child…essentially that he wants people to take care of him, but no burden of the expectation that he should do the same for others. Don’t talk to him about practical realities because it’s too much for his child-like head. A frustrating character.

10. Another Dickens favorite. David Copperfield‘s Uriah Heep…thankfully I haven’t encountered too many of these “I’m ever so humble, ever so grateful”/”let me stab you in the back at the first opportunity/thanks for all the help” types. But they’re out there, so be wary!


What about characters you’ve read? Who reminds you of you? Who reminds you of who?

beelieve it

Jun25

Years ago, when I lived in my apartment, I had a balcony that I rarely sat out on. I loved having a balcony, but I rarely was able to enjoy it for long without a bee flying around. I would freak out, run inside…try going out again, run back inside.

One summer, I tried again. I would head out on the balcony…sit down in my chair…and almost instantly…bee. After this happened five or six times…I had an idea. I went back into my apartment, got on the floor to look out the sliding glass door and there it was. Under the chair I was sitting in, a nest. No wonder my sitting down would immediately trigger a visit.

Honestly, my first thought was whether I could just throw the chair off my third-story balcony. I realized I couldn’t…was afraid of knocking the nest off the chair with bees in it…so I decided that I’d have to blast them out with insect killer, then get rid of the nest (push it off the balcony). I wasn’t happy about having to do it (I try not to kill bugs if I don’t have to…but I really didn’t see another choice. If I left it alone, I’d end up with a swarm on my balcony, so that clearly wasn’t an option).

So, bugs blasted, and the balcony restored to bee-freeness. I tried again. One day, I sat in the chair. Bee. I went back inside…and they’d started building another nest. I realized that this was a losing battle…there was probably just something that told the bees the chair was home. So, I repeated the operation…and this time I threw the chair away (after removing the nest/pushing it off the balcony, I carried the chair out of my apartment, down to the dumpster).

So…the other day, I decided to bring some stuff to the recycle dumpster thingy where we live on my way to work. I got in my car, and pulled over by the dumpster. Opened my car door and as I was leaving to take my recycling over, I saw this:

unBEElievable…

Yes, that is the inside of my car door…part I don’t usually see because it isn’t visible when the door is shut. I have no idea how long that has been there, or how long these take to build. It looked pretty small and I didn’t see anyone around it/inside. So, I grabbed my long handled windshield scraper/brush, and:

not in the car!

[Two things...I remember bees flying out at me from the balcony, but I keep wondering if this is really a bees' nest because I think of hives for bees..but I think they were yellow jackets...I could be wrong. Next, sadly, yes, I thought of the blog and took pictures! But I also took them as "proof" because I couldn't believe it!]

So, later that day I told mr. strivingcynic what happened…showed him the photo…he was incredulous. Sadly, we have a can of Raid that we’ll be spraying on that spot. I don’t relish driving around with that smell…but based on what happened last time, I can’t have the bees deciding my car is the place to…..be :-) .

Any bug encounter stories you’d care to relate?

three photos of mostly different things, but from the same walk

Jun23

The other week, I did a little wandering about, with no intention of taking pictures. But since I almost always have my camera with me in my purse (one of many “essentials” that means I carry a pretty big purse).

Photo number one.

tree tops, blue sky, clouds

Maybe because it’s the only time I turned my camera skyward on this walk, but every time I see this picture, I think a small “wow.”

tree-lined path

I’ll say it again. I love “the path/road” ahead shots. I love the colors, trees, and the way the path bends off to the right in the far distance.

a cylinder and a camera-shy squirrel

This drew my attention because when I first saw it, the squirrel had his head in the cylinder and seemed to be having trouble getting it out. I was afraid the cylinder was a metal can, so even though he got his head out and started hopping away as I neared (don’t ask what I would have done if he’d still been stuck when I got up to him…), I went over to throw the can away. When I got up to it, it turned out that the “can” was actually an open cylinder shaped-piece of very thin tree bark. So, I wasn’t entirely sure if the squirrel was actually “stuck” in it or had his head in there for another reason (if there was something yummy inside). I decided to throw it out anyway, just in case. I wondered if the squirrel would chase after me to fight me for his bark, but he did not!

And those are my stories.

Have a great weekend. Hope you have skies like in photo number 1 (with or without the clouds, your choice)!

the powers and limits of concentration

Jun21

I find that I go through phases of ambition and phases of  “I enjoy being a slug…” There’s probably some seasonality to it (in the winter I want to hibernate…aside from a burst of New Year’s ambition). Once spring/summer arrive, I want to do so many things that I think will enrich my life. Rather, I want to do too many things that end up pulling me in too many directions.

I think my ambition/self improvement junkie streak is mostly a good thing. The blog name “striving cynic” came from the fact that even though the voice in my head goes “Yeah, right,” I still want to push myself more in all different directions. As my goals for 2012 indicated, I wanted to run farther, blog more often, tackle clutter, read…well not more books but certainly not less than in 2011, and take better care of my hands (sigh…that one still eludes me…but I’ll save that for the more formal update once we hit the “year is officially half over” [eep]) mark.

One thing I have picked up on about myself over the years, is that my ambition will often hit the wall of the limits of my concentration. Looking back, this is probably the reason why I never tried to pull an all nighter in high school or college. I was too much of an “I hate deadlines” nut to ever leave a project till last minute, and as far as exams went, I always felt that if I didn’t know it by 1 in the morning, I wasn’t going to. I was simply incapable of absorbing more information.

Another example is my blogging “schedule.” I’ve mentioned that I pretty much always prewrite/schedule posts. This usually means that on weekends, I work on my Monday and Tuesday morning book post. I’m happiest when I have the Thursday post knocked out on a Monday night (Tuesday will do…Weds. is pushing it!) and the Saturday post done on Weds (again, Thurs. will do…Friday makes me angsty). I end up usually writing Monday/Tuesday back to back….but by the time I’ve done those, I hit my limit for thinking about what I want to say, writing, reading, editing. So even though I would love the feeling of “wow, it’s sunday and I’ve got all my posts scheduled for the next week,” it just doesn’t happen. After 2, I need to move on to something else.

I think I’m happiest when I’m multitasking. Not in the “studies have shown multitasking is a loser’s game because you can’t concentrate” kind of way (I have no citation in mind, but I know there have been stories of late about how literally multitasking gets you nowhere [okay, fine. Don't trust me...here's a link to a story on this from The Huffington Post. Not good enough? Here's another from NPR]. I mean when I don’t block out an entire day/large chunk of time for one task, but rather have a number of things to work on (another lesson from college, when I had a semester that was so intense, I would literally take a break from whatever I was working on by shifting over to something else). And I prefer to mix the types of tasks I’m multi-ing (must do’s with/would like to do’s) (brainy/with physical). Although I can deal with “today is devoted to one task” when I have to, I’m miserable when I hit “today is devoted to x because it must be 100 percent done tomorrow [should have started earlier]!”

Good to know it only took me about 40 years to figure out how I work best, right? (okay, I wasn’t too worried about this for at least the first 16)!

How do you think you work best? What are your “limits”?

my summer in projected books

Jun19

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the folks at the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s challenge: Top Ten Books Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List.

This brings me to two points I made in last week’s challenge. First, I only seem to have managed to read four books in previous summers, so ten would be ambitious. Also, I mentioned that in the summer, I tend to choose “lighter” in the summer, “heavier” in the fall and winter. But, heck, I’ll play along and choose ten books (mostly light) for the summer.

1. The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, by Ann Packer. I’m actually reading this now. If I manage to finish it before the 21st, I guess it won’t be summer reading, but since I might still be reading it…it goes on the list.

2. Not sure which one, but something by Christopher Moore. I’ve read two of his books, Fool and Bloodsucking Fiends. I suspect his particular brew of witty writing and quirky characters would go nicely with the summer.

3. The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt. I don’t think of this as a light book, but it always comes to mind when I think about what I might like to read next…so let’s put it on the summer list.

4. Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich. As I said last week, these books make for great summer reading!

5. Then Came You, by Jennifer Weiner. Another good summer read author.

6. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I’ve had a few loan offers for this, and think I will end up taking someone on this in the not-too-distant future.

7. Something by Curtis Sittenfeld. I’ve gotten three of her books at used bookstores and library book sales, but I’ve read none.

8.  In the Woods, by Tana French. Same situation as number 7. I own three of her books but have read none. I just saw that there’s a new one out, so I should find out whether I actually like her before seeking something else out!

9. Love the One You’re With, by Emily Giffin. It’s been sitting around waiting to be read for awhile…time to find out whether I should look for more of her books.

10. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, by Alan Bradley. Having just read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, it might be nice to read the next book in the Flavia de Luce series before I forget who everyone is!

Do you think you’ll get through ten books this summer?

grrr[oan] grrr[ipe]

Jun18

Time for a little venting about WordPress.

I have posted before about how there have been some changes to the way commenting works…not so much when people comment on my blog, but when I try to comment on other people’s blogs. I am fortunate enough to have 3 ways of looking at and attempting to comment on blogs…on my computer, on my iPhone, and on my iPad. The problem is that the system is not the same on all three (at least trying to do it using the app..I could probably try just logging on through the Internets…).

I have always preferred to leave comments on other blogs with my [okay, fake] name rather than the blog name…but I can only manage it using the computer. This is why my comments sometimes show up as “Zo” and sometimes as “strivingcynic.”

The phone WordPress app has a function for reading blogs you follow, which allows you to comment. The iPad app (as far as I can tell) does not. Now, when I try to comment on Cathy’s blog on my computer…all is well. When I do it on my  phone, it comments as strivingcynic…on the iPad, I’ll comment as sc, and when I go to post the comment, it will tell me I’m not logged in (but yet, I’m always logged into my app)…I log in and get a message telling me that I’ve already posted that comment! But at least it posts! With Stacie, I try posting the comment and get told that I’m part of a “known spam network” (???)–so, no–even though I use the same info I use when commenting successfully from my computer!  It’s frustrating to craft and lose a response…

I’m trying to look at this as a challenge…one day I will understand and be able to navigate through all these differences between blogs/devices/etc. Of course, once I do, it will all change again. One reason I got the iDevices was so that I would be able to communicate without sitting at a computer.

I will triumph one of these days! I must!

Do you have a particular blog technology frustration?

flower power

Jun16

As promised, more roses from my stroll in Colonial Park!

the sad thing is that I was annoyed at people for sitting there at one point, because I wanted to take this photo

gorgeous…looks like a peppermint candy!

beautiful colors..love purple

standing tall!

reaching for the sky with pineapple-y heads

a bouquet…sort of

again, I just love these color combos!

another part of the park

goose family

out for a stroll

Not a bad place to hang out at.

Have a great weekend. Hope you see some pretty flowers!

double your habit

Jun14

I’m not going to say I don’t have any bad habits/or vices, but I’ve cut down over the years. When I lived in Prague, I enjoyed starting the morning with a coffee and cigarette (I know…awful)…the latter went by the wayside before I turned 30, but the former I indulge in regularly (as in two cups every morning or I’m really grumpy and have a headache). I don’t drink a lot of alcohol (again, I’ve decreased over the years, but thanks to my low tolerance, I was never a big drinker). I think I eat relatively “healthy” (aside from my dependence on sugar, but it makes life worth living).

But, I have one habit I sort of dip in and out of…I indulge for a while….stop…get hit by the craving, and start again. I’m careful with this habit because I know I’ll let it get out of hand thanks to another little habit that comes with it.

You see, every once in a while (sorry in advance, Cathy [who has given this up for a year..she explains a little in this post]…) I need gum. I just need it. I don’t know if it’s the hit of flavor, or the little bit of activity it provides, but I’ll find myself eyeing packs at the grocery store. The other afternoon, I went to a CVS pharmacy to get a father’s day card and knew that I wasn’t leaving the store without a pack of gum ($1.29 for a pack of Orbit Maui Melon Mint?).

But, you see, when I get gum, I don’t just chew it. I have to crack it. I *have* to. There’s obviously a little neurotransmitter thingamabobby in my brain that gets satisfied and happy when I crack my gum. The louder the better.

And, I like to chew gum after lunch…ie, while I’m at work…so, when I chew it, I do it after lunch and toss the gum on my way back into where I work…otherwise, I will walk along chomping away and cracking like there’s no tomorrow. Not the professional image I like to convey.

Other gum habits. I always chew two pieces (I almost always buy Orbit, and it’s small…). Once the flavor starts to go on me, I want the gum gone. I always feel like there’s an aftertaste. My favorites are Sweet Mint and Maui Melon Mint, although I do like Cinnamint from time to time. I’m not so much of a fruit girl. The Piña Colada gum has been sitting in a drawer for almost a year, in case I have a fit of gum desperation.

I rarely try to blow bubbles anymore (although cracking is a version of blowing bubbles inside your mouth so you can pop them…of course, as I’m typing this, I have no idea how I actually do crack my gum).

Are you or have you ever been a gum chewer? Favorite brands? Habit associated with?