Tag Archive | life’s little absurdities

lapses and absences

Apr2

Lapsences?

I’ve felt bad about my lack of posting and commenting. Life seems to be a series of things that are keeping me busy…probably not anymore so than anyone else (gotta do that get organized thing one of these days..), but enough to throw me off my usual patterns and practices. I thought for sure I’d write a book post this week…but the weekend had other priorities and by the time I could get to it Monday evening…the desire had gotten away from me. 

I’ve wondered whether this is all just a sign that maybe I don’t want to blog anymore…but although I know I don’t want to try 3-4 times a week like last year, I definitely enjoy writing and reading what everyone else has to say, but right now, it’s just not happening. 153

But I hope it will soon…

what strivingcynic forgot

Dec16

So, after finishing last week’s list of Top Ten new-to-me authors for last week’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I finished another book by a new-to-me author, What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty, that would have made the list. The book centers on Alice Love who wakes up a thin/gym rat, polished, almost 40-year-old soon-to-be divorcee with three children after hitting her head. The last thing Alice remembers was being a 29-year-old newlywed, gym avoider who’s pregnant with her first child. It’s 2008, but Alice doesn’t remember a thing after 1998.

This got me thinking about what would surprise me about my life in 2012 if the last thing I remembered was 2002…

1. Different home. I lived in my apartment (where I would stay for another 8 years) in 2002. Not to mention…

2. Mr. strivingcynic. It would be another 6+ years before I met him. And given my romantic history, I would said it was impossible! Not to mention that he’s the reason I have the different home.

3. Strivingcynic cat. In 2002 I lived with his big sister (now in heaven). It was 2003 before I learned she had kidney issues, later she developed diabetes and died in 2007. SC kitty didn’t come along until 2008.

look at me, flopping in your "new" home

look at me, flopping in your “new” home

4. My job. Ten years ago, I had just lost my job in a layoff, and had already planned to attend  grad school. Careerwise, I was in flux.

5. My nephews. My oldest nephew was only about 2 weeks old in mid-December 2002. He just turned 10 and has a younger brother.

6. Running. I went to the gym 10 years ago, but avoided running. The idea that I would one day run 10 miles would astound me.

7. Technology. My dial-up PC did it for me in 2002. I got my first cell phone around Christmas of that year and almost never used it (in fact, I didn’t really change cell habits until June 2011 when I got my iPhone). Now I use a laptop, an iPad, my iPhone. It’s no longer new territory for me to order something online.

8. Grandparents. I lost two grandparents between 2003 and 2006.

9. Knitting. I haven’t gotten back into it the way I hoped, but I did learn how to knit and made several scarves somewhere around 2005/6. I’d be shocked to learn that I had made several  of the scarves I own myself.

10. Traveling. I’d be surprised to see photos of me in places I’d never been before. Charleston, SC; Toronto, Austin, TX; Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa, New Mexico, San Diego…

11. All the current events that wouldn’t be current and pop culture changes. I would never have heard of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Emma Stone, or pretty much anyone who came onto the scene in the last 10 years.

I wonder if I’d be surprised about what’s the same about me after 10 years…I drive the same car, haven’t done anything dramatic about my appearance, am still constantly hoping to be more organized.

Duh…just realized as I was wrapping up that there’s a number 12. I don’t know if I knew what a blog was ten years ago, let alone that I would have one!

I really enjoyed What Alice Forgot (one funny thing about it is I also read Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella this year, which has a similar amnesia-victim plot).

What things might shock you about you if you woke up tomorrow thinking it was 2002?

mail[box] tale

Dec10

Since moving in with mr. strivingcynic more than 2 years ago (wow), I’ve had a touchy relationship with our mailbox.

We live in a townhouse development, with those 12 mailbox metal pedestals where you have to go get your mail in the center of our parking lot. I had the same set up at my apartment, but at mr. sc’s, there were some twists.

The first twist was that we only had one key. That was all mr. sc had been given with the understanding that more would cost money. I was surprised, because I’d been given 3 at my apartment…which was great for giving people my keys if I were going on vacation. We kept our key in a central location, but once I forgot to put it back and mr. sc couldn’t get the mail.  And one time the woman who was watching strivingcynic cat forgot, so we had to wait a day or two before we could get our mail.

The second twist was that the lock had problems. It was a fight for me to get the key to go in and turn. Once or twice I tried to get the mail and had to retreat and wait for mr. sc to do it.

I had asked mr. sc if we could ask to have our mailboxes replaced with newer ones (they all looked shot), but apparently, the development would have to pay and they were expensive…and no. So, imagine my frustration when the other week I tried to get the mail and found myself not just unable to get the key in to turn, but struggling to get it out. Yanking on the key did nothing. And since I’d headed out without a coat since I thought it would take 20 seconds, I was cold and frustrated when I came in mail-less five minutes later. As I was standing there attached to the mailbox tugging on the stubborn key, I noticed that some of the locks on other boxes looked shiny. As in shiny and new. And I realized…they won’t replace the mailboxes, but the post office  will replace the locks.

Mr. sc and I concluded the lock was indeed shot, and that we’d ask for a new one when one of us could get to the post office. Our interim solution was not locking the box and leaving the door slightly open. Not ideal, but it worked for a few days. Last Saturday, he asked about having the lock changed and was told they could do it later in the week.

So, on Wednesday, I went to get the mail only to be met by a closed door with a blindingly shiny lock! I tried our key in case it would work. It didn’t, so I decided to go pick up the new one on Thursday. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I brought my ID and something that had been sent to me at our address to prove I was the right person. Mr. sc had also read on the website that replacement keys cost money, so I was expecting one key.

The post office part went like this: I got there and explained about the lock change. The clerk asked for my address. I gave it to her, and a minute later she came back with a key for a different house in our court. I gave her the number again and she immediately repeated it as another wrong number when she talked to another worker. She was too far away for me to shout out a correction, but a few seconds later, the other worker started coming over to me. I gave him the number and a few minutes later, the envelope with the key was in my hands, along with a work order.  At no point was I asked to show any form of ID that I lived at that address.

I went into the lobby area, where the woman who was behind me in line and I started chatting about the whole number exchange [both concluding it was funny and this is a good time of year to be patient] and the worker came over explaining that the clerk was supposed to give him the work order when I picked it up. I gave it to him, and he started telling me about how he had changed that lock and what bad shape it was in!

After this comedy of errors, when I finally opened the envelope, I was thrilled to see that there were 3 keys. So, now we each have our own and there’s a spare! And we can open the mailbox without fighting with it! And the whole episode amused me enough that I thought it was worth a post.

little updates

Nov26

Over the last few weeks, there have been one or two things I keep meaning to post about…some updates on topics I mentioned in previous posts.

1. I had commented in the last week or two that I had been unable to run “my” 10 mile distance on the treadmill in recent runs…actually, I missed several of my Saturday morning dates with the treadmill between traveling and being under the weather. All these and Sandy had kept me away from the gym in general. I really couldn’t run past 5 last week, so I was hoping I could get back to 10…by the year’s end if nothing else.

Anyway, I’m happy to say that I managed ten miles on my run this week. It was a longer run, with more breaks than usual, but now that I’ve done it once, I hope it gives me the confidence to keep working on it (my speed has slowed down as well, but I know from Cathy that it’s best to take a slower approach). I had been working on getting the speed up/time down before my one month break. So, I’ll hope by the end of the year to be back up to a 5.6 pace (I did this week at 5.4).

2. A few weeks back, I complained about how I kept misplacing things. A cup,  an umbrella, fingerless gloves/wrist warmers, and my sunglasses. I had found the first three, but had no luck with the glasses. I’m happy to report that I had left them in the drawer where I keep my purse at work. I didn’t put them in the purse, so when I grabbed it, the glasses stayed behind.

3. Several months ago, I posted about my gym “going green,” which basically consisted of taking away all the paper towel/wipes for cleaning the machines and the sanitizer to be used with the towels. I was not happy because they were asking everyone to bring in towels to keep the gym clean. My issue: towels will keep the machines dry, and you could say that the machines will be clean if the towel is used as a barrier…but anything you touch, sweat on, or cough, sneeze,or  breathe on? Not going to be clean with a towel. And, how is it green to make everyone have to do more laundry thanks to gym towels? I went back to a method I had used at my former apartment’s fitness center where they did the same thing…I bring my own sanitizing wipes and paper towels.

A few weeks ago, mr. strivingcynic pointed out an item in a local news magazine saying that the township now required that gyms provide sanitizers to their patrons. I had a good laugh wondering if someone had complained to/asked the township about the removal of sanitizer. Despite this, I had not noticed the return of the cleaners/paper towels.

Now, there has always been a dispenser with hand sanitizer on the wall. I went to use it the other day and noticed a business-card size sign over the dispenser. It announced that other sanitizers for the machines were available at the main desk (the sign about bringing your own towel is large and front and center). I looked at the desk and saw nothing, so I figure that it’s still kept away and you have to ask for it.

Not really an improvement, to my mind. And I wonder if that really fulfills the law…

spotty attendance

Nov18

I always have this idea that when I go away, I’ll be able to maintain my routine. Sure, there’ll still be some tweaks, but I’ll still get in some exercise, try not to go too crazy on fast food/sweets, and if I bring my phone, iPad, computer with me, I can keep up with the blog world.

And almost without fail, cut to me not having exercised more than walking from store to store, or around a tourist site; eating all manner of greasy/fried/sugary foods, and going nowhere near not just my blog, but any blog.

[Actually, I initially thought I'd just write up a few posts *before* I went away, thus ensuring the smoothness of the routine...and when that didn't happen I thought I'd compose on the road].

I was fortunate enough to go away for a few days to visit Charleston, South Carolina, last week. (A post on my travels will be coming soon.) I was not as fortunate in that I had some sort of allergy thing (I think) going on that led to a lot of coughing and nose blowing, along with taking allergy meds with a decongestant…so several of my nights away featured me falling asleep before 9 ( there was the day that I took a 3 hour nap at 3 in the afternoon…).

So, since getting back a few days ago, I’ve been trying to get back into my routine. I’ve gone back to not eating every fried thing on a menu, to exercising (but my weeks away between travel and Sandy kept me from my long run, so I couldn’t manage 10 miles), and now, back to the blog writing and visiting.

One of these years, I’m going to follow up on my travel resolutions. In the meantime, it was nice to be away, but I’m glad to be back.

lost, found, and scattered

Nov8

Lately, I’ve been driving myself nuts by misplacing things. Here is a list of things I have “lost” in the last few weeks.

1. Green cup I take to the gym. I remembered taking it to work one day and then couldn’t find it again.

Current status: found. It was in the back of the refrigerator. At home.

my green travel mug/cup is safe and sound

2. Umbrella. I remembered taking it into work one day…(notice a trend?). Could not find. In the meantime, I used a slightly messed up umbrella. I saw a woman with an umbrella that looked like mine walking down the street and actually considered the possibility of asking her where she got it while implying it was mine.

Current Status. found. I go to my father’s for dinner on Sunday evenings, but not last week thanks to the storm. Apparently, one Sunday it was supposed to rain because when I grabbed the tote bag I usually bring to my dad’s Sunday evening (it has knitting I never pick up and it’s where I bring back the food he gives me…), there it was.

still intact. no way I’m opening it inside the house while I’m on a losing things streak.

3. My sunglasses. I’m fairly positive I wore these home from work last Friday.

Current Status. Still missing. Thankfully I bought more than one pair of cheap sunglasses, but I like the missing pair better. And I’m sure they’re around somewhere…

at least I have a spare pair...

4. My fingerless gloves/wristlet. I went to grab these today because my hands were cold. Doesn’t matter how many sweaters I wear, once my hands get cold I’m totally distracted. Of course, I haven’t worn these since last year. I took a stab at it and thought they might be in a drawer with other gloves…

from a post last March, in which I described my perennially cold hands (notice our old counter tops and drawer/cabinet hardware)

Current Status. still missing. I’m hoping I’ll be able to turn them up!

Update. Two days after writing this post, I really wanted these…I looked around in the “usual” places and on a whim tried a “why would I put them there?” place…a box where I keep important documents [ok...a box where I keep papers I may or may not need again]. And there they were. Why? Because the gloves had been on a table *with*  papers…so when I put them away, the gloves went there too. Sigh.

These past few weeks I have also managed to leave my phone at home *twice*. I thought I had mislaid a document I needed, but it turned out to be where I thought it was after checking several times.

This is not a good trend, nor are the piles of books and papers I’ve begun to assemble around the house. Clearly, this all points to a small “my totally disorganized ways are kind of negatively impacting my life” issue that I seem to be having at the moment.I’ve always been the sort of person to misplace pens and small slips of paper, but the missing objects are getting larger.

Time to start clearing the piles, and hopefully, the cobwebs!

What was the last thing you misplaced? Did you have any luck finding it?

one day away…

Nov5

One of the weird things about Sandy is that it has pushed thoughts about Tuesday’s election pretty far out of my head. From what I gather, people in NJ are feeling much the same between being preoccupied with what storm related stuff is still going on for them and maybe because we were a little sick of hearing about the election already.

Despite our republican governor (who, I will say, I was never a fan of but who gained my respect in his response to the storm) NJ has leaned democratic in presidential elections since as long as I can remember, so our electoral votes tend to be seen as a foregone conclusion (and we’re spared the campaign ads the swing states seem to be getting). So, if you’re a democrat, you might say “I’m not gonna bother voting because Obama is going to win and doesn’t need my vote” and if you’re a republican you might say, “I’m not gonna bother voting for Romney, because no way Jersey’s going republican.”

Now, I stay away from politics in my blog…well honestly, because it’s not the first topic I generally want to talk about with most people. I also tend to think that most everyone sees their side as the right side and the other as the wrong one…so it’s not like I’m going to convince anyone to feel the way I feel about things. But, I will add the obvious: no matter how you feel or what conclusion you might have about how a vote is going to go, it’s still important to vote.

My understanding is that steps are being taken to ensure that New Jersey can vote on Tuesday. Alternate polling places and ballots will be available. I’m fairly certain my voting place is okay…another thing to be thankful for, so I’ll be heading there Tuesday to vote.

Whatever the outcome is, I’m just hoping we’ll know what it is pretty quickly. I’ll never forget voting in the 2000 election before going to visit a friend in Prague. My Czech was never that strong, so every morning, I’d ask my friend if she knew who our president was yet. And of course, I was well back in the states before we found out.

After Sandy, we’re coming to the realization that certain places will never be the same again. My mother said something to me about how “Jersey Shore” will now serve as a historical marker of life in Seaside Heights. Things just feel uncertain and unsettled. And news is that a freaking nor’easter might be coming later this week…

So, let’s hope the election runs smoothly and that the results don’t take weeks (or even days). 

out cold

Oct15

I’ve been dealing with what I can only call (somewhat embarrassedly) a mild cold for the last five days. In the history of all the colds I’ve had, this one is really pretty inconsequential…and yet it managed to stop me in my tracks…or it would have if my schedule would have allowed it.

Instead, I’ve been trying to meet all my “absolute” obligations, but that has meant other things slid…like my precious blog schedule! And reading/commenting on other blogs…nope. instead I just went around in a “pity me. I have a very mild cold” way.

What amazes me is a) how lousy a cold can make me feel (it’s been a while since I had one); and b) how much my routine changes as a result. I have not exercised for the better part of a week. I’ve begun craving Campbell’s chicken noodle soup (I only want it when I’m under the weather). I sleep in different (breathing friendly) positions. I drink even more tea and am not that thrilled about coffee (but drink it anyway). I hole up on the couch under a blanket, falling asleep at a ridiculously early hour (okay, I pretty much do that all the time…).

But what can I do? It is necessary to give in to the cold, because when I don’t things tend to get much much worse. I’m still sniffly and coughing and wanting tea and sympathy..but I’ve also begun to rally a bit. I’m not quite back to schedule (I suspect no top ten this week)…so maybe I’ll just do a few “nonscheduled” posts until I can get back into the swing of things!

watching for the signs

Sep17

A few months ago, I mentioned that mr. strivingcynic had faced the dilemma most car owners face if they keep a car long enough…pay lots of money to repair it, or let it go and take on the expense of the new car. I wrote about how envy him the car, but not the payments, and maintained that I would keep driving my 11 year old ford focus until I faced the same decisions.

Since that time, I’ve put nearly 900 dollars into fixing various things…the ac wasn’t working and last week, my coolant leaked (container was cracked I think…) and another part had broken and needed to be replaced (the repair guys were incredulous that I hadn’t noticed anything in the driving performance of the car, but all I noticed was a bit of a burning smell coming through the vents…which I thought was related to whatever had leaked out of my car and left a huge spot in the parking space my car had occupied for a day…the smell turned out to be this part disentegrating after it had broken).

When I brought the car in, I had told the repair guy to let me know if anything bank breaking was going on since it’s an older car. But, where mr. sc’s was diagnosed with a problem that would need fixing if he was going to continue driving the car long term, my car needed the repairs for me to get back on the road safely. So, my tentative, gee maybe one day thoughts are changing into…is this going to be death by a bunch of small repairs? Winter is coming (and I doubt we’ll get as lucky as we did last year with the lack of snow and ice) and I have a few trips coming up.

I’m thinking perhaps it’s time for me to start doing my homework…and I’ve poked around a few websites to see what might be out there for me. As I mentioned earlier, I’m thinking about going to a crossover (I loved the RAV4 I drove before getting the Focus) although the skyrocketing costs of gas are something I need to keep an eye on as well.

I’ve always found that “exciting” purchases ended up depressing the hell out of me (for my car and when I rented my apartment…something about the picture I had in my head compared to the reality of dealing with the car sales staff…or the rental agency and all the costs associated [insurance, furniture], so I’m hoping to feel a little more in control of the situation this time [Ha!].

I’m not always the most aware person on earth when it comes to noticing car issues, but I’ll be doing my best to scrutinize the focus to see if it’s giving me signs (beyond the ones I’ve already seen…there were also a number of exhaust system problems last year…and a leaky tire..sigh) that I need to hurry up with the research!

When you do a major purchase, how much and what kind of research do you do?

because the stores tell me so

Sep10

In our quest to figure out how to decorate our kitchen along with looking around for other practical/decorative items for our hourse, mr. strivingcynic and I have been spending some time in home furnishing stores.

A few weeks ago, we walked into Home Goods, and what I’ll call the “general fall” decorations were on display. Mostly items with colored leaves or in what we consider to be “fall” colors (orange, hunter greens).

(foliage) changes are gonna come

 

A week or two later, we walked in, and the fall colors were over to the side. Front and center and on peripheral aisles…Halloween! Lots of orange, silver, black, purple, bats, spiders, witches hats and shoes, and of course, black cats! In the candle section are candles that smell like candy corn, caramel apples, or that have some “fright” factor punned into their fragrance name. Yes, if fall is coming, then Halloween is coming too..

and it’s not just home decor that’s out there!

On Friday, we went in again. There was the fall stuff, the front-and-center Halloween stuff, and these were joined by a smaller display featuring, you guessed it, turkeys, cornucopias, and pilgrims…because if fall is coming and Halloween is going to be around the corner…then it’s only the blink of an eye until Thanksgiving (I know for my Canadian friends, Thanksgiving is a lot closer than Halloween, but I’m a good 7+ hours from the Canadian border…).

So, I strongly suspect that the next time I enter Home Goods, Christmas and New Year’s will be making their claims on the display space.

No wonder I’m feeling pressure to get my Christmas shopping done.

When I lived alone in my apartment, I never decorated for any holiday. With Mr. sc and sc teen, we do decorate for Christmas (and my menorah gets pulled out and used). But, I am actually a sucker for all these decorations…I want to cover our house in funny/scary/cute Halloween items, have a few turkeys and pumpkins around for Thanksgiving, change the household linens to a “fall” pallette..and why not a few “Happy New Year” cushions on our couch when the big change comes (if they come out soon, I can use them for Rosh Hashanah [Jewish New Year] next week, too…).

I resist in part because I think if I started buying these holiday “accessories,” I’d never stop. I’d be “Halloweenland” followed by “Thanksgivingland,” and although our Christmas stuff comes out of our storage space and then goes back in a few weeks later, I wouldn’t want to do this constantly.

strivingcynic cat (our living Halloween decoration) checks out a stuffed animal counterpart

So, it’s best I just ooh and ahh over everything in the store (although, maybe it will be discounted even more when the holiday passes, so that next year…)

Have you started noticing fall/holiday items in the stores yet? What holidays do you decorate for?