July 26: Why I don't shop at Wal-Mart, and why you shouldn't eitherWal-Mart treats its employees like crap (there's my annual profanity). I don't want cheap goods at the cost of someone else's misery. And you know what? Costco also provides cheap goods, but pays an average of $16/hour, offers full benefits, and has the lowest turnover rate in the industry. If you don't think you eventually pay for Wal-Mart's crappy treatment of employees, you're wrong. Because Wal-Mart offers few to no benefits, a sizeable proportion of Wal-Mart employees and their families qualify for public benefits, like Medicaid. (Health insurance for the poor, not Medicare, health insurance for the elderly.) May 15: Back in the saddleAt the beginning of the month, I returned to work full time, and I realized that I love programming, and love my co-workers. The first day, I felt as if I had my life back again. How much did I miss programming? The week before returning, Christmas Baking got an RSS feed, hand-rolled, of course. Additionally, the site is moving to XHTML (1.0, strict). The problem is converting all those recipes! Last year, every recipe (30 to 40 now) had to be touched for the redesign. What a pain! Now, if only the recipes were in XML ... Yesterday, I got a basic XML file (based on the existing RecipeML DTD) to convert to HTML using XSLT. Not only does Mama stil have geek cred, she still has mad skillz. Oh, and I'm back to learning Java, because I finally have a project: an applet to convert US volume measurements to metric weights for baking. Without a project, no new language, no matter how cool, can hold my interest. Mornings and evenings when I feed Jake, I read the Java book, and test code samples after he goes to bed. Mad skillz people, mad skillz! Speaking of geek cred, my Mother's Day present was an upgrade to Tiger, aka MacOS 10.4, as most of you already know. I'm not so down and dirty into the OS that I can really see the difference; for me, it's about the new utilities:
I'm also exercising my mad gardening skillz, with over a half-dozen new perennial garden guests in various areas, a patch of annuals, and basil in a container by the front door. The rest of the summer will be trimming and weeding, and Lynn will be helping me to clear out and landscape the front planting area, which has been bare since we removed Kid-n-Play (aka two boxwoods that were reaching to the second story and could be trimmed only on the size). I also plan to have the holly tree removed, the diseased laurels, and the yews by the mailbox and around the house. We've been here nine years, and it's time for them to go, go, go. Much of the stuff in the front will be replaced with grass seed until we can decide what to do; stuff on the sides may be replaced with mulch. Today I am wearing shorts and not feeling ugly for the first time in years. I like this body. This is a good body. The results of the final glucose test should be back this upcoming week (actually, it should have been back last week, must have been normal, but I'll want the exact numbers). I'm going to try to keep myself about where I am now, but without daily weighings like my sister does! And without the crash dieting to lose four pounds in a week. No, this is to keep the blood pressure and sugar normal, so I'll continue to watch my servings of fruit, veggies, carbs and meats, perhaps with the occasional measuring to keep me honest. If the weight starts going back up, a food diary might be necessary. This isn't about fitting into the new clothes, but about keeping the blood sugar and b.p. in check. You may have noticed that it's biking season again. Sunny days find at least one cyclist commuting to work on my route. This always gives me a huge rush of bike envy. I need to find a bike buddy! Jo-Ann is pregnant again; Tobi is in Germany; Jorj has to watch the baby. Cecily is up for it, but had to work this weekend. We're committing to the covered bridge tour of Lancaster -- 15 hilly miles in August. I gotta get in shape here people! I can't bike at lunch because I'm getting milk for Jakob. Jake is too young to ride on the bike with me. (Jorj is right now buying switches from CW Industries, where I worked my first summer job, inspecting said switches. I dreamed about switches after the first week. That job showed me the value of a college degree, because that work was mind-numbing.) April 10: Walking on the mild side(More one handed typing. Jorj is working on a presentation while Jake naps on my chest.) First, Suzy gave me a pedicure as a birthday present. We spent the morning at a spa in Doyelstown (with a children's spa next door -- so chi-chi) and now my toeses are pink. After an hour of decadence -- what is more decadent than having someone sitting at and ministering to your feet? -- we went for hair cuts, because it's been nearly a year for me. My hair is the shortest it's been since high school, and that's pretty short. We ended by indulging in one of my secret vices: mediocre take-out Chinese food. In the evening, the Wild Women got together at Verge on Kelly Drive. That was the most I've laughed in a long time. Verge was pricy but good. Cecily and Sarah raved about the Kobe beef burgers and accompsnying fries. I had a mixed gren salad (the dressing didn't seem to fit) and striped bass, thinking it was sea bass: good asparagus and couscous, but it needed something to perk it up, Espresso was almost over roasted, but Cecily's mango sorbet was luscious. Jo-Ann and Sarah had a pornographic chocolate cake with "molten chocolate" center.
February 2005 & March 2005 August, September, October & November 2005 |
What I'm readingStuff I took to the hospital (and read) and stuff I've been reading since returning. When I'm stressed, I read old favorites.
What I'm listening toLots of classical (good for babies and nervous mommies), and a collection on iTunes I called "Soothing," with Annie Lennox, Coldplay, Shriekback, an album of lullabies, and Brian Ferry. Things that make me happy (in no particular order)
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One reason I've been so silent is Tobi visited to
meet his brother and use his airline voucher. Life is no longer incomplete
withput him, but when he was here it was fuller, not just because he was
always willing to hold Jake! He looks great and is taller than Jorj. He
finally got his pair of chucks, but still hasn't photographed the city at
night. Next time!