melo_annechen: (Soda)
I'm fond of some odd things, such as vintage sodas. The World Market nearby offers some interesting options. The most recent find was Fentimans Rose Lemonade. This is a lovely sparkling lemonade with just enough bite from the ginger, and the rose comes through without being overpowering, more like a scent signature on the breeze.

Hyperactive Lad tried the vintage formula Bubble Up, but didn't care for it. He said it was too sweet. I like how the citrus flavors seem brighter than some of the popular/national brands.
melo_annechen: (Default)
I am still unemployed, still looking, and have been told I am overqualified for some jobs by the auto-responder in some companies.

Still writing though.
melo_annechen: (AnimeMe)
Just remembering a few things over the past 18 months.

The last trips to visit Grandma before Sister died, she was talking to others in the room that were not in this plane. When talking about it later, one of us, I don't remember if it was Mama or me, joked that Grandma was ready to go, but that Granddaddy and Uncle had welded the door shut.

Sister just came out with "That's so mean!" We joked a bit more about it, but let it go.

Then that December, Sister died.

It took me this long to realize that Sister was better at breaking and entering that Grandma. Figure she got in a window, and it just took her half a year to find the welding kit to let Grandma in.

Yeah, morbid humor. Sister is probably laughing at me for being so slow.

Update

Oct. 11th, 2011 12:40 pm
melo_annechen: (Default)
I'm working again. Not in my field, but it means it'll be easier to get the next job. It has almost no slow times that I have seen, and I'm cut off from everything but answering the phone. Yes, it's a call center. Yes, it is stressful. Yes, I am still looking for an IT position.

I should have insurance again sometime about the beginning of November, and might even be able to take time off. We had health insurance of a sort, but when the deductible is over $800, and there's barely enough money coming in to cover normal bills, it's pretty much useless.

I have cats again. No pictures yet, because they are still skittish. Two young cats, semi-feral rescues, and they are just now warming up to being seen. I will be able to get them health insurance through this job, though.

Corgi brought the cats. Driving. With five dogs also in the car. We had birthday doings of a sort for her here.

Not quite writing right now. Doing some RP that is letting me do some character development, though.
melo_annechen: (Default)
Wish I felt better about the job market.
melo_annechen: (cross-fan'd Mary)
...and still feeling like I don't have that much traction.

I might get another interview in a few weeks.

I should graduate in June.

The alts are writing more than I am at the moment.

Roll call!

Mar. 11th, 2011 06:00 pm
melo_annechen: (Default)
I have not heard from anyone on the West coast, and I also realized I hadn't heard from anyone in NZ.

Tell me not to worry.

It won't work, but it will let me know you think you're safe.
melo_annechen: (Default)
There's no easy way to look at it. My sister died yesterday.

It is kind of hard to focus on things, because I'm still dealing with the bit about her being gone. Me being me, I write about it.

My little sister, who had been through more crap than most people deal with in a full lifetime, only lived to be 41. She beat leukemia, dealt with one health problem after another besides having a dozen other things thrown at her.

Then she developed interstitial lung disease.

For several years, I watched her get more and more tired. I got used to watching out for her oxygen line when we went to visit. I re-learned the techniques for loading an oxygen tank caddy into vehicles.

I kept trying to pull her into my online communities, because I wanted my friends to know how funny and sharp she could be. I kept telling her it was a way to socialize without having to get out of the house, which in recent years involved hauling two or three oxygen tanks around for a trip lasting only an hour or so. When smoking was banned in most restaurants, it meant we could go out together again. The last time we managed that was for my birthday.

I wanted to spend more time with her.

It is a selfish wish, because I know she struggled to just breathe this last year. I don't know how many medications she was on, and I suspect more than a few might have been for pain. She had been so sick for so long, I was both prepared and surprised at the news.

There will be a memorial service, and Mama said something about asking for donations to the American Lung Association in lieu of flowers. My brother-in-law is going to hold a wake for her later, just like she wanted.

I am going to try to write down a few of the stories from the past four decades for the party. Some of them, Mama might need a couple of drinks to hear. But that is why we need this, not to remember how she was when she was sick, we need to remember who she really was.

Little things, like when the chemotherapy damaged her hearing, she just broadened her musical tastes to listen to Rob Zombie as well as Silly Wizard, on eleven. Maybe we can find the dissertation she did in middle school on the life cycle of the free-range polyester herds, and see if anyone can get through it on a cold reading without giggling. Bring out the photo albums, and let the kids laugh at how we looked when we were kids.

We just need to be happy she was alive, even if we miss her.
melo_annechen: (Herman)
Herman was diagnosed with FIV in 2008.

He managed to stay relatively healthy as an indoor-only cat until last month.

The vet said that the combination of his age (almost 19), the FIV and the pneumonia-like symptoms were a very difficult combination, and that even with the full range of treatment, the prognosis was poor.

It has been over a week since he died, and I am still having waking dreams about him and Greyson crawling into bed with me.
melo_annechen: (Default)
... and gleefully stealing from[livejournal.com profile] drharper some vids...

Something for the History class. I haven't really cared for the original version, but this one rocks like Plymouth.


I have had Geeks In Love by Lemon Demon on my playlist for some time, now have Geeks At Play:




and a dose of happy:

The best part? The people joining in with the self-admitted goofy dancer. My favorite? Montreal.

So, a little bit of tale-telling...

Being awake for 30 hours at a stretch does strange things. I had gone to bed at 1:30 in the afternoon, and woke up when Himself was in the shower. I rolled over, saw it was 7:00 and started to get dressed, trying to get out the door by 7:15. Gathering my books for class, I was trying to get myself organized wen Himself asked where I was going. "Class, and I am trying to not be late." He had to convince me it was still Sunday, and it was 7:10 PM. Luckily the clock in the living room helped, because it is set to military time,  reading as 1910, so I went back to bed.
melo_annechen: (Default)
However, according to this post, I have been a non-smoker for two years now.

I still have the caffeine habit. What, are you insane? I can't give that up, I'm going into the IT field - that's required!
melo_annechen: (bluestocking)
 All, right, maybe just for me, but [profile] sff_corgi has this story on the Night Witches of World War II, which is a really neat tale for between Halloween and Remembrance Day.

Then there is an icon from my childhood that turns 40 this week, Sesame Street! Of the remaining original cast, there is one that does not get mentioned often enough, Dr Loretta Long.You might know her as "Susan", but she has a Ph.D. in Urban Education, earned while she was on the show, and using Sesame Street as the focus of her dissertation.

Ah, well - time to get back to homework... and brush up on my HTML.
melo_annechen: (Mama 'n' me)
Yeah, I've been quiet.

No, I don't have a job yet.

Yes, it has been a year now, whoopee.

I am back in school, now - Similar though not exact timing as Mama.

Not in the same field, though. I am training in the field of information technology - computer network systems.

Yes, I am training to be Dave.

Stop looking at me like that.
melo_annechen: (Vice Consul)
I will be walking, running and swimming the Relay for Life in Second Life today - it is from noon SLT (That's Pacific Time for those not on the grid) today until noon tomorrow. I was able to make it last year, and I hope to repeat it this year.

If you are on the grid, come join us.

If you would like to donate, but are not in Second Life, my donation page is http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Annechen.Lowey
melo_annechen: (Hyperactive Lad!)
First, the set up.

Herman has gotten into the itchy skin phase of the summer, to the point that he has these apparent psychotic breaks where it looks like he is trying to suddenly turn himself inside out to relieve an itch.

He had one of these fits on Himself's bare feet.

So at 4AM, I was groggily trying to bandage up Himself's foot. Herman had tagged him pretty good, and it was bleeding quite profusely. I cleaned up the bathroom, said I would do something about the carpet later, and went back to bed. After all, I have Relay for Life of Second Life (checks the time) and needed to get to sleep.

This morning, after helping me clear the kitchen, Hyperactive Lad asked about the stains in the carpet. I told him what happened, and he went back to study the scene a few moments.

Then he told me which foot had been injured.

I admit I was shocked, then he showed me how he figured it out - it was still a good evaluation. The boy may be going to UT after all.
melo_annechen: (Choir from Seanan)
Apparently, I have trained Himself well. The phrase, "things will be different when I rule the world" triggers the immediate application of chocolate and/or red meat.



melo_annechen: (Default)
This goes further than the "You mean Sir Paul was in a band?" twitch for me.

My legal age to drink is now legal age to drink.

I guess you had to be there.
melo_annechen: (Default)
... on the 14th, actually, but I feel crappy about the year in general so I throw something silly at you.

Yes I have entirely too much time on my hands, so send an interview my way, whydon'cha?

And yes, if you have corrections to add, let me know, this much silliness might as well be educational. )
melo_annechen: (Athena's place)
Another turn in the year.

As of seven days ago, I have been unemployed six months.

In fourteen days, my unemployment benefits run out.

I have not had a single job interview from any of the many applications sent out into the aether.

However,

In five days, it will have been a year since my last cigarette.

Tomorrow is an annual festival for wonderful music, and though I cannot donate monetarily to support the threatened public radio station that sponsors the event, I will go, if only for a few moments.

...and the iris are blooming in the front garden.

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