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October 18, 2005
Hurray!
So this upgraded version of MT says that I've had 400 entries. Wow. I have never in my life been this good about journaling. Cool...
Anyway, my big news is that the new TiVo arrived yesterday! Hurray!!! There were some glitches with getting it set up, but I finally got it done & I was able to set my Season Passes this morning. It is very good to be coming out of TiVo withdrawal. Next step is getting the network adapter thingee so that I can download from the TiVo to my laptop, but I don't have time to figure that out yet. I think it's going to be cool though.
Watched last night the new Alyson Hannigan comedy, How I Met Your Mother. I dunno...I just didn't think it was that funny. And I can't quite see her as non-Willow yet (which is weird, because I did not have that problem with the American Pie movies). It was...strange & offput-ing. I can't tell if it's the show itself or if I just can't deal with conventional sitcoms anymore. I mean, Arrested Development makes me howl with laughter. This one? Not so much.
Had to get up early this morning because I was invited up to the Sociology department to sit in on a stats class. Learned about a very cool new technique (it blows my mind how fast things change in the stats world...it's about as fast as computer stuff changes) which I'm going to play with at work today. I already have an idea for a new paper. Whee!!! I was completely reveling in the geek-itude this morning because I just love learning new stuff.
Posted by hannah at 10:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Puttering...
So last night was a puttering sort of night. I ran out to Lowes after work (can I just say the eastside Lowes cannot get here fast enough). Bought a couple of basil plants & a mint plant (mojitoes here I come!), but realized this morning that the timing was fairly dumb since I've got a ton of travel coming up. The plants will likely die, unless it starts raining a lot.
Anyway, also bought one patio paver square so that I could drop it in the backyard & see if I like it. I think I do. Something is funky on their website so I can't show you the right color, but it looks like this only in more of a beige/sandstone kind of color. Of course, while at the store, I started to get all tempted by the smaller patio pavers that would require a lot more effort to install but would also be very, very pretty. So now I'm torn. Perhaps I need to talk to the yard guy about it...
And I found these cool hanging shelves that can go below wire closet shelving. I added them to the pantry because there was a bunch of unused space below the bottom shelf. Now I don't have to put all the scary glass bottles of like vinegar on the tippy-top shelf where I can't hardly reach them & always have to pray that they aren't going to fall & shatter on the tile floor below. Handy!
So that's one thing off my pre-grandparent arrival cleaning list. The pantry is mostly cleaned out although there's probably some more de-cluttering to be done.
And after all that excitement, I settled in to watch some episodes of Veronica Mars. So. Good. Whoever cast Kristen Bell is a freakin' genius as she is completely perfect as the lead. I can't wait to get through the first season so that I be all caught up. Yippee!
It needs to be said: TGIF. I am sooooooooo ready for the weekend. C'mon five o'clock!
Posted by hannah at 10:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 13, 2005
Still Lost...
So my adventures in downloading aren't exactly working quite yet. I thought that I had downloaded nearly all of an episode of Lost, which took over two hours. The amount of time didn't really freak me out because I'm sure these files are pretty large. But just as I thought I was nearing the end, it kicked out an error message. Bah. So now it seems to be downloading, again, all the way from the beginning. It looks like I've only been charged once, which I guess is good. But I can't be waiting at work until like 7pm for this, so will have to turn the computer back on when I get home.
Crossed fingers I can get this to work...
UPDATE: Got it!!! The resolution looks pretty good on my laptop. Yippee!!!
Posted by hannah at 4:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New frontiers...
So I'm in the process of trying to download the episode of Lost that I missed from iTunes. Thanks to Chip for the heads up on this. My fingers are crossed that it works because it would totally solve my Veronica Mars vs. Lost issue. I'm not sure that I'll even need the new iPod though...that screen seems way too tiny.
Speaking of VM, my dvds arrived today. Hurray! I had the pilot ep playing on my laptop while I was cleaning off my desk. Now that's the way to make a day So. Much. Better. I did discover, however, that I cannot watch TV & review a manuscript for a journal at the same time. Will have to limit such multi-tasking to when I'm playing with data. I can totally do that while watching TV...
Still no sign of the replacement TiVo...I'm trying to be patient but it's really hard for me as I am not a patient person. I would be soooo happy if it was on my doorstep when I get home tonight.
Okay, enough of my TV-related babble because I realize it's scary how much I love TV...
Posted by hannah at 2:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 12, 2005
Pumpkins!
Part of me cannot believe that it is mid-October already (where did 2005 go???) and that Halloween is rapidly approaching. Time to get serious about some pumpkin-carving: here, here, here, here, here, and here. It's serious business, yo.
Now personally, I'll be happy if I just manage to get mine carved without losing any fingers. :-)
Posted by hannah at 8:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 11, 2005
Wanna...
I swear, I would just about give up a kidney to be able to go up to NYC to see this.
Posted by hannah at 12:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Welcome to your Tuesday...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....I worked really, really hard last night after work, but it's all done & I feel much better. After work, I stopped at the grocery, took out the trash, spread ant poison all over the front yard (die, fire ants, die!!!), did 3 1/2 miles on the treadmill, cleaned the bathrooms, swiffered, vacuumed, mopped, did two loads of laundry, and finally cooked dinner around 8 o'clock. Grilled pork chops & also grilled mixed veggies in my grill-wok, salad, & asparagus. I need to get more serious about the healthy eating thing. Sigh. But the numbers don't lie, y'all.
The odd thing was that even though I was physically exhausted by the time I crawled into bed around 10, it took FOREVER to fall asleep. Ugh. Woke up this morning from a dream where I was desperately trying to pack a suitcase in order to make a flight & I was having a terrible time finding things that matched & then things were in all these different closet & the weirdest part is that this guy from church that used to sing in the choir was there (except his name was different in the dream. Weird.).
Anyhoooooooooo, I some work that needs to get done. And I must back up my computer this morning. I have this weird feeling that I need to do it. Kind of like earlier today when I felt like I needed to drive back to the house after stopping at Walmart to move the trash bin off the curb--I got there & the garage hadn't closed all the way, which would've been bad since I won't be going back til tomorrow after work. So, yes, onwards to backing up the harddrive. Whee-ha!
Posted by hannah at 8:29 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Drive-by...
Spent the entire morning in meetings so it was like 1:30pm, and I had gotten nothing done. I don't know why that stresses me out (Number of impending deadlines? None.), but it does. And it's probably not going to get any better when I get home because tonight's To Do List includes: stop at grocery, work out (I wish I were all cool with the 5-6 miles, but it'll be more like 3.5), cook dinner, clean house because it's positively filthy, do laundry, and hopefully collapse on the couch in time for Prison Break.
The stress-level is all kinds of amped up because Mom told me on Friday that the grandparents are coming for Christmas along with the 'rents. And they're all staying at my house. That's four extra people for five nights. Yikes. My house is decently set up for like two people, but not so much for five. For starters, I don't have nearly enough towels & washclothes. That problem got solved at lunch today with a trip to the new Kohl's, where towels were 50% off & I had a $10 off coupon. Wheee! Bargains! Of course, while there, I remember how much my mother bitched about the absence of bath mats last time they were here two years ago, and while I'm perfectly willing to let her have cold feet, the thought of my eighty year old grandmother freezing to death was too much to bear. So now I own 3 mats, and I don't wanna hear about cold feet ever again.
So the grandparents get my room, parents will be in the guest bedroom, and I'll be on an air mattress. I slept on the guest bed a couple of weeks ago when the dog in the next neighborhood would NOT STOP BARKING AT 3AM. My affinity for firm mattresses was apparently in overdrive when I bought that mattress, so now I've got some memory foam mattress pad thingee on order. And I was embarrassed by the only sheets I have for that bed--8 year old Martha Stewart Kmart sheets, which served their function, but are kind of icky looking. So new sheets are on the way.
I'm already in for like $135, and these people aren't even here yet. And I can't even talk about how much cleaning I have to do before they get there, because it is sure to cause a panic attack. The reason why the house must be perfectly clean? Because if it isn't, my eighty year old grandmother will start cleaning it, which would cause a level of humiliation possibly on par with when I hit an oncoming vehicle during my driver's license test back in 1991.
Sigh.
Posted by hannah at 3:14 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 5, 2005
Splat.
That was the sound of my brain exploding after reading this.
Posted by hannah at 5:47 PM | TrackBack
Kermit...
"Interview" over at CNN. It made me smile, especially the last "quote." And I seriously want the first season of The Muppet Show on dvd...
Posted by hannah at 1:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tourist...
I was reading Pamie's blog this morning, which is one of my favorites, and she was talking about how spooky it is to ride through the Gilmore Girls set on the WB backlot. The reference to GG made me sigh a bit because I was in the middle of watching it last night when the TiVo died. And then I got to thinking about Jocelyn posting pics from the backlot, whenever that was (Two years ago? Or was that just last summer? Longer? I really have no clear concept of time anymore), and decided to find out if there were studio tours. There are. Yay! So I'm hopihg to try to play tourist when I'm in LA this month, since on Monday, I don't have anything until 6pm. I've got to wait a bit to make the reservation (gotta wait until 1 week before), but crossed fingers that I get one. Because I really, really wanna go.
Okay, I'm mostly done dorking out for the day. The TiVo is officially enroute to TiVo heaven, a.k.a. Louisville, Kentucky. Thanks Bonnie for reassuring me about the replacement one!
Posted by hannah at 11:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 4, 2005
RIP, TiVo.
The TiVo is dead.
Sigh.
However, even though I spent an ungodly amount of time waiting for an actual human on their customer support line, it turns out that they will exchange the dead TiVo for a new one. And transfer the lifetime service thingee, so apparently the only cost to me is the shipping of the dead TiVo. I say "apparently" though because the website with the exchange form makes it sounds like it's going to cost me. But CSG (customer service guy) swore up and down that I won't have to pay anything other than shipping.
And despite the wait, I will say that I appreciate that the customer service guy was reasonably funny.
It does throw off my TV schedule for the week, but I'm sure that I will survive.
Posted by hannah at 10:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Testing...
Wheeeee! My new wireless keyboard & mouse finally arrived!
And yes, I know it's sad that this makes me excited. But my old ergonomic keyboard died & since going back to a regular keyboard, I've had weird pains in my fingers. A friend suggested it might be because I'm typing too hard, which is entirely possible, I guess. Anyway, now it feels so strange to be back on an ergonomic keyboard, but my fingers are crossed that the pain will go away soon.
(And if the pain is a sign that my hands are, like, going to fall off or something, I don't want to hear it. Ignorance is bliss, y'all...)
Posted by hannah at 2:43 PM | TrackBack
A little off...
It's kind of one of those days where things aren't terrible, but they're not quite right either. First, I thought my TiVo was dead this morning. When I turned on the TV, it kept saying that it was "powering up" but after 15 minutes, it still wasn't working. Thankfully, the shut-off-the-power-trick worked. I hope this isn't a sign that my li'l TiVo isn't headed towards TiVo heaven.
And nearly had a heart attack on the drive in to work today, as an Acura thought it was a great idea to be completely up my ass. I rarely flip people off, but he totally deserved it. I totally don't understand why people that spend a gazillion dollars on a car then drive like idiots, thereby putting said investment at risk.
And finally, my allergies are all crazy today. Ugh. Appears that the weed pollen count is high. I need to dig in my purse & my desk to see if I can track down some Claritin because I've got that groggy, sniffly, sneezy feeling.
In other news, I'm working on a presentation that I have to give in a couple of weeks in Santa Monica. I can't wait to see the ocean!!!
Posted by hannah at 10:34 AM | TrackBack
October 3, 2005
Cobbler and collards...
Looked up the cobbler recipe when I got home. It's really easy. Here's the original recipe:
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 28oz. can sliced peaches in syrup, undrained
Preheat oven to 350. Place butter in deep baking dish & place in oven to melt. In a bowl, combine sugar & flour. Slowly add the milk, stirring with a whisk, so as to avoid lumps. Pour this batter over the melted butter, but DO NOT STIR. Spoon fruit on top and gently pour in syrup. Again, don't stir it; the batter will rise during baking. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
We wanted to do a berry one, so I think I said this before, but I just used 1 21oz. can blackberry pie filling, 1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed, and 1 cup frozen raspberries thawed. The recipe also said that if you wanted to use fresh fruit, start with two cups of fruit, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil & simmer for 10 minutes.
The recipe didn't say what constituted a "deep baking dish" so I used a rather deep, round casserole dish (maybe 10 inches in diameter). Next time I'm going with a 13 x 9 pan because that's what people online suggested. Mine took closer to an hour to bake because it was so deep. I was surprised, but the batter really did rise (I guess because it used self-rising flour. I read disastrous stories about using regular flour.) I might try the canned peaches next time, but some people suggested not using all of the liquid in the can.
And Courtney asked about where the ham hocks are...in the eastside Walmart, they're actually not with all the other nice pork cuts on the wall, but in one of the refridgerated bins in aisle. They also had some that weren't refridgerated, but that just freaked me out for some reason.
Posted by hannah at 8:56 PM | TrackBack
More food babble...
I was all rushing on my last entry because I thought that I had a phone interview, which has been delayed. Until when? I have no idea. (And have I mentioned lately how much I hate waiting? I am not a patient person...)
Anyway, thought I'd add the links to the Paula Deen recipes. Mac & Cheese is here. I actually used evaporated milk because I swear that's what she called for in her original cookbook version of the recipe. It's a seriously easy way to make mamc & cheese from scratch.
And collards are here. Next time, I will probably cut back on both the House seasoning & the seasoned salt and add more Texas Pete. They were just a little too salty & not spicy enough. It took a while to figure out where they keep the ham hocks in the grocery store, but I tracked them down eventually.
And I was going to post the cobbler recipe, but the recipe online doesn't look quite right. I'll try to post it later tonight...
Posted by hannah at 1:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Weekend update.
Had a great weekend, but am wishing that today was another day off. Yes, I'm greedy...
Anyway, went to the Melting Point at the Foundry Park Inn (must resist urge to call it the Melting Pot, as this place is about music, not fondue). The re-design of the space is really nice. The service at dinner--not so much. So very, very slow. But we weren't in a hurry so it was fine. Heidi put on a great show, & we picked up a copy of her new cd, which is also really good.
Sat. was a great day of puttering. A. just got a massive iPod, so she spent the day getting her music organized. I watched much TV & cooked most of the afternoon. I'd been wanting to try some of Paula Deen's recipes, so Sat. was like bringing a little bit of Savannah to Athens. The tilapia was the only thing that wasn't a Paula recipe (just pan-fried it). Made her mac & cheese and collard greens. I'd never made either before, so it was an adventure. I wasn't doing so well with reading recipes thoroughly (nearly forgot the milk in the m&c, & failed to realize that you season the water for the collards for about an hour before you add them....oops. But crisis was averted in both cases).
And for dessert--berry cobbler! Which again, having failed to fully grasp the recipe beforehand, required some adjustments, namely using a can of blackberry pie filling, a cup of frozen blueberries, and a cup of frozen raspberries. But it was sooooooooooooooo good!
And yesterday, we went to see Serenity, which I thought was excellent. Perhaps more on that later, but I've got a phone interview in 10 minutes, so I should go get ready. Yay for good weekends!
Posted by hannah at 8:38 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack