Pseudo Suzi

October

There were some lay-offs at work in August and rumors of more coming up.  My company is very pro-active when it comes to laying off…they don’t wait until they are losing money but starts cutting costs and laying off people before that can happen.  So even though we have been profitable, knowing the economy is slowing down and that fact that a large project we were working on for a utility company was put on hold prompted the lay-offs in August.  We were awarded a project for a university last month and while that may help for a while it may not keep others from losing their jobs.

I’ve been unpacking and trying to get the house organized.  I still have boxes in the dining room to unpack and need my bed to get upstairs and put together.  And I can’t seem to find and keep a yard guy…they show up once or twice then don’t come back.  I did buy a bike in order to get out and be more active.  The weather here is beautiful and it’s great to be able to take advantage of it 10+ months out of the year.  I did meet with an ENT and he is going to take out my tonsils and fix my deviated septum.  Surgery is scheduled for the Friday before Thanksgiving and I’ll recover the following week.  My sister was coming out to help take care of me the first few days but that fell through.  I’m confident I can do it on my own with the help of a friend or two.  I’ve also been to the dentist and for some reason my teeth have decided to rot out of my head in the past 18 months since I last went to one…the dentist says it is probably due to all the stress I’ve been under.  I have a handful of cavities that need filling and 2 crowns.   Take a look at my hillbilly teeth:

Hillbilly Teeth

November

Same old stuff.  Surgery went fine.  Sucked but not as bad as it would have a few years ago…now they remove tonsils using radio frequency waves instead of a heated scalpel.  Less trauma to the surrounding tissue and reduces the risk of bleeding.  I still couldn’t eat for 3 weeks and lost 20 lbs.

Roommate is driving me nuts.  I’m realizing he’s a slob and I keep asking him to clean up after himself.  For some reason he doesn’t notice the crumbs and spills he leaves on the counter-top.  He says he’ll try to be more observant but it has yet to happen.  He doesn’t understand how disgusting it is to go into the kitchen and see his mess which I have to clean up before I can start making my own food.  Fucking pig.

December

We had our company holiday party which was totally lame.  It was supposed to be at an architectural landmark with a decent budget but at the last minute our office director decided to cut the budget in half and host it in our office.  Very tacky.  A few of us went out afterwards which was nice though.  The project we won for the university went on hold so lay-offs next month are pretty much guaranteed despite the company trying to reassure everyone.  I know I’ll be one of the ones let go.  I don’t hang out with the right clique and kiss ass like some others.  At my office your qualifications and experience doesn’t matter as much as who you know and suck up to.

I decided not to go home for Christmas and just stayed home vegging.  I had nearly 2 weeks off work and have been getting some things done around the house.  It’s coming together rather nicely and I’ve bought a couple furniture pieces to go with the place.  I did start dating again.  Met 2 guys through Yahoo Personals and have gone out with one of them a couple times but don’t think we’re very compatible in the long run.  I do like the other one a lot though.  He is very active physically but has a calming energy.   I plan on seeing more of him.

I’ll write more later and catch you up on the first couple months of the new year.

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I’ve been pretty bored with my music selection lately and have felt in a rut in regards to what I have been listening to. I OD’d on modern Christian when I lived in AL and got tired of listening to the satellite radio in my car. I’ve just been floating around channel surfing trying to find a decent station (like XRT in Chicago) and can’t seem to find anything close.

So I started downloading lots of songs based upon groups I like and am discovering. I’m finding that my tastes are swinging a little bit more harsh lately but with a mellow undercurrent (Linkin Park, Staind, etc.) I already have about 35 gigs of music (over 7200 songs) on my laptop and a huge rubbermaid tub full of CD’s I still have to load in to it…probably another 35 gigs. However, I’ve been holding off on that until I can get my Mac backed up to an external drive or server.

If you want a decent place to download music legally and very inexpensively, go to mp3fiesta.com.   I’ve found that they have nearly everything I’ve looked for at about 20 cents per song or $2 per CD. Just make sure to follow the instructions for downloading (right clicking and saving the song).

Enjoy!

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People have been asking me when I’m going to start blogging again. To be honest, I plan to every night but usually get distracted or tired and everything I wanted to blog about just leaves my head. But I promised I’d make an effort and try to get back into the habit of doing it a couple times a week at least.

I’m in my new home and LOVE IT! I love the location and am enjoying the home improvement part of home-ownership. I have owned four homes in the past 15 years but this one seems to be the most “me”. Dempsey loves it here…he runs up and down the stairs and around the main floor. His personality has changed in the short amount of time we’ve been here. He seems happier and more at peace; but then so am I. I’ll post pictures when I finally get unpacked.

My little sis will be here in 5 days! Yay! I haven’t seen her since I left Chicago to come out here at the end of March and I miss her terribly. We’re staying at her timeshare for a few days and heading north to see the Grand Canyon, since neither of us have been there. I keep trying to get her to move out here with me but somehow life with her husband and kids keep her there. Go figure.

I have so much unpacking to do but don’t feel like doing any of it because of this head cold I have. I want to get the kitchen organized and my clothes hung up by the weekend before little sis’ visit but I doubt I will finish it all. Plus, I have to take Dempsey to the vet tomorrow night to update his shots since I’m boarding him while we’re away.

I should get the last load from my movers next week sometime. I plan on selling most of the furniture since it doesn’t quite fit into this home and my style, and it reminds me of a lot of things I’d rather not think about. I can’t wait for my mattress though; right now I’m sleeping on my old one that is going in the guest room.

I have a sofa picked out that I need to make time to order and I think I’m going to have my chair upholstered since I love it so much and can’t find anything comparable. The movers really trashed it (torn arm, scuff, broken leg rest) so I’ll use the money from the insurance and apply to new fabric. Right now it is covered in leather but I think that material is too hot for this climate.

See, I blogged. Sorry to bore you but there’s not much exciting going on.

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Well, I know I haven’t written in a few months. Things were nuts for a while but I’ll try to catch you up here.

NOVEMBER

• Got married in the beginning of November as you can read from the previous post.
• Had a death in the family and family from Chicago visiting.
• Went to a wine and tapas dinner with a few friends.
• Lomee made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for just the 2 of us.
• Worked on another paper for class and submitted Chapter One for my independant research project.

DECEMBER

• Lomee’s holiday party was a blast. Very crowded though (about 1000 people).
• Finished up our church’s introductory class (finally) in order to become members.
• Went to see Little Big Town and Sugarland. Easily the best concert I’ve ever been to.
• Went to Chicago for 5 days over Christmas. Had fun, got to see some friends and family. Shopped at a couple stores I don’t have here.
• Got awesome gifts from family and my Lomee.
• Spent way too much but it was totally worth it to watch the kids (and Lomee!) open their gifts.
• Needed a vacation from Christmas; it was so exhausting. But I’m glad we went and saw everyone.
• Spent New Years Eve at home with Lomee. Lucked out and got a few more days off in a row.

JANUARY

• Beginning of the month was quiet. Still kinda warm here.
• Had my birthday mid-month. Lomee made me an awesome dinner.
• Had a bad sinus infection that I had been battling for a couple weeks. Went to the doctor to take care of that and he put me on Prednisone because I was so achy and inflamed. Allergies are killing me though, which is typical of this area of the US.
• Went to another wine and tapas dinner at the end of the month. Had a great time and delicious food.
• Lomee made a couple yummy dishes I got pictures of. Will post when I get a chance.
• Buddy (black Lab) had an ear infection and had to go to the Vet. He’s better now but I can’t believe how expensive Vets are. I wonder if pet insurance is worth it.
• Sat down with Lomee and worked out a budget and debt reduction plan for the next few months to a year. We are really working on substantially reducing our consumer debt by the end of the year. People that know me know that I hate to carry any consumer debt however, I realize at times it is necessary. So this will be a good thing.
• Lomee is working on a problem at work and his solution is getting the attention of some big-wigs in the organization. I’m proud of and happy for him. I love it when his work inspires and challenges him.
• I have car fever and really want a new one. Mine is about 5 years old and I don’t have any payments, which is nice but I’m really wanting a new one. Not needing, wanting. It’s really not practical right now but I’m hoping by year’s end it will happen. I had been wanting a VW Passat but after reading some not too good reviews, I don’t think I’ll be getting one. At Lomee’s urging I’m considering a BMW 3-series but think it may be too small. I’d really love a 5-series but it’s about $20K more than I want to spend, even for a used one. However, I do like the Infiniti G35 and M. So, we’ll see.

I have more papers and chapters due for school and I’m just trying to wait it out. I graduate in 8 months if I can stay on track. Hopefully there will be a great job in my field waiting for me then (the job market here is great if you’re in an engineering or technical field; not so great if you aren’t).

I’m seriously considering Lasik as my eyes are driving me nuts. Ever since I changed my contacts last summer they have felt dry and itchy. The left one always feels like it doesn’t fit right or there is something in it. The doctor can’t find anything wrong. I’m slowly going insane.

We have to do our taxes or find someone to do them. Lomee has always done his and I’ve had an accountant do mine in the past because of owning my own business. I’ve used Turbo Tax the past 2 years but I’m not sure if I want to go that route this year as there was a lot of changes last year: selling my house, moving, Lomee buying a house, starting school, getting married.

That’s about it. I’ll try to do better with blogging. I just hate to write stuff for the sake of writing; I always feel like its un-interesting. It’s really not much different than what is going on in anyone else’s life. I wish I could be one of those bloggers that could tell stories about their life or pontificate on a subject and have it be relevant and interesting. I think about how certain situations would be amusing or fun to blog about but then I don’t follow through. I suppose I could write about things in my life that many people don’t really know about me or haven’t considered. It may be easier to give you some history about myself so you can better understand me and my thoughts. I don’t really know. It would probably be a bunch of boring shit that you don’t care about anyway.

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Lomee and I went to dinner last week and got stranded in our car for about 30 minutes because of all the rain. When we went into the restaurant it was fine, just a little overcast. Within about 15 minutes it started pouring rain and people were coming in soaked. We left after about an hour and took a few pictures. We had to wait until the rain completely stopped and the drain system had a chance to catch up and process all the rainwater. Click the picture to see a bigger size.

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I just want to say “HI” to new readers and “Welcome Back” to my old ones. Now that my blog has its own site I hope to write a bit more often. Please check out the “About “Suzi’s” Blog” page to get a feel for my new blog. While some things may be the same or similar to my previous “RR” blog there will definitely be differences and I just want to give you a heads up.

That being said feel free to bookmark my site, add it to your blogroll, include it in your RSS, put it in your Bloglines, etc. or just check back often to read whether you’re merely bored or truly interested.

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You’ll notice some posts dated previous to today. These were posts from my old RR blog that I wanted to save and if you were reading my old blog you can put in the password and re-read them if you want. You’ll have the password if I sent it to you in email or if you were reading RR. If not, then please don’t ask because only those that know me personally get it.

Otherwise, Pseudo Suzi starts with this post and goes forward. So, read up!

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