December 21, 2011 by sassenach
Our Christmas tree is finally up! Better last minute than never, right? 
M put it up while I was at work today. We still need to put the ornaments on it but look at the pretty bokeh!
I’m still a bit under the weather but not as bad as yesterday morning and the day before. I just feel tired, mostly. I’m really looking forward to Saturday so I can get more rest. Work is wearing me out lately.
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December 20, 2011 by sassenach
Wow, it’s December 20 and I’ve blogged for 20 days straight. Some days I’m at a loss for things to post, but it’s nice to get in the habit of writing daily again. I used to be so consistent. How things change…
I had today off work and unfortunately I spent the morning being sick. 
I still had a sore throat when I woke up this morning. I just felt really yucky. I felt like my sinuses were acting up, so I took some meds…then both my sore throat and sinus pain went away! Hurray. Maybe that Airborne zapped my cold before it got really bad! I have just a little bit of a sore throat now, but hopefully I’m getting over this bug instead of coming down with it. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I’m really hoping I’m not going to be sick over Christmas! That would suck.
I spent most of the day watching Youtube videos and somehow stumbled on this band called Boyce Avenue. They do some amazing covers! I favorited a bunch of their videos:
Then I got into a music mood and rewatched most of The Voice, season 1. It was a nice way to spend my sick morning.
M came back today from visiting his mom, so it’s nice to have him home!
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December 19, 2011 by sassenach
Short post tonight because I think I might be getting sick. I started getting a sore throat at work this afternoon and I still have it. I took some Airborne as soon as I came home and I’ll make sure to take more when it’s time for my next dose. I really don’t want to get sick, ugh! I have tomorrow off work, so hopefully I’ll be feeling better by the morning. Blahhh.
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December 18, 2011 by sassenach
I’ve had a very quiet but kind of productive weekend. M is out of town for a few days to visit his mom in West Virginia, so it’s just the dogs and me here in the house for the time being.
Yesterday I got a bit of Christmas shopping done and the rest of the day I mostly read and played with my new Kindle. Last night I fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie on Netflix–I never even made it to bed last night! I woke up way early this morning (around 5 or 6?) and realized I was still on the couch, so I just went back to sleep, haha. It’s weird how much quieter the house is when you’re by yourself but used to someone else being there with you.
I didn’t do all the things around the house that I wanted to today, but I did some laundry (blah) and wrapped M’s presents. I’ve also been absorbed in reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. It took me a few days to get into it, but I’m about halfway done now and it’s turned into a real page-turner. I also started The Shining last night on my Kindle. So far, I don’t mind reading on the backlit screen–I turned the brightness down to 30% or so and my eyes weren’t bothered at all, hurray!
I always get really depressed on Sunday evenings because I know I have to go to work the next day…but tonight I’m not *too* depressed since I know that Problem Coworker won’t be there this week. I’ve still got my fingers crossed about that situation, by the way…sigh…it’s so frustrating having to sit around and wait/hope that things will change. oh well. At least I’ve had time to relax this weekend! Plus I’m off on Tuesday, so I’m looking forward to that!
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December 17, 2011 by sassenach
Hello, Kindle Fire!
I’ve had my eye on a tablet for a while now. Ideally, I wanted an iPad but I couldn’t justify the cost to myself since they are rather pricey and I still have a working MacBook. My iPhone contract ended last month and I had planned on upgrading to a 4S, but my 3GS still works really well, so I figured I’d get a tablet instead. I like my iPhone when I’m away from my house, but when I’m at home I don’t like using my phone as much since it tends to kill the battery really quickly (because I’m always tweeting or reading blogs). Also, it’s tougher to navigate some sites on my phone screen.
I made the mistake (heh) of playing with a B&N Nook Tablet in store recently and really liked it. It was like an overgrown iPhone! My first e-reader was an e-ink Nook 1st edition, so I’ve always been partial to the Nook. There were some things about the NT that I didn’t like, though (including the price tag, the limited B&N app store selection, and that darn notch in the lower left corner–what is the purpose of that?).
I tested a Kindle Fire at Best Buy and really, really liked it. I even went back later and tested it again to make sure that it was the one I wanted. I did some research online about the NT and KF (mostly compare/contrast) and the KF won for me. Plus, I’m a frequent user of Amazon Prime services, so it made sense that I would get a KF. I wound up ordering it directly from Amazon to avoid sales tax and because the sales associates at Best Buy were pretty douchey when I was in the store, so Amazon got my money instead. 
I’ve always shied away from backlit e-readers, but I’m going to give this a go and see if my eyes will do okay. I’ve got the brightness turned down quite a bit (that was one of the first settings I changed once it came out of the box!), so we’ll see how that goes. Also, since I started my job at the library, I’m no longer staring at a computer screen for eight straight hours a day, which is nice! My eyes needed the break.
I’ve been playing with my KF all day and I LOVE this thing. It really is like an oversized iPhone, sans phone. Tweeting, emailing, and general web browsing are a breeze. I’ve watched some Youtube videos and the quality was very good. I need to watch an Instant Video and see how clear it is.
I still have my e-ink Nook but I think I might end up selling it. For the time being, it’s a Nook and Kindle household over here. 
I’m going to take the KF for an e-book spin tonight…I’ve already downloaded a Stephen King book from the library on it (wirelessly!) and it was so easy!
Category: My So-Called Life, Reading | Tags: | No Comments
December 16, 2011 by sassenach
Just a quick post because my battery is about to die and I’m in the middle of calibrating it (it’s a new battery), so my computer is about to go to sleep for a few hours, agh! I didn’t forget to blog today, though! I had a really great day at work and the weekend is here! That is all.
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December 14, 2011 by sassenach
…I wanted to be a teacher. That’s the first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up. I think most of that desire came from admiration that I had for my kindergarten teacher–she was a really nice lady (who has since passed away, sadly).
Well, I never did become a teacher, but pretty soon I’m going to be teaching some classes at the library! I’m pretty excited but also nervous. In January, I’m teaching a beginner computer class for adults. We’re going to do this once to see if there’s a good turnout; if it’s successful, we’ll do another class in March. Also in January, I’m teaching a beginner knitting class for adults. I’m really excited about this one! I think it’ll be fun. Finally, in February, I’m teaching a teen knitting class. This should be fun, too–and encouragingly, I registered my first student today!
Hopefully we’ll get a good turnout for all the classes. I’d like to be able to do them regularly, but if no one shows up, then we probably won’t. But I’m hopeful! The base (where our library is located) has posted flyers on Facebook for two of my classes so far and they’ll be posting the third flyer soon. I’m glad that they’ve done that because I think that’s a really good way to get the word out.
I never in a million years thought I’d be teaching anything (at work or…anywhere!), but I’m very eager to start planning for these classes and putting things together that I want to discuss. Lesson plans, I guess? Handouts? I have a lot of brainstorming to do!
Category: My So-Called Life, Working Girl | Tags: | 4 Comments
