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Progress in Baby Steps

When I've got duties I have to do, or if people are counting on me, I have no problems getting up and rolling through my day. But when it's just me depending on me, I can't seem to get going.

Today, I woke up a little before 8 am (family went to the coast, and the noise of getting 5 kids ready and out to the car is enough to wake me up. Plus, they left the hall light on right outside my room). It's now 11 am, and what have I done?

-> caught up on my livejournal reading
-> ate some leftover pizza and read the paper
-> fed the bird
-> vacuumed most of the house (did you know that kids track dirt?)

According to this list, I look somewhat productive. However, I've got a lot more left to do:

-> work out (I'm in my workout clothes, but am I working out? The correct answer would be no.)
-> mail out some packages/letters
-> return books to the library
-> plan some stuff for my NZ trip -- I haven't got anything figured out yet. I don't even know where I'll be each day

I'm going baby steps at a time, but I still find the productivity lacking. Seriously, I need to learn to be more accountable to me, because this laziness will not fly in the grad school world.

Family Visiting

I've got family visiting, and I'm so excited. I haven't seen this particular part of my family for over 5 years, which is sad considering they just live a day's drive away. In fact, actually, I've only met half of this family before -- most of them are new to me. My uncle had two kids from a previous marriage, and I knew both of them. Last summer, he remarried, and now he has two stepchildren and one "blended" baby. The way I figure it, they're all family, and I'm quite excited.

Thus, please understand why both my posting and email answering will be sporadic this week. I give my apologies. It looks like it's going to be a sparse season, between this event and my impending 3 week trip to New Zealand. Still, at least it means I'm out living life.

Magic 8 iPod

found via Silver Beetle, but originally came from Cleverly Disguised

Annoying and strange

In some perverse twist of something, I've got the damn Walmart theme song stuck in my head ("here we are . . . something something . . . smiling over"). I hate that commercial.

Decision Time

I'm going to the University of Michigan.

They had the best overall program for me, and I received a great support package.

I'll be moving sometime in August, which gives me time to declutter, sort, and be organized in moving.

So, I saw Bill Gates

Back in the day, I interviewed with a temp company. I heard nary a word for quite awhile, but I got a call last week. They wanted me for something at Microsoft. My cell was screwy, so I just caught enough to agree to show up on Monday from 3-9 pm (after babysitting from 8 am to 2.30 pm) and Tuesday from 6-10 am. I was told to wear black pants, socks, and shoes.

Not much going on, but reading a lot

Here's some websites I'm currently enjoying (or at least reading):

Women In Cell Bio article about teaching at a liberal arts college. Career prep, as it were.

BBC news' excellent list of science books '06 Aventis prize. I'd like to read some of these, but I've got a bunch of stuff out from the library at the moment, so it might take awhile. Plus, I don't know how many books I can read before leaving for NZ in less than a month. I might have to actually buy a book or two to take with me.

PBS Kids Zoom Science activities, because I need some fresh ideas for babysitting.

The NY times article on in-utero competition between mother and child, which seems to indicate that conception is one big battle for resources. Evolutionarily, very interesting implications. Seems like moms might be justified in thinking of their kids as greedy little piglets during the first few months of life. There's also a good followup with more examples on the blog of the author of the NYTimes piece.

I recently discovered that going to the webpage for one's city can often yield tourist information, and (yippee!) coupons for events. In Seattle, the ones I found seem to just be a dollar or two off, but that's better than nothing. I've been wanting to revist the aqarium (I went in January), so maybe the dollar off will be a little incentive.

Last, but not least, I've been learning about why I really NEED a Roth IRA. I knew I did, so this article is mostly reinforcement, but it also has a valuable section at the end about *where* to get a Roth IRA. I'm going to take a look at my finances and see if I can justify 1k to jump into this whole Roth IRA business. It'd be nice to start saving for retirement now, since I'm sure I won't have a 401(k) for awhile.

Definitively headed to NZ

I'd first like to thank Melissa Werner of AnzroPacifica for being a darn great travel agent with all my little date issues. We just spent 20 minutes or so on the phone nailing out the last little details (well, of my flight -- other details forthcoming, so I have to plan those and she'll help me book little trips).

Since I'm going in April (still kind of tourist season), I should get to go kayaking. Yeah!

I'm just unspeakably giddy. I leave Seattle on April 12th, and I arrive back on May 6th. That puts me in NZ for 3 straight weeks of excellent NZ happiness, and I'll be doing both the north and south islands.

Excuse me, I'm going to go squee now, and then I will plan my trip.

I write reviews

over at Undisclosed Location Reviews. I totally forgot to mention it before, but I do. Happy contributor :-)

Anyway, I've got three up right now, and I'm sure I'll keep them coming. If you're on the lookout for more entertainment choices (mostly, food, drinks, movies, TV, music, and books), this would be a good place to scout out some new ideas. There's a fairly diverse crowd that (sometimes) posts over there, but it's developing into something nice and fairly fun.

ABC's Miracle Workers

I'm not a big TV person, but I'll channel surf when the occasion warrants.  Tonight, my mom was called into work in the middle of a movie, so I flipped on ABC and pleasantly caught part of  Miracle Workers.  I had hoped to watch the show, but years of not watching TV means that I have a poor memory for remembering to watch specific shows. 

Miracle Workers was, I must say, excellent.  If you like Extreme Makeover Home Edition, then you'll love Miracle Workers.  I actually cried through a good chunk of the show (greater than half, I'd say).

The show I caught featured two patients: a 4 year old with scoliosis/bent spine, and a young woman with Tourette's Syndrome.  The middle part of the show reviewed their conditions and how their lives are impacted.  Then, they spoke with doctors, learned about the surgery, and decided to go for it.  The last part of the show was surgery and recovery.

Not surprisingly, the two both recovered just fine.  I didn't even know someone could recover from having Tourette's, but the young woman did (I also learned that Tourette's develops in childhood and not necessarily immediately after birth).

I suppose the show was a bit trite.  I don't imagine them showcasing any miracle worker failures there, but I know as well as anyone that surgery is not always successful (and I have at least one unsuccessful surgery under my belt, but my consequences were not as drastic as theirs could be).

The Good: I cried a lot, which was cathartic.  It was wonderful to see that some people with serious problems can get help. 

The Bad:  I cried a lot, so it's not good for those who don't like a good heartstring tug.  It tends to be kind of sappy, especially with the parent testimonials about their children (but that might have just been the episode I saw).

Overall: I'd watch it again if I managed to catch it, but it's not something I'd TIVO (if I even owned one of those things).

Rating: 7.5/10