This is StyckyWycket

So, I’m Grateful That Didn’t Go Worse…

styckywycket — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:02:41 +0000

I’m dragging pretty hard today after a long day yesterday. We were doing introductions/networking in my capstone class last night and that ran until 10:30. I didn’t get home until 11:15, and didn’t fall asleep until midnight. I still got up at my regular time of 5:45 though.

I’ve uncomfortably noticed how awkward I feel/am when I’m talking to large groups of people. One-on-one, meeting new people is no problem: I’m pretty good at controlling the word vomit. When I’m giving large presentations, I’m fine: the focus isn’t on me, but on the subject I’m presenting, so there’s no room for over-sharing. But when I get up in front of large groups and have to talk about myself, it’s just this awkward diarrhea of the mouth that I can’t control while at the same time knowing that I’m not controlling it and wanting so bad to STFU.

That was last night, during our classroom networking/introductions; it was so painful. I’m still trying to not obsess over it, but we all know how good I am about not vortexing through negative self-talk…

Quite simply, between reliving every awkward moment from last night in my head several times over, and the lack of sleep, I can’t wait to be unconscious.

But there are definitely some things I am grateful for:

Fresh haircut: it actually has shape again!
Being able to grocery shop in a small town in a small store at 8:00 at night. I had the whole place to myself, practically!
I did a Sun Salutation after my workout today, and good gravy, did that ever feel good!
I had a raspberry Life Saver today, which was a nice little treat.
My mini herb garden in my office: I nearly dried them right in their pots, but I’ve moved them around and am trying to save them. Keep your fingers crossed.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things.

Friday Five for January 20, 2012 – Stitch in Time

styckywycket — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:29:48 +0000

Well, as far as I’m aware, tonight was supposed to be an epic snowstorm, such that we canceled Date Night tonight. Even by the time I got home from work/errands, there was nary a flake to be found. Watch, because I’ve said that, when I get up tomorrow to go to my hair appointment, I’m going to have to dig myself from under 3 feet of snow.

Since I have a hair appointment anyway, I think I’m going to have my hairdresser take off a few inches. The style is great, but the length is getting to the point where the style won’t hold because there’s just too much hair. I’m getting tired of keeping it in a ponytail for most of the day, anyway. I also need to check to see why my hair isn’t holding dye anymore. I switched from red to brown later last year, but the brown keeps fading out to red. I’m wondering if I need to have it stripped. We’ll see: I’m curious to know, too. I want to go back to this:

Anyway, onward to the Friday5!

What was your first wristwatch like?
The first one I remember wearing was something akin to a kid’s Swiss Army watch. The face looked high-tech, but was utilitarian, the strap was a nylon mesh with leather accents. I don’t know if it was waterproof, but I know the dye in the leather ran out onto my arm whenever I took care of the dishes.
Today, I wear a classic-looking Timex with a round face and bracelet band. I like that I can wear it all the time, including in the shower, and not have to worry about performance. If I do buy another watch, it will be as a major reward to myself (this Bulova, perhaps), or because this one became destroyed.
My dream watch would be the Cartier Tank watch, it’s such a classic, and a timepiece I would treasure forever. That watch comes, however, only I fall into some “f*ck you” money.
My non-negotiable for watches is that they are waterproof. Yes, I may take it off when I shower or go swimming, but I’d rather not ruin an expensive watch because I wasn’t vigilant. By proxy, this also means I rarely ever wear a leather-strap watch.
What lately seems to have been a thief of time?
Recently, I’ve fallen off of my process orientation, and fretting about trying to figure out the next thing I’m going to do eats away at the minutes.
What were yesterday’s quietest five minutes like?
Right after Charlie and I got off the phone, when I’d turned out the light to go to bed and waited for sleep to come. That is when the darkness feels like a blanket, and the only sound is the fuzz of my brain.
In what way have you lately been saving time?
I pack my lunch and my gym bag the night before, and put together the next day’s outfit.
We are often charged hourly rates for labor, but we never get to reciprocate in kind when promised completion times don’t match actual completion. If you could bill people for the time you spend waiting, what would be a reasonable amount?
I prefer to bill for wasted time, as I need to learn patience and not everything can happen immediately, and one never knows all the mitigating circumstances for being made to wait (had to wait at the doctors? The person ahead of you could have just learned they had cancer and needed some support.)
So, for wasted time, I would charge $100 an hour. Time it vital, and we already have a finite amount of it. I value my time, so please do not squander it.

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!

Source: f.riday5.com

New Semester, and Grace in Small Things #9

styckywycket — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:12:01 +0000

My first day of class was on Tuesday, and I am taking the “capstone” early (before I finish my electives) so that I can get it out of the way in the beginning of the year, and not have to try to cram it into a shortened summer semester.

I assume that this highly-integrated class is going to be just like a thesis defense, except I don’t have a year to finish it, only a semester. And it’s a group project. Which, given my track record with group work through my MBA, this could be bad news.

That said, I’m very committed to learning as much as I can in this class, and starting work early, and working on it often. I will not get caught with my pants down as far as learning the material is concerned, which is exactly how I felt at the end of last semester.

Here’s some other things I’m feeling grateful for, in addition to not proverbially mooning anyone:

My hand-blown drinking glass I got from Hale Farm. I’ve put a lot of gallons through it.
New pants from the Ann Taylor Factory Outlet. I now have more than two pairs of pants in my wardrobe that fit!
Taco night. Good god-particle, I love me some tacos.
Audiobooks that I can listen to while pedaling nowhere on the recumbent bike at the gym.
The feeling you get when you pull the covers up to your chin when it’s cold out. So snug!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things.

2012 Goals, A Start

styckywycket — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:45:32 +0000

I’ve culled away the vast majority of this Day Zero Project and created this small list of things I would like to do this year.

As noble as it was to try and do 101 things across 3.5 years, there was just no way I would be able to come up with 101 things, much less be able to do them all across 1001 days. I think this smaller list is much more manageable.

Over time, I might add a few more items to this list, but I certainly don’t think it’s going to be an expansive tome of idealistic goals that I will feel bad for not completing later. But these are things that I really want to get done, and there is no time like the present to do them.

Take a ballroom dance class.
Donate blood.
Organize an Operation Happy Sock initiative.
Finish my 4th of July quilt by the 4th of July.
Save $5,000.
Learn to drive stick shift.
Get my concealed carry license.
Get my passport.
Go to Niagara Falls.
Go whitewater rafting.
Take more photographs.
Read 25 books (fiction, non-fiction, memoir, whatever).
Have 170 blog entries for 2012.

Friday Five for January 13, 2012 – Type

styckywycket — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:32:57 +0000

My brain is too tired today to think of anything to blog about. The snow fell steadily today, I made three wardrobe changes in 8 hours, I had personal training this afternoon, and I finished the evening with a chai latte.

Riveting, I know.

Onwards, to the Friday5!

What’s a decorative font you really like?
I like the calligraphy fonts the best. Some of my favorites are Some Weatz and Dear Joe Four
MS Word uses Times New Roman as the default plain font; Apple Pages uses Helvetica. Is there a plain font you like better?
I use Calibri. For a sans serif font, it’s very pleasing to the eye and easy to read.
In words per minute, how fast do you type? (if you Google “check your typing speed” or something like that, you’ll find many online options for testing yourself)
When I’m going at a good clip, I can do 75wpm.
Who in your life is just your type, but for some reason not romantically compatible with you?
Weird question. I have no idea. I am with the person who is just my type because we are romantically compatible. O_o.
What’s your blood type?
I am A+ blood type.

Source: Friday5

Grace in Small Things #8

styckywycket — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:24:02 +0000

Busy week here in the Wycket world. I’ve been very dutiful in going to the gym, and I’ve been every day this week. Tomorrow will be my “off” day, and Friday my personal training session. I try to do a mix of intense cardio with light lifting, because my PT is all lifting/strength. Sometimes, though, I have to share the small gym with another gentleman who uses every machine in the gym (it’s a small gym), and it’s nearly impossible not to be in his way in some way, or to cycle in on one of the machines he’s using. Today was one of those days, so I just did intense cardio and called it a night.

I got Zumba for Christmas, but I have to re-arrange the basement so that the TV is closer to the “dance” area, which also requires me to move a huge bookcase, move the TV stand, buy a DVD player/requisite cords, and get a longer cable cord. So, Zumba has pretty much sat un-watched, un-danced to since Christmas. And, I really need to learn the steps, because a friend and I are signed up for a Zumba class at the local community college at the end of March, and neither she nor I want to be dancing in the opposite direction and backwards the whole time.

I feel good: I feel like this fitness regime is going to stick, but I realize it’s going to take a lot of commitment on my part: the pounds and inches don’t lose themselves.

Here’s some other things I’m feeling grateful for, on top of the runner’s high:

New nail polish color, from eBay, OPI DS Extravagance, and it’s on my tootsies.
A fuzzy cat, purring on my legs.
My new Zentangle book, Yoga for the Brain, and a set of Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, from K, for Christmas.
My nubbly blanket that I actually got on clearance from Cracker Barrel about a year ago. It’s fuzzy, soft, warm, and looks great.
Flavored seltzer water, which is my new drink of choice: it’s inexpensive, has no sweetener, and comes in 1L containers. I go through about 1.25L a day. I’m finally getting my water in.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things.

Friday Five for January 6, 2011 – Inventions

styckywycket — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:58:53 +0000

2012 so far feels like a good year. Everything feels a little clearer, a little sharper, but less intimidating at the same time. I’m actually experiencing the ability to visualize success. This is proving extremely helpful, as I’ve been at the gym three times this week, which is displaying a consistency I haven’t experienced in over a year.

I’m still working on a list of not resolutions, but goals for things I want to do this coming year. A couple of them include getting my concealed carry license, learning how to ballroom dance, and getting my passport (the gun and the passport are not linked, btw). I’ll be posting that soon here, too.

And now, onwards! To the Friday 5.

If they could invent a remote control for something in your house that doesn’t have one, what would you wish it to be?
Lately, the heater in my bathroom. That would be pretty awesome.
What could your car really use that they just hasn’t invented yet?
A hydrogen fuel cell.
Who among your friends could probably be a great inventor if he or she had enough funding to do it?
I have a co-worker who has a lot of drive to create things that fix problems.
What invention seems to do its job in a less-satisfying manner than the old-fashioned way?
60% of the items that one would “See on TV.”
Lately, vending machines have gone beyond drinks and snacks: you can rent DVDs from them or even purchase iPods from them. What’s something your life could be improved by if it were available in vending machines?
I’m a total impulse-shopper. There is no reason why non-food items should be sold out of a vending machine if I’m walking around with plastic.

Source: f.riday5.org

Grace in Small Things #7

styckywycket — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:55:28 +0000

Today is my last day of my mini-vacation. I’m definitely ready to be back on a routine. Too much unstructured time leaves me all at loose ends. That said, I am not ready for the “get back into the swing of things” rush that always happens when one comes back from vacation.

I’m definitely feeling some gratitude this week, too:

Having supportive people in my life, no matter how near or far.
Pictures of sunny beaches, even if there are none around Cleveland for miles.
In a similar vein, huge, wooly, comfy (if ugly) sweaters to stay warm with.
Fuzzy socks.
Long naps on a comfy couch.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things.

So, this Kindle thing…

styckywycket — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:51:39 +0000

On New Year’s Eve, my mother let me borrow her Kindle, as she had purchased The Cleveland Creep. Since it was the latest in the Milan Jacovich (pronounced MY-lan YOCK-ovich) mystery series set in Cleveland, and I made point in my last Day Zero Project to read the whole series (which I did), I figured I’d keep up reading the latest installments. So, I picked it up between loads of laundry.

I had reservations about getting my own Kindle, but a lot of them came before I actually read two books on them (in two days). The reality is that my reservations still stand. Books aren’t cheap on them, there’s a limited selection from the Ohio Consortium of Libraries, and a lot of the books I’d like to read aren’t out on Kindle yet, or will be, ever.

But oh my Lord, it is so shiny! And I like things that are shiny! And I read more books in the last two days than it felt like I read all year. And now, they are so much cheaper than they were even a year ago, and have tons of models.

I still have better access to paper books, so I’ll be still working my way through the literary world that way. But, I think I’ll definitely be starting a rainy-day fund for my own Kindle.

2011 Year-End Recap

styckywycket — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:55:51 +0000

It’s time for the 3rd Annual StyckyWycket look-back. I’m recapping the year with a series of 27 questions, that really get to the meat of what happened. For other year-end recaps:

2010
2009

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Attended my first Lebowskifest.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I tried starting a second Day Zero Project, but to be honest, my heart wasn’t really in it. I couldn’t even find 101 things that I wanted to to. It was the perfect project for me three years ago, but I don’t think it’s as applicable today. For 2012, I’m going to scrap the Project, but have a small list of things that I want to get done in 2012. But, as far as “resolutions” go, I don’t have any nebulous ones.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No one close to me, that I talk to on a regular basis, but two of my fellow high school classmates did.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one close to me, thank god-particle. But the husband of my mother’s friend passed away very suddenly, and I get very sad every time I think about it.

5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed stateside again this year, but plans are in the works to head to Niagara Falls this year…like last year. We’ll see how that pans out, I guess.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
More disposable income. More financial security. A better attitude and more patience and self-confidence.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The end of July, because I got to meet a long-time, transnational heretofore-only-by-internet friend and his wife as they toured the United States.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting myself into a personal training regime, and also seeing a therapist bi-weekly. Both have done wonders for my body and mind.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Biggest failure? Probably squandering opportunities I didn’t see for what they were, I guess. I realize that it’s a nebulous answer, but I don’t have anything that sticks out right now.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Two bouts of strep throat in a year, which blew majorly. Also, the various strains and sprains of working out with improper form.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Probably the fee I paid for the Zentangle class I took this summer. I really enjoyed the gateway it opened up for me.

12. Where did most of your money go?
A toss up between the basic bills (added a car payment to the mix at the end of 2010), and continuing to pay down debt.

13. What did you get really excited about?
Finally getting to meet my longtime friend and his wife. Also, seeing Anthony Bourdain live. Seeing Charlie cross the finish line of his first official 5K was really exciting, too.

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
The only real music that I listened to this year were songs off of my workout playlist. Everything else was podcast or audio-book related. I can tell you the songs that I loved hearing when they came up, though:
Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Gimme Sympathy, Metric
Help, I’m Alive, Metric
Young Blood, The Naked and Famous
Teenage Dream, Katy Perry
Creature, Phantods
Dog Days are Over, Florence + The Machine
Don’t Cry Out, Shiny Toy Guns
Club Can’t Handle Me, Flo Rida

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Getting happier.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter, I think, but much, much stronger.
– richer or poorer? Still pretty cash poor, but I’m doing better than last year.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d spent more time making art. I also wish I’d spent more time actually studying for the classes I was in, rather than trying to cram in everything in the last three weeks. That would have made life a lot easier….

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying about what other people thought.

18. What was your favorite TV program?
I discovered the Cooking Channel, and Simply Baking is one of the only cooking shows that’s gone on my DVR, so I think that says a lot. So, when I did have time to watch TV, that’s what I lazy-watched. Of course, Justified came back for season 2, so I watched that religiously.

19. What were your favorite books of the year?
The Nerdist Way, Medium Raw, and Emotional Blackmail. I also read The Help, which was good, but not my favorite. I need to get into reading more fiction.

20. What was your favorite music (podcast) from this year?
I listened to a lot of Nerdist and Extra Hot Great podcasts: I think those stayed on my iPod and got listened to religiously throughout the year.

21. What were your favorite films of the year?
I loved seeing True Grit, and also really liked Sherlock Holmes.

22. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I celebrated with a good friend of mine a joint birthday at Lola. I turned 27.

23. Who was the best new person you met?
I got to “meet” a lot of people this year, but the vast majority were not physical, and the one I finally “met” in person, I’ve known for 13 years. So, the best new person I met physically, this year, without knowing previously, was probably Sunshine.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Probably better documentation of my year as it went by: more pictures, more blog posts. It’s easier to remember when you have pictures and words. Breaking my spender would have helped out, too.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans, Woot Shirt, long-sleeved undershirt, and boots on casual days. Business casual-to-almost-formal at the office. Dark denim, boots, and jackets on up-dressed days. Very few dresses.

26. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don’t feel the troll.