I feel the need...

... to get up and move. Sitting at my desk is detrimental to my health. I discovered this a couple of years ago when I took this job and realized that it took very little time for me to pack on about 10lbs thanks to the lack of regular activity. Yes, of course I get up and walk around the office. I take little trips to visit folks, deliver things to other department, and get a drink, but these do not make up for the endless hours I spend sitting in my ass. In the past I've taken walks around the park where my office is located during lunch, and I really need to get back to that. My current hang-up is that I can't remember to bring my sneakers to work. Mind you, I haven't actually worn my sneakers since sometime in late April because they ceased to fit on my feet. That situation has since been resolved, so I really have no excuses.
At this juncture I wish I could say that I am only 10lbs overweight, but then I'd be some sort of freak that every other recently pregnant chick on the planet loathed. I assure you that this is not the case. While I'd ideally weigh about 40lbs less, I'd really be quite happy with a 20lb drop. I'm not sure that the 40lb dream is actually in my future (at least not without the help of some very skilled surgeons). All that aside, I'm never gonna lose anything without getting up and moving around with my goal in mind. I have taken up dog walking as my exercise of choice at home. Poor Ben does not get as much exercise as he should and I thought that taking it upon myself to help him out in that department would benefit both of us. Still, a lap around the neighborhood is not going to get me very far, so I need to work on fitting in still more activity. I would love to squeeze in some pool time, but a real workout in the pool is not a reality most days.

Yet another quote of the day

The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience...not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

Today's quote in my little quote widget thingy was yet again filled with words of wisdom very applicable to my current situation. "Changes must come from the inability to live otherwise..." This is so very true. No matter what, most people are at least partially resistant to change, and for many people it takes a real problem to initiate any sort of real change. I've found that while I'm not adverse to change, it's still a difficult thing to do and I really have to gear myself up for it. We've had alot of change at my house over the past year. Most of the changes have been for the better, and we've adapted and enjoyed the additions to our life.
Unfortunately, some of the changes begot changes in our financial status and that situation needs to be resolved pronto.... thus necessitating further changes. At this juncture it is impossible for us to continue to live in our current situation without making some major changes. One change is to find new jobs. Brad has applied to about a bazillion jobs and since the job market is so exceptionally crappy thanks to the glut of unemployed, but very skilled workers, has yet to actually get so much as an interview. With that being said, thankfully he has not joined the ranks of the unemployed and it is pretty certain that he will not land in that boat. The same can be said for me (minus the part where jobs have been applied for). I have applied for absolutely no jobs. I have two jobs as it is, and the flexibility that my primary job affords me is one that I don't want to give up. The flexibility allows me to have the other job (which is the job I really love), while paying the bills (for the most part). Unfortunately my two jobs still does not make up for the budget deficit we're currently facing. Brad is now looking for a second job as well, and I hope and pray that will happen and our financial issues will be resolved.
Yesterday in my daily job hunt (which is generally for Brad), I came across a job that I thought would be better suited for me. It's not a perfect fit, but perhaps a better fit than where I am. I'm pretty sure I'm going to throw my hat in to the ring for a position with this organization, but I need to do some major work on my resume (which hasn't been updated for approximately 2 years). In all honestly I'd just like for things to fall in to place without either of us having to take a job we don't want (just for the sake of the paycheck). It would be great if one of the jobs Brad has applied for would come to fruition. It would be great if a local AT job opened up and I was able to take it (thus saving us the cost of summer child care and plunging me back in to the field I love and went to school for 7 frickin' years to do).
All in all I guess what it boils down to is that I am hoping and praying for change. Major, life altering change. Change that will free us from the terror that is the child care bill, and the stress of going to a job every day that is less than enjoyable.

What's New

I've been a little preoccupied for the past 5 weeks, thus no updates to the blog (aside from the repost when MJ went on to the great big stage in the sky). Here's a quick breakdown of what's been going on.

June 18th, 2009 - Brinley Nicole Snyder finally decided to join us. Can I tell you how happy I was to have that be over with? I don't think there are words to describe my elation. As I've mentioned many times before.... never, ever will I do that again. Thankfully she came out cute and perfect. To give an example, she sleeps through the night (starting at 4 days old). Additionally, she appears to be a Taylor baby (as opposed to Joshua who, according to everyone on the planet except me, appears to be a Snyder baby).

I took a month off from work and spent a considerable amount of time sleeping in and lying by the pool. I've got the farmers tan to prove it. Joshua joined the swim team this year, and after about six weeks of prodding, begging, pleading, and forehead slapping (on my part) he is now a pretty decent swimmer. He needs to learn the strokes, but he does a mean doggie paddle, and is getting better each day with freestyle and butterfly. This is a major accomplishment and frankly it trumps me giving birth in the way of big events because we've been trying to get him to swim (in any capacity) for roughly 5 years now.

Katie came to town in early July and has been quite helpful in the way of baby tending and carting Josh around (not to mention she vacuums regularly and will load the dishwasher). Bekir followed earlier this week and we've been enjoying visiting with them.

Unfortunately I won't be going to Taipei in a month due to financial stress and the need for an additional job to pay for childcare. Anyone looking for help in the evenings or weekends should contact me STAT. In lieu of travelling to Taipei I'll be heading back to Gally to cover for Jonathan (who replaced me when I left) so that he can travel to Taipei (I'm only extremely jealous, but not disgruntled).

Memories and Michael Jackson - again

In lieu of the recent passing of Michael Jackson I'm reposting a blog I wrote well over a year ago about how fond I am of his music.

Monday, February 11, 2008
Memories and Michael Jackson
Do you ever forget how much you loved Michael Jackson? No, not recently loved him, but in like 1st grade loved him. When I was in 1st grade, along with many of you - Michael Jackson was da bomb. He was the coolest, most talented, best entertainer out there. We all loved his songs (go ahead, try and deny it), wanted to do the moonwalk like him, and watched Thriller over and over again. Regardless, I'm not on here typing away to convince you of anything.
So, we've established that I loved Michael Jackson as a kid. I continued to enjoy his music even though Michael, as a person, became the exact opposite of someone who I would admire. The music he made during the early 80's, and even the early 90's was great. Catchy tunes that have been sampled and remade time and time again in the current music scene. This is what leads me to this blog and the recent updates to my playlist.
Rhianna's newest radio release has a nice sampling (or pseudosampling) from Wanna Be Starting Something which in turn leads me to think of Michael Jackson, which in turn leads me to think about a very long trip to and from Connecticut with my partners in crime Ron and Cami (and Will was along that trip which made it even better). We didn't always all agree on what should or should not be on the radio, but we all agreed on Michael Jackson. (BTW, Cami or Will if you happen to read this - one of my favoritest memories ever.) This story has already been recapped in a 2 part blog way down my list called "We're supposed to take 95 north," and "We're supposed to take 95 south." (found on my MySpace blog)
Anywho, all this brought me to today when I finally remembered to add some MJ songs to my playlist - along with Rhianna, and some new Chris Brown. When you have nothing better to do, or need the best playlist ever to get you through your day - check it out :)

Quotes

The longest day must have its close—the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

So I have this little quote widget on my blog (you've probably noticed this already), and it's there as much for me as anyone else. I particularly liked today's quote because it seemed so very applicable to the agony that is my sitting and waiting. To quote about a bazillion other people, "nobody was ever pregnant forever." This is true, but it sure does feel like I've been pregnant forever, and with no actual end in sight it seems that the misery will go on endlessly. One two or three occasions now I've been sure that the end was near. I mean really near. This, only to be disappointed when the end did not in fact show up. I could sit here and list all the reasons why I feel as though I cannot go on another day, but it won't get me anywhere, so I'll just sit here and stew about it to myself.

There are undoubtedly people out there who have no clue I'm about to have a baby. Either they don't keep in touch, or I don't keep in touch, or they don't read my blog, or they don't talk to anyone that I talk to. It's probably for the best. I find pregnancy to be horrific. It's agonizing and painful, uncomfortable and miserable. I can't find one positive thing to say about it other than you get the baby in the end (and then you get a whole new set of agonizing, painful, uncomfortable, and miserable issues). Why people do this on purpose ceases to amaze me. All that being said, if you're one of those people who thinks that pregnancy is so fabulous then you probably do not want to have a conversation with me. I don't care how glorious you thought it was. Frankly, I think you deluded yourself the entire time. My theory on the knows, and the know-nots is simply that I can deal with the knows and probably cannot or do not want to deal with the know-nots. I like them all just the same, it's more a matter of relativity and agreement on the issue at hand.

All that being said - I'm hoping that this ever so long day will have its close (not the actual day, but the theoretical day that has been the last 9 VERY LONG months) soon.

Bathroom Remodeling

Ages ago (like well over a year) we discovered that our bathroom sink was rusted. Not just a little bit rusted, but rusted clear through. In the sink's defense, it is probably the original sink installed in the house in 1973. We discovered the leak while replacing the faucet which also seemed to be the original from 1973 (it too was leaking). Not wanting to get in to anything too massive where bathroom renovations were concerned, Brad was able to just use some plumber's putty to "fix" the leak.
Fast forward a few months. I noticed one day that the bag I'd pulled from under the sink for the trash can was wet. This was slightly disturbing, but it wasn't like it was dripping... just a little damp.
Fast forward a few months (maybe it was even just a few weeks), and Brad realized he'd left some tools under that same sink from when he'd changed out the faucet. He went to fetch them and they were rusted. Further proof that the "fix" was not working.
Finally a couple of weekends back I was pulling yet another bag out from under the sink and noticed that it was wet. No, not damp, actually wet. Water had pooled on the bag, so that when I grabbed it and pulled a small puddle ended up on the floor. This was bad and needed some immediate attention.
I mentioned to Brad that the "fix" was shot and we needed to look in to replacing the vanity. We would probably have opted to replace the sink but previous attempts to disengage the sink from the vanity proved impossible. Plus, the vanity/sink combo was ancient (see part where it's undoubtedly the original from 1973). We'd looked at other vanity/sink combos at Home Depot and Lowe's and found a few that were inexpensive and good looking. Brad and his friend Nick met up, headed to Lowe's and picked up a new one to install. I was very excited, but of course it wasn't going to be easy.
I'd like to note that it has been two weeks now since this project first started and I still have no sink to use in my bathroom. There is an upside to this. While Nick was able to come in, remove the old installation, and begin the process of the new installation, there were more challenges to overcome. The vanity had been flush with the front and right side wall. The new vanity did not want to be flush with anything and when we made it flush it then exposed part of the floor that had never been finished. Everyone had a theory as to how to deal with the flooring issue, but the bigger issue is that the floor just needs to be replaced. It's spongy in places, has a slope in other places, and isn't installed very well regardless.
What was once a simple issue of replacing a sink has now become a bathroom renovation. Not to say that the bathroom doesn't need to be renovated, but frankly I'm short on time here and I'd like to see this done sooner rather than later. I like using the potty closest to me when at all possible, and even though it's only another 10 steps or so to our other bathroom it's a pain.... especially in the middle of the night (for 3 - 4 trips). Brad is now nearly halfway through the process of laying porcelain tile that I picked out. Hopefully he'll finish up the actual tile laying this evening and begin the process of grouting tomorrow. Perhaps when he's finished, and the new sink is in place, and the potty is put back I will post pictures.

The world is full of stupid people

Just when I think things are fine and dandy I find myself right in the middle of numerous situations involving incredibly stupid people. If it was just a single incident I would probably not get all bent out of shape. I'd chalk it up to general stupidity and move along. Unfortunately these things come in waves, and before I know it there's just stupid person after stupid person beating down my door (no, not my actual door, but my door in theory). I don't deal well with stupid people. If they're really dumb and annoying I find myself completely infuriated with the entire situation and I have to do something to remove myself. This becomes a challenge when it's not just one person, but many people and many situations. Why, why are people so incredibly stupid? I just don't understand what makes a 70 year old act like a 4th grader. I also don't understand why you tell someone something specific a bazillion times only to have them act as though you never said anything at all. I do my best to be as specific and detailed as possible to give people the best opportunity to be informed. Why then do they decide to just ignore everything I've said? I'm at a loss, I really am. Days like today make me wanna find a different job and leave it all behind. Sadly, that's really me taking it out on the wrong people. The people AT my actual job have done nothing wrong. It's other people I'm forced to deal with that drive me straight up the wall - and not even all the time, just periodically. Perhaps I need a new approach. I will not answer emails, I will not provide ridiculous amounts of information. Perhaps I'll provide no information. Maybe then people will stop acting so stupid and actually think and act like responsible adults? Probably not, but one can hope.