Tuesday, May 6, 2014

A Few of My Favorite Things...

First of all, I want to congratulate my favorite band of all time, Daryl Hall & John Oates, for finally making it into The Hall of Fame!  It was long overdue and well-deserved.  I have been a fan of the band for the majority of my life now, and am glad both are still continuing to evolve their talents in making great music.


Next, I want to wish my favorite (and only) little niece a Happy Birthday this month, she is turning 1 tomorrow (May 7th)!  I had the pleasure of meeting her in person last month. It was her first visit to the United States!  She is quite the character, with a wide range of faces.  When first meeting people, she usually gives them a scowling stare-down.  Once she feels more at ease, she starts babbling.  Usually it's ma-ma-ma.  She also makes a cute little noise, similar to a ambulance siren while bobbing her head up and down, she usually smiles after that.  She is highly curious.  She is more entertained by two pieces of paper over her toys.  She makes a beeline to try and grab anything that is computer related, including keyboards, Kindles, and cell phones.  When meeting some sweet cats for the first time, she initially seemed timid.  Later, she started crawling after them to pet (or more like tug) their fur.  She often rolls her arms when she first sees animals.  Luckily for the pets, she can only crawl after them.  She is bound to be up and running soon, however, as she constantly pulls herself up to stand.  We had an early birthday party for my niece, and I gave her the sunglasses you see in the photo above.  Doesn't she sort of look like a celebrity, not wanting anyone to take photos of her?


Along with her baby, my sister took her cat back to Japan with her.  I am sure the cat is happy, because it is finally away from our parent's cat.  Our parent's cat seems nice enough, but for some reason he invades the other cat's space, making her terribly grumpy.  You don't usually want to touch my sister's cat when she is in that mood.  When she is happy, she is nice and friendly.  I am really going to miss her being in the States.

How I Met Your Mother Fan


One of my favorite shows ended this year, and I am fine with it.  I have recently been re-watching the series and appreciate some of the episodes more than when they first aired.  The dad, tells several stories, often not appropriate, to his kids on the relationship he and his group of friends share with with one another. Sometimes, there are twists and turns in the story-line. Ted, is ultimately looking for "the one" who will be the kids mother.

I thought I watched every episode from the very beginning, but I noticed there was one Christmas episode I missed (the one with Lily standing on the bed, with a bat wrapped in tinsel).  There were some episodes I forgot, but really liked, once I remembered, such as the one with the blind date.  There were also favorite moments that I remembered and enjoyed again, like the two minute date, and the time when Ted let Robin throw a drink in his face to impress her friend.  There are other moments as well, but those could be spoilers, so I will just leave it at that.

Personally, I loved the ending of the entire series.  I am glad the writers stuck to their original idea on how it should end.  I know many fans were upset, but one of the things I liked about the show is how many fake-outs it had throughout the series, making it basically saying "anything can happen."  I thought the cast was exceptional as well, including the addition of "the Mother."  The series had some of my favorite guest stars throughout the years, Danica McKeller (from my absolute favorite show ever, "The Wonder Years"), Mandy Moore (who is one of my favorite female vocalists/actresses), and Rachel Bilson (who was in another series I loved, called "The O.C.").

The series had a good run of 9 years, and even though it kept me entertained over the years, I was ready for it to end.  I think the cast was, too.  I will miss the cast, they really seemed to work well together.

One thing that is keeping me entertained now, is one of the books I am reading.  I recently started one of my favorite cartoonists complete collection.  I haven't officially made a review on this book yet, since I am not done with it, but this is what I think so far:

The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 1: 1950-1952The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 1: 1950-1952 by Charles M. Schulz
I am really enjoying this book so far. It starts from the very beginning of the comic strip of the Peanuts gang.  I am in awe how well done this strip has always been.  I have never read Schulz's work this far back, but I am enjoying seeing how much the strip and characters have changed over the years.  Charlie Brown's mom actually speaks words in some of the early strips!  You don't see her, but you "hear" her voice!  The birds that Snoopy chases look closer to what normal birds look like.  Snoopy has not met Woodstock yet.  I just read the panel where Schroeder is introduced, and he is a baby!  As I read it, I can definitely see the influence Schulz had on Bill Watterson (who drew the famous Calvin & Hobbes strip).  There are several books for this particular collection, and each one has a real vibrant color, often with a large face of one character.  The covers are very eye-catching.  I am pretty certain my overall rating of this book will be 5 stars.

View all my reviews

Friday, May 2, 2014

My Silver Lining Day

It has been incredibly, blindingly sunny and record-breaking hot lately the past few days in the great Northwest, and so this morning I did not take a coat  work.

I just finally managed to convince my boss that my route car needs the air conditioning fixed.  Lately, it has been like driving all day in an oversized Easy Bake Oven on-wheels.  I really should not be driving with the windows down, due to a severe allergy to bees, either.  A wasp landed on the outside of my windshield yesterday, so I baked to a nice medium-rare to well-done stage, after rolling all the windows up, waiting to get to an area less populated by insects.

After taking my car into the shop, it was discovered that the car has a leak.  So, I wound up borrowing someone else's route car for the day.  My morning run went well.  So well, that I offered to help cover another person's route in addition to my own, due to being a little short on drivers today.

My boss gave me a special delivery that I just barely had time to get to, if I left right away.  Feeling positive I could make all my stops, I rushed out the door to make my deliveries.  As I headed down the interstate, I noticed the car steering wheel shook a little.  I thought, "No big deal, that happened yesterday, and I told my boss about it, and he told me 'the car is old.'"  So, I drove on.

The route car started making a loud noise.

"Stupid car...," I grudgingly thought, "it's old, I am sure it is fine.  I am in a hurry.  I will check it when I get to my next stop."

I took the exit to the next interstate highway.  The noise continued.  I wanted to keep going, but I had a strong feeling that I should pull over just in case.  I quickly made my decision when I looked over to notice an unusually wide shoulder in the area I just happened to be in.  I got out, and sure enough the back tire had gone flat (later to be discovered that it had a medium-sized nail lodged into it).

I called my boss, let him know that the delivery would not make it on time, and then called for road-side assistance that we just got recently.  So recent, that my boss asked me this morning if I had the number for them.

Two very nice young men from the insurance company came and changed my tire to the spare, and I was on my way.

The special delivery wound up a hour late, but fortunately, they understood.

I was able to make all the stops on the route I helped with, but only able to make one of the three stops I had on mine.  I wound up calling the two places instead.  Everything was okay.

As I was leaving work, it started to rain.  "Great... the day I didn't bring a coat!"  I mused.  That is when I remembered I stuck an umbrella (I never usually carry) in my purse, and proceeded to walk to my car (not parked too far away for once).

I am grateful how everything that tried to ruin my day, turned out for the best.  Even if the sun is shining, sometimes it is best to take a jacket.  Good days can take a turn for the worse, but if you are prepared, your challenges may have a silver lining.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Looking Back: Things I Want to Remember from 2013,LookingForward:Things Happening In 2014

Where does the time go?  January flew by, February only had 28 days in it, and now it is March!  I started to write this blog either in early January or late December.  I suppose I should finish it!  Here are some things I want to remember from 2013, and a few things going on so far this year.  



Driving in Seattle:



The Ferry Ride to Bainbridge Island:








I had been on a ferry before (when I was a kid), but never by myself with a car. Just before I was asked to do my current route, I was asked to go to Bainbridge Island for a special delivery for my work.  It was a new experience for me.  

The music I enjoyed during 2013 (and still today):



Clarity - Zedd (featuring Foxes) - I love this song, the video is kind of different, but I really like it.  The vocals are excellent.
Let Her Go - Passenger - The singer's style on this song kind of reminds me of Cat Stevens.
Radioactive (also It's Time, and Demons) - Imagine Dragons - Very catchy tunes.  Radioactive is my favorite.
Stay - Rhianna (featuring Mikky Ekko) - Nice, soft and slow song.
Red Hands - Walk Off the Earth - I liked this song the instant it came on the radio.
Out of My League - Fitz and The Tantrums - They also had a great song that was free awhile ago called "MoneyGrabber."  I like their style.
Trouble - Taylor Swift - I like many of Taylor Swift's songs, this just has some extra oomph to it!
Safe & Sound - Capital Cities - Upbeat sound.  The lyrics are kind of cool, too.  

Battling dragons.  I had to battle some dragons last year.  I am not going to go into it, but I am glad I am past having to deal with certain people or circumstances that made my life difficult last year.

Working with a great group of coworkers.  Last year, I have had the opportunity to work with, and get to know some great people at my current job.  I do not get to see them as often as I like, now that I am on the road almost the entire time for my current route.

In 2013, the workers at my current job had great camaraderie.  I have not had that at all the jobs I have worked, and my current place has not always had that in past years, either.  It makes a difference when you work at a place where everybody tends to get along.  It only takes one person to make a good situation not-so-good, to downright miserable.

For Christmas I got a Kindle Fire! (I have been making very good use of it in 2014, reading tons of books, streaming movies, etc.)

Finishing my friend's 3rd book (an early birthday gift to myself).  Here is my review from Goodreads:


Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave (The Harrowbethian Saga)Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave by Richelle E. Goodrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is probably my favorite in the series so far. The cover is my favorite too, really like the colors used, and I like how it has some depth perspective to it.

There are many memorable and interesting things that happen in this book. Like meeting the other civilizations on the planet, and how they live. Ian's new talent. Getting a peek into the past, to understand the characters better. I liked how it ended, too. I could even be okay if the series just ended there, leaving it up to the reader's imagination -- but I know that is not where it ends.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

View all my reviews

 I set some small goals for 2014:


This year I plan to... by jackie-s-eyeslikeacat featuring LSA International

Eat more vegetables.  So far, so good.  I have been adding more vegetables to my lunches, and the dinners I make.  More variety, too.  I am particularly enjoying cucumbers and red bell peppers lately.

Drink more water.  I have been getting better about taking my water to work, so I can have it on the road.

Read more.  I have been reading quite a bit more since I got my new Kindle.  I can read the pages faster with a bigger screen (compared to my iPod, which I had been using, and still do sometimes). I also like the text-to-speech feature, which is much more smooth than my other Kindle text-to-speech feature.  I still like to read along when I use that feature, it helps me understand the tone better when I read along.  The tone and word pronunciation can be wrong while listening to a automated voice.  I can correct it in my head better if I am looking at the words myself. 

Write more.... oops.

Draw more... It isn't drawing, but I have been entering many more contests in Polyvore, just to keep my creative juices flowing.  Lately, my sets have been going a little more on artsy side than my sets in the past.  I have done a little doodling on the side, once on a McDonald's napkin during a lunch break.  

Another site I have been enjoying, is looking artwork done by various people on Illustration Friday.  The site that gives a word, and then anybody can add their drawings/artwork that resemble that word.  I have drawn a few doodles on my own, from the word given, but I have never actually submitted anything to it.

Exercise for at least one more day (I specifically worded it like this to myself, so I wouldn't get discouraged).  I have had to walk to the Park & Ride lately, due to a change in parking arrangements at work.  I could wait for the shuttle, but sometimes it is just faster to walk the 20-30 minutes it takes to get there!



I was very close to adopting a cat this year.  A friend of mine had to give hers up, and I was highly considering it.  Unfortunately, I feel my apartment charges too much to own a pet, so I probably won't be getting one as long as I live where I do currently.  I don't mind paying a one time deposit fee for a pet (which is how it was when I first moved here), but a month-to-month rent in addition feels like a rip-off.  So, I will just have to visit other people's cats instead.  I will really miss my friend's cat.  Isn't she pretty?

Goodreads

My bookshelf: Books I have read

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Animal Farm
Little Women
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Da Vinci Code
The Kite Runner
Eena the Return of a Queen
Room
Sarah's Key
A Northern Light
Simple Abundance:  A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
Matched
Short Stories
The Help
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Book of a Thousand Days


Jackie's favorite books »
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Random Blogs & Postings by Jackie S.

Random Blogs & Postings by Jackie S.