Bothered

But definitely not hot.

I’ve been trying to fix this problem with my bank and a statement I’m supposed to be able to access online, except that they made it impossible to do so when they deleted the account (which was closed earlier this month).  I should point out that they emailed me AFTER the account had been closed to tell me that the statement was there.

I figured they could just mail me a copy.  To my house.  The street address of which they have on file.  So I messaged them through my account’s message center and got a response back a couple of days later saying that they aren’t able to deal with those kinds of issues online.

Really, what kind of issues CAN they deal with online?  I’ve already had to go in once this month to close that account.  This online banking is supposed to make my life EASIER, not more complicated.  Plus I have to talk to a banker every time and they feel compelled to try to upsell me on all kinds of crap that I don’t want.

So, I may have screamed a lot internally, because I have a headache now.  I didn’t even know how to respond to this.  Finally I wrote back, “That’s ridiculous.”  Because it is.

Partof the reason I’m furious is that as a librarian, I would bend over backwards (and have!) to help someone resolve something like this.  And they could totally send me an email to initiate the process.

I detest you, bank.  And I have for a long time.  Moving on.

Everything

Yes, everything is irritating today.  I will go to bed now and hope that tomorrow is an improvement.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

This book was brought to my attention the other day.  Since I have a fair amount of experience with unicorns (and loving them), I was intrigued.  Also, the unicorn’s name is Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.  NOSTRILS.  Yes.  So, you see why I had to read it.

One of the things I do as an adult now that I NEVER did as a kid or a teenager is read things like author bios, forewords, footnotes, endnotes, whatever.  It’s like all the special features that come with DVDs except in BOOKS (I almost never bother with special features).  The introduction to the first volume in this series (there are 3 books right now) is written by Peter S. Beagle – you know, the guy who wrote “The Last Unicorn.”  And he loves it.

Here’s what he says:

“I would dearly love to claim at least some connection to the origins of Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, the innocently arrogant unicorn who preens so charmingly through Dana Simpson’s delightful comic strip bearing her name.  And perhaps I can.  Scholarly articles have been written, after all, about the fact that prior to my 1968 novel The Last Unicorn there were no female unicorns to be found in any of the world’s varied mythologies.  And in the early pages of that book I did write, ‘Unicorns are immortal.  It is their nature to live alone in one place: usually a forest where there is a pool clear enough for them to see themselves – for they are a little vain, knowing themselves to be the most beautiful creatures in all the world, and magic besides…’

“A little vain…Marigold would be an appalling monster of ego, utterly self-concerned and completely unlikable, if it weren’t for her sense of humor and her occasional surprising capacity for compassion – both crucial attributes when bound by a wish granted to a nine-year-old girl in need of a Best Friend to play invented superhero games with, to introduce to slumber parties and girl-talk gossip and to ride through the wind after being called nerd and Princess Stupidbutt one time too many.  For Phoebe is a remarkably real little girl, as bright and imaginative as Bill Watterson’s Calvin, as touchingly vulnerable as Charles Schulz’s Charlie Brown.  And if these strike you as big names to conjure with, I’ll go further and state for the record that in my opinion Phoebe and Her Unicorn is nothing less than the best comic strip to come along since Calvin and Hobbes.  Simpson is that good, and that original…”

And you should read the rest of this for yourself.  And the whole book.  Because it’s high praise to compare it to Calvin and Hobbes and you know you want to find out if that’s true.

 

New Diet – Courtesy of Adventure

So I finally unpacked my scale and weighed myself.  THAT was traumatic.  I did some internal wailing and whimpering and then moved on.  I started a DIET this past weekend – not any of the popular fad diets, but one where I just pay attention to what I eat and track the hell out of it.  And exercise, yes.  I was doing that, but I think the foot pain got in the way a bit, and also the eating like I am still on my warm weather biking schedule did me in.  FUEL.  FUEL FOR BIKING.

I came up with a name for it this morning – “The Don’t Crush the Tiny Icelandic Horses Diet.”  Since that’s part of the goal.  I sincerely hope not to crush their little backs and tiny hopes.  Do Icelandic horses have tiny hopes?  I hear my traveling partner has started something similar.  We will be like clouds of happiness upon their backs.  Right?

I had my second riding lesson this week.  Copenhagen was my noble steed (again).  He did not buck me off, so there’s that.  😉  My instructor revealed that when she first asked him to canter he bucked.  She didn’t come off, but he definitely had second thoughts about picking it up.  No cantering.  We may try it next time.  On a different horse.  But I said that last time, didn’t I?

We worked on a cloverleaf pattern.  Which I haven’t done before.  My instructor laid 4 poles out in a square in the middle of the riding ring and as we rode around the circular ring, I was supposed to have Copenhagen turn in at the center of each pole and then loop off to the left (or right, depending on which side we were working on), then come back in at the next pole.  It wasn’t so hard at a walk, but once we got trotting, we came up on those poles much faster than I’d anticipated.  In theory I grasped the concept, but in practice, I only asked my horse to turn in at every OTHER pole.

During our first pass at a trot, Copenhagen sort of tripped over a pole and kicked up some sand which hit a metal gate and made what must have been a Very Startling Noise, because he spooked and shot away from the noise.  Oh, silly horse.  I didn’t fall and I wasn’t scared, but I took it a little easy on him for a few passes after that to make sure he was ok with everything.  I kind of mucked up the exercise/pattern, but Copenhagen DID everything I asked him to do, so the pattern errors were all mine.  Good boy!

I’m considering making myself available as a volunteer in the future.  It would be nice to just be around horses, too.  And do all the horse chores and get to know them better instead of just in 30 minute pockets.  It’s hard to know/trust ANYONE in 30 minute increments.  It would be even better if I could trade volunteer hours for time in the saddle (that was an option when I was in school).

Whoops

I decided to update the music on my iPod this afternoon (which hasn’t seen that sort of update since I don’t know when).  It wasn’t set up to automatically sync anything because I’m just that kind of control freak…actually, I had to set it up to manage everything manually at some point so that I could download audiobooks from the library’s lending service.  No audiobooks currently checked out (also, I’m using my phone and the app for this now), so it seemed like a good time to add some new stuff.

As it turns out, it’s going to be all new stuff, because I lost all of my playlists (not realizing that they weren’t stored in this version of iTunes).  I had a tiny ARGH moment and then shrugged and decided, well, I’ve been listening to most of those songs for the past 2 years, so really, it was time to freshen up.  The tracks/music are all still in my library somewhere, but I have no idea what the exact lists were.  Not terrible, but a slight setback in my plan to have some music on while I whip up some soup in the kitchen.

I hate iTunes.

Positively balmy

The snow has gone all melty and drippy outside.  I can hear the droplets plinking off the gutters.  I assume that’s happening out there and not up in the attic somewhere.

It’s past my bedtime, and I should sleep, but I keep thinking about things and they’re turning into the sorts of Things that keep me awake.  When I have lots of questions and no answers, my brain gets super inventive.

So.  Now we sleep.  And have perplexing dreams that end up all shouty.

Round is a shape

So, I’ve reached that awkward stage where my workouts are starting to increase my muscle tone… Unfortunately, that just makes my extra padding stick out more.  Yes, my fat is now extra perky.  Yay.  I think this is when people throw in the towel and grab the Doritos.  Mmm.  But, I promised the horses I’d be a lighter burden asap.

I hate obsessing about eating and exercise, but the only way I’ve managed to successfully slim down is to monitor Everything I eat and Everything (active) I do.  This thing I do where I try to ignore all of that (because it’s tedious) definitely does not work.

I miss my bike rides.  And having jeans that fit.  Bleh.

I’m your only friend

I’m not your only friend, but I’m a little glowing friend, but really I’m not actually your friend, but I am…

Yesterday I messaged someone (not one of my friends) on FB to say thanks and provide a link to a website she’d asked me about.  I got an enthusiastic reply and a friend request back, so I added her, and then today she disappeared completely.  I went to reply to her comment on a post of mine and it was gone.  Did I just experience Friendgret?  Or did I offend her with too much bunny?  It’s hard to say.  Anyway…

In other news, FB has made it possible to delete whole messages/conversations from their mobile site, so that’s a nice enhancement.  It may even have been around for awhile – I just gave up hoping.

I have a few minutes

But only just.  Today was my first riding lesson in probably 15 years (ok, closer to 20).  I was a horse crazy little girl (though not as crazy as some) who was always planning on growing up to be a warrior princess veterinarian.  So far I’m a mostly pacifist (except in traffic) beekeeping, cycling librarian, but you know, same thing, really.  My most recent riding lessons were back in college and prior to that I rode at summer camp for two weeks every summer.  It’s not a lot of time in the saddle really.  I recently decided to sign up for ADVENTURE and booked a trip to Iceland where I’m going to be riding 4-6 hours a DAY across the country (or around the Golden Circle).  That’s not until later this summer, but I figured I should start preparing.  I remember those summer camp days when I could barely walk during the first week of riding.  My muscles are even older and wimpier now.  I probably shouldn’t torture myself with the same kind of rude awakening.  So, riding lessons.  Really, I’m more interested in riding PRACTICE and riding EXERCISE, but unless you own your own horse and have a place to ride it, you pretty much have to do riding lessons first.

I tried to arrange a riding lesson/day for me and some friends a few years ago – I thought it would be a fun thing to do for my birthday.  But the places I called seemed to think that was weird, or never responded to my messages, and I finally gave that up.  A friend of mine was boarding her 3 horses locally at the time and when she heard I was interested in riding, she hooked me up.  We went out a few times together and she even suggested that I come out and ride on my own, but I wasn’t really comfortable doing that.  I need some more supervised practice before I go there.  She’s since moved the fleet to Washington state, so I looked into some other options nearby.  This time, my research uncovered a place that’s primarily a therapy riding center – they do regular lessons on the side, though, which is a better match for me/what I’m looking for.  I’m more apt to think of my riding as therapeutic or exercise than I am as a means to compete.  That’s what a lot of stables focus on – showing and competing.  I suppose that’s one way to motivate yourself to be a better rider, but I’m more interested in feeling comfortable and confident in the saddle, and more connected with my horse friends.

My first lesson was great!  My instructor was a friend of a friend (yay!), and since it was my first time riding with her (and in forever) we took things slowly.  I rode Copenhagen, who was a smaller draft horse (still quite round in the girth area, though – we spent a good 10 minutes searching for a girth extender to make the saddle fit him), and who is more accustomed to Western style riding/cues.  But we understood one another.  We went through some testing – where I’d ask him to do things and he’d see if he could cut corners and what I’d let him get away with (not much).  Parts of me seemed to remember how to ride way better than my brain did.  It is ridiculous, though, how quickly my leg muscles tired (ok, I did do nice workout with Jackie Warner – on the DVD – before I went for my lesson, so they were tired already).  A half hour lesson was perfect.  Let’s hope I can build up some stamina!  We walked, trotted, and did some figure eights and halts in different directions around the riding ring.  There were therapy lessons going on, too, so we were using a smaller riding arena for my lesson.  I don’t think it would have been fun to canter in there.  Would have been tight.  Copenhagen has a weird canter, too, according to my instructor.  Next time!  There is going to be a next time.  I signed up for lessons every other week for the present.  And I’ll adjust that if I feel like I need more or decide I can’t afford it.  In reading through one of their brochures, I saw that they do allow advanced riders to use the arena unsupervised.  Perhaps that is something I can work up to.

I think my body is going to complain a LOT tomorrow.  I keep making it do things that it hasn’t done in awhile.  I’ve been subjecting it to weight training and lunges and squats and it’s super cranky.  And that’s super depressing.  I feel old and weak, and these things that were so easy (or at least MUCH easier) for me a few years ago (when I was doing them regularly) are all difficult now.  Having the patience to push through the difficulty and trusting that it *will* get better is hard.  But the payoff – strong, and ready for adventures – is worth it.  (It is, right?)

 

 

3 day workweeks

I’m becoming a fan of the 3-day workweek after play (work?) testing it for the last 3 weeks.  My challenges are naps and then staying up too late reading or watching home improvement shows.  I got a little obsessed while I was making all of those kitty butt coasters.  And just like my supply of scrap yarn, there seems to be no end of home renovation programming.  This is wonderful and terrible.  I have also finished three books in the last two days.

I do what I want!

And that’s been “hibernate.”

We had my birthday luncheon today at Mago Grill.  The food was delicious, but the space was poorly lit and the glare from the windows made it impossible to see my family.  They will make fresh guacamole for you at the table for a ridiculous price.  I was tempted to take them up on it, but I don’t think my brother or my father like it.  So, it would have been just me and Bom.  They are all sick again.  Hope I don’t catch it!

I’ve heard owls calling outside the past couple of nights, and a few nights prior to that.  I hope this means that they are nesting nearby.  I listened to a bunch of calls on my iBird app and looked at species ranges, and without any visual aids to help me identify them, I’m guessing that they are Great Horned owls.  Pretty neat.  I’d love to see owls in the wild (suburban wilds).

Yesterday, as part of my art adventure series (you can read about my goals on my refrigerator), I took a short course on screen printing.  Very informative, but did not make it at all feasible to replicate the process at home without a great deal of hassle and expense.  I did look up an Instructables project later on that tells you how to do it on the cheap.  (Like without the special emulsion solution and the vacuum/exposure machine, the power washer set up, and the aluminum framed screens.)   We spent about 20 minutes sketching and then transferring our designs to a plastic film with markers/paint.  We “burned” them onto the screen as a collage and then tried to print from that.  Two of ours did not transfer well (mine and another woman’s), so the prints weren’t that great.  I did save a couple of our instructor’s images – she designed a sloth riding a bicycle.  Very cute.  The class ran over time because we tried a second burn with a fresh screen (and different paint).  The process, while complex, was still very interesting.  I will try out the cheap method on my own sometime.

Next up: horseback riding lessons/practice this Wednesday!