Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Miscellaneous

It is 11:06 in the morning, and I'm eating Sour Patch Kids. This is probably unwise, as I'll be bouncing off the walls in an hour and crashing right around the time of my 2:00 meeting, but my Mueslix didn't really fill me up this morning and I got a Halloween package (with candy!) from one of my vendors yesterday, so...here we are.

Wow, I'm even typing in run-on sentences.

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In other news, I'm going home this weekend for the first time since March (or May, if you count an overnight visit, which I really don't). Will be visiting my parents and going to the Science Hill--Dobbins Bennett game on Friday night at my old high school. Go Toppers!

Unfortunately, this means several late evenings at work this week, but I shall press onward.

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Before I can think about packing, however, I must prepare myself for Renée Fleming! (that's how I think of her, with an exclamation point after her name), who I get to hear tomorrow. More on that later.

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And finally...six days until the election. [cue nailbiting]

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Potpourri

Yesterday Dad complained that I haven't posted in a while. I haven't forgotten about you, loyal readers, but I've been experiencing a significant dearth of inspiration recently. I generally prefer to wait until I have something to say, rather than nattering on about nothing just to fill space, and I haven't had any bug incidents or anything to write about.

That was yesterday, though. Today I feel the urge to natter. About various things. I shall just leave the blog window open all day and add to it whenever I think of something. We'll see what happens!

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Well. Fall has officially arrived, which means boots! sweaters! jackets! We're in that glorious period between the humidity of summer and the onset of the dry, cold air that creates great quantities of static in my hair. I treasure this time. It never lasts long.

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Someone stole my scissors! They reside on my desk, with their orange handles sticking out of the Harrods Chocolate Chunk and Pecan Cookie tin that holds my pens and highlighters. (The cookies were consumed many years ago, but the tin lives on.) But when I came in this morning...no scissors! This has thrown off my entire morning.

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Aside from Work Work Work, I've been consumed with Wedding Mania. There is something in the water, I think--Ed and Val were first with the engagements, followed by a friend from high school and then Jules and Miguel. And then! My favorite blogger from over at Nothing But Bonfires got engaged in Rome (and wrote a beautiful story about it).

E&V and J&M are getting married a week apart next September, which....YIKES. And also, fun! So my email inbox is chockablock with dress designs and flower colors and hairstyles and "Yikes, Who Does That?" photos. (Jules sends a lot of emails). It all seems so far away, until I remember that E&V's engagement party in PA is in three weeks, and I have no idea what I'm going to wear.

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At work I edit a lot of schlock, much of it written by individuals with less understanding of English grammar than the average fourth grader. (I'm not talking about my colleagues at work. Much of the text I'm talking about comes from external sources.) However, I would like to commend whomever at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra wrote the company bio that I edited today. It is well written, interesting, and uses the phrase "an historic moment," which I appreciate.

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Apparently one side effect of not living with J anymore is that I no longer have a clue about what's going on with the Red Sox. (Me, on Saturday night: "So what's the significance of this game?" It was Game 6 of the ALCS. Oops.)

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In case you were wondering about my sleep issues, they seem to have resolved themselves. I attribute this to a) reduced work-related stress, b) the Silly Putty that I bought last week for stress relief, and c) my bed being a haven of comfy wonderfulness. I flipped my mattress and put the Awesome and Ugly Sheets of Yore* on the bed. This, combined with the cool weather and my new ability to sleep past 6am, means that I never want to leave my bed.

*These sheets were my father's in college. They are both Awesome in their softness and Ugly, due to a tremendously ill-advised combination of colors (orange, blue, and brown plaid).

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Thoughts on Jules and Michael's engagement

Me, upon answering the phone: I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!

Dad (mine), via text: 'Bout time.

Alison Bilz (maid of honor and sister of the bride), via phone to Jules: [on bridesmaids' dresses] No pastels or brown or green, and thank God Hannah already nixed yellow.

Val, via G-chat: oh yay, i'm glad i'm not the only one going through the hell of making these color choices!

Me and Ashley, via phone: [hysterical giggling]
Ash: Our little Jules is growing up!

Dad, later via phone: Tell them I'm available to perform the wedding.

Friday, October 10, 2008

The Science of Sleep

All week, I've been waking up 30 to 45 minutes before my alarm. This is quite unusual, as I normally hit the snooze button several times before hauling myself out of bed and into the shower.

I'm trying to pinpoint the cause of this newfound early-bird-ness. I've been under incredible pressure at work over the last few weeks, so I frequently find myself gripped with panic about the program that didn't get delivered (it did) or the proof I forgot to approve (I didn't). I fall asleep--eventually--with my mind racing through the things that need to get done the next day, and I pick up right where I left off the instant my eyes open the next morning. I have had a perpetual knot in my stomach all week because of the stress. Seems like a good enough reason to wake up early, yes?

Or! Is it possible that I am, in fact, actually sleeping better these days? During the summer, I sleep with my windows open and, though I'm able to ignore the street noise, I wonder if I'm actually getting a deeper, more restful sleep now that the temperature has dropped, my windows are closed, and it's quieter?

I've spent most of the day contemplating this.

The good thing about this, though, is that I have had time to spend the day contemplating it. Work has chilled out a little (until Monday, at least), and I have a little time to breathe. So, naturally, I am blogging.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

So much culture!

On Saturday I saw (heard?) the New York Philharmonic. Tonight I will be attending closing night of The Pearl Fishers at the Kennedy Center (for free! and probably in awesome seats!) and then I will be dashing home to hopefully catch the last half hour of the debate. Good thing it's a (relatively) short opera.

Or I might just leave after "Au fond du temple saint." But that would probably be rude.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Heard... (work edition)

...as I obsess over many teeny details in a project for our company president
Him: Hannah, it's not the Magna Carta.

The pound is silent?

Work has been nutso recently, and I've been staying sane by watching many hours of season 1 of The West Wing over the last few days. Some day I will produce a real post again, but for now I leave you with this little gem from the episode "He Shall, From Time to Time."

The president is rehearsing for the State of the Union address
President Bartlet:
'I came to this hallowed chamber one year ago' -- and I see that we're spelling hallowed with a pound sign in the middle of it.
Sam: We'll fix that.
President Bartlet: The pound is silent?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

"I got you some spackle"

I'm not the only one who is psyched about the new 10th Anniversary DVD box set of Sports Night, aka The Show That Made Me Love Peter Krause (and No, It Wasn't Six Feet Under).

Wednesday, October 1, 2008