AliThinks

Thinking

I gotta get back to the gym. Those four days of working on the basement made my muscles cry. My shoulders and neck have gone on strike. My biceps have tightened into angry balls. (Heheh. She said "balls".) My lower back is one move away from being stunned into paralysis.

I might be exaggerating. But only a little.

Today is laundry day. And Agnes might come over to help work on the basement steps, which were coated with a carpet adhesive that rivals superglue. Much of the adhesive has been scraped off by yours truly and Allan, but there are some stubborn spots. Agnes is enthusiastic about attacking the steps, and hell, I think I'll take her up on it.

Wut Da Foozie?

I just got an e-mail from Delta Airlines. Yay, a cheap fare to Pittsburgh, my hometown!

So I clicked on the linky, and punched in the relevant info: two passengers.

And the Delta Wizard did its magic...and came up with this:

I must have missed the math class where we learned how to turn 69 x 2 into 1,397.99.

*All the images are clickable and viewable largerable in Flickr.

I Feel Sure

...that we could mop the basement floor eighteen times, and there would STILL be grime. One does not erase fifty years of crud with one mopping.

I've decided to let go of some perfectionism here. The floor doesn't have to be sterile. The stains don't have to be gone. It just has to be clean. Ish.

In a few minutes I am going to lay down the sea grass rugs we bought yesterday. We went with inexpensive rugs, because the rubber mat stuff was way too expensive. All we want is to make the room look a little nicer, a little warmer.

Photos to follow.

Edit:

This is the "fun" corner of the room. Here is the entire "basement project" set. Several of the photos have notes on them - especially the more recent ones - so be sure to check them out on Flickr.

We still need a rug or two, and some lamps, and a better light fixture in the ceiling, and to finish getting the old adhesive off the steps, BUT this room of the basement is just about done!

Memorial Day

Taken in the American Cemetery in Normandy, February 2004.

Ah, Sweet Music.

We were in the basement for much of the day, and we used the Sportster car radio with its home component to listen to Sirius 22 - 1st Wave down there. Allan had the television on up here so that he could watch the Indy 500 on and off. Bless him for muting the sound.

After dinner, we settled on the couch and Allan put the TV, no longer muted, on the Food Network. Neither of us really watched; we puttered around on our laptops and talked about this and that.

Allan went to read in the bedroom a few minutes ago. I was busy writing to a friend. I realized I wasn't watching the TV, so I turned it off. (Sweet silence.) Then I turned on Radio Paradise, where a mellow Beth Orton tune was playing.

I can live without TV, but I can't live without music.

Sweaty and Grubby

We've been working on the basement in earnest these past three days. It's good to break a sweat. Friday morning we primed the ceiling down there, and yesterday I did a glaze on it. It looks pretty cool. The trim is done. All we need to do is sand the steps (I've been scraping old carpet adhesive off them) and either paint or stain them.

Next step: deciding what to do with the old linoleum floor. It's in good shape, but it's ugly and stained in a couple of places. And it reminds me of school. Do we lay down new vinyl tiles, get a few sea grass rugs, or lay some rubber "puzzle" mats? Decisions, decisions.

In other news, last night I ate chiles rellenos for the first time. Yowza!

Reaching New Heights In Humiliation

I couldn't help it. He really looked like he wanted to wear my bra on his head.

I Done Got Tagged

Nicole tagged me for this meme a while ago. Ten interesting things about myself, huh? I'm not sure there's anything that you can't find out by reading my archives and About page, not that I'm suggesting you subject yourself to that.

It's been ages since I've done any kind of meme, and since I'm kind of at a loss for blog material right now (because the only things I can blog about are apt to bite me in the ass later) I'll go ahead and do it. I may need to call on Allan to help me. That's how dry I am.

After the jump, then, are ten interesting things about me.

Bass-ackwards

That's what my mom used to say sometimes. That's how I feel today, as I started working on the basement again. I cleaned the molding and the ceiling, in preparation for priming. As I worked my way around the room, I realized that the window ledge had only been briefly swept with a broom. I got up on the step stool and saw I'd have to sweep it again.

So I got the shop vac, and vacuumed the crud. Then I wiped it down with cleanser. Then I realized that the paint around the ledge hadn't been scraped. (The window is at the outside of the wall, so basically there is the width of a cinder block around it.)

So I scraped the paint on the sides of the window.

Then I had to vacuum again.

Bass-ackwards, uh-huh.

At least I saw the small hole in the wood at the top of the window BEFORE I started priming. I got out the spackle and patched it. Spackling is one of my favorite DIY jobs. I did a lot of spackling and bouching of trous in my house in France.

Now I'm just waiting for the stuff to dry a bit before I go prime a little more. I wonder what else I can do bass-ackwards?

I Admit It!

When I was a little girl, I had a crush on Bob Barker.*

And James Garner.

Edit: And Randolph Mantooth.

Your turn. Spill.

*I mention this because I caught the tail end of the prime time special.

Procrastinating

Hi. I haven't answered any of your recent comments.

I know. I suck.

I also imagine that some people have been trying to comment (at least I HOPE SO) but can't. Typepad's service is "degraded." Was. Everything is copesetic now, but...I tried to leave a comment on a blog this morning. After 20 minutes and three different word verifications, I gave up and just e-mailed the blogger.

It's one of those days. I forgot to take my Effexor yesterday, which means I feel like crap today. I'm not avoiding your comments. I just don't feel like answering them. Wait. Maybe that means I'm avoiding them?

Anyway, here. Have a chip. And some delicious salsa.

Go, Clotilde!

Clotilde's cookbook was released today. She is on a US book tour right now, but unfortunately will not be in any cities near us.

Fortunately, Allan and I got to meet Clotilde a year and a half ago, when she hosted a party to celebrate her blog's 2nd anniversary, as well as her book deal. This is the culmination of nearly two years of work, and after a few minutes perusing the book, I can say that it's one to treasure.

Also, and yes, I know this is pimpin', I interviewed Clotilde for The Parisian. We spoke on the phone at length, and she was so very gracious. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to know her a bit!

So, Like, I Woke Up Early

It's amazing what you can get done when you don't sleep until 10:00...or later! Who knew?

These past few weeks (months, really) have been pretty stressful for me. There is this underlying thing, a proverbial elephant in the room, and it's not going away anytime soon. But it's taking a toll on me. I can't write fun stuff any more. I can barely concentrate. And although I am taking steps to deal with the elephant, it's going to be a long, hard haul.

And I'm also thinking about that job I posted about a while back. Lots of you suggested that I make contact with The Company again, which I did. About three days later, I got an e-mail asking me a few questions. Based on my answers, I would be contacted for a formal interview. Or not. So yay! I made it past the first hurdle. But now it's another waiting game. It's been more than a week since I sent my responses to the questions. Do I contact The Company again? Or should I just sit on it a while longer?

This, too, is weighing on me.

What was my point? Oh yeah. I've been a crappy blogger these past few months. It's like I can't be bothered. Can't be bothered to drum up the energy necessary to write. I read other blogs whose authors are creative and hilarious and prolific. I used to be that way. Okay, maybe I wasn't hilarious, but at least I made myself laugh!

I've been a crappy blog reader, too. Most of the time I just read in Bloglines (I really need to make the full switch to Google Reader). If I do click through, I might not leave a comment, because I can't think of anything to say.

I'm kind of tired of being this way. I want to get my mental energy back. I see other bloggers with projects and ideas, and I want to be like that.

So I woke up early. And maybe tonight I'll go to bed early. And maybe I'll get on a "normal" schedule again. Maybe I'll start working out again. Maybe I'll feel better. It's hard to push yourself when you're feeling down, but I think I need to push it*.

*Bonus points if you are now singing that Salt-n-Pepa song.

I Have Nothing To Say

But this is what we have been up to these past few days.

Geeking Out With The Grammar

Okay, people. Why is it Mother's Day and not Mothers' Day?

Discuss.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Mothers' Day to all of you moms out there. I'll say it again, when the Fête des Mères (or La Teuf des Reums, as I like to call it) happens on June 3rd.

So I Don't Have Any Crowns

But I have a tiara. The backstory to this is here and here, and you have to read the comments to both in order to get the full picture.

For a view of my crownless teeth and tiara-ed head, go here.

OKAY, OKAY!

CROWNS ARE NOT FOR OLD PEOPLE.

A Little Nervous

I'm about to go to the dentist. I love that I can walk to her office. And it's a beautiful day. But I'm nervous, because I'm going to have her check a filling she replaced in one of my molars. I'd been having some sensitivity with it, so she replaced the filling that was at least 20 years old. There was some decay underneath it, and what it all boils down to is this: I might have to have a crown put on the tooth if this new filling doesn't "hold things together."

The dentist told me to wait 10 days for any sensitivity to subside. It's been two weeks, and the damn thing still aches. Allan said it might just be that I'm still biting hard on the composite, in which case a little filing and polishing will take care of it. But if that's not it...then I will need a crown.

For some reason that scares me. First, crowns are for old people. Right? Second, I've got another molar with an ancient filling, and it's a little sensitive, too. What if the same thing happens to that tooth?

Teeth are important to me. Hey, I wanted to be a dentist myself when I was a kid. So this kind of major procedure kind of scares me.

Okay, gotta go. Appointment is in 15 minutes.

UPDATE: Well, there's no sign of fracture, so next week the dentist is going to redo her work. Yay! Well, as yay! as having a filling done can be.

Why I'm Not Sorry That Sarko is Prez

First, thank you all for your comments to my last post. Many of you have opinions similar to mine.

Second, let me say that my politics are different in France and in the U.S. Here I'm a bleedin' liberal; in France I am more conservative.

While I think France is great for some things like health care and elementary education, I think it needs to change as regards business and unemployment. Other people have talked about these things with much more clarity than I can.

Thirteen years in a country gives you time to observe things. I remember busting my butt working three jobs (and I had two kids under the age of six) while my neighbor across the street pretended she was a single mother. Her welfare family allowance equaled the sum of my wages.

I watched my ex-husband struggle to build a business under the crushing weight of taxation.
I listened to my students tell me they wanted to be fonctionnaires, because "at least "it's a stable job." Twenty percent of the workforce in France works for the government.
(Full disclosure: I am a fonctionnaire, on personal leave from my teaching job.)

I was part of the forgotten middle class of France: those who earn "too much" to benefit from any aid (other than the standard family allowance that every family with two or more children receives regardless of income), yet who struggle each month to make ends meet. I prefer not to go into any more detail than that on my former situation.

Sure, taxes have to be paid, so that people can benefit from the great health care (I will never forget either of my 5-day hospital stays in a private room, when I gave birth), so that children can attend all-day preschool from age three on, so that the unemployed have something to fall back on, and the destitute are not left on their own.

It's nearly impossible to make any money in France. I know money is not the be-all and end-all of life. But it sure would be nice to get ahead when you work hard. It would be nice to have a job that paid a living wage, and not just *that* much more than your unemployment benefits. ("Hmmm, I get 1000 euros a month in unemployment, and this job is going to pay 1200/month before taxes? Can you say 'no-brainer'?")

During my time in France, I never felt like I was getting ahead, not even after I got my teacher certification and just had the ONE job. I was earning more, but that extra money was being eaten up by my car, because I was posted to a job 45 miles away from home (once you're in the system, you don't choose where you work). I was spending more than 200 euros a month on gas.

I feel like France is stagnating, and something has to change. Nicolas Sarkozy seems to be the only person who is ready to help France change. As for his politics about immigration...well, I was an immigrant in France. And I worked hard to integrate into French society. Granted, I had a college degree (but that got me nothing but teaching jobs: "Communications? But what can you DO? Oh, you speak English? You can teach!") and hey, my skin is white. As my ex-husband once said, when I pointed out that I was an immigrant, "Oui, mais t'es pas une bougnoule."  Nice, huh? (Non-French speakers, bougnoul is to (north) African as wetback is to Mexican.) Anyway, I still had an uphill climb.

Now I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I know that lots of French people are afraid of what Sarkozy will do. His talk of eugenics was a bit out there, I agree. But, and please pardon the analogy, the French need to learn that they can't have their cake and eat it, too. On ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre!

France needs jobs. Point barre. France needs jobs that pay well, so that the economy can function. Some things are going to have to change, yes. They sure can't continue the way they've been going.

I'm NOT SORRY

...that Nicolas Sarkozy was elected président.

I'll elaborate in another blog entry. It's 2 a.m.; I have to go to bed.

Do you have an opinion about Sarko? Leave a comment.