days_unfolding

My name is Adrienne. I'm 57 years old. I'm a Technical Services Librarian (that is, I work in the back processing books and maintaining the computer system) at a small college in Illinois. I have two cats, Zara and Mimi, who don't get along very well, leading to "Kitty Drama" LJ posts :)

I'm from the Chicago area originally (Evanston for those who know the area).

I previously was a technical writer in Silicon Valley. That could be a long essay in and of itself. I liked the work, but there was way too much of it and a lot of pressure. When I became sick with schizoaffective disorder, I was no longer able to do my job, so I left and got a Master's Degree in Library Science.

I have no siblings or cousins. My mom lives in the Detroit area and my dad moved to Nevada. I'm single (divorced). I'm bi, but it's a moot point right now living in a small town.

I wrote the above before the pandemic. Now I'm spending a lot of time armchair traveling. I'm about 13 years out from retirement, so I have a list of places to check out, but, of course, can't travel right now. I'm looking at camping as a COVID-friendly way to travel. The first major trip on my list when I can travel is Eastern Tennessee, and I want to do some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. I'm hoping to squeeze in some hiking and camping trips in Illinois this fall, COVID permitting.

I've been lucky during the pandemic because I still have a job, working from home. Our college is planning on-site classes this fall. We'll see how that goes.

My journal is about half friends-only and half not. I lock down posts in which I talk about work, which is frequently lately.

Hmm. I had found a travel backpack that I liked. But Costco has one that’s similar for less, but it comes only in black, while the other one has different colors. Are the colors worth it? (I want to replace the one that I have because it’s heavy. I think that’s the hardware for making it slash-proof.)

Gracie was asleep and was making the contented thing with her mouth as if she was getting petted. Was she dreaming that I was petting her?

I think that I need a nap over lunch. I’ll leave work 15 minutes early and shower to go vote. Overslept my nap, but I needed it. It’s gray and gloomy out, which doesn’t help.

My cruise is up on American Airlines’ cruise site. I need to come up with around $3500 with the single supplement. I have some time though. I’m kind of strapped with the money that I spent on the last trip. Oh! I can put a deposit down now and pay it off in installments! That would work. I can book for $300 but I need to wait for tomorrow. They offer a monthly payment plan. Ugh, the payment plans include a lot of interest. I don’t see why I can’t put a deposit down and then pay it off. Or I could save the rest of the money and pay it off. If I don’t tap my automatic savings, I’ll have enough money for the final payment.

I already have hotels picked out, so I can book them whenever. I need to decide how long to stay in Honolulu. I remember being jet-lagged in Kauai, so a few days would not be a bad idea. The trip back will be brutal, both in time spent and jet lag.

I’m glad to see that Zara is still eating with gusto. I found out how Oliver gets the door to her room open; he slides his paw under the door, grabs the door frame, and pushes with his body. That’s pretty smart. He’s one of my top smartest cats: Harlee, Oliver, and Chaos. Harlee was a sweetie though (to me, anyway). Oliver is a snot but can be loving. (I call him “Sweet and Sour”.) Chaos was a character. Oliver has shut down my work laptop twice today. I swear he does that on purpose.

Well, crap. My clothes are still wet in the dryer. I should have checked them earlier. I guess that I’ll go vote after my blood test tomorrow. Where is my polling place? Same as early voting. I could go before work.

I tried to take a short nap, but the dogs had other ideas. Gracie in particular was jumping on me and licking my face, although Bella did too. Plus they were noisily tearing apart a plastic bottle. Sigh.

I’m out with the dogs. I brought some balls for them to play with, and they lost them within two minutes. (Admittedly, it’s dark out. I said that I’d go look for them when it’s light out.)

I was looking for Turkish robes, and I found a Japanese-inspired robe with Gingko leaves that I fell in love with. Maybe I could order it as a delayed birthday present. I still want to replace my bedroom TV, but I should wait for the Christmas sales to do so. Plus, I should have some time to watch movies over Winter Break, although I should spend the bulk of my time on the house.

Hmm. Should I get the gutters replaced with those covered ones (I forget what they’re called) before I retire to keep from having my gutters cleaned? I’ll ask my dad and also price them.

I might get to bed at a decent hour.

Well, hell. Someone called the police for a wellness check because I left groceries out. I slept through it and got up at 11. I called the police to let them know that I was okay.

It’s dark and gloomy out. It’s predicted to rain tonight.

I’m trying to teach Bella to stop putting her paws on the kitchen table, but she is a slow learner.

Fed the fur faces, ate breakfast, and took my meds. Nap time.

Had a nice nap. I’m trying to decide whether to eat or not. I’m feeling shaky, so maybe I should.

We have two off-site meetings in the week after next week. For the less formal meeting, I think that I’ll wear the new blue-and-white oversized sweater that I bought, and jeans.

Opened a bunch of boxes. Now I think that I want a short nap.

I found my Italian verb drills book and already had French. I need to find a place to keep the books and some paper because I’ll work on them in the kitchen. Maybe on top of the refrigerator?

I was wondering why I wanted to go to bed. Then I discovered that it was midnight. That would do it. Stayed up late watching a Mentour Pilot episode.

I bought some body oil and shower gel that’s supposed to make your skin look younger. We’ll see how it works.

I got a new Italian course that’s based on listening. We’ll see how that works too.

Overslept until 10 AM, swore, and scrambled to make myself presentable for my doctor’s appointment.

Had my doctor’s appointment. She told me to contact the Weight Management people about my nausea and constipation. She told me to drink prune juice. She wants me to do labs. That was about it. I took two fiber gummies.

Urgh. I have a headache, but I need to log onto my presentation. I’ll take ibuprofen afterwards.

The presentation at work went okay, but I said the wrong person was going after me. Oh well.

Oh no! Patrick Stewart died!

I had a meeting after work with a weight-loss coach, and I signed up for coaching. It’ll give me the help that I’m not getting from the weight-loss clinic.

I want to get to bed soon because I’m tired.

I woke up at 5AM, then at 6, and then at 8:30 when my alarm went off.

Bella is hyper this morning. First, she snapped at Oliver for reasons known only to her. Now she’s being very, very pushy about being petted.

My stomach gets upset whenever I eat something. I’m going to lie down. This sucks. Wrestling dogs are being annoying. Slept for three hours. I have a cat wondering why he hasn’t been fed yet. Because I was sick? I’ll get right on it.

I did get some stuff done at work today. I got my slides (for a presentation later this week) done this morning and some administrative stuff done this afternoon. I’m taking ½ a sick day, so I think that I’ll go lie down. I was going to lie down, when Zara reminded me that she hadn’t been fed yet. Good girl, Zara.

Had a nice nap, but Gracie tried to get me up early. I told her to go away. Got up and fed everybody and took the dogs out. I left the new box of Tempo food outside because the weather will keep it cold. I’ll bring it in in the morning.

Ate dinner, and my stomach is queasy again. This might be the new normal. I’m waiting for my pajamas to dry before going to sleep. I guess that I’ll do flashcards in the meantime.

I’ve been telling a purring Lily that I love her :)

Oliver’s pretty smart. I’ve trained him to let Zara and Lily eat without him hassling them, and he can have the leftovers when they walk away. That’s kind of a complex concept for a cat.

Finally remembered to renew my car registration. Also tried to get a duplicate title, only to find that the bank is on it as lien holder even though I paid it off years ago. Need to call the bank.

My stomach is upset. I need to finish feeding the fur faces (done) and then lie down.

Had a nice nap. Oliver is on my lap, purring. He wants me to feed him, but I told him that it was too early.

I’m trying to figure out what to do. My stomach is still a little upset, but I need to take a shower and do some work for work. I’ll eat lunch and see. I’m knocking off my language learning tasks.

Okay. I’ve decided to lie down and do two hours of work tonight and two hours tomorrow.

Opened some packages and found my French verbs book. I forgot to order pads of paper (now done), but I can use a notebook that I have. Or do my exercises online.

I have a taste for Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches, but the local grocery store doesn’t have them. Oh well. I don’t feel like the usual food. Ordered them plus some Munchie Bones for the dogs from Walmart. The ice cream sandwich was good.

I’m trying a Korean moisturizer that absorbs into your skin. I haven’t been using it long enough to see a difference.

I just want to go to bed. I’ll make up work time tomorrow.

I was looking at sandwiches for lunch, and I found a Tuscan Chicken wrap that sounded good. (I was also eyeing a pastrami sandwich.) I want to wait until next weekend to make lunches though. I want to ease into food prep. Oooh, a French Onion Meatball sub.

I bought emergency blankets and hand warmers in case our power goes out this winter.

Overslept a little, but nothing like yesterday. Someone knocked down my trackball, and it rolled…somewhere.

Well, that was weird. I logged onto Walmart’s app, and it said that my order was being delivered early. Eventually, it said that it was delivered, but I went outside, and no groceries. I logged onto Walmart’s app again to say that the order was missing, and it said that my order was in the process of being delivered. Eventually, it was delivered. I heated up blueberry protein pancakes somewhere in the middle, and they were good.

My knee is bothering me. Not the bad one–the other one. I can’t wait to get the weight off of my knees.

Nap time. Noisy dog wrestling time. Gracie is all about the sound effects. She got a little carried away, so I had to say, “Hey!”

Way overslept my nap. Sigh. I’ll need to work some this weekend.

Oh man. I had my usual singing lesson, and we worked on the Bach piece. Forget the German, the singing was really hard, even for my teacher. She was wondering how the choir could do it. I asked her if she knew the story of Bach throwing his wig at the musicians, and I said that I want to throw a wig at Bach!

Urgh. I’m either having an IBS flare or I’m coming down with something. My face is warm, but my body feels ice-cold.

Fed myself and the fur faces. I want to go to bed soon, and I can sleep in!

I think that I solved a problem for my next trip. I want a neck passport holder, but I also want tracking on it. I found a credit card sized tracker that would work in it. I could put a tracker in my wallet too.

Woke up a little after 9 AM.

Overslept my lunchtime nap. Oliver and Lily are napping on my desk. Gracie is napping on the futon.

I have a pile of things to do at work for a presentation next week.

Napped after work.

Brought in a recycling bin, but I won’t have time to get the recycling out because I’m hungry. Had my first Tempo meal (Lemon-Herb Salmon with Pea Risotto). OMG, was that good. I gobbled it up. And it has lots of protein (33g).

I think that I want to get to sleep soon. I just need to give the fur kids their late-night snack.

I downloaded my Read2Speak books onto my laptop (French, Italian, and Turkish).

Oliver is hanging out on my lap, probably because I’m warm.

I think that I want protein bars for breakfast because they have protein and carbs. And they’re simple.

It’s time to break out the body oil. I took my top off and little flecks of skin fell into the air. Ugh.

Got up with my alarm at 8:30 AM. Moved my base of operations upstairs. I have the heater on and a blanket on my legs. Oliver likes the blanket.

Overslept my lunchtime nap. I was warm with three blankets.

I’m trying to decide what to do tonight. I need to gather garbage for tomorrow, but I really want a nap and should study my languages.

Oliver is sleeping like a little angel. (Appearances can be deceiving. But he’s cute.)

I put desktop wallpaper of my upcoming trip on my work computer. I just changed it to the South Pacific trip. I found some gorgeous pictures.

Had a nice nap. Gracie woke me up.

I received my new-to-me leather jacket. I almost have the outfit. I need my flare jeans yet.

I downloaded and uploaded some Anki flashcard decks for French and Turkish. (I already have Italian.) Flashcards are a great way to study vocabulary.

I need to feed everyone their late-night snack, and then I’ll go to bed.

Woke up at 10:30 AM. I’m cold. I’m sniffling a little. I’m trying to make it to November without turning on the heat, but I don’t know.

Nap time. Wrestling dog time. I told Gracie to settle down.

Hmm. A shelter about 40 minutes from me posted a 13-year-old cat who needs a home. But I’m not going to adopt another cat while Zara’s alive.

I think that my microwave is biting the dust. The door needs multiple tries to close.

I’m not sure what to do. I had planned to drop off my Ancestry DNA package off at the post office, but I’m not going to make it. I should study my languages and clean.

There’s a frost warning for tonight. I should look for the thermostat that fell off and turn the heat on.

Studied some Turkish.

Got my new velour blanket out for warmth. (Gracie trashed the old one. Gracie, don’t chew the blanket! Gracie and Bella chewed a hole in it. That’s why we can’t have nice things.) Took a nap and it was warm.

Fed the fur faces and took the dogs outside. It’s cold. I really want to go to sleep now, but I’m wondering how the fur faces will do without heat. Bella and Gracie sleep with me, so we can keep each other warm. Oliver and Lily have a wide variety of places to sleep. I’m mostly worried about Zara. I bought her a heated bed last year, but I need a power strip to plug it in (ordered). I guess that we’ll be okay.