goats and breeding

well, work pretty much sucked today. we were busy all day and the lobby was full most of the day. me and the supervisor were the only two that could really stick donors so needless to say, it took a while to get everyone stuck. on the bright side, we were very efficient today. we got everyone in and out and only had two restarts (both by the supervisor).

speaking of work, I noticed something today. after seeing some (most of the donors are pretty cool, but some...) of the donors, I really do believe that you should have to get a license to breed. there are some that you just don't want to see more spawn of. I'm not saying that you have to fit a certain criteria to breed (that would lead to selective breeding and I don't think we have to go that far). I'm just saying that if you display certain criteria, you should be deferred from breeding. for instance, if you enjoy sexually molesting goats for pleasure, your breeding days should be numbered. if you enjoy inflicting pain on others, your breeding days should be numbered. you know, criteria like that. well, that's the kind of thing I notice in the world that I know as work. off to enjoy the rest of my night. here pizza, pizza, pizza...

what a strange thing it is to blog

I was just sitting here thinking what a strange thing it is to blog. you post your thoughts/comments/feelings and people read them. some are friends, others are complete strangers. this then got me to thinking about the Truman Show 'cause that's pretty much what this is. you have people that stop in to "see" what's going on in your life. you even have people that "subscribe" to certain blogs. I think that if this keeps up, blogging might become so popular that it either replaces reality tv or morphs into something that will replace reality tv. just something for you to chew on.

I wanna go... 

wouldn't it be nice to get away?

all day long, I couldn't help but think about getting away. perhaps some place in the caribbean. I'm not sure why. if you'll look at my other posts from today, you can tell that I wasn't exactly busy. I think it's just because I felt like having a little change. nice weather, sun shining, white, soft sand under my feet, a gentle breeze blowing, the waves lapping gently on the beach, palm trees swaying, and me with a book of those pic-a-pix logic puzzles. *sigh* maybe someday... until then, I'm off to bed to dream about it.

I think I'll stop now... 

now that I've got a screen capture program, I can post this. 

even better 

I think I got more than shannon 

five years and a day

well, yesterday was andrea and I's five year anniversary. we made rack of lamb with a mustard-based rub and ginger-peach chutney, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls. it was all very good. we also made creme brule but we didn't know that the torch didn't come with butane so we didn't get to eat the creme brule. I may head on out later today and pick some butane up. she liked the scuba gear and the scuba lessons that I got her and I liked the murder-mystery weekend we're going to go to. sounds like we're gonna have a busy summer.

summer to do list:
learn to scuba dive
murder-mystery weekend
hockey
bug pickle and julia
study for mcat
bug shannon, nicole, nette, chris more

today's to do list:
clean up apartment
shower
clean aquarium
teach two classes
food

my day: a review

well work went fairly well today. we were fairly busy for a monday which was kind of suprising. I think it was because all the college students needed money after going on spring break. we had two CCLS (concentrated cell losses). not good. the first one was because one of the phlebotomists couldn't stick the donor in the easy arm so I had to try it on the difficult arm. I eventually got it but by that time, it was too late. the second CCL was because of a cut blood line. that was fun in a bag, let me tell you. other than those two, everything else went well.

I also had this deep thought earlier this morning and I was going to put it on blog but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is now. I hate it when that happens. another great thought lost in the depths of time. oh well. meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.

plans for the night. it's a monday so OC's for trivia. andrea's also coming by a little before then so we may do something. tomorrow's our five year anniversary! fun! I have no idea what we're going to do yet since I have to work till close but I know we will be making rack of lamb and creme brule.

what else...oh yeah, yesterday, I went out looking for a pizza stone. I went to target and walmart but they were both closed because of easter. so I bought four fishes. like that story? I stopped at Petco cause it was close to target and I needed fish anyways and got a couple of african cichlids. they are VERY agressive towards fish that aren't cichlids.

I go food now.

another work rant

when you go to a plasma donation center, you know that you're supposed to pump your hand in order to get the blood flowing smoothly so why would you come in and not pump? that is my question. we had this donor (who happened to be the last one in which meant that they waited until the last possible minute to come in anyways) who did not hardly pump their hand at all and then had the gall to complain about the machine running slowly and all the alarms the machine is giving off. it's running slowly 'cause you're not pumping your hand! now I could be more understanding if this was an isolated incident or if this was someone who came in earlier on in the day or if this was someone that hadn't donated before but this person comes in on a fairly regular basis and this happens EVERY time!

well, enough of that rant. on to something a little work related but also a little bit more fun. I got a packet in the mail concerning stuff for the 401 K for the company so that looks like it could be fun. I don't really understand most of it but I'm sure I'll get more mailings explaining it.

Blogbert

hello, Blogbert. how are you doing? me? I'm fine. things are going fine at work too. I even had a donor request that I (me specifically) stick them which is kinda cool. things are kinda slow with a lot of the donors on spring break. because its so slow and because I'm close to my 40 hours a week, I get to take an hour for lunch today. yea! what am I having? cheese pizza and then fruit salad (yum, yum). what about you? oh yeah, you don't eat food. here have a blog then. better? that's good. well, since I'm full and you're full I think I'll go now. see ya. Blogbert, don't eat that!

the linguistic landscape is changing or like, linguistics sux

I believe that the linguistic landscape is changing and not for the better unfortunately. I'm not saying that I'm opposed to change, but I am opposed to change for the worse. here's what I mean. everyday, driving to work, I pass this "bridge" that has graffiti on it. now instead of spelling out the word s-u-c-k-s like a good little hoodlum, this individual decided to spell it s-u-x. now whether this is because said individual does not know how to spell the word correctly or if he or she was running out of spray paint, I couldn't tell you. now on the other side of that linguisticly and, often, financially, you'll see a lot of preppy girls overusing the word "like". explain to me why you would want to to convey messages any slower than you have to. if there was a lion chasing after you, you would scream for help. that's it. just one syllable. help. you would not say "like, there's this big felione of the jungle sprinting after me, like and if you could come to my aid, like, that would be totally appreciated, like." so I guess the only conclusion I can come up for the two individuals (the hoodlum and the preppy) for changing the language is to display their financial stability or lack thereof. the hoodlum is trying to show that he or she is financially challenged by taking the c-k-s and replacing it by the more base spelling of just x. on the other hand, the preppy is trying to show her financial might by equating the frequency of the word "like" with their bank accounts as if trying to say, "I've got so many words, here take a couple, like". all I know is that somewhere, Shakespeare is rolling over in his grave and when these two individuals (the hoodlum and the preppy) meet their maker, Shakespeare'll be there to kick their ass.

fruit salad happiness

looks like it's time to update Blogbert. well, after dragging myself out of bed and trudging to work this morning, I somehow managed to survive all the way to lunchtime. things at work are going well, slow but with enough donors to keep us busy. I just got done with my lunch of leftovers. mmm....DiGiorno's pizza, corned beef, and especially fruit salad. I'm not sure why but the fruit salad makes me happy :) I'm sitting here working on my logic puzzle (puzzle #2 off of the conceptis page for pic-a-pix) and listening to "I'll Fly Away" off of the new Jars of Clay CD so I'm just relaxing now. guess it's back to work for me.

right now

well, work was stupid crazy yesterday. we were slow until three so they sent the most experienced phlebotomist home which left me in charge. that was about the time that every body decided to come in and donate. on to good news though. shannon, nicole, and chelle made it to lawrence safely. we spent most of the night playing mario party, katamari, risk, and grand theft auto (not in that order). we also had mmm..mmm..delish fruit salad and equally mmm...mmm..delish pizza from DiGiorno (it's not delivery).

on to today. I'm up right now and everyone else is asleep so I'm messing on the computer and catching up on blogs. one of the blogs (frivolity)I read fairly frequently had a link to this site conceptis and now I'm addicted. it's basically logica puzzles (which I love) that form pictures when solved. check it out of if you have a minute to spare (or five... or ten... or three hours...).

work

well, work is going splendiforous (a major change from the last two work days). I even managed to stick two donors (we'll just call the steve and tom) that I haven't been able to before. I also managed to correct a couple of sticks done by other people. yea! I'm getting gooder. well, lunch break's over with. back to work!

I hate dancing!

I hate dancing with a passion. it's a lot of clusmy movements and a great expenditure of energy and you don't really accomplish anything. now I can see doing this way in the past when our ancestors had to dance as a mating ritual or whatever but nowadays I really see no need for it. I don't mind the slow dances or the swing dances. it's just the other ones where all people are really doing are swaying their bodies and waving their arms or whatever that I'm annoyed with. that being said, I did go to a dance yesterday and I made a couple of observations. these are just general comments and don't apply in all situations.

1. girls dance better than guys. take a look at any girl on the dance floor. as a generalization, that girl will be graceful and moving in beat to the music. take a look at any guy on the dance floor. he appears clumsy and is just moving his body until his misery is ended by the ending of the song.

2. girls dance with their whole bodies, guys don't. when girls dance, their whole bodies move. arms, hips, legs. everything. when guys dance, they keep their upper torso stationary. they may sway their arms and move their feet but generally, they'll keep their torso still.

3. girls just want to dance. girls will dance alone, with a guy, or even with another girl. guys may dance alone or with another girl. you will almost never see a guy dancing with another guy.

my stalkings

there's this elderly couple that goes to the same church that I go to and I just can't help but watch them as they enter the church and leave the church. they're too...what's the word I'm looking for...it's cute but not in a teddy-bear sort of way and yet heart-warming but not in a Hallmark channel sort of way. they walk very slowly but they're always arm-in-arm as if they want to take their time and make the moment last. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I get that old and geezerly, I want to have something like that.

my day

"how did my day go?" you ask? well, my work day was basically a continuation of yesterday (not good). but now I'm home and am being forced into slave labor...I mean volunteering for a St. Patty's Day dance andrea's mom is helping with. so that's basically my day. tomorrow we (andrea and I) will be hanging out with a couple friend of ours. that's it. all the information I was given. at some point in the day tomorrow, this couple friend of ours and us will be in the same vicinity doing something mildly related to each other...yeah...people don't tell me much...well I think I'll go continue relaxing and listening to a little Ray Charles.

haywire

well, I survived work. we had a total of 9 restarts, 2 underdraws, and a CCL. for those of you that don't know about phlebotomy, that's a pretty bad day. to put that in perspective, on a normal day, we might might have 2 restarts (no underdraws or CCLS). then, of course, there's all the paperwork that goes with it. so yeah, after I got home, I decided to take the day off. I wound up playing a little bit of tekken, practicing my clarinet a little (I bought sheet music for pachelbel's cannon off the internet. it's for trumpets but the notes are the same), putting laundry away, and cleaning up. right now I'm listening to "Learn to be Lonely" off of the 2nd disc of "Phantom of the Opera". what else...oh yeah, shannon et al. may be coming up to lawrence tuesday or wednesday (yea!) so I'm looking forward to that. well, I think everything's updated so I'll get back to listening to music and cleaning up.

a very english breakfast

here I am enjoying my breakfast which consists of an english muffin (mmm...mmm...delish and now also mmm...mmm...all gone) and a nice cup of honeydew tea (also mmm...mmm...delish and also soon to be mmm...mmm...all gone) and listening to the soundtrack to the phantom of the opera (the movie not the play). I went to bed yesterday at about 11:30 and woke up the first time this morning at 5:30 and then again at 6:30. I don't think my body likes my sleeping schedule. let's see...big plans for the day...have breakfast, go to work, keep the company from burning down while I'm in charge, have sushi from dillons for lunch, come home, etc. we'll see how well my plans go.

five days later and the basil are really starting to sprout. 

shake a hand, make an acquaintance

work went fine today. we didn't have that many donors come in but we were understaffed because someone from upfront (a newbie) quit so we had to lend them one of our phlebotomists. on the way home, I stopped by Best Buy and picked up the new Tekken game 'cause I figured I didn't really have a good fighting game for the ps2 yet. on the way into the apartment, my neighbors from across the hall were leaving and instead of just going our separate ways (like we normally do), I introduced myself and shook their hands. they seem pretty nice. their names are Dave and Rachel. there you go, you should always try something new.

checklist

let's see...what did I do today... I washed the laundry, dried the laundry, ironed the laundry, folded the laundry, got a tea much, got chai latte mix, stopped by the bank, did taxes online, cooked corned beef, taught two classes, and, because I was feeling extra ambitious, cleaned the interior of the car. it's been a very busy and productive day. now I go to bed so I can be up in time to make it to work by 9 tomorrow/today.

I'm off to conquer the world!

well, I'm feeling very ambitious today. I've just plopped a corn beef roast in the crock pot and am getting ready to head out and do laundry. I've still got to stop by the bank (need money to do laundry), get an anniversary present, do tax stuff, and possibly do the dishes (with my dishwasher which is working again :) ), and possibly clean up. all this before 5:30 when I have to teach class. well, if I'm to do all this, I'm gonna have to leave the apartment so here I go.

I've got a bad feeling...

well, unlike Caesar, I survived the ides of march alright. things have been going wrong for me all day though. I messed up on a couple of fairly easy sticks that I normally wouldn't mess up on, I almost fell several times which I almost never do, I lost pretty badly at poker tonight, and my neck is really sore for some reason. maybe it's Caesar's ghost come back to haunt me for surviving the ides. anyways, after work, I went and bought "the incredibles." it's a really good movie. I saw it when it was out in theatres and I really liked it then too. I'll probably end up watching it sometime tomorrow. speaking of tomorrow, plans include looking for an anniversary gift, doing tax stuff, and doing laundry. ahhh...the life I lead...now off to bed for me.

three days later, the basil seed are already sprouting. the lavender and spearmint haven't yet. 

beware the ides of march!

yup. it's march 15 and you know what that means. the day's been going alright. I've almost tripped three or four times already today. looks like Caesar's not the only one that the ides aren't lucky for. as long as I don't get stabbed multiple times today I'd say my day is a little bit better than his was. hmm...maybe I shouldn't be playing poker tonight... well, off to work again.

a preview of friday at work

work went all right today...and then we got busy. it was pretty slow most of the day so they sent the supervisor home and at about 4:30, they sent the only other person there that had more experience than me which meant that at 4:31 when everyone decided to come in that I got the fun task of sticking all the hard people and correcting all the mistakes made by everyone less experienced than me (yea! fun!). it wasn't too bad though. I only had to do four sticks including two new donors (which usually take longer to do 'cause there's a whole lot of rules and stuff to tell them), two donors, fixing a stick, and doing a restick. one of the two donors that I did was incredibly hard. very few people can stick him but I somehow made it run today (it wasn't smooth but he finished). the restick was tough too. he didn't want to get restuck 'cause apparently, no one had been able to get it to work properly before (not even the previous supervisor) but I talked him into letting me give it a try and it also miraculously worked out. what else...had a big headache when I left work. I think it's just from the tvs being on too loud at work and all the alarms going off. I also went to OCs and played trivia. wound up winning two of the three and a half games I played. apparently, I'm either good at guessing or at knowing trivial stuff. and now I'm off to bed. it's been a long day.

events of the day of yester

well, went to work, got home, went up to Olathe to see andrea. we wound up fooding at an Italian-ish place called Mimi's. the food was alright. then we went to go see Robots which was also pretty good. it was better than "Shark Tales" but not quite as good as "The Incredibles". the short film in front of the movie had the racoon-thingy from "Ice Age" in it. that's about it. off to go run errands.

same routine

well, things went all right at work today. someone called in sick (surprise, surprise) so we were short-handed (surprise, surprise). when I got home I spent most of the day putting together the herb greenhouse thingy. I can't wait for it to bloom (approx. 7-14 days). I'll probably post more pics when they do. what else...next friday ought to be interesting at work. I'm scheduled to be the only senior biomedical technician at work that day so it'll just be me and three newbies. looks like I'll be in charge that day so if someone comes in that is really difficult to stick, I have to be the one that sticks them. hopefully I can keep the company from burning down for one day. guess we'll just have to see. what else...oh yeah, I opened all by myself today which basically means that I calibrated all the weight scales on all the machines and did a lot of paperwork to make sure that the lots on supplies that were used were correct and that the temperature was set at a reasonable temperature and that everything that was supposed to be cleaned was cleaned. well, after waking up at 7:00 AM the past two days so I can come in to open, I'm pretty tired so I'm gonna read a little Robert Frost and then probably head off to bed.

from left to right, I'm planting basil, lavender, and spearmint. it's gonna smell good... maybe it can cover the smell of garlic :)

the "greenhouse" with the lid on 

soil pellets after adding water. 

well, it's summertime so I thought an herb garden would be nice. those things in the base are soil pellets. 

bushed

well, today didn't start out being busy. we had maybe four people come in the first hour we were open and then things picked up at 11:30 and didnt' stop until we closed today. other than it being super busy and us being super-understaffed, things went well. I even managed to fix a stick that one of the other phlebotomists couldn't get. now I'm going to relax...NHL Hitz style.

the results

well, I'm back. the results of the experiment? well, I've been having a lot more free time so I'm not rushing to get things done. I've also had more time to relax and think. overall, cutting down on tv and games is a good thing but, like everything else, only in moderation. it was awfully boring sometimes just staring at the tv :P.

here are the posts from previous days:

Sunday 3/6/05

Contemplations from a tea house
1:31 PM
Nasi Padang: $4.95
Tea: $2.80
Smoothie: $3.35
Tax and tip: $3.90
Time for quiet contemplation: Priceless

mmmm...mmm...good
2:05 PM
I just got done fooding at Pochi's it was, as always, good and so was the service. they gbrough me a water even though I didn't ask for it while I was waiting for food to arrive


Monday 3/7/05

update
2:04 PM
let's see...what'd I do yesterday...I drove up to Olateh. andrea and I ate at a japanese steakhouse place called Haru's. it was a lot like kokoro's except more expensive. they even had the same salad dressing. I liked kokoro's soup better though. Haru's soup just tasted like chicken noodle soup. after dinner, we went to see "Be Cool". it was pretty good. I'd recommend seeing it if you enjoywed "Get Shorty". well, off to food I go

Tuesday 3/8/05

progress report
12:50 PM
well, I've noticed that I've been doing a lot more thinking lately and a lot more deeper thinking. I've also had a lot more time to read. I'm also a lot more relaxed (if that's possible).

onto current events. I went to OCs yesterday night after work. played three games of trivia (countdown) and I won two of the three games and got second in the game I didn't win. work's going well. we were supposed to be understaffed till 3 today but the 3 o'clcok person's lab got cancelled so she came in early. yea! 45 minute lunches!

other random news. my dishwasher is now fixed. it no longer floods the counter or spits back at me. I also sent away for my replacement crock pot (rival recalled it cause it's proned to have its handle broken off, which it did). in any case, that should be coming in a couple of weeks assuming the envelope makes it to them (I sent the plug in a regular envelope with three stamps so the post office probably thinks its anthrax or something).

the experiment

the premise: what happens when one deprives oneself of the computer, tv, and video games (within reason, of course, we have the tv on all day at work and I'm not going to be avoiding work for an experiment)? does one's mind get sharper? does more work get done? does one find inner peace? or does one just get more irratible? this is what I propose to find out and will post the findings in three days. until then, I will be keeping a paper journal which I will also post in three days. looks like I'll see y'all on wednesday.

song III

you know the drill. guess the songs and I'll post the answers later.


1. "in a world full of people/ you can lose sight of it all/ and the darkness inside you/ can make you feel so small"

2. "I'm falling more in love with you/ letting go of all I've held on to/ I'm standing here until you make me move"

3. "have you ever had the odds stacked up so high/ you need a strength most don't possess/ or has it ever come down to do or die/ you've got to rise above the rest"

4. "my heart is crushed by a former love/ can you help me find a way/ to carry on again"

5. "you've got the most unbelieve/ blue eyes I've ever seen/ you've got me almost melting away"

6. "I took a walk around the world/ to ease my troubled mind/ I left my body laying/ somewhere in the sands of time"

7. "dying for just another moment/ and I'm just dreaming/ counting the ways to where you are"

8. "but when we leave this year we won't be coming back/ no more hanging out cause we're on a different track"

9. "and I'd give up forever to touch you/ cause I know that you feel me somehow/ you're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be"

10. "I've got to make this life make sense/ can anyone tell what I've done/ I miss the life/ I miss the colors of the world"

11. "the taxi's waitin', he's blowing his horn/ already I'm so lonesome I could die/ so kiss me and smile for me"

12. "rain comes pouring down/ falling from blue skies/ words without a
sound/ coming from your eyes"

13. "we were strangers/ on a crazy adventure/ never dreaming how our dreams could come true/ now here we stand/ unafraid of the future"

14. "set them free at the break of dawn/ till one by one they were gone/ back at base, bugs in the software"

15. "who cried a river and drowned the whole world/ while she looked so sad in photographs"

16. "and maybe they'd be happy for awhile/ but february made me shiver/ with every paper I delivered"

17. "an enchanted moment/ and it sees me through/ it's enough for this restless warrior/ just to be with you"

18. "she swam by me/ she got a cramp/ he swam by me got my suit damp/ I saved her life/ she nearly drowned"

19. "no matter how you tossed the dice/ it had to be/ the only one for me is you/ and you for me"

20. "no words in the vernacular/ can describe this great event/ you'll be dumb with wonderment"

I love music!

I'm just sitting here listening to my mp3 player and I can't help but think that I love music. I can't imagine my life without it. I'm not sure if it's the rhythms or the chords or even the lyrics themselves that get to me. whenever I hear a catchy tune, I can't help but tap my toes or, if no one is looking, maybe even dance. guess I'm just a very audio being.

utter indulgence

well, I did absolutely nothing productive today after I got home from work. I was at Hastings yesterday renting Get Shorty and I happened to find NHL Hitz Pro (it was only $20...I couldn't resist...). anyways, that's basically all I did after work today was play NHL Hitz. funny thing is that Pickle's character still clangs more posts than any of the other players (just like the real thing :))

imp-ish

I'm not sure why but I'm feeling pretty imp-ish today. I feel like I want to cause mischief. maybe it has something to do with the weather. today at work, after I collected the plasma bottle, there's a little piece of paper on there that we're supposed to initial and put the time on. I did the usual stuff and drew a smiley face :) just to be mischievious. mwaaahhhaaahahaaa. good thing none of the snowbuffs are here today. there would be much "oi"-ing, kicking of feet, and checking of bodies.

I defy thee, gravity!

well, I got off of work a little early today 'cause I traded with someone who wanted more hours. did I go home and study? no. did I clean up? no. did I do anything useful? no. instead, I went to EB games to get NHL hitz: pro. unfortunately, they were all sold out. they did, however, have antigrav used without the eye toy for $10. so I said to myself, "self, that's something you've gotta get. how often are you gonna find it without the eye toy and for that cheap." so, that's what I did. I bought antigrav for $10. it looks like it'll be a pretty fun game once I get all the controls down and figure out what the boosts do. I've only played it twice so far and the controls for it are pretty smooth once you get used to them. may work on that later tonight. as for now though, I want something that involves less physical exertion...say watching tv. off I go.

all growed up

well I'm feeling pretty adult-ish now. I spent part of yesterday looking up some information for filing tax returns and part of it looking at the company health benefits. lots of adult words like deductible and copay and insurance. once that was done, I spent some time watching mad about you and playing with the game boy so I guess I'm not completely all growed up yet :)

mixed reviews

well, it's been kind of a mixed day. I felt kinda sick yesterday and now I feel pretty sick. but other than that, work went very well. we had only three people sticking today and lots of people coming in asking for us to take their plasma. even with all the people that came in, we only had one restick and that was because they were clotting and not because of a hematoma or anything like that so very good for us. boo-ya! I was the last closer so I got home out at about 7:30. we had our bi-weekly poker night tonight. I wound up losing but considering I was the second person to go out and we had four people there, that's not too bad. and that brings me to about now. what else...oh yeah, I checked my bank statement and the bill for famous dave's has been corrected. I'm not sure if it was famous dave's fault or the bank site's fault 'cause sometimes they have the incorrect amount on there but that's usually because they have the pre-tip amount on there. well, guess it doesn't really matter since it's all corrected now. tomorrow's my day off which is good. I get to recuperate until 5:30 when I leave to teach class.