You Can Never Be Too Careful

A few weeks ago one of my co-worker's had her car window smashed and her GPS stolen. As far as we could tell, it happened between 4:45 PM and 5:45 PM on a weekday. No witnesses came forward to report the crime and the police officer who filed the report said that the thief wouldn't be caught and the GPS would never be recovered.

There are signs up all over the city about how you shouldn't leave stuff in plain sight, but when you're in a hurry or relying on your car alarm to deter a criminal, it's easy to ignore the warning.

So be careful when you park in downtown Cleveland. And if you need help, contact the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. They were a big help on a bad day.

Good Behavior

I (unexpectedly?) had the first week of August off. But, at least I went into the time off knowing that it was only one week since I'm starting a new project (at a firm where I have never worked!) the second week of August.

The highlights of the week were a girls' day with JB where we shopped and lunched and a day of beauty where I got a pedicure and a (free!) haircut.

Trend Setter

Two of my friends got their noses pierced this week. I like to think I inspired them, but I don't know if that's at all true since the only similarities in our piercings are the holes themselves. Both ladies got studs put in the right side of their nose, in the indent. My left nostril is pierced (about halfway to the indent), and I wear both studs and hoops.

I got mine done seventeen years ago(!) and wore it diligently for about 3 years. In the mid-nineties, I stopped wearing it for about a six months stretch. I don't remember the exact day I took it out, but I remember trying to wear it again and not having any problems. I started wearing it intermittently after that.

There seems to be a resurgence of people with noserings. Is it all because of me?

I Didn't Even Have to Use My AK

Today was a good day. This morning I got a call from my agency that my resume had made the cut for a new project, and that the employer wanted to bring me in for an interview today or tomorrow. I was told that if I made the second cut, I'd start work on Monday. I interviewed at 2 PM and was hired a few hours later. After having to take a project with a lower rate of pay for a few months, I was happy to hear that this assignment would be at my normal rate!

This afternoon I went to the library to pay my fine and get unblocked from borrowing books and DVDs (they block you if the fine is over $15). I gave the clerk my card and got out a $20 bill, but the cashier asked if I had a smaller bill. I gave her a puzzled look since I thought I should only get $3-4 change. She told me that the library had a special promotion for June where you could clear your account if you paid half of what you owed. I gave her two $5 bills and got two $1 dollar bills back. All 28 individual fines were wiped clean!

Then tonight, the east side contingent of our Pub Quiz team won the grand prize at Claddagh, which so happens to be a big screen tv! Since we're not splitting a television five ways, we'll be taking the cash option. Luckily, the cash prize divides into five parts quite nicely.

Wild, Wild Life

Right before 8:00 PM last night, I saw a deer trotting through the front yards of the houses across the street. I'm not sure where it was coming from or going to, but it disappeared between some bushes and into a backyard. I thought I might have imagined it since I had recently woken up from a nap so I called my mom. I wanted someone else to know.

Then, this morning I was taking my garbage to the curb around 6:45 AM, and I saw an opossum running from my yard toward the house across the street. It ran past the neighbor's trash pile and into the flower beds near their house. I think it headed for the rear of the house after that. I dropped my bag on the tree lawn and got back inside as soon as I could. That critter's tail creeped me out!

I've seen squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons and various birds in the neighborhood but never deer or opossums before this.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I didn't think it was possible to get sick of baking since I really don't mind pulling all-nighters around Christmas, but I'm currently taking a break from my oven.

Between St. Patrick's Day and Easter (this post is a little back-dated), I made cupcakes thrice (yellow cake with Mrs. Millman's frosting, chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting and yellow cake with buttercream frosting and coconut), brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cut-out cookies and sour cream coffee cake.

Now is a good time to take this break since I have a lingering cold and cough that isn't conducive to baking.

Month To Month

Since I posted something on the last day of January, I figured I'd post something today. I think I'll complain.

The beginning of February started off with back pain. I'm no stranger to back pain, but it's taken a backseat to other pains in the last decade. This was a weird pain that was accompanied by cracking of my mid to lower spine. I blame work. It was either the walk to and from work or the sitting in a crappy chair for eight hours or both. It's better now thanks to either time or adjusting my walk or both.

Working also got me sick. Two of my co-workers were sick, which became three, which became four when I finally succumbed last weekend. It was mostly a cough and a rattle in my chest. And when I exhaled it sounded like the squeak of a rocking chair. Really.

I hope March is healthier.

On Second Thought...

I was worn out at the beginning of the year, but now I kind of miss this daily blog. Like yesterday when I attached an old diffuser to my hairdryer with duct tape, I thought, "that would make a funny picture for my blog." There's no place for such a picture on the main blog, but I could have put it here.

On the other hand, I'm sure too many of my January posts would have been about my recent Facebook experiences and how boring would that have been? I'm bored just thinking about it.

One funny thing about Facebook is that I found out I'm not the only Deitri in the world. Who knew?