More everyday types of things
Feb. 11th, 2007 01:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseI've been rather slack on actual update-type things, I know. Part of it is that I usually do so when I'm either bored or putting things off at work, and lately I've actually had a fair amount of work to do - due mostly to the fact that we've moved our offices, with the ensuing uproar of packing/unpacking/trying to get billing out on time despite half the necessary components still being in boxes/etc. On the other hand, our new space is equally nice and much bigger - the techs no longer have to wait in line to get a desk to use for their paperwork in the morning, which makes my job much easier since they're less likely to go "Ah, screwit" and not do said paperwork (and I therefore don't have to get after them about it). I do miss the windows in our old place some (there aren't very many near my desk in our new area), but there are several nearby that I can walk over and look out while still being within earshot of the phone, so it's all good. And Wade made certain that I have an equal amount of desk space, if not in fact a little more (since the new large tech area means that people aren't setting things up on my desk because there's nowhere else to put them). So I can't really complain.
Plus there's the added benefit of the new place being literally right down the street from where we live. I've noticed that we're using a lot less gas than we did when we drove to Lemon Creek and back twice a day.
In other news, Brian and I are narrowly avoiding becoming a three-cat household, due in large part to the shelter getting in a beautiful long-haired blue-eyed cat that they call Boise. He looks like his lineage was at least part blue-point Himalayan (and likely part unwanted nosy neighbor cat, since he was found as a stray). The first time we visited him he was very stressed out so we cut it short; however, once he'd gotten used to the idea of visiting with people, he was pretty sweet and cuddly. And it doesn't help that I have a real weakness for blue-eyed kitties.
Unfortunately, Brian doesn't think that we have room in our apartment for three cats, and while I think we could make it work (especially if we got a climber or something to increase their available space), I definitely agree that it might be a bit crowded. Moving to a bigger apartment isn't really an option, either - rent's expensive enough as it is, and paying two to three hundred more per month would set back our saving plans some. (Not to mention the effects of the Expanding Stuff rule - when we're planning on moving anyway, suddenly having a three-bedroom apartment's worth of stuff would be a bad idea.)
So we're probably going to leave Boise at the shelter. He's a beautiful and sweet kitty, so I'm sure he'll find a good home somewhere; and if he's still there in six or eight months, I suppose we can always reevaluate the situation.
I'm thinking about taking some more voice lessons, if only so I can feel like I'm actually doing something in that arena. I recently got in touch with a different voice teacher here in town; unlike Joyce Parry-Moore, who has a very classical background, this woman appears to be much more jazz-oriented. It certainly couldn't hurt to try something different. Unfortunately, she appears to only be available during the day; maybe I'll see if I can work something out with Nancy to take a longer lunch break once a week or something.
On the music front, I've been getting back into techno and trance, thanks in large part to the Teddybears' rather biting single "Punkrocker" on the radio (with Iggy Pop of all people doing the vocals). The album ("Soft Machine") is actually a pretty listenable blend of very 80's style electronica - one of the tracks ("Automatic Lover") even features the Fred voice from the Mac Classic. The first half of the album has the more danceable tracks, while the second half is more trance-oriented; I've found pretty much all of it to be enjoyable, since the Swedish group seems to understand that in order for techno to be interesting, you have to vary the different dubs rather than playing the same ten-or twenty-second clip over and over for eight minutes plus.
In the more ambient-house side of the genre, I'd really like to find a copy of Chicane's Far From the Maddening Crowds for less than $55. Unfortunately, since it was a pretty limited release in the US and is currently out of print, most of the available copies are located in the UK and go for rather a lot of money, thanks to the current crappy USD/GBP exchange rate, somewhere around one pound = $1.96. (I remember the first time I saw an exchange rate chart in elementary school; at the time, one dollar was worth about 76p. What's happened since then?) So I overcame my morals and Dread Pirate Roberted a copy. It's a fantastic album and easily one of the standouts of the genre, but I can't help wishing I had a physical copy of the CD. So on the off chance anyone reading this has a copy they're not using, I'll happily pay you $30-$35 for it.
I guess that's more or less the state of things at the moment. Not very interesting to those outside, I suppose, but then that's probably why my "friend of" list is somewhere around 40 rather than in the several hundreds. Guess I'll just have to wait until I'm a famous rock star or writer or something to have that many people interested in the minutiae of my life. =D
Plus there's the added benefit of the new place being literally right down the street from where we live. I've noticed that we're using a lot less gas than we did when we drove to Lemon Creek and back twice a day.
In other news, Brian and I are narrowly avoiding becoming a three-cat household, due in large part to the shelter getting in a beautiful long-haired blue-eyed cat that they call Boise. He looks like his lineage was at least part blue-point Himalayan (and likely part unwanted nosy neighbor cat, since he was found as a stray). The first time we visited him he was very stressed out so we cut it short; however, once he'd gotten used to the idea of visiting with people, he was pretty sweet and cuddly. And it doesn't help that I have a real weakness for blue-eyed kitties.
Unfortunately, Brian doesn't think that we have room in our apartment for three cats, and while I think we could make it work (especially if we got a climber or something to increase their available space), I definitely agree that it might be a bit crowded. Moving to a bigger apartment isn't really an option, either - rent's expensive enough as it is, and paying two to three hundred more per month would set back our saving plans some. (Not to mention the effects of the Expanding Stuff rule - when we're planning on moving anyway, suddenly having a three-bedroom apartment's worth of stuff would be a bad idea.)
So we're probably going to leave Boise at the shelter. He's a beautiful and sweet kitty, so I'm sure he'll find a good home somewhere; and if he's still there in six or eight months, I suppose we can always reevaluate the situation.
I'm thinking about taking some more voice lessons, if only so I can feel like I'm actually doing something in that arena. I recently got in touch with a different voice teacher here in town; unlike Joyce Parry-Moore, who has a very classical background, this woman appears to be much more jazz-oriented. It certainly couldn't hurt to try something different. Unfortunately, she appears to only be available during the day; maybe I'll see if I can work something out with Nancy to take a longer lunch break once a week or something.
On the music front, I've been getting back into techno and trance, thanks in large part to the Teddybears' rather biting single "Punkrocker" on the radio (with Iggy Pop of all people doing the vocals). The album ("Soft Machine") is actually a pretty listenable blend of very 80's style electronica - one of the tracks ("Automatic Lover") even features the Fred voice from the Mac Classic. The first half of the album has the more danceable tracks, while the second half is more trance-oriented; I've found pretty much all of it to be enjoyable, since the Swedish group seems to understand that in order for techno to be interesting, you have to vary the different dubs rather than playing the same ten-or twenty-second clip over and over for eight minutes plus.
In the more ambient-house side of the genre, I'd really like to find a copy of Chicane's Far From the Maddening Crowds for less than $55. Unfortunately, since it was a pretty limited release in the US and is currently out of print, most of the available copies are located in the UK and go for rather a lot of money, thanks to the current crappy USD/GBP exchange rate, somewhere around one pound = $1.96. (I remember the first time I saw an exchange rate chart in elementary school; at the time, one dollar was worth about 76p. What's happened since then?) So I overcame my morals and Dread Pirate Roberted a copy. It's a fantastic album and easily one of the standouts of the genre, but I can't help wishing I had a physical copy of the CD. So on the off chance anyone reading this has a copy they're not using, I'll happily pay you $30-$35 for it.
I guess that's more or less the state of things at the moment. Not very interesting to those outside, I suppose, but then that's probably why my "friend of" list is somewhere around 40 rather than in the several hundreds. Guess I'll just have to wait until I'm a famous rock star or writer or something to have that many people interested in the minutiae of my life. =D
