Catalyst of Joy

Love.

serene@serenepages.org — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:48:45 GMT

sproul
Originally uploaded by serenejournal

I love my new job. I love my family. I love that my new job doesn't take me away from my family TOO much. (I was even able to get in a date with stonebender before it started, and we're gonna do lunch in Berkeley once a week when we can.)

But lately, I really love ME. It was really, really hard to choose to take this job. I know I'm overextended already. I know I'm a busy, tired introvert, with a family to take care of. But the more I thought about it, the more I *really wanted it*, and I'm so glad I didn't balk. I think I'm doing what's best for me.

I walk through the UC Berkeley campus every day with this huge grin on my face. I love being there. I love the people I work with. I even love the job, which most people would find terribly tedious. It's just perfect for me, though, and I'm SO glad they offered it to me.

And now, after how many years? I am a real, career employee there, with health insurance, a pension, a cubicle, keys, and the whole shebang.

I deserve this. I totally rock.

me-work
Originally uploaded by serenejournal

This is me at work. Goofy, I know, but the joy is genuine.

Good stuff

serene@serenepages.org — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:32:58 GMT

I have a moment free at The Best Office Job Ever(tm) to burble a little to
you while I eat my carrot sticks, but I may have to do it in little
bursts, because I actually do have plenty to do here (yay!), so I won't be
spending as much time on LJ (boo!).

Up next:

Love
Money
Time
Health

Probably in that order.

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:16:32 GMT

No, actually, "I would hardly make any money off this at all" is NOT a good reason to post a sales post in a community that forbids sales posts. Why do you ask, asshat?

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:35:00 GMT

It's almost time for the birthday of my parallel-life pal, my partner in tears and surreality, in joy and showtunes.

Happy birthday, lcohen. Love you madly, and I won't tell you my wish for you this year, in case that makes it not come true.

*SMOOCH*

Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!

serene@serenepages.org — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:37:28 GMT

Guess who has benefits?

I mean, guess who has really good benefits?

That'd be me and wtfpotatoes, as of today.

*happynekkidsereneydance*

serene@serenepages.org — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:53:30 GMT

mommaduck and I both start our new jobs today. Good luck to us!

serene@serenepages.org — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:59:05 GMT

Mom said it was hard getting the Munchkin up for school this morning, but he did get up and he did go. AND she and his teacher arranged for him to start a few hours later in the day, which will probably help, as well.

Yay!

serene@serenepages.org — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:18:20 GMT

And now for the really good stuff today, because really, there is always good stuff:

1) The homeowner gave someotherguy a check for $50 because he replaced the faucet instead of making her get someone in. She said she would've paid her normal handyman $50 for an hour of his time, so that was great. We went and spent half of it on groceries. Yay, groceries!

2) someotherguy is amazing and apparently still loves me even though I woke him at 9am with angsty phone conversations with my mother and nephew, and spent the rest of the day using him for stressball relief.

3) I go in on Friday to do the paperwork and stuff for the new job, and I've read up on what to do about 401(k) stuff and everything. (Actually, it's 403(b) or something, because it's a public university, but yeah, no-load mutual funds, maximum employee contribution, etc.)

4) I had a really nice dim sum date the other day with bastette_joyce, and while we were chatting about insurance and stuff, it dawned on me that I can put wtfpotatoes on my health insurance and take her off Medical. That makes me SO happy!

5) We have a new faucet! Three days without a working kitchen sink was making me grumpy in the extreme.

6) Six weeks with wtfpotatoes, and I'm still liking having her around. I think she might feel rejected because I need a fair bit of time to myself, but we're getting along really well, and there's only been one serious incident of her not getting along with someone in the family, and that worked out fine. Even if she didn't like "Juno" at all. :-)

fresh hell

serene@serenepages.org — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:23:57 GMT

What a fucking day. I would say I want a do-over, but I don't have the energy to do this one over.

Tomorrow, no one's allowed to call me to break up their arguments. No one's allowed to suspect they've had a heart attack. No one's allowed to tell me no, or be mean to me in any way. Is. That. Understood?

It began when my mother called to cry on me at 8am because she was getting ready to tell Munchkin The Elder that since he's skipped school two days in a row and is not doing what he needs to do, he needs to move out. (He's eighteen.) I basically told her she had every right to draw her boundaries where she drew them, and that if I were in her situation, I'd give him a move-out date of a month or so in the future, then see if he took it as a wakeup call. She liked that idea.

Then I spent a fair amount of time talking to *him*, explaining that my mother has no obligation to be his unpaid maid and sugar momma while he plays video games all day, skips school, and doesn't help around the house. I also painted a picture for him of how good he has it, and how much more annoying sleeping on a park bench can be than having to get up and go to school in the morning.

Back on the phone with mom after she gave him the ultimatum.

Back on the phone with the Munchkin to give him a pep talk.

Back on the phone with mom -- they're working it out and he's going to try harder and go to school. And oh, by the way, she thinks she had a mini heart attack yesterday. MOM!!! Call the doctor. Go to the doctor.

"Well, I am a little worried, or I wouldn't have mentioned it."

someotherguy took video of me wagging my finger at her, and we sent it to her cellphone.

She saw a doctor at 6pm, and she's fine. EKG clean, come back if it happens again.

Oh, and two out of three neighbors think renting their storage room to me for wtfpotatoes is a great idea; the third one doesn't want to give up his storage space. His prerogative, and they're going to meet about it again on Thursday, but it's not looking good.

And the replacement roomba isn't here yet. Ditto the batteries for someotherguy's birthday blimp.

And I'm cranky.

Which beats teary and defeated, which is how I was a few hours ago, right?

Anyway. I would say I'm done whining, but I'm SO not. Still, I'll go do the rest of my whining out of your eyesight for a while.

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:36:33 GMT

The best moment from yesterday was when a young man said he couldn't vote because he's a felon. I said, "Did you finish your parole?"

"Yes."

"Then you're an EX-felon, and you can vote."

"Are you SURE?!?!?"

I showed him the FAQ, where it says clearly that once you've served your parole, you can vote, and he was SO excited. He registered, and now he can't wait to vote in the election. He had been feeling really disappointed that he couldn't vote at such an important time.

(In my opinion, people should be able to vote even if they're on parole or in prison, but that's not the way it is in California, where I live and vote.)

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:20:28 GMT

It really sank in yesterday that I'm doing too much, especially now that I have a new job and a new kid. So help me, will you? Love me anyway when I say "Nope, can't do that fun thing with you that I really want to do." This next 18 months or so will be about going to work, keeping a clean and happy home, and spending time with my loved ones. If you want to see me, please do come by for dinner some night. We eat at 7, and we're happy to share what we're having with you. Otherwise, here I'll be on LJ when time permits, and we'll see how things go in 2010, when the munchkin turns 18, shall we?

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:09:59 GMT

I'm so sunburned (and dehydrated, and day-at-the-beach-tired)! But wtfpotatoes put lotion on my ouchies, and we registered 35 voters today, and gave out 40 more forms for people to mail themselves later. (I saw 4 of those people complete theirs.)

Not bad for a day's work.

Posted using TxtLJ

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:24:38 GMT

25 voters registered so far, yay!

Posted using TxtLJ

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:17:45 GMT

Progressive signs all over the flea market office & they gave me my spot for free. Yay!

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:20:46 GMT

Decided to try to spend as little cash as possible on the registration drive, partly because cash is tight, and partly because the important thing is to register voters, and that's basically free, as it should be.

Pens: $5
Clipboards: $3 at the Creative Reuse Depot
Case of bottled water: $5

And then I'm making kettle corn, iced tea, and possibly cookies to take for the volunteers. It's still unclear to me if they're going to make me pay the booth fee at the flea market, because they've been treating me like a VIP, letting me miss deadlines, even, and they've still not mentioned money. Still, I'll take the standard $25 with me tomorrow and see how it goes. Even if I do have to pay it, though, that's less than $40 for the whole enterprise. Not bad.

Does anyone know if I have to declare the money I spend on the booth as a campaign contribution?

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:07:32 GMT

Not that any sane person wouldn't figure this out *before* making herself sick, but hey, Thai iced tea has a ton of milk in it, huh?

Oy.

*groan*

Voter registration

serene@serenepages.org — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:38:01 GMT

If you're anything like local to me, come out and help register voters (or just come say hi!) at the Ashby Flea Market tomorrow. I'll be there around 7am, but the flea market doesn't really get in the swing until around 11. I plan to leave around 4. We'll be in booth 507, and I'll be picking up a sunshade umbrella from sogwife today, so you can stay out of the sun.

The woman who trained at the last event I went to said the Children's Hospital event usually gets between eight and twenty registrations in three hours. I'm hoping for at least twenty tomorrow, and I hope many more.

Also, if you're just in the mood to make my life beautiful, you can bring by some drinks or snacks for the FIFTY volunteers who have signed up to help. :-)

serene@serenepages.org — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:21:41 GMT

I don't know why, but I thought someone on my friendslist might be interested, or know someone who's interested, in this job:

After School Science Instructor
East Bay Academy for Young Scientists
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/300842-154
Berkeley, California, United States
Salary: $14.65/Hr

serene@serenepages.org — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:55:34 GMT

The deal is to answer each thing with EXACTLY three words.

Where is your cell phone?
In my purse?

Your boyfriend/girlfriend husband/wife?
I love them.

Your hair?
Long, pretty, unruly.

Where is your father?
In San Diego.

Cheesecake?
With fruit, please.

Your dream last night?
Sex with co-worker.

Your favorite drink?
Water, hands down.

Your dream car?
Free; zero emissions.

The room you're in?
Our common room.

George Bush?
Force for evil.

Nipple rings?
Not for me.

Who did you hang out with last night?
My lovely kid.

What you're not good at?
Remembering literary details.

Your best friend?
I have several.

Student loans?
Five thousand dollars.

Where did you grow up?
In the Navy.

The last thing you did?
Eat yummy popcorn.

What are you wearing?
Skirt and t-shirt.

Tattoo on the lower back?
Some day, yes.

Ketchup?
Yes, on potatoes.

Your computer?
Work leases it.

Your life?
Oh, so good.

Your mood?
Mellow and fragile

Missing?
A self-imposed deadline.

What are you thinking about right now?
Gilead the Repulsive

Your car?
Birkenstock sandals, actually

Your summer?
Way too busy

Your relationship status?
Happily in love

Your favorite color?
I like red

When is the last time you laughed?
James is funny.

Last time you cried?
Today at Guy's.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow?
Full of plans.

High school?
Ick. No, thanks.

Updatey goodness

serene@serenepages.org — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:12:01 GMT

~~Three~~ FOUR! bits of good news, all so excellent they probably don't need much elaboration:

1) My hips don't hurt.

2) I got my first choice of public high schools for wtfpotatoes, and she's gonna look into starting internet high school.

3) I got a job offer today from The Best ~~Temp~~ Permanent Job Ever, and I said yes. A little more money per hour, flexible hours, lots of time off, and full benefits.

4) Mom's biopsy came back, and she's fine. Nothing's wrong.

serene@serenepages.org — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:30:42 GMT

Random survey, stolen from epi_lj, along with some of his answers. After the random survey, I go sign the kid up for school. After that, work meeting. After that, work. After that...

1, What color is your toothbrush?
I don't know. Purple, maybe? When we buy toothbrushes, someotherguy gets the red one, sogwife gets blue or green, and I get what's left.

2, Name one person that made you smile today?
ailbhe, telling a kid story

3, What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Just waking up.

4, What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Taking my pill and fixing someotherguy's breakfast and coffee.

5, What is your favorite chocolate bar?
Depends on my mood, but I really like Heath bars.

6, Have you ever been to a strip club?
Nope.

7, What is the last thing you said aloud?
"Sweet girl."

8, What is the best ice cream flavor?
There's no best, silly people. I do like coffee and mango more than most, though.

9, What was the last thing you had to drink?
Water.

10, What was the last thing you had to eat?
Hmmm. It was last night, so let me think. I had a half a turkey sandwich for dinner. No, later I had a hummus sandwich on toast.

11. What is your favorite Restaurant?
I'm not good at favorites, but I do like Anzu (a local sushi restaurant) a lot.

12, Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Yes, but it's a secret.

13, The last sporting event you watched?
I haven't the foggiest idea. I don't watch sports very often.

14, What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
The garlic-and-butter popcorn that someotherguy makes.

15, Who is the last person you sent a message on myspace?
wtfpotatoes

16, Ever go camping?
Yep! I have fond memories of camping, but I haven't ever been in charge of the logistics of the thing, so I don't really know how to do it, if that makes sense. wtfpotatoes likes camping, though, so I may make an effort this coming year. Also, we're thinking of joining the local SCA chapter, and there's a lot of camping involved with that.

17, Do you take vitamins daily?
Nope. I try to get my vitamins from food.

18, Do you go to church every Sunday?
Nope. I haven't been to church in years, and the last time I was attending church regularly, it was on Saturdays.

19, Do you have a tan?
Yep, especially on my feet.

20, Do you like Chinese food more than pizza?
SO so so so much more.

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
Eh. Sometimes.

22, What did your last text message say?
"waywardcats replied to your comment: Ah, in that case I am hoping you hear good news today!I have to admit I was confused also and thought you had stopped likin"

23, What are you doing tomorrow?
Volunteering, working, highlighting voter-registration forms, seeing stonebender, cooking something out of the 1953 BHG cookbook he bought me.

24. Have you ever had a threesome?
Yep. Lots of times.

25, Look to your left, what do you see?
The lovely and talented someotherguy.

26, What color is your watch?
I don't have one. My cellphone, which I use as a watch, is silver.

27, What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Actually, I see the shape of the continent in my head. That's weird.

28, What is your birthstone?
Sapphire. (epi_lj, yours is garnet)

29, Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
It's probably about 50/50.

30, What is your favorite number?
13

31, Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Probably my mother or my nephew.

32, Any plans today?
See above (before the cut tag).

33, How many states have you lived in?
Let me think: Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, California, New York, Washington. So six. I've also lived in one province (Cádiz).

34, Biggest annoyance right now?
I don't feel annoyed at all right now. I feel happy, lucky, and peaceful.

35, Last song listened to?
"Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps." (sogwife and I were watching Coupling on Netflix.)

36, Can you say the alphabet backwards?
Sure, but slowly and with some effort.

37. Do you have a maid to clean your house?
Nope. We all cooperate to do that.

38, Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Birkenstocks. I wear them until I wear them out, and then I buy a new pair. Thus the really strong tan lines on my feet.

39, Are you jealous of anyone?
Yes.

40, Is anyone jealous of you?
Not that I'm aware of.

41. Have you seen Iron man????
Yes. I even liked it, despite not thinking it was without flaw.

42, Do any of your friends have children?
Yep. A few.

43, What do you usually do during the day?
Cook, clean, walk, shop for groceries, do laundry, hang out with someotherguy, hang out online, resist doing work. ;-)

44, Do you hate anyone right now?
Not especially.

45, Do you use the word "hello" daily?
Sure, most days. What an odd question.

46, What color is your car?
I don't have a car.

47, Do you like cats?
Yes, especially kittens.

48. Have you ever been to a gay club?
Yep.

49, Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yep. Lots of times, most recently on my last birthday, as a surprise gift from stonebender. It was totally fun and totally terrifying.

50, How did you get your worst scar?
I was assaulted. Sorry for leaving on a downer. :-)

serene@serenepages.org — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:02:55 GMT

I haven't done much over there yet, but I'm serene at tor.com. I love the site so far.

serene@serenepages.org — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:11:40 GMT

Happy birthday, someotherguy. I'm so happy you were born, and so happy that you're mine, in that poly way that means "mine, and also other people's, but mine anyway". :-)

Love love love.

Running away

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:15:59 GMT

Sometimes, people and stuff are just too much. I call it being "peopled out". I am at my very limit at the moment, and it is taking all I have not to snap at people.

But I won't. Because really, I love most of the people in my life, and it's not their fault I've had a rough week. They're not *trying* to annoy me, I don't think.

I'm lucky, because I have a partner who not only doesn't people me out, but who's also peopled out and is going to stop what he's doing and take me on a brief "vacation". We're gonna gather up our stuff and take a long walk. Then we're gonna go sit somewhere for a long time. Then we're gonna walk some more. Just us.

All the rest of y'all? Just go about your business for a bit, mm-kay?

serene@serenepages.org — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:43:32 GMT

I'm a slow-and-steady cleaning machine today, but a girl's gotta take a break now and then, right?

Stole this from clawfoot, along with some of her answers.

do you like the person you are becoming?
Yes, mostly.

has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Yes. There was an implied "for me" in there, but yes.

Wanna have kids before your 30?
Too late!

name something you have to do tomorrow?
Nothing. Nada. Zip. Which is not to say I won't do anything.

can you whistle?
Yes.

do you sleep on your side, stomach, or back?
My right side, mostly.

are your eyes the same color as your mom's or dad's?
Neither. My mom's are very dark brown. My dad's are blue. Mine are lightish brown -- the color of root beer.

has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?
Yes.

how do you vent anger?
I rant at someotherguy. Poor someotherguy. What he puts up with.

who have you texted in the last 48 hrs?
No idea. Let me look. someotherguy, last night, and that's it.

who sent you your last text?
someotherguy

does anyone hate you?
Yes.

are you happy with your life?
Very much so, yes.

can you handle the truth?
Usually, I can, especially if I have some time to assimilate the difficult truths.

do you get 8 hours of sleep everyday?
Nope.

what was the last book you read?
I'm in the middle of Flim Flam!, by James Randi. The last one I finished was London Bridges, by James Patterson. Seems "James" is a theme here. Huh. ;-)

do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with?
No way!

is there something you always wear?
Nope.

what were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was either washing dishes, taking photos for freecycle, or eating a quesadilla.

who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
The cellphone says the last person I talked to there was my boss. On the home phone, the last person was the pizza place guy telling me their delivery driver had gone home already (wtfpotatoes wanted to order pizza with her hard-earned dough).

did you have an exciting last weekend?
Wow, I'm expected to remember what I did a whole week ago? (I think I had a nice date with stonebender and went to an open-house-party thing. All pleasant; not exactly "exciting", per se.

have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes, several times.

what do you spend most of your money on?
Utilities, food.

is there a secret you've never told your parents?
Yes.

do you like yourself?
Usually, I do.

have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes.

are you wearing a necklace?
No.

what's something that can always make you feel better?
Time with someotherguy away from everyone else.

did your parents spoil you as a child?
Not excessively. I got more stuff than some, less than others. I think we were quite average for our tax bracket.

how's your heart lately?
Very good.

will this weekend be a good one?
I insist on it. :-)

what do you want right now?
A clean kitchen, so I'm going to go work on that now and finish this in a bit.

has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you?
Not that I'm aware of.

what would you name your future daughter?
I used to think Faith Elizabeth. Cute-poet-chick wanted our first child to be named Absorbine, Jr. ;-)

what's on your schedule for tomorrow?
Work stuff; gathering the paperwork for wtfpotatoes's school registration; laundry; perhaps seeing stonebender, depending on his schedule.

the last thing you heard?
I can hear my typing right now, and the water going through the upstairs neighbors' pipes.

does anyone know your Myspace password?
I don't even know it, though I could guess. I created a MySpace page eons ago and have never used the account.

have you dated anyone on your top 8?
I assume this is a Myspace thing?

last night, did you go to sleep happy?
Yes.

what are you excited for?
Nothing in particular.

who was the last person you shared a bed with?
someotherguy

what are you listening to?
Nothin'.

have you ever told someone you love them?
Lots of times.

the reason behind the last time you cried?
I was just so exhausted that everything was irritating and frustrating and difficult.

who was the last person you got into a fight with?
Argument: wtfpotatoes. Actual fight with physical hitting: my sister, maybe ten years ago.

when was the last time you went to the beach?
A few years ago.

what was the last thing you laughed really hard at?
The hijinks of The someotherguy-and-wtfpotatoes Show crack me up daily. It's an adjustment having someone living with us, but they get along really well, and I am well aware how lucky that makes me.

do you trust people easily?
Trust with what? I trust people in general for general things a lot. I trust people not to be jerks. I don't trust people with my innermost secrets very much.

where do you want to be right now?
Right here.

will you hug the last person you hugged again?
Of course, if I get the chance!

have you lost any friends this year? why?
I didn't exactly lose a friend. I guess I intentionally distanced myself, though. I stopped expending energy on keeping in touch with the person, because it was making it hard for me to go through the day without stressing out.