Got that Dutes...

or for the lay person, Duty. Meaning, I sit around on the ship and wait for things to break and-or catch on fire. Best way to ruin a weekend, if you want my opinion. But I'm trying not to get up on a soapbox here.

I took this picture halfway through cleaning the wall behind the bed.
ewwwwww....

Aside from wasting most of today, I did have a fairly productive Saturday. My buddy recommended to me the Mr. Clean 'Magic Eraser' and I don't know whether to thank him or hate him... oh, the grossness that came off my walls. So, walls are clean, kitchen is clean, living room tidied but still cluttered, bathroom is cleaned, bedroom is somewhat picked up and I made the bed [but it got slept in again], burnt out light bulbs replaced, and I cleaned the fish tank. Like REALLY cleaned it. Like scooped out the lil fishies and scrubbed that thing. I feel like I did more, but I guess that was really all.

Getting excited for potential moving. Getting scared about getting a 'real job' again. Very much appreciating how wonderful my life has become, even with the military still clutching at my soul, but having someone around who appreciates you and cares about you is a big help. Especially when you can play Cards Against Humanity together and die laughing at the same things. Extensive irony, much? And a 'bad day' culminates with a bottle of the best wine ever and bringing home Diablo 3 on Xbox.

 Obligatory 'cat in a box' pic. If you aren't familiar with Maru, spend a couple minutes [or hours, if you get sucked in] looking him up on youtube. Mr. Bill Apollo is on his way to becoming the American Maru. He hates collars but loves the harness, loves boxes, and will fetch mousies. He's only about six months old right now and already almost as big as Miss Z. So he'll be pretty ginormous one day. Don't mind the geeky mess behind him... boys will be boys.  

PS, upcoming dates to be excited about:
[asap]: Still need to see Captain America
23 April: Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks
16 May: Godzilla hits theatres
23 May: new X-Men movie in theatres

+1 to Constitution

So, geek stuff first, then on to plant stuff.

I have some massive ADD. Mine generally manifests internally; I don't so much have the hyperactivity, just the racing thoughts and distractability. I also have a touch of the OCD:  I love charts, graphs, lists, and apps. So, today I found a great way to improve my life while also staying positive and having a bit of fun. HabitRPG is an online tool with mobile app accessibility that allows you to create goals, daily routines, and habits you want to improve upon. It's built off the RPG model, with exp, health, upgrades, avatars, etc. You can also customize rewards for yourself and tag tasks to organize them. I'm still exploring all the functions, but I HIGHLY recommend it so far! I'm actually racking up exp just for writing this blog post. teehee.

Spent most of today browsing really nifty lighting, storage, and gardening ideas. And other cool DIY stuff like this neat up-cycled photo frame. Y'all know I am a geek for photos and old things, so this would be a great way to put up some more pictures... once we have a room for it. I can't wait for this house thing to happen... I am going to go nuts. In the best way, of course.

So, the Plant That Wouldn't Die. Still isn't dying. I got it really close this time, probably partially due to my tendancy to overwater. I still don't know what the hell it is. Almost all of my other plants have gone on to the great greenhouse in the sky, unfortunately, and I've come to the conclusion that right now I just don't really have the time or focus to keep up with gardening. It's a damn shame because I really do enjoy it. But, I have tried to incorporate some 'hardy' plants into my house in hopes that... I won't kill them. The hanging basket is a variation of English Ivy, which I believe is 'Mint Kolbiri'. Also, Orchids are all the rage here, they're for sale in practically every Safeway and WalMart around. I finally caved and brought one home. After reading the care instructions, I am pretty confident that I won't kill it off. I layered pebbles, cactus dirt, and sheet moss in a pretty glass dish to replant it and am quite pleased with the effect. Now if only I had a nice sanctuary in which to set up a zen corner. 

'And what do we say to Death?'
'Not Today.'

 

I've also added some Lucky Bamboo to my bathroom, a plant I have been dying to buy for quite some time now. Next to that you'll see some dried Eucalyptus, another favorite. It's toxic to kitties, so I have to be careful where I put it. One of my favorite arrangements, or decorations, or whatever you want to call it, is the one below on the right. It's kind of a long story, but it's got a lot of sentimental value. Reader's Digest version: when I was a kid, my dad brought home a 105mm Howitzer shell from work, which I used as a piggy bank. A couple years ago I asked if he could still get them,  and he sneakily and quickly responded simply by sending me one for Christmas. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, until one day I got the bright idea to stuff it with the Eucalyptus. [Next to it is a shell from the clip for one of the smaller guns used on the AC-130s, but I'm not sure which one]

aaaaaaand, no day is complete without achieving your recommended dosage of kitty cuteness. I wish I had gotten a shot when he first came home because he has grown some, but it will be great to compare when he gets older!

Another Longwinded Nutshell

Greetings, fair readers, assuming you exist. I know I have been very inconsistent with this bloggy-ness-thing. Life happens. Fortunately, I do still take lots of pictures, and duty days of boredom and loneliness are actually a good chance to write, if you want to start doing that glass-half-whatever thing. I have been up and down and dabbling across many fields [as I tend to do], so I'm going to repeat a previous format and see how it goes. This promises to be long-winded, so by all means feel free to skip to the parts that interest you.

 

Yarn Stuffs:

I finally got ballsy and decided to see exactly how much I knitted and crocheted while on deployment. This is the result. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to start putting the blanket together yet, and I'm actually starting to get a little nervous about how many various qualities, textures, weights, and sizes there are of squares. Girl night scheduled soon in order to divvy up squares for everyone. In related news, I have so much scrap yarn from this project that I have decided to start a random side-project blanket, which I have deemed 'the Ugliest Blanket in the Universe.' It is mindless, simple, and we'll see where it goes.

I am considering starting a file or notebook titled 'Cozy Compendium,' because if there's an inanimate object out there, there's damn sure a cozy for it. So far the only thing I have successfully completed in the cozy department is a skillet-handle-cover, and wow, yes, that was so worth it. My list of tiny things to make for friends is ever increasing, and I should probably get to work on those if I want to have ANYthing ready to go by Christmas.

Critter Stuffs:

What originally started as Hubs randomly suggesting 'Let's get a fish for the kitties!' has endured much research and much startup capital, and now results in us having a full-blown aquarium. Nothing too fancy, just a 10 gallon tank. We're starting the nitrogen cycle with a [Half-Moon] Betta [Hank, named after Henry Rollins], a snail [Etienne, because that's French for 'Steve'], and a small handful of ghost shrimp. I still really want to get some sort of Pleco, and hubs is gunning for some tetras since Bettas are supposed to 'tolerate' them. Hank is actually a darker blue, but he gets shiny and aqua in some lights. So far Miss Z is fascinated, she has tried to pat the tank a few times [she is a very feet-y cat]. Orange is mildly amused, but seems to think that he needs human chauffeuring to get from floor to desktop. The Princess could care less. 

Plant Stuffs:

So far, so good. Aside from occasionally forgetting to water them [the sunflower is the only one that can't handle it], me being home really does make all the difference. The aloe pups are still growing, and the sunflower will bloom... eventually. The only thing I'm not sure about is the mystery plant might be getting too much sun and I'm thinking it might be time to repot it into a larger home. 

Also, I was cruising through Safeway the other day and found THIS little guy... er, big guy rather! It was a little more expensive and I was skeptical of buying him from a grocery store, but upon closer inspection, this plant is WORLDS better than the ones I have bought from actual 'plant stores' via Amazon. I am excited to repot this sucker into some peat moss and perhaps settle him in to a shelf over the kitchen sink. [Note to self, build shelf over kitchen sink.]

 Music Stuffs:
Maybe I will do full reviews later on in an effort to blog more often, but, I have a couple new albums. Cursory listen to Middle Class Rut left me somewhat unimpressed, while the new MSI album is exactly what I'd expect from them plus a little more edge.

As far as personal music goes, well, the pendulum tends to swing between extremes. We were overdoing it a couple weeks ago, and followed that up with almost no musical activity to speak of. We're trying to reach a balancing point between the two, but we'll see. Still feeling kind of suck/dumb on keys, and haven't learned or practiced anything in a while. For bass, I managed to solidify a couple newer covers and hammer out a couple of Corson's originals. Hubs eventually wants to record them for an EP. The tour has also been postponed, and that band has petered out as a result.

Geek Stuffs:
Definitely not as active in this department as I was a few weeks ago. Have put a bit more time into Civ5 BNW and come to the conclusion that Brazil is just not a good strategy in a multiplayer game. Tried XCOM for about a half a second but was feeling impatient with the tutorial.

Read the Oatmeal.
Can't remember what else I was going to put here.

Work Stuffs:

We made a lot of progress on our actual work, and the contractors still love me. I recalculated my scores and I should probably make the next promotion pretty easily. However, getting very discontent and frustrated with the drama and politics. Starting to lean towards 'FTN I'm OUT!' instead of reenlisting. Some days it's just not worth it and I want my life back. But anyways.

 

Gym Stuffs:

Perhaps this should be filed under 'work stuffs,' but it's hard to say since the two are so dreadfully intertwined. I need to shave a whole minute off my 1.5 mile in about a month. I'm sure it's doable, but I'm not having the best time trying to make time to run at home. I'm sure you can imagine. However, with a little effort I should actually be able to make it into the 'excellent' category for pushups [37] and 'good' for situps [54]. That would equate to like, a B and a C if we were talking school grades. My run is a metaphorical D-.

Kitchen Stuffs:

Another rather dull section, really. I still cook, all the time... Because I EAT all the time... but, really, nothing fun, new, or interesting going on here that I can recall.

Mind & Body Stuffs:
Sleep is still very much out of whack, and my back hurts more often that not. Today is a pretty bad hand-day, but I have an appointment with a neurologist next month to continue the diagnostic process. Finally have an appointment to look at some new medications... just so happens to fall on my 'day off' about four or five hours after I WAS going to get to head home. And again, I live roughly an hour away, so it's not like I could go home for lunch or a nap or anything and go back out. Hopefully better updates on this topic in the future.

Haze Grey +11 [Bass Ackwards]

Accidentally stayed up for 24 hours on the 3^rd. Then accidentally slept for 12 hours. Then stayed up for 24 hours again out of necessity… Tried to sleep through the night, and got interrupted by a drill, so I had to run down to the office. Should have stayed up and worked out, but I was grumpy so I went back to bed for a couple more hours. Got up for ‘midrats’ [oh, I love you midrats, yes please, feed me at midnight] and now I think I’m up for the day. That’s a little frustrating, and I’m sure I’ll regret it, but I should be back around to normal in a couple days. I guess we started a night shift effective immediately, and I am pretty bummed I’m not on it. I’d be so good on night shift!

I hate the way people just mosey here. I mean, come on. I’m not always in a hurry, but I walk with purpose [blame my dad]. Get from point A to point B, and if you’re just walking around to waste time and look busy, get the eff out of MY way. People have absolutely no self awareness.

In other news, due to a glitch/bug with Steam on the ONLY day I put it online [in order to download the Gods and Kings expansion] my gaming ability is incapacitated. Which makes me sad. I was really enjoying playing Civ on watch, and I was supposed to practice with the expansion so hubby doesn’t wipe the floor with me when I get home. But now I’ll have to wait a while before I can fix it, since we don’t get real internet. And that’s only if we’re lucky enough to get a couple hours free in SanD. Not gonna lie, pretty bummed out. And I can’t even crack it either.

I really want a cup of coffee, but since our coffee supply is limited [our hookups aren’t exactly pulling through] I guess I’ll settle for tea. Also I hear tomorrow my semi-boss might be building a power supply from scratch. I told him I wanted to help.