Hobbit Trivia

Okay, so I'll admit it, I just saw The Battle of the Five Armies this past weekend. Got tired of waiting for it on Redbox, so I handed my Wal-de-Mort card to my husband and told him, I don't care what it costs, buy me the third Hobbit movie! (We were supposed to go over Christmas while Junior Birdman was home, but it just never happened.)

**Spoilers**

Jim hits the nail on the head....again.

He would hate that dot dot dot dot thing, but I don't care. Jim Wright is one of the most intelligent and rational people I've ever been associated with. His perspective is without peer.

"The Myth of the Moral Compass"  All rights belong to Jim Wright of Stonekettle Station.

What's in My Bag Wednesday

Yes, this should have gone up two days ago, but I never got off my butt the chance to go take the pictures.  Eventually maybe I'll do this as part of my YouTube channel...maybe.

This bag is quite large, 14.5" x 5" x 12" deep (high?); it was a computer/business bag from Target and came with a padded, zippered case for a laptop, which I've used on occasion. But mainly I use the center zipper section for spirals, my planner, and folders of stuff. It has several Useful Pockets on one side and a leash for keys. It did have a leash for the computer but I cut that off. Sadly, the bottom corners are starting to wear badly :(

So this is the full complement of crap in the bag. Bag is in the background.

And this is the contents of the plastic box on the lower right:

 This the the box that goes with my planner. There are stickers, washi tape on old credit cards, tape runner, gluestick, paperclips, scissors, two rulers, Sharpie, Flair pens, and a Uniball pen.

This is the contents of the zippered bag above the planner box:

Box of drawing pencils, Prismacolor markers, water brush, Windsor & Newton travel watercolors (that I have literally had for something like 33 years), kneaded eraser in a little plastic mint case, pencil sharpener, graphite stick in a Mentos case, two blending stumps, a Fabriano sketch book, and a bit of paper towel.

Above the zippered art case is a little make-up kit. (That's a fair amount of make-up for someone who hasn't worn any in nearly a year).

There are, eh hem, panty liners, eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner pencil, shadow brush, powder brush, eyebrow brush, band-aids, a large button to clip earrings to, generic Immodium, Sudafed, famotidine, and an allergy/decongestant capsule, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and various pills in a tiny Altoids tin, nail clippers, 1st aid tape, and antibiotic ointment. 

From upper left, anti-clockwise: address on a pink slip of paper, tissues, zip baggies, prescription antibiotic eye drops, Similasan eye drops, Vaseline lip balm, package of Kleenex, two spoons and a plastic fork, little box of tissues from the hospital, the planner box and art bag, both described above, and my Erin Condren planner.

Next row: Purple flat wallet with credit cards and ID, my ID case and keys for work, my car and house keys, two little bottles of lotion from the hospital, a really cool tin that staples came in, the make-up kit described above. a spiral notebook where I am planning videos and art projects, and a tiny journal for ideas, the blue and green spiral (with hot pink duct tape) that is the repository for all things related to my novel, my Sandisk mp3 player and earbuds, and a glasses case with sunglasses.

Last one: a green pocket folder with info about a medical procedure I'm having next month, a Netflix disk that needs to be mailed (the bottom row described above) and various papers and receipts.

In case you think I'm lying...here's everything back in the bag, sans the little bit of trash (baggie, tissues, and the pink slip of paper) and the eating utensils.

That's it for What's in Your Bag Wednesday. What's in YOUR bag?

Yikes!

So, yeah, I've been thinking about do a YouTube channel, but I finally got Webcam Central reinstalled on my system (I replaced my dead hard drive last year) and did a little test vid of myself. Oh. My. God. Not only am I too fucking scary looking to do videos, I seriously do not want to leave the house now...not sure how ANYone even stands looking at me. Gross.  So I guess if I do videos, they'll all have to be the kind where you just shoot what you're doing and not your face.

Seriously guys, I don't even want to go to work tomorrow.

This needs a name. Or slacking as a career.

I can see all my new posts now: This needs a name, This needs a name #2, This needs a name #3...you get the idea.  Perhaps something will throw itself in my face as I type.

Let's face it, yours truly is a slacker. I think I wrote somewhere, sometime that I have all sorts of grandiose ideas for blog posts, short stories, how-to videos, and various projects; yet, I sit on my can and think about them, or go read, or check Facebook...again. The ennui builds up and I really have no one to blame but myself. There are so many things I could be doing, not to mention many I should be doing. So many journals started, feel-good lists started, plans for this and that, diet plans, exercise plans, garden plans, plan plans....

I know I can get things done. On occasion, I stoke up the engine, buckle down and get amazing things done. Why the giant slug act? And don't say, well, you're doing chemo.... That has nothing to do with it since I was like this before I ever even got the diagnosis. I can't even really blame the ADHD, either, this isn't about flitting from one project to another, which I've done in spades in the past (a big reason I have so much extraneous schtuff).  A chicken or egg question:  does the ennui cause the inaction or does the inaction cause the ennui?  Or...yes?

Ponder. Ponder. Ponder.

In other news, I bought a bicycle. Yeah...*laughs* you heard me, a bicycle. 40 bucks from Craigslist.  It's in pretty good condition, doesn't seem like it's been used very much, although one pedal needs replacing and the brakes need some adjusting. I added one of these to the back and bought one of these.  Yesterday I dropped the bike off at the bike shop for a tune-up, new chain ($10, it was stretched), new pedals ($7), and new brake pads ($8). All that is going to be a little over $100.  So I guess, in the long-run I didn't save much over a new big-box bike, but the advantage is I didn't have to pay it all out at once. And I love the color. :)  Eventually I will get a set of these, but in the meantime, I'm making a pannier out of an older Eagle Creek bag I have (this is the updated version of the bag, which itself has also been discontinued), using this Instructables tutorial.  My plan is to make a YouTube tutorial of my process as well. If, when I do, I'll post the link here.

I've actually been thinking about getting a bike for awhile now, but have really been inspired by a series of videos on biking in the Netherlands by this guy markenlai.  The attitude towards bike traffic is completely different there and the supporting infrastructure is just amazing.  Take a gander at the videos--they're kind of mesmerizing and addictive. Or maybe I'm just easily amused.

Well, sports fans...

It's been awhile. So. I'm mostly recovered from surgery. There are a few issues, but nothing worth mentioning or that won't eventually work itself out.

I'm finished with the first part of chemo (adriamycin and cytoxan). Not horrific, but not something I'd care to repeat, either. There are myriad descriptions, etc. out there for you to read, so I'll spare you mine.

The next round is 12 treatments of taxol. Yay. -.-

In the meantime, I've started--first day today--the Whole30 program, aka clean eating. Yes, it's sort of paleo -based and yes, paleo is the stupidest name for an eating regimen ever. If you wanted to really go "paleo" then eat roots, leaves, bugs, nuts, berries, fish, and a lot of baby animals. They were easy to catch and consume without having a storage issue. Even paleoman figured out meat went off. But, they don't push the paleo-ness part. You eat grass-fed, pastured, organic meats, wild-caught fish, eggs, veggies, fruit, and some nuts. You don't eat dairy, legumes, grains, sweeteners of any kind,  or alcohol. I'm going to be careful with the nightshades, too. I already know tomatoes often don't agree with me and I hate eggplant.

I strongly urge anyone who wants to get healthy, clear up your skin, resolve breathing issues, etc, to read the book--and read the "sciency" stuff in the first like 14 chapters.

Hey, any diet that pushes avocados and olives is just all right by me.

Anyway, this is my "commitment" page.