Work(s) in Progress

Welcome to my mid-life crisis, part 2

Some of you asked me in person whether there was a part 2 to this post. Um, yes.

Forms notarized this weekend. Filing jointly tomorrow.

In case you were curious, in Colorado it takes more paperwork to buy a home or a car than to dissolve a marriage (only about half of linked forms are needed if you work together on it which luckily we are).

 Decree should come through in about 91 days from Monday. That's all I've got.

Welcome to my mid-life crisis, part 1

I've been wanting a new car for the last year or so. Whenever I would sit in traffic, I would promise myself that my next car would be an automatic. I have only ever had cars with standard transmission. I know from my old car, that I loved my leather heated seats in the winter, and that the black leather was too hot for summer. I also loved the turbo on my old car. And because this is my mid-life crisis car, I really wanted a convertible. But, since I only wanted to have one car, I wanted a retractable hard top so I could drive it year round.

Behold my new Eos Lux.

• Leather heated front seats, not black
• Retractable hard top
• Automatic
• 2.0 Turbo

Eos was the Greek goddess of the dawn, and this car certainly lets the sunrise in.

You can build your own on the VW website.

Meet my Alter-Ego

Back in about 2000, my not yet husband gave me my first computer game, Asheron's Call. It's one of those massively multiplayer on-line role playing games (MMORPGs). I've been playing essentially continuously since the fall of 2000. It's one of those games where every month the developers provide new content via the monthly patch or update. There have also been two major updates to the game since release. It's quite different than when I first started.

My first real character, Tarma, was born January 23, 2001 on the world of Winter's Ebb. I spent quite a lot of time in game with her - 3 months, 4 days, 16 hours and change (yes more than 800 real life hours with just this one character were spent in game). She has a very big house (err mansion) and more belongings than I realized as I tried to consolidate two accounts today. Each account can have 6 or 7 characters each of whom can carry many items. So while I have many characters spread on various worlds, my real avatar is Tarma, shown here looking at her in game home. Somehow she ended up being a Monarch.

Like many MMORPGs, Asheron's Call has allegiances. Egad, if you are responsible at all you end up an officer with additional responsibilities; it can be like a 2nd job "running" a guild. I was in several guilds over the years. Guild politics are identical to office politics if you are curious. Management styles vary.  It is probably great leadership experience running some of the guilds of 1000's. Some run well for years while others implode after just months. This game is somewhat unusual in that many women play (not just teen boys role-playing women) as do many working professionals in their 30's and 40's.   

It's funny, I've met several people from this virtual world. Some have become real world friends. I think for me, the best thing that Asheron's Call did was teach me to talk to strangers. I could not do this when I started. But in Asheron's Call, many quests could not be done solo; team efforts were needed. You had to talk to and work with strangers to move forward. So many conversations started "Hi [toon name], want to do a quest together?" or "Hi, want to join my allegiance?" or "Hi, let's go try that new quest..."

Somehow this experience has made it infinitely easier for me to walk up to a complete stranger with a smile on my face to say "Hi, I'm Cathy..."

I canceled one of my accounts today. There just has not been time recently to play. I suspect I may cancel my main account soon. I will miss Tarma but I think it's time for her to fade away. Of course I did just make sure I could cover 6 more months of rent payments on the mansion but it's time to let her go. I think I'll miss her. She was pretty much invincible.

What color is your aura?

If you have been reading here awhile, you know I love these silly quizzes that can be found around the web. I found this one on Irene's blog.

Your Aura is Violet

Idealistic and thoughtful, you have the mind and ideas to change the world. And you have the charisma of a great leader, even if you don't always use it! The purpose of your life: saying truths that other people dare not say Famous purples include: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan B. Anthony Careers for you to try: Political Activist, Inventor, Life Coach

What Color Is Your Aura?

 

My Nana always claimed to see auras but she never told me what she saw in mine. It's funny. I trained my whole life to become a scientist and love the world of facts and data. And yet, I grew up in a world of auras, palmistry, tarot and astrology. My Nana was also a church organist so I was exposed to Christianity but not immersed in it. I never did get the dogma but to this day I love the music. Other people by ring-tones. I have Bach.

 

As a complete aside, if you want to see/hear the coolest Bach tribute I've ever seen you can find it here(YouTube). Or heck, just watch it. If the math of music interests you at all, this is simply magnificent.

 

A Girl Day

I cannot remember the last day I have taken completely off. I worked through December 31 at my old job before starting the dream job on January 1. I still spend my weekends (at least one day per week) being a scientist closing out and transferring my research project to my new co-investigator. This generally leaves one weekend day for errands and anything not work related (grocery, laundry, sleep, dinner with my husband - yes I know it's sad to see him in the errand column).

Today was mine.

I started my day at the Body & Sole Day Spa. It does not look like much from the outside in its suburban strip mall location but it's terrific inside. A bit of muzak & water sounds with soothing scents of the products they use. I went in to get my face microdermed. This may sound odd but it's kind of like grinding and vacuuming your skin at the same time. I like it but your mileage my vary. It makes my skin feel really soft so I do it every few months. They always try to sell you a facial to add onto it but there is actually one built into the procedure. Today my aesthetician was Elizabeth. She was great - really warm hands, not a chatterer, very good facial massage.

I came home and did a Turbulence Training workout - Intermediate A if you are interested. I've been following the program sporadically for the last few weeks - I'm down about 5 pounds (with about 10 to go) and will do a formal fitness update soon. I need to get ready for the Pink DumbBells Cruise in August.

I fit in some grocery shopping and laundry today so did not take the day completely off, but I did go buy some pretty unmentionables and also got a pedicure. There is a place near my house staffed by 15 - 20 mostly Vietnamese immigrants. They have rows upon rows of vibrating chairs in front of whirlpool foot baths. Their sanitation procedures comfort me. It's not the respite of the Body & Sole Day Spa but for $20 it's a great way to keep my feet pretty on a regular basis.

It was beautiful here today - breezy with cloudless blue skies. I spent the rest of the afternoon with a glass of wine outside laughing through Lean Mean Thirteen. I grew up in New Jersey so find these books especially humourous.

 

Whatever floats your boat

I've done extensive diversity training in higher education. I suspect that educational institutions are among the most tolerant and accepting organizations on the planet. Color, gender, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, whatever. You name it and we have a special training about it. In general, the ivory tower is a tolerant place, first by mandate and ultimately by familiarity. There are exceptions but they are rare. Even so, I am occassionally surprised.

I got an email today from a genetically female colleague whom I've known as "Alice" for several years. She/he wrote: "I have been working toward formally transitioning my gender for some time now. Effective this Monday, I will be living full time as a male and my new name will be "Adam". I understand using the new name and different pronouns may be difficult, however I am eager to help things go smoothly. If you have questions or would like to talk about this, please let me know. This is our workplace and I intend to maintain the same professional standards I always have."

Of course, the first thing that jumped into my mind was the headline I saw today about the pregnant man.

I know heterosexual folks who've taken to calling their spouses their "partners" to be more inclusive. I have married male friends (to each other) where I am unsure whether to ask of their husband, partner, spouse, wife (is one of them the wife?!). Is there some website that has the correct nomenclature somewhere? Yes I've had tons of training but it's a moving target.

I guess mostly this stuff leaves me befuddled. If sexuality is a continuum (I believe this), I'm at one of the ends. I'm a gal and I like guys. It would take Angelina Jolie for me to even think about experimenting. So, while I can accept it (if that is your thing), I don't feel it. I once had a more balanced female friend grope me in the communal college shower. Um, yeah, really not my thing. But if it yours, more power to you. I apologize in advance if I lack the correct vocabulary. It's not that I don't accept who you are. I do. You just may need to educate me a bit more.

Some Like it Hot

I love the Internet. Truly.

I watch no television. None. We have cable modem but not cable TV. I will confess that I do watch TV on the computer. Many networks have made the last few episodes of some of their shows available online. I've watched Moonlight (not renewed; sigh. Great show. Lost like Firefly and Cupid), Bones(I first fell for David Boreanaz in Buffy the Vampire Slayer but he's much better here) Numb3rs (great math geekery to solve crimes), NCIS (I love Mark Harmon!), CSI-NY and CSI-Miami in this way.

But you can also find movies, free movies. I joined Jaman ages ago. Here you can find just about every foreign or independent film to enjoy for a very low price. Your first few rentals are free. But I also just discovered Hulu - granted your movie will be interrupted by commercials but they are FREE. I'm watching Some Like it Hot for free on my laptop while I reinstall Windows on my desktop.

Aging ...

I'm feeling my age today. I've been sleeping with a mouth guard for the last year because my dentist threatened me that one of my front canine teeth would snap due to my clenching my teeth in my sleep. It's been surprisingly easy to sleep in a mouth guard. And more importantly, my gums have been growing back where they belong. Happy canines. However, even this protection could not overcome years of teeth grinding and ice chewing. Yesterday my back-most molar snapped in two while I was eating. I though I'd crunched on a chicken bone but it was mine. I don't dream often, but my nightmares always involved my teeth breaking. It's definitely not fun having a nightmare come true. 

I spent the morning at the dentist. Thank you Comfort Dental for getting me an appointment so quickly. Luckily, the break was above the gum. The filling and tooth root were still intact. I'm now sporting a temporary crown to be replaced with a permanent one on Friday the 13th. Prophetic?

Iron Man

I love seeing Marvel Comics made real, at least in general. I never did get into Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four but for the most part, I enjoy passing an afternoon immersed in the realm of superheros.

Iron Man may now be my favorite. Robert Downey Jr. Wow. What an amazing actor his is. I hate that so much of his life real was lost in jail to substance abuse. Why do we jail people who are hurting no one except perhaps themselves? He was amazing in Zodiac, a slow film with impeccable acting. Iron Man may have been made for him. An adult hero. Redemption of a flawed man. Hours later and I'm still reeling from it. This movie was made for my generation; AC/DC (Back in Black - opening scene) and Black Sabbath (Iron Man - last scene) framed this movie. Not coming to DVD soon enough. Might just be worth seeing twice in the theater. Hints of a sequel after the credits. I want more.

Perhaps the best thing about seeing movies in the theater is the previews. There are two more summer movies I'm looking forward to: The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton! in a fun role?! with Liv Tyler? Awesome) and the newest Indiana Jones.

I love summer.

Do you ever have these days?

There are days I wish I had my katana at the office rather than decorating my wall at home. Yes, I know how to use it. (Thank you Greg & Iwakabe Sensei.)

On days like today, I wish I were Lucy Liu in this wonderful scene in Kill Bill.

Unfortunately, modern management techniques require "winning" the enemy over to one's side. 

Some days I wish for simpler times.