Friday, July 29, 2011

New 'Do


I had a rotten week. The work level at the office has been just NUTS (financial statement end-of-the-fiscal-year garbage). Then I had a scam artist at my door Tuesday evening trying to sell me magazine subscriptions that actually resulted in my filing a police report. Rotten, rotten week.

When I woke up Wednesday morning I looked in the mirror and said, "Okay, enough already. Time for a haircut."

I hadn't been particularly happy with my hair for some time. I've been wearing a medium-length undercut bob for awhile, and was just getting tired of it. I looked at several shorter hairstyles online and had seen a couple that I thought would work, but wasn't sure I was ready to go that much shorter.

On the way home from work that afternoon I called Mom to let her know I'd be a little later than usual getting home (so she wouldn't worry when I didn't call her at my usual time), and stopped at a local hair salon that takes walk-ins. When I sat down in the waiting area I honestly was still unsure whether I was going short or just getting a trim. There were only two stylists working that afternoon, and each had a customer in the chair while I waited. I watched one of them pretty closely, because she was doing a short haircut on her customer. And she was doing a FABULOUS job. "Okay," I thought, "If I'm going short, she's the one I want to cut it!"

And so, when my turn came, I pulled out the photo I'd printed from the internet, and away we went. When she was finished, looking at the pile of white hair on the floor it appeared that she'd sheared a sheepdog.

But I'm very happy with the results. I can literally style my hair by running my fingers through it. I haven't been able to do that in a very long time!

I apologize for the fairly terrible photo. I took it with the webcam on my netbook, and I've not used it before. *LOL*

Friday, July 15, 2011

Netflix and a Migraine

What's worse than a migraine, you ask? A migraine on a Friday afternoon. *ICK* I began the day with a dull headache that worsened gradually as the day wore on. By the time I got home, I felt decidedly unwell and hit the recliner with my netbook for a brief check of e-mail and a super-quick blog entry. As soon as I've entered this I'm going to take a couple of Excedrin PM and go to bed. No exaggeration.

I did want to enter a brief rant before hitting the hay. Netflix. I'm sure you've read about the upcoming rate changes on the web, but just in case you haven't, here's what's scheduled to happen on September 1. I currently subscribe to the one-DVD-at-a-time-plus-streaming plan for $9.99 a month. I don't usually get more than 3 or 4 DVD's a month, but thought this was a reasonable price to pay since I watch some of the streaming content when there's nothing on broadcast TV worth my time. My streaming is mostly old television series (Family Ties, Doctor Who, etc.), but it's been pretty neat to have it available.

Then I read on MSNBC that beginning September 1, Netflix is splitting their DVD-by-mail service from their streaming service. And here's the kicker. Each service is going to cost $7.98. EACH. With no discount if you subscribe to both. Puh-leeze. A SIXTY PERCENT INCREASE???

Keep in mind that their current streaming catalog has a very limited scope. In fact, less than it did when they first began streaming. It's mostly very old movies, very bad movies, and old television shows. It's not a bad selection if you're paying a couple of bucks a month for it, but it's certainly not worth $7.98. Not to me, at least.

As for paying $7.98 for the 3 or 4 DVD's I rent each month, I can pick those up at Redbox for $1 a night. Half what I'd be paying at the upcoming Netflix rates.

And now I will climb off my soapbox, take meds, and go try to sleep off a migraine. Hope the weekend is beginning on a happier note for all of you than it is for me!!

So, I'll wait until mid-August to see if they come to their senses and offer a better deal. If not, I'm pulling the plug. One of the reports I read online regarding the anger of current Netflix subscribers quoted a Netflix spokesman saying that the increase is only "a latte or two". Maybe so, but the $9.99 I'm currently spending for Netflix ($119.88 per year) will soon be spent for some other indulgence. But not a latte or two. I like my coffee plain and black and made at home, thank you very much.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Heat and Humidity Make Me Tired

Two weeks since my last blog entry....where is this summer GOING??? It's hot and humid in my little corner of the world. A bit miserable, to tell the truth. I've worked in air conditioned offices for so much of my life that I've lost any ability I ever had to withstand temperatures in the 90's. With heat indexes over 100. "I'm melting, I'm melting!"

So, since the last time I checked in with you, what have I been up to? The usual workweek, of course. Frustrating, but necessary because I've become accustomed to regular meals and a roof over my head. But after work is MY time. I've been spending some of my time knitting a retirement gift for a friend (see my knitting blog for more about that...the link is on the right side of this page). My latest Netflix disk was "Black Swan", which I really liked. It was definitely different!

Last Saturday I had lunch with a friend from high school days...such fun! We'd reconnected on Facebook and hadn't seen each other since our 20th high school reunion, which was TWENTY YEARS AGO. I still can't believe it's been 40 years since I graduated from high school. We had a lovely time, catching up on what's been going on in our lives over all those years. She was a bright, vivacious girl in high school, always fun to be around. I'm happy to say that she hasn't changed at all. We promised each other that we wouldn't wait another 20 years to get together again.

After our lunch, I stopped by Hobby Lobby to check out their supply of yarn. I already have plenty of yarn, mind you, but there's no such thing as too much yarn. I was terribly disappointed to find that their yarn stock was down to about half of what it was the last time I was there. I guess not everyone is quite as obsessed as I am about sticks and string! Their depleted stock didn't keep me from spending some money, though. I managed to find some sock yarn and a bit of baby yarn I needed for a toy I wanted to knit for my great-niece, Emmie.

On the way home I stopped by the hospital to visit my 100-year-old great aunt. Happily, she'd just been notified that she was being released to go home. She'd been hospitalized for a couple of days for diverticulitis. Like most of us, she doesn't particularly enjoy hospital stays and was really looking forward to getting home! She's an amazing lady, and I'm always glad to get to spend a little time with her.

And that just about catches you up on the goings on in my little world. Have a great week, everyone!