just an ordinary goddess…

…at least, that’s what I hope to get when all is said and done.

I have an Epson CX5400 which hasn’t worked in about three years. Mind you, it should work: the ink is new, the heads move back and forth, all of the mechanics seem just fine. It just refuses to print words upon paper.

I’m loathe to just toss it. I’m positive that it’s an easy fix. There does seem to be a way to fix it myself (taking it in for repair would most likely cost more than I paid for it in 2004), but I’m not about to take it apart. I have neither the mechanical know-how nor the patience. But I have ordered a head cleaning kit which may do the trick. If it does, yay! I’ll hand it off to someone who can use it, since I have a new Lexmark x4850, which I got for an excellent price and which works wonderfully. The kit only cost me $9.95 plus S&H. If not, well, then I’ve only sunk in $9.95 plus S&H and will be finally willing to take it to my local electrical waste site, where it will join the old CRT monitors and desktops (minus the hard drives I’ve removed) that I got rid of a couple of weeks ago.

*crosses fingers*

Well, my participation in Holidailies didn’t last long, did it? Obviously I just can’t get myself to writing these days, so I’ll just move along to the main point of this entry: Christmas and CuteFilmNerd’s unbelievable generosity.

CuteFilmNerd and I went up to Fresno to visit my mom, my sister and her family. This time around we opted to stay at a motel, since last year we had to sleep separately when we stayed at my sister’s place. In the main rooms. With children and dogs traipsing through early in the morning, which isn’t conducive to sleeping. It made it a much more relaxed visit for me and, I think, for CuteFilmNerd. And, even though CuteFilmNerd isn’t big into holidays, he appreciated being around my family for the second Christmas in a row. It was very sweet.

I thought I was doing pretty good with the Christmas present getting (got him a number of things that he’d been talking about for awhile, including a film splicer used at MGM decades ago, which he had been looking at on eBay over the previous months), but CuteFilmNerd went a little crazy with the presents for me. I’m still stunned.

And the pièce de résistance:

What a sweet, wonderful man. How did I manage to luck out with this guy?

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Now I’m taking the rest of the week off to get things done around the apartment (we were working only two days anyway). I haven’t been around much this past week, what with work and shopping and parties and travel, so the cats have been really missing me. Right now I’m surrounded by cats on the sofa. I’m going to be around so much this week that by the end of the week these cats are going to be ignoring me.

So, the last few days have been chock full of interesting things. The least of these was the acquisition of a new phone: Google myTouch 3G. My last phone (Nokia 6133) had been bugging the crap outta me – my first one died in March after less than two years and the replacement was getting buggy. I was surprised because my previous phone was a Nokia 3220, which I got free when I signed up with T-Mobile in 2005 – it was a sturdy little phone that I only replaced in 2007 because I wanted something a little fancier and I’d dropped it a billion times on hard pavement and cement and the reception was finally starting to get spotty. Its replacement was seriously disappointing.

Both CuteFilmNerd and I picked up the myTouch on Satuday. While it’s not perfect, I’ve been thrilled with it so far, while CuteFilmNerd has been a little more frustrated. But, while he loves his toys, he’s less of a tech geek than I am. Once he’s got it all down, I think he’ll be very pleased with his selection.

Here’s my new baby, with all of the accessories that came with it (the only accessory that I purchased was the acrylic case – it even came with a 4GB mini-SD card):

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On Friday, I attended American Cinematheque’s special event The American Cinematheque Blows Up the Internet: Webisodes on the Big Screen, thanks to the auspices of CuteFilmNerd, who was volunteering to photograph and write up the event only because I desperately wanted to go. And why did I want to go so badly? Because they were projecting the second season of The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. And Joss Whedon and Felcia Day were schedule to participate in a Q&A session. It turns out that they weren’t the only participants: Joss’s brothers Zach and Jed, Maurissa Tancharoen (co-writers on Dr. Horrible) and Vincent Caso, Sandeep Parikh and director Sean Becker (all from The Guild) also sat up on the stage. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I was a bit of a wuss, so I didn’t pose for any photos with anyone (not to mention the place was packed with geeks far more aggressive than me). All wasn’t in vain, however:

While Joss Whedon was a bit reserved (which is fine – I understand how geek fangirls and fanboys can be sometimes), Felicia Day was such a sweetie. I introduced myself and said hi and as she shook my hand, someone she knew swooped down on her and commandeered attention. I had turned around to leave and suddenly she was right next to me, asking if she had said hi to me. I pulled out my Dr. Horrible DVD, feeling kind of awkward because I very rarely ask for autographs, and she just signed away, then shook my hand before going into the theater. Very sweet.

It was great seeing it on the big screen. And while things didn’t go quite the way I might have liked – at least according to the absurdly high hopes I held – it was still a fun evening. I’m very happy CuteFilmNerd got me into the event and volunteered just because I wanted to go. Turns out he enjoyed the events of the evening too.

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Last night CuteFilmNerd got me into another event that he was working: the 100th birthday celebration of Carla Laemmle. Carla is the niece of Carl Laemmle (the founder of Universal Studios) and uttered the first lines in Dracula (1931). It was a lovely evening and I was fortunate enough to meet a woman who is still beautiful and gracious and whom I hope to emulate when I’m even half her age:

I relayed birthday wishes from Eric that he had tweeted to me. Her response: “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

The true definition of a class act.

However, a very unexpected plus for me was meeting Ray Bradbury. In 1985, when I lived in a Northridge apartment, I saw him speak at Cal State Northridge and was very impressed, then again this year at the Forrest J. Ackerman tribute. I’ve enjoyed his work over the years, though I’ve, by no means, have come close to reading a large percentage of his work.

I had noticed him during the after-event reception, when he was on his way out but still posing for photos with various people. Not wanting to be obnoxious, I stood off to the side and took some surreptitious photos:

Then, as he were definitely leaving, his assistant noticed me off to the side, saw the camera in my hand and asked if I wanted a photo. Not surprisingly, I leapt at the opportunity. While not saying much, he was very sweet and took my hand after the photo.

All in all, quite a fun, geeky few days, all shared with my handsome film nerd:

I wouldn’t mind having more days like that.

Back in December, a bunch of things were stolen from CuteFilmNerd’s car. I didn’t mention it in my entry, but one of the things that was stolen was my messenger bag with my digital camera in it. While it wasn’t the most technologically advanced camera, it took nice enough photos and I’ve been missing it ever since, forced to use my crappy camera phone if something visual tickled my fancy.

The beginning of July marked the birthday of The Awesome Michelle, who received an awesome camera from her awesome husband.

(There’s a lot of awesome going on on West (By G-d) Virginia. Who knew?)

Michelle realized that four digital cameras were two too many, so she offered the UCF folks two cameras to a good home. Timorously I raised my hand and thusly I was rewarded with a camera. Yay!

So last Friday I was home – it was one of my Fridays off – and I was puttering around my very hot apartment, trying to get some household chores done without incurring heat stroke. I heard the doorbell ring, but I was in my bedroom in the back, with hands full of stuff. Plus I never like to answer the door when I’m not expecting someone to come over. So I didn’t answer the doorbell.

About five minutes later I went to the front door and opened it, then looked downward to see a box sitting on the doormat.

“Wha-?” my mind said. Packages are rarely received because UPS and FedEx can’t get in unless someone is home and willing to answer the gate buzzer, which rings through to my roommate’s landline. His phone didn’t ring, so I was unaware of package delivery.

I picked it up, hoping there was no ticking or buzzing (because aren’t the only people who send packages through the USPS Unibomber types [says the woman who recently shipped something on CuteFilmNerd's behalf via USPS]), then I looked at the return address. It was from West (by G-d) Virginia! WooHoo!

And here’s what I found upon opening the box (sorry – these photos were taken with my camera phone – I haven’t figured out how to take a picture of a camera with the camera I’m taking a picture of):

On Friday I played around with it a little, but didn’t really take photos. I had too much to get done. Saturday, on the other hand, I was a photo-taking maniac:

Handsome CuteFilmNerd enjoying a basil lemonade at Cafe Flourish.

A yummy vegan reuben sandwich from Cafe Flourish. Some say it’s the best vegan reuben sandwich in Los Angeles. It’s CuteFilmNerd’s favorite sandwich. I think it’s good, but not phenomenal – the avocado competes too much with the thousand island dressing and the texture of the tempeh doesn’t quite work for me. However, the accompanying quinoa tabbouleh is amazing – fantastically fresh ingredients that leap on your tongue and do a happy little flavor dance.

Vegan ice cream at Sccops near Los Angeles City College. The place is a bit of a hipster hangout, but the ice cream is fantastic, with interesting flavor combinations. Plus they always make four vegan flavors each day. Whether there will be any left when you get there is another matter.

And, of course, I took photos of the boys:

Matisse was pretty laid back about the whole thing.

Edison was a little tougher, but I finally got a good photo.

Unfortunately, BJ decided he wasn’t in the mood. The best I could get was this somewhat blurry photo. I’ll get him yet, though, I swear…

The new camera also has a panoramic option, as can be evidenced by my attempted panorama of my crowded bedroom.

And, of course, I had to test the video option on the camera, which, while not stunning (it’s not a camcorder, after all), was much better than my previous camera’s, as can be seen in these wholly uninteresting videos:

On the whole, I’d have to say this camera thing is a rousing success. A big thanks to The Awesome Michelle!

…and it’s soooo pretty! Came all charged up, ready to run, which was good, since I needed it for meetings on Saturday (which is when I picked it up). At the Coordinating Committee meeting I stroked it lovingly, in full view of everyone, and made MusicianMan sputter a laugh as I mouthed, “My preciousss…” The chair of SoCal Grassroots even made mention of my new acquisition, since I opened it and worked on it while at a meeting at his place earlier in the day.

Later that night, while at HSTeacher’s home, I loaded up some nice programs. The next day the two of us sat in his living room, quietly working on our respective laptops (his is a 15″ Apple Titanium PowerBook) much as another couple would read the newspaper on a Sunday morning. The extent of our collective geekiness made me laugh.

Next step in entering the 21st Century: getting high-speed intenet. Then a cell phone with Bluetooth (which may end up being a hand-held).

*sigh*

I have a nice little digital camera that ModelGirl gave to me a few years ago. I carry it in my purse, because I never know when I’m going to see something that I think is picture worthy. Like this:

(Good to know, Person-Who-Lives-In-My-Neighborhood. I’ll look you up if I’m ever in need of sadism or masochism.)

Or this:

(All hail the Three-Eyed Simpsons Fish!)

Or even when in San Diego for the recent California Democratic Convention, catching the oh-so-dreamy John Edwards winning delegate hearts all over the damned place:

Disclosure: I was heavily leaning towards Edwards before the convention, because I agreed with his positions and because, while in Washington, DC a couple of years ago, while sitting in John Conyers’ office with MusicianMan, Mimi Kennedy and one of Conyers’ top aides, the aide told us that Edwards was the one to watch, should he decide to run.

On the Sunday of the convention, I made sure I was in the main room for Edwards speech, because I was really interested in what he had to say. I had caught a few minutes of Hillary and Barack the day before and wasn’t all that impressed, although the electricity in the room with Obama was palpable. Somehow I ended up near the stage when Edwards came in the room. He started off on the opposite from me and just walked the aisles, shaking hands with everyone he could, and next thing I knew there he was in front of me. So I stuck my hand out and it got shook. And I tingled. Yea!

So I maneuvered myself and found myself sitting on the floor right at the velvet ropes and heard every word. When I wasn’t taking pictures, that it. His honesty and sincerity connected with the audience. Forget Obama. Forget Clinton. There was no substance to their speeches. There was plenty of substance in Edwards speech and I believed every word, which is amazing, considering I’m one of the most cynical mo-fos you’ll ever meet.

Edwards is the man.

That’s when I want it.

I’ve been waiting for it forever, or so it seems. It would have been mine two weeks ago, were it not for accidental holds on bank accounts and PayPal moving slower than slow. Not in time for the California Democratic Convention the last weekend of April, when it would have proven incredibly useful. Not in time for the Communications Committee meeting this past Saturday, where I’m still serving as Secretary because no one else will, even though I’m vice-chair now, in addition to being Tech Committee Chair and Endorsements Committee Secretary, because I seem to be more than a little bit masochistic. Communications between the main parties have been ongoing, making sure that progress is being made, but still.

I want it NOW.

Tuesday, tomorrow, it should be mine. Possibly Wednesday, depending on how slow UPS decides to be. Maybe I should have had it sent to my work address, but these things are tricky, receiving packages at a high-security workplace. I should know better than to work on government property.

Still, I’ve waited this long. Surely another couple of days won’t kill me.

Will they?

Before the weekend. I will have it before the weekend. In time for Saturday’s Coordinating Committee meeting.

I will, won’t I?

Soon I will have my lovely new (to me) 12.1 inch G4 iBook, with 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 30 GB drive, Airport Extreme and AppleCare.

Then, all will be right with the world.

Well, all except for wars and hunger and poverty and cruelty and…

Surely my iBook can solve those ills.

Only time will tell.

Or at least I bear a strong resemblance to one (or several):

http://www.myheritage.com

How weird is it that my first match (at 78%) is a guy? I just don’t know what to make of it.

How many JPL employees does it take to figure out how to use an IKEA can opener?

Five: one deputy program manager, one engineer, one administrator and two secretaries. For over twenty minutes. And it was one of the secretaries (not me) that found the hidden lever in the handle.

BTW, the can opener was brought by yours truly. Leave it to me to cause a ruckus in the work place.

Yesterday I went and done got myself a Holter monitor strapped to my chest:

Five lovely electrodes were taped to several strategic points, including under my breasts. It’s always kinda funny when electrodes have to be placed there, because the nurses – all female – are always a little hesitant, especially since I possess rather large breasts that tend flop a bit, what with them belonging to a plus-size 40 year old and all. I always just grab them and hoist them out of the way, which they appreciate (the nurses, not the breasts – I don’t think the breasts like to be hoisted much).

I wore the monitor until 11am today, whereupon it automatically switched off and was unstrapped. It looks so innocent, sitting there, all turned off:

But it’s not, because the tape that was used to keep the wires from moving and catching and dislocating the electrodes itched like a mo-fo. The itchiness got so bad last night that I had to take melatonin to fall asleep, even though I was exhausted.

And it wasn’t just that the itchiness nearly drove me out of my mind. The electrodes marked me for life:

Or at least for several hours afterwards. That mark was near my left clavicle.

I’m going back to the second clinic on Monday morning for a follow-up, but I did have a few episodes yesterday. Not bad ones, but there was definitely some dizziness and palpitations. One was on my way to the hospital, but the rest should have been caught by the monitor. However, unless something serious is found, I won’t hear the results for another couple of weeks.

I really hope I don’t hear from them for another couple of weeks.

…too bad I’m not excited about it.

Things have been going far too well in the World of Carol, so I’ve kinda been expecting the other shoe to drop any second. It seems like it just might have done so.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a clinic to have tests run on my heart and blood and the like. Everything tested normal, including my thyroid, so there should be nothing to worry about, right?

Not so much.

On Saturday there was a moment where I got into HSTeacher’s waterbed and laid down, suddenly short of breath with some pressure in the chestal area. It lasted for a few minutes, but HSTeacher was sleeping at the time and I didn’t want to wake him, and it went away. I started to think, however, that maybe I should go back to the doctor’s, especially as I had I’d recently read that symptoms of heart disease in women are different than those in men and almost every symptom listed has been experienced by me. The only one that I haven’t experienced were the cold sweats or clamminess, but I have had a few moments where I’ve been unusually cold. Then again, the weather has been cold as of late, so who knows.

Yesterday I had an episode of my usual symptoms: feeling a bit faint, heart palpitations, chest pressure, a little short of breath, inexplicably exhausted. I even experienced pain in my right arm, which was new for me. I was merely sitting down at the time, attending an impeachment town hall and not expending much energy. It subsided a bit, but the rest of the evening I felt off.

So this morning I went to another clinic in my network, one that is closer to home than the previous one and is actually on my way to work, so I could possibly get into work in the afternoon (which is where I am now). ECG, bloodwork, more fun tests, whee!

The upshot of the consultation? On Thursday I get to go to my local county hospital, which is affiliated with UCLA and, I believe, has a good cardiology department – I’m doing research on them now – and pick up a heart monitor. I don’t know yet how long I’ll have to wear it, but i hope it’s not too long – I’m not supposed to shower while wearing it. I don’t know about y’all, but I tend to get a little stinky if I go more than one day without showering.

And here is one example of the type of monitor I’ll be wearing:

Pretty, no?

Okay, no.

Still, it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that I may have to wear it strapped across my chest with a shoulder strap:

Yep, that’s how I’ll look with my lovely new electronics. Except I expect to be wearing clothes over the monitor. And to look less masculine. Most likely I’ll still have breasts.

I’ll go back to the clinic on Monday for a follow-up. Oh joy.

I know I’m a bit of a gadget geek, but this? This is one gadget I could definitely do without.

Okay, damnit, who dropped that damned shoe?