Polgara.net: The Official Website

I’ve been terribly swamped at work. In addition to the project from hell, last week my colleagues and I stayed until 1am trying to get another project uploaded to meet the unnecessary demands of our client department, and I think I’ve been mentally trying to recover from that all week. Having to bring work home over the weekend certainly didn’t help either.

Technically it’s not all that bad. Crunches this tough happen rarely in my job, probably only once or twice a year, but when they do happen, it drains me something fierce. And yet, I find myself focused in a way that’s hard to obtain under less immediate deadlines. So yes, it has its plusses and minuses.

The problem this time, though, is that the project from hell was really from hell, my own personal version. I’m not a designer, I don’t want to be a designer, so giving me 22-27 hours worth of image manipulation is going to make me a very bitter and resentful person. Unfortunately under these circumstances, I procrastinate like a champion, a huge failing of mine and one which I can’t seem to correct – if I hate it enough, you’ll have to hold a gun to my head to make me do it. In this case, the gun was a looming deadline that (I thought) needed to be met. And yo, I met it. I pride myself on meeting deadlines, even if I have to turn somersaults and work all weekend to do it.

But to find out that I did it all wrong? 27 hours worth of wrong? Gah. I’m feeling broken, and not a little angry, both at myself and at…others.

September 14th has my permission to end now. I’m ready for Wednesday.

I’m feeling very dissatisfied today, but I’m not sure why. I know part of me is frustrated with the new game we’re doing – I’m stuck on the second level, and a bug is keeping me from advancing. Grrrrrr. Also, I hate the project I’m working on right now, and it makes me dread coming into work, which I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m hoping to get the bulk of it done next week while everyone’s on vacation.

In other, less depressing news, on Wednesday I got an email inviting me to audition for Jeopardy. How cool! I’d filled out their online form just last week on a whim, thinking I’d never actually hear anything, but voila! I now have an appointment in just two and a half weeks. I doubt I’ll make it past the 50 question test, but at least it’ll be a fun story, and an excuse to leave work early. I just hope I don’t fail too miserably. Too bad there’s no way to study for a trivia test.

Moving on to yarn, I started a new scarf last night, for a Christmas present, and I’m wondering if I’m wasting my yarn. It’s a beautiful grayish blue wool/alpaca blend, so soft and perfect, and of course, discontinued by the manufacturer. I’m wondering if I’m wasting it on a scarf — maybe I should make my first sweater with it? But then I run the risk of not having enough of it, and not being able to restock. It’s silly, I know, but I just love this yarn, it’s been my favorite since I used it to make my mom’s blanket for her birthday. Were I to win the lottery tomorrow, I’d buy up all the bags that are currently selling on Ebay, in every color. And in that vein, if you happen to run into any Cascade Lana D’Oro yarn in your travels, do me a favor and pick some up for me? Thanks ever so. 😀

My other obsession this week, outside of yarn and the Buffy Xbox game, is the soundtrack to Avenue Q, the Broadway musical that won three Tonys this year. It’s hysterical and I highly recommend it. (Unless you find a song title like “The Internet is for Porn” offensive, in which case, you might want to avoid it instead.) I had to take it out of the car cd player this morning, though – the songs are invading my dreams (along with the Buffy game, which is a very odd mix), and my daily thoughts, so it’s time for a good mental scrubbing before going back. But don’t let that stop you, it’s well worth the ten bucks at iTunes for lyrics like, “The more you love someone, the more you want to kill him” and, “Is there anyone here it doesn’t suck to be?”

New month, new season (well, later this month, anyway), new calendar (I’ve really gotta stop using these student planner calendars that end in August).

Lately my time has been spent knitting (no surprise there), and kravving, and kickboxing, and…..playing with my new Xbox! Yep, got one for my birthday, thanks muchly to my mom and sis! And thanks to Todd, my new obsession is the Buffy game (but of course). I even stayed late at work yesterday reading a cheat sheet on Buffy’s fighting capabilities, which is good, ’cause until then I didn’t realize that holding down the right trigger would enable Buffy to block an attack. D’oh! I just need to not play anymore within two hours of going to bed, otherwise I have the weirdest dreams.

This morning I got to try my hand (voice, actually) at acting. We’re putting together a nifty flash game to go with a new exhibition opening soon, and I provide the voice for the character of Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. Apparently my haughty superiority was exactly what they were looking for. *snerk* Now I can’t wait to see the final project, and link y’all to it so you can mock at will. I’ll keep you updated, it should be live in a couple of weeks.

Iowa. Well, ok, not this whole time, but this past weekend that’s where I was, for the wedding of two friends. They have a lot of food in Iowa, did you know that? Betcha didn’t. And they put a lot of it on sticks. Pork chop on a stick was my favorite. I’ll have pictures up soon to help illustrate the concept. Visiting Iowa has brought my visited-states count up to 24, and I’m eager to cross the 50% mark, but unfortunately all the states within easy driving distance of me have already been visited, so I’m thinking it’ll be awhile before I get to 26.

In other news, last Saturday (8/21) was the fourth anniversary of the day I arrived in Los Angeles for the purpose of making a living. So far, so good. I’ve also renewed my krav membership. As of now, it’s a pay per month membership, which means I’d better stop spending so much money on yarn, or I’ll be shifting my diet to all Ramen noodles, all the time, and nobody wants that.

Tomorrow is my 35th birthday. Woo. The older I get, the less excited I am about my birthday, which makes me sad, but trying to force it makes me sadder, so I’m just going with it this year – no big parties, no gathering of the masses to adore me, I’m pretty much just gonna wing it. I took the day off from work, and I’m thinking of spending the day at the movies, if only I can find some that I’m interested in seeing. Or maybe I’ll stay in, watch dvds, and knit all day. Eh, I’ll decide when I wake up, preferrably very very late (*fingers crossed*).

An except from an editorial in last Sunday’s Boston Globe:
Imagine if supporters of Bill Clinton had tried in 1996 to besmirch the military record of his opponent, Bob Dole. After all, Dole was given a Purple Heart for a leg scratch probably caused, according to one biographer, when a hand grenade thrown by one of his own men bounced off a tree. And while the serious injuries Dole sustained later surely came from German fire, did the episode demonstrate heroism on Dole’s part or a reckless move that ended up killing his radioman and endangering the sergeant who dragged Dole off the field?

The truth, according to many accounts, is that Dole fought with exceptional bravery and deserves the nation’s gratitude. No one in 1996 questioned that record. Any such attack on behalf of Clinton, an admitted Vietnam draft dodger, would have been preposterous.

Amen.