Averygoodun's Personal File

Which means I have tons of stuff to do.

Homework, cooking, cleaning... And somewhere in there, I need to find time to nap. Been shorting myself on sleep this week, and I would rather not waste the weekend catching up like I did last weekend.

Question is, do I try for the nap first, or at some vague point in the future?

Decisions, decisions...

( Houseplant babble )

And for you math/science whizzes out there, is there a formula for calculating the acceleration of a heating process? And if so, how much data would one need to use it? And would you need the temperature of the heat applied or just data points?

I ask because I would like to figure out how long it takes for 70 degree cream to come up to 100 degrees from the heat of a 40 watt bulb. I know it takes longer to warm it up the first fifteen degrees than the second, and that heating is a self-propagating process, but I'm also sure there's a way to calculate a reasonable estimate of the rate it does accelerate.

*shrugs* Yes, this is more idle curiosity than anything.

Anyway, I'm gonna go make my second cup of tea and start my day. Homework will be first, I think. That way, when I tire myself out doing the cleaning, I can read for pleasure without any guilt!

Cheers!

First, go look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day (it's actually a timelapse video): http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/


Nothing undercuts a guided relaxation gig like remembering near the end that you have an appointment in two minutes and you don't have the car. On the plus side, as I was calling Geoff for the car, I looked at the calendar and found the appointment (my placement test) is tomorrow, not today. Phew. (Downside, of course, is that all the relaxation was erased in that moment of realization. Plus side: I wasn't panicked.)


Geoff's sick. He's at work, but he's developing a chest thing which I really hope won't be bronchitis. He's prone to it. He hasn't had it in... gosh, ten years, but before that, it was a horrible yearly occurrence. (Maybe I'm good for something after all! ;-) No coughing yet, so hopefully it'll peter out, but... :-(


The robins have come back. Can hear them chirping away, even though it is bitter out. Beautiful, with the sun shining and bright, blue skies, but the wind feels arctic. And, of course, it is constantly breezy.


Made some Chinese chicken stock yesterday, and boy did it smell good. I still need to strain it, but seeing as there isn't all the detritus of western stock, it should be a small task.


I need to dust. Fortunately, there aren't any vampires around to dust, thereby creating more dust. Small consolation, though. (Season 4 Buffy is the best yet. God, it's good to laugh!)


Last day of algebra and math study, and then I can switch to writing and painting. I'm looking forward to doing both.


ETA: Oh, and this is going to sound very odd, but god, I love the smell of kimchi in the morning. I am so happy to have some in the house again!

Heeeeeeeeeeeeen!

( Video beneath the cut )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM

( Today )

And have I mentioned lately how Spring is nearly here? I've told Page that we'll be walking to school again starting next week. All but one pile of south-facing ice is gone from the sidewalks, and that pile should be gone after this weekend of 50+F weather!

Now is the time to really get my garden plan in gear and price out everything we're going to need to get it looking good. I'm actually really excited about this growing season. It'll be expensive and loads of hard work, but it will make this place so much more my home, as well as improve the neighborhood. And as long as front-end loaders and men with big stompy boots stay off my ferns and heucheras, I will be happy.

Now I'm off to look at pictures of carefully planned hills and dales. La!

(I say as if I haven't already taken the last few days off...)

A number of things have brought me down, and I woke up this morning knowing that I need to make yogurt, I need to go to church and I need to do laundry, preferably all in that order.

However, I also knew that I am not going to do any of those tasks. I am tired. Mentally, physically and emotionally. Wrung out. I don't have much good reason to be (nothing extraordinary, anyway), but I am, and I better respect that if I don't want to plunge into a depression which will cut the legs I've finally developed out from under me. (I asked Geoff last night if he thought I was getting depressed - him being a depressive as well, he knows the signs - and he's as unsure as I am, what with all the viruses and tragedies going around. I have started taking vitamin D again, just in case it is depression.)

I might work on my algebra today, as it's a matter of pride, but I will work on it more intelligently so as to avoid the frustration that's been growing every day; i.e. I will look to learn the lessons presented in the course elsewhere, because the professor of the course I'm taking can't teach this course worth shit. I've already explored the internet for the current frustration and found a perfectly diagrammed explanation that cleared up all of the issues I was having with that specific process. So ner.

*gives finger to course instructor*
*but realizes I'm getting what I'm paying for*


On the bright side, I managed to make a pair of pants for Page to wear to karate yesterday morning (that is, the lesson and the construction all took place yesterday morning), and he enjoyed his lesson. Whatever bug he had on Friday, he is fully recovered from it, as he's been literally bouncing around and throwing his arms around me with enthusiastic "I love you!"s since Friday afternoon. And he's been unusually compliant, actually doing things we ask of him without waging a huge battle about it. And helping without being asked. Most unusual, but lovely.

Geoff and I also ordered our glasses yesterday. Ouch. But I think it'll be well worth it. I found an eye prescription from 2006, and it seems my vision has got a full point worse in the last five years (going from +1.75 - +2.75 in one eye, the other eye having comparable deterioration). So, yeah, no wonder I've been tired lately. I've been putting all my limited energy into seeing.

The frames I ended up getting are not any of the ones I listed, amusingly. When we were trying on glasses, I veered into the (unmarked) children's section and lo and behold, yes, there, that one, yes, the full rimmed, dark copper one, suited my face far better than the half-rimmed light copper lovely I liked before. (Of course it was more expensive, as well... grr.) But I'm now looking forward to getting them back and being able to see properly again.


And to wrap up, I'll do yesterday's (appropriate for today) sin:

( Sloth )