Monday, September 17, 2007

Dogs and Squirrel

Sunday the dogs caught a squirrel in the backyard. Charlotte raced out to save the squirrel and yelled at me to come help. I went out and pulled Astro off of the squirrel and was holding him in my arms while Charlotte held Cosmo off of the squirrel. When I looked for where the squirrel ended up, it was climbing up my leg (I had on blue jeans). Eee Gad. Who'd a thought a little old squirrel would give me such a fright. I had to put Astro down so Charlotte could hold him and I could get the squirrel off of me! While I was passing Astro over to Charlotte, the squirrel climbed up to my stomach. After Charlotte got Astro, I flicked the squirrel off of my tummy with my hands. It flew a few feet from me and landed on the ground and headed to the fence and climbed up the fence and got away. It was a young squirrel according to Charlotte and very stunned and frightened. Both Astro and Cosmo had got the squirrel in their mouths according to Charlotte but thankfully there was no blood on either the squirrel or the dogs. We took the dogs inside and blocked their backyard doggy door. They were besides themselves with excitement for the next 30 minutes or so wanting to go back outside. We didn't let them back outside until they had calmed down a little and we were sure there were no squirrels on the ground.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Another Silly Quiz




Your Life is 46% Off Track



Right now, you're taking things one day at a time.

Some things are going well, but you can't help but wonder if you're getting the most out of life.

It's time for you to slow down and reflect a little. You can change your life - but it's up to you!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Root Canal and Antibiotics

The story of my life the last week ... the affects of a root canal and antibiotics. I had a root canal started on Wednesday last week. Part I of the root canal lasted one hour. It was too complex to finish in one sitting so part II was scheduled for Saturday morning. I was sent off with a prescription for Motrin for the pain and an antibiotic to keep infection away. I was grateful for the Motrin. After the Novocaine wore off, there was pain. The Motrin took 10 minutes or so to kick in but worked like a charm once it did kill the pain.

Part II on Saturday was a long 1.5 hour session in the dentist chair. The dentist asked her assistants to take x-rays so she could be sure not to go past the end of my root canal. Well the assistants took about 7 x-rays before they found the right view for the dentist to see where my root ended. Sigh. I was exhausted and glad when it finally ended. I had more pain after the Novocaine wore off yet again. BUT within a day the pain went away and I was able to stop popping Motrin capsules. Hurray! Finally no pain in that tooth. Ever since the dentist drilled the tooth and put a crown on it the tooth it has been hurting.

The antibiotics have been a pain in the butt and the gut. Those nasty little things did keep any infection at bay but they also destroyed all those valuable bacteria in my innards that keep my digestion going well. I have been suffering from the runs from the day I started the antibiotics. UGH! I don't wish this on anyone. Thank goodness that I only have one left to take and then I'm done. Hopefully my good old bod will then let those good bacteria back into my system and my digestion will go back to normal.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Brown Rice, Brocoli, Carrots, Walnuts, Raisons ... oh my!

C. kindly made me a yummy lunch today that I am munching on right now. The title describes it. I'm drinking a new Crystal Geyser juice squeeze flavor called Pomegranate Lemonade. It is tasty.

The new job is going well. I have been doing lots of reading about satellites and the particular satellite software I will be working on. At the end of today I hit my 2 week mark at Space Systems / Loral. I got my first pay check for last week today. They conveniently have a Wells Fargo bank machine in the main lobby of SS/L so I was able to deposit the check here at work. In the future direct deposit will kick in and I won't have to worry about depositing my check in the bank.

Besides new work the other thing that has been going on lately is visiting the dentist. I got a temporary crown on my tooth about a week and a half ago. The tooth was painful so this past Wednesday I went in to have it looked at. The dentist put a different type of temporary crown on the tooth (acrylic instead of metallic). If the pain doesn't go away in a few days, it looks like that tooth is destined for a root canal. Ug. If so ... it will be my first root canal. So far the pain has not gone away and this is day two. I'm supposed to get the permanent crown on the tooth on Monday but it is looking like I may get a root canal that day instead. I have been popping Advil the past week and a half when the tooth gets painful and happily about 15 mintues after a couple of Advil, the pain is gone. Advil is my friend.

I took my first ever Yoga class last Tuesday. The class is at the Mountain View California Yoga Center. I enjoyed the class (level 1 class) and like the instructor, Lisa, and will give the class another try next Tuesday. I decided to give Yoga a try as I want to be better connected to my body, become more flexible, and learn to deal better with stress. Yoga seemed to be a perfect choice to help me with these things.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Wen tagged me - Fivers

OK ... Wen tagged me to give this a shot ... I'm game.

1. Five favorite days of the year

  1. Christmas
  2. Thanksgiving
  3. My birthday
  4. Labor day - because that usually means a camping trip!
  5. Memorial day - again sometimes means a camping trip!



2. Five things you watched this week


  1. The Soprano's season 3 on DVD
  2. Export Control training (truly boring)
  3. The Yoga instructor, Lisa, at California Yoga in Mtn. View
  4. The latest Harry Potter movie
  5. DVD about ants and termites (more interesting than it sounds)

3. Five things you don't want to do, but should


  1. Eat more fruits and vegetables
  2. Desist eating McDonalds french fries
  3. Revaluate my investment choices in my 401K
  4. Read preliminary design documents
  5. Get my toe fungus checked out by a doctor



4. Five things you want to learn


  1. JAVA
  2. Yoga
  3. How to play the piano
  4. How satellites work
  5. How to put the brakes on while going backwards on roller blades



5. Five animals you've had as pets or who have impacted you


  1. Georgie Girl and Timothy, two family cats we had while growing up in Columbus, OH
  2. Barney, my first pet I was responsible for, sadly I did a less than perfect job and Barney escaped, got in the furnace duct some how and died.
  3. Sappho & Sascha, two python snakes that my partner had when I met her.
  4. Kalamozoo, and Punzel, my brother's cats that I loved to visit and cuddle with
  5. Cosmo & Astro, our dogs that impact our lives everyday



6. Five favorite pieces of clothing


  1. Aslo Hiking boots
  2. New 40-50 SPF sunproof long sleeve shirts
  3. Stanford Blood bank t-shirt
  4. Brown shorts with lots of pockets
  5. Blue REI fleece vest

7. Five things you enjoy in the summer


  1. the longer amounts of day light
  2. warm sunny weather
  3. vacations
  4. hiking
  5. camping

8. Five foods you don't like


  1. beans
  2. jalepeno peppers
  3. humus
  4. mushrooms
  5. lentils

9. You are given $50,000 to pass out to 5 people in $10,000 cash gifts. Who do you give it to, and why

  1. Charlotte, my sweetie, so she can increase her cash reserves.
  2. David, my brother, so he and his wife can decrease their debt or start saving for my nephews' education
  3. Bob, my brother, to help cover the cost of my nieces' education
  4. Cecily, my sister, to help cover the cost of my nieces' education
  5. My parents, just to thank them for all the financial support they have given me over my life.
10. Five things that are not where they belong
  1. The key to my safety deposit box
  2. My passport
  3. At the moment my eye glasses (they are not on my face)
  4. A stack of papers on my desk at home
  5. Perhaps my dog, Cosmo (he has a knack at going where he does not belong
Five, Ten or Fifteen People you want to complete this:

  1. no one
  2. no one
  3. no one
  4. no one
  5. no one

Friday, June 22, 2007

I got a job!

Hurray! I got a job. Space Systems Loral offered me a job this week and I accepted. I start on July 16th. My current job ends on June 29th. So I have a blissful two weeks off with no major worries. I need a vacation so this is great.

C. and I will visit Kings Canyon National Park the weekend after my NGC job ends. After we get back we are toying with the idea of a road trip up the northern California coast with the dogs. We haven't done a major trip with the dogs yet but I think it will be fun and educational. We may rent a car big enough to put the dog's kennels in so they can be safe and have more room than the tiny kennels we have in the Prius.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Month of Interviews

This has been the month of interviews. I had 5 last week. One on Wednesday with Lockheed Martin. One on Wednesday with BAE. One on Thursday with Quark. Three on Friday with Lockheed Martin. Quark is pursuing other candidates or in other words Quark is not interested in me. I don't want the job at BAE and I think the chances are slim they would offer it to me. I was just not a good match for the job. I'm still waiting to hear from Lockheed Martin. I felt good about three of the Lockheed interviews and luke warm about one.

I am also still waiting to here from Loral Space Systems since my interview with them on May 16th. I would really like to work there but the longer I don't hear the more I feel like they won't be making a job offer.

I am very tired of interviewing and job searching. I just fervently hope each day to get a job offer. I worry more and more when I don't get any offers. Sigh.

The diet I had hoped to be in the midst of has rather plateaued. I seem to be hovering around 180 lbs. Oh well at least I'm not 186 anymore. I'm hoping once I get a new job lined up I'll have more time and motivation to do the "diet" right (eat healthy, exercise more, no more I feel bummed junk food snacks).

The camping trip to Kings Canyon in July will be a nice break even though I am the campout leader for Loma Prieta GLS. It will be nice to be out in nature with C., get a break from work, and get a break from the dogs.

Monday, May 07, 2007

So the diet begins ...

TODAY.

I am keeping track of my weight lose, exercise, eating habits, etc. using fitday.com. For those curious about checking out my progress day to day I'm keeping a journal at fitday.com. So I'm starting at 185.5 lbs and shooting for 150 lbs on Sept. 9th. Possibly the one thing I like about dieting once I get started is keeping logs and records.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Just blathering

I got a replacement cell phone. No more chew marks on my little Cingular Samsung phone.

I weighed myself and I'm nearly as heavy as I have ever been at 183 lbs. I think I got up to 186 five years ago. This is motivating me a little to be healthier. I had a healthy salad for lunch yesterday and a veggie sub for dinner with fizzy water. However I lacked getting exercise yesterday. Today I had a good lunch and breakfast but gave into a yummy mocha on the way to work. I did take the dogs on a 30 minute walk so got a little bit of exercise.

Job searching carries on. I had a phone interview yesterday with Apple that I believe will lead to a face-to-face interview. I have another phone interview today at 4 p.m. with Mellanox Technologies. And I have a third phone interview on Monday at 8:30 a.m. with another group at Apple. A SWE friend of mine is pushing my resume to hiring managers at Loral in Palo Alto.

At work I am having to work the 2nd shift which I just don't like very much. I am working from noon to 10 p.m. M-F. I miss my evenings with C. We do get mornings now but it just doesn't feel the same as the evenings. Two people at work have recently found jobs. I'm so envious!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

One Year Gap

Oh my ... it has been over a year since I got to my poor blog, Cathy's LOGS.

Updates ...

  • The household has grown from 2 to 4 as of Feb 2006. 2 furry friends have joined us, Astro and Cosmo, extraordinary basenji dogs! Astro and Cosmo are nearly 1 year and 4 months old now.
  • Work is closing down the SJ facility and moving the work to Illinois. As a result, I'm out of a job as of June 29th. If you ask me how I am, I'm likely to bore you with intense details of how much I hate job searching.
  • Consumer Report -- We got a brand new 2007 sage (green) colored Toyota Prius in October and a big old King Sized bed in February. Both items are quite luxerious. I am enjoying being able to drive in the car pool lane.
  • I have cut down my hiking from once a week to maybe once a month. Instead I do more dog walking, working, or movie watching. I want to get back to hiking but need to decide what to do with the dogs (take them with us on the hike, put them in the pet hotel, find a pet sitter, etc. etc.).
  • C. has added another volunteer job to her list. She now volunteers at Sally Leibers office once a week for an hour or two. She also spends lots of time at the dog park with Astro and Cosmo much to their delight.
  • My weight is 178 lbs. I want to get back in better physical condition and lose 30+ lbs at a nice slow rate. However ... I seem to be having difficulty find the motivation to do this. I continue to hover around the high 170s. Oh well.

I just put money in the soda machine looking forward to a Mountain Dew and instead a diet iced green tea came out. This is a decided dissappointment when you are looking for a Mtn. Dew.

Cosmo chewed up my cell phone last night. It fell out of my pocket on the couch unbeknownst to me and he found it later and had a chewfest. The front little screen with a nice clock time was punctured but the inside screen still works and the phone works. It just has loads of teeth marks on it. We got insurance on our phones with just this kind of event in mind. Perhaps I swing by the cell phone store after work and see if they can replace it with a new one.