My job is still new and I haven't learned how to deal with everyone just yet. I've met so many people and I've been terribly exhausted.
I think there's one in my group I might have a problem with. She's somewhat passive aggressive. Maybe she feels insecure? Ugh. We've had some communication issues in the 2 months I've been there and I think she thinks I'm an idiot.
But what annoyed me this time is that I get a feeling of superiority from her. Today it bugged me, and I identified what it was: she called me kiddo.
I'm forty fucking five years old.
She uses her little terms of endearment with everyone, but she doesn't always use kiddo. Sometimes it's "honeybun." Sometimes it's Fred.
We were having a discussion and I had a wrong impression about how a process works. She got this amused look on her face, and explained things to me as if I didn't get it. Well, in a way I didn't, but in a way I did, I just saw it differently. The kiddo interjection really made me question her attitude during the conversation.
Eh, whatever. I will work despite.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Japanese Fabrics
Here is some of what I bought in Kyoto.
First is a sampling of Japanese linen fabric. Linen is very hot for Japanese designs and I haven't been able to find anything suitable in my local shops. (I would probably have better luck online.) The top print is a fun whimsical design in green and brown on beige/natural linen. The middle one is a small piece (like a fat quarter) of chocolate brown linen.
I have not sewed with linen before, so I didn't buy very much of each piece. There is a meter of the natural linen at the bottom. That should keep me busy for a while, working through my Zakka Sewing book.
I have not sewed with linen before, so I didn't buy very much of each piece. There is a meter of the natural linen at the bottom. That should keep me busy for a while, working through my Zakka Sewing book.
Above is a 2011 calendar printed on linen. I bought this "blind" - they had a small pail with a bunch of these calendars in it, all rolled up. I could not see the design but could tell there was a variety of styles and colors. I'm pleased with the gardening girl design. Very organic looking. I hope to post close ups of the designs in the center and on the corners; I tried taking some pictures, but they didn't turn out.
The calendar has all the holidays displayed in red! Oh wait. Holidays for Japan.
I plan to hem the edges and made a sleeve for a dowel for each end, then hang it up.
What is it about the Japanese and bunnies?
I personally don't like bunnies all that much - they're cute and all, but they don't do it for me like puppies and kitties. But these fabrics were exceedingly cute! The upper one is a slubby fabric with very Japanese style designs on it - a leaping rabbit, a mountain, a wave, a bit of clamshell pattern. I picked this out for the backing my Japanese fabric quilt/wall hanging (or whatever it turns out to be).
I personally don't like bunnies all that much - they're cute and all, but they don't do it for me like puppies and kitties. But these fabrics were exceedingly cute! The upper one is a slubby fabric with very Japanese style designs on it - a leaping rabbit, a mountain, a wave, a bit of clamshell pattern. I picked this out for the backing my Japanese fabric quilt/wall hanging (or whatever it turns out to be).
I have been collecting Japanese fabrics, particularly indigo dyed linen and sashiko on linen for a patchwork project. Now I have 2 meters of real Japanese fabric for the back!
The lower fabric was in the remnant bin and it was just so cute, I had to have it. I don't know what I ll do with it, and it's only a quarter of a meter across.
I bought several other items and will post pictures soon, once I get some good photos of them.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
And after a week
After a week back from our overseas trip, I'm almost back to normal. My sleep is almost normal, although I'm having some trouble falling asleep at night.
Stress from work is back - yay - maybe that has something to do with the sleep? Ya think?
Sheesh, I still haven't posted pictures of my beautiful Japanese fabrics. Bad blogger.
Speaking of blogging....
I never thought being a blogger would help me a work. But it does help, because my group has a Sharepoint website on the Intranet for the nurses related to our electronic medical record (EMR). I have volunteered to post the tip of the day and other helpful hints about our EMR system. Since Sharepoint is something like a blog and a file system, the learning curve has been gentle. My experience with reading blogs, writing posts and using web based editing/posting tools has helped.
Hm.
Stress from work is back - yay - maybe that has something to do with the sleep? Ya think?
Sheesh, I still haven't posted pictures of my beautiful Japanese fabrics. Bad blogger.
Speaking of blogging....
I never thought being a blogger would help me a work. But it does help, because my group has a Sharepoint website on the Intranet for the nurses related to our electronic medical record (EMR). I have volunteered to post the tip of the day and other helpful hints about our EMR system. Since Sharepoint is something like a blog and a file system, the learning curve has been gentle. My experience with reading blogs, writing posts and using web based editing/posting tools has helped.
Hm.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Lost in Translation
I am back from Japan.
It was another successful trip, but it wasn't as magical as the first one in 2008, I'm sad to admit.
First, we hit a very rainy two weeks, and we were not prepared for the cool rainy weather. I had tank tops, crop pants and skirts, and only one long sleeve shirt and one pair of long pants. I had a scarf (just-in-case) and I ended up having to wear it almost every day. We had to buy umbrellas and rain jackets, and I got frustrated being cold and wet all of the time. My sneakers and lower pant legs got soaked.
It rained on our day at Tokyo Disney Sea park. It rained on our day at Tokyo Disneyland. It rained on our travel day to Nikko. It rained in Nikko. It clouded up on our trip to Hakone. It rained all day on our day in Hakone, ruining any chance to see the spectacular views of Mt. Fuji from the Hakone sites. (Heck, on the ropeway in Hakone, we couldn't even see the ground from all the fog and mist.)
It was finally nice for our day in Kyoto, but then it clouded up on our trip back from Kyoto to Narita Airport in Tokyo.
No fair.
This time, we took the Intrepid Japan Basix trip. The destinations were more mainstream, more touristy, therefore less exotic. In fact, I didn't have to use a single squat toilet the whole time - I could have, but there was always a western style toilet available.
The exchange rate is pathetic for the US dollar (approx 83 yen per dollar), so it was an expensive trip.
Nevertheless, it was fun and I got to see some wonderful and very Japanese things. The guide for the Intrepid tour was really good.
I did not get to go to the onsen, which was a big disappointment. I got my "monthly" while on the trip (which was expected) but it came a bit early. The general consensus on the Internet was that it was tacky and kinda gross to use a public bath while menstruating, even if you use internal protection. Just to add insult to injury, my period rendered me achy and sore. At least there were private baths two of the ryokan where we stayed, and I took advantage of them - hopefully not too gross for anyone. Yes, internal protection and vigorous scrubbing before jumping in.
I didn't write a journal this time. Kinda wished I did, but I just didn't have the motivation.
Now, here I am at 4:30 am, suffering from jet lag, having awakened at 2:00 am. I feel disoriented and anxious, and I really want to watch the movie Lost in Translation, as it mirrors my feelings right now.
Note for a future post - I got to a sewing shop and bought some authentic Japanese fabric! I'm so excited!!!
It was another successful trip, but it wasn't as magical as the first one in 2008, I'm sad to admit.
First, we hit a very rainy two weeks, and we were not prepared for the cool rainy weather. I had tank tops, crop pants and skirts, and only one long sleeve shirt and one pair of long pants. I had a scarf (just-in-case) and I ended up having to wear it almost every day. We had to buy umbrellas and rain jackets, and I got frustrated being cold and wet all of the time. My sneakers and lower pant legs got soaked.
It rained on our day at Tokyo Disney Sea park. It rained on our day at Tokyo Disneyland. It rained on our travel day to Nikko. It rained in Nikko. It clouded up on our trip to Hakone. It rained all day on our day in Hakone, ruining any chance to see the spectacular views of Mt. Fuji from the Hakone sites. (Heck, on the ropeway in Hakone, we couldn't even see the ground from all the fog and mist.)
It was finally nice for our day in Kyoto, but then it clouded up on our trip back from Kyoto to Narita Airport in Tokyo.
No fair.
This time, we took the Intrepid Japan Basix trip. The destinations were more mainstream, more touristy, therefore less exotic. In fact, I didn't have to use a single squat toilet the whole time - I could have, but there was always a western style toilet available.
The exchange rate is pathetic for the US dollar (approx 83 yen per dollar), so it was an expensive trip.
Nevertheless, it was fun and I got to see some wonderful and very Japanese things. The guide for the Intrepid tour was really good.
I did not get to go to the onsen, which was a big disappointment. I got my "monthly" while on the trip (which was expected) but it came a bit early. The general consensus on the Internet was that it was tacky and kinda gross to use a public bath while menstruating, even if you use internal protection. Just to add insult to injury, my period rendered me achy and sore. At least there were private baths two of the ryokan where we stayed, and I took advantage of them - hopefully not too gross for anyone. Yes, internal protection and vigorous scrubbing before jumping in.
I didn't write a journal this time. Kinda wished I did, but I just didn't have the motivation.
Now, here I am at 4:30 am, suffering from jet lag, having awakened at 2:00 am. I feel disoriented and anxious, and I really want to watch the movie Lost in Translation, as it mirrors my feelings right now.
Note for a future post - I got to a sewing shop and bought some authentic Japanese fabric! I'm so excited!!!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Eagerly Anticipating the Onsen
In preparation for my trip to Japan, I did the dreaded bikini wax.
There is no way I'm going to an onsen in my birthday suit, looking like the missing link. So, it's t-minus-5 days till take off, time to do some grooming. It's bad enough that I'll be a giant in the onsen, a giant, blond American, but a hairy one would just be nasty.
Yes, of *course* I'm going to go! Onsens are relaxing and quintessentially Japanese. I travel internationally to step out of being American for a while, to leave the comfort zone and remind myself that there are many good ways to live in the world.
An onsen is a public bath, although the term translates to "hot spring." Often they are built on or near natural hot springs (it is a volcanic nation, remember), and you go there to soak in the tub. There is a specific etiquette to using an onsen, and it's not as gross as an American might think. You must bathe before you get in the shared tub. You bathe at these little shower stations (called sento) in full view of everyone, so there is social pressure to do a good job. You scrub yourself well from top to bottom and then rinse off. Now, you can go in the tub, which is something like a hot tub in the US.
Everyone's nude, but yes, they do separate the boys from the girls. Children end up with the women. In my limited experience, there aren't too many children.
The tub is hot, like, really hot. You can't soak for too long or you'll overheat. Some onsens have cold pools, you can heat up, then cool off, and repeat. It's quite a shock stepping into the cold after the hot. I think the Japanese think this is healthy. It's exhilarating. Some onsen have mineral baths of various types. Some have little waterfalls.
I don't think an onsen would work in America. The necessary social conventions are not present. We Americans are slobs, and yet at the same time, we are rampantly germophobic.
I wonder if our obesity problem would change if we regularly saw each other nude, in a non-sexual community context. I think everyone might end up with better body images and self esteem if we had something like this, because people would know what real human bodies look like. Not the over sexualized, corrected, buffed bodies we are only allowed to see here in America.
Secretly, I would like to have a Japanese soaking tub in my house. Either that or a Swedish sauna. Anything to relax and warm up on a cold winter day.
There is no way I'm going to an onsen in my birthday suit, looking like the missing link. So, it's t-minus-5 days till take off, time to do some grooming. It's bad enough that I'll be a giant in the onsen, a giant, blond American, but a hairy one would just be nasty.
Yes, of *course* I'm going to go! Onsens are relaxing and quintessentially Japanese. I travel internationally to step out of being American for a while, to leave the comfort zone and remind myself that there are many good ways to live in the world.
An onsen is a public bath, although the term translates to "hot spring." Often they are built on or near natural hot springs (it is a volcanic nation, remember), and you go there to soak in the tub. There is a specific etiquette to using an onsen, and it's not as gross as an American might think. You must bathe before you get in the shared tub. You bathe at these little shower stations (called sento) in full view of everyone, so there is social pressure to do a good job. You scrub yourself well from top to bottom and then rinse off. Now, you can go in the tub, which is something like a hot tub in the US.
Everyone's nude, but yes, they do separate the boys from the girls. Children end up with the women. In my limited experience, there aren't too many children.
The tub is hot, like, really hot. You can't soak for too long or you'll overheat. Some onsens have cold pools, you can heat up, then cool off, and repeat. It's quite a shock stepping into the cold after the hot. I think the Japanese think this is healthy. It's exhilarating. Some onsen have mineral baths of various types. Some have little waterfalls.
I don't think an onsen would work in America. The necessary social conventions are not present. We Americans are slobs, and yet at the same time, we are rampantly germophobic.
I wonder if our obesity problem would change if we regularly saw each other nude, in a non-sexual community context. I think everyone might end up with better body images and self esteem if we had something like this, because people would know what real human bodies look like. Not the over sexualized, corrected, buffed bodies we are only allowed to see here in America.
Secretly, I would like to have a Japanese soaking tub in my house. Either that or a Swedish sauna. Anything to relax and warm up on a cold winter day.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Coming up
So, our next big vacation is coming up. We are going back to Japan on another tour with Intrepid Travel. This one doesn't seem so exotic, but I am hoping there will be some surprises....the good kind. We will go a few days before the tour starts to visit friends and also see Tokyo Disney.
At the moment, I'm a bit melancholy. A repeat is nice, but now I'm wondering if we shouldn't have chosen another country this time, just for something different. I'm interested in Portugal, Croatia, Iceland, Germany, Scotland, or even Norway, although, I don't want to go to Norway until June.
Eh, I think it's pre-travel stress.
I need some time away from my husband though, so I'll be able to enjoy our time together on the plane, in Tokyo, etc.
I will bring my Aunt Millie's garden applique work to keep me busy. That, and my Kindle and my iPod. That should keep me occupied during the long flight, in addition to the movies, meals, and hopefully sleeping.
Anyway, I'll have a hiatus from my blogs while I'm traveling. We leave on 9/21.
At the moment, I'm a bit melancholy. A repeat is nice, but now I'm wondering if we shouldn't have chosen another country this time, just for something different. I'm interested in Portugal, Croatia, Iceland, Germany, Scotland, or even Norway, although, I don't want to go to Norway until June.
Eh, I think it's pre-travel stress.
I need some time away from my husband though, so I'll be able to enjoy our time together on the plane, in Tokyo, etc.
I will bring my Aunt Millie's garden applique work to keep me busy. That, and my Kindle and my iPod. That should keep me occupied during the long flight, in addition to the movies, meals, and hopefully sleeping.
Anyway, I'll have a hiatus from my blogs while I'm traveling. We leave on 9/21.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Shop Hop Frenzy
I'm becoming more Internet savvy.
Whoa, wait a minute. How is that possible? I've been on the Internet forever (so it seems) and I think I know everything about it. Yeah, right! It's not humanly possible to know everything, with all the decentralized development at the corporate and grassroots level.
It's all about eyeballs. The more eyes see your site, the more sales you get (roughly).
They have been running a promotion that imitates a live shop hop. You go to each of the participating shop/sites and find the bunny icon. When you click on it, you register for prizes. Most shops have a shop-hop icon on their home page and give a fairly obvious hint where the bunny is located.
Here, I thought I was so cool and wouldn't find anything new in the shops when looking for the bunny icon. Well, no! A few shops totally delighted me - particularly the one called Wilson's Calico Corner that has a Penn State affiliation. Not only do they have Penn State fabric and themed kits, they offer some adorable quilting gifts.
An old dog learns new tricks.
And now I'm in a quilting frenzy. Looking at all the projects, patterns, fabrics, accessories, I've gotten a little dizzy with the excitement of all these projects. I want to quilt, right now!! And, in this treasure hunt you can also find downloadable patterns for a nine-patch sampler. I love nine-patch.
Despite my feverish desire to sew the day away, the weather is awesome today in Kansas City, and dear husband and I really should get out of the house. We'll spend the afternoon at Powell Gardens and having lunch out. It's good practice in the care and feeding of a healthy husband.
Whoa, wait a minute. How is that possible? I've been on the Internet forever (so it seems) and I think I know everything about it. Yeah, right! It's not humanly possible to know everything, with all the decentralized development at the corporate and grassroots level.
This is not a dissertation about the net. The fact is, I don't always use all that's out there, mainly because of my casual use of the net. That, and my ego that thinks I surely know it all.Somehow, and I can't remember exactly how, I stumbled upon the fabshophop, a virtual shop hop through online quilting shops. Fabshophop is consolidator site. It connects hundreds of small quilt shops around the United States that have a web presence, and provides promotional services for them.
It's all about eyeballs. The more eyes see your site, the more sales you get (roughly).
They have been running a promotion that imitates a live shop hop. You go to each of the participating shop/sites and find the bunny icon. When you click on it, you register for prizes. Most shops have a shop-hop icon on their home page and give a fairly obvious hint where the bunny is located.
Here, I thought I was so cool and wouldn't find anything new in the shops when looking for the bunny icon. Well, no! A few shops totally delighted me - particularly the one called Wilson's Calico Corner that has a Penn State affiliation. Not only do they have Penn State fabric and themed kits, they offer some adorable quilting gifts.
Did I mention I'm a Penn Stater? I do, in fact, bleed blue and white, in a subtle but very loyal way.I found a few shops that featured designs I like. And I actually built a favorites list on FabShopHop.com to save all these special shops."For the glory of old State..."
An old dog learns new tricks.
And now I'm in a quilting frenzy. Looking at all the projects, patterns, fabrics, accessories, I've gotten a little dizzy with the excitement of all these projects. I want to quilt, right now!! And, in this treasure hunt you can also find downloadable patterns for a nine-patch sampler. I love nine-patch.
Despite my feverish desire to sew the day away, the weather is awesome today in Kansas City, and dear husband and I really should get out of the house. We'll spend the afternoon at Powell Gardens and having lunch out. It's good practice in the care and feeding of a healthy husband.
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