12/27/06

Haha, ambitious but lazy — same here. I think there is some sort of equilibrium between the good and the bad in life, and any time you find some way to improve your life, you have to sacrifice something else, or do something you don’t want to.

yes i’m ambitious but lazy too. I confess. I think that you and Nir will find a nice place that you both agree on when you are ready. Perhaps you could start with a smaller place and then move into a bigger one once you have made several years payments and so have some cash behind you if you sell the first place?

I have some of those same fears about having kids–my biggest one is that I need alone time, too. And buying a house–wow! Exciting times ahead for you. RYN, I do still listen to Sublime on occasion; I haven’t in a few months though, since it’s cold now & Sublime seems more like summer music. Love,

I completely relate to what you are saying, I feel the same way.

Thanks for your note… But the thing is, he must have put some thought into it, especially for me, since he couldn’t even decide on just one thing to put and had to differentiate between training and work.

RYN: Do you watch 24? I am a little surprised at how poorly researched some things on that show seem to be (e.g., a good part of season 4 consisted of people panicking about nuclear reactors “going critical,” which really just means reaching steady state), but I guess since it’s so fast-paced and entertaining, the audience is willing to overlook a lot of things like that.

RYN: The new water is still made from Lake Erie water; it’s just a different treatment process to clean it up (and we’re not buying city water any more).

ryn – it’s a Maxima — two years old

RYN: Actually, I wouldn’t mind getting back into swimming except for the fact that it would require me to wear a swimsuit in public. And I could never do that now. That’s what drove me away from swimming in the first place.

I love your idea of making her a journalist! I’ll be asking you a lot of questions!

I use expedia.com or travelocity.com for cheapest flights. There are other sites but I don’t use them. Hopefully that helps somewhat 🙂

One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.

RYN: I’d definitely have to get a mortgage in order to buy a house… I have enough saved for a 20% down payment, and my mortgage payment for a house in my price range wouldn’t be all that much more than my current rent (but then there are all those additional costs of home ownership). Still, it would be a much better use of my money to make payments towards owning a house instead of paying rent.

Hey Dew, it’s been lovely visiting your diary again. It’s like meeting an old friend after a long time. All the best,Leo.

RYN: Hi there. I just wanted to say that it is good to hear from you, and I always appreciate the notes that you’ve left. So, thank you!

ryn: I agree, the cancer seemed a little excessive, since they were just going to kill her and her husband off on page 2 in the car anyway. The baby was named Keefer because the mother was named Georgia O’Keefe McKenna (after the artist Georgia O’Keefe) and as small children, Gordie couldn’t say Georgia, and he ended up calling his sister Keefer, which is a stretch, I know! Thatstuff I was willing to overlook, but there were still some things that I thought were a bit much. 😉

thanks for your note. I’m sorry I made you cry – I love what your parents told you. How are things in your life these days?

RYN: Well, it’s gone now, but that might be even worse… I moved the couch to try to get it, and it wasn’t there (there were a lot of tiny dead ants — gross — so then I had to vacuum there)! So now it’s hiding somewhere else, probably just waiting to jump out and bite me. Oh, and we joke about the giant mutant radioactive spiders at work all the time 🙂

ryn: thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately our kids just see it as their ‘right’ to have good teachers and to have modern, attractive resources. They understand their responsiblities a little less unfortunately. Yes History – I think if you want to get the kids, you have to start with today otherwise their is no point in the exercise. They are just dry dates and no more.

I can’t imagine living without a yard and greenery, but I suppose it’s something one can get used to. The buildings in the picture really don’t look all that bad and I’ll bet the views from the higher floors are very nice. RYN: Your note made me smile from ear to ear. Thanks for making my day. 🙂

You haven’t updated in way too long, dear. I thought of you this weekend – went to someone’s house who visited Israel recently and mentioned lots of things I’ve read on your OD…

RYN: It is a reputable company; they have many communities in this part of the country. I actually have a cousin who works for them, and he’s about to buy a house from them, too (he gets an employee discount). They have already built a few buildings in the community where I’m looking, and I got to look at some of them, too. I’m not too worried about them ripping me off.

you know it’s been almost a YEAR, right?

ryn: my brother and wife did separate for a time over the summer, but he quit drinking, and then they got back together — it seems like things are going well, and they seem very happy with their daughter… 🙂

ryn: Of course you can read the book! I’m sending it to you now. 🙂

ryn: I was raised Catholic, and the attitude there is more disapproving (you haven’t had communion/confession/gone to church in how long?) more than claiming. And many people use disclaimers, like “I was raised Catholic” but am no longer. You are right in that it’s there in some form – and I guess if I feel like I’m a bad Catholic then there must be someone out there thinking I am Catholic…

Hey! I was just thinking about you last night. Why don’t you write anymore?! *stomps foot and heads off to pout*

RYN: Most of them are souvenirs that my family bought for me, and on the rare occasion I go somewhere interesting, I’ll buy one from the gift shop.

RYN: Well, since I live in an area with a low cost of living, I also get paid less than I would if I lived in a more expensive area. I’m saving up what seems like a lot of money, relative to my salary and the housing prices in this area, but if I took that money to a more expensive area, it wouldn’t go as far. It doesn’t really bother me to live in a low cost of living area…

…I know Ohio is not a very glamorous place to live, but I think I would hate living somewhere like New York City or Los Angeles, even if I had a lot of money.

http://radio.msn.com/ Here’s a link to MSN radio. It’s pretty fun. I know what you mean. I like Johnny Horton because he reminds me of being a kid and singing the lyrics with my little brother, but the music I listened to as a teenager is what really takes me back. You know? I was in this weird bar in New York City and songs from the 90s were the only thing playing. I felt like I’d been

transported back in time. Becca

How about I send you a 4-page scene that I wrote for the sequel? It’s as exciting as anything in the first one I’m working on, and more self-contained (i.e., more satisfying because you feel like there’s an end). Send your email address of preference (in a private note if you wish), and it’ll be on its way!

RYN about plots (I just found it again, after over a year): I do the Excel spreadsheet, too. It also helps a lot if I need to add in some new scenes. I’ve added in so many that now I have things like, “Scene 26a, Scene 26b,” and so on. I found this cheesy thing called the “snowflake method” (google it) to help me get started with the planning.

RYN: Most of my bunnies were bought as “greenware”. It’s the term given to ceramic pieces that have come out of a mould and are still soft and clay-like. With a variety of tools, you clean and add details to the piece before it is fired in a kiln. Once it’s hardened and cooled, you decorate the piece, either with glazes, which will then need to be re-fired or paints covered with a coating of shellac. So, in my long-winded answer to your question; no, I didn’t make the pieces myself; they come from a mould that someone else has created, but yes, I decorated them. Are you sorry you asked? 🙂

Is this really your most recent entry, lady? ryn: Actually going to Israel sounds awesome too. I’m going to have to see how much I can manage to save up by then and what I can afford. But thank you for the idea! I wouldn’t have thought of it otherwise!

ryn: I don’t think there are many present-day Americans named Asanath. I got that name out of an old genealogy from the colonial era. It’s kind of cool, though, isn’t it?

I AM THE MUNGO MONSTER!

ryn: We used to have tons, and while I couldn’t expect that to last forever, I certainly wasn’t expecting a total drop off. She recently went to her “lady doctor,” who couldn’t find anything wrong…which makes me think that it’s not a physical problem, but a psychological “stopped being attracted to me” problem.

ryn – oh, I can see being happier at work if you have a friend there, but the idea of potentially coming up with an Action Plan to help my staff members get a close friend… It’s just a weird idea to me.

ryn: Thank you for the reassurance. 🙂 I do need to finish it, even if it’s just to feel like I completed something. I just don’t think it holds up when it’s compared to other novels out there, but it’s hard to be objective about my own work. I haven’t seen In Treatment because I don’t get HBO, but I can rent it when it comes out on DVD. When are you going to write an entry?

ryn: You are so sweet and amazing! I can’t believe you’re using my experiences to help someone on the other side of the world from me. That’s incredible. I think you’ve given me the boost I need to dust off that manuscript and continue to whip it into shape. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are always so encouraging to me. Always.

I have gotten so many suggestions from people I actually know for my dragon, and Saul is the first name I’ve actually liked. My dragon’s name will be Saul or maybe Sol. Thank you 🙂

RYN: Thanks for adding me… It’s not that I care how many FB friends I have; I guess I’m just disappointed that people who went to school with me for 10+ years, and people who were on my swim team for 8 years, don’t want to add me. I would have hoped that maybe the friend I wrote to every day when she was at camp would look me up, or the guys who carpooled with me to swim practice, you know?

RYN: Unfortunately, I can’t keep him because he technically belongs to my brother and sister (he was a birthday present for them).

You’re alive!!! ryn: I dunno, it’s $60 round trip to work or to PT… we both decided it wasn’t worth it. I think it’s just an overall frustration on both our ends. At least there’s only five more weeks and we’ll be on vacation, with no cars, for ten whole days…

ryn: I don’t know! I just reread the entry and I didn’t see anything overly sappy in there. I hope you didn’t cry too much!

RYN: It looks pretty much the same now, as I haven’t even started priming the walls yet. I will post a picture when I’m done, though (if I ever get there, that is!).

I AM THE MUNGO MONSTER!

Why don’t you write anymore, Dew? You used to be my favourite thing on the internet.

RYN: The reason he was obsessed with Pittsburgh is that my dad grew up there and is a fan of all their sports teams. My brother the goody two shoes, therefore, became a fan of all the Pittsburgh sports teams, even though he never lived there for the first 24 years of his life. So he always dreamed of living where the Steelers/Penguins/Pirates are.

RYN: Well, like I said, it’s not drastically different, but it went from below my shoulders to above my shoulders. And it’s funny, because whenever something like that happens, I try to rationalize for them (like, “Maybe people around here just don’t comment on others’ haircuts,”), but then I compare it to how they treat someone else, like the guy who got a haircut the same weekend as I did…

…and since they did notice and comment on his haircut, I’m assuming that the difference is that it’s me — someone they just don’t care about. It’s the same type of thing when nobody remembers my birthday, but they do remember other people’s.

RYN: I don’t have a fenced-in yard, so unfortunately, that wouldn’t work.

Ryn: Actually, I have read American Wife, and I thought it was excellent!

Dew– I always love your notes. Thank you!

RYN: I don’t think that word exists in English. “Enjoy your new thing” is probably the best you can do 🙂

It’s been a long time. How are you?

RYN: Good point — it would be nice if people started listening to me… Sadly, I don’t think they will unless and until they have to.

RYN: Not likely now!

RYN: Wow… I know he is from Israel, but you know him personally? That is so cool! I am reading his other book, The Upside to Irrationality, now.

RYN: Well, I am impressed… I wish the people running my company would read his books. He should put together a training seminar for companies based on the books (like Crucial Conversations, except good). I haven’t heard of Kahneman & Tversky, but I looked them up on Amazon.com and found a new book by Kahneman that came out this year. My local library has it on order so maybe I’ll read that next.

RYN: It seems like a lot of people get themselves into trouble that way. I see that kind of thing come up in personal finance blogs all the time. Fortunately, my parents make enough money that ridiculous ideas like that don’t put them into debt, but I am still kind of amazed that an intelligent, educated woman like my mom would say something like that.

you ever still pop in here?

RYN: Thanks for your encouraging words. It’s always nice to read your notes and I do appreciate them.

ryn – yeah…. she was married to my Dad for close to twenty years. they separated and she married this guy and moved to California to be with him. ASSHOLE. Divorced him and fell for another guy she was with seven or so years before he died of leukemia. She’s been single for five years. yes, a record. Not Elizabeth Taylor, but yeah, the number sounds high.

RYN: Yeah, just been kind of busy 🙂

She will be three in December… But yes, I think she’s advanced. She wrote her name. Her Spanish accent is better than mine and she’s learning it…. (I actually think this isn’t a good marker as in most countries people learn languages younger, and no one cares here.) She doesn’t demonstrate a lot of it at school, and I joke my Mom missed her calling in being a preschool teacher. I don’t think we’re pushing her, but she just soaks it all in…