being jennifer garrett

I think I'll go to Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:56:00 +0000

On the other hand, being unemployed does offer the benefit of not having to save up vacation time, thus allowing me to head home for Thanksgiving tonight. I'll be in town for 10 days or so (extra-long stay = get to use JetBlue miles!), so hopefully, I'll be able to catch up with friends as well as stuff my face with turkey in the company of my family. My main concern, however, is that I'm only bringing War and Peace with me to read. Now, I'm not worried that I'm going to finish it while I'm gone, but I am worried I'm going to be all, "Fuck, I don't want to read any more of this depressing Russian war shit," and then get bored. 'Cause, you know, I won't have my videogames at the ready.

It's the American dream of the '90s

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:20:00 +0000

I know the economy sucks and all, but I have to say, after awhile, you begin to take it personally. Sure, freelancing is keeping me afloat, but I miss the stability of a regular paycheck (oh, yeah, and health care). There are only so many jobs you can apply for before your ego suffers, and I believe I have reached that point. Of course, most of the time I think I'm awesome, but there are days when I'm less certain. And then there are days like today -- last night, I saw a job posted, and today, I tweaked my resume and wrote up a cover letter to apply for it. Of course, when I went to hit the "apply" button, I was informed that the job was no longer open. Fucking hell, people. At this rate, I'm going to have to seriously consider another trade. But I don't think "sit at home watching TV and playing video games" is a growth industry.

What the hell happened?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:18:00 +0000

My mom never let me play with guns -- not that I ever wanted to, as I was primarily a Barbie/paper doll/let-me-read-my-damn-book kind of kid. Apparently, I'm enjoying my second, alternate childhood currently, because I am playing more and more XBox. And now I'm playing the boy games. (I started out all innocent-like with Rock Band and the Lego series.) J.R. bought Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last night, with the idea that we could play on campaign together the way we did with Halo. Unfortunately, the campaign is solo only -- the multiplayer function is a little different, and since neither of us had played Call of Duty before, we didn't want to jump into it. Needless to say, we were a bit frustrated. And then, J.R. went to sleep early (he's a working man), and I ended up staying up far later than I should have, figuring out how to play the damn game. And now I'm hooked. Does this officially make me a gamer? I doubt it, but I do know how to use my fake sniper rifle now.

Everything old is new again

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:35:00 +0000

It just occurred to me today as I was lugging my reusable grocery bags into the store (and feeling righteous about remembering them), that my mother used to do this very thing. And it would embarrass the hell out of me when I was kid, because nobody else did it then. She was the only one with canvas totes and expandable string bags, and when she gave them to the bagger, who inevitably looked at her like "What the hell are these, lady?" (unless we were at the health-food store), I used to slink away and pretend to be looking at something in another aisle. My mom was totally ahead of her time -- and she didn't even say "I told you so" when she gave me a Red Sox resuable bag last Christmas.

Strangely satisfying

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:58:00 +0000

When one is between jobs, the little things become more important. Like a clean bathroom, for instance. Sure, most of the time I do my due diligence with the toilet cleaner and a few swipes around the sink, but every now and then I really look around (usually when I'm lounging in the tub), and I think: My bathroom is fucking disgusting. Really, all bathrooms are, but it's at times like these that you put on your oldest clothes, roll up your pants, gather all your cleaning supplies together, and attack that bathroom like a conquering warrior. There will be no dirt here! No mysterious mildew on my windowsill! I will eradicate soap scum for all mankind (or at least the master bath). It took me a few hours (and a few million scrubbing bubbles), but my bathroom is now pristine. Sure, it'll be dirty by tomorrow, but after all, tomorrow is another day.

This is my life

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:52:00 +0000

J.R. keeps repeating "Knock, knock," despite my continued refusal to answer with anything other than "buttface." I went to the store today to buy the new smooth stovetop cleaner, and then I used it (and it was awesome). Then I scraped out pumpkin guts. And now I've decided to try and finish reading War and Peace because what says fall more than a 1074-page Russian novel? I ask you.

Not so creatively inclined

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:48:00 +0000

Erin over at Snarke.net named me one of her Kreativ bloggers, which was totally sweet since I haven't actually felt very creative lately. Particularly this week, since J.R. and Max are sick -- which means lots of soup and tissues and Advil -- and this sickness hath descended merely a week or so after the last bout wherein J.R. and Sam were sick. I'm feeling a little at-risk here, people, because even though my immune system rocks the house, how many times? How many times can I fend off the funk? I'm hoping at least one more time, because I really don't want to get the flu. Also, my blogging would certainly grind to an ignominious halt and Erin would retract my award, and then I'd cry. I'm supposed to do a bunch of things (like tell you seven things you don't know about me (can't even think of one, as I share far too much) and name seven other bloggers), but I've got cough syrup to dispense, people.

The geek is everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Last night, J.R. and I went to a Windows 7 launch party. Now, to be fair, it was a party mocking the notion of a Windows 7 launch party, but still. I did make out with some swag (I'll be the chick at the grocery store loading my veggies into a Win7 bag), and we had a hilarious time watching Hitler's reaction to the idea. It turns out, whilst innocently making old-fashioned gingerbread to bring to the party, I discovered that what I was actually making was a Windows 7 launch cake. I'm telling you, people, if I had had some frosting in the house, I could have made something truly special. Alas, I did not, so I went with a powered sugar sprinkle on top, which I think looks classy, don't you?

Nothing makes you feel old like 2002

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:54:00 +0000

I got back on the treadmill horse today, and I chose Carrie Bradshaw to accompany me. Since J.R. bestowed the box set on me, I've inched my way up to the fourth season, and whilst I sweated it out on the incline, Carrie and friends celebrated her 35th birthday. And I thought, "Two years, that's me." And then I realized, no, actually, that's more like one year and a month or two. Fuck. And while I realize that's not old (every conversation I have with my mother reminds me that I'm young and need to take care of my knees), it is, in fact, another year gone by. And sometimes it feels like I've just been standing still.

Good evening

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Last night, we spent an awesome night with Kevin Smith. Sure, me and J.R. and 2,000 other people, but it was close, people. Intimate like. We expected the funny -- we've seen all three Evening DVDs -- but we were a little surprised by the real stuff, you know, talking about the shit that makes our lives what they are, our disappointments, our hopes, Wayne Gretzky. He even kinda made me want to watch hockey. Okay, not really. I can't wait until he comes back next year. When do tickets go on sale?

Musical theater

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Last night, we went to see John Wesley Harding at the Triple Door. You know I love a man with a guitar, which is exactly what this was, making it a bit of a change from the last time I saw Harding with his whole cabinet. Bygones. The setlist was magnificent, the guitar-playing stunning (how does he goes so fast? and make it sound so good?), and the food most excellent. Plus, we were seated in a booth right in the front, which was cool except that I felt bad whenever I was eating while he was singing (which was often, because did I mention how good the food was?). Also, Jon Auer sat behind us, which pleased J.R. no end. (He promptly went on Twitter and followed him. That's okay, because I promptly followed Harding.) All in all, a wonderful evening. Plus, I scored two CDs, one all signed and shit. Sweet.

Pretty, pretty

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:46:00 +0000

My new toy.

I don't think I'm that crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Or maybe I'm just not that crazy yet. Sure, I've picked up Oliver Twist as my next book to read, and I'm contemplating buying Little Dorrit. That in no way means that I'm going to try to do with Dickens what I did with Austen. C'mon, people. I'm not that nuts. Instead, I'm thinking of making "finally finish fucking reading War & Peace" my next big book project. Because, you know, that's way less crazy.

Tell

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Tonight, I won at Monopoly for, I believe, the very first time ever. I never win at Scrabble either -- I'm more of a "look at the cool word I made!" rather than a "look how this two-letter word scores me 50 points!" player, which inevitably leads to failure. Bygones. The point is twofold: I won. (Sure, it was against the kids and a just-getting-sick J.R., but it totally counts.) Secondly, I discovered that I will never, ever, be successful at poker. Because, when I'm winning, I get totally flushed. Perhaps with the success of it all (I did have hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place), but whatever it was, I was totally redfaced by the end of the game. At first I thought I might be getting sick, too, but no. I was just overjoyed with the thrill of victory. Bring me the finest muffins and bagels in all the land!

Who you gonna call?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:56:00 +0000

The good news is this: I'm getting better at shooting games. And I have Ghostbusters to thank for it. The bad news? I play way too much XBox. J.R. even has me playing the new Halo 3: ODST now. And after I swore off Halo after my initial Halo 3 humiliation, wherein I hid whilst J.R. killed things so he could respawn. That's all in the past, people. Now I kill, too! I am way too excited about that statement. Bygones. For the casual gamer, I recommend ODST -- easier than Halo, but still really fun. And I highly recommend Ghostbusters, if only because you get to slime things. Heh. Slime.

This is not the door you're looking for

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:34:00 +0000

J.R. and I headed into Seattle last night for drinks with some of my old Newsie friends. (Hey, when it's 3 a.m. and you're up putting together your college paper, you bond, people. And you name yourself after a classic, though little-seen, Christian Bale musical.) Bygones. We were to meet up at the White Horse, which neither of us had ever been to, but with Google Maps on our side, we were fearless. However. After walking up and down Post Alley, we still couldn't find it -- then J.R. pointed out a sign with a white horse on it. Foolishly, I had been looking for text, but I quickly learned that's not a good idea in the alley. After awesome conversation and some drinks, we moved on to dinner at the Pink Door, which as you may have guessed, has no sign. Just a pink door. That didn't matter because dinner was so fantastically delicious and my dessert so yummy, I was ready to cede that words really don't matter anymore.

This post brought to you by tape delay

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:38:00 +0000

I finally finished watching the Emmys today -- yup, the beautiful world of the DVR allowed me not to miss Neil Patrick Harris's big night whilst I was flying back from L.A. I gotta say, Neil was pretty funny, and the show moved along nicely. I'm entirely sick of Mad Men winning best drama, but I guess I can't complain because the Daily Show won its 8,000th award, and I was okay with that. (Because Jon Stewart is, in fact, Jon Stewart. Virtually incapable of doing wrong.) Bygones. The dresses were lovely in general (aside from the Scottish director-lady who needed better foundation garments), but no one made any big statements with clothes. (Okay, I will also say that LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell needed better tuxes.) And, of course, the in memoriam made me cry like a baby. Patrick Swayze! Bea Arthur! Paul Newman. Damn.

Adventures in dining

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Last night, we went to the Golden Deli for dinner, and my god, the yum. I haven't had Vietnamese food in years, and this was delicious (bonus: cheap, too!). We followed that up with gelato at Bulgarini, which has a wide variety of interesting flavors, including but not limited to plum, white tea, and strawberry with red pepper. I went with a little trio of Florentine chocolate (salted), plain strawberry, and yogurt with olive oil. Yup, they actually drizzle olive oil on top! It was surprisingly good and its creaminess complemented the sweetness of the other flavors. The salted chocolate was my least favorite, but it was pretty decent when I cut it with the strawberry, which was heavenly. Now, what can I eat today?

Postcards from the airport

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:48:00 +0000

This weekend, I'm on a quick jaunt down to L.A. for a friend's wedding. But for now, I'm sitting in the airport, watching too much cable news (at least I'm caught up on world events in case of bad-wedding small talk), and worrying about how wrinkled my dress is getting in my carry-on bag. I've also walked virtually the entire length of the airport this morning, as I arrived far too early for my flight, and with all that spare time, I felt free to walk about for the best crappy breakfast service. (It was delightfully crappy, though BK was out of the cinna-minis, which just about broke my heart. And there's no Dunkin here, so I was completely screwed.)

With all the airport-time I've been logging lately, I feel like complaining about the idiots who remain surprised about the whole "baggie/take shoes off/separate computer" thing. But I feel like I've complained about this before. Bygones. At least my flight is on time. For now.

Mission accomplished

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Well, what started on June 22 is now over. I have read (and in some cases, re-read) all of Jane Austen's novels. I have to say, looking over the timeline of my reading and my feelings, Mansfield Park is the major dog in the bunch. It took me the longest to read, and I enjoyed it the least. Emma was better, but I'd place it just above Mansfield Park. Then Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Pride & Prejudice. I'm somewhat surprised at my own ranking, but it's pretty accurate as to how the books made me feel and how much I enjoyed the actual reading of them. I just finished Northanger Abbey last night, and it was a cute, occasionally funny, sweet read. Pretty slight, but good nonetheless.

If I were ranking the movie adaptations, things would change, people. But that's another quest for another blog post, and I have to go read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies now.

She's going the distance

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:10:00 +0000

I did not go for speed, but I managed to run all 3.1 miles of my first 5K race in over two years. I was very, very tired at the end. Now I need to find another race in a month or so -- that way I can actually be prepared to run the whole race, not just eke by on adrenaline. Bygones. The Iron Girl action was pretty rocking, and the whole event was well-organized. (Crucial in an event that starts so early in the morning!) The Iron Girl Seattle was a good choice for my return to running, too -- a nice flat course next to the water. It would have been perfect if it had been just a wee bit cooler. Next year.

And speaking of getting things done, I have made it through Emma and Persuasion, and I am now on my final Austen novel: Northanger Abbey. I have eight days to read it in order to say I finished them all this summer. I have faith that I can make it. (Quick reviews for those who care: Emma = Eh. Liked Clueless better. Persuasion = Fast read, good stuff. Might be my second fave after P&P.)

It's been a hard day's night

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:23:00 +0000

So, J.R. and I have been pretty busy rocking out to the Beatles Rock Band game since it came out yesterday. I went to pick up the disc while J.R. was at work, and I gave the GameStop guy the receipt for our pre-order. Then he asked for my I.D., and I was all, "I'm not J.R., he's at work. But he really wants the game waiting for him when he gets home." Of course, GameStop guy gave it to me. He totally understands. As far as product reviews goes, if you like Rock Band and you like the Beatles, it's perfection. It's not exactly like other RB games (you don't earn fans or money), but it's tons of fun. And we haven't even tried the harmonizing part yet. Maybe tomorrow.

There must be more than this provincial life

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:42:00 +0000

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, which is why we went to Leavenworth today. Sure, it's just a fake Bavarian town in central Washington, but still. The drive there was beautiful (lots of dappled sunlight, pine trees, moss, etc.), and the town itself was adorable. However, the weather decided to stop flirting with the rain and go for a more steady fall once we actually arrived. That made wandering around and looking in cute little shops way less fun than previously planned. We did the best we could, and the children will pretty much soldier through anything if there is a promise of chocolate at the end. Due to the rain, I did not get as many pictures as I had planned (not even one of the Bavarian McDonald's!), so you'll have to make due with these proud few.

No way

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:31:00 +0000

September? Really?

I'd like to know where the summer went, please. Disneyland and taking care of my mom's knee? Right. Yes. However, I really wanted to get in way more XBox than this, people. I have goals.

Reading into it

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:47:00 +0000

I really enjoyed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -- so much so that I've immediately delved into The Girl Who Played With Fire. I like a good mystery, and the first novel fit the bill. The pacing was a little bit off, and every female who crossed the protagonist's path jumped into bed with him, but other than that, it was a good read. Emma is moving along, but not as quickly as it should. I have to admit, some amount of freelance work and XBox achievements are keeping me from a more dedicated perusal.