March 22nd, 2010
Personally, I love them. It means I can zip in, zip out, and if I screw up, I know exactly who to blame. And once you get the systems sorted, they’re easy to use. My mum hates them though, because the way the bags are weighed just pisses her off.
I used to love them even more at the library, where it meant I could hide the fact I was borrowing stacks of romance novels (hangs head in shame). But ever since I came out of the closet – so to speak – it only mattered that I could get my books hyper-quick. And I love gadgets.
These self-checkout machines (German, it looks like) appear mega-spiffy, though, rather like X-ray machines.
What about you? Use ‘em, hate ‘em, or love ‘em?
- Jean AAR
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
March 20th, 2010
Rike’s post the other day about comfort foods got me thinking about some of my favorites. I love many of the things she mentioned to snack on. But when we’re talking a meal, and when I’m totally exhausted, overworked, and overstressed, there’s really only one thing that I want: pasta.
I suspect that my love of pasta goes back to the ever popular macaroni and cheese my mother used to make when I was a child. And no, she didn’t use boxed mixes; she made hers completely from scratch, and it was delicious. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cooking, LinnieGayl, recipes
Posted in Cooking, LinnieGayl Kimmel | 9 Comments »
March 19th, 2010
I’m furloughed today and I’m actually okay with it. It couldn’t be a better day (high 71, sunny, flowers beginning to bloom, etc.) and sometimes you just simply need a day to unwind. I don’t have anything fun planned, but I do intend to play “catch-up”.
The last two weeks have been absolutely wild. Between countless baseball practices, grading deadlines and report cards, what seems like endless doctor’s appointments, and attempting to teach an intern as well as 120 high school students, I’m bordering on giddy about my non-paid leave. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AAR Heather
Posted in Heather Brooks, Real Life | 3 Comments »
March 17th, 2010
At the moment I must work a lot, using a great deal of energy and urgently requiring comfort at intervals, so it’s no wonder I turn to the pantry and the fridge on a regular basis. Now much as I love chocolate, I can’t eat it all the time, or my stomach rebels. So I’ve had to come up with some alternatives for comfort food. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: food, Rike
Posted in Health, Rike Horstmann | 6 Comments »
March 16th, 2010
I’ve been awaiting the music video of “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and Beyonce. It’s one of my favorite songs right now, and you can always count on Gaga to bring some crazy originality to her videos.
It was finally released on Thursday, and has since been banned on MTV. There’s a lesbian kiss, partial nudity, language, and a mass murder. Not at all what I expected, given that the song has a storyline that is pretty straightforward. The first time I saw it might have been a slightly censored version, but the full “explicit” one is a bit more raunchy than I remembered from when I watched it the other day. You can watch the full version here.
As usual, though, Lady Gaga has some interesting sartorial choices– like coke can curlers, a telephone headpiece, a telephone made out of hair, and a full-body leopard print unitard. Oh yeah, and sunglasses decorated with smoldering cigarettes.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this video. I don’t love it the way I loved her “Bad Romance” video, but it’s always fun to get a glimpse into Gaga’s creative mind.
Posted in Jane Granville, Music | 1 Comment »
March 15th, 2010
This weekend I took part in a duathlon. That’s the self-congratulatory part. But I didn’t do the whole thing. That’s the other part.
So what happened was this: A colleague had signed up to do it with a friend, with the friend biking 10km and my colleague doing the 5km walk. The friend backed out, and I backed in. Had I biked 10km before? No. Am I used to biking? Sort of, and where I live is moderately hilly. So I thought, why not. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: biking, Duathlon
Posted in Jean AAR, Real Life | 6 Comments »
March 13th, 2010
Long-time visitors to AAR After Hours may know what’s coming. Yes, it’s time for my yearly health nag about mammograms.
This past week, I went in for my yearly diagnostic mammogram, which marked my hitting the 10-year mark as a breast cancer survivor, which is a pretty big deal as far as I’m concerned.
Once again, I went through the usual worries and stress as the day for my mammogram got closer. And once again, I felt unbelievable relief and joy when the radiologist called me in after she examined the pictures to tell me that everything was fine, and I didn’t need to come back for another year. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Health, LinnieGayl
Posted in Health, LinnieGayl Kimmel | 12 Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Last week, I came across some pictures of our wedding and spent some time reminiscing. It’s probably the best that can be said about any wedding that groom and bride are firmly convinced it’s the best wedding they ever attended. That’s what we do, and rose-tinted glasses aside, I also think that, objectively, our wedding went very well indeed. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: family, Rike, weddings
Posted in Real Life, Rike Horstmann | 7 Comments »
March 9th, 2010
I’m going to admit something I probably shouldn’t. I love small town festivals and my very favorite is the Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo in Opp, Alabama. Yep, a festival dedicated to rattlesnakes. Quite odd, but certainly enjoyable. Now, it’s not the rattlesnakes that I enjoy – it’s the arts and crafts, food, music, and other activities that encourage me to make the trip back home the first weekend of April every year. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend this year due to prior commitments and I’m extremely disappointed since it’s the festival’s 50th Anniversary. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AAR Heather
Posted in Heather Brooks, Real Life | 2 Comments »
March 8th, 2010
The subject of national pride has been on my mind of late. There is the obvious, which concerns the Olympics and the overwhelming, all-consuming, fountain-spouting, arms-waving ecstasy at Canada’s double hockey gold medals. There’s a lot of Canadian pride out there at the moment, despite a government proposal to politically correct a line in our national anthem (which, by the way, I think is dumb and a half). Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Canada, Haiti, national anthem, patriotism, Russia, Wales
Posted in Jean AAR, Real Life | 7 Comments »
