Look at this picture carefully. Notice the furniture hanging out the windows and on the outside of the building. Howard and 6th in SOMA.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Ritalin
So far the Ritalin is going well. We are increasing my dosage slowly to try a long-acting time-release version of Ritalin. My nervous system is really sensitive and it takes 1-2 weeks to get use to a higher dosage. And the dosage is not that big. Right now I've successfully upped it to 7.5mg. Most people are on 30+mg. Once I have taken 7.5mg all this week with no more side effects I will try the 10mg long acting dose. It is time released over 12 hrs.
The good side effects are: less fatigue, less motion sickness, less feeling overwhelmed, less feelings and physical symptoms of anxiety, less physical reactions to hunger & water consumption, less dread of future and more of a sense of hope to accomplish goals.
The doctor said a lot of the things listed above were actually my body's response to anxiety. And the anxiety was caused by my inability to focus and limit response to stimuli. All the energy I was using to control the excess stimuli my brain was receiving caused the fatigue, motion sickness, feeling overwhelmed, and dread of future/change.
No great sense of focus at work yet but I do want to really organize my office : )
On a slightly separate note: an interesting article about a test to spot inattentive employees...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6701511.stm
The good side effects are: less fatigue, less motion sickness, less feeling overwhelmed, less feelings and physical symptoms of anxiety, less physical reactions to hunger & water consumption, less dread of future and more of a sense of hope to accomplish goals.
The doctor said a lot of the things listed above were actually my body's response to anxiety. And the anxiety was caused by my inability to focus and limit response to stimuli. All the energy I was using to control the excess stimuli my brain was receiving caused the fatigue, motion sickness, feeling overwhelmed, and dread of future/change.
No great sense of focus at work yet but I do want to really organize my office : )
On a slightly separate note: an interesting article about a test to spot inattentive employees...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6701511.stm
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Bring on the Catering
Well I catered my buns off this weekend. Saturday was an engagement party at this 5acre estate. All the grounds were manicured and landscaped with many large statues. A beautiful reflection pool and hanging/floating lanterns rounded out the scenery. The cuisine included specialty pizzas that were cooked in an originally designed (by the chef) movable copper pizza oven. Pretty neat. 
Sunday was a wedding at the Ferry building in SF $$$. They had huge orchid displays on each table that the staff was allowed to take home. It's been an orchid weekend for me!
At both catering events I either received or heard guests talk about how "cute and sweet" I was. I've realized that the bangs/school girl look works really well in the food service industry. I had the same compliments when I was a waitress with bangs in college. People like their food servers to look like innocent school girls. The older population thinks I'm cute and sweet, the women don't view me as threatening because I look too innocent (ha), and the younger men don't seem to be too taken with me (I think it's the outfit which turns them off) which also pleases the women.
Sunday was a wedding at the Ferry building in SF $$$. They had huge orchid displays on each table that the staff was allowed to take home. It's been an orchid weekend for me!
At both catering events I either received or heard guests talk about how "cute and sweet" I was. I've realized that the bangs/school girl look works really well in the food service industry. I had the same compliments when I was a waitress with bangs in college. People like their food servers to look like innocent school girls. The older population thinks I'm cute and sweet, the women don't view me as threatening because I look too innocent (ha), and the younger men don't seem to be too taken with me (I think it's the outfit which turns them off) which also pleases the women.
Farmers' Market
Saturday I went to the Alamay/I280 farmers' market with a friend. It was really fun and the produce was very cheap compared to the grocery store! They had sample of most of the fruit for sale. I bought 1.5lbs each of carrots, yellow squash, beets, Asian squash all for less then $5. I tried several kinds of honey and love the alfalfa variety. I also bought a pretty orchid for my budding (haha) orchid collection. Only $10. Picture coming soon.
Motorcycles and Shopping
I was invited to join my friend and her friends at a shopping event. While we were on our way we had first row seats to a motorcycle accident. A large sedan ran a red light at the corner of Haight and Masonic and hit a motorcycle. The car hit the motorcycle at calf/knee height. The motorcycle tipped and tilted (like a weeble-wooble) then fell over. The guy landed in the street on his side and hurt leg while the motorcycle went skidding across the intersection. The guy is okay and never hit his head but his leg was obviously hurt and he was taken to the
hospital. Luckily it was a fairly low speed crash, probably 20mph or less. I gave my name and number as a witness because the guy driving the car was already trying to say he had a green light when he definitely did NOT!
Then at the shopping event I bought a cute necklace and earring set.
hospital. Luckily it was a fairly low speed crash, probably 20mph or less. I gave my name and number as a witness because the guy driving the car was already trying to say he had a green light when he definitely did NOT!Then at the shopping event I bought a cute necklace and earring set.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
BBC articles
New York's yellow taxis will go hybrid in five years, in an effort to cut air pollution and tackle climate change, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said.
It's funny, San Franciscians have a complex when it comes to NY or NYC really. I hear people remarking all the time "Well maybe it's a NY thing" in snippy little voices. They are sooo trying to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to NY.
Nuclear power is needed to help reduce carbon emissions and to ensure that the UK has secure energy supplies in the future, Tony Blair has told MPs.
It's funny, San Franciscians have a complex when it comes to NY or NYC really. I hear people remarking all the time "Well maybe it's a NY thing" in snippy little voices. They are sooo trying to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to NY.
Nuclear power is needed to help reduce carbon emissions and to ensure that the UK has secure energy supplies in the future, Tony Blair has told MPs.
Saltwater...but no diving
I know it's a lot of work ...but I do want a small saltwater aquarium. A 12-24 gallon Nano cube salt water aquarium with a cool modern stand would be perfect.
The fish I want are:
clown fish & anemone
hermit crab
& what ever else to keep the tank stable
Would love to have starfish, sea cucumber, sting ray, small octopus/or squid but a lot of those won't fit in a smaller aquarium. I'll pay someone to help initially while I get acquainted with all the upkeep. I also want to buy one set up and running so I know it's stable to start with.
Catering Again
Well I am signed up with a catering staffing company and a high end catering company. Plus a few gigs here and there for the Catholic School and Tiburton Country Club. So that should keep me busy for a while and fund my decorating efforts...as well as my tooth crown and horse transporting bills : )
Monday, May 21, 2007
Bay to Breakers Race
Bay to Breakers is a 12k race across the San Francisco Peninsula. It's quite an event! People run it, walk it, walk in costume, and sometimes walk naked. Yes, I said naked. They may even run naked but I didn't see that, thank goodness.
The girls and I went down to see some of the festivities in the Golden Gate Park and walked the last 1/2 mile or the race. Several people did come up to me and remarked that they had Dalmatians = )
Helicopter
The girls and I got to watch a Helicopter rescue practice on Ocean Beach Friday afternoon. That was neat.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofsharon/sets/72157600241545388/
And Ar
i got to try out her new remote training shock collar = ) All it took was one shock and she now responds to the vibrate!! I did feel really bad though she was charging a Wiemaraner and I kept zapping and turning up the intensity until she yelped and stopped. Of course it happened right in front of the Wiemaraner owner who looked at Ari then at me and asked "Is that a shock collar". I explained and later when we passed the same woman she remarked that it had worked and Ari wasn't charging the dogs anymore (or yelping either).
i got to try out her new remote training shock collar = ) All it took was one shock and she now responds to the vibrate!! I did feel really bad though she was charging a Wiemaraner and I kept zapping and turning up the intensity until she yelped and stopped. Of course it happened right in front of the Wiemaraner owner who looked at Ari then at me and asked "Is that a shock collar". I explained and later when we passed the same woman she remarked that it had worked and Ari wasn't charging the dogs anymore (or yelping either). Thursday, May 17, 2007
Mango Allergy
I am in some serious discomfort right now. I have this "rash" which is more like a swollen burn looking thing including/from my lips to my jaw line. And some creeping up my cheeks and on one eyelid. It itches and burns so bad.
I went to the Doc and she thought it was an allergic reaction and not poison "plant-life" that hitched in with the pooches. I couldn't come up with anything different in my life. Then I remembered!... I ate a Mango Tuesday night. Not too weird however, I remembered a coworker saying her lips itched after eating Mangos. The Mango was perfectly ripe and some juice dribbled down my chin as I bit pieces off.
Anyway, now I know...only eat dried Mango and Mango Lassi.
I went to the Doc and she thought it was an allergic reaction and not poison "plant-life" that hitched in with the pooches. I couldn't come up with anything different in my life. Then I remembered!... I ate a Mango Tuesday night. Not too weird however, I remembered a coworker saying her lips itched after eating Mangos. The Mango was perfectly ripe and some juice dribbled down my chin as I bit pieces off.
Anyway, now I know...only eat dried Mango and Mango Lassi.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Food vs. Friend
From the BBC
"A wolf and a donkey share a home in the town of Patok in northwest Albania. The donkey was meant as food for the wolf, but the two animals have apparently bonded. "
Monday, May 14, 2007
Amazing computer technology...
Excerpt from this article: http://videogames.yahoo.com/ongoingfeature?eid=514753&page=0
Stanford University's Folding@home project focuses on protein folding, a chemical process that may hold the keys to unlocking the mysteries of diseases like Alzheimer's, Cystic Fibrosis, Hodgkin's and various other cancers. The team has created a program that simulates the nearly infinite number of ways proteins can fold, a system that requires a massive amount of computational power.
Instead of taxing resources by building a battalion of supercomputers to crunch the data, the Folding@home team decided to tap into the vast quantity of lonely home computers in the wild. And it worked -- since the program's inception in October of 2000, hundreds of thousands of ordinary folks have lent their computers' unused processing power to the project, effectively creating one of the largest distributed computing networks in the world.
But once kindhearted PS3 owners got involved, the numbers went from solid to staggering.
Folding@home was tucked into a recent PS3 firmware update as a small icon found in the Network section of the console's front end, allowing users to willingly join the program in a few quick clicks. It has since blossomed, with over 250,000 registered PS3 owners donating enormous amounts of spare power in the name of philanthropic science.
Wow, that's pretty amazing! I wonder if you can then write off you Internet connection fees on your taxes as Charity : )
Stanford University's Folding@home project focuses on protein folding, a chemical process that may hold the keys to unlocking the mysteries of diseases like Alzheimer's, Cystic Fibrosis, Hodgkin's and various other cancers. The team has created a program that simulates the nearly infinite number of ways proteins can fold, a system that requires a massive amount of computational power.
Instead of taxing resources by building a battalion of supercomputers to crunch the data, the Folding@home team decided to tap into the vast quantity of lonely home computers in the wild. And it worked -- since the program's inception in October of 2000, hundreds of thousands of ordinary folks have lent their computers' unused processing power to the project, effectively creating one of the largest distributed computing networks in the world.
But once kindhearted PS3 owners got involved, the numbers went from solid to staggering.
Folding@home was tucked into a recent PS3 firmware update as a small icon found in the Network section of the console's front end, allowing users to willingly join the program in a few quick clicks. It has since blossomed, with over 250,000 registered PS3 owners donating enormous amounts of spare power in the name of philanthropic science.
Wow, that's pretty amazing! I wonder if you can then write off you Internet connection fees on your taxes as Charity : )
Saturday, May 12, 2007
I did it!
Well yesterday I did it! I bought Ari a remote shock collar! I’m so excited about shocking the piss out of her, hehe = ) Actually I just want to be able to halt her full-out run she does when she sees other dogs. Most dogs learn after one or two slight shocks to respond to the warning tone only. And if she decides to risk it and keep running, then ZAP Zap zap zap zap….until she stops : ) Just kidding, the only truly cruel games I like to play are “cheese whiz” and “spray whip cream” topping!
The brand I got was Dogtra. Dogtra 200 NCP Gold Dog Training Collar. It is used by trainers and hunter & retrievers sportsmen for their dogs. It’s a little more expensive but I think it will be a more robust product plus it has a 1/2 mile range. And the receiver is water proof.
The brand I got was Dogtra. Dogtra 200 NCP Gold Dog Training Collar. It is used by trainers and hunter & retrievers sportsmen for their dogs. It’s a little more expensive but I think it will be a more robust product plus it has a 1/2 mile range. And the receiver is water proof.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Modern Bistro Table
This is a good possibility for a bistro table. I'd have to do black for the black in white kitchen. I do like the orange though... And the price is right!
Pretty Teeth
I bought Crest WhiteStrips recently and have been using them. Granted I can't seem to remember to use them twice a day like the instructions. However, my once a day treatments are working. After just 6 treatments, my teeth are noticeably whiter. Yeah!
I had read an article in some magazine that compared several over-the-counter brands and a dentist's treatment. Crest WhiteStrips had the best results for over-the-counter. My KY dentist also recommended trying them.
I had read an article in some magazine that compared several over-the-counter brands and a dentist's treatment. Crest WhiteStrips had the best results for over-the-counter. My KY dentist also recommended trying them.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
More decorating....I'm in love!
I found shelves that I love!!! I want to put them everywhere in my apartment. By the door/window for plants...
The wall between the closet & kitchen doorways...
On the wall behind the TV...
As a bedside night table...
I think I love these way more then I like the Pedestal TV stand. They could possibly end up being my favorite piece of furniture if they work out!!! And they are not *that* expensive. Fingers crossed...
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Decorating ideas...
I saw two Ch
ristopher Lowell books yesterday that inspired me along with stewing over the interior designer's ideas. I am ordering the books off ebay or checking them out of the library!
Making a “landing strip” entry table. The sides will be these shoe cabinets from IKEA to hold shoes, dog leashes, mail to be filed, & anything else I use by the door. The top may be upholstered and will be the “landing” area for bags, purse, & laptop case. Got this idea from Christopher Lowell's "Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Organization"
Putting the standing floor lamp behind the white couch against the orange wall. And painting it in a lacquer finish, fire orange or hot pink. With a white or hot pink shade. Lacquer paint comes in a variety of colors for model cars.
Reupholstering the ottoman, with the asian style, with an orange & hot pink hounds-t
ooth or some other antique-ish pattern. Possibly putting on cool 
colored casters. http://www.coolcasters.com/?gclid=CPTXir-igowCFSnKggodrwfpyw
And last but not least, the $399 Circuit City TV stand(Left) instead of the $950 Design within Reach (Right) TV stand. Design within Reach is a total misnomer!
ristopher Lowell books yesterday that inspired me along with stewing over the interior designer's ideas. I am ordering the books off ebay or checking them out of the library!Making a “landing strip” entry table. The sides will be these shoe cabinets from IKEA to hold shoes, dog leashes, mail to be filed, & anything else I use by the door. The top may be upholstered and will be the “landing” area for bags, purse, & laptop case. Got this idea from Christopher Lowell's "Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Organization"
Putting the standing floor lamp behind the white couch against the orange wall. And painting it in a lacquer finish, fire orange or hot pink. With a white or hot pink shade. Lacquer paint comes in a variety of colors for model cars.
Reupholstering the ottoman, with the asian style, with an orange & hot pink hounds-t
ooth or some other antique-ish pattern. Possibly putting on cool 
colored casters. http://www.coolcasters.com/?gclid=CPTXir-igowCFSnKggodrwfpywAnd last but not least, the $399 Circuit City TV stand(Left) instead of the $950 Design within Reach (Right) TV stand. Design within Reach is a total misnomer!
Noah's Ark
A guy in Holland has built a full scale replica of the mythical Noah's Ark. Interesting. Link to article below.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Good ADD books
They don't have as much "ADD education" but more of solutions to help people live with ADD which is MUCH more useful. The one book, Beyond ADD, is interesting because it addresses how modern life has made living with ADD worse or brought out ADD symptoms more then in the past.
Most of the ADD books I've seen are very dry and lengthy which are the complete worst for ADDers to read. I have noticed myself, and in symptom descriptions, that ADDers need short-to-the-point paragraphs, humorous tone, and bold headers and different fonts help distinguish points as well.
Books I like::
10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD **Love it, great organizing techniques for everyone**
Beyond ADD
You're Not Stupid, Lazy, or Crazy..... (something like that)
ADD on the Job (decent but still would like better)
Delivered from Distraction (an easier read of ADD education for the ADD person)
Books that I thought were horribly written for the ADD crowd::
Healing ADD
Making ADD work
Driven to Distraction
Most of the ADD books I've seen are very dry and lengthy which are the complete worst for ADDers to read. I have noticed myself, and in symptom descriptions, that ADDers need short-to-the-point paragraphs, humorous tone, and bold headers and different fonts help distinguish points as well.
Books I like::
10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD **Love it, great organizing techniques for everyone**
Beyond ADD
You're Not Stupid, Lazy, or Crazy..... (something like that)
ADD on the Job (decent but still would like better)
Delivered from Distraction (an easier read of ADD education for the ADD person)
Books that I thought were horribly written for the ADD crowd::
Healing ADD
Making ADD work
Driven to Distraction
Thursday, May 3, 2007
First Interior Design Visit
The interior designer visit was pretty good overall. She had some good ideas for the living room furniture arrangement. Helpful on steering me towards color selection. Didn’t address a few things I do want. She would tend to get caught up in things that weren’t priority for me like curtain design. Yes, that will come eventually but color and which walls is the first step.
She came up with a good idea for the breakfast nook color scheme, black and white 20s kitchen look, but she kept saying office/dining area with a console table…Exactly what I don’t want for the space…never used it when I had it. But I don’t know what to do there either other then a dog bed for the pooches & cat litter box. We did come up with a plan for concealing the eyesore fridge. The fridge sits completely in view of the front door. Not the most aesthetically pleasing look when you enter the living space. A designer fridge maybe, but that’s not what I have.
The bathroom I really want to be a light lilac with some dark purple accents but she doesn’t like the dark idea with the white cabinet sink. Plus the tile in the kitchen & bath is tan. Not the correct choice with the existing white walls. And it really contrasts with every color you put next to it. Makes it very hard. I think I’ll do that space Last!
And she wants me to sell the Washer & Dryer. I know I should and I can always but Bosch again when I need them but I’m not sure if I can let them go just yet. Maybe once the main room is done and I feel really good about it…then I’ll have the *strength* to let them go for the greater decorating good!
The bathroom I really want to be a light lilac with some dark purple accents but she doesn’t like the dark idea with the white cabinet sink. Plus the tile in the kitchen & bath is tan. Not the correct choice with the existing white walls. And it really contrasts with every color you put next to it. Makes it very hard. I think I’ll do that space Last!
And she wants me to sell the Washer & Dryer. I know I should and I can always but Bosch again when I need them but I’m not sure if I can let them go just yet. Maybe once the main room is done and I feel really good about it…then I’ll have the *strength* to let them go for the greater decorating good!
Plus it’s going to be expensive. I plan on getting a flat screen TV 32-40” @ $1000. I found a pedestal TV stand with hidden wheels I really like $950 (the target version doesn’t have the wheels) which I can turn to face the bed or couch easily. And a piece of artwork for over the TV $400 tops, hopefully less. That is a chunk of change. Then there is the little $20-50 stuff here and there. Over a year’s time I don’t mind spending this much but who knows, I may move in a year. The idea is to decorate now to enjoy during the year. Anyway, the TV and even the TV stand would definitely follow me to where ever I may move to in the future so I can give those some time but they do need to be bought together and that’s the main chunk of dough all at once.
Luckily it looks like I’ll have lots of catering opportunities from now through summer. I don’t *need* to cater out here but I have the time and if it’ll get me some of the extras sooner, then Great!
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