Where A News Junkie Goes During Social Media Blackout

I'm a fan of sites that automatically refresh. It means I don't have to worry I missed something because I hadn't refreshed in the last 5 seconds.

This social media break is going to kill me. Well, it was until I got to today: Monday. Today is the day I get my first Skimm since Friday. 

I signed up for the free service earlier this year and have found it's an easy way to keep up with non-local news. Granted, I only receive one email a day but it's enough since it preps me for what to expect after I finish consuming it along with my first cuppa caffeine.

If you want to check it out for yourself, use this link as they've teamed up with FEED who will donate a meal to a child for every click through.

Tea Time All The Time

I love tea. As I've gotten older, my body seems more susceptible to getting colds or having sinus issues when it's cold and dry out. My main way of keeping myself healthy has been running a warm mist humidifier at night in our bedroom and during the day at work along with drinking less caffeine. A side benefit is that this has greatly expanded my tea collection both at home and work:

There is more tea behind those boxes in my cupboard at home

My stack of herbal teas at work next to the tea maker my mom gave me

Where once I was a solid, black tea only imbiber I now have a variety of flavors to tantalize my palate: Chai! Country Peach! Raspberry Zinger! Pumpkin Spice!

I've also allowed other flavors into my caffeinated beverages including more chai or cinnamon spices along with vanilla. I'm a dessert fiend so it's nice to be able to enjoy some of the same sweet taste in a calorie-free beverage. I do feel my tea collection is getting slightly out of hand as it's taking up an entire bottom shelf of a kitchen cupboard. The collection of coffee between whole beans, ground, and K-cups is a whole other issue.

Personal Book Club - Book 4 Begins

The reading of A Room With A View has commenced. I am trying to decide if I am hindered by my many viewings of the movie adaptation. So far I am enjoying it but find myself craving something lemon-y.

Tea for Tune

I have my cup of Constant Comment tea, my violin, some music and lots of lights on. I just need my violin student and I will be set.

Survived Week One

I started my new job this past week. Most people who know me know that when approached with something new, or challenging, my general M.O. is to freak out while getting through it generally fine.

Recognizing that I have a tendency to become dramatic, I decided to try to simmer the best I could. I told myself,

"Self? There's a lot of new stuff that will be thrown at you and a lot you're going to be expected to do right off. Just write down as much as you can. Breathe. Prioritize that which you know needs to get done NOW. Breathe. Be positive."

The new job also comes with an earlier start time, so I made sure to drag along with my travel mug full of hot tea to supplement my usual caffeine intake. On Thursday, I stuck a Bergamot Naturopatch on me to help with stress. It really seemed to work. I was definitely more smiley and calm.

I'll have to adjust some of my life to fit with the job for awhile. There are more evening hours, which I earn comp and then overtime for, than I've had to deal with in awhile. I did begin to enjoy certain bits of it by the end of the week. A huge saving grace is that the person who had the job before she retired at the end of the year is acting as a consultant for me to let me know what my job duties are, help with pending events and other items. Since no one else apparently knows very much about my job, this is beyond awesome.

My current balancing act is getting a bit trickier, but I still plan to keep doing the news, blogging, and playing with the few orchestral ensembles I'm committed to until the end of May.

If you're wondering what my new job entails, I'm going to steal what Labyrinth Press Company Owner Jeff James said about my job and say I'm in charge of Fun for the City.

Honest Scrap

Tara tagged me for the "Honest Scrap Award."

So, what does this award mean? It means – “leftovers, fragments, discarded material, and many times truth and honesty is discarded material, considered fragments and left over.” We tell it like it is and let the scraps fall where they may.

The honorees are to:
a) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
b) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

1. While I'm totally attached to my computer, some of my best writings came to life in my spiral notebook while I was drinking coffee at a coffee shop.

2. I'm not a fan of talking to people on the phone. I'd rather text message or instant message. It gives me a moment to put my thoughts together.

3. As much as I talk about my love of coffee and coffee-related things, I'll choose a cuppa hot black tea with milk over a cup of coffee almost 100% of the time.

4. I have a long memory. This is good and bad depending on whether you're on my own personal "naughty or nice" list.

5. I will admit I'm like my mom in a lot of ways, but there are times when I find myself acting like my dad in freaky ways (like both of us choosing to wear navy slacks, black shoes, shade of blue sweaters for Christmas).

6. I lay awake at night and worry about what I'd do if certain people in my life died.

7. I believe in ghosts.

8. Even though I've played violin for over 22 years, my classical music knowledge is beyond poor. I wouldn't recognize most famous violin concertos if I heard them.

9. I love mysteries, especially British/UK mysteries, but have never read Agatha Christie.

10. I like say I'm a "realistic Democrat," meaning I'm a fiscal conservative with socially liberal views. Balance the budget and legalize gay marriage.

Tags? You're it. I'm feeling lazy today.

Guess Who Was Near A Stove For More Than 10 Minutes?

I made dinner tonight. Baked chicken with tomato bruschetta, rigatoni with mostly homemade sauce, peas, and salad.

I melted our meat thermometer because, um.. well.. I put it in the chicken to see if it had reached the proper 160-degree mark. It had not, so I left it in and shut the oven. I checked back and chicken still needed cooking. Five minutes later I checked, and the temperature gauge at the top of the thermometer was starting to melt. I took it out and from that point forward I just eyeballed the chicken, hoping for the best.

Matt says it was all very good and was very appreciative that he didn't have to cook tonight. The kitchen is cleaned, a load of wash done, the dining room picked up, and I'm enjoying a cuppa tea. What I really need is a drink. We'll remedy that soon when we stop by the newly opened Fenton Grill in a little bit tonight.

Ring Ring.. This Is Your Wake Up Call

*RingRing!*

Julia: "Hello" (pours another cuppa tea)

Julia's Body: "Hi. Wow. You answered."

Julia: "'Sup? You caught me on a break. Working on some things here. Laundry, practicing.. you know. The usual."

Julia's Body: "Yeah, I know. That's why I called actually. I'm a little concerned that you've been pushing it lately."

Julia: "Oh I know. It's been busy you know. I'll give you a break soon."

Julia's Body: "You always say that and then you take on something new. Like the new violin thing this weekend.."

Julia: (interrupts) "Right, right. I'm doing just ten to 15 minutes of holiday music before the Lucia Program at First Lutheran. Then I'm done with violin stuff until January. I promise."

Julia's Body: "Well, it's not just that. I mean, hooray. Performance #20 over a three month period. It's not just that. It's some of the mid-week late nights out with friends. It's the drop off in eating well. It's not dealing with work-related stress. And we won't even begin to discuss the fact that I know you have a bunch of holiday related stress."

Julia: "Um. Yeah. I still need to do some Christmas shopping. And our trip to Rochester before the holidays. I also need to finish that article-slash-review on "The Sounds of The Smiths" for Nick. Oh shoot! Peanut brittle. I think I have more people to make for this year. "

Julia's Body: (sighs) "That's it. Here's a severe warning." (Induces revolt in Julia's sinuses in the form of stuffy head/runny nose/draining) "There. Get some rest and settle the fuck down!"

(Scene)

Went to bed at 8pm last night and got up at 8am. I'm keeping my commitments for this weekend, but I'll be laying low around town for awhile.

Coffee Snobbery

When you consider this blog's name comes from a coffeehouse, you can assume I retain a smidge of coffee snobbery.

Generally, I share a disdain for chain coffee like Starbucks. But, as you can see from yesterday's post, I will venture into a store to try such delectable items that involve pumpkin. I get why Starbucks are popular. Even I found myself being mildly seduced by the mellow music playing over the sound system, the sleek furniture, the pleasant, readable font on their menu boards; and the feeling that I was in someplace you might find in a larger city rather than rural suburbia.

And to be more contradictory, I hold a special place in my heart for all things Tim Horton's. I love them even more now that our local chain carries the steeped tea. There's nothing better than being able to get a medium take-away cup of strong, black tea with real milk on a gray day.

Still though, I do like the familiarity of going into local coffeehouses and being greeted by name. I'm enough of a caffeine addict that there are three places in town I can go to and have this happen. One of my favorite moments was going into Ryder's Cup and Elise, the owner, knowing the drink I wanted and how I wanted it (chai made with soy milk and a shot of espresso) before I said much more than "Hello!" A more recent bit of happiness was going to Timothy's Cafe downtown and Tony giving me one look before saying, "You want a small chai." He was right. Of course, I think that Jeff at Labyrinth must be stalking my blog because while I'm in the middle of a pumpkin-craze, he's offering a pumpkin spice soy latte made with real pumpkin today.

Of course, I'll always whole-heartedly endorse people supporting their local caffeine-purveyors. It's really hard to duplicate the experience of patronizing a local coffeehouse and the product they offer when it comes to chains.

Attitude Adjustment

The return of gray, damp weather is putting me in a mood. Long live S.A.D. I've never been officially diagnosed, but this mood cloaking mist combined with some self-imposed stress, anxiety, and emotional crap seems to turn me into a darker, less user-friendly version of Julia.

Matt told the secretary for his office as we stood waiting for the elevator after lunch,

"Oh yeah. I just love this weather because it makes my wife want to dye her hair black, wear lots of mascara, and listen to Morrissey all day." I glared at him.

His statement isn't too far from the truth. Well, replace the mascara with wearing lots of black clothes and you've got a better picture. However, since I'm an adult, I try to not take out my inner angst on the general public. Usually, I try to extend this courtesy to my friends. That leaves Matt to deal with whatever manifests itself in my personality when I'm going through a stressful period.

Honestly, there are some things in my life that I can't lean on my friends for. I do worry that if I bottle it up too much that I risk losing myself. I never want to get to a point where all I feel comfortable offering is a fake,

"Hi! I'm fine! How are you? No, nothing new here!"

As with everything for this Libra, it's about balance. There are some things I bring into my life by choice and I have to find a more positive way to deal with them rather than freaking out about how my free time is about to go to zero and about whether I can mentally take on everything I put on my plate.

That said, if you run into me over the next few months and catch me muttering about the stratosphere and un-bracketed transcriptions while glaring at small children, just let me fly my freak flag for a moment before smacking me upside the head and ordering me to get myself a cuppa tea.

Method for Crash Learning

By the end of this week I will have picked up three different sets of music for upcoming concerts. While the performances aren't until November or early December, I still am faced with a somewhat monumental task of not just becoming familiar with, but being able to play all this music with some sort of magical competency.

Fortunately, there are some tools I can use to help me along the way. Since I was taught mainly using the Suzuki method, I usually try to find a recording of the music to listen to first. After iTunes or eMusic fills that need, I make a cuppa tea.

After the tea has steeped for the appropriate 3-5 minutes, I settle back down in front of my computer with my violin and the sheet music. For the next undefined space of time, I can be found wearing headphones, frowning at my music stand, invariably plucking my violin strings, and swearing under my breath.

By the time I'm done listening and frantically trying to find where the hell I am in the piece of music, my aggravation has made it necessary for me to check what blogs have been updated in my Google Reader. You can now usually safely assume I've given up trying to make sense of the chicken scratch note transcription on my music stand for the night and that I'm hoping not to embarrass myself too much at the next rehearsal where I'll find out how the music is really supposed to come together.

Add a few dozen more cuppa teas, more swearing, dogs hiding in corners when I just can't figure out what that note is in the stratosphere on my violin, and you've got a rough sketch of my practice regime. Here's to the next three months!

What Did You Do On Your Day Off?

I had a four-day weekend scheduled because originally we thought we were going to be out of town. Plans changed, but I decided to keep the time off to decompress from everything.

The first day of this long weekend I drank many strong cuppa teas and have a mug of hot goodness to my right as I type. I read some blogs, but decided it would be more fun to set my iTunes on the new Genius cycle and let it create a play list for me. OH. MY. GOD. I don't think I could have created a better play list myself. That turned into an hour or more of me freaking out my dogs by singing loudly along with every single song that came up. It's a perk I don't get to enjoy much because that sort of thing doesn't go over well at work. Go figure.

This afternoon, I got in a hair cut from my recently returned stylist, Danielle. She had deserted Jamestown for the wilds of Willoughby, Ohio for 8 months but decided she missed home too much. I'm a very happy girl with a nice hair cut. It's a long, layered style so even though it may look a little short in the front, the back is long. And yes, that sweet green color behind me is one of the walls in our kitchenette. We (aka Matt) painted our entire kitchen that color per my request after we moved in.

Sickies

My sinuses decided to declare war on me this weekend and started draining. I think some prolonged sleep overnight and generally taking it easy will fend off more serious illness, I still feel like someone punched me in the head a few times. Weirdly enough, hot tea does not seem to be helping with the pain in my throat. Tomato soup seems to have more soothing qualities, so I'm on my second "soup at hand" today. I should add that ibuprofen is helping marginally as well.

This is where I also let Galoot know that when he called me tonight, I was napping and having some sort of dream about Star Wars (prequel variety) and was thoroughly confused the whole time I was talking to him. My head was fuzzy enough that I was still trying to figure out how I managed to be sitting up and talking into my cell when he started talking about balls and crowns and dead things. I jest. Kinda.

Here's hoping I get scripts kind of early tonight so I can retire to my bed again.

Small Worlds Equal Memes

Nuts! I thought I was going to get out of doing this meme after reading it on Oh For Fun!, but then I noticed that she was tagged by Jennifer. I've never met Jennifer, but I know the guy she's dating because he used to share an apartment with a friend of mine. Turns out she tagged me and people I know through the Buffalo Blogosphere and WBNY.

Rules: Here are the rules which must be posted on your blog if you are tagged:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. My “tagger”: All Things Jennifer

2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.

a. I drum on the steering wheel while driving, and generally don't care if you catch me singing along with whatever is cranked on my car radio

b. My refrigerator is covered with mostly art magnets. I found while traveling that it was cheaper than buying posters and easier to pack whenever I took in an art exhibit

c. Every year I buy at least two to three calendars for our home. One is usually an art calendar, the other something a little more fun (like something by Anne Taintor). I've been doing this since Junior High.

d. I love flan, creme brulee, and tapioca. Something about vanilla custard desserts. I like the way they feel on my tongue.

e. I love black tea (English Breakfast, Salada, etc.) with milk. I'm not so crazy about herbal teas and only stock them at home for my friends who drink them.

f. I have some very set routines in regards to going to bed and waking up. Any deviation, especially in the morning, tends to make me feel off-balance.

g. I used to zone out and "walk" to school in my mind while sitting through 30-minute homilies at church as a kid because I knew it took 15-minutes to get to school and that once I got there in my mind, the sermon would at least be half over. Unfortunately, this has led to me zoning out quite easily whenever listening to a sermon, speech, or anyone droning on at a meeting about nothing.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).

Matt (Because he took a couple days off to play "the game")
Galoot (Because it seems to be one of the ways to get him to post)
Preppy Girl (Every time she does one of these, we find out some pretty neat stuff)
Mr. Social (He needs more memes on his blog. It can't be all art, all the time!)
Ineffablog (Ineffa just needs to get tagged more. Um. That sounds so wrong.)
Heidi (A gentle nudge toward another blog spot before the holiday season takes her away)
Sabrina (Just seeing if she actually still checks in on this blog in between *headdesks* at work)

Caffeine Sabbatical

I've been drinking a fair amount of caffeine-fueled products over the past couple of months. The last two weeks I've noticed that my increased intake hasn't necessarily resulted in that buzz or energy boost that I'm accustomed to getting. And then I read a a post by Gen X at 40 that may explain why.

As discouraging as the news may be, I think I might be able to pare down my intake of teas/coffee enough so that I make my body think it's getting something new and exciting in its system when I do have a treasured cuppa. The trick is cutting back. March has been quite frigid and I love my hot mug of tea during cold spells like this.

Spontaneous Head Implosion Averted

As I sip a medium double-cream Tim Horton's coffee, I wait for my frayed nerves to achieve normalcy. Ingesting caffeine does tend to have a calming effect on me when it's in the form of tea. Crap. I'm drinking coffee, aren't I? Oh well, I can be assured that I'll be able to stay awake for the 10 pm show of The Unexpected Guests.

Matt stopped down to the Arts Council on Friday and signed me up for UG's Improv Workshop that took place today. It was under sheer duress that I gave my blessings to him to do this. I think there's a special place reserved in heaven for my husband who has to put up my random, paranoid worrying.

The verdict? I had a good time. I laughed quite a bit and enjoyed trying to come up with things that were entertaining. I turned up the Sabres' gametime song, "Hurricane 2000", on my iPod while driving downtown to psyche myself beforehand. Thinking about the Sabres kicking arse on the ice tends to put me in a good mood. And once I got to the workshop space, it was comforting to see participants who looked like they might swallow their fingers for all the nail-biting they were doing helped.

I should disclose the fact that I have performed in front of large groups of people before. The largest was my high school graduation when I played a Mozart Concerto solo on the stage of the Eastman Theatre in front of 2,000 people. But that was a one-time thing never to be duplicated. Um. Shoot. I can't say that anymore, can I? Damn. Well, only one ulcer-inducing step forward in my journey needed for now. Excuse me while I go relax to some Bob Ross.

Right Now...

It's the perfect Sunday morning. I just finished reading through my favorite bits of the Sunday paper. Coupon clippings are neatly stacked next to my grocery list. My handmade mug from Anne is resting in the sink after its bowl was drained of hot tea. I'm joined on the couch on our porch by Buddy who is in ultra-cuddle mode. The sun scatters across the leaves of the trees on our street. The yellow, red and green leaves shaking the sun off with each gust of wind. There's patches of blue sky reflected on our glass table. The clouds are sweeping through and leaving smudges of gray. Joseph Arthur is singing "If I find my own way, how much will I find."

A Rattling In the Throat & Chest Area

I sat down late yesterday afternoon with a pot of tea and Martha Grime's latest Superintendent Jury mystery, when that worrisome cough became. It's now developed into that feeling where you know are coming down with something, but it's hard to tell what it is. One part of me thinks it's just sinuses draining and making me cough. Another part says, "It could be pneumonia. Your co-worker had pneumonia and came to work, although she was on antibiotics by then." The lead up to that line of thinking is, "Well, then there's all the clients that come in for services. God only knows what they're contagious with at the moment." Then the bizarre part of my brain wondered if it was possible to catch strep throat from two of my friends over instant messenger who were home sick with it last week. The last time I went to a doctor for being sick, she told me it was nothing, but did a strep test to appease me. I went back to work, per her orders, and then two days later got the call that I did indeed have strep.

What I do know is that I had strange dreams last night that I attribute to the latest Martha Grimes mystery. Hell, I didn't even take physics in high school and I was dreaming about discussing string theory and Shroedinger's cat. I'm just not in the mood to think about a cat being dead and alive at the same time, trust me.

A Friday Meme on Saturday

Four jobs I've had:
1. Amusement Park Ride Operator
2. Radio News Reporter/Anchor
3. Executive Assistant to a County Executive
4. Public Relations Specialist

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. When Harry Met Sally
2. Sleepless In Seattle
3. You've Got Mail
4. A Christmas Story

Four places I've lived:
1. Rochester, NY
2. Berea, OH
3. Buffalo, NY
4. Jamestown, NY

Four TV shows I love:
1. CSI
2. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
3. House Hunters
4. Designed To Sell

Ten highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched (added category courtesy of kottke.org:
1. 24
2. Lost
3. The Sopranos
4. Arrested Development
5. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
6. Battlestar Galactica
7. 30something (I know, that goes way back)
8. Deadwood
9. 8 Simple Rules
10. The Wire

Four places I've vacationed:
1. London, England
2. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
3. New Orleans
4. Washington, DC

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
2. Basil Chicken Curry
3. Nick Tahoe's Garbage Plate
4. Sushi from California Rollin'

Four sites I visit daily:
(In my "open all in tabs" catagory):
1. Kinja
2. Muzenew's Inside View
3. National Weather Service: Buffalo
4. Google

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In my car on a roadtrip
2. Under an afghan with an endless cup of tea and the latest edition of Real Simple
3. Quebec City
4. Any time between May 24 and June 8, 2003 (on vacation with my parents and my grandma)

Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Matt
2. Heidi
3. Courtney
4. Matt F

Meme By Necessity

I've been needing to blog, but finding time with the computer is rare lately. So blatently stolen from Heidi:

1. Using your Current Initials, choose a different name for yourself:
Janine Lucretia Calais Hadassa

2. If you were born outside of your era, when would you want to be born?
Edwardian

3. If you ran a store, what would you sell/have?
It would be a coffee shop that featured excellent coffee and teas. There would be wireless internet access, awesome music, lots of books/magazines for people to read while sipping their drinks, cushy couches and cafe style seating.

4. What part in a movie would you love to play?
The voice-over.

5. In your opinion, why do people suck?
Ignorance, lack of awareness of their actions on others

6. If you had your own state, what would you put on your new quarter?
The sign of infinity with the sun and moon

7. What's the oldest article of clothing you own?
A peasant dress from the 1970s or 60s. It was my mom's, but I don't know when she got it.

8.What piece of furniture have you replaced the most?
Couch pillows

9. What instrument do you wish you could be more than great at?
Percussion or piano

10. Record, Tape or CD?
CD

11. What do you think would be the best concert ever?
See this post

12. What is the best part of your favorite movie?
It's not my most favorite movie, but I love the scene in Love Actually where Mark shows up on Juliet and Peter's doorstep on Christmas with his silent message of love for Juliet.

13. What do you think is the most over-rated candy ever?
Hershey's chocolate, even though I enjoy it. There's other chocolate that's so much better!

14. If you were writing out your will, who would you give your CD collection to?
It would all go to Matt, naturally. But if he had no desire to keep it all, I probably would donate the rest to my high school's radio station, WIRQ.

15. If you could only debate two topics the rest of your life, what would they be?
Gay rights and religion

16. Out of your friends, who would you say you are most jealous of, artistically?
Anne has a great sense for coming up with cool gift ideas, wrapping, and crafty stuff. You almost don't want to throw out anything she gives you, even the envelopes on cards.

17. Most jealous of....intellectually?
I'd say Ben as well.

18.What do you collect?
CDs, neat refrigerator magnets

19. What is broken that you have, that you wish was fixed?
Matt's car.

20. What do you do when you're home, sick?
Sleep, watch HGTV

21. Story behind your username?
Muzenews is a combination of music and news; two things that have garnered much of my energy over the years.

22. Current Favorite Article of Clothing?
Jeans and this red/blue/navy/gray striped long-sleeve shirt

23. Line from the last thing you wrote for someone?
"Well, I'll be late for work if I don't send this off, so take care!"

24. A famous person you have met?
Alec Baldwin

25. Favorite way to waste time?
Reading blogs