RockstarCarlene.com: The Unrelenting Optimist

Sunday quote

Carlene — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:30:55 +0000

“Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket.”

-Andrew Carnegie

Dear Jesus….

Carlene — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:34:22 +0000

Dear Jesus (or whomever is responsible for today’s happy occurrence):

Thank you for allowing me, at age 27, to finally have made my last student loan payment. As an added “You’re awesome!”, thank you for making it a reduced payment. $22.37 was a pretty manageable amount.

With love,

Your loving (and FREE OF EDUCATIONAL DEBT!!) lamb, Carlene

Sunday quote

Carlene — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:30:07 +0000

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”
–David Lloyd George

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Sunday quote

Carlene — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:30:23 +0000

This is a particular favorite of mine.

“Always do right – this will gratify some and astonish the rest.”

-Mark Twain

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Sunday quote

Carlene — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:30:19 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day! Take today’s quote with a grain of love….remember that love is a daily habit. **note to self…**

“First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.”
-Rob Gilbert

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Red glass for Valentine’s Day

Carlene — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:30:17 +0000

I love, love, love colored glass. Thus far in my life I have managed to obtain (and not break) two cobalt blue wineglasses; my dream is to one day own a collection of rainbow-colored glassware, from wineglasses to juice glasses.

I’m not talking about lightly hued glass, either. These are vivid, deeply hued, can-barely-see-through-them glasses with matching bases, not a hint of clear glass anywhere on them.

Next up after red glasses: black glasses. I know, awesome, right?

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The iPad, and why I hate debating

Carlene — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:30:08 +0000

Ian and I were talking the other day about the iPad; he snidely called it “Apple’s epic fail.”

I’m a big Apple fan. Not in a “I instantly and blindly purchase every item Apple puts out and bow 5x daily toward the company headquarters in California” type of way, more in a “I find that my iPhone enhances my life in many clear and obvious ways, and my 30” computer monitor is pretty great, too” type of way.

It’s my enjoyment of my iPhone that made me turn to Ian and ask, “What is everyone’s problem with the iPad?” Ian started listing off all the “shortcomings” of the iPad – it doesn’t film video, you can’t plug USB cables into it, it won’t floss your teeth for you, blah, blah, blah – until I finally interrupted him.

“Isn’t it on the market to be a super-awesome alternative to the Kindle?” I asked. “Well, yes,” Ian admitted, “But everyone was expecting it to be similar to a laptop for five-hundred dollars.”

I paused, then said, “So, basically people made predictions based on little to no information, and when Apple launched a product that is basically exactly what it promised to be – even a little cooler than that, in my opinion – everyone is upset because it’s not what they had invented in their minds?”

Ian was silent for a moment, and to sum up his next paragraph or so of response, replied, “Well, yes, I guess that’s about right, although Steve Jobs did suggest it would replace laptops.”

For the record, Steve Jobs is totally correct, in my world at least; my laptop has a huge & beautiful 17” screen, has a million capabilities, and I use it to surf the web. Period. That’s it. I’d just about die without my iPhone: I use it to surf the web, write emails, record song snippets, jot down writing ideas, take photos, etc., and while I would file a police report if it ever went missing (wait, there’s an app for that), I might actually find myself relieved if my laptop went M.I.A. and I never had to lug all million pounds of it around the house again.

There are very few things in this world that are right for everyone. In fact, I’d say food, water, and shelter would be about the only things that fall under that category. Even those have a wide variety of what each individual views as “correct.”

What is the point of fighting over something that’s just not right for you? I personally love the idea of the iPad; I have been wishing for a larger, easier to read version of my iPhone for over a year. It’s perfect for me. I’m excited to have a bigger screen and an easier way to type out emails while I take a rare, luxurious morning to work from home. I’m excited that I can stick it in my purse to lug it around with me 24/7.

I understand and am completely okay with the fact it may not be perfect for crazy techy gadget guy who needs it to do quantum physics while PLUGGED INTO A USB CORD, but seriously, there’s probably an app for that, too.

And to quote one of the best lines I’ve found from my five seconds of web research:

They were never going to like the iPad. They didn’t like the iPhone. It didn’t have the camera of their Nokia 1675Qwerz, now did it? If the iPad solved world hunger they would have bitched about the lack of flash.

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Sorely lacking in the red blood cell department

Carlene — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:00:19 +0000

I've got no color left in me. Also, I've got buttons for eyes.

I’m starting to get a nagging suspicion that I’m severely anemic. I don’t mean a little “my hands are always cold” anemic, but full-out “I don’t have enough iron in my body to keep it functioning properly.”

Beyond the obvious fact that nearly every doctor I’ve ever seen has told me that I’m at least a little anemic, and the equally obvious fact that I now display every single symptom without any shadow of doubt, it was the last and most confusing symptom to pop up that pushed me to take action.

That symptom was a sore tongue, and it took me days to realize that this was a little more serious than just a mild ache; it’s my mouth’s equivalent of a pounding headache. Only, unlike a headache, my tongue hurting produces faces that are inappropriate for public places.

I’ve also started to notice a pattern in my “off” weeks; mainly, that they pop up immediately following my period. I’m sure I’m a joy to be around; we start with PMS, then there’s during-MS, and now I’ve apparently tacked on post-MS. That leaves me one good week a month. No wonder I never make any money; how can a girl get any work done with all this MS BS?

The secondary experience to make me realize I might have a problem was my sudden and drastic inability to get even the slightest pick-me-up from Red Bull, which as I explained in this entry is now my answer to that pesky thing called the “work day.”

So, I’ve been reading up a little on what I might be able to do without going to the doctor (welcome to life without health insurance, thanks Massachusetts), and it looks like the best way to increase your iron levels is by taking an iron pill in the morning as well as a second pill in the middle of the day/afternoon.

The websites also suggested laying off caffeine, but hahahahahahaha it’s like they didn’t know I own a business and need the energy of fifteen people all packaged neatly into one. I’m obvious trying the pills first; I might consider that alternative if the new supplements don’t work and Hell also conveniently ices over.

The good news is it’s pretty hard to accidentally kill yourself with an iron overdose if you’re not a little kid; when we turn into big kids, our bodies won’t absorb more than a certain amount at a time. That makes the prospect of playing doctor to myself a bit less daunting. A bit.

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What did YOU do today?

Carlene — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:30:34 +0000

Sometimes my job is so cool. Here is an unedited still from the campaign we shot Tuesday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; this is when we were on the helipad.

For the record, these folks are awesome.

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