A Few Of My Favorite Things Today.

1. I'm obsessed with STASH tea right now and my absolute favorite is called Christmas In Paris.  I should also add that I'm obsessed with Paris, and my Francophile tendencies are probably what drove me to try the tea in the first place.  Unfortunately it was late in the season when I discovered it and while I tried to buy the remaining stock and hoard enough to last until next Christmas I only ended up with a few boxes of which I'm down to four tea bags remaining and it's only March!!  It's a got a hint of chocolate, lavender and mint.  I'm actually a bit frightened of peppermint tea but this is subtle and the tea is basically perfection so you needn't add anything to it (sweetener or milk).  Even if the description  doesn't sound good to you, if you see it try it!!  It tastes luxurious and comforting and is a calming, peaceful way to unwind after a stressful day.

2. Queen - Radio Ga Ga (specifically the Live Aid Wembley version or any live version...in fact this might extend to any live version of any Queen song but this really highlights their audience interaction)
I bought my Dad the Queen - Live At Wembley Concert DVD for Christmas and we recently watched it.  I never think of myself as a huge Queen fan but this set me off on an obsession with Brian May's guitar playing and Freddie Mercury has always impressed me with his stage presence and talent so I started watching videos on YouTube and the version from the Live Aid Wembley show may be even better then the one on the concert DVD which is from the Magic tour.  Just a phenomenally talented band and incredible performers.  I love to see bands that look happy and seem genuinely grateful to be performing and Queen just seems to give it all in every performance.  Here's a link:
Radio Ga Ga - Live Aid Wembley

3. Jenson Button - Today's the anniversary of his Formula One Debut and this year's season kicks off this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix.
If you're wondering why I'd be obsessed with Jenson Button there's a few reasons not limited to the fact that he's a World Champion F1 Driver, or a fantastic triathlete with his own charitable trust foundation, or by all accounts as far as I can tell a pretty nice guy or..oh yeah, did I mention he looks like this?

 
I mean seriously who wears a suit this well?

The Phantom 9/80.

   I work a 9/80 schedule...in theory.  For those that don't know, the typical 9/80 schedule is a 2 week period working 9 hour days Monday-Thursday and 8 hours every other Friday, the perk being you get the other Fridays off.  In actuality, I either can't manage to conform to that schedule and end up working some on my "off-Friday" to make up time, or putting in extra time on that Friday.  Rarely do I actually get my off-Friday off.

   I also work an hour away from home and spend 2 hours a day commuting.  So it's an 11 hour day and if you take lunch it can easily become 12 hours (I do attempt to fit in a run during lunch once in a while, although I've largely given up on actually going out to lunch) and obviously taking into account any errands or days I arrive late and busy times when I'm expected to work overtime...like now, I'm really not home a lot.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly get satisfaction out of my job (I'm a software developer/engineer) but I wish I were better at doing it successfully and maintaining some semblance of balance in my life.  I'm not currently able to do that...at all.  So if anyone has any tips please let me know.  I know getting in earlier would help and I'm working on it...it's a challenge for me.  I'm not a morning person.  Never have been and doubt I ever will be.  So getting up early just makes everything seem harder.

   Anyway, sometimes I'd prefer being able to work a shorter day and getting home in time to actually do something during a week night without having to worry about making up that time.  It would be nice to have dinner with my husband, or see friends, or make it to my running group again, or actually cook dinner once in a while.  Even just a little extra time to do something productive so all my chores don't pile up for the weekends.  And I don't want to have to go to bed at 9pm because I have to get up so early.  I wonder what other 9/80ers think of the schedule.  Does anyone else out there have trouble with it? 

Recalled To Life.

   I would like to say I am back; however, as I have changed my blog address you have no idea I was ever here in the first place.  Nevertheless this is my second foray into the blog world aside from some live-journaling with somewhat questionable intentions.  Part of the reason why I don't have a blog is because I tend to find doing anything on a regular schedule a chore.  And part of the reason is because what I feel like writing about tends to be so random I can't quite "genre-lize" my blog which makes me wonder who on earth would bother reading it?  Although, if you are reading this at least one person has made it this far so consider yourself in rare company!  Or lonely company, you could be my only reader.
   I suppose my goal in having a blog this time around is somewhat two-fold.  First, I'd like my blog to serve as a place to channel my own thoughts and share whatever is on my mind.  Whether it's a book review, a recipe, something I'm listening to, a news story that caught my interest, something I'm struggling with, or excited about, or anything in between.  I find writing to be cathartic and as I tend to always have a lot I want to say, and not always a lot of people that want to hear it, I'm hoping this allows me a place to vent for lack of a better word.  If anyone reads it, great!  If they comment, better!  If not, my mind can at least be quieter knowing I have said what I wanted to say.  And the second and ultimate goal of my blog would be to create a forum that fosters discussion and the dissemination of knowledge.  I feel like there is a void missing in my real life that I am trying to fill in the Pseudolife.  No, every post won't be something deep or intellectual but I am hoping that this blog will enrich my life and I would hope, although it sounds a bit egotistical, that it could evolve into something that would enrich the lives of my readers as well.
      Now, well I feel like I really put a lot of pressure on this blog but truthfully I realize this is a rather haphazard introduction and has more than likely just served to demonstrate that I have no actual plan for the blog at all.  I'm just going to write what's on my mind and let it evolve as it will, with the hope that over time something coherent will appear out of the chaos, or at least something worth reading.
   I'll summarize this by mentioning, that the title of this first post comes from "Book The First" of A Tale Of Two Cities.  I read the novel just a few years ago, rather later than most people probably do (if they read it at all).   I believe it is standard high school reading for a lot of people but I was home schooled so my education was anything but standard...more on that later.  Regardless, I adored the novel and of course Sydney Carton and that line stuck with me and felt like a fitting start to this chapter.