Sunday, April 10, 2011

Tangible Tidbits 2011 #15: Minutes Turning Into Hours!

Hey, folks! I can't believe how quickly this month is flying by. Easter is only two weeks away! I thought it was further away for some reason. :o

I just finished typing up the minutes from the Bead Society's two-hour Board meeting this past Wednesday. It was my first Board meeting, although the President thinks I've "been around forever...that's a good thing" as she put it. :) It took me almost as long to type up the minutes as it took to have the meeting! Actually, I think it took a bit longer. :o I've sent them to the President for her input...I don't know if I reported more than was necessary or we just covered a lot of material that night. :p Our next general meeting is this coming Thursday instead of the third Thursday this month, due to Easter festivities at the Church where we hold our meetings. So, next weekend I'll be typing up minutes again! :\ Luckily, the Board is made up of a nice group of people. That makes the time pass more pleasurably. ;)

I spent three hours yesterday afternoon sitting in my backyard in the sunshine, filing and sanding the metal shape for my Chinese food container. One of my classmates probably saved me a month of sawing by showing me the electric jeweler's saw in the studio, a recent acquisition. It was like operating a sewing machine, only to saw metal! I broke half a dozen blades on my project, but it would have been 10 times that much if I had done it by hand. :p I'm really pleased with how the piece is shaping up. I just have to find a way to clean up the scratches left behind by the sandpaper and files. I don't really have the patience to sand the entire piece with multiple grades of sandpaper until the scratches all disappear. I did go over the entire piece twice each with four or five grades of sandpaper, but I wasn't thorough enough to make all of the scratches disappear. I'm hoping there's an electric tool I can use to cheat a bit on that. LOL

The reason I was working outside yesterday is because my Vitamin D level is low, and my psychiatrist mentioned this week that the supplements given to me by two other doctors are useless unless I take something to help my body process them or get exposure to sunshine. You'd think Vitamin D would come with the "processing agent" if that is the case, wouldn't you? So, I took advantage of the sunshine and worked on my back steps. :)

The Spike channel ran a "Star Wars" (IV, V, & VI) marathon last night, so I had it on. I know most of the first one (now called "A New Hope") by heart, so I didn't pay too close attention to that one. I watched "The Empire Strikes Back" more intently, although it is my least favorite of the three. I fell asleep within the last hour of "Return of the Jedi," since it was over at 3:00 a.m. I didn't like the newer three films (I, II, & III) nearly as much, although I liked the third of those the best because it seemed closer to the original series. I presume that's because Anakin finally became an adult. The first one seemed really boring to me, but I think that's because he was so young and I was impatient for him to grow up! LOL

I will be filing my income taxes this week. According to the accountant, I will be getting refunds from both the IRS and State of New Jersey, which is mind-boggling. I used to always owe New Jersey, even if the IRS owed me. Believe it or not, there is almost a $13,000 difference between what my annual income was last year on my Federal income tax form and what the State's form records. Naturally, the State amount is higher. I wonder what my State income taxes would be if I moved to San Diego? ;) Plus, there's more sunshine there...better for my Vitamin D level! :D

BTW, my coworker liked both pairs of white hoop earrings! She purchased one and may take the other at a later date. :) I also delivered a triple-strand Freshwater Pearl bracelet that I made for the owner of the salon where I get my nails manicured. She was really happy with it after I made it longer and changed the slide clasp to a toggle. :D

I received an upgrade for Bead Manager Pro last week and a second upgrade a few days ago, since people reported a few bugs in the first upgrade. I had already done the first upgrade, but it took me almost a half hour to make the second one today. It really should have taken about 10 minutes. I definitely find that when Mercury is in retrograde (as it is has been since March 30 and will continue to be until April 23), technology goes haywire. Mercury is the planet of technology and communication, so the internet, cell phones, email, and the like all become very unreliable during the three-week Mercury retrograde periods, which occur three or four times a year. I've noticed this for myself over the past couple of years. I also tend to get moody during certain aspects of the moon (I often learn about them after the period has past, so it's not a self-fulfilling prophecy), since the moon was in Pisces - a water sign - when I was born. I really find astrology fascinating. :)

I have to find some time to straighten out my office/studio soon. It's become a major disaster area, with notes to myself, tools, unfinished projects, new materials not yet recorded in the database, and items to be fixed all over the place. It's getting to the point where I can barely find anything! I used to be so neat and orderly in here. I wonder when that went out the window? :o

Have a great week! :D
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