"heaven" and "hell"

Heaven: Upgrading the memory on my iMac yesterday from 256MB to 2GB. I feel like I'm at warp speed! Seriously, scrolling through iPhoto I'm overshooting when I use the mouse because I'm used to such a sloooow response. I wish I had done this ages ago! What prompted it was that I wanted to install Mac's newest operating system but discovered that my specs weren't up to snuff. Now I'm all like, "Hmm, what else can I upgrade?" I'm also proud
about installing it myself--simple but a bit tricky to get the clips into the notches...I was afraid of pressing too hard. I found out how to do it here.

Hell: Feeling the effects of giving up the Aeron chair. The chair was always E's but for the past few years I've had it at my desk. Upon this move, now that E has his study cubby and has room for the chair I gave it back, insisting I'd be fine with the spare dining room chair. Um, can I say torture? After doing some on-line research I'm liking Steelcase's Leap Chair...and hoping I can find one used for cheap.

We're hosting a potluck Easter brunch this Sunday. It's kind of snowballed into a 14-person event. I had invited some people and didn't hear back from them (until yesterday that is!) so I invited more people. Then I ran into more people and thought, Oh, I should invite them, too! The fact that pretty much everyone said yes confirms to me that Easter is an under-celebrated holiday as a community. I've always liked doing something special on Easter--after all, it's the more important holiday in my faith.

Random thoughts and happenings--

- I re-sent in my CV for this adjunct psych teaching job and felt embarassed by my lack of publications and thought about not including the research portion of my CV but sent it all in anyway.

- Always learning about my hubby: apparently the fragrance-free shower gel just doesn't do it for him; he wants to feel spring fresh!

- The other day I got to talking to the woman next to me on the subway while I was with Simone. She said she had a 12-year-old daughter; later I found out she's only 33 (my age). Wow, imagine if Simone was 12.

- Feels like I always find out about concerts too late: sold out Monday at Irving Plaza: Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin, Meiko, Cary Brothers, and Priscilla Ahn.

- I had coffee with our old neighbor from Building III and discovered we could have been neighbors again. One of the apartments we looked at before bidding for this one was on the same floor as their new place in Building V (and had a balcony, and faced the park part of our property, but cost much more). Having good neighbors is worth a lot.

- Date night: E and I went to hear Jeffrey Sachs talk about Community Development at the Columbia Alumni Club. We also attended the annual AAFE (Asian Americans for Equality) dinner--I enjoyed the Chinese banquet; we've got another one coming up at Lynn and Chris's wedding!

- They're updating the elevators in all the buildings. We have two so one is out of commission at a time; they hope to be done by Thanksgiving which is feeling quite a ways away. Yesterday S and I did laundry which turned out to pretty much be an all-day affair considering there was also someone moving that day.

- For the Mercy Team I went to a all-day Red Cross emergency preparedness day for community faith leaders. My table had a rabbi, a chaplain, an elder from a black Harlem church...interesting mix. Simone did very well and was the belle of the ball. Auntie Joy who is visiting from Sweden took her for the afternoon.

- We had a nice dinner with Joy, May, and Angela on Sunday. I've been fed well recently--chicken chili soup last Thursday thanks to May & Joy and roast chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans thanks to Otto & Joy.