paycheck, and exercise

I got my first ever paycheck today. I have basically been working part-time in my office since January, and I haven’t been able to get paid since I didn’t have my work authorization card. Well, after I got that at the end of May, I had to apply for Social Security, which took another couple of weeks. Then I had to be put in the payroll system, which took another two weeks, and then I had to be PAID, for all my hours, which took another 4 days. Meanwhile, all the money I’ve been earning has essentially been put in a virtual bank without interest. I don’t make a lot, but after taxes it’s enough to buy a 50-inch plasma TV, which I really wanted to get for my parents. They adamantly refused, however, and wouldn’t let me treat them to see Avenue Q next week (my brother’s decision)—I have to settle for buying dinner.

In other news, it’s that time of the month. Every once in a while I have a war with my body. The red spots on my skin has faded a lot, which is a good sign, but now they reveal indented scars which I can do nothing about. Every time my face tilts at a certain angle, I can see these tiny crevices along the side of my face.

Also, starting Monday, I’m going to start an exercise routine. I’m sick of people who complain, and complain, and do nothing to do something about it (yes, I am guilty of being one of those people). Nothing is stopping you. I hear it from my brother, who hates being in public. I hear it from my friends, who feel too shy to approach people. I hear it from my parents, who have always wanted to go on a cruise but never have. Basically, there are two choices: complain some more and make more excuses to keep yourself from doing what you want, or just get over yourself and do it.

I know I’m not overweight, but I’ve felt extremely out of shape for the last year or so. This has nothing to do with being fat (I haven’t looked at a scale in three years). I can only wear one pair of my jeans comfortably (and buying new ones mean defeat—I haven’t quite reached that stage yet). It’s not about the gradual putting-on-more-weight because I’m getting older. It’s just that every time I wear shorts and bend down, it’s like my thighs and tummy are straining against the fabric. Frisbee helps a little bit, but only when there’s a game, and that doesn’t happen nearly often enough.

So I don’t care if it’s drizzling, or 30 degrees outside, I’m going running. (Pain must be involved.) I would consider other forms of exercise, but I can’t stand aerobics and biking only works my lower half. Besides, I’d need people to do both those activities with, and I can’t even find people to run with me. It worked well for my mother (except she speed-walks) so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work for me. I just wish I had someone to run with me to keep me motivated, and it wouldn’t be such a drag. (Katy, you and Dom should move over here.)

Finny’s surgery

A few days ago, Ryan operated surgery on my computer, Phineas. But before I get into that, let me explain.

Elements necessary for a good computer experience, as authorized by me:

• a clean desktop (no icons whatsoever). I even want the taskbar to hover, so that unless I touch it, I see nothing but my wallpaper, in full. I am very particular about this, and will go to great lengths to ensure that this condition is satisfied.

• a completely customizable style. I like rounded edges. I am a fan of the Mac OS X interface, but the more customizable, the better. I specify window decorations, colours, minimal-but-smooth-looking icons when necessary, and a decent font for menus and text. After many trials, I’ve finally settled on 8px Trebuchet MS for the menus.

• an affinity for certain applications (a partial list): Adobe Photoshop, Trillian Pro (with the milk skin), Microsoft Office 2007 (I like the ribbon, and Powerpoint is very pretty), the necessary Mozilla applications (Firefox, Thunderbird and Sunbird), a decent music manager (iTunes, or something up to that effect), WinRar, some video player than can do .avi files, and utorrent.

• anything extraneous cleaned out. If I don’t need it, I don’t want it on my system.

• necessary and preferred specs: widescreen, wireless, a sizable hard-drive, a long-lasting battery, small, thin and portable (my dream is to get this one day), and of course, everything else.

I really am a simpleton when it comes to computers (I’m not a computer person in the slightest). I am an aesthete who likes functionality. 9 times out of 10 I would pick the application that looks more pleasing.

Unfortunately, not all of this exists yet, so I have come the closest I can to making my fair Phineas as close to perfection as it can be. Ryan helped me install Linux (kubuntu) onto it, deciding to sacrifice the loss of Trillian (just the avatars in ‘Pro, but I like my icons dammit) in favour of Pidgin. Quite a few of my favourites work in Linux already, like utorrent, all the Mozilla apps, and WinRar. If I can find an equally satisfying audio player I won’t cry over iTunes, and VLC has already proven to be better than Windows Media. The ones that hurt the most are Photoshop (sorry GIMP, you do not compare) and the pretty MS Office 2007 (but I’ll get over it. Eventually).

Otherwise, KDE is a treat. Especially when Beryl is fully integrated and I can have squiggly windows that burst into flames upon closing and a view-all-open-apps like the Mac, not to mention 4 desktops, without it crashing every 10 seconds. I’ve made the colours and decorations and fonts to my liking. It has been a good experience so far.