Question of the Week.

We have all heard the Old Wives Tales, "they say" things and the superstitions.

List at least 3, you can list more if you want, of things you have heard.

"Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck." I didn't understand when I was younger why this was good luck; now I do, as it's a rather dated/old expression, from when a penny was good luck and not a pocketweight. This one reaches me; I tend to pick up found pennies even if I have no earthly use for a penny. (It doesn't say that you can't put it back down, though, and I figure dropping it into the charity jars at the grocery store is a tiny beginning of good luck for someone else, too.)

"Step on a crack, break your mother's back." A child's superstition. I believed it wholeheartedly about half the time when I was young; I'd carefully dodge cracks. On the other hand, the rest of the time I didn't even think about it. I understood, at some level, that I was humoring it, I think, when it bugged me.

"If a black cat crosses your path, it's bad luck." Especially if it's the ever-pushy Basta...but anyway....

And a fourth one for free: "Breaking a mirror means seven years of bad luck." Unless you replace the carpet the shards landed in, it very well might. :P

I kinda like timezone flip, the morning after.

I got up at about 6:45 this morning, with no alarm. I'd had enough sleep, my body was happy, and by golly it's after nine on the east coast (I hadn't fully adapted, but enough to do that, at least).

So the laundry will be done by noon. Dad will stop by a bit later and I'm loaning him a few DVDs. Then I go to the library, return the book I took with me, pay the fine on the one that was one day late (ooo, a dime), and look for other stuff. I'm not sure yet if I'm going up to the Japanese Gardens after or not. It does sound vaguely nice, but I'm not sure if that's of the "I want to go do/see/be" or of the "habit" variety of nice, so we'll see.

If you live in or near the Portland area and haven't been to the Japanese Gardens at least once, and you like nature, gardening, Japanese gardening, decorative sand and rocks, and/or water features, it might be worth a visit. It's good in all seasons but I think most people enjoy it the most in spring - unfortunately, March 1 brings an increase of the adult admission fee (50 cent increase, to 6.50; no other costs increasing).

Going to runaround dostuff for the afternoon, come back and be online in the evening, I think. I may also stop and get myself some sort of treat for the week, we'll see. Only if I can think of or find something I really want that's in-budget, but my budget is pretty good since it's the first of the month and I just got back from a work trip. :) The really-want part is likely to be the limiting factor; I find that the more I think about what I'll use, the less I want much of what I once would have bought.

Also want to get some of the stuff I didn't get done on the trip, done today!

Contentments. Accomplishments, money, learning.

It's good to be home. It feels right. I've been roleplaying again and had a great deal of fun, even if my poor character was utterly baffled. Back into the swing of things and getting a feel for her reactions, which is good.

The laundry was indeed done by noon. I went out shopping, no stop at the Gardens but a good brisk walk around Clackamas Town Center (it sounded neat). Didn't buy anything there, did stop and get stuff at Rite Aid (they had my dental gum and the skin lotion I got a travel pack of for the trip and really liked) and Fred Meyer (Impulse buys: a few candy bars for 25 cents per, more sandalwood incense - which I've been wanting, and some bulbs for my landscaping efforts. Guess I'd better figure out where the heck I'm putting those).

Also stopped at Borders, but it failed to intrigue me in the least. I am so pleased - since I started tracking myself on a budget (limiting my spending on personal items; medical, household, etc., are tracked separately from this), I haven't gone over it once. Even when, like today, I have a good budget - I am much less tempted by things when I think if I'll use them. It's really cool. And, as the proof that this is a Good Thing, my credit card bill that arrived today was 1/3 what I was routinely seeing as my low end before I started doing this. (My next won't be so low. It has the "aw, shit, they're changing my insurance!" buys from the pharmacy on it, which pretty much total this month's bill completely. It also has the hotel stay and rental car from this work trip, but I should have the expense check before those come in.)

I've got the community college booklets. Well, one's community activities, but close enough. I'm looking at a few classes. Once again looking at guitar; once again skipping it. I really want to learn. I also don't have the time to practice, right now. Or rather, I'd have to sacrifice something else to do it.

I'm thinking of taking something exercise-related, as I'm trying to increase my level of exercise anyway. There are a couple possibilities. There are also some interesting-looking single-session workshops. If I take everything I'm still considering, it would be $123. However, I don't have the least intention of taking every weekend course under the sun. None of them overlap, I grant you, but.... Good heavens, no.

Before I go further, going to check the pager rotation schedule at work. If I take any regular class, I'll have to trade off for the nights I trade it on if I don't want to have the bloody thing, but for the one-offs, picking between similar courses may take into account when I'm scheduled on it. :) Also ought to check the go-live schedule. A lot of the one-shots are in April, though, and the next scheduled live is in May, I believe.