Posts Tagged ‘preferences’

Sleeping positions

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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How do you like to sleep?

Since Panda sleeps much earlier and I sit in bed on my computer, I’ve noticed some strange sleeping habits and positions that he’ll get into. He loves to be tightly tucked in under the blanket, complete with a tight tuck under his chin. It shuts in the hot air so much that he’ll sweat at night and I recently observed a drop of sweat making its way down his face and neck (ick). I prefer more air flow and will sometimes lay on top of the thick blanket with a light blanket or have various body parts sticking out of the blanket (typically my feet or one leg). I also like to have one leg bent up and one straight out. Since I leave a low light on, Panda will sometimes find creative ways to block the light – usually he’ll crook his elbow over his eyes, but I’ve found him with my nightgown wrapped around his head like a turban before.

There are some commonalities we share though – for one, we both like to sleep with our arms laying next to our heads, elbows bent. Perhaps we like airing out our armpits? We also like to take up a lot of space. For me, this generally means spreading out and draping my leg over him if necessary (he hates that). For him, it’s usually some strange contortion he managed to get into while twisting in his sleep. I’ve had to provide photo evidence of his transgressions to prove how he overran the bed and left me no space!

cat sleeping on bed with body twisted in strange positionI also like to keep things fresh by changing where we sleep in the bed. At first we’d swap sides every now and then. A few times we oriented our heads and feet the opposite way. Most recently we are sleeping sideways, parallel to the wall that the bed is against. Each time we change, Panda complains and hates the idea, but I’ve found that if I keep pushing, he tries it out and ends up enjoying it. Then that new spot is the default and the next change is another little battle (it’s like he forgot he didn’t want his “spot” the last time we changed either).

Even the cats have their funny sleeping preferences, like Smokey’s “happy nap” where she lays on her back in the middle of the floor, belly up and all paws facing the ceiling. As soon as she notices someone trying to take a picture of that, she quickly rolls over and runs off. When she’s in boxes, she loves to prop her chin and one paw over the edge. Meanwhile Missy is a huge fan of crawling in under the covers to snuggle up next to you. Or, if she’s on top of the blanket she’ll often end up belly up, chest to the side, and head twisted back. That’s when you know she’s really sleeping well. 🙂

So do you also have your own sleeping quirks?

Better work at work

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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It was back to work today after working from home Thursday and Friday due to the snow. While Panda happily snoozed away, I got up and went in for a normal day’s work. I felt much less stressed working in the office than I do when I’m home. The home environment makes me worry that I’m not working hard enough and it leaves me out of touch with what’s going on. I’d actually rather just work at the office, much as working from home sounds like a cool concept. Funny, since I never thought that’d be the case. I guess I just like home to be where I can relax and not think about work. Shouldn’t your home be your sanctuary?

Plus, today was fun because I took a Starbucks break with coworkers, made friends with a new guy in our company’s co-working space, got a cool delivery, found out I get to travel for work next month, and helped out on a couple of initiatives. An eventful day that sort of flew by and was pretty productive! Not much more I could ask for. I went home feeling good and looking forward to more days like this. I love being engaged and excited about what I’m working on. And with the recent shift in my responsibilities, I’m getting more and more of that, which is just awesome.

Do you prefer to work from home or at the office?

And the package I received, which was pretty thrilling:

girl holding thumbs up standing next to canvas vertical banner with "does paperwork have you tied up in knots? canvas has a cure!" messaging

It came out beautifully!

plastic x shape banner stand

What a cool design. Simple, lightweight, and effective.

Pilot communication styles

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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I like captains who give updates during the flight and today I experienced the best one yet! I don’t recall what he said prior to takeoff since I was absolutely exhausted and dozed off, but at various points throughout our cross-country journey, he shared little tidbits of information. I loved knowing when we’d reached cruising altitude, when we were flying over various places, and why it was taking longer than usual to get to the gate. This captain was so well-spoken that he really put me at ease and made our trip a lovely experience (of course getting that first class upgrade also helped! ;)).

Oftentimes, pilots will only check in briefly at the beginning and end of the trip, divulging very little. I always wished they’d say a little more when some interesting mountain was visible or a particularly large city. It’s nice to get an idea of how much ground you’ve covered and what you’re actually looking at when you stare down at earth. Whenever I do international flights, I usually don’t bother with the movies offered, but keep my screen tuned to the flight stats screen. I love checking in on our altitude, ground speed, progress, and other facts.

I know some people may not care or want to be disturbed during their flight, but I’m a fan of more communication! I like when the pilot checks in every hour or two with a brief update. Usually it’s no longer than 20 seconds, so surely you could handle that interruption, no? For my inquisitive mind’s sake, I sure hope I get on more flights with captains who are as warm and informative as mine today. It totally enhanced my flying experience!

aerial view of sedona arizona red rock state park landscape

Our pilot let us know when we were passing over Sedona, Arizona and got a view of Red Rock State Park.

aerial view of big bear region with big bear lake in distance

Thanks to the captain, I can identify this area as Big Bear.

365great Day 223: desserts

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 223: dessertsI’m a sweets kind of person. That’s why my favorite course is dessert and I often don’t wait until the end of a meal to enjoy it. In fact, in high school my best friends and I would go out to restaurants and get our dessert brought out first. It confused many a waiter, though I’m not sure why they made it such a big deal. So what if we wanted to treat the dessert like an appetizer? I figured we may as well start with the best part and work our way from there. I also find desserts to be really fabulous breakfast items. My favorite is a giant cone of vanilla bean ice cream to kick off the day. I did that many a morning in middle and high school and I thought it was great!

365great Day 222: sunshine

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 222: sunshineToday I found myself noticeably more alert and energetic when the sun came out in the afternoon. It hadn’t struck me before, but I think I might have a mild case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Perhaps I’ve lived in the gorgeous Southern California sun for too many years now. While I’ve certainly missed having weather patterns like precipitation and experiencing true seasons, it hasn’t been all that easy readjusting to east coast life. When the weather is dreary (and often it is), all I want to do is snuggle up with a hot drink and relax with some mindless activities. It’s tough to get work done when I can’t feel my toes, my fingers are stiff, and I feel like I’m on the verge of being under the weather. I’ve been downing hot water these days – a good 8-10 mugs a day – and that helps at times, but it’s only a temporary solution. Maybe I’m going to want to move back to SoCal sooner than I thought… I mean, with sunshine nearly every day, it’s always great to be there.

The quiet of the night

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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My favorite time of day for myself is in the middle of the night. As the world around me sleeps, I can get lost in my thoughts. It’s very peaceful and I love escaping into my own little world, where I play out a variety of scenarios to work out my thoughts. My mind is always racing a mile a minute and it’s hard to gather myself when there’s so much going around me. But at night, I can shut out all that and concentrate on what’s going on in my head. There’s something about being pensive that feeds my soul.

sitting in bed working on laptop in dark with glow of computer screen lighting up surrounding areaI tend to over-analyze and over-think. I can’t help it! I see the pros and cons and all the little details in between. Sometimes it drives me crazy, so I need time to process it all quietly. I totally did this when I was waiting to hear back about my job. How long should it be before I hear back? Was this a good sign? Was that? Should I keep waiting? Should I apply elsewhere? My head was spinning in circles by the time I got my offer letter and I was so thrilled I grinned uncontrollably. Actually, I’m still struggling to not think too hard about everything I do. Nowadays I wonder if I’m getting to work early enough, if I’m working fast enough, if I’m taking too many breaks, if I’m leaving too early… and at night is when I can reign in those swirling thoughts, calm myself down, and reason that I’m doing ok.

You see why I need time to process? I’m trying not to get overwhelmed by the stimuli of the world, even as my thoughts about them nearly suffocate me. It’s a tough life. 😛

Baking: the lazy solution

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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baking tray of cauliflower in oven

You can make everything from amazing desserts like cheesecake or brownies to full-on dinners like lasagna or my new favorite – cauliflower!

I love baking the most because I’ve found it to be the least effort for the most reward. All you have to do is prep some ingredients, shove it in a hot box, set a timer, and sit back. This easy-to-do mix and bake routine cuts out a whole lot of complication. Most other ways of cooking involve much more maintenance along the way – stirring, flipping, and otherwise moving the food around. You can’t really leave the kitchen for more than a few minutes at a time. Plus, since you tend to use oil, it gets messy as you put cold items into the hot oil. So when it comes to less messy and less work, baking is my answer. I mean, I’m all about simplicity and low-maintenance in my routines.

365great Day 186: water pressure

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 186: water pressureOne of the things I really enjoy is a nice hot shower with good water pressure. It’s so uncomfortable when the water sort of dribbles out and barely covers any area. Similarly, when I wash my hands I prefer a good stream of water to help create some super sudsy action when I use soap. At our current apartment, the water pressure can be weak and I’m really looking forward to moving in to the new condo partly for the stronger water pressure. I totally turned on the shower ever so briefly when I was visiting the model home once, just to make sure the water shot out instead of just falling down. On the UK trip, Panda and I stayed at hotels where the water pressure was awesome. I really enjoyed that and I can’t wait to have that at home! I mean, it’s like getting a gentle massage every time and that’s always great in my book.

Window or aisle?

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , ,
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I’ve been traveling a lot lately and in my flight back to LA not long ago, I had an aisle seat for the first time in ages. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a window seat. I always get a window seat. But, since I was given an exit row seat I figured it would be nicer than cramped in a normal aisle by the window, right? Little did I know how uncomfortable it would be for me to not be able to look outside. As it turns out, being able to stare blankly at the clouds, towns, and landscapes going by is actually really important to me. So that makes me wonder: do you prefer the window seat or aisle seat? (I’m assuming most people wouldn’t go for the center seat.)

row of airplane seats in set of three

I’m all about the windows because I love looking out. I don’t mind being squished in a small space and I rarely need to get up to move around or use the restroom. If the flight is around 5 hours or less, I almost never get up. It’s only on more long-distance (typically international) flights that I would get up. Plus, I love having the wall to lean on.

Meanwhile, Panda is an aisle seat kind of guy. He prefers the extra space to spread out a little and the freedom to get up as he pleases. He doesn’t mind not seeing out and when in first class, he gets to choose his meal earlier!

So what about you? Do you always sit in a window or aisle seat? Or do you like the center seat??

Toothpaste preferences

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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No, I’m not talking about what brand of toothpaste you like to use. Perhaps more accurately I’m wondering about your toothpaste tube squeezing preferences.

collage of toothpaste tubes squeezed randomly versus neatlyYou see, I’m a bit OCD about my toothpaste tubes and they must be neatly squeezed toward the top of the tube, with the empty part flat and usually folded over. I don’t know how I developed this particular preference since my parents don’t appear to do it. It drives me crazy when I use a tube that is just a misshapen glob, where squeezing it causes the toothpaste not just to come out the top slowly, but sometimes even pushes some of it further back into the tube. Panda’s the type to also let his toothpaste tubes run wild and I’ll find it looking like the one on the left. I then carefully squeeze everything towards the lid and flatten out the bottom. Usually I’ll use a rubber band to keep the flap folded over so his next squeeze doesn’t undo my work.

Am I weird to be so picky about this? I can’t help it; it’s just something I have to fix. What is your toothpaste tube squeezing preference? Do you even have one?

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