Tuesday, April 29, 2003

Since Mary and Eric don't have their surveys up, I'll just have to take some other kind of surveys today.

You are a Romulan. Cunning and clever, you can out-
wit to get yourself out of tight situations.


What Major Race of Star Trek would you be?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yeah, right! Although I wonder if it has to do with the last question, which I answered at random.


So which fairy tale archetype are you? Hmm??

made by Michelle at EmptySpace.


Hm. I guess being indecisive can be a bad thing after all. :)

But with a quick vote change, I became


So which fairy tale archetype are you? Hmm??

made by Michelle at EmptySpace.


Like this one a little better.


You are Robin Hood: Men In Tights
Fegalas? No... you're strait... yeah.... You many
want to spend less time working ongetting your
seams strait.


Which Mel Brooks Movie Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Tell me, does that box look crooked to you? :)

Monday, April 28, 2003

They really weren't pulling my leg. Donna Andrews really was at the book festival yesterday. She flew in Sunday morning. Talk about dedication to fans! And she remembered who I was and apologized for not remember whether it was spelled with a K or a C. Heck, I was just impressed that she remember who I was at all. :)

BTW, I didn't tell you about one author (who will remain nameless) who asked me how to spell it, and, as she was telling me about the people she know who spelled it with a C preceded to spell it with a C. Funny, isn't it?

Now I'm feeling stressed. I didn't get through nearly as much of the stuff I recorded from last week as I wanted to Sunday. Something about going back to UCLA. And I really want to finish Armageddon in time to write the review by Thursday so it appears Saturday. So I will be trying to balance both of those with other things this week. Like laundry tonight and picking up Treasure Planet tomorrow.

We canceled Bible Study this week because of a huge open house that the Christian school is having. Naturally, we can't meet anywhere on campus as a result. But the worship team is still planning to get together Wednesday night so we can just have a chance to play together, get used to each other's styles, go over songs we don't all know. That kinda stuff.

Meanwhile, this is the last week of classes here on campus. Next week is finals and then summer starts, at least in my book. Where does the time go?

Saturday, April 26, 2003

My weekend isn't going as planned at all. Don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Last night, I decided not to go to Magic Mountain after all. With the LA Time book festival today, I didn't want to be too tired, especially since Jars, the only group I was interested in, wasn't playing until 11. Then I changed my mind. And changed it back again. Over and over and over again. See, I really am that indecisive. :)

Of course, it didn't help when I started to watch What I Like About You. The plot? Trying to get someone outside the apartment and interacting with people. So I called Kurt's celphone. But by the time I got ahold of him it was even later, and the 11 PM concert was already full. They had tickets to the 12:30 AM concert, but I decided not to try to join them after all. I was majorly bummed until I realized something. A) This is the first time in a long time I've done something like this (made a decision and then been very upset by it) and B) I actually did something about it (by calling Kurt) instead of just feeling sorry for myself. See, I'm getting better. :)

Today was as fun as I'd hoped it would be, however. Met Angelique at the LA Times Book Festival. Got the couple books autographed that I wanted to get autographed and chatted with the authors I wanted to catch up with. Only bought two books, and I was planning to get both of them from Amazon.

Which brings me to how the book festival became a "problem." Both of these authors weren't there today but will be tomorrow. Taffy Cannon (aka Emily Toll) isn't that big a deal. She's a local author and I can catch her any time. However, Donna Andrews is a much bigger deal. Considering she lives in Virgina, it's a little harder to get her to autograph books. So I'll be heading back down to UCLA to get those books signed tomorrow. So much for my relaxing afternoon at home. :)

Friday, April 25, 2003

Wednesday night, I head over to the Moss's to practice. I start to take my guitar out to discover that my D string has unwound and therefore it's time to replace all of my strings. It's probably been a couple years anyway. But the evening went downhill from there.

No one had any songs picked out, so we had to start by doing that. So it was 7:10 by the time we were actually starting on music stuff. Keep in mind that I have to leave by 7:30 to pick up the convention for Enterprise. And we had a new guy trying to figure out how to use his base guitar with us. And they wouldn't turn off the TV yet again. Why is the TV on when you've got 5 people over trying to work on music stuff. I left when I was supposed to, but I was not happy.

Mr. Moss wasn't actually going to make it Thursday, so I used his guitar and lead. They seemed extrememly nervous about me not leading last night. I don't know what they're going to do when I take a trip. Say to Trixie Camp. Anyway, it seemed to go well.

Today, I have gotten nothing done. I'm just can't concentrate on anything other then my weekend plans. I'm heading to Magic Mountain as soon as I can get some dinner in me for their semi-annual Hallelujah Jubilee. Jars of Clay. Not a huge fan, but for free (with my annual pass) I figure I can catch them in concert. Meeting up with Kurt and probably his girlfriend and I'm not sure who else.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting Angelique at the LA Times Book Festival for the third year in a row. It's always a fun time.

And, today, I got my 1000th helpful vote on my reviews at Amazon. I'm quite proud. Got 1001, too, so I'm symetrical right now. :)

But right now, it's finally quitting time, so I'm officially out of here. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 24, 2003

I am herby declaring today survey day. In the order they came out…

First up, Eric’s Psycho Survey.

1) You are forced to listen to music for 24 hours straight at a high enough volume to make conversation impossible without shouting. It has to either be boy band/Britney Spears type music or ultra heavy speed/death metal. Which do you choose?
I can not stand death metal. I would have to go with the ultra pop. I must admit to enjoying it in very small doses anyway.

2) You have to go three days eating one of two things. Either a single small meal of something you really like or three meals a day each day of something you dislike.
I’ll take the food I like. I could stand to loose a few pounds anyway.

3) Would you choose to run 12 sets of 200 meters sprints as fast as you can with about a minute off between each, or a five mile continuous run?
I’m going to have to say the sprints. I think I could survive that. Definitely couldn’t survive a five mile run. I barely survive two mile runs (which I haven’t done for a week or two.)

4) Would you rather be forced to stay in the Sahara desert a day with a heavy jacket on, or in the Arctic for a day with shorts and a T-shirt on.
I can take heat much better then cold. I’ll take the desert, thank you very much. (Hey, look where I live.)

5) Balanced crowd co-ed Strip Poker or no holds bared, can't turn down a dare style Truth or Dare?
So one of the dares could be to strip? Hmmm. Actually, my life is an opened book as it is, so the truth or dare would be safer. And I’m such a bad poker player I’d be naked before too long.

6) You are being forced to drink until you literally throw up. Do you choose to simply drink a lot of something relatively weak that tastes good, or something really really strong that will get the job done quickly?
So who’s holding the gun to my head? Other wise, I’m not drinking a thing.

7) Would you rather have to listen to Eric tell jokes for 24 hours straight, or sprayed with mace and zapped with a stun gun once.:)
I noticed Eric conveniently forgot to answer this one himself. :) I’d have to say the jokes. They can’t be that bad, can they? Can they?

Then, Mary’s Tuesday Two.

1. I have been having a recurring dream since my early teens: I am on the ground, watching an airplane either a) fly into a building (I know...freaky!) or b) suddenly nose-dive into the ground and burst into flames. What recurring dream(s) do you have?I
’ve got the usual being chased by something or someone. And the falling off a huge height. I always wake up about the time I hit the ground.

2. Sleeping - left side, right side, back or stomach?
I try to sleep on my right side, but I often seem to wind up on my stomach. Not the best position, or so I’ve heard.

And finally, today’s Thursday Threesome, brought to this week by Claude Lévi-Strauss and The Back Porch.

Onesome: View- What is your favorite scenic site, either around your place, where you've traveled, or just that one special picture (like that Ansel Adams"Half Dome" shot)?
Bryce Canyon was spectacular. I took a ton of pictures of Half Dome when I was there in September. And yes, I’ve been known to be captivated by sunsets.

Twosome: From- How far is it from home to work? Are you a long distance commuter or do you just schlep on into the dining room/office?Two miles. Takes me about 5 minutes to drive. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my commute?

Threesome: Afar- for the travelers out there, just how far have you gone? I mean, is the trip to Grandma's about it? ...or have you made it farther abroad?
I’ve been to Europe and Israel. It’s been a few years. Maybe a trip to Australia soon?

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Just a brief note to end my work day. (Ok, so I've eaten already, too. Don't confuse me with the facts.)

I have good news and I have news, which do you want to hear first?

The news: My apartment building has been sold. It's now owned by a management company. I really don't know if this is a good or bad thing yet. Hopefully they won't decide to drastically raise the rent. That's my biggest fear. If they come in and replace the pipes like was supposed to happen a year ago I'll be very happy.

The good news: I got all the forms in to the government that I've need to get sent in before the month ends. Actually, some of them were very much overdue, but I finally got the information I needed this afternoon, so I completed them right away. Now we'll just see if we get fined for being so late.

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Yep, I'm safely back in Santa Clarita inspite of the weather's best efforts. I hit pockets of rain all the way down yesterday, even running into hail at least once and possibly twice.

Friday night, I got quite the earful. Seems things in Santa Rosa were worse then I realized by far. Mom and Dad were getting very little sleep each night, so we slept in every day and got late starts. Heck, I didn't get out of bed myself until after 9 on Saturday.

The place they have Grandma seems very nice. The staff especially. But the other residence seem much worse then she does. Still, it's the best place they can put her since she's been diagnosed with dementia.

Frankly, every time I go home it's hard. There have been so many changes in the last year. We went by Grpop's place to see the changes. It looks very nice, but it's hard not seeing Grmom and Grpop there.

Still, got to hang out with the Irwins. Had a blast at Mike's girlfriend's 21st birthday party. And Easter dinner was lots of fun with family, etc. Frankly, we were doing so much the weekend just flew by. And I had a nice lunch with Donald on the way back Monday.

And now back to the boring routin. Work, home, 24. Well, that last one's not boring. :)

Friday, April 18, 2003

This is going to be a flying post because I need to get home and pack to leave for Santa Rosa ASAP!

It's official, my high school reuinion is the same weekend as Trixie Convention and a wedding. I'm going to Trixie Convention, just want to let you all know what I could be doing. (And what was wrong with the next weekend anyway?)

Worship time was awesome last night! I actually felt like I could relax and worship, and I certainly didn't feel the pressure to keep everyone together. And that was with adding a 5th guitar at the last minute. :)

And I got great news from Dad today. They've found a board and care place for Grandma and moved her in last night. She liked the place originally but hesitated last night. Still, she say she thought she get used to it and accept it in a few days. I'm certainly not critical, this has been very hard on her, too. But this means that my parent's lives have been destressed about 1000%!

And with that, I'm out of here. Have a great Resurrection Weekend, everyone! (AKA Easter Weekend.)

Thursday, April 17, 2003

Actually, I'm starting of today with the Tuesday Two, found at Mary's blog.

1. What is, or was, your favorite comic strip?
Without a doubt, Calvin and Hobbes. That strip had the funniest and most insightful still ever in it. And the most imaginative, too. I so miss it. Current favorite would have to be FoxTrot, followed closely by Dilbert. And another classic I still enjoy is Peanuts. How can you go wrong with Good Ol’ Charlie Brown?

2. And who was, or is, your favorite comic strip character?
Hobbes, because of his use of sarcasms. Snoopy and Charlie Brown are right behind him, however.

And now, the Thursday Threesome you thought you were tuning in for. This week's is sponsered by a restaurant I've never heard of and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Family- Hmmm... It seems like this weekend is a get together time for some people. How about you? Do you have a family gig to attend this weekend? Hosting one? ...or are you spending the weekend doing weekend things?
Actually, when the college lets us go at noon tomorrow for Good Friday, I’m heading up to my parent’s for the weekend. Not sure what all will be happening when I’m up there, but I’ll be spending it with family.

Twosome: Waffle- Okay, here's the tough one: Waffles or Pancakes? You should hear the discussions in some households! ...and what about those Belgian things? Inquiring minds want to know!
Waffles are the better maple syrup holders because you can fill every square and therefore get more in. Not that I turn down pancakes at all. Actually, I very seldom wait for the waffles in the long line at brunch because it takes so long. Just go with the pancakes.

Threesome: & Grill- The outdoor cooking season is close at hand! For those who live large outdoors, are we talking grilling or barbecuing? If you enjoy cooking outside, what is your specialty? ...and for the indoor crowd: do you cook anything reminiscent of outdoor cookery?
I don’t cook indoors or outdoors, so it really doesn’t matter.

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Today’s rant is actually a public service announcement. It’s written to all those who don’t understand one of our basic freedoms – freedom of speech.

This is actually a simple thing to understand. It guarantees that we can say whatever we want and the government won’t punish us for it. There are, however, several things it does not mean.

1) It does not mean that private business must respect our right. Let’s say, for example, that there is a public message board dedicated to one theme. For the sake of argument, let’s say its Amazon’s Customer Review board. It’s their dime, therefore, they get to say what we do and don’t talk about. If they decide to police it, they can delete any post that is off topic. That is not censorship, that is trying to rein in the monster that has gotten out of hand. Not all places are appropriate for all topics. We are promised the right to say what we will, not the right to say it any place we feel like.

2) It also does not mean we have the right to be heard. If I start saying the sky is red, and talk about that, everyone will ignore me. I still have my right to say whatever I want. Just because no one choose to hear it doesn’t mean my rights have been trampled on. If no one read my blog, it wouldn't mean my rights are being taken away. I'm still saying stuff, you just aren't reading it.

3) Finally, it does not mean we have the freedom from response. Several celebrities came out in opposition to the war in Iraq. They exercised their right. However, now they’re whining because people are boycotting them or asking them not to come and make appearances. If you’re going to take a stand, be prepared to live with the consequences. If you’re a public figure and talk about something that’s out of your realm of expertise, it just might negatively affect you. If you can’t handle that, then talk about it with your friends like the rest of us and don’t call news conferences to spout your view as if it mattered more then mine.

Yes, this is the result of several different issues going on in the last 24 hours.

And while I'm on the subject, just because you say something doesn't mean I have to pander to you. I watched an old interview with Norman Lear on TV Land Sunday night. During it, the subject came up of his sueing to have reruns of his shows put on during the "Family Hour." If they weren't, then he'd loose money on the shows. So, in order for him to make more money, he is sueing a private company (only networks. No "censors" involved) for treading on his "rights." Please. You know when you make a certain kind of show that you'll have to deal with the consequences of that. Why does everyone need to pander to you. If you really want to make money, make a family friendly show and sneak your views in more subtly. (Of course, today, you'd probably have to sue to get a decent show on at all. Times have changed from this interview in the 70's. And, no, I wouldn't be behind sueing to have a family show on any more then I'm behind this.)
* * * * *
On top of this, I’ve had a frustrating day. I thought I had one account balanced. I went to double check, and found I’m twenty thousand out of balance. AUGH! I’ve been feeling tired and depressed all day, and I’m not completely sure why. I really feel like I need a vacation, which this weekend definitely won’t be, especially if Grandma’s around all weekend. And I spent extra time on my lunch hour looking for the roll of birthday wrapping paper I bought early this year before remembering that Donald used lots of it for Heather’s birthday presents. At least, I’m blaming it on that since I couldn’t find it anywhere.

I did take advantage of my new digital cable to record Scooby Doo over night. Pretty much what I remembered for the couple I watched when I was a kid. Don’t see myself getting hooked on that on a regular basis unless they move it to a time when I’m home. But it is fun.

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

Proving that I am a psycho after all, I thought I'd take Eric's Psycho survey. Scary, isn't it? :)

Psycho Survery: Creatures of the Night

1. If left to your own devices to sleep and be awake when you want to, would you be a day or night person?

Definitely a day person. If God had intended us to be awake at night, He'd have made the sun shine then. :) Seriously, it's all I can do to keep my eyes opened much after midnight. And I generally can't sleep beyond 8 AM. Might doze, but I'm basically awake at that point.

2. Which do you prefer? A full moon on a clear night, or a new moon on a clear night?

Yes.

3. Have you ever been afraid of the dark?

Been? Most definitely. And it can still hit me. For example, after a certain serinade took place at Trixie camp last year.

4. If you answered yes to 3 above, were you afraid of 1) Monster under the bed? 2) Something you KNEW was hiding in the closet? or 3) Something else.

All of the above, with special mention to Marley's Ghost. I love the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, but that scene really scared me as a kid. All the way through jr. high. Still gets my heart pumping as an adult. :) Like others, I have a very good imagination and can scare myself silly even with the lights on. As I said, it was my imagination more then anything that got me at Trixie Camp, leading to two sleepless nights in the woods. Or almost sleepless.

5. When you are up all night, what are you usually doing?

You're assuming I am up all night. If I'm up late, I'm watching TV or reading. I can fall asleep doing both, so you see the problem.

6. Do you like to listen to music while you go to sleep, and if so, what do you listen to?

Nope. I like to fall asleep daydreaming.

7. Can you sleep through noise, like a dripping faucet or heavy wind, or a ticking clock?

Not usually. I'm funny. The first couple of hours after I've gone to sleep, I'll sleep through lots of stuff. After that, I wake up at the drop of a hat. Sometimes I get back to sleep, sometimes I don't.

8. If you force yourself to stay up, for whatever reason, what method do you use?

Not applicable.

9. When was the last time you were literally up all night, and what were you doing?

In spite of what I said, I have no clue. I did get a couple hours sleep at Camp, so I really don't know when the last time I stayed up all night was.

Monday, April 14, 2003

It's raining today, it's raining today! So my weather guy obviously doesn't do rain, because it's been raining here steadily all day. Supposed to clear up tomorrow, but I've been enjoying it today.

And I got all the benefit accounts reconciled. Yep, I'm getting pretty far along with where I should be. If only I thought organizing my office would go this well.

And it looks like things are falling in place. Other Seth, Kurt, and I will be going out to the Channel Islands to go camping for a weekend this summer. The only way there is via boat, and it'll be very primative once we do get there. Very much looking foward to it. I've always wanted to do something like this. Can't wait for the end of June.

Meanwhile, things sounded better when I talked to my family this weekend. They've ordered a TrailManor trailer, so they were very jazzed about that. And they've started looking for places for Grandma, so that's good. The sooner they get that taken care of, the better it'll be for everyone.

Sunday, April 13, 2003

My afternoon yesterday went pretty much as planned. Found the tire place no problem. The only waiting I had to do was the 10 minutes for them to actually fix my tire. What a difference from Sears. Then I went home, finished my book and started another, and watch some TV. Unfortunately, there just weren't enough hours in the day for all the relaxing I wanted to do. :)

I was running late for Sunday School this morning, which was very unfortunate. Matt was planning on playing guitar with me. (I think I've mentioned this before. He's one of the jr. highers and has been taking lessons for quite some time.) But he's been doing more classical then anything else. Playing last minute with him just didn't work out at all. So we talked about how we'd do it differently so it would work out. Now, I just need to make sure it does.

Then after church I went over to the Moss's to work on stuff for Thursday night. With everyone but me (and other jr. high staffers) going to the Dodger game, parcticing Wednesday as usual just wasn't going to work. So we practiced this afternoon. Things went pretty well.

Now, I'm killing another 15 minutes before I pick up Heather and take her to the bus stop so she can go home for her Spring break. Phil and his wife and in the office, too, which really surprised me. I haven't seen Phil over here on a weekend in ages. Must be because of tax season and his extra hours for his private tax business.

Saturday, April 12, 2003

And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

I'm just settling in to see how close I could come to finishing my novel before I got out of bed when the phone rang. It was Pete calling to tell me that only 4 members of the team had shown up for our games today. So I went and played. We forfeited our first game, but did play the second. And we played the team that has the guy I left because of on it. (Pure Honey speak, I know.) We lost, but I had a great time. Please explain that to me.

I'm glad I made it over here, however. Part one of my recent order from CBD came today. Three CD's. So far, I'm listening to Rebecca St. Jame's best of. I'm really enjoying it, and I'm not a big fan. However, the song order has nothing in common with the song order on the back of the CD. Wonder what happened.

Off to see about getting the slow leak in one of my tires fixed. Then we'll see what I can do about my book. And the TV I recorded.

Friday, April 11, 2003

Weather has indeed cooled off. It's still supposed to rain most of next week. Kinda makes me glad I'm not going to the Dodger game with the youth groups next Wednesday. That might turn out to be a not so fun trip.

It's official. I talked to Pete last night and I'm quitting ultimate. At least here at the college. I didn't have to name any names, he knew immediately who I was talking about. I'm kinda looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, but I also suddenly feel a huge vacumn in my weekend. Of course, Pete did invite me to play any time I wanted because the team needs me. Funny, they didn't seem to think so Saturday.

The war is winding down. Fox News will have their News Watch program on once this weekend. I can't believe how I've missed that program I found by mistake.

Wednesday brought joy to my heart. Unfortunately, the looting started right after that. Still, watching the statue come down was history in the making. And, since I'm the one with the Civil War calendar, I guess it's up to me to point out the historic significance of that day. April 9th, 1865 was the day that Lee surrendarded to Grant to end the Civil War. And now you know.

Browsing the web, I ran across this. I can not believe that a respected news organization would be willing to let their reputation go like that. What did we really learn by having reporters in Baghdad for years? Nothing! Yes, we have free press in this country. So why did they give that up to bring us lies from Saddam? Seems to me things would have been much better if we'd had no one over there because of the truth! Since all we saw was what Saddam agreed to let us see anyway, why did we need Americans showing us stuff we could get from Iraqi propoganda. I will be taking my news with the salt shaker instead of individual grains from now on.

Thursday, April 10, 2003

And now, direct from a Congressional degree, is this week's Thursday Threesome. (Sponsered by The Back Porch, of course.)

Onesome: Time to - Are you a punctual person, always on time? Or do people have to tell you that everything starts an hour earlier than it really does, just so you'll be on time? Or are you somewhere in between?
I’m usually early to about 5 minutes late. I really try to be early, but if I get distracted, then it’s probably on the late side of things.

Twosome: Spring - After a long week, what puts a spring in your step? How do you spend your downtime?
Reading, watching TV, hanging out with friends. Possibly heading to a book signing or something, although there really haven’t been too many of those I’ve been interested in recently. Basically, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

Threesome: Forward - As we enter Daylight Savings Time and the clocks spring forward, do you like having that "extra" hour of daylight or would you rather just not mess with it? Or do you live in an area that doesn't follow DST?
My parents complain every year about how they miss that hour until they get it back. Frankly, this week, I’m hating life. But once my body adjusts, I start to feel better. And I love how light it stays late. One of my biggest problems with summer is that the sun sets before I even get off work.

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

Hm, I feel like I should have something to blog, but I sure don't.

SIM will be interested to know I did four loads of laundry yesterday. Two loads of towels (it's been a long time) at lunch and two loads of clothes after work. And no interference with other people, either. Looks like it wasn't crowded even when I was done.

Also finished Prince Caspian last night. You'd think I would have finished it by now, but with all the TV I've been trying to watch, I've hardly had any time to read.

I got the entire vision account reconciled today. And then found out the only thing we could fix Sarah already knew about. :( Still, one more account off my list to do this month. Tomorrow, long term disability.

Weather has been in the 80's so far this week. But tomorrow it starts to cool off and they're predicting rain or showers all next week. I hate to complain cause we sure need it, but I'm ready to leave the rain behind. It's spring, time for nice warm weather every day. And especially on the weekends.

That's about all I know. Back with the Thursday Threesome tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, April 08, 2003

Anyone who read my post at Jix from Saturday knows there was a little more to my weekend then what I reported yesterday. I didn't feel like getting into it then, but here it is now. I'm not sure how much of this I've posted before, so I'm going to start at the beginning.

There is a student that we play ultimate with that has been bugging me, and it seems to grow each week. He's a sophomore, yet he thinks he knows everything there is to know about the sport. Never mind the fact that I've been playing much longer then he has. If I ever try to tell him anything having to do with the rules, he jumps on me and tells me how wrong I am. And, if Heaven forbid, I mess up while on his team, he jumps all over me. Never mind that fact that he does even stupider things then I do. Bascially, he's a show off who thinks he knows it all. Not at all fun to play with.

Unfortunately, I let him get to me. And it's little things. Where you have to be standing to start counting on the player holding the disc. Whether you can walk the disc up or not when it's out of bounds (which changes every week anyway.) We're really splitting hairs, but neither of us will back down.

This week, I thought we might be able to get along since our teams weren't playing each other. Wrong! He's sitting on the sidelines yelling "ONE MINUTE!" not too long after we've started playing the last game. Now at Master's intramurals, we play with a time limit, and how you play in that last minute changes drastically. He did it a couple times and it made me mad both times. Yet he's over there laughing thinking he's being clever. Even though he knew it was making me mad. Yet since I hadn't told him to stop, he was going to keep doing it. Real mature. When someone else suggested he stop, he finally did. When I tried to tell him I'd already asked him to, his response was "Shut Up."

Furthermore, there was a fellow graduate on the other team that really does stretch the rules a little on the counting thing. When I tried to talk to him about it, he told me he was doing nothing wrong and wouldn't stop.

This is the problem when we don't set rules. It's like the oft repeated phrase in Judges. "Every man did what was right in his own eyes." Couple these frustrations with the fact that my team only let me play about 3 minutes the second game, and I'm ready to quit. Just need to tell Pete, but I'm finished playing at Master's. Hopefully I can find a good pick up game close by cause I don't want my ultimate to be reduced to a once a year league.

Monday, April 07, 2003

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm glad to be back at work today. Now I can rest up from my weekend. :)

First off, who's stupid idea was it to sign me up for digital cable? With TV Land alone I've added at least 2 hours a day of shows I'd like to be watching. And since they aren't on at night, I'd have to record them, which means I wouldn't miss them at all. I'm already making the decision to cut way back. I want to be able to balance things like reading and computer stuff.

Pete was able to fix my home computer over the weekend. Of course, he also told me it's so out of date I should just blow it up and start all over. We'll see how much I actually use it before we decide if I'm going to do that or not.

Went to see Agent Cody Banks with Heather. So I've now been on a "date" with an engaged woman. :) Movie itself was fun once we got past the "required" bodily function jokes. And Arnold Vorhoo had a wild Mowhawk. I want a hair cut like that. :)

Sunday after church I spent the entire day watching stuff I'd recorded over the last couple of days. Man there was alot of it. And I stayed up late every night watching TV. Which is making me tired today. I'd better be responsible and go to bed early tonight so I can think clearly the rest of the week.

Haven't heard from Jeff, so I don't know if he and Jen will be over for another round of games tonight. So far the score is Jeff 1, Mark 1, Jen 0. Of course, she wasn't there for our first monopoly game Friday night.

Friday, April 04, 2003

So there I am last night at Bible Study. I've made George run home and get the overheads so we have them (for Sunday, too.) He's finally back and I'm thinking we're just about ready to go when Kyle, one of the 7th graders, walks in. On his back is his congo drum. He thinks he's playing with us that night. No one's said anything to me about it. Heck, no one's even mentioned that he plays this to me. Turns out he did well at his lesson so decided it was time. Being the flexible person that I am (HA!), I spent several minutes trying to figure out how in the world this was going to work. Finally got things figured out (as always I was making it too complicated), and we played. Considering all that had happened, I thought things went very well. Kyle's talking about bring his drum to Sunday School now.

Now I know that Jon wants to encourage kids who are musical to get involved. That's fine. BUT SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP ME INFORMED ON WHAT I MIGHT EXPECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like who is interested. And the fact that we're letting jr. high be involved as well. Last I'd heard, it was just going to be senior high helping with the worship time.

Of course, considering this was me, I thought I was very flexible about the whole thing. :)

In other news, I got digital cable installed today. We'll see how it goes. Although it looks to me like the cable will still run directly into my VCR like it used to, so I can always do that if I need to. :) For $3 extra a month, if I wind up doing that and enjoying the extra chanels, too, it'll be just fine. The guy who was doing the installation was supposed to come between 9 and 1. I thought I might make it into work this morning, but no, he came at 12:45. So it cost me half a day of vacation. Not what I'd hoped for, but I guess I'll live.

Skipping the just for fun and Bible study to pick up Jeff and the airport tonight. He's in town again for the week.

Think that's about all on my end of things. Off to dinner.

Thursday, April 03, 2003

First a comment on yesterday. Virtual friends? I completely meant to say internet friends. I'm sorry about that. You guys aren't virtual anything!

Now, on to today's Thursday Threesome, brought to us by the weather man and The Back Porch.

Onesome: April Showers- What the heck? Snow again in the East (and other places) over the weekend? How are the heck are we supposed to get out into the garden? What's the forecast for this weekend where you are?
Clear and cool. Highs are only supposed to be in the low 60’s. Brr. :)

Twosome: Bring- Bring in the clowns! Yeah, do you get any help around the garden (house/apartment)? ...or when it comes to flowers, are you the Lone Arranger?
If anything is going to happen plant wise, it’s going to be because I did it. And something didn’t happen last year. Maybe because my roommates are always guys. Just a theory. Around the apartment, it’s usually me, but very seldom does my roommate pitch in. So you can guess how clean things are.
Threesome: May Flowers- Ah, yes, posies and pretties for everyone to enjoy... How about you? What is your favorite flower? ...and not only to receive: what do you enjoy growing at your place?
I love roses. My favorite to plant in impatiens. (Or however they’re spelled.) Maybe I’ll get a six pack to plant by the front door this weekend.

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

Ok, I'm going to virtual friends to help me make a decision. This is a very special thing that I hope all of you take seriously.

See, it's time for me to reorder checks, and I can't decide what I want to do. I've had Peanuts checks for a couple years now and feel it's time for a change.

So, here are the choices I'm considering.

1) Disney Classics

2) Modern Disney Classics

3) National Parks

Or 4) Stars and Strips.

A co-worker was looking at check designs recently as well. She ran across some company that had designs of the founding fathers that I liked, but we can't find that anywhere anymore.

So there you have it. I promise to let you know the decision.
Am I being lead down the primerose path?

Got a call last night from the cable company. Despite my policy against buying anything that a telephone solicitor is trying to sell me, I listened. Don't ask me why, but I did. He was offering a great deal on their digital cable company, and he claims that it won't interfer with my VCR recording like I normally do.

And there in lies what worries me. See, in spite of all the TV I watch, I'm often not home to watch it and rely on my VCR to record it for me. For example, if I'm not home on Tuesday nights, I need to record Buffy on one station and 24 on another. The cable box I currently have (so Marcus can watch the Sci-Fi channel) makes it so you can only watch one channel without physically changing the channel. If the digital cable box works the same way, then I can't record the shows I need to record. Also, I've been known to record one show and watch another one, which I can't do with my current cable box. I know this is the case with a satelitte as well.

So, does anyone have some knowledge that will help me? They're supposed to come Friday morning, but I can always call and cancel if I change my mind. The offer of finally getting TV Land is so tempting. (Just what I need, another new channel with lots I want to watch on it.)

And, in other news, blogger appears to finally be fixed!!!!! If only it stays when I send this through. :)

Tuesday, April 01, 2003

I have reached a decision about my life. I’m going to quit my job, grow hair half way down my back, and join a nudist colony.

APRIL FOOL! What, I didn’t trick any of you? Probably was about as effective, however, as if I’d “confessed” to being a middle aged woman from Indiana. :)

My computer at home seems to have died. At least temporarily. I tried turning it on last night and it couldn’t finish loading windows. After several tries, I gave up. Majorly bummed. Ironic since I’ve been without it for 18 months and it didn’t bother me at all but after one day I can’t stand it.

But it lead me to turn on the TV and discover that Nick at Nite has picked up Wings. Just missed the pilot, which I don’t know if I’ve ever seen. I used to watch that show quite a bit and look forward to catching a few every now and then. Sure wish that station would stop with the hour blocks of shows, however. They could show more programs if they aired them like they used to. Seems like most of the shows I really want to see aren’t on until late these days. And late keeps getting earlier every year.

Met Dave for lunch today. We talked about what’s going on in my life. Was good and convicting.

Otherwise, not much else to report. We’re exactly three fourths of the way through this season’s 24, so be sure to tune in tonight and see what happens next. Although I’ve learned today that I’m not nearly as good a sales person as I thought I was. :)