Saturday, August 30, 2003

"I had three; I have none." Yep, that's right. Roommate possibilities have all fallen through, best I can tell. (Still haven't heard from the college student.) Ok, technically I have Marcus through the end of the year, but after that, I'm on my own. I'll be lucky to make ends meet, much less be get to St. Louis. And I've always wanted to go. This is killing me! Is owning my own place worth it?

Yes, I know it is. It's just I've been on such an emotional yo-yo since the whole thing started, I'm not sure I can take much more of this.

And it doesn't help that I've woken up before 6:30 the last couple of mornings. I am so tired it's not even funny.

And I ignored my conscience today. Went out and saw "Freaky Friday." It's great! Lindsay Lohan is wonderful as the daughter, and Jamie Lee Curtis does a great job as the mom as well. I was laughing all the way through the movie and chocked up at the end. And none of it felt manipulated at all. If you get a chance, go see it.

The convention is coming over Monday afternoon to watch more Babylon 5! It's been too long since I watched any. Really looking forward to it and to watching Matt's reaction to what happens next. I just wish Jeremiah were still around to see it with us. Why did he have to graduate? :)

Friday, August 29, 2003

Why must life be so complicated? Why, I ask you?

I asked the student who called me Tuesday to stop by on Wednesday so I could meet him. I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, looking him up on the Masternet facebook, I think he's living in the new dorm. Oops.

Meanwhile, I got a call from another guy looking to rent a whole room by himself. And willing to pay extra for it. He's a current student at the seminary. I'm all excited until he says, "I've had lots of roommates over the last few years, and I wouldn't live with any of them again." Naturally, this set alarm bells off in my head. But I think from asking around it's because he has had some bad roommates.

Of course, if this guy and the other guy both want to move it, what do I do with Marcus until he moves? But if just the seminary guy moves in, then Marcus and I can share the master bedroom until he moves out. And I start looking again.

Talking to OtherSeth last night, he's not going to be an option as a roommate. Which is too bad. But we had a good talk. He's talking about getting really involved in the guy's lives in the jr. high group. I think it'll be a good thing for everyone, and with a little leadership from him, I might jump in there, too. Someday, I'll work on being a leader and not a follower.

I wrote and submitted my 350th review at Amazon today! Only 50 more to go toward my goal of 400 by the end of the year. Not sure if I'll actually make it or not, but I think I will.

BTW, never trust Word. (And I should have known this a long time ago.) Everytime I write the word it's, Word always tried to correct it to its. Normally, I let it. But looking it up in the dictionary today, I discovered I was wrong to trust them. Someone help me out here. It's means it is. Its means belonging to it. Correct?

Nice relaxing weekend planned. Nothing going on. And I think I'm looking foward to that.

I'll end with my battle cry, found via Kathy. I think this fits me pretty well. (But I'll probably giggle the first dozen or so times I try to shout this, too.)

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Yea, verily: Who is that, striding through the terrain! It is Mark B, hands clutching buzzsaw hand extensions! And with a booming bellow, his voice cometh:

"I'm seriously going to pound you beyond your expiration date!!!"

Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys

Thursday, August 28, 2003

Running late again, but here I am with this week's Thursday Threesome. This week brought to us by the American Dream (ok, so I have no idea what to put here) and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Health- A loved one dies unexpectedly. You're the next of kin. Do you donate whatever organs are useful, or does the idea freak you out? Should someone have planned ahead?

Of course. If some good can come of this tragedy, I’d be very happy.

Twosome: Wealth- Your beloved Great Aunt Fern dies and leaves you two million dollars (after taxes!). But there's a catch. You have to spend it all in 24 hours. Buying stocks and bonds doesn't count and there's a $500,000 limit on a new home. You may give some of the money to charity, but don't use it as a cheat to make it work out. How would you spend the money?

I would of course buy a house. I’d love to have that kind of money to put down on a house. I’d plan an elaborate funereal and pay for a vacation or two for all my friends. (Kyrie had better plan on lots of people at Trixie camp next year.)

Threesome: Happiness- John F. Kennedy defined happiness as "The full use of your powers along lines of excellence." What is your definition of happiness? Have you attained it?

Working hard at what God has given me to do. Doing the best with what I have. No, I don’t think I’ve attained it. Either that or I loose site of the objective. Either one can be hazardous to happiness.

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

I think I have a second roommate lined up. And possibly a third.

Got a call last night from a guy responding to my roommate ad at the seminary. He was calling all the options listed there. Has a dog, but may be sending him back home. He said he'd get back to me.

Meanwhile, got a call today from a student responding to my ad at the college. Think we're all set there, so I think I'll have a second roommate no matter what. That is such a load off my mind, I can't even begin to tell you. Now tonight I need to find out what the latest on Marcus is.

Meanwhile, I forgot to give you my exciting news from doing laundry Saturday. I was going through a new roll of quarters (my last!) and I found Illinois and Maine state quarters. So now I'm up to date for the year on Denver mint marks. Still need an Alabama Philadelphia mint mark, but I'm not as worried about that.

What's funny is I've never found the new quarters in my laundry roll, yet the last one I get I find two I need. Makes me almost wish I were still going to be getting quarters for doing laundry. Almost.

Speaking of which, 25 days until I move. And I'm getting really excited now that the finances look like they might be working out. Heck, I think if I really try saving (gasp!), I will be able to make Trixie camp again next year. Assuming that weekend works with the audit. Of course, I never spoke to the auditor at all this year, and I didn't have to work the weekend before the audit, so I think I'd be able to take the time off. If I stay on top of my work like I'm supposed to this year.

Actually, I'm half way done reconciling for July. Which puts me ahead of the game already this year. If I stay on top of things, I should have no problem.

And my realtor just called to say that we will be able to get in on the Saturday my parents are here so they can see the place. I'm very, very, very excited.

Tonight, I get to go home and relax with my book. Students come back tomorrow, so I'll get to meet my new roommate and see the convention again. Don't think it gets much better then this.

Monday, August 25, 2003

I guess I'm caught up on my sleep. I certainly wasn't overly tired when Marcus came home at 7:15 this morning. And I did my usual wake up and doze off multiple times in the middle of the night. O for a good night's sleep every night in a row for a week.

My AC was indeed fixed over the weekend, which was lovely. Especially since it decided to heat up again. I can now go home to a cool apartment whenever I want! Big smiles all around.

Went to the beach Saturday for the youth promotional picnic. The freshman are officially freshmen now, and we're back to having two years in jr. high. As always, I'll miss some of those kids, but there are some who delighted in heckling me a little over the line, so I must admit I won't miss them.

The funniest part is that I missed a couple spots with sunscreen. So I have a small burned section on my left wrist/hand, part of the top of my right foot, and part of my left ancle. As I've said before, if I miss a spot with sun screen, I notice, and it's usually pretty funny, too.

Yesterday was a lazy day around the apartment. Got semi-caught up on stuff I'd recorded, including the Monk finale. That show can't be over for the year already. :( Now, to find season 1 somewhere.

Think that's all the news here. Meeting Linda to sign some more papers, and I think we're going to lock on an interest rate tomorrow morning. Pray it drops big time in the next 12 hours. :)

Friday, August 22, 2003

I should be tired, but I'm not.

Last night, we had the jr. high guy's bowling/spend the night at the church thing we almost had two weeks ago. I decided that I'd go ahead and spend the night at the church. Was that ever a mistake. The kids would not settle down. And they delighted in coming into the room OtherSeth and I were trying to sleep in and making loud noises. They were supposed to be watching Fellowship of the Ring with Kurt supervising, but that just wasn't happening. (Poor Kurt, as the only one who didn't have to work today, he got stuck with being the super adult in charge.) I finally gave up about 3:30 and drove home. Was out like a light and over slept. Didn't get up until 8, which made me late for work. Not that Phil will say anything to me about it.

Next time, I'll do the bowling and let Kurt and Seth deal with the overnight part. :)

Cause the bowling went very well. At least the first game. In spite of it being allergy shot day, I got strikes in 3 of the first 4 frames. Hit 150. The second game, on the other hand, I bearly broke 100.

So, we'll see how I hold up at Bible study tonight. If Chris goes way long again, I'm toast. I'm sure it'll be an early night.

And, as we speak, Robert should be fixing my AC. I won't have to turn fans on tonight to cool off the apartment. Of course, the ironic thing is that the weather has cooled at least 10 degrees in the last week, so I don't need it nearly as much.

Meanwhile, Stephen called me with info on a job at Princess Cruises. Sounds like it would be a step down responsibility and expertise wise. Doesn't even require a college degree in business. On the other hand, it would get my foot in the door over there, so I could be up for promotions, the biggest reason I need to leave here career wise. I just wish I knew how it paid. I don't want to leave to make the same money I'm making now. Or less. Yet another decision to ponder this weekend. If they even bother to ackwoledge the fact that I apply this time around.

But, before I even start on that, I see Aleta has a couple quizzes for me to steal. :)

HASH(0x87c9784)
Seer


The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

I kinda agree, but I don't feel I'm wise enough to be a seer.

Exclamation
You're an exclamation point!


What Punctuation Mark are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

You, know, I'm really sensing that Aleta and I are at lot alike! Or at least we answer these quetions the same way almost every time!

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Is it noon already? Where did the morning go? Guess I'd better get the Thursday Threesome posted so people can start stealing it. :)

This week, it's brought to us by Regan and those fine people at the Back Porch. (Yeah, I'm one of them. So what?)

Onesome: One- One thing that's being bandied about a bit in the communications press is the ongoing replacement of land line phones with cell phones. Hmmm... Have you ever considered dropping your wired phone and living a wireless existence?

Yeah, but never seriously. To get a plan where I wouldn’t constantly be worrying about minutes, I’d have to spend more then I currently spend. And service around here is so bad (because of the canyons) that I don’t think I could rely on it. At the same time, I’m beginning to see advantages of being reached wherever and whenever. But I don’t expect to be doing that in the near future.

Twosome: Trick- Okay, everyone one should know at least one magic trick. Do you have one? ...or is there one you really, really wish you knew how it worked?

I know a couple card tricks. Of course, just about anyone could figure them out. I used to have a magic set and a kid, and that was fun. Watching I Love Lucy last night, I was really wishing I new how they did levitation tricks.

Threesome: Pony- Admit it: did you want a pony as a kid? Still do? Never liked them? Nah, we know better ! ...and did you ever have your picture taken on one?

I know I’ve had my picture taken on a camel and an elephant. I’m pretty sure I’ve had one taken on a horse as well. I don’t remember ever really wanting to own one. I enjoy riding them, but it’s something I could take or leave.

And one final thought. 30 days until I move into my new condo. (Excited and scared are running side by side for supremicy. This is the excited part talking.)

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

If you happen to be the last person on earth who hasn't seen Pirates of the Carribean yet, what's wrong with you? Yep, I was a bad boy last night and spent $10 to go see the movie. Did I enjoy it? Yes! Probably not the best movie of all time like so many people have raved to me about it, but certainly enjoyable. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I not been feeling guilty about being there.... Still, the movie is visually stunning and lots of fun. With pirates and lots of boats and water and stuff. I love stuff like this. Wouldn't want to live through the time period, but I love watching and reading about pirates.

Word to Disney. When this thing hits DVD might be a good time to release Shipwrecked on DVD as a tie in. I'd certainly buy it!

Not much else going on in the life. Frankly, I feel out of it cause I haven't been watching the news or anything. 40 pages to go in First Light, and I'm going to finish tonight if it's the last thing I do. Might have to stand to finish it, but finish I will!

E-mail at the college has been down for the last two days. They tried to upgrade the server and it went horribly wrong. I now have e-mail through last Monday night, and stuff is finally coming through again. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have the stuff that came in during the time it was down.

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Not really alot to report. I forgot to say I did finally get my new Shaun Groves CD yesterday morning. And I'm absolutely loving it! Right after work, I'm going to pick up the new Amy Grant CD. Last new CD's for quite some time. I need to save money like anything, especially until escrow closes and I can save up some money again.

I think I'm finally going to see Pirates of the Carribean tonight. I know, that's not saving money, but everyone else in the known universe has seen it, so I need to do so before it leaves theaters. :) Heck, I might finally finish the Thoene's new book tonight as well.

And, since I have nothing better to do, a couple quick quizzes for you.

Your Future by manganfreak
Name
Age
Your Career IsPorn Star
Number of Kids You Will Have14
Created with quill18 MemeGen!


O yeah, that's me. :)

I noticed that if you put different names in, you came up with different things. That was the first one I put in, and I thought it was very funny. This was the one I liked best on this quiz. (Yeah, I cheated. So sue me. On second thought, don't. I can't afford it right now.)

The Afterlife, V1.0 by silentounce
Name
Favorite Color
Your fateTake waiting no. 74837328742842 and step in line at the Pearly Gates
Created with quill18 MemeGen!


And, from the waiting line for Heaven, I'll say goodnight.

Monday, August 18, 2003

I am HOT! (And I don't just mean my looks.) The A/C has been off most of the afternoon so they could replace a belt. Makes me wish I were home because I could be in shorts there sitting in front of a fan. Here, I have to wear long pants and there are no fans. :(

So, have I kept you in suspense long enough about the condo? I decided to go for it. I think I can keep roommates. In six years, I've only been without roommates for one month. And if I keep a close watch on my money, even if I have no one, I should be ok for a month or two.

Yesterday, I spent all day in the sun. It was the end of season ultimate Frisbee tournament. AND TEAM BLACK WON!!!!!!! We played four games in 100 degree heat. Needless to say, I was tired when I got home last night. The first three teams we played (and eliminated) were the three teams we lost to during the season. I got my standard play time, but at least my captain was polite about it. There were a few points where they were purposely not guarding me, and we took full advantage of that. And I actually made it work pretty well. Only turned it over twice, but made up for it by not turning it over again later the same point. :) Heck, I even didn't make a fool of myself in the finals (which everyone usually stays around and watches.)

We only get bragging rights, but I've taken full advantage of it. I even told my realtor when I called her last night with my decision. :)

I was actually on the team that won in 2000 (my second year), but I wasn't there that day. I'd often wondered if there was a connection, but I guess not! :)

Saturday, August 16, 2003

The last 24 hours have been horrid. If I'm going to back out of my condo purchase, I have to do it now! This pipe thing may be a blessing in disguise for that. And it would get me out of this horrid possition of having to find roommates (plural) when I can't seem to hang on to one.

But, if I do, I can't get anything else for substancially less. So I don't know what to do.

Complicating matters is my lack of sleep from a long week and no AC in the apartment. Someone looked at it this morning, and determined that the compressor is out (I HATE those things), and it could take up to two weeks to fix it. I've borrowed a couple of box fans, so hopefully, I can cool things off when the sun sets in a couple hours and get some sleep.

But this lack of sleep is making me not think clearly. And extra emotional. Not good for making smart decisions.

I did come up with a way I might be able to get a place on my own. But I won't know until Monday if I can even get any money from the program.

Meanwhile, I did manage to make it to the book signing today. Laura Levine is nice in person. Looking forward to reading her new book. And I was good, it was the only book I bought.

Well, I'm off to go home and stew some more. Then tomorrow, it's most likely off to ultimate frisbee tournament. Can I pick weekends to fall apart or what?

Friday, August 15, 2003

Am I ever glad this week is over!

Went to the Home Owners Meeting last night. What a waste of time. They've only gotten a few bids in on the repipe, so they really have nothing to tell us. Did get enough ammo to know that my sellers should have known about this and disclosed it. Think we're going to ask for the money to cover it. If it gets done. Lots of time was spent arguing about whether or not it needed to be done. (Guess which side those who haven't had leaks are on.) And then there are those who don't think the repipe should happen who complain that the maintenance budget is overspent. I'll give you one guess why. Yep, plumbing emergencies.

So basically, I spent 90 minutes and got no information. I even missed Quizzno's as a result. :(

Then, when I got home, I discovered the A/C is broken. And we're having 100 degree weather. Fortuntely, it is cooling down at night, so I can open the place up and get cool air coming through. Of course, the upstairs stays much hotter, so I slept on the couch last night. I'm thinking the movies might be in order tonight. (Actually, staying home sounds nice, so that's what I'll probably wind up doing.)

AND MY NEW SHAUN GROVES CD STILL ISN'T HERE YET!!!!!!!

And, this week, I found out via the grapevine that Marcus' life is changing and I might need to find two roommates instead of finding one to make life confortable. Can I just bury my head in the sand and ignor life? Please?

At least it's the weekend. I'm splurging and going to a book signing tomorrow, and probably to the Reagan library as well. Then Sunday is the ultimate frisbee tournament in hot Pomona all weekend. Always fun, however. If only my life would simplify while I am ignoring it this weekend.

Thursday, August 14, 2003

Thursday morning, must be time for the Thursday Threesome, brought to us this week by Edgar Allen Poe, your local music store, and The Back Porch.

Onesome- Sound loves: What’s your favourite song? Is there a history behind it or do you just like it because it’s great?
Any faithful reader of my blog knows the answer to this one. “Learning to Trust” by David Meece is by far my favorite. It’s a great reminder to me that I need to trust in God, but that trusting in Him is a process that I will grow into all my life. And the plea at the end to trust more is a great prayer. A close second, and becoming more so all the time, is Rich Mullins’ “Hold Me Jesus.” Just a simple prayer of surrender to God.

Twosome- To revel: What’s your idea of the perfect party tunes? Some jazz to keep things jumpin’? Rock to keep everyone dancing? Or a mix of everything to make everyone happy?
Probably something instrumental. Background music that won’t interfere with conversations or whatever else is going on.

Threesome- In a summer night: It’s a mellow summer night, you’re on your own and you’re ready to load the CD player. What’s on your playlist? Remember, there's no one around to say "Ewww, gross!" *grin*
Whatever sounds good to me at the time from my collection. Although, right now, sticking some Christmas music in sounds good to me. And I’m late getting started this year since it’s August and not July.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

In my long post from yesterday, I never actually posted about yesterday. Oops!

We got hit by the worm virus going around yesterday. Kept shutting my computer down every 5 minutes of so. If it wasn't annoying, it would have been funny. But the MIS department was able to fix mine and the others in the department that were affected and work proceeded as normal. Just later.

And one of our donors went through his closet and gave a bunch of clothes to be given to employees. Fortunately, I'm the right size, so I got three very nice suits out of the deal. They'll need to be shortened a tad, but that's not bad at all for the price! And they look practically brand new. I really needed a suit. I may only wear one once a year or so, but it'll be nice to have one that fits now.

The trip to the beach went well last night. Just got back about midnight, much later then we had intended to. I guess the person they had filling in for me as worship leader (who had left by the time I got there) wasn't very good at guitar at all, so everyone was thrilled to see me back. Then we tried to play capture the flag on the beach. Don't ever try. First of all, jr. highers can barely play the game anyway. Second, there was way too much space for them to get lost. The fact that we got all the kids back was a major miracle. It works at church, but doesn't really work in that much area. But the full moon was beautiful.

Ok, as promised, I'm now doing Mary's Tuesday Two.

1. What is your all-time favorite joke?

Well, there are two I've been telling for years. Don't know if I have a favorite, but they did come to mind.

An alien lands in front of a gas station. (At this point, I'm often interrupted several times. But moving on....) Addressing one of the pumps, he says, "Take me to your leader." He repeats the command three of four times. Finally he yells, "I think you could hear me better if you took your tail out of your ear."

Henry Ward Beecher received a note after one of his messages. It had one word on it - Fool. The next week, he commented on it to his congregation. "I've received many notes where the person wrote the note and forgot to sign their name. But this is the first note I've received where the person signed their name and forgot to write the note."

Just thought of a third. As a pastor was closing his message, he told his congregation, "I want you all to read Mark 17 as background for next week's sermon." When he got up the next week, he asked who had read it. Every hand went up. "Good. You're the people I want to talk to. My subject is lying, and there is no Mark chapter 17."

2. Be honest now…have you ever laughed so hard you’ve pee’d in your pants?
I've laughed so hard I couldn't breath. I've laughed so hard I cried. I've laughed so hard it hurt. But I've never laughed so hard I pee'd my pants.

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Do people even think? I mean, really?

I have just made a decision. I am not going back to the Amazon customer review board. Not only is my friend banned for life, but I'm sick of the arogant attitudes displayed over there. There are so many know it all, better then thou liberals it's sickening! They don't agree with me, that's fine. They have that right. But I have the right to my own opinion. And they don't respect that. Someone (and a top review) has decided to start political discussions every day. Hello! This is supposed to be about customer reviews. Then he wonders why they get deleted when they are so far off topic. Then there are the people moaning because of all the problems we've been having this year. Yes, things are bad. Yes, the new system to post reviews faster has actually made things worse right now. Yes, we do help Amazon's profits. And authors (they've told me.) But, Amazon doesn't owe us anything. If they decided to take down reviews tomorrow, I'd be upset, but it wouldn't be the end of the world! Anyway, if there seems to be a problem with the site, I might check in. But I won't be posting there ever again.

Yes, there's a reason I didn't post that on the board. If I did, I'd be called a whiner, looser, and my points would never be heard. I'm tired of trying.

So, what else is going on in my life?

Went down to Santa Monica to play ultimate frisbee again Sunday. Tommy and I had a great time. Just wasn't long enough because Dave planned a SNYF for Sunday night and announced it at the very last minute! I'm getting tired of these last minute youth things. But I came back for it like the good staffer I am, especially since I wasn't able to go out to the beach retreat that's going on right now. I am heading out there with my guitar tonight, but just for a few hours. Man, I wanted to go!

Tommy and I decided to take full advantage of the last week of summer pick-up and went to play ultimate again last night. But I've done something to my elbow because it gave out on me and was really hurting. I'm hoping if I take it easy, I can make it through our last game Wednesday and the tournament on Sunday. What a week for it to give out on me!

And, in condo news, I found out on my own (not disclosed by the seller) that the complex is taking bids to repipe the place. That's good news because it really needs it, but bad news because it will cost me more money, unless we can get the sellers to pay. (After they give me a million dollars, of course.) There's a HOA meeting about it Thursday night, so looks like I'll be skipping out very early on youth group to go to that. At least it's close to church.

And now, for the quiz that everyone else seems to have done.

CWINDOWSDesktopLotR.JPG
Lord of the Rings!


What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Not sure if this is me or not, but I really don't like that movie. :)

And, just for kicks (and in case this is a new version)

charlie brown
YOU'RE CHARLIE BROWN!!! You're lonely and you worry
over little things, you put yourself down much
of the time and usually the but of everyone's
joke


What Peanuts Gang Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yep, this is a different quiz from the one I took ages ago. And I definitely think it's right. I've always said I was just like Charlie Brown.

Got to run. Leaving for the beach retreat in 30 minutes and I need to go home and change first. Guess I'll do Mary's Tuesday Two on Wednesday. :)

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Remind me never to be starting escrow while getting ready for our annual audit. The last couple of days have been extremely busy.

But I've survived. All my accounts are in the official audit binder and everything is ready to go. I'm not even officially working today, which is a first in all the years I've worked here. And that means that Monday I get to start on the bank reconciliations for July!!! That's what makes getting to the audit worth it. I just love doing nothing but that for a week or so.

Which gave me a chance to read through all the escrow instructions I got on Thursday. Took me all morning. The worst part was the articles of incorporation for the condo association. Boring! But I made it through. Unfortunately, I got the inspection report, so now I need to take a look at that. It never ends!!!!!

My guitar is in the shop right now. Thursday night, Becky pointed out to me one of my tuning bars was about to break. I took it into one of the music stores, and they're fixing it as we speak. Should be done before they close tonight. Getting an all new set, so they should last me for a long time.

My new Shaun Groves CD finally shipped yesterday. I thought it would never leave the company. Can't wait to get it.

Do you ever look at the hits your blog gets? I find some of them quite interesting. Occasionally, they can be educational. Right now, for example, I seem to be getting lots of hits under a search for "Angelique for CA governor." Didn't even know someone named Angelique was running for governor. Of course, if as many people as they say are stepping up, it doesn't surprise me that I don't know everyone.

I'm getting a kick out of how much publicity this is getting us. It's being covered all over the place on Fox News. I'm sure something will come along and dump this before Oct. 7th rolls around, but for now, I'll enjoy getting local news from a national channel.

And, for the record. Arnold can run all he wants, but he will get my vote based on whether or not I think he is the best canidate to lead our state. Granted, anyone would be better then Davis, but I will probably be voting for someone else.

It's about 100 degrees out right now. Think I'll head home and jump in the pool.

Hope your Saturday is plenty relaxing.

Thursday, August 07, 2003

Good morning. Unfortunately, it's not nap time. (I need to go to bed early tonight! Inspite of the last minute guys jr. high event.) So, since I can't sleep, it must be time for the Thursday Threesome, brought to us this week by you local department store and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Two- Hey, we did 'threes' last week; let's try 'twos' this week. When you think of pairs, what comes to mind? ...and 'Bartletts' is the only wrong answer !
I think that last comment was just for me. :) Let’s see. Turtle Doves. Hands and feet. Binders I take to church all the time.

Twosome: Day- Which day of the week do you live for? Is it getting back to work on Monday (right!) or maybe Friday, so you're gone! One of the weekend days? Which day works for you?
Saturday. It’s my day for fun and relaxation. Most of the time anyway.

Threesome: Sale- Are you one of those people who will wait until something is on sale before you buy it? ...even if it's like forever? ...or do you just haul on down to the store whenever the urge hits? Hmmm? Planner, immediate or impulse? What type of buyer are you?
For big items, I wait for the sale. Smaller items or fun items, I’m immediate or impulse. That’s a great thing about my condo. With the washer and dryer being included, I can wait until there’s a sale if I want to replace them. :)

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

The last 36 hours have certainly been interesting here in cyper space. Of course, there was the blow up at Zap's over planning next year's convention. The only thing I want to add to that is to echo what Kathy said. I honestly can't believe that someone who delurk to post on something like that and call for a person to be banned who is a regular part of the community.

But then there's Amazon. We have a discussion board that's supposed to be used for talking about reviewing. One of the members, who follows that rule very closely, has been banned. It's a huge loss over there. Yes, he's probably a little too public with his accusations of cheating, but it seems he's always right. They could have just given him a warning and let it go at that. Told him to e-mail his suspicions directly to them instead of making them public. Anything like that. It hit me hard because he's a friend and, frankly, one of the only reasons I still go there.

Of course, with all this stuff happening, it's been hard to concentrate on work. Which is a very bad thing when I need to get things done. Of course, this morning, I did get two deposits done since Jim is still out and Elizabeth is out sick.

Had an interesting encounter last night. About 7:15 my doorbell rang. I answered to find some guy I'd never met before standing there. Asked if I was Mark and if I worked at Master's. When I told him I did, he introduced himself as a neighbor trying to organize some help for someone moving out Saturday and wanting to organize a community network to help each other out. When I told him I'd be working Saturday (weekend before the audit) and would be moving myself soon, he wouldn't take that for an answer. I realize this is a CA thing, but I don't want to have people I don't really know knowing that much about me. I don't know, it just feels weird. We help out peole we know, not relative strangers. And since no one has made a point of getting to know everyone before now (and I've been there two years), just seems weird. I might have felt differently if I were going to stay longer.

Anyway, off to worship team practice and my ultimate game this week. Hardly going to be home the rest of the week. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Man, I need to get some sleep. Not that I've gotten into the passenger side of my car or anything. :) Still, I feel asleep watching TV at lunch time and I've been having a hard time getting up in the mornings.

I actually had a productive night last night. If you count doing fun stuff productive. I read for a while (and dozed), watched Mary and Rhoda from last week, and went and played pick-up ultimate. That didn't go so well, but I went and did it. And, I didn't like the movie any better this time around then last time around. But I'm reading The Gatehouse Mystery, so that part was good. :) Four chapters left, so hopefully I'll finish tonight so I can get the review written this week.

I'm getting frustrated with on-line ordering at the moment. I have two items that I can't tell if they've shipped or not. One is a CD released today that, by ordering on-line, I could get autographed. That I'll wait impatiently for. I was going to cancel my order for Rocky and Bullwinkle season 1 since the place I ordered that from says it doesn't release until next week even though it comes out today. But when I tried to do that, they said it shipped yesterday. No e-mail notice and no change to my on-line order status, so what's a guy to believe. At least I won't have it distracting me tonight.

Mary's Tuesday Two is back!

1. If you won a buttload of money in the lottery/powerball, what would you do with it?
Buy a house. This whole thing is getting to be nerve wracking! I'm really not sure what else I would do with it because I know it's not going to happen so I don't tourcure myself thinking about it. Something about not buying tickets.

2. What song have you been listening to the most this week?
"Learning to Trust" by David Meece and "He Reigns" by the Newboys

And, from Aleta

Day 37... Killed by orcs. Stupid orcs.
Killed by Orcs
Picked one fight too many, eh? Well, at least you
took a few of them down with you, right?
...RIGHT?


How would you die in LotR?
brought to you by Quizilla

Looks like we have something in common. Now, to avoid those pesky things as long as possible. :)

Monday, August 04, 2003

I think the high is beginning to fade. Only took a couple of days. Now the waiting can begin.

Got an inspection scheduled for Thursday.

Went over there a couple of times on Sunday and parking is a nightmare. I may have to work out some kind of arrangement with the tandom parking so that three guys with wildly different schedules can all have a place to park. Or at least two of us. Any ideas?

Speaking of which, I figured out how to fix my comments so they once again announce when someone has left me a comment. Always a plus.

Didn't do much yesterday. Between church services, I watched the new VeggieTales and dozed. Quite a fun DVD. Also started the reprint of Trixie #3. Got quite a kick out of Jim calling them Moll Dicks. I have never seen that in print before, so it took me aback. And this is in a book I thought I had memorized. :)

Today's been a quiet day at work to make up for Thursday and Friday last week. Nice for a change. But I know it won't last. With only four working days before the audit, things will speed up again soon. Can't wait until it starts so I can get back to bank reconciliations. Being 5 weeks behind bothers me, but mainly it's so fun to do them. Probably my favorite part of the job. Yes, I'm weird, but if you're just figuring that out....

BTW, seems everyone wants me to have a housewarming party. I wasn't even planning on having one. Although, I could always use more towels. :)

Saturday, August 02, 2003

As I've been telling everyone I can think of, I GOT ONE!!!!!!

My realtor called last night about 6:30 to let me know I wouldn't know anything until tonight.Their realtor wasn't going to meet with them until tonight sometime.

But this morning she called me at 9 to let me know that they'd accepted my offer. She decided she needed to put more pressure on the realtor since we ran the risk of more offers coming in while she waited until tonight to present them all. All the offers were really close, but they decided this one was best. So, I get to start escrow on Monday and start worrying about all that kind of fun stuff. It's one in the complex I really wanted and is in excellent shape. I might throw a quick coat of paint on it, but other then that, it's ready to move in.

Now, as long as I have a couple roommates, everything will be fine. Otherwise, it's going to get very tight money wise. But if I have a couple roommates, I might not have to change my current lifestyle a whole lot.

In other news, Donald got here fine last night and we talked until almost 2. We were both dozing when Linda called at nine, but I'm so happy I don't care. (And probably wouldn't have gotten much more sleep anyway.)

By the end of September, I should be in my own place!

Friday, August 01, 2003

What a ride the last 48 hours have been!

Phil has been, and I have been a little bit, working on reconciling an account. I thought when I finally posted yesterday I had everything figured out. Came in this morning to discover that things weren't any better after all. But Phil had a break through this morning and between doing deposits for two people out on vacation, we got the problem solved.

Yep, I got to be a very busy me and Jim and Elizabeth this morning. And, for whatever reason, I was half asleep. Can't figure out for sure why.

That all changed when I finally went to lunch about one. And it involves condos, so I guess I should start with last night.

Yesterday, I had called my realtor to talk about taking a place that didn't have laundry in unit. We agreed to meet after work at look at several units in a complex here in Newhall. I like the complex and the layout is fine, I just kept having problems about them. First, I think I was really disappointed with the loss of washer and dryer. Second, there are currently six units on the market from that complex, and I just couldn't see for sure why. After Bible study, I went over and signed the papers to make an offer, offering several thousand below asking (a first!) But I just kept worrying about it.

So, when my agent called and told me we'd had a counter-offer, I wasn't exactly disappointed. But I was in a real bind not knowing what to do. I was on my way out the door to lunch, so I went home. I'd been there all of about 5 minutes when she called to tell me that a unit had opened up in the complex I really like. Complete with garage and washer and dryer. So we rushed over there. Then she spent the rest of the afternoon waiting to talk to the lender while I worked. Signed an offer about 4 PM, so we'll see what happens. Already in a multiple offer situation. Meanwhile, I've let the offer on the other condo go (didn't sign the counter.)

I think the adrenilen rush is leaving as I'm suddenly getting tired. Meanwhile, I have to stay up tonight because Donald is coming to town and staying with me, and is probably just now leaving the Bay Area. He and Heather are coming down for a wedding and won't be getting in until late.

I don't think I'll be able to wait until tomorrow to find out about this offer. I hate this pins and needles stuff.

Going to finish off with a quizz from Aleta.



What magazine am I?

I am Book: There is nothing better then the written word. Nothing engrosses me more then a masterpiece on paper. If you want to watch COPS you can always dig my TV out of the dumpster.

What magazine am I?


Why does this not surprise me?

Have a good weekend. I'll try to pop in and let you know what happens next in this saga.