It's down right cold out there. We're talking coat weather. Which means I get to wear my new coat. And no comments on it.

Of course, I discovered after Bible study last night that I hadn't cut all the tags off it before I started wearing it. So I went around all day with a tag hanging under my left arm. Oops! Hopefully no one else noticed.

And, in great news, Quizno's has brought back their Chicken Carbinara sandwich. Guess what I'll be having for the next few weeks!

The forcasted rain has so far been on again off again sprinkles. Not sure if that's doing much for the firefighters or not. Although they've cut the number here in town because the fire is under control for the time being. Only 50% contained, but under control. And I'm sure the rain hasn't hurt. Unfortunately, I don't know if the rain is going to the other fires that need to be put out.

Now we get to start worrying about our next natural disasters, mud slides. Because even if we just get one good rain this year, all the newly bare hills will run with mud. Heck, the hill behind Master's will go, and that burned back in July.

Personally, I'm doing better. I've managed to relax on personal stuff with my attention focused on the fires. How long it will last, I have no clue, but I've been feeling better for a few days now.

Definitely won't be on the internet over the weekend. They're working on the network all day tomorrow, and there just isn't really time for me to come in on Sundays anymore. So have a great weekend, don't get too scared tonight, and I'll see you all next month.

Welcome to this week's Thursday Threesome, brought to us this week by infomercals (all I could think of) and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Cheap-- Cheap thrills? Are you and yours doing anything for Halloween? Parties? Trick or treating? Staying home with the lights out and an axe visible in the window?
Staying home, watching my Friday night sit-coms, with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on DVD during my break. I’ve got some candy for trick or treaters, but I have no clue how many to expect.

Twosome: wax-- Hey, are you a 'candle person'? I mean, is that one of your decorating motifs? ...or does this fall under something like the "No Sharp Objects" rule in your life?
Decorating? Is that when you put something beside furniture up in your home? Personally, I’m not a candle person because of the smells/smoke (allergies) and because they aren’t a guy thing. :)

Threesome: treatment-- Speaking of treatments: do you decorate for Fall? Halloween? Thanksgiving? ...or just pretend that deceased plant in the corner really just lost its leaves for the winter?
Decorating? Is that when you put something beside furniture up in your home? The only thing I decorate for is Christmas. Planning to get a fake Christmas tree this year (once the smoke leaves Wal-Mart), and put up my nativity set and Charlie Brown Christmas set, and the ceramic Christmas tree that Grandma made me a few years ago. Ok, so my Christmas decorations don’t make it beyond the living room yet, but I enjoy doing it every year.

And a fire update. The closest fire stayed under control over night. Last I heard, they were letting it burn in a canyon away from homes hoping it would burn itself out. It’s only 30% contained, however, so anything is still possible.

Meanwhile, the weather that was in the 90’s a week ago is now in the 60’s and it was kinda sorta sprinkling when I came into work. I’m still praying that the scattered showers that they’re predicting will become a full blown rain storm by the end of the day tomorrow and really help put all the fires in Southern CA out.

What a day it's been. The fire came fairly close to Stevenson Ranch last night, then retreated from homes by this morning. I thought the worst was over for Santa Clarita.

But before lunch time, the wind came up again and the fire came back toward the subdivisions. Meanwhile, the sky was overcast with smoke and the sun was just a little red ball. I spent my lunch hour watching the news and working out in the fitness center. But the firefighters have managed to turn back the fire again with the help of a wind shift in the late afternoon. The sky has even sorta cleared.

The worst part for me will be getting home. They had the freeway through town closed for a couple hours, so the surface streets are a nightmare. It may take me forever and a day to get somewhere that should only take me 20 minutes. And I think I'm going to tell the convention not to come tonight. But if this is the worst that happens to me because of the fires, I'll be very blessed.

I'm praying for rain. We need it anyway, and it would help the firefighters so much. They aren't predicting any for the near future, so you can just call me Elijah.

As I just posted over at Zap's, things have changed again fire wise. The wind shifted and the fire that's been on the edge of town all along is threatening homes in Stevenson Ranch, the western end of town. They're calling for voluntary evacuations.

Fortunately, this is on the other side of town from my condo. Unfortunately, it's on the same side of town as the college. I don't expect it to be a problem, it's got a lot of town to go through before it gets here, but you never know. Either way, it's scary.

Meanwhile, things haven't gotten better at home. Not only was Jen there so late that they both fell asleep (and they know how I feel about this), but Jeff brought out his bigger fish tank and set it up without asking. Taking more counter top space. And he keeps buying things that they will need when they get married next summer, but we don't necessarily need now. Like dishes. So where are we supposed to keep them until then. Especially if we find more roommates with more dishes. Meanwhile, the kitchen was a disaster already when I left for work this morning. Heck, I could hardly find room to make my lunch last night.

I feel like a snitch, but I called Jen's RD to make sure she knew what was going on. Especially with these fires going on, it's important that if she's not going to be around she is signed out of the dorm. And she's not welcome to sign out to my condo for the night!

The worst part is, I like Jeff. He's a nice guy. So being angry with him all the time isn't what I want. It's just so frustrating that he's not paying any attention to what I ask him to do.

Meanwhile, I did forget something from Sunday. We had a staff meeting after the evening service, and that's when Dave popped on us the idea of doing stuff on Halloween with our small groups as an alternative to trick or treating etc. With 5 days to put something together. And nothing on the calendar or discussed with the kids before hand. Sorry, I'm not putting any time and energy into that when most families would already have plans by now.

Well, they've closed down the 5 and 14 freeways. Unless it's the 14 south, I'm not sure why. It's going to be a nightmare getting home since everyone is going to want to go that way. I wonder how I'll get home, and if it will be in time for 24. A man's got to have his priorities no matter how shallow they are.

Just talked to Jeff, he'll record it for me if I'm not home. I know you were all on the edge of your seats about that. :)

To end on a lighter note, a couple quizzes.

First, via Diann, and in time for the coming weekend:

Driretlan is your Vampire name.
You are a witty Vampire with a certain style that
others are drawn to.
To use your new Vampire name and become a Vampire,
go here:
www.life-blood.vze.com


What is your Vampire name?
brought to you by Quizilla

And, via Stephanie:

Gimli Gloin's son If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Gimli, Dwarf, handy with an axe when orcs are about. In the movie, I am played by John Rhys-Davies. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

Would you believe my weekend was even worse? I'm not making any of this up. Names haven't even been changed to protect the innocent, because there were none.

I showed up for paintball about 9. Just couldn't get up, something about not wanting to go, I think. I played the first round, was the first one hit, so I played ref the next two. We're ready to leave when I discover that my car has been the only one hit by paintballs. (OtherSeth claims that the two highschoolers from our church hanging around were about to hit his car when he left.) So Dave offers to help me wash my car at his place for free with the outdoor hose he has.

I'm following him back to civilization (we really were in the sticks) when he desides to take his 4x through the wash. Even though mine's only two wheel drive, I decided to follow. About half way across, I get stuck. Since I don't know what to do, I try going back and forth a few times, only making it worse. He comes back to help me. We try digging and boards, but it doesn't work. So he risks getting stuck himself to help me. Trying to find a place on the front of the car to hook onto, we decide to try the bar running just under the car. We attach the strap, Dave drives away, and the bar comes off. Turns out it wasn't attached to anything substantial, and it tore through my plastic splash guard.

So Dave comes around the back and pulls me out backwards. Hauls me over to the rocky part of the bed, we disconnect, and decide to meet up on the pavement. I get forward two feet, and get stuck again. So back out Dave comes, hooks up to the frame in front this time (which wasn't easy), and he pulls me to the pavement. Yep, took three tries to get my unstuck twice.

Get back to Dave's and wash the car, only to find that something in the paintballs reacted with the plastic and rubber on my car, leaving a residue that makes it look like paint peeling off the car. Needless to say, I'm not happy about that. We think we can reattach the bar and leave the splash guard like it is, but we need a little help, like someone in our church who is stronger and has the equipement needed.

So I didn't get home until 4 PM, instead of 11 AM.

Sunday was fine, nothing new. Well, a new Alias, and those are always enjoyable.

Yes, I have gone back to those boards today. (BAD MARK!!!) The liberal jerk on the one has topped himself. He is such an arrogant jerk who is absolutely right and if you don't believe exactly as he does you don't know anything and can't possibly be smart at all. Then he wonders why people don't want to have debates with him.

It's been a long few days. I need a break and a chance to get away by myself and think through everything going through my head. Right now, I want to withdraw from other people (even though I know I'll find the story about getting stuck funny in a couple months.) It really hurts that I'm the only one that got hit by the paintballs, especially since I often feel like the kids don't really like me on staff. I'm trying not to let them know because I know it'll just encourage them, but it's so hard.

And part of me is watching this amazed it's been so long since I've felt this way. It used to be much more frequent, and I think it says alot about how my life has improved that it's not nearly as frequent or long or intense as it used to be.

Meanwhile, if you've been hearing about the fires, there is one on the west side of town, but it doesn't seem to be coming this way. In fact, the wind is blowing the smoke out of town, too. Sure hope they can take advantage of the lessened wind (boy was it bad all weekend) and get these fires contained tonight.

Frustration is my middle name today.

I loose Marcus in a week. No replacement roommate in the future that I can find. Fortunately I have Jeff. Sorta.

See, when we first moved in, I announced the #1 rule of the condo was going to be "CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF." Yet I am constantly harping on Jeff to clean up. Like the dishes piled in the sink all week. I hate it, but I hate having the stuff there even more. I mean, I've been walking down to the bathroom for the last two days to fill the water pitcher, it was that bad. Am I really asking too much when I ask that, once you're done eating, you clean the dishes you used to make the meal?

I have decided what I really want is to live alone. I'm tired of trying to deal with other people. And, frankly, I think I'm too independent and too much of a control freak to ever think about getting married. Yep, I'm going to stay single.

Of course, I have to have roommates right now to make ends meet. I should never have placed myself in this position. What was I thinking? I need a new job, something that actually pays me more what I'm worth. Something I can live on. It's just killing me that I can't make Trixie camp this year.

Meanwhile, I've had it with the two thorn in my side boards. I've spent the last 24 hours being attacked by three different people on one because of my conservative views. When I finally snapped, the only reply I got was "I'm trying to have a productive debate with you." It's taken all my will power to not respond with "To have a productive debate, you must respect the person you are debating." and then go on to list all the times he has treated me like a piece of junk. He thinks all conservatives are evil, and Christian conservatives are doubly so. No, he won't say it outright, but you can tell that's what he thinks by the way he says what he says.

Meanwhile, on the other board, a newbie started a thread asking for Christian fiction recommendations. One person responded with "Try the New Testament." When a couple of us got upset, two others didn't see what the problem was. When I explained that this is non-fiction, one said back "It never crossed my mind that anyone would consider it non-fiction." And people call Christians ignorant and close-minded! And come one, how hard is it to not open a thread you aren't interested in and can't contribute to? Makes logical sense to me. Meanwhile, the jerk who said he was leaving a month ago is already back making more trouble.

Civility is dead.

To top is off, my accounting program kept shutting down on my at work today. Didn't loose any information, but it sure is frustrating.

Not that my weekend will get any better. Ultimate isn't an option tomorrow. We've got a paintball "war" with the jr. high from 8:30 - 10:30. Can I just tell you how much I don't want to go? Yes, there is the part that is afraid after all the fush I've made over the years that I might like it. But most of it is knowing I won't. I hate people shooting things at me. I flinch over rubber bands, for Pete's sake! Yes, we're only using sling shots, but it's still not going to be my idea of fun.

Jeff did just stop by to tell me he's going to be out of town this weekend. Marcus, too. So I'll have the entire condo to myself. Maybe that will help me recover after all. While doing loads of laundry and watching the stuff I have on tape and trying to get through my book.

No rest of the wicked, eh?

To close on a lighter note, a new quiz found via Aleta. Once again, we aren't the same, although my day might have had something to do with it.


Which Dr. Seuss character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Time for this week's Thursday Threesome, brought to us this week by your local grocer and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Breakfast- It's the most important meal of the day. Do you eat it every day? What's your favorite breakfast?
I eat something first thing every morning. Most mornings, it’s a banana and a cereal bar with a glass of juice. Saturdays, I eat in the caf and get French toast and tatter tots and eggs. My favorite breakfast would be anything any form of maple syrup holders. And you’ve got to use the real syrup, too.

Twosome: Lunch- Where's your favorite place to go out for lunch? Or do you brown bag it?
Usually brown bag it. Cheaper that way. But I have been eating in the caf occasionally since I can’t run home at lunch time any more.

Threesome: and Dinner- Do you cook at home or prefer to grab burgers on the way home from work? What's your favorite meal?
My idea of cooking at home is microwaving a TV dinner. As you know, I normally eat dinner in the caf right after work, but when it’s closed, I usually grab something on the way home. Not burgers, but sub sandwiches or Baja Fresh. Maybe Taco Bell. Something like that. Favorite meal? I love Pizza. And Quizno's. And burgers, just not the fast food greasy kind. Mexican, Italian. Basically, if it's not good for you, I like it. Although I'm not a big fan of oriental food.

Finished my book last night with time to spare. Well, enough time to start my next one. And reviewing it gave me my 280th review at Amazon. Only 20 more to go! That's 10 a month if I don't review a thing the rest of this month. Which makes me happy since November and December can get busy and leave less time for reviewing. Or two a week if you prefer.

I didn't mention a couple things I saw Saturday that, to quote Calvin, "I didn't know exist but I just have to have." Now, keeping in mind that I have six or seven different versions of Monopoly, including the Disney version available in stores, I saw the Disney parks edition, only available in Disney parks. And it comes in a collectible tin. Sitting right next to it was the Haunted Mansion version of Clue. It took all my will power to look at them, set them back on the shelf, and walk away. I don't think Angelique knows how much I struggled. :) But I just can't afford $40 each right now. Plus sales tax. But, from the little I saw of the boxes, they looked wonderful. And no, I don't remember what the Boardway spot was. :)

Either that was the world's wimpiest cold or it was really allergies. I felt find all day Saturday, and still feel fine now. I'm leaning toward allergies because it's been so dry around here. It may be in the 90's during the day still, but it's certainly fall.

Had a blast at Disneyland as always. Met Angelique, and we hit everything we could think of in a full day event. With Splash, Big Thunder, and Space Mountains all closed and Pirates closed all morning, we had to fight bigger crowds then expected all day. But we still got in everything we wanted, and the longest wait we had as for Peter Pan's Flight. Why it's everyone's favorite is beyond me.

Yesterday was talking to family day and church. And wouldn't you know it, the week that Kyle can't make it, I decide to do "Awesome God," one of his favorites. Maybe next time.

We had a SNYF afterwards at the restaurants nearby. And sang out in the courtyard. Fortunately, the lights in the parking lot put out a lot more light then I thought they would.

Today has been an exercise in frustrations, followed by all the problems being solved in the last few minutes of work. Now, if I can find the $50 I'm missing from the bank rec for a week ago, I'll be happy. That's on my to do list tomorrow.

Tonight, I hope to finish my book, The Magician's Nephew. I must admit, the Chronicles of Narnia move a little slower on rereading then I'd like, especially when you remember the basic storyline. But I'm glad I've been rereading them this year.

Before I moved, I got my vehicle renewal notice from the DMV. Not wanting to loose it in the move, I sent it in right away. Six weeks early. Middle of September. When I got my bank statement, I noticed the check cleared on the 29th of Sept.

Wednesday, I got something from DMV. I was excited, figuring it was my new sticker. Wrong! They've gotten my change of address, but this was a new notice to renew my vehicle. Processed on the 11th of Oct.

Meanwhile, I have a similar situation with the phone company, telling me that I owe them money when I think they owe me money. All this from my old phone number.

Isn't moving fun?

Last night, they were planning to clean the carpets in the church gym, where we normally meet for the games and worship part of Bible study. They were supposed to start cleaning around 7, but showed up at 6:30 instead. So we moved up worship, which we weren't at all prepared for. The Powerpoint slides had gotten lost, so a couple guys worked like crazy retyping them while I tried to get everything else organized. Then, as all five songs are in, Jon tells us to cut back on the worship time, say only do 3 songs. I felt badly that all the work on the last two was wasted, but that's what we did.

The cold I've been pretending wasn't coming on has finally decided to hit me today. Just before Disneyland. :( But at least I get to go to Disneyland tomorrow.

Probably didn't help that I stayed up later then I intended to last night. I blaim Donald because I talked to him for over an hour! (Never mind that fact that I enjoyed every minute of it. I still get to blaim him.)

And, in honor of talking to Donald last night and him visiting my blog for the first time in months today, I have to pass along a bad pun he sent me today. Bad joke buzzer ready?

There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin. One slept on an elk skin and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three became pregnant and the first two each had a baby boy. The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This goes to prove that the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides.

Bad, isn't it?

Well, Phil has said we can go early if we want, so I think I will. Have a good weekend.

Welcome to this week's edition of the Thursday Threesome, brought to us this week by plugs and The Back Porch.

Onesome: MT-- So, are you running Moveable Type? ...and have you had to deal with comment spam?
Look at my address again. I’ll give you one guess. :) And if you are interested in the plugs to stop this on your blog, TBP did have some links. I just cut that part out.

Twosome: Black-- Hey, can you do "basic black"? ...or does your wardrobe consist of everything but black? Inquiring minds want a look into that closet!
My closet consists of a little bit of everything, including black.

Threesome: List-- Are you a "List Person", one of those people who cannot make it through the day with out a to-do list? ...or maybe "listfull', with yellow sticky notes all about you? ...or are you "listless" and wandering about randomly getting things accomplished?
I’m listless. And there are days my productivity shows this. I’m sure if I made lists I’d get things done better. However, I’d have to be organized enough to make those lists.

In case you haven't heard, all the workers in Albertson's, Vons, and Ralph's, the three largest grocery chains in Southern CA are on strike right now. Naturally, this makes life interesting, especially since there are very few alternatives if you want to avoid the nasty business of the picket lines.

Being the rebel I am, I will now be shopping at Albertson's for sure until this is over. Here's what I found out.

I knew it was over medical plans. At least at Albertson's, the employees are now being expected to pay part of the premium costs. $5 per person with a $15 max per family. And for this, they're giving up a week of pay to start with? Makes no sense to me, and that's a token amount, anyway. So I'm rather mad at the workers on strike and feel that they are totally wrong in this case.

Neither side plans to give in any time soon, so it could be a long drawn out thing. We'll just have to see what happened.

Meanwhile, we have a server crash over at snarkfest, so I now need to try to remember what I said about Alias yesterday.

Maybe I should post something today. What do you think?

Well, the roommate lead fell through. No leads as of yet. Still hoping.

Saturday, I did nothing. Productive that is. Played ultimate frisbee in the morning. Went back to the condo and caught up on my videos. Swam for a little while. Exciting stuff like that.

Sunday, however, I went down to Santa Monica. It was just too nice to stay inside yet again. So Jeff and I took off right after church. Spent a couple hours on the beach. Slight breeze but very nice day. Read, dozed, swam. Unfortunately, not nearly long enough. But fun for what it was. Got back just in time for worship team practice.

I can tell fall is coming, however. Even though it's still pleasantly warm out, the air had a bit of a nip to it when I left for work this morning. And it smells of fall outside.

Which is probably for the best. I have a Christmas CD in my car right now. Kinda hard to listen to that and be thinking "It's October" when it feels so much warmer then that. Of course, I often pull out a Christmas CD or two during the summer, so it's not completely foreign.

Hoping to finish Evan Can Wait tonight. He may be able to wait, but I certainly can't. :) First Rhys Bowen book I've read in months, and I'm really enjoying it.

I guess that's about all the news here. Which works out well. It's just about dinner time.

"God is in Control...." - Twila Paris.

So, I'm over in the fitness center for a very late lunch this afternoon with Don, co-worker who's kids have been through jr. high group at church. He's one of the friends that helped me move. Anyway, he was asking me if I had any leads on a new roommate yet, and I told him no. One of the basketball players had just come in, and mentioned an assistant coach is looking for a place to live. So left him a message, and we'll see what happens.

Things went well leading worship last night. The biggest problem was with the first song, which Jared started about half speed. Other then that, we had a little communication problems about which songs he was or wasn't starting, but it all worked out well. We all seemed to be staying together, etc. Probably the best we've had for weeks.

I was so tired last night. Barely made it through Without a Trace. And I'm not sure why. Meanwhile, I'm really struggling with going to Bible study tonight. I should, but it just doesn't seem like that much fun. Especially when Jeff wants to play The Stock Market Game. Maybe if I could talk him into a few Christmas CD's....

Meanwhile, I'm down to 25 reviews to go this year at Amazon. I will make it. I will make it....

Welcome to this week's episode of the Thursday Threesome. This week, it's brought to us by kids everywhere and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Saturday- Is Saturday a day to relax, maybe do something fun, or is it a day spent on the run, chauffeuring kids to activities, yourself to the gym and getting the errands done before it's back to work on Monday? Do you need a day off to rest from your day off? Tell us about your day!
Most Saturdays are spent doing whatever I want to do, be it the beach or a book signing or relaxing in front of the TV and catching up on my shows. Sunday, however, is not usually relaxing and I could use it in my weekend first. :)

Twosome: Morning- What's different about your weekend morning routine than the other days of the week?
Sunday, the only difference is I sleep later because I need to be a church later and it’s so much closer then work. (Now, anyway.) Saturdays, I sleep in, eat breakfast, shower whenever I’m finally going to leave to go somewhere. Or, if I’m playing ultimate Frisbee that morning, I get out of bed and head out to play, grab a meal in the caf and then shower once I’ve finally gotten home.

Threesome: Cartoons- Do you have a favourite one? Do you still watch it and/ or other cartoons?
About the only cartoon I ever watched faithfully was Darkwing Duck, which was when I was in high school and college. I’d still watch it if I could. Of course, if we're talking about animated movies and not Tv cartoon shows, I have all the Disney classics on video, working on getting them all on DVD, and still love many of them.

You've gotta love marketing departments.

I got in today's mail at work a piece of junk mail. It was addressed to Mark Baker Accountant. Ok, so these people know who I am. That's a good start. But inside were fliers for classes in electronics and A/C repair. To help me in my career. Um....

I'm only going to have Marcus as a roommate for the rest of the month. He found out yesterday that his contract wasn't going to be renewed. So this means I need two roommates instead of one. At least I still have Jeff. Until May or June.

Meanwhile, looks like my prediction was wrong. The election was so much a landslide that the Democrats know they can't really challenge it and gain any ground. I'm happy that Davis is gone. Just hope that Arnold really does know what he's doing. He's been so vague for so long it's hard to tell for sure.

Of course, this whole election thing has gotten me back into political discussions. Including one with a guy who won't come out and say it, but sure seems to believe that Christians have no place in the political life of this country. Seperation of church and state, you know. Hate to break it to him, but I'm just as much a citizen as he is and will be exercising my rights just as he would.

At least this time he's being civil about it and not name calling like he was Friday. Still makes me mad when I post something and he ignors it and goes about with his own diatribe against me and what I believe.

I am being so tempted to join the novel writers next month. Even though I know that I will never finish. And my goal of 400 reviews at Amazon has been there so long I will not sacrifice that after working months to make it happen. Frankly, all the ideas I have would require at least a month of research before I could even think of writing a credible first draft. Of course, if my ideas didn't reach for the moon....

And, finally, a quiz stolen from Stephanie


"When Doves Cry" (by Prince)
How could you just leave me standing,
Alone in a world so cold?
Maybe you're just too demanding.
Maybe I'm just like my father--too bold.
Maybe you're just like my mother.
She's never satisfied.
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like,
When doves cry.


Which 80's Song Fits You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Never heard of it. Not that I expected to. :)

Some people really should learn how to drive. Like seriously.

On my way to work yesterday, I was approaching the biggest intersection in my new, longer trip to work. (It takes me 3 times as long as I'm used to now that I've moved. You know, 15 instead of 5 minutes.) Anyway, I'm in the middle lane. On the other side of the intersection, the road goes down to two lanes except that it's ok to drive on the sholder for another couple blocks during the morning. I pulled up and stopped at the red light and started to go when it hits green. (I know what the pretty lights mean. Proud of me?) I then have to put on the breaks since the car in the lane next to me almost hits me she's so anxious to get over into my lane. In fact, she's changing in the middle of the intersection. I let her in since I think maybe she wants to turn into the shopping center or gas station on the other side of the intersection. But nope, she stays in the middle lane through the intersection, then pulls onto the sholder.

Ok, that's fine. As usual, my lane is a little faster, so I pass her. I'm ahead of her as we get to the intersection where the drving on the sholder thing ends with a very clearly marked right turn only lane. She just blazes right on through and continues to drive on the side until there's a car parked in her way, at which point she merges behind me, again like a maniac.

Several miles later, she's managed to pass me in the left lane and become one car in front of me. And that's with weaving wildly in and out of traffic.

I felt sorriest for the kid in the back seat of the car.

Meanwhile, in other developements, I'm so tempted to sign up for NaNoWriMo. Peer pressure is such a dangerous thing. :) As much as I'd love to, it would drive me crazy trying to write that much in one month and keep up my activities and my reviewing. That would be even if I cut back on TV. Maybe if everyone signs up again next year. (Please note, I said maybe.)

And, yes, I've already voted today. Voted before I came into work, in fact. Let the election stuff end and the legal challenges begin again.

Picked up Michael W. Smith's new best of collection today at lunch time, and I'll be getting The Lion King DVD tonight after work.

I can now safely say that, after two weeks, I'm more moved into my condo then I was for the last two years in my apartment. Of course, there was that whole "I'm only here temporarily" thing, but I'd say it's a great feeling to be moving in.

On the down side, I have more stuff then I know what to do with. Even with doubling up DVD's and videos and hardcover and paperback books, I don't think I'm going to have enough bookshelves. So I know get to choose what I want to be out. DVD's. Trixie. Sandy and Sigmund.... Wish I didn't have to choose.

In other news, I've flip-flopped on the election tomorrow. If the news media is so upset that Arnold might win that they are behaving like spoiled kids already, then I need to vote for him. Never thought I'd see myself do this in a million years, but that's the way things are going to be. I mean, honestly, this is ridiculas. Bring out only the charges in the last few days that people knew were there all the time. And, as with one charge, refuse to air the whole truth. Then the media wonders why we think they're biased. (No offense meant, Jennie.)

Had a quiet weekend. Unpacked, caught up on TV. Lost The Stockmarket game to both Jeff and Marcus. Had fun at the family fellowship last night. Enjoying the new season of Alias. (Although it's still not as good as season 1 was. That year was the best.)

Can't think of much else new to report. Boring life, isn't it? :)

Somebody stop me before I do it again!

Guess what I did this afternoon while working. Kept flipping over to a message board to participate in several political discussions. For the most part these are going better then last week. Everyone at this board respects the viewpoints of people they disagree with. Expect one small minded individual who thinks that all conservatives are no better then the Taliban. When I try to respond calming explaining why I disagree with him, he responds by attacking me. Guess who I'll be reading but ignoring in the future. Now, if only one of his fellow liberals would tell him to cool it.

In other news, I actually started unpacking boxes last night. Six down, how many more to go? But my Trixie paperbacks are back out, as are my Disney videos, and, for the first time in two years, my Sandy Dengler books. It's beginning to look like home.

And my potental third roommate fell through today. I swear, my life changes by the hour sometimes.

Last night was certainly interesting. The jr. high from the Christian school were at a spiritual life retreat. As in all but about 5 kids who normally come. Plus a lot of the high schoolers were gone, too. I basically let Jared and Scott run worship time. It was ok, but most certainly should have been better. Of course, we also put about 10 minutes into practice, all of it last night, so that might have influenced it somewhat. Still, I was able to leave early and get home, so I could watched all of CBS's line-up last night for a change.

Did you know that next month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? See what you can learn when you participate in the Thursday Threesome?

Onesome: Great- Who's the greatest influence in your life? ...and could you write about them? (Hey, it's NaNoWriMo!)
My parents, still. And I probably could write a novel about them, but I’m not sure it would be any good.

Twosome: American- Who do you consider to be the greatest American writer of all time? Counterpoint: whose books are sitting on your nightstand?
Sandy Dengler, because of her way of weaving words together in a poetic way. Of course, I haven’t read any of her books for years because she isn’t writing any more but pursuing other things. Right now, I’m reading a mystery by Andy Straka.

Threesome: Novel- What's your favourite book/novel? Hmmm... What's so special about that one book?
I usually answer this one The Gatehouse Mystery because of how it brings Trixie and her friends and family to life. If we’re going by the book I’ve reread the most in my life, this would have to be it.

Things just get better and better in Amazon board land.

The liberal jerk made a derogatory comment on Alzheimer's yesterday. A couple of us called him on that, but he didn't log back in until last night. He says he meant it as gallows humor, but I certainly don't see it. So, I told him not to let the door hit him on the way out. Not the most mature response, but when he won't possibly see how he upset two people and "doesn't owe anyone an apology" I kinda loose it.

As I figured, I've been left some nasty messages from him and others. But I don't care. We'll just see if he actually leaves this time. I'm not holding my breath. It's already been two days and counting.

I have a third roommate! Marvin should be moving in sometime the second half of the month. He's also talking about staying for a year and a half to two years! At least one of the three is a little more long term.

Jeff and Jen brought home Holes late last night. As in 11 PM. If it's still around when I get home, I may try to watch around the gang coming over for sci-fi. Otherwise, I guess I'll pass this time.

In other Amazon news, I have an update on my quest for 400 reviews by year's end. As of last night, I had 33 reviews to write, which makes 11 reviews a month for the rest of the year. I can do that no problem. (I hope.)

And, in case you missed it. Welcome to the final quarter of 2003. Is it really October already?