Wednesday, September 15, 2004

So the Week Continues

After feeling lousy Monday, I spent a quiet night at home. I've been feeling better sense. Casey was also sick Monday. We decided to blame Matt, but then he got sick yesterday, so maybe no one was to blame. :)

Yesterday was all about getting stuff. After work, I went to the mall and bought Home on the Range. Didn't especially like the movie, but being a collector has it's downfalls. Also preordered Aladdin while I was at it. I've been wanting to watch that movie recently, but I'm waiting until it comes out on DVD. I can not wait until then!

Then when I got home, I found Rocky and Bullwinkle, the Complete Second Season waiting for me. Watch a couple episodes before The Amazing Race. Man, I love that show!

Signed papers for my refinance today. Finally. So that's moving ahead. Should fund on Monday. Then in another couple weeks I start getting the refund checks back since I paid more then I needed to today. Not to mention the old impounds account for my taxes. That will be very nice to have in.

In case you're wondering, that book in my currently reading collumn should be No Place for Secrets. It's an older book, so I knew that the cover wouldn't show up. But I honestly expected the title and author to show up.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

TV Tuesday Returns!

After a few week break, TV Tuesday returned, while I was having computer problems and sick and generally not blogging regularly. But I'm back to it this week.

This week's theme is judge shows. Should be interesting. It's something I know nothing about.

1. Do you have a favorite judge? Least favorite?
The only one I've ever watched is People's Court. I can't stand the ads for most of them, especially Judge Judy.

2. If you were given the chance would you settle a court case on a judge show?
Never. It always seems to be the silliest, most trivial cases on there with people who know no shame. I never want to be like that.

3. What's the silliest case you've ever seen on a judge show?
I haven't watched one in 15 years. I really don't remember anything about them.

~Bonus~ Imagine it, you've got your own show and now you're a judge, what would your show be like?
It would have to be a business judge show cause that's about all I know about. And would probably be very boring so it would get canceled quickly.

And, just for fun, I'll do last week's as well. The theme then was Kid's TV

1. When you were a kid what was (or is if you're still a kid LOL) your favorite show?
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, no question asked. Especially since it was the only one I was allowed to watch. Watched it into elementary school, then again with my younger brother. :) On the sly, when I was in jr. and senior high, it was probably You Can't Do That on Television.

And can I make a confession? Sesame Street scared me as a kid. Only on TV. Loved the records I had. Of course, I scared very easily as a kid, so I'm surprised Mr. Roger's didn't.

2. What is the silliest kids show you've ever seen? (You can use stupidest, most outrageous, worst, etc if you prefer!)
You know, I've drawing a blank on this right now. Possibly Salute Your Shorts on Nick.

3. If you could be any character in a kids show (past or present) who would you be? Why?
Fred Rogers. He had such a cool job and was so well loved by so many.

~Bonus~ This one is kind of for the adults and parents out there. Do you feel kids shows have changed for the better or worse since you were a kid?
There are a lot of kids shows out there that aren't appropriate for kid's right now. I really don't know how much that has changed, however.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Weekends Aren't Long Enough

Heck, I complained my three day weekend wasn't long enough last week, and I feel the same way today. Of course, since my Sunday's are so broken up with stuff I have to do anyway, it hardly counts anymore. It's more like a one day weekend.

Saturday was loads of fun. I went to Santa Monica with Matt (no, the other one) and Casey. We played in the water, threw a frisbee around, and played in the water. That's when the non-fun part came. Matt lost his glasses in the water. We tried, but couldn't find them. And his spare pair were at his parent's in Garden Grove, so we headed down there. That's when the really non-fun part started. We drove within a mile of Disneyland. Boy was it calling me! But I resisted. We hung out at Matt's for a little while and ate dinner. He made me drool over his book collection. And we found his spare glasses. All in all, it was about an 8 hour day, but we had a blast together.

Sunday was the usual. Church, talking to family, internet, church stuff again at night. We did practice for Thursday on Sunday for something different. And I'm very excited about the songs we'll be doing. "I Stand in Awe" with both verses. A great version of "Amazing Grace" thanks to Jared. And "Unto Thee, O Lord." I love that song but just finally figured out how to play it. It's an old song, but I don't think any of the kids know it since I haven't played it for years. I'm really looking forward to introducing it to them.

Then we had a SNYF at a house with a pool. We had lots of fun playing in the water, then we had a great time of worship with the kids actually singing. Seemed like a great SNYF.

So, yes, it was a good weekend, but not nearly long enough.

Meanwhile today, I've been trying to decide if I'm sick again or not. I think I'm mainly just tired. Not sure why I'm so tired, but I'm going to try going to bed early tonight and seeing what happens.

Should be getting loan docs tomorrow to sign Wednesday for the refi. Will be glad when this is all done.

Sunday, September 12, 2004

Word Association for Sept 12th

Once again, I should be on my way to church, but I'm doing the word association. Does this mean I'd addicted or something?

  1. Self-esteem:: Good in small doses
  2. Migraine:: Headache
  3. Phoebe:: Friends
  4. Nervous:: Butterflies in Stomach
  5. Punctual:: Not me Today
  6. Liver damage:: Drinking
  7. Legal disclaimer:: Small Print
  8. Reverend:: Pastor
  9. Supple:: Jim (Obviously, I've spent too much time on the Trixie boards.)
  10. Binder:: School

Friday, September 10, 2004

Modern Technology is wonderful. When it works.

Yeah, it's been one of those 24 hours.

It started last night at youth group. We hadn't practiced Sunday since my parents were in town. I was doing laundry so got there late. Once Jared got there, we practiced. Things were looking great on our end.

However, no one could log into the computer we were supposed to use for the Powerpoint slides I'd created. We tried just about everything, but nothing worked. So we cut the first song and went ahead with the others hoping people would know them. I mean, we sing them enough.... We had mixed results, but it was the best I could do on short notice. Next week, I'm going to bring the songbooks as back up.

Watched the premier of Joey when I got home. It was a pilot episode. I'll give it a few more before I give up on it, but I wasn't completely hooked right off the bat. And NBC did their normal trick of not sticking to their stated times. I'm about ready to stop watching them because I'm sick of setting my VCR for 8-8:35 and not getting the end of a half hour show.

It was while doing laundry that I determined my dryer isn't fully drying clothes all the way again. And I was doing three rather small loads. I don't know what to do now.

Then today, I came into work to find out the AC wasn't working. It's now 83 in the office, steadily getting hotter from 77 all day. It's not so bad since I've got my shoes off right now, but it's still pretty bad.

In case you're wondering what I'm doing here so late, the career Bible study meets tonight just down the street from the college. Since it makes little sense to spend the hour I had on the road, I'm whining on my blog.

And now, I think I'm off to write a couple reviews.

Late Memes

If I'm doing one late, might as well do them all late, right?

First up, Sunday's word association.

  1. Reporter:: Newspaper
  2. Mythology:: Greek and Roman gods
  3. Wimbledon:: Tennis
  4. Civilization:: Cradle of
  5. Punctuation:: Period
  6. Party Games:: Taboo
  7. Flawless:: Perfect
  8. Unprecedented:: New and Surprising
  9. Curry:: Garbonzo Bean Curry (which we had for dinner Sunday night)
  10. Tropical:: Island


And then yesterday's Thursday Threesome, brought to us by Jennie and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Ripped-- Ripped and torn asunder? Do you have a memorable "ripped clothing" moment in your life? No? How about in someone else's? Come on, you know you have something to contribute!
I do? I've had clothing rip, but not in an embarrassing way and I was able to make it home just fine. Frankly, it's been years since that happened. The only one I still wear is my athletic shorts. I just love them and can't find anything to replace them. I ripped the seam on one "leg" about a month after I bought them, but I've been wearing them for four years now.

Twosome: from the-- From the archives: What's changed on your website over the last year? ...a redo? ...a change of pace? ...or is it still business as usual?
If we're going to count this as my web site, I've completely changed the layout. It was a few months ago, but I really don't remeber for sure when.

Threesome: Headlines-- Are you a Headline Nazi? I mean, do you ever look at a headline and ask yourself, "What were they thinking?" ...or, "What are they trying to say?" Then again, do you have a favorite headline that you'll always remember?
To be a headline Nazi, I'd have to read headlines. I haven't read any for years except for those funny ones that are forwarded to you, and frankly, half the time I think they make sense. :)

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

That's right!

Yep, Faith guessed correctly. I now have hair down to my waste. It was quite a challenge getting it to grow several feet overnight, but worrying really can add inches to your hair. And since my boss isn't here today, I can get away with it until tomorrow when I'll be fired for having inappropriate hair.

September Fools!

Somehow, that doesn't sound the same as April Fools, does it?

In reality, the reverse is the truth. I'm writing this bald. Or as bald as you can be 22 hours after shaving smooth.

This is my first head shave in since I moved into my condo. And man have I missed that feel. There is something about feeling that smooth doom I just love.

Did it as soon as I got home last night. Had some fun with the clippers leaving the front for the very last. Thought about leaving it, but figured it was too weird.

I've gotten a few "baldy" comments and things like that today. But most people haven't commented. Even though I haven't been bald for a year, I'd say they must be used to it by now. Heck, even my roommates didn't say anything last night. Of course, Ben knew I was planning to do this and Tom keeps his hair so short he probably didn't think anything of it. Drew was at work by the time I was done.

In other news, I had lunch with a friend today. Good to catch up on our summers. It really was quite a summer for me, wasn't it? Maybe that's why I'm not too sorry to see it ending already.

Well, I guess it's dinner time.

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Not Nearly Enough Time for Goofing Off!

And it was a three day weekend to boot!

As soon as I left work Friday, I headed to my parent's trailer. We had a great weekend, but it wasn't nearly long enough!

Saturday, we tried to sleep in, but someone started up their loud deisel truck at 5 AM. While we dozed after they finally turned it off, we were all pretty tired. Still, we went to the Reagan Presidential Library (Mom and Dad's first visit) and played miniture golf in Sherman Oaks. The frustrating part of the day was that Mom was expecting me to be a tour guide. What I do most of the time and what they like to do are two different things. Then, when we finished the golf, Mom expected me to come up with a restaurant off the top of my head in an area I'm not at all familiar with. Keep in mind that they are vegan, so it's hard to find a restaurant they'd like. Eventually we gave up and came back to Santa Clarita where I have at least a bit of an advantage.

Sunday, we met up at church. Eventually, we made our way back to the trailer where we played some games, talked to my brother and sister-in-law, and ate dinner.

Monday, we really slept in. It was almost 10 AM before we got up and going. We tried to go see Princess Diaries 2, but it was sold out for the first showing. Grabbed tickets for the second showing, drove around Castaic Lake, and then went to Linner. (A meal between lunch and dinner). Then we enjoyed the movie. Yes, predictable, but very fun. Finally, we headed back to the trailer were we played a little Rummikub before Mom decided to watch Finding Nemo. Frankly, her desire to see that movie surprised me. She enjoyed it for the most part, but liked PD2 better. Personally, it think they are both great movies.

We never went swimming and we never played Canasta. Yet, it was a fun weekend. :)

I did get some read in my new book, Stalking the Angel. A PI novel, but I'm enjoying it.

What surprised me was that they didn't say a word all weekend about me having cut my hair. Since they didn't know about it, I was expecting something. I guess Mom's resigned to my hair being short as well as those down here.

Of course, I haven't cut my hair in a month, so I have a rather moppy looking crew cut at the moment. A problem I intend to remedy tonight, with results I'm sure Faith will approve of. :)

Friday, September 03, 2004

And So Ends Another Crazy Week

Remember when I used to post here 5 or 6 times a week?

Me, too.

It's been another crazy week in the life of Mark. Ready to hear about it?

Monday, the network here at work was hit by a virus big time. I was only able to work long enough to actually transfer money in our bank, but that was about it.

Tuesday was more of the same. Frankly, by Tuesday afternoon, I was very frustrated. With having been off last week and already being behind because of getting ready for the audit, I was swamped with work I needed to do and no time to do it.

Tuesday night I had an evidence of God being in control happen, however.

In trying to plan the Jr. high activity for the month, one option we've thrown out is Frisbee golf. So I headed out to the course in Sylmar to check it out. I got there and was looking around. Wanted to confirm my impression, so I went up to someone throwing some discs into a hole. Turned out he's the guy who's overseeing the course right now, so I was able to make a great connection. He happened to be there when I showed up on the spur of the moment. Now if I can just get back in touch and firm up details, it will be great.

Wednesday, the network was back up, at least for staff. But that was also the first day one of my co-workers switch departments. Her job has been farmed out, and I've got part of it. And part of that is stuff I've never done before, so I'm now trying to learn that. Frankly, today is the first day I managed to get to my July stuff that's been hanging over my head all week.

Yes, I'm looking forward to a long weekend, why do you ask? I need it. I feel like I've worked a week and a half since Sunday.

My parents are in town. Ok, technically, they're in Castaic, the town just north of here. I'm not sure what all we'll be doing, but I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend.

Hope you all have a great 3 day weekend! Or, if you aren't in the US, I hope you have a great regular weekend!

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Thursday Threesome for Sept. 2nd

Wow, I've been abandoning the place. Life's just been crazy I guess. But more on that later. Right now, it's time for this week's Thursday Threesome, brought to us by clowns and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Three- What do you think the T3 should be next week? Just toss three words together; we'll do the rest! *g*
I did have an idea stringing the questions together from the beginning of Crusade, the shortlived Babylon 5 sequel. Those questions are "Who are you?" "What do you want?" "Who do you serve, and who do you trust?"

But that's not three words is it? How about God Bless America. Or Man Bites Dog.

I think they might be running out of ideas. Sure hope not since I love doing it.

Twosome: Ring- Are you a jewellery person? Is there any one item you wear every single day? Do you have any piercings? Where are they and did they hurt?
Does my watch count? Once my shell necklace broke, that's about all I wear. In the way of jewlery! I did wear my college class ring for a few months, but stopped that. And I have no piercings and have no desire to get any. Too much pain.

Threesome: Circus- Do you like the circus? What's your favorite act? Or is your life enough of a circus for you?
Right now my life seems circus because of how crazy things are at work. But normally it's not. And I honestly have never been to the circus. I really should go sometime I guess.