I know, a Saturday post from me. It does happen every so often.

So, Marcus came over last night after he was done with his Bible study, leaving the rest of my weekend free. And I'm thrilled with the new light fixtures. I was a little worried that they wouldn't let as much light out as the old ones did. The old ones had four bulbs, and these only have two. But they're up higher, so maybe that makes a difference? I'm also using some of those energy saver bulbs. Boy do they put out lots of great light. This will certainly be a change for the better.

And I now have keypad entry to my garage. Which means I don't have to carry a remote back and forth everytime I head down to the garage or get into/leave my car. One less thing to carry is always a plus. Of course, I also have to enter the code still, so I still need a hand free, so maybe I'm not much better off.

Got up today to play ultimate frisbee. Yes, he who tried to drive me away was there, but it was someone else who was acting immature and that I didn't get along with. And the wind didn't help at all. I didn't notice it at my condo, but it was howling on the field. And all afternoon here at work.

So, why am I in my office this long? Because, I was finishing the latest draft of Jennie's book. Much better ending then the first ending I read. And certainly better then the last draft, which kinda stopped. :) Needs more polishing to be better, but certainly an all around good story.

Now, however, I need to get home and finish my published novel and watch some TV. (Taping Fox news as we speak.) Take care everyone.

I found out last night that Marcus is going to be in town to change my light fixtures for me tomorrow. I thought he said he'd call me in two weeks, not he'd be here in two weeks. Throws my plans for tomorrow out of whack, but that'll be ok for the most part. The thing that will suffer the most is Jennie's book. I thought I'd finish tomorrow, but now I'm not going to finish until next week some time.

In other news, I did it today! I ordered DSL, so for the next year at least, I'll have DSL at home. I hate having another monthly expense, but I do need this at home to keep roommates happy. Well, at least internet access of some sort. And considering how much I like to get on over the weekends, this will save me trips into the office. Heck, maybe I can even be extremely late to chat occasionally. Anyone still around at midnight on Thursdays?

Didn't quite get through my reconciliations. One more to go. But I'm still happy with my progress. And I'm about 100 pages from the end of my book. Finally. That's on my weekend agenda. Along with a super bowl party and Babar the Movie. Can you believe the released that on DVD? It's wonderful, I don't care what anyone says, with some great lines. And I certainly couldn't pass it up for that price!

Right now, I need to get utilities for the month figured out so I can bill my roommates. :) I'll leave you with a quiz. Have a good weekend everyone.

alt="Trojan" border=0 width=200 height=100>

Love the new image, you've come along way since wooden horses, but as popular as ever. Computer virus quiz

Aleta and I are the same again, aren't we?

Surprise, surprise, I'm back. This afternoon, I present an interview thanks to Keith Snyder, author of Coffin's Got the Dead Guy on the Inside as well as three other novels. (I really do need to get the second two read, don't I?)

1. If you could choose someone besides yourself to live 300 years, who would it be?
I’ve been thinking about this and have rejected various people for various reasons. I think I’m going to go with Walt Disney. Surprised? Probably not, but I did put some thought into it. Disney was such a pioneer in family entertainment I would have loved to have seen what he would have come up with had he lived another 240 years. Beside, maybe I would have had a chance to meet him. :)

2. What would your Secret Hideout be like?
It would be a cozy room hidden in a tree or a tower. It would have TV/DVD/VCR as well as computer with internet access in it. But it would more then anything be filled with bookshelves of my favorite books. And an easy chair. I could go there for hours on end with no phone and only contact that outside world if I choose. I could spend hours reading uninterrupted if I so desired, so spend time with the TV or computer or some combination of all three. The exit would be a circular slide. During winter (ok, cool weather), it would land on the ground, but during summer it would let me splash down into a pool. There would be windows on all sides to let in light and fresh air.

You know, I’ve never given this much thought before, but I think I’m going to have to build this now. :)

3. Finish this sentence: "Telephones ___________"
Telephones are wonderful for keeping in touch with family and friends. As long as you actually pick them up and use them.

4. What do you beat yourself up about, with the full knowledge that beating yourself up about it doesn't make sense?
I beat myself up about stupid things I’ve said in the past. Recent past or long past are equal fodder if I get in the mood. I’m also beating myself up for not buying a condo sooner. Not much I can do about that now.

5. What do you get out of book reviewing?
I have always shared my thoughts on books with anyone who will pretend to listen. By writing reviews, I know I’m reaching an audience that might actually care about what I have to say. Hopefully by writing reviews, I can keep my favorite authors in print because of increased sales. Plus I hope that people find new authors they'll enjoy. And I must admit I get a huge thrill when I see my positive votes and rank have gone up. Talk about an ego boost.


RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

Morning. Time again for the Thursday Threesome brought to us this week by Edgar Allen Poe and The Back Porch.

Onesome- The happiest day: Tell us about the happiest day of your life.
The first thing that came to mind was the day my offer on my condo was accepted. But I don’t know if that’s the happiest. I’m really not sure what I’d say.

Twosome- The happiest hour: What’s your favourite time of the day, and why?
Early evening. Just off work and have all the hours with possibilities to do whatever I want with.

Threesome- Mine eyes shall see: What’s the one thing/place you would really like to see in your life?
Australia, Hawaii, Mt. Rushmore, and Disney World all sprang to mind. What those four choices say about me, however, is anyone’s guess.

I'm downright excited about what we got done last night. Jeff and I were actually both home all evening, so I pulled out my hack saw again, then went a got a new blade. When I got back, Jeff gut the metal dowl into the right sized pieces and we made the beds in our room into bunk beds. Opens the room up so much and makes so much more room. Of course, we still aren't completely sure how we want to put everything, so we might be moving things around more in the next few days. But this means that once we decide on what we're going, I can finish unpacking boxes. Which means I'll have to decide what books to leave packed up in the garage. Horror.

Meanwhile, the special assessment for the repipe on my complex went through, so I can call the escrow company and get the funds released and then start paying the extra every month. Yet another monthly expense. :( But it needs doing, as the leak in my unit in November made me even more aware then I previously was. It'll mean I have to empty the garage, however, probably. :(

The guys are coming over early tonight since Enterprise is a rerun. We can watch the two episodes of Babylon 5 early and I can hopefully have them back and be home in time to watch Angel and Celebrity Mole tonight.

It's sad how much my life revolves around TV, isn't it?

Ok, catching up on city and state quizzes. First up, cities:

New York (Does Yonkers count? I've been lost in Yonkers at Trixie camp #1. Also been to JFK airport.)

Los Angeles 30 miles from LA seems to be close enough for my parents. I live in LA county....

Chicago

Houston

Philadelphia

San Diego

Phoenix

San Antonio

Dallas

Detroit

For states, I'm only going to list ones I've visited, including airport layovers. California is the only state I've lived in, so I'm not going to worry about marking that.

Arizona
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Idaho
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
DC

I think I'm leaving a couple we just drove through out from the trip with my family on the East Coast in 2000. And I may be a little off on states I've only visited the airport in, but it was between two states each time, and I just put one of the two states.

So, who can notice what I did to my blog today? Did you say add the a reading list from All Consuming? Right in one! I think it'll start doing books in the order I want as I add them in, but either way, it is in correct order now from longest ago read to current read. I've been wanting to do this since I spotted in on Aleta's blog, and finally did it!

My weekend was nice and relaxing. I was going to play ultimate Saturday morning, but I just couldn't get out of bed in time. So I came in and spent some time on Jennie's book then went home and watched TV.

And I've decided I'm nothing but a big softy at heart. (Like this is a surprise to anyone else.) One of the things I watched was an ABC Family original film "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks." I recorded it because of Emma Caulfield and Bradley Cooper being two of the stars. (The third is Jason Priestly.) I loved it! The ending was just so sweet. If you get a chance to catch it and like romantic comedies, by all means catch this one.

Also on my viewing slate this weekend were the remakes of "Annie" and "Freaky Friday." No, I didn't get a lot read this weekend, but it was nice to just spend some time vegging. Benjamin wasn't home and Jeff and Erik were gone most of the time, so it was just me. Ah!

I decided to hold off on the laptop for a little while anyway. Pete talked some sense into me Friday night. Of course, I went out and spent a tone of money at Wal-Mart today. But it was all stuff I need. Well, maybe not the new Alice in Wonderland two disc set. Naturally, this afternoon I got a $3 off coupon. :(

Trying hard not to spend all kinds of money on DVD's still. You know, filling in the gaps from what was on my Christmas list but I didn't get. I need better self-control skills. And I need them know!

As seen at Kathy's:

20%

There's a 20% chance that I'll win a Bloggie™.
What's Your Chance to Win a Bloggie™?

Wow, that's better then I thought it would be! (I was expecting about a 0%. Of course, if this were an Amazon reviewer award, I might actually care a bit more.)

And this week's word association:

1. Political:: News (like the kind I really like)
   
2. Concentration:: Memory game
   
3. Fish:: Swim
   
4. Lunacy:: Crazy
   
5. Red:: Stop
   
6. Imply:: Suggest
   
7. Recognize:: I know who you are!
   
8. Sexist:: Pig
   
9. Commercial:: Can't we get back to the show?
   
10. Stricken:: Seriously ill
    

Every so often when I move, my muscles remind me that I haven't been to the fitness center for a few weeks, but for the most part I'm fine. Of course, it was incredibly hard again today. Hopefully by next week it'll feel more like it should.

Spring weather is certainly here today. No cold bitter breeze from the last couple of days. I was actually pleasatly warm heading to the fitness center at lunch time. Of course, we still need rain desperately. If only it would rain. And the wind all week has kicked up my alergies big time.

Never happy, am I?

Meanwhile, I got sucked back into the Amazon Customer Review message board for a little over 24 hours. Now take a look at that title again. What would you expect if you went into that board. Well, if you were me, you'd expect messages about customer reviews and reviewing, right? Well, anymore you'll find very little of those. Now it's a general free for all with people making lots of friends there.

A new representative of Amazon showed up there this week. In the middle of a fight about what the purpose of the board is. Those of us who thought the purpose of the board should primarily be about reviewing and issues with Amazon were treated like dirt. It seems like people there think they have the right to post what they want when they want where they want. Just one problem, this is a message board devoted to customer reviews. Someone suggested that we have different frames on the same screen for Amazon related stuff and for off topic stuff. You'd have thought that person suggested that those who posted off-topic stuff were lesser beings or something. Those of us calling for more focus on Amazon have been labled as arrogant and whiney because our posts aren't what the general populace of the board wants to post on. EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE TOPIC OF THE BOARD!!!!! So I've left again, which is being likened to a little kid taking his toy and going home because others don't want to play his way.

Sorry, but I don't have time to wade through hundreds of messages every day from people I will never consider more then acquaintences for a few posts on something I'm interested in. I went to the board for one specific thing, but if the board doesn't want to talk about it any more, I don't need to bother to go back. And the nerve of some of the people telling me I was out of line for saying we needed to return to the topic at hand shocked me. It shouldn't have considering their behavior in the past. It makes me feel so glad for the civil adult people we have in the Trixie community. I still marvel that we can have so many different personalities and other interests yet get along so well most of the time. Even on our bad days, we are nothing like what people on this board are like. And I'm not even including my fiend from this and a different board both.

Ok, I'll stop ranting now. Have a good weekend everyone.

Welcome to this week's Thursday Threesome brought to us this week by a confused me and a servering switching Back Porch. (I certainly didn't know this was coming...)

Onesome: Out-- Are you getting out and about lately? ...or is school/the weather/work/illness keeping you cooped up inside?
I’m getting out to work and my activities. Did play ultimate on Saturday. Hope to do so again in two days. Weather has cooled off her to low 60’s/high 50’s. But that wind chill factor is the real killer. :)

Twosome: of the-- Blue? Does the Winter season 'get to you'? ...or do you handle it as well as you do Summer?
I do better now that I have an office and can enjoy sunshine during the day. But I much prefer the warmer weather and more daylight of summer. Still, winter doesn’t really depress me as such.

Threesome: Loop-- Hey, Spring is coming (and Winter is still here for some); do you have a loop you drive or walk to check out the scenery? What do you see when you're out and about?
Nope, don’t really change my plans because of the season. And with how little rain we’ve gotten for the last few years, all I ever see is brown grass anymore.

You know, maybe I should clarify something from yesterday. Looking at it, I came across as a bit whiny. Ok, probably more then a bit.

I hate telling others what to do. Especially my friends. And I like to have my day figured out when I get up in the morning. Even if it "I might do thus and so, we'll see how I feel later." Actually, I kinda like to have time with people mapped out several days in advance. So to spring something on me last minute does go well with me. Especially if it's a change of plan that I should have known about several days before. Yes, it goes back to my character flaw of not being very flexible. I am well aware of that. But it would be nice if I were told things that possibly affected me before the last possible second, especially when I am affecting others by what I am doing.

In other news, I finally got to hit the fitness center at lunch time today. First time in a month, and could I ever tell!

Shall we see what I have in common with Susan?

1. Copy this whole list into your journal.
2. Bold the things that you have in common with me.
3. Whatever you don't bold, replace with things about you.

01. I am highly self-concious. (I'm just leaving this one. Not even sure what being self-concious means.)

02. Water is my favorite beverage.

03. In my goal to visit all 50 states, I probably have 35 or 40 more to go.

04. I am a TV addict.

05. I like pumpkin foods, but not more then anything else.

06. I love it when I get some free time, even if it's only ten or fifteen minutes long. You can often get a chapter of a book in for that. :)

07. Being a youth worker rocks!

08. I adore driving. Sometimes. When I'm in the mood and don't have a deadline.

09. I adore writing too. And I feel guilty for not doing it more.

10. My muscles hurt right now from their first workout in a month. (Gee, wonder why I changed that one.)

11. I have realtively good vision. Should see an eye doctor however. It's not what it once was.

12. I'm an excellent procrastinator.

13. I hate to write checks for bills. I'd rather have the money to spend on whatever I want to spend it on.

14. I got a haircut two weeks ago.

15. I like to bowl.

16. Whiney wannabe punk music is starting to annoy me. Actually, it's always annoyed me. *G*

17. Most of the time, I really like my job.

18. Cheese is one of my favorite foods.

19. I have all my original body parts with the exception of teeth. I'm assuming we're talking about baby teeth here. I have all my teeth, just not the first teeth I got. :)

20. I like to just stand in the shower and let the hot water run. To the annoyance of my roommates when I run them out of hot water.

21. I love my mom.

22. I have many days when I think I don't want to be married at all.

23. I have way more DVD's then I ever did video tapes.

24. All my pictures are in bags someplace in the condo.

25. I read The Hobbit, but couldn't get through The Fellowship of the Ring.

26. I like to hold a conversation.

27. I like to save money on small things like toilet paper and blow it on extravagant purchases like computers and overseas travel.

28. I love to read as much as I love to watch TV. (This makes for an interesting fight sometimes.)

29. I love to sleep and wish I could sleep more.

30. I sure could use a vacation. (And yes, I know I just got back from one. :P)

31. I'm oblivious to people's personality streghts and flaws and find people watching boring.

32. I think I have changed a lot since graduating high school.

33. I wish all my closest friends didn't live so far away.

34. I wish I had motivation to get in shape. I thought I had motivation, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

35. I adore singing.

36. I detest cooking.

37. I wish I had more time in my life to do the nit-picky every day things that never get done.

38. I need more energy.

39. No matter how early I go to bed, it's still hard for me to wake up in the morning.

40. I have very dry and chapped skin.

41. I like living in Santa Clarita.

42. I can't wait to watch Mr. Roger's Neighborhood with someone appropriate.

43. I wish I had more ambition. Or as a friend pointed out, my ambition lacks motivation. (Said about her, not me.)

44. I can't wait to have a lazy day of sleeping in. Not that I will sleep in.

45. I feel very fortunate.

46. I wish I could keep a sense of peace.

47. I need to learn how to sew. But I never will.

48. I leave scabs alone to help them heal.

49. I call people back. It may take awhile, but I do.

50. I want to go to Ireland.

51. I am an internet addict.

52. I am SO ready for my tax refund. Who isn't?

Saturday was certainly a weird day. Didn't go at all like I had planned.

Friday night, I went to dinner expecting to confirm times with the convention. However, Matt told me that he and John were going over to another friend's house that day and didn't know if they'd be able to make it work or not. Believe me, I was frustrated. We'd only been talking about them coming over to catch last week's Enterprise (which I hadn't watched) and some Babylon 5 for weeks. I made sure all my roommates knew so it wouldn't be a problem. Finally, they decided they'd do one then the other, making me the evening entertainment.

Meanwhile, I found out that one of my new roommate's parents were going to be in town that day only.

Everything managed to work out. I left a little before noon and went to see the new Peter Pan. Gorgeous scenery. It picks up the story a little eariler then the Disney cartoon does and fills in a few gaps. Takes things slightly differently. And really plays up the romantic angle of things. Still, absolutely wonderful and I can't wait to get it on DVD.

Then I came into the office for about an hour for internet purposes, then I headed out to play ultimate Frisbee. And the person I quit last year because of wasn't there! Maybe he won't be back. Went home, took a quick shower, then headed out to the college for dinner and to pick up the convention. Watched four hours worth of sci-fi, then brought them back. And went to bed exhausted.

Sunday was much quieter, with plenty of time to read Perfect Sax, Jerrilyn Farmer's new book. Wonderful, as always. Finished it at lunch time yesterday.

And I've got a new bee in my bonnet (so to speak). I'm seriously looking into getting a lap top and DSL wireless internet access for my condo. It would be much better then coming into my office to get on the internet (duh!) and since my parents are doing the same thing, I could even use it at home. The man problems right now are financial. As in, do I really NEED this, or is it a want I should deneigh myself till I'm a little better off financially, like a few months down the line. Seems like people are always having deals on DSL, so I could wait until later and get just as good a deal I'm sure.

Man, I hate decisions.

And a late breaking headline for you. I just love satire.

And finally, today's word association.

1. Berry:: juice
   
2. Fiendish:: mildly evil (Ok, how can you be mildly evil?)
   
3. Bar:: alcohol
   
4. Frank:: and Joe
   
5. Bend:: break
   
6. Fanatic:: My "fiend" at the message boards I'm always talking about here
   
7. Belch:: Excuse you!
   
8. Flagrant:: rule breaker
   
9. Burden:: sin in Pilgrim's Progress
   
10. Flimsy:: likely to break
    

So what does my theme of breaking things say about my state of mind right now?