aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

You are Woodstock!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

curses to my friend Shannon for leading me to this site. I don't even like Peanuts, but there I am...Woodstock. I've also been drinking Peppermint Patty hot cocoa recently. What. Is. WRONG. with me?

Snow!

Well, it hasn't here, but when I walked out of work this evening, there was a smell and a taste in the air that just screamed snow to me. I really must get up to the mountains this winter and have myself some, well, winter. I long to bundle up in 17 layers of clothing and don one of my numerous silly hats. I want to wear the fantastic scarf my mother knit for me. I want to wear my hiking boots again, and my thick wool socks. I want my cheeks to turn bright pink with the chill, my eyes to water and my nose to run. Yes. Honestly. I miss these things!

It's strange, the things you want when you can't have them.

Look!

At Roto-blog: More Vagueness. I love these photo-manips done my fellow blogger in Birmingham. Really really lovely stuff.

Lottery

The old fashioned kind, I'm referring to. Not the "I haven't got any money to spare, but I'll spend my last dollar on a ticket in hopes of winning eleventy billion" type.

I'm not sure I mentioned them before or not, but our last neighbours to the south were slightly...unsavoury. I think a lot of alchohol was imbibed at that house, and their dogs were the bane of the neighbourhood and the recipients of MUCH hate from Delilah (Bucket just didn't understand why he couldn't go play). They left piles of refuse in the lane between our houses, and parked their large "landscaping" trailer in front of our driveway.

Suddenly, after less than 2 months, they were gone. We noticed a discernable lack of snarling dogs and rubbish about a week ago. Then the "For Rent" sign went up. Again. This will be the fourth time we've had new neighbours in the last year. When I came home from work yesterday I noticed that the sign is gone. I'm hoping for cool hip people we can befriend and trust to watch the dogs when we're away. Possibly folks with whom we can have game nights with along with periodic dinners and co-opted Garage Sales. Russell suspects we will get more white trash.

I'll keep you posted.

Random Gripe

So I was over at the Marble Slab Creamery today, awaiting my Chocolate-Peanut Butter shake (it had been a VERY and even EXTRAORDINARILY stressfull day at work and I know I shouldn't self medicate with ice cream. I'm a bad girl. Spank me later.), and I popped into the ladies room.

They had one of those idiotic "paper saver" rigs--the kind that won't allow you to pull off more than 2 squares of toilet paper at a time. Who the hell can wipe their ass with 2 squares of toilet paper?

Woohoo and Thanks!

To Chris and NoviDavid for showing me the error of runon sentences. Or, at least, mashedtogetherwords. Apparently my recent rant about the lemming mentality of many Scottsdale shoppers is what got me into trouble with Blogger Formatting. It seems to be fixed now, and although the effect is not quite what I had hoped, what with splitting the lines and all, I think it still gets the message across.

I saw this book the other day, and I'm thinking it might be of use in jazzing up this little corner of the WWW a bit this book, but I think that this second publisher tends to be a bit more...techy. The first one I actually flipped through and it looks simple enough for me to make both heads and tails of.

Today is only a ramble. I was up late last night and I have the day off, so I'm just waking myself up and preparing to pay some bills and hit the grocery. Scintillating!

Oh, and David, the pics you linked in the most recent comment are amazing! I really love them. How did you achieve that affect? They look like abstract impressionist paintings--hard to believe such organic colours and motion came from photos. (Does that make sense at all, or am I still suffering from fuzzy morning brain?)

And Chris! How the heck are ye? I love that you had great info for me, but for Pete's Sake, stop by more often and say hello! :D

hmm...

Still this giant chasm of nothingness at the top of my blog and I do not know why.

On the other hand, Russell got a new bike yesterday and I'm beside myself with excitement and joy! We actually went for a ride this morning and it's a whole new world. It's SOOOO much nicer to have someone to ride with.
I have been trying to find a nice photo of it online, but haven't had much luck. It's a Giant Trance4--one of the original bikes I'd been interested in, but had discounted as just too expensive (wow, the English language is a funny funny thing). The shop where I got my bike was having a sale this weekend, however, so we went in to check it out, and there it was, on sale for the same amount I'd paid for mine--AND they were having an "Additional %15 Off" sale. Sheesh. Anyway, it's a sweet sweet bike. I have a riding partner!

hiccup

not sure why there is...or was...this gigantic emptyness of space above this morning's post. I'm hoping this blurb will jog things back into place.

Wherein the Show Goes On, Albeit at a slower Pace...

My blogging has adopted the same frenetic patterns followed by the shoppers in our store. Putz. Putz. Putz. Putz..
ohmygoshsomeoneelseisapproachingthecashregister...
I'dbettergetuptheretoo...

Like lemmings they swarm the registers, all at the same time. And when they are gone it's dead quiet for another 30 minutes or so until the next wave forms. I've never claimed to be consistent.

So anyway. Russell and I have been discussing holiday gift exchange ideas. Here are some things that I've decided I'd like to have:

The Garmin Forerunner 301. Just what I need, another pricey gadget to drive home the fact that I'm woefully out of shape...

A Black & Decker or perhaps a Craftsman cordless hedge trimmer. Corded electric would be okaaaayyyy, I guess, but I worry that I might get overzealous and cut the cord.

Of course we're both pretty excited about the XBox 360, although I honestly don't know when we'd have time to play, what with all the hedge trimming and being athletic--oh, and WoW and all...

And speaking of WoW, I think I owe some folks more photos. Coming soon...

Bonus

Blog link, because I love this woman.

I'm Famous! And I Won a Prize!

Scroll to the bottom of November 3rd's post. I am "K" and that story is true! I really *am* that big of a dork. Not that I needed to remind anyone or reinforce the idea. . .

I'm just bummed that I'm getting the bike bag and not the messenger bag. I'll have to come up with a really good story next week, I guess. :D

Anyway, check out some of his other posts while you're there. I've linked him before, but a great writer--especially a cyclist writer--can never be revisited too many times.

Additional Proof of Our Forays Into the Dork Forest

So upon entrance to Blizzcon, we were greeted by this site. A very handsome (I mean that in the loosest sense of the word) Dwarf Hunter and these fabulously cool banners.


Immediately behind the banners, and the incredibly long line to pick up the SchwagBag, were banks and banks of computers for folks to sample some new Expansion content. I'm throwing around loose terminology again, because we only got 30 minutes to play. If you chose to play a Blood Elf you could do two quests and were blocked from leaving the tiny island start area. If you chose to play a level 60 something-or-other you were limited to dueling in an enclosed area. They geared us out in amazing stuff, but I'm not so much into all that--I wanted to see some new areas. Blah.

Christian Finnegan, who entertained us at the closing night concert, expanded on the notion of certain females at the convention being "Blizzcon Hot" and having "+3 Cleavage" for the duration of the weekend. He pointed out that the girls in this photo were models, and urged the pimply-faced geek mob to "Try talking to them on Monday and see how far you get!" The Starcraft: Ghost chick was even hotter than these girls, but I neglected to get a photo. Her butt will forever be memorialised in Russell's memory, I'm sure (it *was* really nice, I must say...).

That's all for now. A note to my "regular" readers...this post and subsequent posts relating to WoW/Blizzcon are directed at my online friends--rest assured that they do indeed know what the hell I'm talking about! :D

GeekCon

This past weekend Russell and I went to Blizzcon--a huge convention put together by Blizzard Entertainment, the good folks that introduced me to the addiction that is World Of Warcraft.

The Convention was in Anaheim, California, and we drove. It sounds brutal, but it is only about a 6 hour drive--more or less(wholly dependent on how many idiots are on the road)--something we are both well used to.

On the way there we passed a windmill farm, which was just a little creepy. I had always embraced the idea of wind power over non-reuseable resources, but the sight of these rows and rows of hundreds of windmills just made me think of I,Robot and I wanted to be very far away from them.

Driving up to the Anaheim Convention Center and our hotel was much less daunting. Armies of palm trees are so much less threatening than ginormous metal towers topped by blades as big as small aircraft.



Walking into the event, while not awe-inspiring, was pretty impressive. The non-game geek part of me that used to be an event coordinator marvelled at the set up, lights, and effects. Cool stuff.


More to come. Stay tuned.

Here It Is

Written on the back of my ticketless itinerary, here are my thoughts as I sat in the Chicago airport on my 3 hour layover on the way home from Indiana.

Reflections on a Funeral
My $3 airport pen is falling apart, but I'll scratch out what I can before it fails completely, resulting in either further expenditures or a conflustered toss of hands in the air.
So I'm sitting in Midway Airport in Chicago, munching my wasabi peas, with a whole lot of time to think about the past couple of days.

My mom's side of the family has always been close. This simultaneously freaks me out and gives me a huge guilt complex. Everytime I visit there are more new faces to memorize, more names to learn, and more stories to catch up on. And no matter how big the welcome or how numerous the hugs, I always feel the outsider--just a little bit.
I just don't get to visit as often as I'd like, or as I should. It had been about 5 years (5 YEARS!) since I'd been to see my Grandmother, and suddenly (not really, of course, but it feels like it) she's gone. Horribly, the biggest emotion I feel at her passing, aside from the loss, is guilt. I feel guilty that I didn't make any time in the past 5 years to go for a visit. It needn't have been a long visit. It didn't even have to be a visit with my mother present. I could have flown out for a weekend. But I didn't.
In addition to the guilt, I found my self feeling envious of my relatives in that area who got to see Grandma and spend time with her. Utterly ridiculous!

So feelings of guilt and enviousness aside, it's always a little strange to see someone at The Viewing. I'm not talking about the cousins, aunts and uncles here, I'm talking about the Guest of Honour. Besides the fact that it's just an unsettling tradition to see one of your own so oddly preserved, the whole scenario just raises a thousand questions for me.
Most of these questions concern my own viewing/wake. I really don't want a viewing, as such. I want to be cremated. So let's say a wake. First off, let's have some food. Munchies always lighten a mood. Make 'em some of my favourites so people can remember me sharing the recipe or trying a dish for the first time. Next, we need rockin' music. Maybe a slide show or powerpoint presentation with some goofy photos of my life and loves. I want laughter and stories; I want people celebrating my life.
Several times this weekend I found myself wanting to jump up or butt in and say "What is your favourite story of Grandma?", because I know there would have been innumerable tales. But I kept my mouth shut and now I'll probably never hear those stories. Grandma's viewing and funeral were somber, reflective, and respectful events. I want nothing of the sort.

I know! I know!

I have two pages of handwritten stuff to transpose to bits and bytes, but it concerns the several days I was in Indiana for my Grandmother's funeral and whatnot. I've had trouble committing it here, but I will. I need to clear the path for more recent tales, and tales to come. I will. I will.

However, it's 6am on Tuesday, the dogs are crackers and I'm still not dressed for work. I need to get a move on.

Yeah, well.

Upheaval. story of my life. I actually called in sick two days last week. TWO DAYS! This is because a week later, I am still battling the aforementioned evil gnomes of destruction. I went to see the doctor yesterday, and he assured me that "even though I heard a little fluid in your lungs, it went away when you coughed, so I'm marking it down as a 'normal' lung exam...because it's Saturday." WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

He ended up telling me that it's mostly a Bronchitis thing, and he gave me a ZPack (antibiotics) anyway...just in case it really *was* pneumonia--Saturday or no Saturday. He tried to prescribe me Robitussin with codeine for my inconceivably prolonged and violent coughing fits, but I put the kibosh on that rather quickly, having had an ugly reaction to the stuff aeons ago when I had my wisdom teeth out (codeine, not Robitussin!). So regular Robitussin DM for me, and an inhaler to help me get my breathing back on track after one of those fits.

Pretty excited about being on a plane with all my drugs and a hacking cough. Yes. A plane. My dear Grandma Tocco finally decided it was okay to go yesterday, so I'm off to Indiana in the morning. I'll be back here late on Wednesday, and hopefully by then I'll be 100% --or at least 85%--healthy.

Looking forward to that. I've been in a bad, foggy groggy place for the past week, and I love it not. Even going back to work will be a treat. Hell, walking 10 steps without doubling over with a coughing fit will be nice.

Mucous Gnomes?

So my friend Shannon battled these fiends and sent them packing--to MY door apparently. I am illin. And not in a hip, Beastie Boys kinda way. Just feel like I've been run over by one of those big highway asphalt rollers. And like there is a tiny, but perpetual flame in my upper chest. And like my face is stuffed with fiberglass.

I don't get sick often, but when I do it's ugly. And it's almost always on my days off. Case in point... I started to feel bad Monday morning. Muddled through work in a fog--almost asked to leave early but stuck it out--then came home and went to bed at 8pm because I felt so low. The past two days have been days off. I slept almost 12 hours last night and I'm feeling minimally better. I'll probably be right as rain by tomorrow morning, when I am scheduled to go back to work at 7am. *sigh*

On a brighter note, I sized some photos of my best friend's little one.

She was almost 3 months old when these were taken. I don't know nuthin about babies, but it seems to me that she was pretty advanced, as far as sitting up and taking note of things is concerned. And damn, she's just cute!


I'm off to dress myself and try to get my Xterra to pass the Emissions test so I can get re-registered. That should be a boatload of fun to sit through with a hacking cough and upper body riddled with phlegm.

When September Ends

Good grief, where did *that* month go?

So it's October, and I have to say that I love my full suspension bike. I went for my second ride today and rode over rocks that would previously have either rattled my skull into next week or even dismounted me (have I been playing too much WoW? yes!). Barely felt 'em. Laughed at them, even. Ahhhh, Jamis, how I love thee!

Also, if you've never had the experience of having a tumbleweed explode on your windshield, I encourage you to arrange it sometime. It's quite spectacular. I got one full in the face the other day on the way to work and forgot to mention it in all the Dentist Dog excitement. I saw some un-exploded tumbleweeds on my ride today and was reminded of the moment.

Other than that, I got nuthin.

Dentists in the Family?

...You be the judge.

I should note that this is an activity that takes place after most meals. The two psychomutts shove their faces into one anothers' mouths and do a thorough cleaning. It's pretty gross, but fantastically entertaining. Sort of like the oft-referred to "train wreck". Anyway. This is the best shot I've gotten of it so far, as they seem to be easily distracted from the task at hand when they hear the camera wind up.

Keeping Up Attention Spans

In an effort to keep you coming back, and to force myself into more regular or at least more frequent posting, I have returned this evening to give you photos of some stuff I've seen recently:



One of my favourite/must visit places in Lawrence, Kansas. Waxman Candles. I have a box full of candles here at the house, but I *had* to buy more when I was there. It's just what ya do. I also prefer to give gifts from there above any other place, so it's nice to have stock on hand.



Another favourite, and home of the Sweet Sweet Salsa, is La Familia. Also in Lawrence, it sits next to The Bottleneck, another mecca of sorts, for the musically inclined. Soooo many good shows there. I was spoiled. At any rate, La Familia. Yummy yummy mexican, and the sweet salsa is the thing around which all other foods are consumed. mmmmmm

And that's it for now. I've promised the pups a walk in the morning before work. That means 4am. Yawn.