Breaking All the Rules

In a recent post, one of my favourite co-denizens of the web, Fat Cyclist (yes, I've mentioned him before on numerous occasions, but I think he's entertaining enough to warrant multiple plugs) wrote up his three main rules of Blogging:

Don’t blog about blogging. Writing about the consternation you are experiencing because you have nothing to say is an excellent exercise, which you should then immediately delete without showing to anyone, ever.
Be about something. If your blog is about your entire life, it will probably be interesting to your family and closest friends (I’m being generous by including your closest friends in this list), and nobody else.
Write often. Don’t make people come back and read the same thing over and over. I mean, really.

I'm pretty sure I've never followed any of them with any real dedication.

I got a little intimidated about all the professed changes I'd be making--and embarrased that I hadn't figured any of them out (the first clue to my failure might have been NoviDavid's comment in the last post...pointing out my true incomprehension of all things HTML or otherwise web-coding related!). So I put off posting. Now I'm not even sure where my book is. I think it's buried under the mounds of papers, game manuals, and recyclable water bottles currently cluttering the top of the desk.

So. No new changes for this post. But here are a few exciting things we've done in the past week.

Shopping! I went last Monday for the first time in ages. I shouldn't really be allowed out of the house when the shopping mood strikes. I don't go often, but when I do, I end up spending money on silly things like new underwear, the DVD box set of Keen Eddie (hey, Suncoast was going out of business, so it was 40% off!), and a headlamp that I'm keen to attach to my bike helmet for summer night rides. I also picked up a gourmet carob brownie and some sweet little heart shaped cookies...for the dogs! I found a nice little shirt on clearance at Dillards, and oogled some shoes that I just couldn't justify.

Corteo! We went to see the show on Wednesday night. I think I purchased our tickets last November or something, so I got 2nd row seats. It was amazing, as all Cirque shows are. I smiled and laughed so much that my face hurt, and we both left feeling a little more inspired to get into shape (not that we'll be swinging from chandeliers anytime soon, but still...). If you've never seen a Cirque Du Soleil show.... do it.

Oblivion. It finally, finally came out. We picked it up for the PC, as Microsoft is being stingy with the XBox 360's, and who needs another console anyway for the one game that looks to be any good. Oh, and it is! Elder Scrolls was probably the first game that I got hooked on as an adult, and this just carries on in that vein, but in much better, and more beautiful ways. If anything can break my addiction to WoW, it will be this game. That said, the only thing that would currently make it better would be if it was online so I could chat with my friends. :D

Finally, yesterday we went to the Arizona Renaissance Faire. It's certainly not the same as going to our "home" faire in Kansas City, but it was still lovely to walk around holding hands and shop at all the goofy little craft shops. We caught bits and pieces of a few shows, and then watched the final joust, which was an abomination. I think the blood packs they used were the most impressive bit in the entire show. It wasn't painful for us to watch, however, as we were laughing our heads off through the entire thing. I mean, when you completely miss a pass, and have to swing your lance around behind your head to unhorse a guy (AND IT WORKS)...well it's pretty much a farce at that point.

Pooped as we were from walking around in the hot sun all day, we came home and watched a couple of episodes of Lost (only two remain of the first season DVD set. Oh noes!) and retired to the loft to lose ourselves in video games.

It's been a good week.

My Brain isn't Big Enough

I try to wrap it around stuff like this, but it just won't go. I think perhaps it may have to do with the fact that I'm currently wasting valuable brainspace thinking about things like:
1) The fact that Delilah is in a yapping match with the dog behind us and may someday soon manage to climb the sheer block wall, with all the carnage that entails.
2) The fact that Bucket is very likely to vomit in the next 30 minutes or so due to the huge quantity of grass he's been grazing.
and,
3) What exactly is the deal with John Locke? (yes, we've been sucked into this extravaganza of suspense and mystery--we got the first season on DVD and are now panicking as to how we will cope when we are finished with this set, since we can't watch the show on telly and the second season won't be out for months.)

Friday is another day off for me, so perhaps I can clear out some time and meditate some brainspace free for some self-inflicted code torture.

Small Victories

So I've changed the template completely so that I can follow along with some of the stuff the book shows as examples. I'm pretty sure my site will be ugly as hell for some time, while I figure all this out. I have figured out how to change the colour of the main header, the font style and colour, and how to add my favourite links to the sidebar (FINALLY!). I will fiddle with it more and more in the days to come, but right now I feel like my eyeballs are the size of grapefruits--and they are covered in sandpaper. Now I know why coders are nuts.

In other news, I nearly drove off the side of the road (not really mom, calm down!) yesterday on my way to work. There was SNOW in the mountains. The tips of the McDowell Mountains to the east were dusted with the white stuff, but to the north they were completely blanketed. It was such a beautiful sight! Snow! Within my field of range, and without using special 500x zoom optics! Fantastic.

And now, since it is my day off, I must go attend to that Stuff To Do list I created. I'll have to add "Fiddle with my Blog" to it now, since I've just spent about an hour doing just that. :D

10 Days and a New Impetus

It rained yesterday. My first Saturday off with Russell in...oh....a lifetime. We were going to go out to the Arizona Renaissance Faire, but decided against paying $40 to go shopping in the mud and muck. "The Show Must Go On" they say, and it does, but having as much experience as we both do with faires, we knew that we'd have to sort of have an "in" to see the best stuff. Without that inside edge, we would have just been wandering from dry booth to dry booth looking at hand woven jumpers and odd leather accoutrements. Another time perhaps.

We used our day off instead to shop in more comfortable conditions. My very best friend gave us a B&N gift card for Christmas, and we had yet to spend any of it, so away we went to the nearby shopper's paradise. We were quickly seduced by the thought of California Pizza Kitchen (which just happens to be across the way from B&N), so didn't spend the requisite 3 hours in the bookstore. I did, however, pick up a book that I'd seen a few months ago. This book is going to help me overcome my blogging blahs. It's going to make my blog bigger and better and more fun to write and much more fun to visit. But not today. Today I have to work.

But thanks, Kimbra!

TechnoHate and Stoopid Pet Tricks

More and more recently I see people with those wierd little ear things hooked on their heads. They yammer away on their cell phones, but you don't really know it until you see the wierd little ear thing. Usually I just think they are nuts and talking really loudly to themselves (what is wrong with technology that we can create an mp3 player the size of a stick of gum that will hold 40 hours of music, but we can't make a microphone substantial enough to rid the world of cell phone shouters?).
From time to time I think maybe I should get myself an ear thing. I mean, the lady that works janitorial maintenance for our business complex was chatting away happily (and not, as I originally thought, to herself) as I left work today. Everyone seems to have them; why not me?
Here's why, and I'm glad you asked: I hate cell phones. I've ranted about them enough before in regards to other people's use of them, but here's this. I also hate MY cell phone. Despite all claims to its being so handy and portable, it never seems to be in the same room with me. If it IS in the same room with me and it happens to ring, it's a wrong number or work. OR the room I happen to be in is a room with very poor reception, so I find myself pacing around the house looking for that perfect spot. It's just a poorly functioning pita. While it serves its purpose and tends to make me feel a little more secure when I'm on a long road trip or mt. bike ride, it definitely doesn't warrant its own accessories.

And on another entirely different note, I taught the dogs to jump in a carboard box today. They'll do anything for a treat. After our "training" session, I worked in the yard for a bit and would periodically look up to see Bucket staring me down from inside the box, clearly waiting to be rewarded. He's clever in his own ridiculous way.

Good Reason

I've been gone for a while, yes, but my Very Good Reason is that my parents were in town for a week! I was far too busy chillin' on the couch watching the olympics and shopping in wondrous new places to sit down and write anything. So here I am, playing catchup like the procrastinator I am.

We did watch a lot of the olympics--who didn't? (be honest--you watched some of it!) Ice dancing mostly, with a few Giant Slalom and Super G events tossed in. Some bobsledding, Snowboard Cross...it just made me miss winter that much more. And, by the way, it wasn't even super nice for the week my folks were here. It was barely 70 degrees most days; we had to wear long sleeves and/or JACKETS! Of course for them that was just fine; when they left home it was about 20 degrees and snowing/icing. I guess it's all relative.

Anyway, aside from Olympic marathons, we did our fair share of endurance shopping. Found some great bargains in some shops and paid more than is reasonable for .salsa at other shops. I got to see a lot of stuff that I've never even seen, even though it's right down street from where I work. Hopefully it was entertaining for the 'rents as well.

On of the "things" we did was go to Fountain Hills for the Great Fair--an arts and crafts fair of epic proportions. Fountain Hills is a hoity toity commununity just east of Phoenix, and I only knew where it was because the McDowell mt. Park has its main trail head there. I'd heard tails of a giant fountain downtown, and I imagined something like the fountains I'd seen in Kansas City--big ornate productions with more spouts and statues than height. However, people claimed to be able to see this fountain from various points on the bike trail (which is several several miles away), and I even overheard folks talking about seeing it from the air as they flew into Phoenix. Hmmm...So we pulled into the downtown area and come across this huge lake (my dad scoffed at it being referred to as a lake--remember that he lives by one that covers 25,000 square acres--but he forgets we're in the desert here, and a puddle of water might be considered a pond if it lasts more than a week). This lake was, oddly, bordered by several Saguaro cacti. It was also home to a wierdly retro-mod orifice of sorts:

I'm clever enough to have understood that this must be the fountain everyone was talking about, but where was the water? I was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see it, but whatever. It's just a fountain, right? A while later someone looked up and Lo! WATER! I'm not sure of the validity of the statement, but we heard someone say that it's about 300 feet tall. Who says the desert is dry!?

Best Reason to Watch TV....

The commercials:

I Like To Pinch

Check out Crab. Hi-Larious!

Beware of Strange (non-mechanic) Men in Red Bathrobes! And other strange tales...

So tonight at work a woman approached me as I attempted to clean up a mess of Budaberg Ginger Beer. It was a sticky, treacherous place to be, and why she chose to talk to me instead of one of the numerous other employees will forever remain a mystery. Her car had died, and did I, or anyone there have a set of jumper cables? If you know me, you know I am a sucker and a softie to boot, so you will nod your head when I say that although I didn't have jumper cables myself, I took it upon myself to find her some. I asked three other people until I found a set, and then somehow finagled myself into giving her the jump. Or attempting to.

I got my car situated and we hooked up the cables and....not much happened. She got some dashlights and little else. We thought maybe we'd just give it a few moments to juice up, and as we stood there chatting, up walks Red Terrycloth Bathrobe man. In the middle of our parking lot (this is a huge, very public lot, mind you--we're basically in an outdoor mall) is walking a middle-aged man, wearing nothing but the aforementioned bathrobe and some flip-flops. I kid you not. He approached us saying "I'm no mechanic, but I trained in diesel school...." Wait, what? So diesel engines aren't considered mechanical? But I digress. He proceeds then to tell us that I shouldn't have my car on to give her a jump, and that if he only had a pen light he could open up either of our batteries to look inside and tell us whether they are any good. Now it may be that I'm mistaken, and correct me if I am, but didn't they stop making the sort of battery that requires water (and therefore that you could check in this fashiong) about 10 or 15 years ago? After the "if only I had a penlight" lament, we got a little lecture on the best types of batteries to buy and how once he had to take his battery out and swap it with his buddies car to get 'em to work. It was very surreal. And I'm sorry I missed it, but apparently when he *finally* walked away, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a big-ole bottle of (presumeably) prescription pills. It was just odd. Bathrobe Man.
And the follow-up to that is that I never got her going...almost 30 minutes of jacking with it, and...nothing. I had to go back to work. However, a nice (and presumably sane--he was at least wearing "public" clothes!) young man came by and offered to take up where I left off. She returned the cables less than 5 minutes after I came back in, which leads me to wonder where the hell we went wrong, and if I should be concerned about my own battery.

So yeah. That was the big strangeness of the evening. And then I came home and captured these images for posterity:

Wherein Bucket shows his complete and utter disdain for the freaky amoeba ball. Could have something to do with the fact that we'd just put it on his face.

And then there is the other, happier, side of Bucket:


He was actually yawning, but it's more fun to think of it as a guffaw. :)

waiting...

for something big to happen so I can post about it here. We bought a bedframe, you see. A lovely Indian sej-style bed (4 posts/canopy/lots of dark, heavy wood). It's sitting in the spare room now, taking up just about every inch of available space. It's waiting for its mattress, which we bought yesterday and which should be delivered...oh, any minute now. They have another hour and a half to get it here. Oh, how I hate 3-hour delivery windows!

I will most certainly take photos of the bed when it is all put together and lovely.

For now...oh never mind. I can't find the camera cable to d/l (or would that be "upload"?) photos of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 which is lying in pieces on the floor of our front room. When you order these things, I don't think it ever really occurs to you that it they will not come fully assembled and ready to go out of the box. Or that you might possibly have to rearrange your entire living space to accomodate them. But at some point soon we will have our own little home gym and we will be sexy muthas. Soon.

A note!

The page I linked to is someone else's photos--I have nothing to do with that site except that I rode that trail this morning. I'm just stealing her intellectual property for my own purposes, since I forgot to take our camera. :D

Humbling

So this morning I got up at 6am to head out for a bike ride at Pemberton Trail. The main trail is about a 15 mile loop, and while not technical, has its fair share of deceptively easy climbs. I was feeling all mighty and good about myself being all pro-active and fit and all, until we pulled up to the checkin station and saw the sign: "Pemberton 50k Run Today". A few seconds after my jaw dropped, Scott (my tourguide) managed to calculate that 50k is about 30 miles. TWO LAPS around the trail. Running. Shortly after we started out, we started seeing the runners coming our way. They were just finishing up their first lap and most of them looked like they were just warming up. They all greeted us cheerfully; some of them were chatting casually with each other. I mentally took a step or three down from my high horse. I knew I'd be pooped after one lap--on my bike. These folks were slogging up and down the hills and through the sand strictly by their own propulsion (is that a correct usage of that word?)... I was humbled.

When I wasn't busy pulling over to get out of the runners' way, I was enjoying the views and the sounds of the crazy coyote chorus. The sky was blue and clear, the air was brisk, and yummy breakfast bagels awaited us at the end of the trail. It was a good morning. And it's only noon! I've got the whole day ahead of me.

We're going to play a bit, shop for a bit, and go watch the Ultimate Fighter Championships with some friends of Russell's. Wahoo!

Cell Phone response

Several people posted (Lurkers, unite!) with ideas on how to handle cell phone talkers in line to make purchases. While I find the idea of practicing my yodeling and/or shooting them with a waterpistol attractive, neither is really appropriate from my perspective as the girl behind the cash register.

What I generally do is treat them as though they are *not* on the phone, asking the questions I normally do, often in a louder voice than normal (yes, it is possible--no comments from the peanut gallery, please). I ask questions that require an answer--no nods of the head are allowed--and I make it plain that I expect answers. I don't ask those questions with an annoyed voice; I'm every bit as sweet with these jerks as the next person, but I do make it very clear that they need to turn their attention to ME--THE PERSON ABOUT TO TAKE THEIR MONEY!

That often is enough to get the point across and the offending customer will abruptly end the call, saying something like "The crazy girl at the checkout won't shut up; I'll have to call you back..."

Hey, whatever works.

Peevin'

1) Still, and always: people who talk on cell phones while they are simultaneously making a purchase. rudest thing ever. do humanity a favor and wait the 1 minute and 30 seconds the transaction will take to complete to make or recieve that call. And don't procreate.

2) people who let their dogs run off leash. they never seem to take into account the fact that dogs on leashes can become VERY upset at being accosted by a loose canine "buddy". or that at the least provocation the unleashed dog may bound into traffic...or just run away.

3) the fact that so few of my readers leave comments. or maybe I just have no readers. no. I refuse to accept that. damn lurkers! :P

4) working until 10pm and having to go back in to work at 7am.

5) people who NEVER EVER NO MATTER WHAT miss their breaks, even though others of us are busting ass to get stuff done.

6) needing 7 or more hours of sleep each night.

7) needing a job. period. and not being able to stay home and be a momma and go hiking with the hounds and take care of the house and just live.

8) not having any alchohol tolerance so that the Rockstar21 that I'm suckin down pretty much immediately makes me stoopid and overly chatty. and sleepy.... :D

Added Bonus!

Epsom Salt Bath = Super duper soft skin

(although it could have just been that the scalding hot water burned off the top layers of my epidermis, leaving the soft stuff behind...)

Jackie Chan couldn't hurt me more.

I imagine that being beaten up by Jackie Chan would be pretty painful. He's a badass. Strong, and quick, and unrelenting. I still think I would feel slightly better if I'd somehow gotten on his bad side than I do at the moment.

We--some random yahoo mtn. bike guy and myself--rode 13 miles today, at South Mountain. Thirteen miles doesn't sound like much, really, until you think about the fact that at least half of that was up hill. And all of it was riddled with rocks. And sand. And some more rocks. And a few errant suicidal chipmunks. No crazed Javalinas, though, which is a plus.

Anyway, my body aches and I'm moving much more slowly than usual (much to Russell's delight, since he can now smack my ass with abandon, knowing I can neither get away nor beat him up for it). I'm also feeling, mentally, DAMN GOOD. It's such a nice thing to get out and DO stuff. Not that I'll be able to do anything much for the next day or so, but still. :D

Epsom Salt Bath FTW!

Party Ducks?

Story of My Life: Poing!

No, I'm not a homicidal duck. I just get distracted easily.

Like now. I'm leaving in 15 minutes to go for a ride in S. Phoenix. I should eat, check my tires, load up my gear, finished getting dressed, take care of the hounds, and....stuff. Yeah. Poing.

Eleven Eleven

Delilah and I ran a mile today. Non stop. What a feat! Granted, it was a slow mile--between 10-11 minutes, but it was a mile run with no stopping save for the 10 seconds or so when I had to tie my shoe. The *really* exciting thing about it is that my heart rate barely broke the 160 mark. Two weeks ago when I started running, it would leap to 160+ within the first 15 feet out the door. I'm whippin this body into shape. If it doesn't fall apart on me, it'll all be good.

11:11 is when I logged into Blogger, in case you were worried by that cryptic title.

Nostalgia By Duststorm

Yesterday evening when I left work, the wind she was a howlin'. I had an immediate sense of joy and excitement, although I couldn't have told you why. I realised later that it reminded me of Oklahoma, where the wind really DOES come sweeping down the plain. Rarely a day passes there that there is not at least a gale-force breeze whipping things around. Driving is a fight for straight lines, ponytails and hats are the best bets for hair saving gestures, and rain and snow comes down nearly horizontally.
You couldn't have paid me to believe that I would miss any of that, yet when I walked out into the windy evening last night and my hair flew into my face, all I felt was glee. As I drove down the street, wrestling with the steering wheel and watching the "trees" whip around I felt so at home. I have missed the wind!
Today is proving to be as still as ever, but it's early yet. They are speculating rain by the end of the week, so perhaps we'll get a full on storm at some point. That would be icing!

should I be concerned?

...that after two weeks of "running" (more like jog/walk/jog walk) ever other day, I've actually *gained* weight? Someone please reinforce my belief that the flab is being replaced by muscle, which we all know weighs more!

...about that wierd catch in my right knee? it just doesn't seem right that it feels like there is a rubber band snapping inside it with every other step.

...that after sitting at the computer for about 15 minutes, and stretching before that, my heart rate is still 85bpm, according to the Garmin?

I probably should be concerned about all of these things, but I'm not going to get too worked up about it. It's Friday, after all..

Why I love the Fat Cyclist

I've got nothing clever to say. Leave that to Fat Cyclist. Be sure to go back and read the original posts to get the full story.

genious comedy, Luxury body or no....

Blogger vs. Paper Journal

I haven't been here in the past couple days because, well, I haven't really had anything to say. I feel that when I post here, I should have something funny or profound, or at the very least interesting to write. It's different with a paper journal--my brain sort of wanders and I write down whatever pops into my head. It's usually incredibly mundane stuff, but it sort of helps me sort through all the goo. I feel more on the spot here, and of course knowing that I have at least a handful of writers doesn't alleviate the pressure.

I tossed a paper journal into my xterra a few months ago, meaning to use it for jotting down random thoughts, grocery lists, etc. It got chucked into the back soon after, and I forgot about it until earlier this week. I pulled it out on my lunch break at work and scribbled for almost the entire 30 minutes. It's amazing the kind of crap that spews from my brain when I let down the gates. Probably for the best that you're not subjected to it! At any rate, this is just to say that as a sort of after-resolution, I plan to start journaling on paper more this year. Get my head straight. Maybe some of the more cohesive entries will be transposed here.

HGTV Dream Home 2006

I've gone so far as to make HGTV my internet home page for the next month or so, just so I'll remember to enter EVERY DAY to win the HGTV Dream Home 2006. It's yummy. I get a little misty-eyed thinking of all the wonderful singletrack mt. biking trails I would have access to!

Pet Owners!

Contaminated pet food kills dozens of dogs - Pet Health - MSNBC.com

Please read this article and spread the news to your pet loving friends! Their dogs may be having undiagnosed problems from eating this dog food.

Go See The Ringer. Seriously.

Go see The Ringer.

I'm not kidding. I was appalled at the idea behind this movie when I first learned about it. I used to worked with developmentally disabled adults, and found the whole premise disgusting. Then, a few weeks ago, I was having my tires balanced and while I waited I chanced upon an article about the movie in one of the sports magazines laying around. Turns out the film is not only sanctioned by The Special Olympics, the Chairman of the Board of the SO was the Executive Producer. A great many MR athletes/actors are in the movie--including Leonard Flowers and The Kids of Widney High.
Go here and check out the "Behind the Scenes" featurette. One of the best bits is a SO Tech Advisor talking about athlete reactions to Johnny Knoxville playing the lead role of the film. They thought it was a great idea--because the people that watched Jackass were the most likely candidates to abuse people with mental retardation. They felt that if he could draw that crowd to a movie like this, those folks might learn to treat them with more respect.

I hope that is the case--and I think it might just work.

If My Dogs Were Superheroes...

As you probably know if you are rl friend or just a regular reader, I have two dogs. They are both AMPB Terrier mixes, and are just as sweet as can be, as you can plainly see from this photo. Look at those faces! Angels, I tell you!


I do think, though that either of them could be great superheroes, fighting bad guys not with great agility and nasty growls, but with their own special skills.

Bucket (the white and black one) would stop bad guys in their tracks by projectile vomiting. He would then subdue them into admission of any crime by whining incessantly until they couldn't take it any longer.

Delilah (the tiger) would incapacitate the baddies by placing a tiny, well clawed paw directly on the tenderest part of their foot. She would then proceed to get confessions by licking that foot torture style until the crooks spilled their guts.

Yep. My dogs would make great superheroes. Problem is, they are currently wasting their talents on the good guys! *sigh*

There are Days...

And there are days....

It's an unoriginal post title, apparently, but why not do some recycling? It does good across the board. It's not just for cardboard anymore!

But....I digress.

It's the second day of 2006 already. My how time flies. I will be 36 years old this year, so my list of resolutions has become something more akin to a "To Do" list. We have these books at work, admonishing the reader to do these 100 Things before they die, or see these 1000 Places. I think they have given me a complex of sorts, even though I refuse to open them for fear of finding out how much more I need to get done in the next 40 to 50 years.

So I've made my own little list of things to do in the next year, and it goes thusly:

1) Learn (again) how to knit. My mom tried to show me a couple of years ago, but I put it down for approximately 30 mintues and never figured out how to get started again... My friend Shannon writes endlessly about her newfound love of knitting, and posts pictures of yummy scarves that she apparently whips up in minutes. My mom makes these fabulous little cloths, and equally yummy scarves in addition to full-on afghans. As if I don't have enough half-finished projects laying about the house...I want to KNIT!

2) Go to Sedona/Grand Canyon/Flagstaff. I've lived here just over a year and haven't seen these places? Enough said.

3) Enter a mountain bike race and/or triathlon. Because if I enter, I will *have* to train for it. I'm much to cheap to pay the entry fee and then blow it off. And then there is my pride...

And then there are some other listy things that are not, strictly speaking, resolutions but yet somehow qualify.

1) Buy a road bike. (all the better to train and compete for that triathlon)
2) Buy bike racks. (for storing multitudes of bikes in the garage and for schlepping around said bikes to aforementioned races)

Finally, a serious committment to self-betterment, in the true spirit of resolutions:

Start treating food as fuel instead of a shoulder to cry on or bullhorn to shout about life's injustices. 80% of the time. A girl's gotta have her chocolate, after all....

Happy New Year!

The Way of the Mountain Turtle

Not the single-speed part...maybe not the race part...but I want to ride this trail. If you don't read the story (but you should, because it's a good one), at least look at the photos. Wow.

Well, did you?

Did you click that link? Did you then click the big "WATCH THIS MOVIE" link? I don't think so. Because if you did, you would have surely posted here saying that that was the funniest, most clever thing you've seen in just *ages*. You would have wailed about the fact that you cannot find out how to get that song into your MP3 player. You would have lambasted me about the fact that you can't stop humming the tune, and rejoyced at realising after the umpteenth viewing that you can turn on subtitles and LEARN THE WORDS--Hooray!

Yeah. So go do that.

...

I haven't posted about the holidays because I've been feeling a little disgruntled at the whole working my ass off and people being dumb jerks bit. Now that that aspect of the holidays is mostly over, I can calmly say that I did have a lovely Christmas. At least the part that I spent at home with my honey and my furkids. We had a quiet evening Christmas eve, opening gifts and making the dogs sick with all manner of treats (Scotti Biscotti, Greenies, and carob-chip cookies). Christmas morning we opened our stockings (Santa always seems to deliver early to my parents house--why he can't just find ME is beyond reason--and my mom forwards the stockings here) and ate some yummy chocolate/crescent roll concoction I whipped up. We watched a few episodes of Firefly and had a great Christmas dinner consisting mainly of things I merely had to re-heat or boil and mash. Easy peasy.

It was a lovely, relaxing time, and the first entire day off together that Russell and I have had in longer than I care to remember. We need more of those!

The Ultimate Showdown

Watch This Movie!

Chipmunks Haunt Me

Remember them? "Theodore, Simon...AAAAAAALLLLLLVIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!?" The Chipmunks!. Yeah. That's right. Scroll on down the page. Listen to the samples. You know you want to.

For some reason, when the holidays roll around, I always think of that song. The first one. The Chipmunk Song. I still have the vinyl LP. I used to listen to it over and over again when I was a kid; it's a wonder it still plays. My record player (I almost typed "phonograph player", but that would just show my age and pretentiousness in ways I don't want to face.) is still in storage, though, so I'll have to wait to hear the beautiful analog version another time. For now, though, I'm off to amazon or itunes to sample more.

Long live the Chipmunks!

Wierd Things I do...

So I was laying (lying?) in bed last night, trying to fall asleep. As usual, I had the sheet/blanket pulled up over my mouth, just under my nose. I *must* sleep like this. It's better still if the sheet is tucked in and is kind of snug. How bizarre is that? I also cannot sleep unless my feet are covered...I have a theory that someone used to sneak into my room when was little and tickle my feet.

Another odd thing I noticed when I was at the two concerts we attended last week... When I take a drink of water, I tend to hold it in my mouth for a while before swallowing. I haven't noticed if this is just a concert thing or an all-the-time thing. Perhaps I'm trying to hydrate by osmosis? I do know that I tend to get sick to my stomach if I drink a lot of water when I'm working out or biking or whatever--maybe it's the same when dancing and I'm just subconciously drinking v e r y slowly?

Anyway. I'm sure I could write a book about the Wierd Things I do, so I'll pay more attention and post more as they reveal themselves to my consciousness.

good day!

My body has a point to make....

And that point is: You are TOO OLD FOR THIS CRAP. SLOW DOWN!

I worked the "front" of the store on Saturday, meaning that for the full 8 hours I was there, I was at the registers conducting traffic, answering manager calls, answering general service calls, and ringing when necessary. I stocked PoP displays, schlepped many boxes of wine, and collected the trash. I was, almost literally, running the entire day. I mentioned being dog tired when I got home around 7:30, but managed to stay up until nearly 11pm.

I then proceeded to sleep until AFTER 1PM the next day. For those math-impaired readers, that's over 14 hours of sleep.

Granted, Russell has been sick for about the last week, and several folks at work are coming down with it as well. I'm sure I've gotten more than a touch of that. Mostly, though, I think I just ran myself ragged. It was hella fun and I loved (almost) every second of it, but man....

Anyway. Today was a day off and I did a lot of nothing. I still need to mail off some packages and send some holiday cards--perhaps pick up a last minute gift or two. Tomorrow is another day off and I think I'll get some more slacker time in and do a few errands. Woot! for weekends.

How to make time stand still.

When I am very very busy, days last forever. My past two days off has felt like a week--I actually had a nervous fit about missing work today until I double-double checked the schedule--because I've been so busy and gotten so much done. It started, like it always does, with a list. I am a task lovin girl, and I make lists. Sometimes I add stuff I've done to a list just so it looks like I've accomplished more.

Lately I've made a lot of lists that have served only as "wish lists"...things I'd *like* to get done but have no real intention of doing. Things that won't cause the world to end if I put them off until next week or whenever. The to-do list I created for myself on Monday was really no different than those previous lists...I simply decided to follow through. I stayed on track and got just about every little thing done, and then some. And now that it's effectively my Sunday night, I can't believe that it's only 9:15pm. It really feels like it should be so much later, and that's because I've packed so much into a single day. I love days like this! I even took a fantastically long hot bath and read a book, and it's ONLY 9:15!

However, I do have to be at work at 7am, so bedtime fast approaches. I'll have to quickly make another list for tomorrow after work so I can make it last longer too!

You Say Ozo....

I say matli!

OZOMATLI! OZOMATLI!

We just got home from seeing them in concert. It was my second time, Russell's first. Damn. They are so amazing live. I danced my ass off, and I even spied Russell groovin' a bit. There were so many people there just standing and watching quietly. I'm not sure if they were clinically dead or what. You'd just about have to be to not feel the music these guys churn out. It's pretty much a hard wire to your groove engines to fire up.

If they come to your town, do yourself a favour and go see them. You won't be disappointed. Even if you don't dig on their style of music, you cannot deny that they put on one helluva show. And for the love of all that is right with the world, dance. Dance like you mean it and like you don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks. Let yourself go and feel it. Your body and soul will thank you.

News Flash

When you are talking on a cell phone, you are NOT having a private conversation. I'm not talking about people eavesdropping over the satellite waves or whatever (which they probably are, but that's another blog altogether). I'm talking about the RUDE people who have conversations on their cell phones while eating in a restaurant, shopping in a store, or standing at my register to pay. The other day I was working in glassware, when up walks a tall, attractive woman. She's chattering away, so I look up to see if she needs assistance. Turns out she's having some heart-to-heart conversation with what must have been her long lost best friend, given the amount of sordid detail she was going into regarding her current relationship (they're getting married! how awesome is that?!), her past relationship (none of her family ever liked the guy anyway, so it's probably for the best), and all of the nuances of relatadating in between. She obviously was not aware of the phenomenon that causes all cell phone users to up their speaking volume by about 30%, thus rendering any conversation anything but private.

Then there are all the people who walk up to the cash registers with a phone plastered to their ear. When you ask them questions about their merchandise, or try to get information from them in any regard, they look at you like you've grown an extra head, and isn't that the rudest thing you ever did see?

If you have a cell phone, for the love of pete go outside the store or restaurant to have your conversation. You'll get some privacy and you'll have a better chance of avoiding looking like an asshole and NOT pissing someone off.

(I'm really not completely grumpy this season...I tried to post something funny the other day and blogger was down. really.)

So much nothin'

No deep thoughts or profundity here...just a giant sigh of exhaustion at working retail during the holiday season. It's not always the case, but I generally find that people are grumpier and less fun to be around these days, especially in a retail environment. Here, I am of course talking about the customers, although many times their bad attitude rubs off on us. There are only so many times you can be racing through the store with your arms *clearly* overloaded with this or that product and have some impatient bitch say in an annoyed and plaintive voice "Excuuuuse me, but can you help me???" without getting a bit...peeved. Um, yeah. Sure. I'll just continue to hold onto these two ginormous boxes of glassware while simultaneously holding your hand on the trip back to the cookie aisle. The price on that? Try checking the little white sticker right there in the corner. Advent Calendars? It started three days ago, and you're going to pull an attitude with me because we are sold out??

Yeah. Just remember when you are out shopping this season that the folks working for you are probably doing about 3 different jobs at any one time. They are overworked and underpaid and probably not getting coffee and smoke breaks like you do at your typical office job. Their feet hurt from running around all day, and they are almost always going to be working with at least one other customer besides yourself. Give 'em a break, okay?

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.

wonderment

I got carded today at the grocery store. That was a nice moment.

Aside from that there is so much going on that I don't really have a lot to say. I'm not really feeling 100% at the moment, although I'm not sure why. I don't feel sick in a physical way, besides having a slight headache. I'm sleepy and a bit stressed, and I'm sure that's an unfortunate combination for any living organism.

Anyway. The arbitration hearing for my craptastic Xterra was yesterday. Should have some results from that in a week or so.

Every time my phone rings I expect it to be my mother or Aunt with news of Grandma Tocco's whereabouts, be it in this world or the next. She's been hanging on for something like three weeks now, in true Gran fashion...(Eddie Izzard. wot a gem he is) I got to talk to her today, which is a bit misleading of course, because it was more that I talked *at* her. She's hardly in the mood to waste precious energy talking back to me, is she? She's got a long trip ahead! :D At any rate it was nice to say my hellos and goodbyes to her, and it really got me all teary eyed for the first time since I found out she was very ill.

Anyway. Perhaps those things are preoccupying my upper consciousness and making me feel out of sorts. Perhaps I just need to sleep more and worry less. Maybe I just need chocolate and a cuddle with my honeys. That always seems to cure all ills.

4.5 hours

...is a long time to spend alone in an airport with your thoughts. Thoughts like "Where is the closest water fountain? Are there bathrooms in this prison of Gate 32? Why aren't there sleeping cots for situations like this? How come all the people selling food and entertaining cryptoquote books got to go home? Why is the ceiling a webbed matrix of concrete diamonds? And how long has it been since they cleaned under those waiting room seats?"

Our flight was grounded in Detroit for inclement weather. The lady at the check in counter teased me mercilessly, saying they were putting us on a different flight and would be going out around the same time anyway, and not to worry. Twice she told me this; I double checked before I went through the search and seizure gates, because my best friend lives just minutes from the airport and I could have just had her come back for me. No, no, you're switching planes, no worries.

So in I went, only to sit for the next four hours listening to announcements stating that indeed we would not be leaving until 11:55....12:20...12:35...12:55...1:15...

We were able to start boarding our flight at around 1:15am (KC time), but the storm that had caused all this delay in the first place seemed to have made a phenomenal track SE to KC, and was now pummelling the tarmac with monsoon-like rains. We'd watched the lightning show for an hour or so before the flight arrived, with little more than a slight rumble of thunder as accompaniment. As soon as our plane touched down, though, all bets were off.

After another 30 minutes or so of on-board waiting, we were off. Flying into and through the storm might have been a fun time--the bouncing and jostling something akin to my favourite roller coaster or a good bike ride--had it not been for the fact that we were several thousand feet in the air.

We did land in Phoenix with no further problems at around 2:30am, I think. It's all a bit fuzzy at this point. I had been scheduled to work at 6am today, but luckily had the forethought to call my boss during the 4 hour hiatus. He swapped me with our AGM, so I'm closing tonight which sucks in all kinds of ways, but at least I got some rest. I can be fully alert for the madness of being the only closing manager on my first shift back in nearly two weeks. Hooray!

Anyway, I'm home, and I'm happy, and the dogs are whining for attention, so I'm off to rub some puppy belly. Ciao for now....

On My Summer Vacation I . . .

Picked rocks, hickory nuts, and walnuts from the yard. I hauled logs up to the deck for winter fires. I cleaned abandoned bird nests from the birdboxes. I stuck my arm up to the elbow in a pvc pipe filled with mud and leaf sludge in an attempt to get the gutters running more smoothly. I climbed a tree with a bowsaw in hand and cut down an errant limb. I shoveled mulch and swept the driveway. I tried, and failed, to figure out the problem with my parents' printer. [EDIT: I wrote this up yesterday and it wouldn't publish from my folks' computer...this morning I DID fix the printer!]

I also had some really good grub (thanks mom!), got to walk around inside a house in the process of being built (If you've never built your own house, you will not understand why this is cool. Parents have "built" at least two of our houses, and I will forever be enthralled with the process, and consequently love walking around in unfinished homes.), and faced down the neighbourhood bully-dog(he's really just a misunderstood soul that needs to be loved).

I've been at my folks' house since Sunday evening, and had to quickly get over the aforementioned tree-freakout, since they are surrounded by greenness of all shapes sizes, and manner. When we sit out on the deck, I hear frogs and owls and all manner of fauna. Probably some flora, too--the trees tend to creak as they sway in the woods behind the house. Armadillo come on the deck to eat the cat's food, as do racoons. Dad tries to shoo them away, but I'd rather just watch them and pretend I'm on some kind of lame safari. It's a wilderness of sorts here, lush and homey. This is what I miss when I look out on the desert of Arizona.

Thoughts on Trees

So it's Wednesday, and I'm in Kansas City. There was a fairly spectacular storm outside my airplane window on the ride up, but fortunately it was far enough away that we got to enjoy the light show without any disruption of smooth sailing.

It was dark when we drove away from the airport last night and through the winding streets to Kimbra's house. This means that my shock at once again being surrounded by grass and trees had to wait until this morning. Sweet V's hiccoughs (Okay, actually it wasn't *technically* her hiccoughs that woke me up...it was the fact that they were so cute that I was giggling to myself. I giggled myself awake.)awoke me around 7:30am (Phoenix time), and she distracted me from the great outdoors for rather a long time with her amazing cuteness.

Anyway, when I looked outside I was a bit overwhelmed with the greenery. It's just...a lot. And it's close. I drove to Tasty Thai to pick up lunch and felt almost claustrophobic as I drove down the tree-lined street. A very unusual sensation, since I am the one who protested most vehemently about the lack of trees and green in Arizona. Truth is, I've gotten used to the barrens, and now the trees are kinda freaking me out. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful, and given a choice, I would live with trees and grass...but it is hard to get used to again after so much wide-openness and rocks and scrub.

So there you have it. The Trees are weirding me out.

Full Suss!

er...I accidentally hit "enter" after typing the title to this entry, and it actually posted just a title. Odd.

I just wanted to beam a bit about the fact that I went for a ride on my NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE this morning, and for the first time in ages, I don't feel as though I've been pummeled by 1,000 angry fists!

Russell found out about a bike shop close to both his work and my work, and where a co-worker of his had recently gotten a bike and/or gear. We went to check it out on Saturday morning before I went to work, and I got all jazzed again about the prospect of getting new wheels. I went back in yesterday after work and rode this bike and a Fuji Diamond something-or-other. We tweaked the hell out of the Jamis so it would feel right, and after almost 2 hours I decided to take the plunge. It's a full suspension bike, and is rather heavier than I'd like, but I really don't have $2000 to spend on a featherweight fs. :) The extra weight just means I'll get more of a workout and be in better shape!

I'm very excited about it, and a little sad that I'm leaving for 10 days and won't get to ride!! I'm also very excited that Russell is showing an interest in riding as well; I can't tell you how cool it would be to go riding with him. We got to go a couple times before we moved from Oklahoma, and I can't wait to do it again.

So yeah, I'm going to Kansas City tomorrow. Woohoo! I'll be staying with my best friend for a few days, going to the KC Renaissance Faire, and then, hopefully, going to see my parents for a few days. Mom has had to suddenly go to Indiana to be with *her* mother, but hopefully everything will work out okay and she'll get to come home in time so that I can visit her. If not, Dad, I guess if you want some help around the house, you'll have to make the trip to KC to pick me up yourself! :D

I gotta run and get ready for work. ciao!

Fat Cyclist

Could apply to me, but really it's just a funny funny man trying to get his body back by biking. Check out the right hand sidebar. He's raising money for the MS 150. Brilliant.

rawr

That's my power-yell. When I'm feeling defiant or strong or just plain ornery. I haven't written in a while partially because there was nothing really to write about and partially because there was just too much in my head to get down on paper. Haha! I really just typed that. I used to keep a paper journal. Somewhere there is a box or boxes full of little fabric covered journals, detailing my teenage and college years in excruciatingly mundane ways.

At any rate. Here's something that's been in my brain of late: Triathlons. I did my first Tri almost exactly two years ago, and it was a great great thing. Then all hell sorta broke loose in that we bought a house, moved, sold a house, and moved again within a year's time. Things were a bit bonkers, and I lost sight of goals like fitness and competition. But a few months ago I was reading my Shape Magazine and saw a little blurb about Slow Fat Triathlete. It sounded like a fun read, and a useful one for a casual wanna-be competitor like myself. I finally got around to ordering it (after several unsuccessful attempts at finding it locally) online and have been singing its praises ever since. I'm pretty sure Russell is sick of hearing about it, so I'll dump the kudos on you lot for a change.

The book is not a high-tech, all fired precision approach to Triathlons. It's an affirmation to anyone with secret dreams of competing who might feel held back by nagging thoughts of ineptitude--on any level, whether fitness, mental strength, or physique. When the author started competing in running races, she weighed over 200lbs. She discovered triathlons shortly thereafter and decided to give it a go, despite having a body that most people would be loathe to show in shorts and a tank top, much less a neoprene wet suit.

She stresses, time and time again, that *anyone* can compete--it's not just for elite athletes. Don't compare yourself to others, and don't give a damn what anyone else thinks--just get out there and do what you can and what you enjoy. Don't wait until you've reached a perfect level of fitness or until you feel you look hot in your spandex bike shorts... just get out there and do it!

That's the short version. It's a great read so far, and it has really inspired me to get moving again. The fact that the temperature has started dropping a bit recently hasn't hurt, either. :) It was only 101 today!!

Anyway. That's my spiel. Check out the book--even if you aren't interested in triathlons, it's a hilarious read, and inspirational for all aspects of life!

Through The Ringer

So yesterday I got a call from the hospital where I had my mammogram last week. They wanted to get some more views of my right breast, and when could I come in. No explanation, really, and very casual. They happened to have an appointment available this morning at 8:30am, which I immediately jumped at. If there was something going on, I wanted to know sooner rather than later.

So on a day that I didn't have to work until 2pm, I dragged my groggy ass out of bed at 6:30am. I drove down to the John C. Lincoln Breast Care Hospital and had my right boob lifted, adjusted, prodded, and smooshed three more times. The first time I'd gone in it really wasn't so bad--sadly comical more than anything--you never want to see your boob smashed flat to popping status under a bit of plexiglas. This time, they were really going for a good view, and DAMN. If you've never had a mammogram, they basically try to flatten out your boob to take an xray of it. You feel a bit like a puppet as they move not only your breast, but your entire body--hips, shoulders, arms--to get the best "sitting" of the breast on the xray plate. Then there is another flat bit of plastic--clear with black D shapes on it, apparently to indicate where the breast is supposed to fit in--that moves in to crush you against the xray plate.

Anyway. After the second set of screens were taken the nice lady that took the shots (the mammogramologist? seems too unwieldy a title) informed me that the radiologist still wanted a better look and was requesting an ultrasound. However, there was not a room available (and it was iffy at that) until around 11am. She assured me that it wasn't really anything to worry about, and sent me home with a card and a number to call in an hour's time.

So, feeling a bit brutalised and a lot concerned--despite Sharon's assurances--I headed home for a bit. When I called back, I was told that they could work my ultrasound in at 11:30am, so back I went. Not knowing how long it would last, but knowing full well about doctor's schedules, I'd already called work and told them I might be late--or absent, depending on the outcome of my visits. Good thing too, because they were finally able to work me in a little after 1pm.

The ultrasound itself was pretty cool. She turned the monitor so I could see what was coming up, and explained how the process worked, and what she was looking for. All I saw was a lot of white stripes and grey and black blobs. But she seemed to be making sense of it somehow. She took a couple of snapshots and headed off to the radiologist once again to see what he could see. I cleaned up the goo they use for the ultrasound (it's sticky and slimy all at the same time.ugh.), and sat down to wait.

Sharon came in a bit later and told me, basically, that everything is fine. I have some calcification going on that they were concerned about, but after all that mauling and whatnot they have concluded that the calcifications are benign. Normal wear and tear, I'm told. Shouldn't have to worry about another mammogram until I hit 40 (but I can pretty much tell you right now that I'm going to request another one 3 years from now, if not sooner).

I made it to work around 3:30pm, and still have not removed my wrist band from the hospital. I guess it's sort of my Badge of Courage for the day. I feel pretty exhausted, mentally and physically. I'm sore. I'm happy. There were a couple hours during the day today that I was going through all the "what-ifs". Wondering what would happen, how I would tell people--especially my family, how it would affect my life... I have always wished I'd been less blessed in the curve department, and I was pretty terrified for a bit today that I'd get my wish of a reduction. Scary stuff.

But it's all good. I'm keeping the girls for now. I'll bitch and complain that I can't find shirts that fit properly. I'll hold 'em when I go downstairs, and I'll continue to put on two sports bras when I go for a run or a bike ride. And you know what?? I'll LIKE IT!

whelmed

Not currently *over*whelmed. Just whelmed.

I was reading some of my other favourite blogs, and feeling a bit bitchy about the fact that a couple of them haven't updated in a while when I remembered that I haven't jotted anything of note here in over a week. I haven't heard any complaints, so I guess no one is missing me, but still. Far be it from me to bitch about something I'm so guilty of. So, in order that I may bitch free from guilt, here's my update.

1) got the lawnmower back from Small Engine World last week. Apparently the carborator(sp) was jacked from all the rainwater, so they replaced that and gave it a general tune up and it's as good as new to the tune of about $40. Well worth it, I'd say. It took several passes at the 18" grass to get it managable again, but the dogs will no longer have to fret at having grass tickle their butts when they try to poop.

2) after spending rather a long time in the yard yesterday doing said mowing, I ended up with a gargantuan migraine that I thought was going to render me permenently blind. It snuck up on me, and by the time I thought to take anything, it was already full swing, causing dizziness, nausea, and aforementioned blindness. Russell put me to bed around 7pm and I thrashed around for about 2 hours before finally falling asleep. I slept until about 8:30 this morning. Go figure. Less sun, more water for me.

3) I finally got the two new tubes and tires put on my bike, along with new handlebar grips--as my old ones were disintegrating at an alarming pace. I took it for a ride the other night, and so far all systems are go. Woohoo. It's even been Tolerably Warm out the last few days, instead of the usual Stiflingly Hot. When I say "warm" let me just clarify that it's only 93 degrees outside instead of 105. Russell even put the top down on the convertable yesterday on his way home. Fall is on it's way, folks!

4) I'm beside myself with joy becuase I'm going back to KC for a week in September. My best friend had a baby, as you know if you've been paying attention, and I'm going to go meet her! I'm also going to get a chance to hit up the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, do some shopping in Lawrence, KS (sigh, how I miss that place), and visit my folks in Missouri for a couple of days. I haven't taken a vacation....ever. And although this isn't very luxurious or exotic, I really can't think of anyplace I'd rather go right now.

So there you have a brief history of the past week or so. I can go bitch to my fellow bloggers now....

Read This!

I've said it before, I'll say it again. You must readDooce.

Thursday grog

I'm fuzzy today. Had diffuculty waking up this morning, and I think that was due, in large part, to the wacko dreams I had last night. There were two primaries, and they were entwined in such a way that, while I knew I was dealing with two hugely separate issues, I had to treat it as one big problem.

As most dreams go, I can't really describe what was happening--it's mostly gone at this point. One of the big themes, though, was that I was doing a triathlon and had forgotten my bike. And all of my gear. And sportsbras and socks and shoes... I finished up the swim part in fine shape, but when I got out of the water I realised I was completely screwed. This realisation was followed by much running around and scrambling for gear--including going back to my family's house in Siloam Springs, Arkansas (we haven't lived there for over 10 years!) where I discovered a broken/rotted garage door.

The other part of the dream was that this triathlon was happening as something of an aside in a big camp/getaway thing. We had been setting up camp just before the seemingly spontaneous start of the tri, and I remember seeing various couples go off to their little white tents together. And a LOT of laundry.

Anyway, when I have dreams like that--rather detailed (at least at the time) and particularly stressful--I just never feel rested upon awaking.

As a not-altogether-unrelated-aside, I got a lot done yesterday, including some yard work and taking the lawnmower to a repair shop. (Sorry, David, but I would rather let someone else take it apart and make it better--at least until I get my own air-conditioned shop with all tools at the ready and no need to clean it up at the end of the day!) I think all the sunshine and heat must've wilted my brain cells a bit, causing the restless night.

The B&S, For NoviDavid

Okay, here it is...The Lawnmower.


I will be impressed if you can tell from a few crappy photos and a description what I need to do!
I have cleaned out the fuel filter and changed the spark plug, but it appears that I'm getting no spark. The mower was left outside all of last fall, and it rained quite a bit. The fuel could be contaminated, but the lack of spark is--I think--the primary issue. I'm a bit wary to take it apart myself, although I have found some nice online instruction on DIY mower maintenance.
What's your verdict, Mister Fixit? :D

Farewell, Crowley

Crowley is free. After a week of wondering if he would ever eat, whether his cage was the right temperature, etc. etc., we decided to return him to the "wild". He was released a few days ago under a big bush in the front yard. Shortly thereafter it stormed madly for 1/2 hour or so, blowing up dust and torrentially raining for about 5 minutes. I hope he's okay. We just figured he'd be better off out there where he belongs--we can always get a captive born snake that is past the fiddly bit of having the first meal/first shedding... Miss him, though.

Hold for Heat

Seems like everything in my world is on hold due to the heat.

I need to do some yard work: It's too hot to work outside.

I need to change the tire on my mountain bike: It's too hot to work in the garage, and besides, if I'm not riding at 3am, it's too hot to ride.

I need to clean out the spare room and bring some things in from storage: The boxes need to be broken down for recycling, which involves going outside where it is--you know the story--too hot.

I have done the ironing and hooked my speakers up to my stereo finally. I called the AZ Herpetological Society and not gotten much helpful information about Caring for Crowley. I called the lawmmower repair shop down the street and was told it's about a $20 charge to walk in the door and have them look at the machine, and $54/hour for repairs. The exorbitantly expensive lawn care guy I "interviewed" last week suggested another place a ways from here, but they only charge $16/hour labour and he claims they do good work. Convenience, or far less expense? The lady at the shop I called today suggested that I check a particular cable, so I'll start there...but you know what? It's just too damn hot to mess with right now!

as requested

This is our little wee one, aka Crowley.

This photo was taken about 10 minutes ago, when I finally turned off his light and he decided to make an appearance. I think he's about 7" or 8" long, and his head is about as big as my pinky fingernail. He hasn't eaten his crickets yet, but I put some actual water in his bowl this morning (in lieu of the gel stuff), and he drank and drank. It was *very* cool to watch. I'm thinking we may have to take the crickets out and put fresh ones in--after we cut them down to size a bit. Apparently these little guys can take up to one and a half times their girth in food size, but even so these crickets might be too big.

It's late and I have to work in the morning, so enjoy the snake...oh, and this precious photo of Bucket. It's one I like to call "Barfight!"


Precious, ain't he?

New Addition!

No, not *the* child band of the 80s. Not construction on our home. A new mouth to feed!
I came home laaaate the other night (it's a long story involving a trip to the store, leaving my purse, and stopping for fuel sans money) and found a tiny little baby version of a Night Snake--larger version seen here--


in the garage just by the back door. He's sooo tiny--his eyes aren't even open, and we're not entirely sure what to feed him at this point, but he's curled up cozily in his rock pile in the terrarium I picked up yesterday. I'm headed to the petstore in a bit to pick up some itty bitty worms or insects for him. Apparently hatchlings don't normally eat until after the first shedding, but we have no idea if he as or not. I think not--he's too little. He will grow to be about 18-24" long, and is non-poisonous to humans (his saliva is apparently bad news for lizards and smaller amphibians).

I'm thinking of calling the Arizona Herpetological Society to see if they have any suggestions about feeding, but there is a plumber in the garage at the moment, and I can only be available to so many people at one time!

2 Things

I will never understand:

1) Why people let their dogs run off leash. It is dangerous to the dogs, it is dangerous to other critters, and it is dangerous to other people. Mostly is it dangerous to the dogs. And did I mention that it was dangerous to the dogs? This morning while walking Bucket, we ran into not one, but two dogs that were running off leash. Of course one of them ran up to Bucket and got in his face, and of course he freaked out and started acting like an overexcited heathen. With two hands on the leash and a prong collar around his neck I had a difficult time pulling him away. Psycho hounds notwithstanding, what if the unleashed dogs spotted a rabbit or lizard (this place is lousy with both) and ran out in front of a car? What if they cornered a scorpion or snake? It boggles my mind why people allow their dogs to run loose.

2) Why are all genius rock gods tiny little men? Prince. Ben Folds. Beck.
I rest my case. But why?

Gah!

TAG!!!

I got tagged by Shannon.

What was I doing 10 years ago:
I was 25 years old, living in Lawrence, Kansas and I had a colouring book page of a baby chicken up on my front door that said "I am a chick." My next door neighbour used to wake me up at 3:30am by beating on my front door and demanding that I make him a sandwich. I slept with a kilt pin under my pillow, because it was the closest thing I had to a weapon. I worked at an indie record store and went to free concerts all the time, and was up to my eyeballs in cool new music.
5 years ago:
I had just moved back to Lawrence from Omaha, where I'd lived for about three years with my then honey. I was working at Science City at Union Station, where I stage managed an amazing Jazz Show called "After Hours" starring the McFadden Brothers.
1 year ago:
I was trying to sell our new house in Oklahoma City so that I could move to Arizona to be with Russell.
Yesterday:
I worked at the store and then came home and played World of Warcraft until bedtime.

Snacks I enjoy:
1.anything chocolate
2.wasabi peas
3.ginger chews
4.cheese (mmm, cheese...good call, Shanny)
5.more chocolate

5 songs I know all the words to:
1.Fuck You--Ani Difranco (
2.Any David Garza tune
3.Kilkelly Ireland
....oh, who am I kidding, I have an uncanny way of learning the words to just about any tunes I'm currently listening to. Now, whether or not those are the *correct* words is another question entirely.

5 Things I would do with a $100 million:
1.pay off all our bills
2.buy two new mt. bikes, a road bike, and a tri-bike
3.invest well
4.take a trip to the British Isles
5.buy a pony

5 Locations I would like to run away to:
1.UK
2.New Zealand
3.someplace with lots of green and not a lot of heat
4.Kansas City to visit Kimbra and her new baby
5.Africa

5 Bad habits I have:
1.picking at scars
2.thinking, planning, or playing WoW every moment of the day
3.eating far too much refined sugar
4.knowing it all
5.using "..." waaaay too much (me too, Shanny, me too!)

5 Things I like doing:
1.mt. biking (although I don't do it nearly enough these days)
2.being outdoorsy
3.learning new stuff (how do you think I became such a know it all?)
4.making lists and crossing things off them
5.playin' with the hounds

5 TV shows I like:
err...I don't really watch much tv as I'm nearly always on the 'puter, but I *used* to love these shows (most are now off the air)
1.Keen Eddie
2.John Doe
3.Firefly (soon to be a movie! Woot!)
4.Scrubs
5.anything--and I mean anything--on HGTV, TLC, Discovery, or BBCA

5 Biggest joys of the moment:
1.Russell cleaned the HELL out of the house because we are possibly being inspected in the next few days/week, and it looks AMAZING!
2.I don't have to work tomorrow, so we have the day off together.
3.there is ice cream waiting for me downstairs
4.it's chocolate ice cream
5.Russell and I are going to eat that ice cream and curl up and watch a movie tonight...a date!

5 Favorite toys:
1.Bucket
2.Delilah
3.Russell
4.this computer
5.my outdoorsy girl stuff

5 next victims:
I will not inflict this on anyone else! PFFFFTTTT!

Reality Check

I've been hearing about this on the news, but like every other story, it seems to be somehow separate from my life. The Cave Creek Complex fire has so far burned almost 200,000 acres of desert, and is the second largest wildfire in Arizona history. "Cave Creek Complex" rings a bell, as our neighbourhood is just off of Cave Creek road, but however many times you hear about something like this, it just never seems real. The fire is only 20% contained, so there is much to be concerned about, and I've heard that one of the largest Saguaro cacti in existence has suffered the fire and will probably not survive. Still, like stories of the war in Iraq or refugees in Africa, it seemed like just that--a story. Something that happens to other people.

Last night, as I drove home from work, I could see something that looked very like this photo. I approached the turnoff into our neighbourhood and saw the huge orange glow in the distance. It immediately scared the hell out of me and piqued my curiousity. I got on the phone to call Russell and tell him that I had to drive closer--to see what I could see. I chase storms and tornados too. There is something in my psychology that begs me to get close and learn as much as possible about things that terrify me.
One of the many reasons I adore my honey: he didn't question me or tell me it was silly or try to talk me out of it. He knew it was something I needed to do and trusted me to be safe about it.
I drove north on Cave Creek about 11 or 12 miles, into the litte town of Carefree. I could see that the fire was still some distance away, but getting closer would have meant taking backroads that I was even less familiar with. My Xterra was already at about 1/4 tank, and I was loathe to be stranded in fire territory with no idea how to give directions to Russell, so I turned around and came home.
The fire had seemed so much closer from the intersection by our house, and I nearly broke into tears as I drove towards it. Whether it was fear of it overtaking our little neighbourhood, or just sadness at all of the destruction I do not know. However, the closer I got, the less sad and afraid I was. I found myself wanting to do something to help, and feeling frustrated at knowing there was little--if anything--I could do. I'm going to go read more about it--its origins, its path, and the efforts being made to stop it. Maybe that's enough...educating myself and empowering myself against the unknown. I hope so. If its not, perhaps in my search for information I'll find ways to help--from rebuilding trails to replanting flora, or assisting those who've lost their homes. . .