| no, I'm not winking at you |
[Aug. 13th, 2008|10:34 am] |
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For the past week or so I have been plagued by non-stop eye twitches. It has become so annoying that I finally looked into it. Turns out it is being caused by anxiety, fatigue and caffeine. That wicked ouroboros, I am doomed! As if the stomach ulcers aren't enough of a price to pay for my sins. Will no one rid me of these pesky co-workers? |
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| she's a redhead! |
[Jul. 31st, 2008|02:56 pm] |
All that black hair fell out during the past month and came back red! I should have guessed when I saw those blue eyes and the extra pale (for our family) skin. Talk about your recessive genes!
Such a lively face! Clearly, she takes after me (hee hee).
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| You Know You Want To... |
[Jul. 23rd, 2008|03:32 pm] |
Since ya'll are just sitting there staring into the atmosphere, you might as well generate some silly walks.
- - Brought to you by the Minister of Silly Walks himself:
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| Hey Mojo, wasn't she on your list? |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|03:22 pm] |
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Estelle Getty (one of the Golden Girls) died today. Frankly, I wasn't aware that she was still alive. |
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| post CON post |
[Jul. 8th, 2008|12:12 pm] |
Well, I survived the ordeal. Had a good bit of fun actually. Then it all came crashing down.
Wednesday
The move-in. It was sweaty work but exhilarating. The 256 canisters of pop gave me a sore back but I was able to "remedy" that later in the evening.
Thursday
Ran into some folks. Checked out some parties. Found a good book in the Dorian Gray Literary Lounge that I got to keep for free. Ran into some more folks. Hung out at the various parties. Was propositioned by two young guys and one old dude. Good times.
Friday
Helped set up the Con of the North room a bit. Saw an hilarious movie, Star Wreck, the Pirkinning. Ran into some folks. Did some shopping in the dealer's room. Pulled a shift in Connie's Space Lounge making smoothies. Found out afterward that the people I was working with are with the Roller Girls (the referee and Lady Snowdrop?). Nice folks. Ran into a drunk of my former acquaintance.
Saturday
Started out in the COTN party room at noon and never really got out of there. Played some games I hadn't ever tried out before. I skipped a meal in there somewhere and was pretty run down when I was offered a piece of pizza from the ConSuite. I gladly accepted and 15 minutes later I was violently ill. I barely made it out of there with my dignity intact although I was crying when I had to cancel my shift at Connie's.
Sunday
Sick in bed all day.
Monday
Sick in bed half a day. Too hot and humid anyway. (I was supposed to help with move-out)
Conclusion
I had fun. In some ways, more than I expected and in other ways less. Overall, it was worth it. I think I would make some changes for next year though, starting with taking better care of myself. I don't do so well with all the junk food and I am particularly susceptible to the A/C. Maybe a lot more vitamin C in advance. |
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| something for the kiddos |
[Jun. 30th, 2008|02:48 pm] |
Remember those Highlights magazines they always had at the doctor's office? I had a subscription when I was a kid and I loved it. Now they have it online. I just got finished enjoying several of the hidden-picture puzzles.
For the kiddos out there (Rowan, I'm looking at you) here is the website:
Highlights for Kids |
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| A dignified dog |
[Jun. 23rd, 2008|03:33 pm] |
I was checking out the shelter's website, just to keep updated on who has gone home and who is still there and I see this photo:
This guy reminds of those old black-and-white photos of people sitting all stiff and serious because it took about 10 minutes for the film to capture the image. Very American Gothic.
By the way, this is a very nice dog. His name is Storm. |
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| CONvergence! |
[Jun. 23rd, 2008|08:34 am] |
Well I caught up with the Con of the North folks on Saturday. We played some games and had a brief discussion of the COTN room party (7-midnight Friday and Saturday 2nd floor, next to The Source room party). We will be running short (one-hour) games at a couple of tables and there should be some kind of old-school computer game madness.
I am also signed up to help out at registration and later at the smoothie bar. I am still negotiating my shifts so I don't miss out on all the fun by working too hard.
I am quite excited about this. It has been several years since I was able to attend an entire convention! |
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| Books I have read on the bus (since the last post) |
[Jun. 19th, 2008|02:53 pm] |
It looks like the last time I posted this info was in February. Since then I have read:
The City Not Long After by Pat Murphy (re-read)
White Knight by Jim Butcher
Small Favor by Jim Butcher (this one starts kind of slowly, but has a Big Finish)
I enjoyed re-reading the Katherine Kurtz books so much that I decided to re-read some of the Barbara Hambly books as well. So far I have finished:
The Time of the Dark
The Walls of Air
The Armies of Daylight
Mother of Winter
Icefalcon's Quest
The Silent Tower
The Silicon Mage
Dog Wizard
Currently, I am reading Barbara Hambly's Stranger at the Wedding. I just love me some wizards! |
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| sometimes it's just too easy |
[Jun. 18th, 2008|12:21 pm] |
Whenever we get a new person in the office, we tend to give them the oldest computer we have in case they turn out to be less than technically savvy. And you know how folks tend to do personal stuff at work? Well, one of our newbies was copying something onto a 3.5 disk and her computer was making a terrible grinding/buzzing sound so she asked me why was it making that noise.
I looked at her with my best Serious Face and asked her, "Well, are you committing a felony?" |
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| blue eyes! |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|03:57 pm] |
First, let me say that not only my own daughter, but my niece and her children all take after me in their love of water. Here is my three-year-old nephew swimming around all by himself in the same way that my daughter Natalie did at that age. (The video they sent me is hilarious because all the 'Swimming" happens from the waist down and looks a lot like riding an underwater unicycle.
And by way of illustrating just how crazy for water we really are, here is a photo of my 3-month-old niece getting some of her first lessons from her mama:
What strikes me more and more is how pale she is compared to the rest of the family:
And on closer inspection, it turns out that she has blue eyes!
She's gonna be a seaside Snow White!
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| son of the abomination |
[Jun. 13th, 2008|02:10 pm] |
A while back I posted a photo of a darling gargoyle dog that was up for adoption at the shelter. Well, today we have a puppy available that, well, see for yourself:
Claude is an 8 month old (French) Bulldog + Pug = "Bug" I guess. This guy needs to be in Hollywood! |
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| yo' crazy ass |
[Jun. 13th, 2008|01:07 pm] |
don't think I ain't seeing you ov-ah there
*spocks and eyebrow* |
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| Fu-zizzled |
[Jun. 6th, 2008|08:05 am] |
You would think in this extreme humidity that I wouldn't be as prone to static as I usually am, but noooo....
Yesterday morning when I switched on my hair dryer, it went 'snap' and then a shower of sparks flew out of the handle and onto the floor. Luckily, it had a safety surge protector so I didn't lose all of the lights on that circuit as well. But the wires burnt up so now I need to buy another one.
Then last night I put in a DVD and reached over to turn on the speakers and 'snap' blew those up too. I can't watch anything on the TV without the speakers so I suppose a trip to Target is in order this afternoon.
I hesitate to ask what else can go wrong. |
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| Battle of the Stinky Apartments |
[Jun. 4th, 2008|03:52 pm] |
For the past four years my next-door neighbors were a nice little family from Africa. They were quiet and polite and my only comment about them would have been that at least once a week they would take a 10 lb. bag of onions and lay them out on the rack in their oven and bake them for a couple of hours. This resulted in an unholy stink, but hey, whatever. Folks gotta eat, right?
When they moved out a couple of months ago not only did the carpet need to be replaced but the entire stove/oven appliance as well. No worries.
Well, I would have thought that between the new carpet, new paint and new gas oven the apartment would have been clean smelling enough for anyone. But noooo....
The new tenant either has a nasty smell originating in her very own nose and making her crazy or some kind of incurable body funk she can't live with because she has placed those double-fan units in her windows (bringing the air from outside in) and every day she sandwiches half a box of extra-strength dryer sheets of overwhelming fragrance between the fan units and the screens so that the powerful smell of inorganic freshness wafts all the way through her apartment and out beneath her front door to saturate the hallways and seep inexorably into the neighbor's homes - chiefly mine.
Damn the wheezing. My only recourse so far has been to light four or five small sticks of light incense in my own apartment and let the fans blow the smoke through my rooms and OUT of my own windows. But let me just say this, it may not be long before I resort to plan B:
Sneak up on her windows from the parking lot and replace the dryer sheets with opened cans of tuna or stinky cat food.
News at 11:00... |
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| It never rains, but it pours... |
[Jun. 2nd, 2008|03:27 pm] |
Apparently, June 14th will be the most auspicious day of the year thus far. Accordingly, there are no less than four events on my calendar that day (not counting work at the shelter). I have to choose from:
The MISFITS Annual Picnic
Bob (Roadkill) Aiken's memorial BBQ
The Con of the North Volunteer Party
My new D&D game night (shiny!)
What to do, what to do. Hopefully, since there is some cross-over of interested parties here, at least one of these events will be moved to the 21st.
I suppose the only thing to do at this point is to focus my good thoughts on the weather so that no matter which event I attend, it will be a fine, fine evening! |
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| eh? whattid you say? |
[May. 30th, 2008|10:27 am] |
Well, Lyme Disease test number three also came back positive. I reiterated to the doctor that all I am really interested in is getting a damn hearing aid. I can deal with the Lyme thing myself. Really.
So, Monday she is supposed to call me to pick up my deaf certificate. If all goes well, I should be able to get the device for free (a savings of $5000). Schwing! |
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| get a clear picture of the Pacific plate moving |
[May. 14th, 2008|08:40 am] |
My daughter clued me in to this website with the best graphic representations of what is currently happening as the Pacific plate rotates counter-clockwise and shifts easward (press the 'start animation' button). I think for us here in the Midwest, the 2.5 earthquake down in Cape Girardeau last Saturday was significant. It turns out that the largest quake in the Midwest was in 1811 and was an 8.1 on the New Madrid fault in Missouri.
More info from the University of Memphis |
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| chicken shit |
[May. 13th, 2008|08:57 am] |
I was having a brief chat with a colleague over by the coffee maker this morning and I had accidently put too much milk in my cup so that it was like the coffee my grandma used to give me when I was a tiny little girl.
I used to get up very early (still do actually) and my grandma would say, "If you're gonna get up, you might as well help me with the chickens."
What this meant was that while she flung some feed out into the yard, I got to poke around in the shed and behind the stacks of scrap lumber outside and find the nests with the eggs. Fortunately, chickens eat spiders!
My colleague wanted to know, "Don't they get upset when you take their eggs?" As if they would start wailing, "My babies, my babies!"
Get real. Chickens aren't that damn smart. The minute you fling out some feed, they all come running to that spot. (Someone's been watching too many cartoons.) |
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| keyboard fixin's |
[May. 12th, 2008|02:30 pm] |
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I had a minor mishap over the lunch hour. Now there are bacon bits and tiny hunks of bleu cheese wedged between the keys on my keyboard. And some olive oil drips that are making typing a strange sport... |
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