Thursday, November 30, 2006

Go Me!

30 straight days of blogging,

I wish I could offer some words of wisdom on this auspicious occassion, but I just woke up from a sound sleep to write this.

I shall reflect further later.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Much quicker post than I expected - just saw that there is a planned outage on blogger in 20 minutes.

I have drugs - yay!

I won a big package of neutral fabric in a quilt shop sweepstakes - yay!

And I had the best shrimp poboy and fried mushrooms in the world for dinner - YAY!

The finest contribution Cajuns have made to the world was putting fried shrimp on french bread and slathering it with mayonaisse. Not healthy, but Oh, so tasty!

I think you should all visit South Louisiana just to experience it.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

So. Here I Am

I've enjoyed this month of blogging daily, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if was feeling a little bit better. What is the point of hormones, anyhow, huh? Bring on menopause, I say!

(Of course, I shouldn't say that too loudly, because with the way my year has gone, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was happening, even if it is too early)

I'm out of my happy pills, if you can't tell already. I took the last one on Sunday and called my doctor yesterday. The pharmacy still doesn't have the prescription ready. I only take them every other day anyway, so I was OK until this afternoon. That's when the physical stuff started. Now, I've read people having really bad reactions to missing doses of antidepressants and antianxiety drugs. Mine are mild, just like little shocks of vertigo that last only a few seconds. It is annoying, though.

But the other stuff is more noticible to me (of course it could be all in my head - ha!). I find that I get more anxious than usual (which, since I'm taking them for anxiety, makes sense). Everytime my boss asked my co-worker into his office and closed his door, I convinced myself that I was about to be fired. This was despite the fact that we just talked about the fact that I would be the only one in the office over the holidays, and after he gave me a new project. I did the whole self-talk thing I worked on in therapy and got myself more rational, but still.

And I was really hoping to start going off these things in January. I'm just afraid that I won't be be able to handle the anxiety flaring up on a regular basis for no apparent reason. Maybe if I do go off it later next year, I can see my therapist for a little bit of a tune-up. I should see if he accepts my insurance.

The therapy thing was good for me, you know. This was the second time I tried it. Last time, the guy kept trying to have me do flow charts and bar graphs and other stuff a math-averse person like me doesn't want to see. With this guy, it was all about words. Oh, he threw in a few percentges to make a point, but there were no equations involved, so I could deal with that.

This wasn't the post I had planned, but I guess it needed to be said.

Oh, and on a completely unrelated and happier note, I finished a whole quilt top, border and all! That is the furthest I have ever gotten with a quilt. Granted, it is more wall hanging or a baby doll quilt, but I'm still pretty darned proud of myself. As soon as the templates I ordered come, I can move on to the next phase.

Really?

Just, really? People don't treat their children this well. I am deeply disturbed, and I will probably have nightmares of cats tonight. If I wake up wheezing, I shall sue the paper.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Question

For all of you writers (or readers) out there:

If you had a longish piece of fiction with two equally important main characters, how horrible would it be to use multiple points of view in different parts of the story if it is clear who's point of view is what?

Clear as mud, huh?

I'm asking this because as I've been thinking more about the story idea I mentioned several days ago, I've realized that each of the main characters brings a unique and important viewpoint to the plot, and certain parts would be best told from one POV or the other.

So, to the writers, would just the thought of doing that place this work in the unreadable drivel category? Would an editorial assistant see that in a prospectus letter and throw it immediately on the rejection pile?

To the readers, how much would such a device annoy you assuming the transitions are clear but not intrusive on the story?

And yes, that deep post is still coming. Maybe tomorrow. Depends on how I feel (still have a touch of the ickiness, but if history is any indicator, I'll be better tomorrow) and how much I have to do at work

Sunday, November 26, 2006

I feel icky. I'm having female issues today. The only problem with PMS for me is that I don't ever seem to get to the M. I just have to deal with the PS. That probably isn't good, huh?

I went to Michael's today. Word to the wise - never, ever go there the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was crazy. And the cashiers, at least one of them, was horrible. I was in line before she turned her light out, then her supervisor said no more customers after me. Well, she just stopped ringing the person in front of me, and stared at me. Now, I obnly had four items. It wasn't like I would have caused her to be there forever. Then the teenage girl she was ringing up while her mother looked at poinsettias, started staring at me like I had two heads. If I had been feeling better, I might have made an issue of it, but I didn't because I just couldn't deal. Instead, I switched lanes. Then just as I got in line, the cashier turned her light off. Fortunately, she said that I was her last customer. It took forever to get throught the line, though.

Tomorrow, as there is nothing going on, I shall write a highly reflective entry about the nature of confronting oneself with unpleasant truth. But for tonight, I shall take some Advil and some Benadryl and go to sleep.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Whew!

Made it! I had a heck of a time getting Blogger to load.

I do have something serious I want to write about, but it will wait till the morrow.

But I do want to say, remind me never to buy thread at the fabric store here. It cost four times what it costs at Wal-Mart for identical thread. I didn't realize it until I got home, though I did think the price at checkout was higher than I expected. I didn't think much of it, because my math skills are seriously suspect.

I think I shall return the thread tomorrow.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Today at work I watched X-Men III and marked my fabric squares. It was a little slow. In fact, I was the only one in. I wouldn't have been there either, but somebody had to be, and I'm low person on the totem pole. But a lot of the state governments we deal with were closed, and who knows what was going on with the feds. And my guess is that the capture managers for the proposals I'm currently supporting were out today as well. Sigh.

I bought my dress for the Christmas party. I had to buy it online because they didn't have it in the store. I hope it fits OK. I'm not worried about the cut, because it is typical of things I usually buy and look good in. I just don't know how this designer's sizes run.

I bought earrings on Wednesday as well. Now all I have to find are shoes, a purse, and maybe a necklace. I may just wear my good fake pearls, though.

I found the exact shoes I want on line, but first of all, they are $40, and second, I'm a little leery of buying shoes online.

Only 6 more days left of NaBloPoMo. I'm glad of that. I enjoy blogging, but I don't think I can make it a daily habit. But I think I can make writing a daily habit. And I shall do that.

Tomorrow, I plan to try to find shoes and go to the movies.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

I fell asleep. Like, 5 hours ago. After sleeping until almost noon. Sigh.

I think my thyroid is low again. I should call my doctor and get it checked.

I will leave you with this thought:

Thanksgiving means giving thanks to God. (from a Girl Scout project I did a looooooong time ago that involved gluing dried beans and popcorn to a little wood plaque)

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006



I did sleep the sleep of the dead last night. Fell asleep around 8:30, woke up at 11:30, then went back to sleep at around 1:30 and slept until 10:30 this morning. Yeah, I was sleepy. I think it might have been the 750 different products the stylist used on my hair yesterday.




I will write more later, as I have nothing to do until someone contacts me for help. But I will leave you with another picture.

This is home. With geese. I don't know the Post-Gazette photographer who snapped it, but he made me homesick.



Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I am very tired.

When Boss lets me go, I shall take some Benadryl and sleep the sleep of the dead for 8 hours or so.

Got my hair cut today. It's a little shorter than what I wanted, and she used a flat iron, which I hate, but it's pretty good. I have to say, though, that there is nothing more decadent than having someone wash your hair.

Quilt top is done, except for the border. Need to get fabric for that.

Have to go edit a proposal, now. Will you miss me while I'm gone?

Monday, November 20, 2006

I just realized...

...just how late it is. Yikes!


Boss let me go home early today. I don't know what time he made it in, but I know it was after 3. Have I mentioned that I love my job?


I've been working on my little quilt since I got home, and the quilt top is almost done, except for the border. I need to go get fabric and a rotary cutter before I can do that part. I'm pretty proud of myself.


I swear, I will write something substantial tomorrow.


I leave you with a picture of a cute kitty.


Sunday, November 19, 2006

I'm too tired of writing to write much right now. Though I do wish I could have figured out how to work "rite" and "wright" into that last sentence, Buecause dude, that would have been awesome.

I promise a longer post tomorrow.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

I''ve several hours...

...left at work before I can go home.  Sigh.  What a way to spend a Saturday.  But at least it means I won't have to work tomorrow.
 
I have four out of six strips done for a wall hanging quilt I am making.  Next step will be to join the strips.
 
Guess I'll go back to my master now.  Have a lovely Saturday evening, kids.

Friday, November 17, 2006

It is November 17th. And I am burned out on daily blogging.

Oh, I'll not be giving up. I made a commitment, and I'll see it through. But my life is just too dull to account for a daily entry.

Actually, that's not true. It's just that the interesting stuff happens at work, and I can't write about that. It's hard to work for a government contractor.

sigh.

I broke two nails today. At this rate, I won't be able to get that manicure for the Christmas party.

sigh.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

I have another story idea in my head. I'm choosing not to share anything about this one, however. The characters just started talking to me, and I'm not ready to share them with the world yet.

I really wish I could go on retreat. Just having time away from real life to rediscover my connection to the Big Guy would be a good thing. Alas, it isn't possible right now.

I'm debating about whether or not to turn the heat on. It's a little cold tonight.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Oh Deer!

No time to write, but go read this and this. On the first link, be sure to watch the photo sequence.

What's up with this?

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

With Apologies to William Carlos Williams...

This is just to say
my posts will be woefully
short this week.
Forgive me.
Work has got me
pulling my hair out.

Monday, November 13, 2006

I worked until 1 a.m. last night after not sleeping at all the night before. Forgive me if I am a little punchy.

I did meet my boss's boyfriend, though. He's a cutie. And very domestic. He has a dog and a half (one of them belongs to my boss, but lives at his house - more on that in a minute), both of whom are adorable. I ate black bean soup so I wouldn't offend him, even though I hate beans.

My boss has another dog, who we took back to the office. She is a pit bull, which is why his other dog lives with his boyfriend. She and I bonded last night. She is just so sweet. She wouldn't leave my side last night, and when I finally went home, my boss said she sat by the door and looked for me to come back and whined.

Sigh. I love dogs, but I'm allergic to them. I ended up with hives last night and took Benadryl, which knocked me out totally. I slept through my alarm going off for two hours this morning.

I'm going to sleep now. I still feel like I got hit with a truck.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

I Just Want to Say...

...that people who have served our country bravely in the military should never be required to write anything, ever. They've served their time. They deserve a break.

So do those of us who have to edit their writing.

That is all.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

I'm Eating Pizza

Just thought you should know.

So, I have run out of things to say.

I have to work tomorrow. We have a short suspense proposal due, and we are short staffed.

I bought apples at Whole Foods yesterday. You know, I have to say that I don't mind spending more for apples there. They are a thousand percent better than the ones from the grocery store.

I downloaded "I Lost on Jeopardy" to my phone today. There are a handful of people who know why that is significant. Don't know if any of them read this blog or not.

You know, pigeons look smaller on British TV shows than they do in the US. Just an observation as I watch British shows on PBS.

Walker Shortbread is the best ever.

And finally, a deep thought:

How now, Brown Cow? How now?

Friday, November 10, 2006

Hey Boys and Girls

This is my 366th post. In honor of my second "year" of posting, here is a pathetic, incomplete little piece of fiction based on a prompt TG gave me a long, long, long time ago. It's less than halfway finished and not even close to edited, so don't judge too harshly.




Clint Davis straightened his tie, and brushed invisible lint off the jacket of his $1000 suit as he strode through the hotel lobby. He paused momentarily in front of a mirrored wall to check his appearance. After a small adjustment to his heavily gelled hair, he continued on to the Esplanade Ballroom. He was greeted by multiple balloon arrangements and a black and silver banner reading, “WELCOME PIERCE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1989.”

He stopped at the registration table and was given a name tag that also featured his senior yearbook picture. He frowned at the image of the skinny, acne-ridden seventeen-year-old, who also sported glasses, braces, and a mullet. He tried to shove the nametag into his jacket pocket, but the perky former cheerleader who was manning the registration table wouldn’t let him. Instead, he affixed it to the left side of his jacket, conveniently allowing the lapel to cover the picture.

The ballroom was filled with small groups of people talking, laughing, and reminiscing. Clint made his way through the room, nodding when he caught someone’s eye, or occasionally shooting them a finger gun. He ultimately reached his destination – the bar – where he ordered a scotch and soda. When he received his drink, he moved to the side of the bar and watched the crowds as he sipped his drink.

After a few moments, another man approached him. The man glanced at his nametag then up at him. “Clint Davis?” he asked with a note of surprise in his voice.

Clint looked at the other man’s nametag as well. “Bill Bradley,” he responded flatly. “Long time, no see.”

“Wow. You look…different.”

“I suppose.”

An uncomfortable silence lingered for a moment, then Bill asked, “So, what have you been doing with yourself?”

“Oh, well, you know,” Clint responded. “I graduated college, founded a software company, sold it, and founded a venture capital firm that is about to have an IPO. And you?”

“Wow,” Bill paused as if trying of absorb all that Clint just said. “Well, nothing as exciting as that. I got my degree in marketing, and I’ve been working at a PR firm ever since.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. “Here’s my card.”

Clint looked at it before slipping it into his inside pocket. “Senior account rep. Impressive.”

“I used to think so, until I saw you.”

“Yes. Well, not everyone can achieve greatness.” Clint said, favoring Bill with a small smile.

Bill shifted a little. “No, I suppose they can’t.”
“I’m sorry I can’t reciprocate with my card. I just bought a new wallet at the Coach store, and I forgot to put my cards in it.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Totally understand.” Bill looked around the room for a moment and said suddenly, “Oh, I need to go. My wife giving me the I-can’t-believe-you-dragged-me-here-then-abandoned-me look. It was great seeing you again.”

“You, too,” Clint replied. They shook hands before Bill made his way across the room. After lingering at the bar a moment longer, Clint made his way to the hors d’oveurs table.

~*~*~*~


When Bill arrived back to the table where his wife was, he asked his fellow alumni, “Have you seen Clint Davis yet?”

Joe Smirna frowned. “Clint Davis?” he asked. “He was that funny-looking guy. Kind of a loner?”

“That’s him. Apparently he’s had a little success in life.”

“Yeah? What’s he doing?” Christine Heinrich-Cunningham inquired.

“Apparently, he owns a venture capital firm.”

The faces around the table appeared genuinely shocked. “Clint Davis? Are you sure?” Joe’s voice held a note of doubt.

“That’s what he says. He certainly looks the part.” Bill turned in his seat slightly scanning the room for Clint. “There he is,” he said when he finally found him.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Making Sure I Have the Obligatory Post In...

...Just in case I get home late.  I'm going to see a friend whose mother died last week, and who just had her first prenatal ultrasound today.  She wants me to see pictures of her little ball of cells.  She's only reaching the end of her first trimester, so I'm pretty sure that's all I'll be able to see on the ultrasound pictures.  Then again, what do I know?  I've never had a baby, and I probably never will.  Female issues.  Won't bore you with the gory (or lack of gory, if you get my meaning) details.

 
So, I'm off to visit.  If I make it home at a reasonable hour, I may post a snippet of fiction...if the cosmopolitan I'll have after visiting leaves me feeling brave.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Hey Smart Folks...

Since I have had so many new visitors here lately, I thought I'd pose a question.

Can you freeze something with cooked eggs in it, something like strata? I found a recipe for a breakfast casserole I would like to try, but being a single person, even halving the recipe is too much for just me. I could quarter it, I suppose, but that would be a heck of a lot of effort for two meals. So I thought if I could freeze it, I could solve the eating breakfast problem, because all I would have to do is take a container to work with me and throw it in the microwave. Will it heat up OK in the microwave?

Oh, and just as a note? The pumpkin cheesecake at Whole Foods kicks serious butt They put a ton of cinnamon in it, just the way I like my pumpkin.

New Name

Ol' Adalbert Lightfoot, the hippie neighborhood association president in The Great American Novel has a new name:
 
Androcles Crittenden.
 
Yes, it is another name I found in my g-mail spam.  I haven't decided if he is going to go by that or by a nickname yet.
 
Oh, and there is something slightly subversive about drinking wine out of a Winnie the Pooh mug at 4:30 in the afternoon while you are still at work.  We were celebrating the election.  Or drowning our sorrows, for one or two of us.
 
I was on the celebrating side.
 
TTFN
 

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Today has been really, really slow again. So I have spent my time looking at recipes on Cooks.com. I've decided I need to cook more.

Oh, and there is great sorrow in the land in my office. The company Christmas party is limited to two free drinks. I don't drink (much), so that's fine by me, but many, many folks are more than a little upset.

I don't plan to stay long anyway, so I have no cause to complain. Parties just aren't my thing. So yes, I am going to spend over $100 on the fancy purple dress to spend an hour at this shindig. Yes, I am an idiot.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Apparently, I Don't Exist

Does that mean I can go home now?



HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I can't believe I have three more hours of work before I can go home. Sigh. That's what I get for sleeping in today.

I've had insomnia lately (except for Saturday, when I slept all day), so I took Benadryl last night so I could get to sleep at a decent time. Yeah, it knocked me out really good. I got up to go to the bathroom at one point and I felt like I was under water, I was so groggy. Normally I wake up completely in those situations. And when my alarm went off this morning, there was no way in creation I was getting up - I wasn't physically capable of it. Next time I have to take something, I think I'll take it earlier.

The good thing is that my company doesn't care what hours you work, as long as you work at least 80 in a two week period. I really like that about us.

I'm going to get the purple outfit for the Christmas party. I looked at it in person this weekend, and I really liked it. Now I just need to find jewelery, shoes, etc. Sigh. It's tough being a girl.

Oh, but my nails are growning and not breaking! My nails have been brittle for so long that I've forgotten what it was like for them to grow like this. As soon as they are all a decent length, I'm going to treat myself to a real manicure, maybe even at a spa. And maybe I'll even get a pedicure. Yeah.

But first, I need to get my hair cut. It's really long, and when it gets really long, it gets tangled. I actually broke a comb trying to get a knot out today. And not one of those cheapie combs. This was a good one.

That is enough girliness for a while. I may be back later in the day.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Journey, Part I

So, it's 11:15 and I'm not in church. Again. Sigh.

My sleep has been really disturbed lately. I used to have no trouble getting up by 9:30 to get ready for church. But when you don't fall asleep until after 7 a.m., that's kind of difficult. I wish I could sleep in the bedroom, but alas, I can't (that is a really, really long story). I bet I would sleep better. Sigh. Maybe I can get a new mattress early next year.

So since I am not at church, I'm going to write the entry I should have written on Tuesday, which was Reformation Day - the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg. I am going to write about what led me away from the Catholic church and to the Lutheran Church.

Now, if you dig through my archives, you might think that it was my experience working for a church that led me down this path. I suppose that was the catalyst, but I think this was a long time coming. I will say, though, that there is nothing like working directly for the Catholic church (or any other church, I suppose) to bring to light all of its warts.

But really, my journey away from the Catholic church started when I was in fourth grade. That was the year in my parish when boys could become altar servers. Now, keep in mind I had been to church with my Lutheran mother, and I had seen girls serve at the altar. They wore the same things our servers did, and they seemed to do the same things as well.

Well, one day Fr. David Kriss came into our classroom, to make his pitch for boys to become altar boys (I used his real name because he is dead, and I really don't care if people know I harbor some animosity toward him. That is a long story as well). He specifically said he was there to talk to the boys, and the girls didn't have to listen. Then he talked about what an honor it was to serve the Lord at the altar, and how altar servers would learn all about the Mass from the inside, and how it would lead to success later in life. Now, all that sounded good to me. I was a pious little kid. I liked church. I prayed voluntarily on my own. I tried to read the Bible. I sincerely wanted to be a server.

So, after Fr. Kriss finished his spiel, he took questions. I waited until all the boys had asked whatever questions they had, then I raised my hand. He called on me, which actually surprised me. I asked him why girls couldn't serve at the altar. He told me that it was because being an altar server was the first step in becoming a priest, and women couldn't be priests. I responded that not all altar boys go on to be priests. He said that some do, and it was just the first step in the process. I asked him then why women couldn't be priests. He said that it was because that's the way Jesus wanted it, and that's why he chose only men to be His apostles. I said that wasn't fair. He said that he thought he had to have a talk with my father about my smart mouth. That was the first of many times he left me in tears over the next four years. My dad could be a bit...hard when it came to religion. He actually considered the priesthood when he got out of the Army, so he was very serious about that stuff.

It turned out that I didn't have anything to worry about. There was no love lost between my dad and Fr. Kriss. When he first came to our parish, he once delivered an hour long homily about how evil popular music was. My dad timed it. It was exactly an hour. Now, Catholics are used to homilies that are, at most, 10-15 minutes long. My dad complained about that homily for a long time, both for its length and its content. Not that he didn't think that pop music was bad; I wasn't allowed to listen to the popular stations until I was a junior in high school. But my dad also believed in free speech, and believed that it was up to parents to decided what their kids were exposed to, with no interference. He resented Fr. Kriss telling parents what to allow or not to allow their children to listen to. He didn't like priests in generally sticking their noses into marriage or parenting. So when Fr. Kriss talked to him the following Sunday, he pretty much ignored him.

Oh, and that was the beginning of my dad's efforts to avoid the Masses that "Fr. Little Priest" said. We seemed to go to a different mass every week so my dad wouldn't have to deal with him.

The frustration I felt at not being able to serve Jesus and the church was the beginning of the end for me.

I shall write more later. I should probably actually get something done today to make up for yesterday.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Lazy Saturday

I have done nothing but sleep pretty much all day today. I'm not proud of that fact, but it is what it is.

I think my glands are swollen. I don't feel sick, though. They just hurt. I'm going to ignore it though. I don't have to go to the doctor until January, and I don't plan to tempt fate.

Christmas party is on Dec. 8th. I was going to get my hair cut next week, but I think I'll put it off unti closer to the date.

Not much of a post considering when it is.

Oh well, laundry calls. Sigh.

I shall see you after church tomorrow.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Where Was I?

Sorry I never made it back. That pesky thing called work got in the way. Plus I had a headache. I hate it when I wake up with a headache.

I'm going to save the rest of the story of Sheryl for tomorrow. Instead, I have a few other things to write about.

First, an online literary journal has published a previously unknown poem by Sylvia Plath. She wrote it in the margin of a copy of The Great Gatsby she used during her senior year at Smith. The article I read said that the poem showed the characteristic combination of humor and darkness that is present in her later poetry. I think that is really cool, and it makes me happy that some of her very early work is being discovered. Take that, Ted Hughes (who said that Plath essentially became a poet when she met him...arrogant jerk).

Oh, and the poem was a Petrachian sonnet. Just in case you wanted to know.

Second, the whole mess with the evangelical minister and the allegations he had sex with a male prostitute. The bleeding heart liberal part of me wants to cheer that further hypocracy has been revealed in that whole religious/political movement.

But the Christian part of me worries for that very reason. It seems that the vast majority of what most people hear and read about prominent Christians in this country are all stories out of the evangelical right. And most people, I think, even some conservatives, can tell that there is something...extreme about that whole movement (yes, I am trying to be kind). And you know, there are a lot of people out there who's sole impression of Christianity is one of hellfire and brimstone preachers condemning homosexuality, premarital sex, extramarital sex, masturbation, alcohol use, drug use, abortion, euthanasia, , stem cell research, and tons of other things I can't even think of. Then they see these same preachers getting caught by the media in soliciting prostitutes, being drunk, using drugs, etc. It's no wonder that a lot of atheists, agnostics, and others see Christians in an unfavorable light.

I was thinking about that today as we discussed this mess at lunch. I know that my boss really has no love for Christianity (he grew up in Catholic schools, which is not a great place for a gay person to grow up - especially when he was young), and one of my coworkers looks at me with a little less respect whenever I mention something having to do with church. That makes me sad. Not every Christian thinks less of people who are gay, or believes that America needs to be run on Christian principles. Not everyone opposes researching what stem cells may be able to do.

But as long as things like this happen, as long as this is the only image of Christianity the media chooses to share, that is the impression that people will have.

I don't know what to do about it. I'm not suggestion that I have any...suggestions. Part of it is the fault of mainstream churches for remaining silent when we see our Evangelical brothers and sisters loudly preaching less than wonderful messages. Part of it is the fault of the media for only focusing on the sensational and the outrageous.

I don't know. I just know it makes me sad.

Finally, on a semi-related note, apparently Neil Patrick Harris has announced that he is gay. Part of me says, "Duh!" but part of me doesn't want to give up my Doogie Howser fantasies. Yes, I just admitted that I have had fantasies about Doogie Howser. Of course, he was always of an appropriate age in them, except of course when I was in high school.

I'm going to stop putting my foot in my mouth now. Have a lovely night.

When the Red, Red, Robin Goes Blop, Blop, Bloppin' Along...

The Bloptastic adventure continues. This month (and we're only three days in) has made me realize just how much I like blogging, and that I really ought to do it more. I't also seems to have my writerly juices flowing. If I get into the habit of writing every day, perhaps the completion of the Great American Novel might not be such a pipe dream.

So since there are so many new folks wandering through here, I thought I should take a minute to introduce myself again.

Let's see...I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, went to college in Erie, PA. I moved to Baton Rouge a little over four years ago. It has been a bit of an adventure, to say the least.

I shall continue this later.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

One of the best things about NaBloPoMo is getting to visit lots of new sites, and getting visits from folks who would never find you otherwise. I had 37 hits today.

And on that note, if you click on the first link in my link list, it will lead you to a random NaBloPoMo site, thanks to Pink Elephants.

Enjoy!

Stuff I Done Done

It is a really, really slow day at work, so enjoy! (via LutherPunk)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (a little one)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (well, done a zip line at any rate)
11. Visited Paris (Texas)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise.
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (tomatoes and peppers)
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (I sometimes lay on the southern a little thick, especially when doing business with "good ol' boy" types)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states (No, but I'm up to 28)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip (drove to Houston once for no apparent reason)
48. Gone rock climbing (I'm counting the wall in the gym in high school)
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow (and have the pictures to prove it)
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero (I had a thing for jumping off the back of the couch and pretending I could fly when I was little)
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain (though I have never skinny dipped in the rain!)
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China (hey, it's the name of a restaurant here in BR!)
67. Started a business (a lemonade stand counts, huh?)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (home movie, that is)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest (see the bit about the Queen of Hearts and the traffic light)
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (no, but people keep trying to get me drunk so I'll get one)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark (no, but I have eaten alligator and crawfish)
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (does the KH during the 1992 elections count?)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised (raising) children (child)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (no, but I have walked the Smithfield Street Bridge, the Fort Pitt Bridge, the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the West End Bridge, the 7th Street Bridge, the 9th Stree Bridge, the Birmingham Bridge, and the Chartiers Bridge)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived (I was damned lucky the van ran over my leg and not something critical)
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart (probably)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show (no, but I did win a case of beer on the radio)
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse (and a donkey)
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (yeah, but it never quite takes)
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad (and the Odyssey)
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read (Salinger, Kipling, Austen)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (we've only managed to have one, and since it was in the bar that didn't check ID's when we were in high school, I decided it wasn't worth the plane ticket back to Pittsburgh)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream depressing though, that.
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair (worked at one)
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

If you do this on your own blog, leave me a comment so I can check it out

One More Link

Samantha Bennett Rocks!

The Hills are Alive...

...and so am I.

For those of you new here, if you haven't already figured it out, I'm really bad at titles. Hence the name of my blog. I frequently resort to song titles and lyrics, or leave no title at all.

Well, here we are on day two of NaBloPoMo. So far, so good.


I just have to share the fact that I am wearing a pair of jeans I bought over three years ago that never fit (I bought the wrong size by accident, and didn't have the guts to take them back to the store). They never even came close to fitting, actually. They are still a little tight, but I can breathe, bend over, etc. Go me!

This is the outfit I mentioned yesterday. I really like the skirt a lot. The jacket on the twinset is a little iffy, but I figure I can wear a wrap or pashmina or something instead.
What do you think?
And finally this afternoon, proof that everybody needs somebody sometime.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Hello, It's Me

So, I'm going to continue in the vein of randomness and share a whole bunch of unconnected stuff with all of you today. Don't you feel privledged? Huh?

(suffers the indignity of resounding silence...)

  • I think I need to see my dermatologist again. I had another staph infection (which the antibiotics cleared up nicely), and she prescribed antibiotics without seeing me. But now my skin is freakishly dry and itchy. Plus I just had another mole pop up as if from nowhere, and it's pretty big. Crap. I hate doctors.
  • Speaking of skin, I found a great new website if you are into skin and bath products and stuff like that. They have a lot of European products all in one place. I just bought some Lily of the Valley perfume that actully smells like lillies of the valley. Casswell-Massey and Crabtree&Evelyn never did. I love it! There prices are pretty good compared to other sites I've seen, and their shipping is incredibly low. Plus, they will gift wrap for free.
  • The co-worker I've written about before? The one who intimidates the living daylights out of me because she is sooo much cooler and more sophisticated than I could ever hope to be? She's leaving. She got a really great job opportunity. I wish I could say that I'm sorry to see her go, but I'm not. She's the reason I was working late last night, and yes, it's not her fault she was sick, but it just seemed too convenient that it happened to coincide with a proposal she didn't want to work on in the first place.
  • The Great American Novel. Sigh. If only I could get all the stuff in my head on paper, without actually having to type it.
  • I'll grant that I was a pretty shy kid in college. And I'll grant that I was one of the few who didn't drink until I was 21, and even then was never drunk (heck, I was designated driver for my 21st birthday). But I'd like to believe that no amount of alcohol in the world would cause me to strip naked and go skinny dipping in an apartment complex pool, where all 150 or so units overlook it. Why yes, I did witness this in my complex the other night. It was pouring down rain, to boot.
  • The sample lables on the Blogger Beta posting page are scooters, vacation, fall. I really want to write a post that incorporates all three, so I can make use of them. Perhaps I shall write about the accident where I fell from my scooter while on vacation in the fall. That is totally made up, by the way. I'm way too uncoordinated for scooters. Heck, I broke my foot twice, once while practicing the Mexican Hat Dance and once when I was walking down some stairs. I shudder to think what a scooter could do to me.
  • Is deep, deep purple an OK color to wear for a holiday party? If it is, I think I've found my outfit for the company Christmas party. I shall post pictures later.
  • Finally, in honor of Halloween, the absolute best Halloween costumes I ever had were the the year I was the Queen of Hearts (my mom made an absolutely stunning gown out of nylon net, and I wore a white nightgown underneath it), and the year I was a stop light (My dad cut three holes in a big cardboard box and covered them with red, yellow, and green cellophane. I had a flashlight inside and could shine it through the colors. Unfortunately, he had to go up to houses with me because I couldn't carry my treat bag myself).
  • Finally for real, I think my hair is falling out. I'm wearing a cream colored sweater today, and I just looked down at my shoulders, and there is hair all over the place. That's not good.

It Begins

My first official post of NaBloPoMo. For those just passing through, if you want to know what I'm talking about, scroll through to the post called "Giving In." Linkage is there.

I had a big, long post planned for this kickoff, but I got stuck working late on a proposal that wasn't even mine. Wasn't really happy about that, but it's a long story.

So instead, I will leave you with these bits of information you really don't need to know about my life.

  1. I just picked at a scab on my calf from where I cut myself on a knife that I accidentally threw in the trash. I'm bleeding profusely at the moment.
  2. I desperately need to do laundry but don't feel like lugging it all the way across the complex.
  3. I think I'm having vision issues, but I can't get my insurance company to approve an appointment with an opthamologist. They say I have to see an optometrist first, but the only ones in the plan are ones affiliated with opticians. I don't trust them.
  4. My hair needs to be cut really, really badly.