On Location

...today the crew is using our house for shooting scenes for their sequel to "S.W.A.T", which was one of their entries in the school film festival. This year, Emery has brought his brother Joel along, for creative input, as he is in his 3rd year of broadcasting/journalism. Of course, this means that by default, I am suddenly called upon to act as catering service.



So the potato, cheese, bacon stew is on the stove. I need to find bread or something else to fill them too. Maybe just plain pizza dough baked up focacia style will serve?



Anyway.



More to come, some other day.



Maybe I will go and blog the beleef thing.

yay! It lives again!

I will never again make THAT mistake!

Other mistakes....ok well probably, but not THAT one again.

I will never again mistake the option to "System Restore" as a miraculous time machine for the salvation of my computers ills and woes.

As an act of penance I have payed the appropriate fee's to the I.T. guy, who worked on it for 3 hours.

I am humbled an contrite.

My momentary excitement at discovering yet another potential time portal in my very own home obliterated every sensible thought, and sent me careening down the garden path.



(*Raises right hand*)

From here on in, I do solemnly swear that I will not go monkeying with any more oddments found in my computer, without first seeking wise council from some one who is not me.



;o)

Tima Machine Abuse

....it's my own fault.

My computer has been sent back in time and too far..

To a nearly infantile state.

I will be back when Lap Jr is RESTORED to it's proper age.

Where is Kraftwerk When you need them??

What is it with nearlyevery machine in my life today?

The fax/printer/copier has cacked itself to the tune of $2000+.

The frontdesk computer is being really stupid too.

I suspect it is because it's old, but also because my boss' son built it himself.

Anyway, the phone is ringing off the hook with really bizarre people wanting really bizarre things.

My boss wants me to make all his problems go away.

Of course the minute do, hey will yell at me for not checking with him first.

So,when he trotted out his little, "take care of it and don't bring it to me" song and dance, I came right back with hey its $2000+ of YOUR money. I am giving you all the data so thatyou can make your own educated decision about how YOU want to spend YOUR money with YOUR machine.

It was kinda funny because he suddenly backed right down andhis whole demeanor changed and his tone of voice and everything.

Yeah.

See?

So there!

Anwyay.

Technology.

I have a two-story window with this computers name on it.

I will have Donna take a photo from across the street when I do it.

;o)

Haggis Hunt

Yes, it's apparently that season, so in the interests of furthering the Holiday spirit,

I guess we shoud all prepare to join it the Haggis Hunt

Frustrations

This has been an irritating morning.

My Sonic Foundry won't do what I want it to.

My wav files don't want to upload properly, or play all theway through if they DO upload.

I am buried under a mountain of filing, which is keeping me from what I really need to do which is finishing the next database. And then A co worker wants me to upgrade my quickbooks and it keeps locking up and not upgrading. I say screw the quickbooks. I rarely use it now anyway, and I have more pressing matters to deal with right now, sorry sister.

She won't like that, but o well.



I am frustrated that every night this week is booked.

Tonight the girls have a concert.

Wednesday night is Blakes Youth leader meeting.

Thursday is Scouts youth group, and my production team meeting.

Friday is another performance night for the girls, and Saturday is the final performance.

Then Sunday we set lights for the next production. Monday night is a dress rehearsal.

I have 4 days to complete the costume and prop needs.

That doesn't count my own Cmas shopping and shipping.

I should probably get all that done this week. I want to have my daytimes next week, free to do stuff with the kids.

I know that the "Tyranny of the Urgent" will attempt to lay demands on my time. I am going to have to say "no" to alot of worthwhile things.

I wish I wasn't the only adult in my house who is able to decide on priorities and then have to work at keeping them straight.

It appears that I am the only adult in my household who is doing that, it makes me feel like I have to do it for everybody else so that the house doesn't "tip over."

I am tired of carrying the house by myself.

I am tired of being the only one to understand what the priorites are, and being the one who has to forever keep them before the eyes of everyone else.

I am tired of excuses.

I wonder what would happen if I died?

What if the house fell over?

It's the kids who would suffer.

I almost feel like I don't dare die, becuase there seems to be too much riding on me.

What will happen when I can't carry it anymore?

The day is coming alot faster than the rest of them know.

It could even be on the doorstep.

In the end it's the kids who suffer.

That's why I pray everyday that they will know that deep, abiding confidence that comes from knowing that God doesn't always take away the storm, but He does remain with us through it all.

That is why I pray that they will know that God hates suffering.

It was never His that the forces of evil perpetrate, for this temporary time, utter crap on His beloved.

Even so, this polluted earth must run it's course.

I pray that they will see how HE uses all things, good and vile, to bring about positive things within the hearts of people if they will let Him.

It is the only thing that will remain unchanging and good and true for their sojourn on this planet.

We all long to be free.

But we do not have the right to choose our own coming and going.

But we do long to be free of this Fleshly Tent and be with Him.

Even so, the rest of the day is before me with all of it's filing and DNS Error messages.

With all of its busyness and bills to pay.

With all of it's secret joys in a kid singing her solo in front of a packed house and she thinks nothing of it.

In the quiet moment I spend in my daughters room after "praying her up" when we talk quietly about her days, and laff at freaky stuff.

There are somedays when I just say:

"enh! life is hell sometimes God, but I am glad that I have it.

I am glad I am me.

Let me do all that You want in the time I have left, so that I can leave some of You here after I've gone home.

Most of all God, I am sure glad I have You."



**Donna thinks I should let the house fall over.

She thinks I am being the enabler.

Funny, that's what my pastors wife said.

That is what my friend, who is also a counselor, has said in the past." **



Maybe by holding up the house myself, I am weakening the real foundation?

If I step out from under the house, will it be my fault if it crumbles, cracks or crashes?

Won't I then have guilt?

Is it my job to rebuild the "Foundation?"

No.

At least THAT is one thing I know for sure.

Moved all the Side Bar Links

They have been moved to Restricted Access.

O Christmas Tree...

It's about 9ft tall.

It was pretty entertaining watching Stu stand on a bar stool trying to put the star and the upper ornaments on it. We went up into the Nat'l Forest to hunt for it "Griswold style." With Scout, Kenz and I all going, "This one right here is fine," and Stu going, " No, no, we need to find the perfect tree. Look, there are a whole bunch of doug firs up there on that hill..." Hear Scout moan. Hear Kenz go, " Daaaaa-aad!" See mom raise her eyebrow. Uh - huh. Not gonna say anything. Nope. Nuh-uh. Scout was pleased to be this years lumber-jack, as Blake was out plotting the next film with Emery. She yelled "tim-berrrrrr!" at the appropriate moment and the we dragged our kill back to the lair.



And it's now official, the worst commercial since Tom Peterson has officially aired in Eugene.

Glad my back was facing the camera on this one. It is the kind where the business owner actually speaks to the camera in his own commercial. I don't know what posesses people, when they are faced with the opportunity to promote their business via TV commercial. Apparently their brain shorts out, causing them to loose all good judgement, and think they can succeed where other business owners have failed. And failed miserably I might add.

I can't think of a commercial where the business owner actually came across as not lame in his own commercial. Right here in Bend there is a popular furniture store. It's always had quirky-but-cool little animated commercials. Suddenly, the owner decides to appear in the shot. It was an appalling shock. All respect I had for that store suddenly drowned in the sea of lameness.

Anyway, I got a phone call from a friend in Eugene who saw it and recognised me from the back of my head. (!)

Dang!

Anyway... a dollar is a dollar I guess.

Paper Klips

Gah!

So, you're working away, doing office/clerical junk, paper pushing etc. You are reaching for the paper Klips in the handy magnetic-top box thingie, and then you pull out klips like THESE...





Now, maybe two paper klips getting tangled in the dispenser, while still irritating, is understandable. Ok, but you KNOW that little chain didn't happen all by itself! What is UP with that? And who was messing with it? Somebody down at the bank? (where we get our bulk paper klips). Were they talking on the phone, yakkity yakking away and absently creating this "obstacle-to-productivity?" Was it some bored kid waiting for his mom to get of work who created this atrocity?



Who DOES these things????



On a sperate note:

See this cute movie sent to the Hammered Dulcimer Community

It is Chinese musicians playing Turkish music.

This Thing is on Endless Repeat

All night long.

While I kinda slept.

This song.

Played all night long in my head.

It is still there...



"The Kilburn High Road."



Why does it do that?

The song gets lodged in your brain.

Is that normal?

O sure, maybe for a few hours?

But days on end?



It makes me think of those towns in India and the Middle East, where they play the religious broadcasts or music or a guy singing all day and all night without stopping.

That what it feels like going on in my head.

Flogging Molly playing this one song over and over and over again.

I can hear them while I'm typing.

I can hear them while I sleep.



I am crazy.



But...

it IS a good song.



;o)









"...and the Rosary beads

count 'em one, two, three

fell apart as they hit the floor.

In our garb of black we will pay respect

to the colour we're born to mourn.



Walk away me boys, walk away me boys

and by mornin' we'll be free.

Wipe that golden tear from yer mother dear

and raise what's left of the flag for meeeee-aaahhhh! "

- Flogging Molly, What's left of the Flag.

Easy Quick and Fun!

I just learnt the whistle part to Flogging Molly's "The Kilburn High Rd."

Not like it's all that complicated, but it made me think of Carl Thor and how we played whistles during last summers Chatter Creek Jam, and it just came natural. Kinda like lon25 and his bass.

Something just seemed to fit the way he plays and thinks his music. Kinda like my mom's half of the family and all their musicianship-this is the half of the family I don't speak about. The Celt side of the fam. The annoying side of the fam. The "Our way is the ONLY way" side of the family.

The "fiddle playing patriarch-who-destroyed-what -ever-good-thots-they-had-of-God" side of the family. His fiddle was mine. I inherited the dang fiddle gene. So instead I avoid the fiddle and it's rotten learning curve, opting instead for the kinder, gentler whistles.



Anyway, Flogging Molly has ALOT of good whistle tunes on their CD. This should be a fun winter. Maybe I will go to Dulcimer Fest in Spring? I am sure Carl will be there. Sure? Heck I know he'll be there. It's good to have a safe place to be creative. To let your heart fly on the wings of the tempo.



Maybe, maybe, maybe...

Man, I think that song is stuck in my head now.

I have been listening to Flogging Molly alot lately, and now I have "The Kilburn High Rd." stuck in my head. Which is not so bad a thing, I suppose.

:o)

Quoting:



"...Many's the day I took for granted

Breathing the air that silenced some.

As the North wind blew with its head of thunder

Beating it's breast with a war drenched song...



So we're the kings of it all,

From the day we were born,

We're the kings of the Kilburn High.

Sure we'll always take a drop,

and we'll never leave a sup,

Your empty glass is but a tear filled eye...

we're the Kings of the Kilburn High..."

Editorial Policies and Practical Jokes

Well it appears that many good bloggers are taking the high road, crafting or adopting editorial policies. Let me assure you that you will find no such high-mindedness here.

My "Editorial Policy" is as follows.



As it compares to blogs spanning the globe:



-This blog will steadfastly remain "The slum of Blogville".



-This blog will ever be representative of the Blogville Bum, the disturbed person found in everytown, ambling down the streets to no where, talking incessantly to him/her self or no one in particular.



-This blog will always be of no real interest to anyone except me and the oddlings who watch it simply out of morbid curiousity.



Not to belittle the bloggers who adopt editorial policies, no not at all. I am just not as clear minded a blogger as they, so this is what you're stuck with when you come here:



Drivel



In other news:



My, my, my, what fun we can have with a paper towel tube, as we use it to play a practical joke on our boss.

One might ask, "is it advisable to play practical jokes upon ones boss?"



Good question.

The Snow is back

May it remain until March.

Amen!

See what I woke up to:

http://www.geocities.com/cineplast/House2004snow2a.jpg



See my office building:

http://www.geocities.com/cineplast/CscdStn2004snow.jpg



Out of the window across from my desk:

http://www.geocities.com/cineplast/Window.jpg



The vet clinic seen from that window:

(This is where Donna and I watch all the doggies in the play yard. We watched a boxer climbover this fence once, and we get to see all the horses in the corral too.)

http://www.geocities.com/cineplast/outwindow.jpg



Looking out the front window across the highway and back toward the school:

http://www.geocities.com/cineplast/outwindow.jpg





It has been snowing steadily since before I woke up, and there are at least 2 more inches on the ground sincethese photo's were taken.

Yaya!

They are saying it is supposed to snow clear through 4pm, but I THOUGHT they said until tomorrow at 4pm, which if temps remain reasonable we should have a bunch of loveliness for a good long while.

Conan O'Brien Link : India Tech Support Bit

THIS IS A MUST SEE!

It is freakin' hilarious!

I sent the link to some people privately, but it is far too histerical to keep to ourselves,

It is about 5 min. long, and you must have speakers.

There are no language or questionable content issues.



http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-5011688_2

"Wiser Birds go 'Round the Corner?"

Well I survived the battle (read "The Meeting") In fact, there was no battle at all.

At least not during the meeting. When I got home though, there was a subtle demeaning of the meeting (at least it wasnt' me this time.) It reminded me of something Ian McKellan once said in an interview, he was describing a cast member who would just come right out and challenge things right outin the open if he didn't agree or understand something. It was Mr. McKellan's opinion that it was better to go 'round the corner and deal with it quietly. Well, maybe in some cases, but mostly, this just ends up as gossip and back biting and tearing down of leadership and authority. I think it is a wrong way to deal with questions and situations. "Wiser birds go 'round the corner" indeed! More like "people who have no backbone and people who want to spread strife go 'round the corner." Anyway, so this was what occurred afterward. I think I came out unscathed though as I didn't join in the secretive nay-saying, because it was just that. Backdoor subversiveness coming from an ill-heart. Why do people need to disturb the waters with discontent when all the other workers are pretty happy with the process and outcome of their endeavors? Some people just can't handle harmony I guess.

Anyway, so at the end of it all, I ended up as

Casting/Prop/Wardrobe Diva for the Christmas eve Service.

The technical is going to be larger than they’ve done before, because they finally got a lighting designer, (which they have needed for a long time for these things.)

Yaya!

Anyway...onward to a brighter day....

Things to look forward to?

Tonight is pizza night! Yaya!

Tomorrow is taking doing the last of my Christmas shopping and getting the ingredients for Scout's volcano for school on Monday. She wants to put explosives in it, like fire-crackers and what not. I don't imagine that her partner Bill will mind. And the teacher? She might go for it too. Such is the blessing of being in a small school. You can do other things that bigger schools can't.

I hope to play some Exile on the big TV inthe family room with the surround sound on. It is a blast having all the kids sit around taking turns playing it. I don't think they've ever enjoyed these games more. When they get frustrated, they go get something to snack on and pass the mouse to somebody else for a while. If they have an insight they tell the "Mouse Operator" and if it works, great! It has been a fun family game for us to play this way. Forget board games.

I hope to put up my fake tree in my own studio this weekend as well. Maybe have a holiday ale and put up the tree. Oh! the biggest happy happy, is that the studio is loaning me a copy of Sound Forge so that I can record some better snippets for the office Christmas CD.

What fun it will be!

I think I am finding a little bit of holiday spirit after all.

Oh and on a completely random note:

Donna has begun to call me, “Matilda.”

In turn, I have begun to refer to her using the moniker of her favorite Spaniard “Paloma.”

beleef -vs- "RL"

I thought better of it after having posted it.

I will probably move that last one to the "Beleef" section, although sometimes

it's difficult to seperate the "Belief Life" from "Corporeal Life", for lack of any clearer term.

They frequently overlap. I guess thats why the "Time between times" and the Endless knot, and the "Thin places" of the world capture my imagination so easily.

The battle may yet rage....

...Yay though I walk in the valley of the shadow of "The Meeting," I will fear hopefully nothing?

I go into a potential ambush in about 1 hour.

I hope I don't give up.

I keep hearing the words of a favorite author in one of his battle scenes.

There was a horrific battle with large enemies. The battle chief overseeing the protagonist kept advising him through out the battle, "Do not trade blows with this enemy. You must strike first, strike hard, and kill them straightway. Do not trade blows with them."



It makes me think of spiritual battles.

"Do not trade blows with the enemy."

Know what you know.

Know why you know it.

Use that knowledge as both sword and/or shield.



"Do not trade blows with them."

Creativity Survives and the Red Sun Rises.

So Tuesday has come, and it's tired I am but still standing, after what feels like a battle has just passed. With drooping shield and dragging sword, I will turn around and walk back up the hill, rather than go down in silence, knowing that there are others who work, fight and struggle all around me, and it's good company I am in.

Black Friday

Yes I participated.

Man I haven't actually shopped on The Day After TG for more than...lessee *thinks*...well

at LEAST 12 years. B- and Dani wanted to go and be at the store at 6am. On a whim I said, "Hey sure, it's been a long time why not?" I also remember thinking, "I'm sure there's a good reason why I've avoided this for 12+ years, but I will go along for the fun anyhow."

I am SO glad I did!

I got up a 4:30am, and drove over to B's house. We hit the Fred Meyer's expecting a line, and there was none! We got in, got some stuff that wasn't all picked over in the toy dept and got right back out. Hitting the Star Bucks just outside the building of course! Next we hit up the Wal-Mart. More populated in side, but not impossible. Got some really great deals due to the 50% offness for the first 6 hours of the sale! I was sooo pleased with my thrifty-ness! Then we headed over to Target. By now its about 7:30am and there are alot more people. Went over over to Costco which was totally empty! It was great! We got some lunch at 9am and then cruised down to the Olde Mill District to the artsy-fartsy shops. Major sale and major score at Gap, Pac Sun, and American Eagle! There was hardly anybody in the whole district. By now, its 9:30 and we already know that people are hitting up the Wal-Mart and the Target pretty hard. It was great.

We had a leisurely lunch at El Jimadore down by Drake Park and then went to the Mall.

It was now very late in the day for us...1pm, and we were all wiped. So I dropped Dani and B back off a the house and went home. All in all, I got ALL of my Christmas shopping done in one day, except for my dad, Pat, and I still have a little bit to do for my littlest. It is such a good feeling to have it all finished! Normally I am running around the second week of December with bronchitis, trying not to pass-out in the check out line. This year when I get sick, I can just stay home and get well! What a thot!

B, Dani and I made a pact that we are gonna do this again next year!

Why did I spend the last 12 years doing this the stupid way?

Happy day

Planned out the actual food for TG, last night. The stupid turkey does NOT want to thaw out. Donna suggested I just carry it around under my armpit all day. I said, "Yeah, hey like my new purse? Wait minute, I gotta dig some change out of its butt. Oh sorry, that's not a quarter, that's the gut bag..hang on a sec I know I have a quarter IN here someplace...*digs around*"



Yeah, right Donna.



Anyway, planned out the menu.

Turkey and a honey baked ham. Scouts mashed potatos made with cheddar, cream cheese, sour cream, whipping cream, butter and salt/pepper. (I know. We should just call it cheese pudding with some potatos thrown in for starch.) Green bean casserole, dinner rolls. A green salad,

a fruit salad with NO coconut(yuk!), and Babz is bringing pies, and the sweet potatos with the marshmallows on them. Amber is bringing a bottle or two of wine probably.

Rented Shrek 2, and Elf. I will grate all of the mountains of cheese tonight and make the mashed potatos tonight since they have to sit for 12+ hours to be really good anyway. I think I am almost ready.

Stu shampoo'd the carpets which was really nice. Now if we can just keep dogs, cats, shoes and kids from skating on it, maybe it will remain a decent colour for more than a week? These people we bought the house from, put brand new carpet in it right before they sold it. It is a very light, light tan colour. Its not white, but it is really light. Who in their right mind has kids and puts in carpet THAT colour, I ask you?! Ca, c'est ridicule! someday I am gonna rip it all out and put in pergo all through the house. Be done with it!



I hope I didn't annoy MK with my comment on his recent update.

Its funny. Somebody can make fun of the Church in general and I usually agree it in many ways. But boy, if something even remotely appears, even at first glance, to be a pot-shot at, or a misunderstanding of God, then I get a bit hot-under-the-collar immediately. So, to MK, if I sounded harsh, I really did NOT mean to, and I realise the whole entry was fictitious anyway. And besides, it's all good anyway. That is one of the hilights of fine art, whether it be music, painting or literature. It should make one examine one's own beliefs and the reasons that one holds to those beliefs. So, in the end, good job MK!



Well, this post has been all over the place and largely about nothing at all, so in the interests of productivity I will say Happy Birthday to Aquila and sign off.

The Time Machine

My daughter tells me that we have a Time Machine

She says that she put some food in it, and set the timer, and it sends the food into the future where it gets cooked, and then it comes back all ready to eat.



Here it has been, all this time, sitting on my kitchen counter and I never knew what it was!

I wonder if it has a reverse setting?



If I put an egg in it, will it become a chicken?

If I put a chicken in it, will it become an egg?

Can I put my head in it and reduce wrinkles?

Those folks at Kenmore are pretty dang clever.

My daughter is so smart to be able to recognize it, just sitting there innocently all this time.

And this is the child, who at age four, invented the shoes made of balogna.

Thanksgiving to look forward to.

I love Thanksgiving.

I think it is my favorite holiday.

I don't know why my mom ever complained about having her turn to host everybody at her house. I love it! I love doing up the turkey and stuffing. Scout has her special recipe Mashed Poptatos which consists primarily of cheese products. *

(*Points toward Canada and shouts "eh!"*)

I love that we can sit around and play video games and watch movies.

I love having my adopted sister and niece and nephew and friends come over and fill the house!

I love how the town has their annual Christmas parade on the Saturday following. The parade takes all of 10 minutes to get from one end of town town the next. Everybody watching the parade knows every body in the parade, so thereis alwasy lots of yelling and waving. And the miniature sleigh being pulled by the eight Welsh Corgies, and riding in the sleigh is a 3 year old Santa - oops make that a 4 year old Santa I guess.



I love Thanksgiving.

It is my favorite Holiday.

heh! Whaddya do?

...when you have this friend, who is a goofy wacky funny person?

You call them on the phone. They sound really, really like they've been through the wringer.

Their normally witty and jovial reparte` is not as forth coming as usual. Sure, you know your friend has been ill, and is frankly, quite TIRED of being ill. Still, in writing, the wit belies the physical turmoil and it's much easier to forget that a good friend is really wrestling with discomfort and possibly even worry.

Whaddya do? Whaddya say?

Do you say,

"Gee, you sound AWFUL!"

Som how, that doesn't sound like an encouragement.

Still, you wonder if your friend is ok.

And you worry.

Replaying the sound of their voice.

Then again, maybe, since they work for a living, maybe its Friday night and they are just bouncing back from having to be "ON" all week. Ya know? And more than likely that is the reason for the exhausted voice.

Still.

It makes one wonder if one should be worrying.

It makes one wonder, if one should have said more when one had the chance?

....hmmmmm......

I wish I had had more time today, and been able to ask.

Well Said Lehsa!

WOW!

Her blog post for 11/16/04 REALLY defines an important issue in The Community.

And she asks a question that has plagued me, but I was not able to articulate:



LEHSA: "Nobody seems to want to fight for our chatroom. I don't get the feeling anybody cares that our chatroom is becoming the equivalent of a ghetto chatroom."



I wonder why this is, that no one seems to speak up? Where has the Community gone?

Lehsa also goes on to point out what I think may be part of the answer:



LEHSA: "They think, 'I'm special!' "



Somewhere we stopped being a Community, and started looking only to our own interests and wanting to *Shine Up Our Own Sign.*



There seems to be a growing attitude of: "Oooo everybody look at me! I was a bloody beta tester for blah blah blah game. Ain't I all that?"



Pfah!



It is this kind of one-up-manship that kills morale and eventually the Community.



Thanks Lesha for speaking up!

Boss Throttling

Yes.

Our office is in need of a good "Boss Throttling."

Michael's "School" entry.

Michael's got an interesting entry for Oct 20th entitled "School."



Terrifying and wacky.

THE BIRTHDAY RENN QUEEN:

My daughter turned 12 on Friday, and one of her gifts was a Not-So-Extreme Home Makeover on her bedroom. Daddy took her out for two hours, in which time I completely emptied and refilled her room with new furnishings and art etc. Because of her previous paint job - Red, Gold and (not olive but almost) Green acccents - we decided to go for a classic Renn Masters Style. Using some prints from Raphael, Boticelli, Titian, DaVinci and with velvets and brocades and what not. I had planned to put up a silver embossing that I have been working on a as well as a portrait I started but I ran out of time so those will be put up near Chritmas. I mounted some DaVinci mechanical drawings on black foam core and hang them in 3 seperate groupings in her room. As I was looking through DaVinci's studies for the Crossbow and the Seige Engine and Water Processing devices I was struck with the similarities to some of the MRED mechanical drawings found in the journals. I had to laugh and said to myself,

"You guys! (Referring to Cyan)

"I recognise this style!"

That is what gave me the idea to park a few of the Exile drawings among the DaVinci's.

My daughter came home just has I was putting up the last Raphael painting. Blake parked himself back int he corner of her room with the video cam, and I closed her door and pretended to be busy in the kitchen as she came in.

"Did you and dad have a good time?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but I am so full of icecream I am not hungry for dinner right now," she answered.

"Ok, well, your rats have been lonely so you should probably go in your room and feed them and play with them a while."

(*snicker, snicker!*)

It was histerical!

She totally flipped OUT!!

She walked around and around the room looking at the art work, which I displayed at a height a little higher that her eye level. She is certainly a Queen among pre-teens now. ;o)

She hasn't made the connection regarding the Exile drawings yet - at least not verbalised it, although I have noticed her looking at the diagrams.

Heheh!!

The Exile drawings are dead center, in a group of three, with the water-wheel on one side and the giant crossbow on the other. I have a really nice rennaissance painting of St. Francis, and if she doesn't pick up on the Exile drawing by the end of the month, I think I will slip in an image of Gehn, from the Golden Dome on Temple Island, which is done in a stained glass style, and see how long it takes for her to catch on.



After Friday night, we went to stay at the beach house.



We had great weather for November.

High overcast and nary a raindrop in sight.

A rarity for the Oregon Coast I can assure you.

;o)



For a pictorial tour you can visit:

http://www.geocities.com/orcoast2004



I wish I had shot film this time instead of digital.

I should learn to quit being lazy and cheap and take both from now on, just in case.

Thinking Aloud?

I talk to myself.

I talk to myself inside my head, and apparently it leaks.

Pam, my co-worker who is across the hall from the break room, just laffed at me and said I was funny.

She said that she always enjoys listening to me talk to myself.

The scary part is that, I thought I was just thinking.

Ya know...inside my head.

What the heck have I been saying all this time, thinking I am only doing it in my head.

Maaaaaan! That is WAY scary!

And now to embarrass a friend...

...what ARE friends for after all. :o)



Actually, my heart is really bent more towards introducing him as opposed to embarrassing him.



This friend is a writer who's work I have been enjoying immensely and I thot you guys might enjoy it too...since you are all just as wonderfully quirky.

I have pasted a link to his works over in the sidebar.



So far my favorite is "Dolls."



Michael is currently spending his days in the UK.

Wish it was me.

:o(

Sink a pint for us Michael!

Napoleon Dynamite

I don't know how he got hold of it.

I don't wanna know how he got hold of it.

But somehow, my son brought home from his media class, a digital copy of Napoleon Dynamite.

Now a lot of people I know find this film absurdly stupid and pointless.

My son however, seems to find moments in it that amuse him.

I saw a couple of clips from it last night, and I am just too dang sorry - but they were histerical!

Ok, so they were histerical in a stupid way.

So sue me.

I find the humour reminiscent of the stupid kind found via Brak of Cartoon Planet fame.

Similar genre.

Anyway, Back to ND - I saw the clip of him wanting to borrow a friends bike to go over a jump. LOL! Stupid!

And that brother of his, Kip?

On the internet 24-7?

He is just plain scary.

And Kip's internet girlfirend -what's her name-Luh Fawnduh? LOL LOL!

Anyway.

That and the gramma telling him to

"Make hisself a dang quesadilla!"

(Her pronunciation being "kay-suh-dill-luh!")

Those were the only clips I saw but I am now curious, so I told him to bring it with him to the beach and he and Emery and I would watch it on the laptop.



On a seperate note:

That stupid virus that hit the office 3 weeks ago, is still hitting my comp. I got my comp all cleaned out, and fired it back up this morning. Went to check out and dl my Cyberis office mail using OE, and Norton went nutzo on me. Deleting about 15 messages straight out of the gate. So I unplugged. Called the Server guys at Cyberis and left them a message saying delete my account. Hopefully that will finish that. Cyberis is always getting hit with krap like that. I am finally glad to have an excuse to tell my boss I am through with them. Yay!

Some how something good came from this mail bomb.

Ain't I just a flippin' Polly Anna?!

No.

I have flipped out.

Maybe it's the chocolate I ate, maybe its the fact that the elections are over and we can all go back to our normal daily lives (hope to get one).

I don't know what happened, but suddenly for about the span of a half hour I was, in Donna's words, "on a roll!" She told me I better shut up and write when I am in this condition.

I said, "No! I want a creme puff!"

One from the Sisters Bakery.

They are to DIE for!

She said, "no, I think the chocolate was enough for both of us."

I could not coerce Donna into trotting down the street to fetch me a creme puff.

Nobody can coerce Donna to do anything against her will, except stay in an annoying dead-end job that she hates.

This I said aloud.

She heard me clear over in the bathroom and starts cackling away.

O man!

I need a coffee.

And some sugar and a day off and some money and a diet pepsi to go with the creme puff I am going to get by hook or by crook. I need larger canvases, and some new strings for my fiddle. I need a book deal and a hot tub. I need man who listens me and one that will pick up after himself. They should not be two seperate people, otherwise I would have to move to Utah - wait no! I've got that backwards anyway, nevermind.

Delete

I love the delete button.

I wish I had a corporeal version at times.

Yay for my own Supervisor!

I love Donna!

She is the best supervisor on the planet.

She is crazy!

We laff and laff!

She just told the annoying tenants and their flakey, neurotic batch of self absorbed stuffed shirt supervisors what for, and gave them heck about harrassing me.

I love Donna!

She rocks!

Their is a God.

And He wields a weapon called Donna.

Right on!

Funny, That Anger?

Heh.

I am not normally a person who is quick to anger.

Normally, in the heat of the moment, I am entirely compliant and calm.

Normally, it is only after the event has passed, that a slow, low-grade rage begins to kindle, and if I do not recognise it quickly enuff, it will come on like a freight train, and be difficult to slow back down and bring to a halt.

Heh.

That didn't happen today, boy!

Hee hee!

One of the many supervisors from a corporate office for one of our tennants in this building, called from one of the many corporate offices they seem to have. She raked me over the coals for things that are not my job, my fault or in my realm of authority to permit or deny. Girl bitched me out good. Surprisingly enough, I was instantly pissed. I miraculously managed to retain my professionalism while at the same time telling her that she was in the wrong and she was lying, and I calledher out on the carpet for things she said previously and was now denying. She didn't like that. I dont' give a rats. I hope these tenants leave. I was coldly professional by the end of her rant. When I got off the phone I was so angry I was shaking. I literally wanted to put something through the wall. I was actually thinking of a baseball bat of a hammer, but I don't think my own boss would appreciate me ruining his beautiful, artsy-fartsy building.

I guess what amazes me is that this is an uncharacteristic reaction from me.

I just don't fly into a rage that quickly when somebody I hardly know is being a jerk.

Odd.



oooh, one of them just came out of the office right now and just called my supervisor a liar to my face and told me they were going to hire so-and-so to come into OUR buidling to commit some sort of work. Nothing has changed in the last 10 minutes as far as I know. It is 1:07 pm and this girl is gonna walk herself out here in about 3 minutes and rake me over the coals for soemthing I have nothing to do with. I am wondering what options I have?

A). Slam a coffee pot into her face and say, "oops. Terribly sorry."

B). Say, "Ok. Thanks for stopping by! Have a nice day."

C). Don't acknowledge her presence, but just stare blankly at her and then slap myself in the head and say, "shshshshsh! Shut UP! I am not going to tell her that! You guys in there keep quiet." And then clap my hands over my ears, and then gaze at her with a big fake, dear-in-the-headlights sort of grin.



Frankly, I am voting for C.

Whaddya think?

Got any write in suggestions?

Being distracted.

so much to do, so little time.

Started a portrait of Scout.

Jumpstarted a project that Barb and I have been working on for a year, and now the motor is running on that one again, must find the time to write.



Interesting note: Blogger is doing the Novel Month thing. I do not have time to come up with 50,000 words in a month by myself. I mean, hey, I DO have a lot of words, but not time to type them. And can't afford to aud-blog them. Maybe it would be fun to gather a group/round robin effort again similar to TJ from the old days? Food for thought.



Must get to the filing though.



Must update the other project, even though I accidentally deleted an entire entry that was ready to air. Krap! Stoooopid me! *slaps own forehead!* Doh!



Must go and file.

That Scraper!

She got my mind chewing on something today and now I have wasted an entire 4 hours writing.

Criminy.

I was gonna vote tonight too!

Have to do that tomorrow.

I plan to do all write-in voting.

Ah the beauty of the mail-in ballot.

:o)

Cut and Paste Dilemma

I just did an amazingly dumb thing.

(Even for me)

I attempted to cut a segment of text in a document on one computer, and then try to paste it into another computer.

LOL!

Hey!

Watch it!

Back with Google

Due to the unwelcome advances by some freak, who I shall from here-on-out refer to as Mr. Porno-Spam, I find myself back at the old spot a-fresh.

No matter.



So, any new update?



Hmm, had a bizarre dream in the wee hours before waking. I dreamed I was a teen again. And I wanted to go into Downtown PDX, but my "dad" was unwilling to let me take the car down there. Before he would permit me to take my own car, he wanted me to first tell him the solutions to three puzzles from three games in the Myst series - preferably some from the newer games.

I told him, "sheesh dad! I haven't even played Uru yet! I have only completed Myst and Riven and the majority of Exile!"

He was very disappointed in me for falling behind the rest of the Community in my game play. He said as much.

Yes people, for one, freakish moment, Rand Miller was my dad.

And yet, part of my brain knew that this was all still a dream.

And I didn't care who was telling me I could not take my own car downtown - it was mine and I was going. End of discussion "dad."

In my dream, he wnet away then, and I found myself driving across the Freemont bridge into downtown.

Weird.