I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain

It's raining yet again. Every church I've been to for the last three weeks has prayed for rain. And the last few days, boy, have we had that prayer answered. You can almost set your clock by the afternoon/evening storm that rolls through here. Weather.com must be tiring of posting Bulloch severe weather warnings! Every day, the dark clouds appear by 6 or 6:30. Some days -- like today -- it takes longer for anything to come of them. Oh wait... not true. It was raining on my way to meet Fun Melanie this afternoon at 5:15! Well... today's just special... because Mother Nature has decided to give us another thunderboomer rainstorm tonight. On Monday, there was so much water, the Loop (road that we live on) was a river and our yard was a pond. Forsythe was basically sitting on a little island of concrete. Thank goodness our covenants say houses in JoRun have to be raised two feet! Otherwise, we would've been wetter'n a ... well, whatever's really wet. See? A river runs through it!


So, in uploading that pic just now, I noticed a new feature on Blogger. How neat... I no longer have to use YouTube for videos. Blogger now has their own "upload a video" feature! Exciting! So... here's a video... just because I can. Yes, it's boring. But Cooper's cute. And he's on a fetch kick lately. So I recorded it. Shut up. It/he keeps me entertained. Anyway, a few details before I upload it: 1) Yes, I had the NASCAR race on in the background. It was the road race in Cali. 2) Cooper's favorite thing is to "save" the ball before it rolls under the couch or, in this case, down the stairs. Oh ha ha ha... I forgot the video had this part in it. It's so funny to me when he misses the save and the ball rolls down the stairs. He just stands there and watches it until it hits the wood floor at the bottom. When he sees where it stops, he always looks back at me (like he's saying, "Okay... I'll go get it now") and heads downstairs to retrieve it. But not until it stops. 3) Most of the time, he quickly bores of merely chasing a rolling ball and he wants you to throw it in the air for him to jump for it... thus the bouncing at the beginning.

Boo... well, that didn't work and now I'm finding myself falling asleep. But I already wrote that paragraph... maybe I can get the upload on Google Video to work. Otherwise, the actual video may have to wait for in the morning!

Yeah, screw that. I'll be back with the vid (probably from YouTube!!!) later. Nighty night, peeps.

All the World, Indeed a Stage

Is it better to eat the Zinger before or after the tangelo? In my opinion, before. Because if you eat the tangelo first, there's a possibility you may no longer be hungry for the Zinger afterward. You would then miss out on the scrumptious healthfulness of the Zinger for a silly little orange fruit (seriously, what food that's orange could possibly be good for you?... meanwhile, the cream filling and chocolatey fudge is, of course, chock full of nutrients).

Okay, okay, in all seriousness, I ate the tangelo first. I ate the tangelo period. But would my eating of the tangelo have been made somehow dirty (read: less healthy) if I had indulged in the Zinger afterward? This is the question that plagues me, dear readers (as Stuart from my weely NYT Advertising bacn would say... man, he says "dear readers" more than any human being can possibly say it!). Are my bad habits so bad as to overwhelm any positive deeds I do? Especially when it comes to eating. Is it worse to eat a salad if you're gonna drown it in Thousand Island salad dressing than it would be to have a bucket of fried chicken? At least you're still eating the vegetables even if they are slathered with mayonnaise, right?!

Meanwhile... my weird/goofball/nonsensical conversation for the day? Centered around the sky and space. Given that I was in just the right mood for weird/goofball/nonsensical, I loved that the subject of up came up.

RR: Whats UP????
H: sky's the limit
RR: nope...space is the limit
H: sky = space
RR: sky quits at one point
H: no, no. In the pics from outer space, what do you call all that nothingness? Sky.
RR: sky=air. space=no air
H: i disagree
H: although... even if you're right... when air ceases... and, if you must say it, sky ceases... then UP ceases to be the appropriate direction.
RR: no direction in space....
RR: up is down and down is up
H: then I stand by my earlier statement... the SKY'S the limit to what's UP

Lately, I've been loving the period piece movies. Evidently, I'm in luck with several more coming out soon. What with my Pride & Prejudice binge a few weeks back... and As You Like It tonight, I've quite enjoyed the Olde English. Uh-oh. I can FEEL you saying, "Heidi, step away from the Olde English." C'mon... it's not that bad reading a whole post (or what have you) written in flowery prose and literary sophistication, is it?! Okay, okay... I'll stick to my own voice... for now.

Boy, I've really slacked off on the pictures lately, huh? This has become a word-heavy blog. Boo, words. I'll try to bring some new visual pleasantries to the table soon. Meanwhile... another 8:00 am call time tomorrow morning. Let's see if we can make it on-time this week.

The Study of Me-Centrism

Well, yay... the computer works tonight! Score. I'm already doing better than last night. Sorry for the lack of posts last night/this morning. I'll try to make up for it in quality -- or quantity -- tonight. I know, I know... your vote is for quality, but we don't always get what we want now, do we?

So, I went to the most beautiful church this past weekend! The sanctuary at First Methodist was blow-you-away pretty. It was so nice, I could gush about it all week. Be prepared! And the people were very sweet. The little old women I sat amongst were all very welcoming (and all of them, shrinking as little old women are prone to do, expressed amazement at how tall I am... and that has encouraged me to wear my heeled sandals more often -- i.e., today -- until I noticed I was dwarfing some of the people around me... which has encouraged me to switch back to the flat flip flops). One woman (Helen) even invited me to come sit with her the next time I came. How nice is that?

Anyway, I was thinking earlier today... how is it that I have started turning any and all conversations to myself? Does it make it any less self-centered that I KNOW I'm doing it? Yeah, didn't think so. I guess that's a by-product of activities like blogging. (I mean, you can only really write about yourself... no one else wants me to air your laundry in this public forum, right (dirty or clean!)? And last I checked, no one wanted to talk through me... although, admittedly, it has been a few days since I checked the answering machine in my head.) I used to be a better listener. I DID. Jon used to tell me that it was my tendency to make it NOT about me that made me friends (or attracted the talk-about-me'ers to my sympathetic ear, at the very least). So, when did I turn into the talk-about-me'er myself? Because I so obviously have. I periodically try to step outside of myself and observe my life somewhat objectively (as if that's possible! wouldn't it be grand to be able to BE the little guy(s) on your should for once?!). And I've noticed. I've picked up that habit some people have (annoying to us listeners who really may not want to listen but, rather, would actually prefer having you show a little genuine interest in us to draw us out of our shells) of turning a perfectly normal conversation into a ME-fest. I don't really like ME-fests. But that brings me to my earlier question. If I know I'm doing, acknowledge it, and actually apologize for it (or express appreciation/gratitude to the ME-fest recipient), does that make it at least a little bit better? I hope so. Because I sincerely appreciate those of you who have been subjected lately to Heidi-fest. Thanks for lending me your ear. And when I neglect to make it known in our next conversation (which, I'm sure I will, since no doubt, I'll be wrapped up in myself yet again), I really do care about what's going on with you and I'd love to be your sympathetic ear once in a while. If the spirit moves you. Otherwise, I'll just be over here talking about me.

Sharing My Daily Bacn With My Daily Readers

Okay, I'm skipping all of my regular RSS feeds and web site hangouts tonight to go to bed NOW. I always say I'm going early, and then I get the computer on my lap and just end up staying up. This time, NO.

I'll share one little tidbit of interesting stuff with you now, and then I'm off. Lord knows I'm tired enough. The whole getting-up-before-9am thing left me off-my-game all day (helloooo, who falls asleep in their office chair before the work day is over? I'm not that person!). Then, I added the physical tired-ness of mowing the entire lawn tonight. And I'm exhausted. Definitely a good night for early-to-bed (I'm going to intentionally skip the early-to-rise part of that old saying for tomorrow... maybe someday I'll test out its validity).

So... have you heard about the new techie word burning up the airwaves this week? Someone somewhere has created a new category for e-mail... and it stuck (for now). Most people know, by now, that unwanted, unsolicited, junk e-mail is called spam. But then there's that e-mail that's not really spam... the newsletters you've signed up to receive, the auto notifications (MySpace, Facebook, etc.), the updates from web sites you care about. You want it, but you definitely don't want it right now. The new word for that e-mail is bacn. Funny, huh? Anyway... so I got a little bacn today, and when I did get around to reading it, I was interested. So, I subject you to it here. This particular e-mail newsletter is one of those that I feel like makes me just the slightest bit smarter. It's not leaps-and-bounds material, but there's a little nice-to-know tidbit in it every once in a while. It's the Phrase-a-Week newsletter... where the newsman takes a phrase that's just part of our vernacular and researches what it really means, where it originated, and how it's evolved. In today's episode? Run the gauntlet! Now, I don't think I overuse this phrase, but these words have definitely come out of my mouth on several occasions. So, he caught my attention with this one.

Meaning: To go through a series of criticisms or harsh treatments at the hands of one's detractors.

Origin: Gauntlets are familiar to us today as the stout leather gloves used for gardening and the like. Mediaeval gauntlets were made of even sterner stuff. They were gloves that formed part of a suit of armour. Gauntlets, or gantlettes, gauntelotes etc., were usually covered with plates of steel and were as useful for attack as for defence. When a dispute arose involving a member of the English nobility who was wealthy enough to own his own armour then he (it was always a he) would literally 'throw down the gauntlet' as a challenge. That phrase is first recorded in Hall's Chronicles of Richard III, 1548: "Makynge a proclamacion, that whosoeuer would saie that kynge Richard was not lawefully kynge, he woulde fighte with hym at the vtteraunce, and threwe downe his gauntlet."

Another ancient custom of British fighting men was a form of punishment in which the culprit was made to run stripped to the waist between two rows of men who whipped and beat him as he passed by. These beatings were extremely severe and the victims often died as a result - and many of those that didn't may well have wished they had, as survivors were sometimes executed afterwards. This punishment is the source of the term 'running the gauntlet' and was used by both the British army and navy.

It would be natural to assume that gauntlets were used in the beatings and that 'running the gauntlet' derived from that. In fact, that's not the case and neither the punishment nor the phrase have anything to do with gauntlets, either military or horticultural.

The name of the brutal punishment was originally 'running the gantelope'. Gantlope is an Anglicised form of the Swedish word 'gatlop', or 'gatu-lop', which refers to the gate of soldiers that the victim had to pass through. The Ist Earl of Shaftsbury recorded the phrase in his Diary, 1646: "Three were condemned to die, two to run the gantelope." It didn't take long for gantlope to migrate into ganlet, or gauntlet - possibly as a result of a simple muddle over the similar-sounding words or possibly because of the association with the use of gauntlets as weapons and with the antagonism implicit in 'throwing down the gauntlet'.

Consider yourself a little bit smarter today... and all because of me. Ha... laughable! Enjoy your Friday, peeps. Much love to all of you'uns.

Like a Full Force Gale

Gosh, I hate resetting my alarm clock... especially to an earlier time. But, when anything calls for it, I try to rise to the occasion. 7:00 am, I hate you.

Before I leave you this evening, though, I'll give you a few images to review. In the first two, there's a long bad-ass rattlesnake in that grass somewhere. I happened to have my phone with me the last time I saw him (the same time I wrote about him here) and snapped two pics. I can't find him in either pic, and I at least have an idea of where he was... or where he was headed (into those trees). Makes me even MORE nervous about how well they blend into the ground cover!

And then just some more doggie pics. Cooper with glowey eyes... and the doggy-favored spot at Mom & Dad's house. Sydney had gone home, therefore vacating the top-o-the-stairs perch; and my two just had to know what it was like there where Syd spends her time.

The World Outside You Do Not Know

How can Victoria's Secret have a whole line of undies called PINK and all of them not actually be pink? There's grey and blue and black and white and red and all sorts of different colors. All of them may have some pink somewhere, but most are predominantly some other color. Just thinking about that and needed to share, I guess.

The PlayMakers Theater announced its fall lineup today. Main-stage productions include "Romeo and Juliet," "Crimes of the Heart," "The Little Prince" and "Amadeus." Oh, to be a student again, and be able to purchase the Incredible Student Pass for $54. Even if you don't make it to all the shows, it's so worth it. You can always just keep the pass for a scrapbook.

In other Carolina news, the student section (including the MTH seating area) at Kenan has been "shifted" in order to fill the "notoriously empty" behind-the-goalposts sections. The new turn-it-blue seating area has been christened "The Tar Pit". Man, I hope the moniker turns out better for this endeavor than it did for that Judgment Day In The Tar Pit hoopla for FSU that one year. I personally love the idea of using the tar pit idea. But moving the band ABOVE Fever? Not sure I'd be pro-that idea. Anyway, perhaps they should've left the Pride of the ACC in the end zone seating area! Did we NOT used to be there, folks?

Obviously, the DTH RSS feed is back up & running. Ah, fall. When the kids get away from my pool and get their sorry behinds back to campus where they belong.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Did I mention that there was no cotton candy to be found at the Peanut Festival? That had to have been the biggest disappointment of the day. We looked and looked and looked... but no cotton candy. There were at least 10 food booths with menus featuring BBQ, hamburgers, peanuts, gyros, chicken, peanuts, fries, chili fries, peanuts, corn dogs, fried oreos, peanuts, smoothies, lemonade, peanuts, shaved ice, ice cream, and even some peanuts; but alas, no cotton candy at all. It's simply MADNESS!

Anyway, I was reading somewhere today about middle class houses... or something. I really don't remember what that story was... maybe something about middle class neighborhoods on the decline? Anyway, the story specifically defined "middle class" as those families who earn something like 90-120% of the area's median household income. And that got me wondering about The Boro's median income. So, I found this web site (Sperling's BestPlaces) that does a pretty good job of compiling data by zip code (I know, there are tons of others... but this came up first on Google's search results). I was surprised at a few things about The Boro:

1. Since it was the first thing I was looking for... The median household income for the U.S. is $44,684; for The Boro, it's $27,095. Household. Yet our tax rates (income and sales) are higher than the national average.
2. Over 32% of our households (compared to 13% nationwide) have a household income of less than $15,000. Almost one-third of our households make less than the poverty line for a three-person family (based on 2006 figures).
3. We are a town of over 34,000! I'm actually kind of surprised we're that large. We've grown 5.5% since 2000.
4. The median age of a Boro-ian is 24.9. AND over 51% of the population is between 18 and 34. Goodness gracious, we're young down here! Wait... maybe that explains why we're so underpaid.
5. Only about 15% of the houses are over $200,000 in value. The median home cost is $137,800 (compared to a national median of $217,200).
6. The Boro's cost of living is 19% lower than the U.S. average.
7. Climate data makes The Boro look downright pleasant (for the most part). We get more rainfall than the U.S. average (45.7 inches to the U.S.'s 36.6). Ha! We have, on average, 214 sunny days... which is probably more-than-accurate... although the sun comes out just about 365 days a year. So, truly, what's a "sunny day"? What they don't tell you is that the sunniest of days down here can be more miserable than any other bad weather anywhere else! Finally, the measure for heat (average high temp.) is flat-out taken in the wrong month. Maybe nationally it's helpful to know the average high temp. in July, but what you want to ask about The Boro is "what is your average AUGUST temp.?!" July? No, July is nice. August... that's the hot one. I took the dogs for a bike ride this afternoon/evening around 6:00, and the heat radiating off the pavement burned my pawpads! Can't imagine how it felt to Kona's & Cooper's!

So, speaking of weather, this pic was from last week after I ran the last few laps of mowing to beat the storm. The storm is moving from right to left in the picture and quickly overtook the last of the sunset. I took about 10 pictures of this bad boy moving in... and I'm most surprised by the fact that I didn't hit it just right to capture some of the lightning. Of course, I've never been that lucky... not once has my timing been perfect to capture a flash on film... but this was one of those lightning-every-few-seconds storms, so I thought perhaps my luck would turn. Silly, silly me.

The Peanut Festival in Pics and Vids

I must share. Because it was so fun. Of course, if you were there, you would understand. Instead, you must simply make do with these photos... and videos. Apologies for the lack of more. I should've charged my battery before we went! Duh. Oh, and in case you can't tell be the obvious crowd in the photos/vids, the Statesboro Herald lets us know that "A "Slow Tractor" race was a big draw, with owners of antique farm tractors displaying their restored machines and seeing who could go the slowest without choking down and shutting off."




So, I need to give you the extra-long background story for the videos. Bear with me, please. Lloyd is the farmer who started off being our emcee for the slow tractor race. But he's one of the racers, so he quickly turned the talkin' duties over to his wife. Before leaving the mic, though, Lloyd shared with us his personal story of how he's going to beat Doc. (Doc, by the way, is the long-standing champ of the slow tractor racing world.) Lloyd has schemed to buy a ringer slow tractor that he's positive will knock Doc off his throne. Doc is worried. He's been losing sleep over it ever since he found out (Lloyd kept the ringer tractor a secret until just this past week.) Doc's daughter, however, is a little perturbed by Lloyd's underhandedness. She has entered the race to take on Lloyd in one of the early heats so that she can knock him out for Daddy Doc. Lloyd's wife is pleased with herself and tells us all how she deserves the gold star of wifedom for letting Lloyd buy a special tractor to beat Lloyd. Doc's family tree is huge. He must have twenty family members in the races. The races were all being filmed by Farmers' Almanac TV. I know... now you're really jealous.

Anyway, so it turned out that as soon as Lloyd got the ringer slow tractor home, he figured out that it wasn't going to be that slow after all. And, of course, he knew he wasn't going to be able to beat Doc. Granted, he only told us this after he had lost the race... so believe him if you want. Behold... the lovliness of slow tractor racing. (The most entertaining race -- between Lloyd and Doc's daughter -- is too big for me to post on YouTube. Maybe I'll cut it into pieces and post later. Or you miss it. You know, whatever.)







Also in the books from this weekend...
1) Jon broke his truck

2) And big huge congrats to sweet baby sister! :) Loved your pics, baby... but I'll let you post 'em yourself!

Something That Digs At Us

Isn't it funny how we start reading an article or story or whatever in a magazine/book/what-have-you in the waiting room of some office somewhere and get hooked on it? So much so that we're actually disappointed when we get called for our appointment. No? Just me? Well, whatever... okay... so I sometimes find myself interested in an article or story or whatever in some waiting room reading material, and I'm disappointed to actually be called for my appointment. I rarely take the reading material with me into the office (although I've often been frustrated that I didn't when I have to wait longer in a back room) and I have never ever ever taken the reading material with me (does anyone do that?). But I often find myself thinking about whatever it was I was so interested in long after the appointment is done. And I'm disappointed that I didn't pay more attention to it or somehow acquire it for later perusal. For example, I remember over Christmas last year (yes, I've thought about it for this long), I was in the hair salon. While I waited for Juanita, I was reading Marie Claire. I got interested in this article. I read it. I re-read it. Shoot... I think it was even my GRANNY's magazine (that she had given to the salon once she was finished with it)! I've continued to think about that article and wish I had a copy of it. No one in the entire world would've cared if I had taken that issue of Marie Claire home with me. And not only that, but I could've easily swung by the grocery store on my way home and picked up my own copy. But I didn't. And I still think about that article. I'm ridiculous. You know that, right?

Anyway, my latest fascination is with Uncle Ben's Quotebook (yes, I remembered this time). Every time I visit one particular local office, I flip through it and thoroughly amuse myself reading through the little nuggets of wisdom. I found myself thinking about Uncle Ben this evening and wondered to myself why I didn't just get my own darn copy of his quotebook. I won't... because I'm cheap like that (oddly enough, I won't spend $10 to get this book that I've been thinking about a lot... but I'll drop $100 on purple, pink, and blue wigs without even blinking... again, if you didn't already know it, know it now... I'm r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s).

Here are a few samples from Uncle Ben for you that I found on ye olde interweb (because you know I don't have a good enough memory to remember any of 'em myself!):

When God bolts a door,
don't try to get through a window.

It's what we learn
after we think we know it all
that counts.

If you want your dreams to come true,
don't oversleep.

Thank goodness it's finally Friday, eh? Here's hoping I write better posts next week! Maybe I should get back to taking pictures. At least that helped break up the boring monotony, huh? I like pictures. I like taking them. I like being in them. I like it when other people like taking them. Pictures are fun.

Oh, and one more thing... Saturday is the Brooklet Peanut Festival!!! Who else is excited for the Slow Tractor Race?!?! If I miss it again this year, I'm buying a tractor to slow-race myself. Got it, Jon? I'm serious. Your paycheck is going to John Deere if you don't make the Slow Tractor Race a priority this year. Oh yeah, and there MUST MUST MUST be cotton candy. Period. There's a race/walk in the AM, but it starts at 7. I wish I was energetic enough to participate. But I'll be sleeping. Besides, I've been off my running schedule. Darn it. I really should get back to that. Well, there's always next week if I'm lucky. Peace out, homies. Have a fabulous and lovely weekend.

Oh, the Joy of Pictures... There's Nothing Like an Embarrassing Photograph to Kill the Mood

Of all the to-be-filed pics still remaining on my laptop, these two made me smile the most:



Other picture-blog topics that I'd love to post about (if it wouldn't get me ostracized from the family): Mom's fashion choices through the years and Haley's in-the-sun faces. I'm sorry, girls, but you're both hilarious at times. Of course, I know anything I post about you could be revisited on me twenty-fold, so I'll just make mention of these topics and run away from them like a scared little girl. Please, Hammer, don't hurt 'em. I was only kidding. It's all in good fun. WHO SAID THAT?! Who's talking? And why can't she shut up?

Yet Another 'Let's Talk Later'

I was going to try to be all write-y on the blog tonight. I've had several ideas for posts in the last couple of days but never the desire to write them down. Tonight, I thought, was going to be the night. Alas, it is sooooo not meant to be. I watched more Jon Stewart, the Hills, and Californication from the TiVo after working all afternoon (well, mostly), going for a bike ride, weeding in the sauna that is Southeast GA, mowing the back yard in the same sauna, sweating off at least two pounds (which, interestingly enough is the amount of weight, per Dad, that a good steer can gain in one day during their 'growing season'... I HOPE more on that later!) in the process, having Sonic (and gaining said two pounds back), and working some more. I have now packed it in for the day... after finally getting done the task that I started this morning. No, it wasn't that hard. It was just annoying and I didn't want to do it. But it was time, so I did it. Now, yay... head start on the day tomorrow... because I'm already one e-mail up on the other HR managers! HA! Uh oh... wait a second... they'll be at work before I get up... so I'll probably have three or four responses (if they aren't chatty or indecisive -- which they sometimes are -- and decide not to send four apiece) by the time I make it to "work" in the AM. Dang it.

Yeah, there's nothing else... because I'm really tired. Talk more later, K?

Good, Good, Good, Good Vibrations

Haley, clean out your closet with this tip from 43folders. Pretty clever, eh? Only problem... I'll think of a reason why that top I didn't wear for 6 months should be kept or I'll keep swearing that I'm gonna sew the button on that pair of jeans. I know I don't wear some of the stuff in my closet. But, I cannot get rid of it. I know it's my weakness. I deal with it every day. It's all about improvement.

The Forbidden Library might also be a good place to consider starting a book club. The name sounds dirty, I know; but it's actually just a simple little banned books list. I've actually read some of these books! I'm proud.

We had one heck of a storm here tonight. I think it was the only rain in the entire southeast! The thunder and lightning were crazy, though. I thoroughly enjoy thunderstorms... from inside. Tonight, this one was moving in so quickly, I had to run the last few rounds of yard-mowing. But I got it done. In addition to getting a drink of water, my pretty front lawn got a little haircut. Aww... how cute.

Tuesday's the day. No more laziness or procrastination. Tuesday, the game is on. All good things on Tuesday. Hope you are mucho successful in your own Tuesday.

On My Mind Tonight

- Brangelina... My Dad always says "where there's smoke there's fire". How is it possible that they continue to claim that they're happy happy happy while also being featured on the cover of every single supermarket tabloid as headed to splitsville? I mean, I don't know, of course. But it just seems fishy.
- I want to read all the books written by John Stewart's Daily Show guests. Fun Melanie and I are interested in starting a book club. I'm not sure I can read as quickly as John Stewart MUST read (to interview a new author every day), but he has really interesting books featured. Now, where do the readers in Statesboro hang out?!
- I cannot watch The Daily Show without laughing out loud through the whole thing. That's the best show on TV.
- Today's sermon on treating people fairly/nicely/equally spoke to me. I need to stop looking for unStatesboro-ish people to befriend. (If you've never spent a lot of time in Statesboro, I understand that you may not completely comprehend the term "unStatesboro-ish"; however, it is actually quite technical and I cannot get into the details here. But if you spent any time at all here (which I've invited you all to do more times than I want to count), you'd get it.) Oh yeah, and also, apparently, the workplace discriminates against ugly people (link).
- Pomegranate juice is one of the 10 foods we should be eating but aren't (according to Men's Health magazine). I would like to propose that we adopt a policy that requires us to consume at least one Statesboro Brews pomegranate martini every week. What? Surely, there's pomegranate juice IN IT.

Anyway, I just wanted to share.

Now I Lay Me Down to Zzzzzzz

What could I really accomplish if I really put my mind to it? I found myself perusing a book of quotes today as I was waiting around for two of my currently-favorite J's (why haven't I noticed this book before?? I could've been reading that instead of about reefer!). It was a kid's book and pretty dated... hmm, I don't remember the name of it and I can't find it on el interwebo at the moment so I guess I'll have to pay closer attention next time!... but I found much enjoyment in reading over the bite-sized nuggets of wisdom (oooh, mcnuggets with sweet 'n sour would be MUCHO YUMMY right now). Anyway, one of the quotes was about what we could accomplish if we just tried... which is a similar line of thinking to the conversation I had back on Tuesday afternoon... but different, so never mind. You know what? Maybe I don't remember enough about it to actually write this paragraph! So, let's just pretend that whole thing moved you to inspired to be the best you can possibly be at whatever you're attempting today... and if you don't have anything planned to attempt today, then do something to attempt to change your world. M'kay? Perfect.

So, shall I assume that it's just as hot wherever you are as it is here? I doubt it, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. (It's a freakin' sauna here!) Anyway, just in time for these hot days of summer, UNC's Library puts up this 1776 work (the title page, at least) noting average temps back in the day. Wow... you cannot deny global warming. So, stop trying.

OK. Falling... asleep......now. Thoughts and prayers are with all y'all who've specifically requested them and those who I keep there. :)

25 Miles Until We Get to the Chicken Ranch

I ordered my new computer! I forget if that was today or yesterday. Time flies when you're... oh, who am I kidding... doing NOTHING. Anyway, it's gonna be something like this:


It's little. That's my favorite thing about it. Now, let's see how I adjust to a 12.1" monitor. You know that lingering eyesight I had left? Yeah, I'm sure I can kiss that goodbye.

Also... evidently, I'm traumatized by my run-in with the rattler. First of all, I woke up multiple times last night knowing there was slithering happening somewhere in or around my bed (the nightmares had me convinced of it). AND I could not make myself go all the way to the cul de sac today when we went for our evening bike ride. It was daylight. The weather was not necessarily snake-friendly (hot, steamy, overcast, no direct sunlight). I knew that he only showed himself to me once every three months or so. I wasn't about to leave the road. Yet, my heart raced and I had my little mini-panic attack before even getting halfway down the street. I simply couldn't make myself go any farther and we had to turn around. Pathetic. I know. Dang it... who told him he could have that much of an effect on me?!?!

Finally, the most undeserving arrest of the decade (I like using "decade" as my exaggeration... back off) occurred in Leeds, England, this week: The Dolly Arrest. Look, y'all... Dolly ROCKS! And no one should ever be arrested for playing her tunes. However, I do have an issue with people who play Tammy Wynette songs all hours of the day. FYI, Breitbart.com, I don't think "Stand By Your Man" OR "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." are actually Dolly songs. Oops, perhaps someone should've done a leeeeetle more fact-checking before running with that. Blame Tammy, not Dolly (even if Dolly did sing covers at some point in her career).

Who Doesn't Love Compliments?!

I need to start carrying my little voice recorder with me at all times. But... if I did... I'm sure I would have to stop whatever conversation I'm having, find it in my bag, figure out how to get it started up, then try to recapture the spirit of the conversation... and then the moment's lost anyway. I guess I just need to resign myself to forgetting. UGH. Over the past few weeks... shoot, over the past few YEARS, I have had conversation after conversation that basically leaves me as soon as I walk away from it. I mean, seriously, leaves me. I get up, walk out of the room in which I was having the conversation, and my mind is almost completely blank. Couldn't tell you one word that was shared just now.

Except for a period of about 3 years while I was in State College (during which, for some reason, I was actually GOOD at remembering all the details of a conversation -- I could actually get back to my desk from my boss's office and specifically remember to write down just about every action item I had been assigned... AND I honestly probably didn't even need to write 'em down because I was going to remember them for months to come anyway), I have always had this problem. I wonder what it was about those 3 years??? What gave my brain the added umph to actually possess a short-term memory??? Oh, if I only knew!!!

What was I talking about again? You know, if I was serious just now about forgetting what I was talking about, it would be the FOURTH TIME TODAY that has happened. Wow... senior moments like this are not supposed to happen FOUR TIMES A DAY when I'm THIRTY!!!

Anyway, I wonder what people would think of me if I did whip out my voice recorder every time I wanted to keep a record of our conversation. I aleady kind of freak people out at the COR when I let them know that I save ALL of my IM conversations. Yes, yes, I do. I know Microsoft Communicator doesn't automatically log the convo like Trillian does; but I don't let that little application limitation stop me. I manually copy and paste each and every conversation into an Outlook appointment (so then I have the date & time, too... since Communicator doesn't even do that much!). Most of my colleagues consider IM like a phone call. I don't. And I must say, it's saved me lots of trouble time and time again by having these re-readable texts of conversations. Part of my job (I know, none of you know what that is... that's okay, me either) is being able to document communications... sometimes being able to document that so-and-so said such-and-such to me in an IM window is just as helpful as all that e-mail I keep archived. Still... I was talking about my voice recorder. I think I bought it back when I was having a serious problem making my to-do list in the car on the drive to/from work in State College and then forgetting it by the time I got to work or home. It was unsafe to keep pen/paper handy while I was driving, so I spent the cash (I know, surprise) to buy a little recorder. I used it all of about three times. It's just as unsafe as a pen/paper while you're driving... and it's never where you left it. I swear the stupid thing has legs and the will to frustrate. Anyway, if I could keep it handy and actually use it, Lord knows the re-listenable conversations would make it worth my while. At least to me. It would feed my soul.

Anyway... I have actually been working today/tonight; and I have yet to read any of the day's news via RSS. Shoot... that will make for a really long morning tomorrow as I catch up on yesterday and today! And when I wasn't working on work stuff, I was filing more pics. Now that the last of the last are transferred from the laptop to the big machine, there are 3500 before I'm completely finished with this portion of the project. Actually, I already filed/categorized about 1000 of them tonight, so technically, the number's already down to 2500 or so. I love being productive... even if it's make-believe productive that no one else would really consider productive. Someday soon, Nik (et al), I will be to the point where I can actually see what I have and what I have yet to scan and send you fun memory-provoking snapshots that you'll love to share! Soon. I promise.

Finally... my advice to each of you today... compliment someone and mean it. It will make their day, their week, their year, possibly even their decade! :)

Did You Need Something?

I have no interest at all in writing anything tonight. Lucky for you, because evidently my writing style is altered ("not my voice") these days. You see, I spent all weekend (and when I say all, I mean pretty darn much all) reading Pride & Prejudice. Read it all online via RSS feed. So seriously a fabulous novel. Loved it.

Anyway, other than that, I'm speechless... and tired. I've been reading for a whole long weekend! So, I'm going to bed early. Nighty night.

I'm Off to Sleep to Dream

I had such good intentions for today. I was gonna order my new computer! Who else saw it coming that I wouldn't get that done? I hope you all have your hands up. That was totally an easy call. One more thing I didn't get done today. Oh well, oops. And tomorrow's to-do list gets even longer. There was a great quote about doing things today versus doing things tomorrow on some blog I happened across the other day (or yesterday... who knows). Let's see if I can go find it... Ah yes, here it is... from everyone's favorite quotee, Aaron Burr: "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done." Good, huh?

So, in case you couldn't figure it out from my earlier description, I think you all deserve to see the "him" I was referring to: not for the faint of heart... MOM, DON'T CLICK.

I, honest to God, cannot bring myself to even look at that page. Even as I was establishing the link that I was going to stick in there, I had to look away. I'm sure the hidden camera in my room would've caught quite the amusing scene... me entering a search term into Google Images and turning my head (to use my peripheral vision) and squinting so I didn't have to see the pictures and could only just aim for the web address to copy & paste. Oh geez... how can I particularly ride that path for the chance to see him and then freak out when we do meet up!?!?

How is it already Friday? How did that happen? I somehow lost a couple days this week... by the time I turned around, it was Wednesday. Now, here we are already at the end of the week! Goodness. I really need to pay more attention. Next thing you know it'll be AUGUST already. I know, right?! It's just around the corner! Oh... shoot.

Be Still My Heart

Truth be told, I go that way on the off chance that I may see him again. I do. There are other paths to take. I have every opportunity to choose an alternate route. Yet, I go back. For what? The thrill? Curiosity? Pure stupidity? Probably all of the above.

I know how seeing him affects me. I don't come off that "high" for hours. And I'm paranoid that he's everywhere for days... even weeks or months. The moment my eyes find him, my heart stops, my blood runs cold, the shot of panic that hits my body renders me nearly paralyzed. And the words that come out of my mouth... oh, my mom would not be proud.

I've seen him three times... well, that's not true. I've seen him twice, only heard him the other time. Today was our closest encounter. He didn't make me listen this time, but he did notice that I had seen him. He ran away like a little girl. Yet, I'm the one running home to tell everyone about him. Go figure.

Non-Drunk Drunk Dialing... AKA MySpace Comments

I spent an hour today listening to a sales pitch from a training company that promises to change our world at the COR. He was fun to talk to... well, listen to. I didn't get a chance to talk very much at all. Anyway, he talked forever about a focus group in which CEOs, company presidents, and other high-up execs whittled about 30 qualities-of-good-employees down to 3. Those three? Eh, who knows? I thought I could list them here, but I can't remember the first one... and I'm too lazy to get up and go in the next room to find where I wrote it down. Anyway, numbers 2 and 3 were self-confidence and being goal-oriented. I'll have to tell you #1 later. My point was going to be that I don't necessarily have even one of the three... yet, I continue to get positive feedback on my performance. I'm at least allowed to believe I'm one of the good employees! Of course, that's until a reduction in force comes up and bites me in the butt like it did my friend & colleague, Pat. Still bitter? Why, yes I am. And I probably will be for a long time. I can still remember the good folks who were forced out the door in my first-ever experience of corporate downsizing (BJ, Bridget, Tom, Tracy... what up). And I still hold a grudge on their behalf, too.

So, after I'm feeling kinda bad about being unproductive and not having any of the three top qualities of a best employee, I get a phone call (after-hours, mind you, but I don't mind) asking me to come to one of our offices and train employees/lead a workshop/do something meaningful. Yay... how fun. So, I did finally get something done today... I submitted a travel request for THREE trips. After not going on even one for the first 7 months of the year (oh man... and my job was supposed to be up to 60% travel), I'm semi-planning three. Only one is actually scheduled... around a conference/training thingie... back up in Ottawa. :) It was just so much fun last year, I can't imagine not going! And I think they were pleased I was coming back... they actually asked me to present to the group... but I'm shy (and slow in returning phone calls).

The other thing I TRIED to finish today was... ordering my new computer. I figure I have a limited amount of time left on this one. Well, the computer itself it still good... it still burns the crap out of my lap/stomach (which is part of the weak-stomach problem over the last couple of days, I'm sure)... but now, of all buttons, the POWER BUTTON seems to be on its way out. How is that possible? Well, whatever... I'm excited about a new toy! This time, no one is going to convince me that an internal DVD player is a must-have. This time, it's ultra-small so it'll fit in my Vera backpack(s). Dang it. I'll have none of your silly convincing of power, multimedia, and productivity advantages in the bigger-is-better variety. Thank you very much, IT. Anyway, I nearly had the whole thing spec'd out today, and the stupid web site went ka-boom. Of course, it's kinda my fault since I had the page up all stupid day while I did other stuff and ignored it mid-customization. Still... the page should've been better, thank you very much, Dell.

Let's see... what else? I started back on the Daily Lit program. Now, they have RSS feed readables! Perfect for me. Just freakin' perfect. I also thoroughly enjoy surprise texts and chats. People should surprise each other more often. How fun! Oh yeah, and I tend to write questions and never answer them here. Haley, you were right on the money with your guess of the number of pairs of shoes I have. It's 75. That's not that many, right?!?!

Well, anyway, today should've been my sub-20 day, but I just cannot bring myself to jostle my still-weak stomach on the treadmill... or outside. Maybe tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow.

Built-in besties are the best. Life is more fun with you in it. People who do not have built-ins are not as blessed as I am. Night, sweet sister... and all the rest of you hoodlums.