la isla d'lisa

Back in the Saddle

2011-12-17T00:25:00.000-06:00

Aah, where to begin? Let's see, I put an offer on my new home at the end of March, but, because it was in probate, wasn't able to close on it until early June, which was excruciating. In the meantime, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup!!!! BOO YAH!!

Once the house was mine Mom and Dad moved into it and did extensive work (painting, electrical, etc.) while I stayed in the apartment a few blocks over and worked.

Once I was able to move in (isn't it adorable?!? and built like a brick shithouse, let me tell you), I was finally (FINALLY!!!) able to get the four-leggeds shipped out ... 366 days after leaving them behind in MO.

I was so nervous that they wouldn't recognize me! But they all did, immediately, so that was cool. There were a few issues, in that the girls were no longer house-trained (we had to go through crate-training again) and one of the cats was deathly ill (Vonnie was hospitalized but is all better now). Oh! And the yard wasn't fenced in for about the first 3-4 weeks they were here, so I spent many, many, hours walking the girls around the house.

Nope, not the block ... the house. They'd always been fenced in, and weren't all that well leash-trained (yes, we were that comical troupe of walkees and walker entangled every which way possible in leashes and legs and leaping dogs) ... so we didn't venture much further than the curb at first, and by the time I was comfortable taking them around the block, the fence was finally installed.

And what a fenced-in area! Four times the size of the dog run in MO, with a HUGE 50 year old Sugar Maple smack dab in the middle, and a 12' paved section with a dog house, and a 5' berm leading up to the neighbor's back yard, and two gates (we'll get back to the gates later).

They. LOVE. It.

It's now December 17th and I can count one hand the number of days the girls have spent indoors while I've been at work. Cold doesn't bother them, sun doesn't phase them, they scoff at rain ... it's really just active snow they don't enjoy (so our first snow just had ot be sticky). I try to get them to come in on days I think the weather will be imclement, but they rarely pay attention so end up outside for the day.

I was worried the neighbors would hate them, because our old neighborhood in MO was dogville ... almost every household had at least one dog. Here, I am one of four households (out of 12) with dogs. And the girls are definite watch dogs. And people who are bothered by barking dogs are REALLY bothered by barking dogs.

But I lucked out (again) because my neighbors love the girls (they're Labs ... it's tough not to love 'em) and appreciate them barking at strangers. It's a close-knit block, so that's good. And now the girls are house trained again, so they have beds of their own.

The traffic here is an all-out nightmare; it's pretty much bumper-to-bumper all the time. It's so bad they open the breakdown lane to traffic during rush hour. I counted almost a three week stretch where there was an accident every day. Every. Day. These people can't drive!

This house is much smaller than my old one in MO, and doesn't have the storage space, so I went out to Craigs List and found a bunch of pieces of furniture that has helped. In one Saturday afternoon fell swoop I got two new (to me) hutches, dressers with mirrors,and book cases ... as well as a diningroom table and chairs set, and an entertainment center. Now all I have to do is finish unpacking boxes from the move.

We knew the house wasn't suffuciently insulated, so a few weeks ago everybody came over and the guys (Dad, brothers, and nephews) insulated both my attic and my basement.

The difference is unbelievable! This house is so toasty warm it's just not funny.

And I've had a couple adventures, most notably being Wednesday of the week before last, when I got home from work after dark and discovered the back gate open and the girls gone ... on a day they were not wearing their collars. I was devastated ... nothing like this has ever happened before! Gate was wide open, yet still padlocked.

In the course of my search I learned a great many things: 1) the girls escaped 10 minutes after I left that morning; 2) they played with the neighborhood kids on the way to school; 3) no-one could catch them; 4) many people tried; 5) a lot more people know who I am (and where I live) than I do them ... and they all love the girls; 6) the girls ran round the neighborhood visiting the other dog homes for hours; 7) none of my neighbors had my number to call; and 8) the girls are travelers, as they were picked up by Animal Control the next town over ... at noon. But because they didn't have collars, no one knew who they were.

So I spent that Wednesday night looking for the girls (until 4:15am) and going bonkers thinking the worst. I called my local Animal Control and Police ... they hadn't collected any dogs that day (now I was REALLY worried); so then I called and emailed the neighboring Animal Control officers.

I went up to the grade school the next morning, because the school was the last place anyone remembered seeing them, and just as I parked the car the phone rang. Next town's Animal Control had picked them up the day before and brought them ... get this ... to my vet. MY. VET. Which is where the next town houses it's strays.

So I beat the odds and got my babies back, and now they wear collars all the time, and I've chained and bungeed the gates to supplement the locks. Also figured out Boogie popped the gate in the first place by lunging at it. She's tried a couple more times that I've seen, but can't budge the extra precautions.

Then last week I made sweet potato casserole for the office Christmas party, and Saturday noticed the kitchen sinks wouldn't drain. Enter the plunger. No dice. Call plumber. Snaked the drain, all is well again.

And that's where we are now. Since things are finally calming down at work, I'm hoping to start back up on the blogging ... this time around so the folk I left out in MO can keep up on my shenanigans (at least, waht they don't read about in facebook!).

In Memoriam for Those Who Have Fallen for Our Freedoms

2011-05-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

A Take on Blake's "Jerusalem" - Elizabeth Moon

This for the friends we had of old,

Friends for a lifetime's love and cheer.

This for the friends who come no more,

Who cannot be among us here.

We'll not forget, while we're alive,

These hallowed dead, these deeds of fame.

Where they have gone, we follow soon

Into the darkness and the flame.

Then we shall rise, our duty done,

Freed from all pain and sorrow here,

We'll leave behind ambition's sting

And keep alive our honor dear.

And they will stand beside us then

All whom we loved and hoped to see

And they shall sing, a glad AMEN,

To cheer that final victory.

Bring me my bow of burning gold

Bring me my arrows of desire

Bring me my ship — O clouds unfold

Bring me my chariot of fire.

We shall not cease our faithful watch

Nor shall the sword sleep in our hand

Till we have gone beyond the stars

To join that fair immortal band.

BOUGHT!!! (Well, Almost Bought)

2011-04-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

Hello again. Been so long since I last posted regularly that I'm having trouble remembering how to do it. Well, that and the changes to Blogger that I haven't had a chance to dig into. In a nutshell:

Put an offer on a house in MA and, after a wee bit of haggling, Seller accepted.
Roof failed inspection ... asked Seller to replace and, after a(nother) wee bit of haggling, Seller accepted most of the cost.
Been quite merrily painting and repainting pictures of the rooms in my soon-to-be-new house via various you-paint-it websites.
Making a list of things to do to the new house ... now to the tune of more than I've offered for house in the first place! Not really, but you catch my drift.
Am waiting in unadulterated glee for house to be mine so I can get in there and fix it up and have a fence installed so I can get my babies back from friends who are caring for them in MO (I really, REALLY miss them!).
With any luck am rounding out the worst best year of my life on a positive note, as things just keep getting better and better.

That's it for now; will post pictures as soon as it's all presentable!

SOLD!!!

2010-12-19T19:14:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I KNOW it's been a r*e*a*l*l*y long time since my last blog, but I've been Busy. Incredibly Busy (hence the capital "B"). So Busy, in fact, that I've neglected la isla d'lisa horribly. So I figured I'd give you a quick update.

Best news first: sold my house! YAY!! Closing January 5th. SO HAPPY! Not perfect, because selling price ended up being less than I paid seven years ago ... but good, still, because it's more than I owe, so I'll have something for a down payment on a new place to call home.

My lovely home was on the market slightly more than 4 months ... pretty much sucked. I love that place. Cannot for the life of me figure out why it took so long for someone else to fall in love with it. Not very many people in the market this time of year, housing market taking a huge hit, foreclosures increasing, I get it, yada yada yada. So listing price dropped. Dropped again. And again. And finally that last time. Sigh.

But someone new does now love my baby, so it's all good. I hope they're a young family just starting out; but even if they're not, that's cool. So long as they love that house, that's all I ask.

So I'm setting up to bring Vonnie and Duders back East with me after the closing ... Boogie and Kaia will be awhile longer, because I'm in a loft right now and, although they allow dogs, not large breeds. Labs, especially these two big galumphs, certainly qualify as too large for this place.

With the new job I've been putting in 12-plus hours a day for five months now. Five. Months. FIVE. Since July 26th. Do you know how much that sucks?

Very much.

And most weekends (and holidays) either going into the plant or working from home (until 2:30am this morning, in fact ... then starting up again before noon). Made worse by the fact that every day, when I finally do drag myself back to whichever temporary housing I'm in (e.g., hotel #1, hotel #2, apartment, hotel #3, or loft), I have no babies to snuggle, and I love me a good doggy or kitty snuggle while watching the boob tube.

No Duders underfoot every moment I'm in the house, tripping me up everywhere I go (I don't tend to look down much). No Vonnie setting up stealth attacks from the top of the refigerator, or the tv, or the armoire ... or from under the bed, sofa, or desk. No Kaia happier to see me than anyone else in the whole wide world, and equally happy I've moved into another room, and equally happy I've let her up on the bed, and positively gleeful I've let her out, and in, and out again ... displaying said glee to all the world by bouncing up and down on both front legs. No Boogie pretending to ignore me but somehow ending up in whichever room I am headed toward before I get there, quickly checking out the area and giving me a quick doggie kiss on the hand before moving off to her throne ... er, couch ... in the kitchen.

Man do I miss them! But not for much longer.

And not having anything that is mine ... the first two hotels, then the temporary apartment for three months (fully furnished, but not my stuff), then moving into the 3rd hotel for a week (I had accumulated enough stuff in three months at the apartment that it completely filled the truck ... well, actually Mom, Dad, and I had brought enough stuff back from MO on various trips back-and-forth that it completely filled the truck), and now in the loft, with, you guessed it, rented furniture. Well, I've bought some of my own that will be delivered next week, so at least I can really feel at home.

That last full week I was in MO, wrapping things up at the KS plant, I had put an ad on Craig's List giving away free furniture Saturday morning ... and within five minutes got my first call.

In a little less than six hours I had given away most of a house and then some ... complete master bedroom set (bed, bureau, dresser/mirror, end table), kitchen (table and chairs, microwave, Foreman grill, shelving unit), Living room set (sofa, chair, coffee table, end tables), television, bags of clothes, etc.

I figure it's good karma, especially hearing the stories of some of these folk; the family of five who's dad was on disability, the stay-at-home mom trying to keep within a strict budget, the single mom freshly escaped from an abusive relationship who's brother saw the ad and sent her over with their mom to pick up everything that was left (she had run from her creep with her kids and little else). It's kind of an awesome feeling helping people out, you know?

I highly recommend it.

And work, which has been extremely long-houred, is getting better under control, with the installation of new systems that will make for far few manual processes (yay!).

So that's pretty much it in a nutshell. I promise to post a little more often, seeing as even though I am now "back home" with the rest of you, I've not been able to see many of you very often yet (this will change once we've got all our new systems up and running at the plant).

Oh Maaaaan ... Bummer

2010-09-16T21:03:00.002-05:00

They canceled My Boys. Fuckers.

Not Enough Time in a Day ...

2010-08-04T22:51:00.000-05:00

Okay, so ... I'm moving. One of the reasons I haven't been bloggerating much in such awhile. Terrific and great things have been happening!! For reals, people.

But also crazy-making-with-the-busy things.

So, getting the house ready for market (how serendipitous is it that the siding just got done? very, that's how) with just a shit-ton of help from Mom and Dad, without whom this whole thing would be virtually impossible. Im. Paw. Sibb. Bull.

And training two folk at old job in taking over my duties (yeah, I think it's funny that it will take two people to do it, too!).

And learning my new job from the dude who is doing it now (while navigating the minefield that is internal politics at a new job).

And going back and forth between the two jobs in the meantime.

And having all expenses paid, but not really, because they're really reimbursed and oh-by-the-way-did-you-know-that-means-you-need-a-credit-card?

Which I do not have. For a reason. Which I do not want.

Sigh.

Then there's the truck, and the friend who got in an accident while using it last week. Right in the middle of my needing it desperately. The friend who hit a parked car with it. The friend who only has liability insurance (which, to be fair, is all I have, too, so I really should just shut up). The friend who also doesn't have the funds to pay for the relatively expensive repairs to my truck (my poor truck ... I love that thing!).

And the ... ahem, choose your own adjectve here ... insurance agent who apparently didn't understand when I told him last week to make SURE he cared for the party who's parked car was hit (all I need is some kind of lawsuit over that), since he called me today to let me know that the party is getting pretty upset her car hasn't been looked at and she's got a rental she's paying for herself.

What?!?!

Did I not tell you to take care of her?

"Oh, well yeah, but I thought you meant try to get friend's insurance to cover it, and I haven't been able to get her to answer her phone."

NO!! Get it taken care of!!!

Sheesh. That poor so-and-so with the smashed car. Can you imagine? I mean really! For crying out loud ... I'm fully covered in that respect: car repairs, rental while car is out of service, injury (thank goodness there weren't any!), the whole nine. I can't believe this guy.

He also keeps telling me on and off that friend's insurance will pay for repairs to my truck, then no that it won't, then yes that it will, then no it won't ...

Whatevs.

Antway, lots of travel lately, and hotel stays, and company, and trying to figure out how on Earth I accumulated so much junk?! And does anyone want any of it? Please? Got a full walnut bedroom set here, and a living room set, and a butcherblock kitchen set ... it's like I have a duplicate house!

And the books! It is so hard to get rid of any! I once gave my entire book collection away (to my old school) and have regretted it ever since, as I truly loved some of those books and have never been able to find replacements.

So this time around I am in full-on agita just thinking about losing some. Although I did go through them and came up with a carton that I can (gasp!) live without.

But I can't just throw them away! They're BOOKS!!! We don't throw away books!! We can't!! So I'm thinking of dumping them in the book return at the local library. Is that lame? I can't tell.

I've taken photos of most of the stuff I'm not taking, to see if anyone at work wants it ... if not, I guess it's Salvation Army or something. I mean, it's all good stuff, I'm simply downsizing. Perhaps there's a yard sale in my future after all!

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-07-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellow'd to that tender light

Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impair'd the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

-Lord George Gordon Byron

RIP Madeleine, 1995-2010

2010-07-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

I am bone-crushingly tired and just plain worn out. It's been crazy these past few weeks; a real roller coaster of emotions and stressors. And today I am just worn out.

First thing this morning I headed up to the vet's to say goodbye to my sweet little Maddie, who was simply the most lovable little thing I've ever known. This was supposed to happen last night after work, but some complete asshat got in an accident and the traffic was terrible and I was late. I guess. I mean, they were supposed to be there until 6:30, yet I arrived at 6:18 to a dark and closed-up-tighter-than-a-drum animal hospital.

Which completely set me off on a crying jag, as my sweet little kitty now had to spend yet another night caged and funnel-collared, alone in a scary place.

Anyway, I went up this morning and they brought her to me, and I tucked her up on my shoulder, under my chin, and petted and soothed her until she relaxed, recognized me, and started up with the purring. Smelling of sickness and urine - but underneath that, of herself. I breathed deeply of her one last time; we had ourselves a confab for a bit, then Awesome Doc came in and sedated Mads. She fell deeply asleep in my arms, sighing into it one last time, while I put the pats on her the entire time.

Then came the final shot to the heart, and it was over just like that.

I'd had Maddie fifteen years ... rescued her from the ASPCA in Edison, NJ, back in 1995, when she was about 6 months old. She'd been picked up after having been hit by a car in the dead of Winter. Lost most of her tail and the tips of her ears to frostbite. I had been recruited to adopt her because she was too ugly (!!! I ask you, look at that picture and tell me, was she ugly?!? NO!! she was ADORABLE) and had been there a few months with no interested parties (she was said to be feral).

Of course I took her! Benny and Joey were three, and we had recently lost our rescued Persian, Tia, to some incurable unknown horror show. I knew the boys would be fine with another feline ... just didn't know how long it would take this newbie to warm up.

Got her home, prepped the bedroom for her (rule of thumb for introducing new cats: keep them separated in their own room a week, allowing for interaction under the door with the rest of the pets) ... she would have none of it and had escaped into the living room with the boys within the hour. Within a half hour, really.

They fell in love with her right away. No hissing. No spitting (from any of them). From then on, if one cat was sleeping anywhere, the other two were piled around. Maddie never once exhibited typical feral cat behavior: she loved people and attention immediately, and was extremely vocal right from the start.

She moved to RI with me, then out here to MO, and I was fully planning on taking her back home to New England with me, but it was not to be.

And maybe that's okay. All the kitty-siblings she came out here with (Benny, Joey, and Annie, our adopted barn cat) have died here in MO ... my Maddie's spirit certainly will not be lonely!

It's just the shock of it all ... I had plenty of time to prepare for both Benny and Joey, who had thyroid issues that slowly burned them out. Annie was sudden and completely unexpected. But Maddie was fine; she's never been sick a day in her life, and only ever been to the vet to be spayed 11 years ago. I went on vacation and when I came back ten days later she was gravely ill. Gravely. Hadn't eaten, scabs all over her body, pulling her own fur out in an effort to scratch some itch.

The first hospitalization seemed to go well; she got steroids and antibiotics and started eating and talking at me. She was home three days, going strong, then just stopped eating on the fourth day.

While taking steroids ... which should have made her ravenous. She weighed 7.2 lbs last week, and 6.5 lbs yesterday. Almost a 10% weight loss. In a week. When she should have gained weight. With all the tests and whatnot, Awesome Doc couldn't figure it out. Said she's only seen something like it once before, and hadn't ever figured that out either.

The second hospitalization did not go so well. They had to put the funnel collar on her, she was digging into her belly so bad. They had to hydrate her sub-q, because she started vomiting everything she drank. They tried to feed her, but she wasn't interested. And still all her tests came back negative, with only a slightly elevated white blood count.

I feel guilty. If I weren't moving back to New England shortly, I may have had Awesome Doc try more. But. I couldn't bring Maddie with me into temporary housing like I had planned - she'd not have survived the trip. And I couldn't leave her here under a sitter's care - that's asking too much, and the sitter didn't notice a problem the first time around (not her fault ... two dogs and four cats are difficult to watch when they're not yours and you don't know everything about them). And I can't afford to hospitalize her.

I couldn't stand the thought of her steadily getting worse; I knew my responsibility to this little one I have cherished, and that wasn't to turn my back on a difficult situation and hope it went away.

So I said goodbye to my little cat this morning, and I'm feeling blue. As my big brother said, it's been a rough year for cats over here. But I'm positive Joey met her at the Gate, and took her off in search of Ben and Annie. They're all sharing one huge succulent salmon right about now. Or maybe roast beef ... the kids did so love roast beef.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-07-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-Dylan Thomas

My Passing Familiarity with "Bittersweet"

2010-07-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

This has been a strange few weeks, with some absolutely awesome things happening, and some terrifically hidious things happening, all kind of rolled up in some oh-my-word-I-am-so-effin-TIRED.

So. Not very long ago a friend in the business asked if I was still interested in moving back home to New England. I replied in the affirmative, and explained the various places I've been looking for work.

He had an Inside Scoop, and passed his contact to me. Who I promptly called and e-mailed. She forwarded my info to the hiring person, who seemed shall we say less than interested in the wonder that is me.

I know! Right? What was she thinking?!?!

Anywho, I advised I'd be in the area on vacation and quite happy to come in for an interview. No response.

In the meantime, colleagues, unbeknownst to me, were giving an earful as to the wonder that is me (thought I was just kidding about that, didn't you?). So then it was on. Can I just say "YAY!" right here?

YAY!!

I fly back home Friday night, and my SIL picks me up at the airport. On the drive we get a phone call: my 99 year old Nam, my last surviving grandparent, had passed. The Absolute Suckage.

Two days later, 80-plus loved ones got together for an all day celebration of Mom's and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. It. Was. Spectacular. I was worried that Dad would have a really hard time of it but, as Aunt Sue pointed out: the family was all together. What a perfect time to have such concrete evidence of the love and support of everyone.

Three days after that I go on the interview. It. Was. Awesome. I wanted that job so much I could smell it. And I was offered it on the spot, with the official letter to come in two days.

Yeah, that day arrives (Friday before the long holiday weekend) and no offer letter. Nooooo! Now I have to sit all (long) weekend and wait for it! Will it be enough money? Will there be relocation? Temporary housing? What? What!!

On the 4th we have our annual reunion on the island, with 44 attendees this year. So fun!! Then I fly back West to work Tuesday morning. Still no offer, and no explanation as to the delay.

That's what bothered me the most: being left in the dark.

So, I get home from my 10 day vacation around 7pm Tuesday night, only to find my 15 year old cat Maddie gravely ill. I tell you I lost it, right then and there. My poor girl obviously hadn't eaten the entire time I was gone, and her entire body was encrusted with some kind of skin rash.

She crept out from under the bed on unsteady legs and collapsed on the floor next to me. She couldn't get up on the bed; could barely stand, actually, and had crusty scabs over 80% of her body. The 20% without scabs was because she had no fur at all and the skin was clammy and fire-engine red. WTF? I pulled out a jar of baby food, and she devoured a spoonful. I waited an hour to see if she'd sick-up and, when she didn't, gave her another spoonful.

She ate half the jar (which is tiny) and collapsed in exhaustion. She kept waking up all night and snuggling into my shoulder like she was amazed I was really there. I fed her 1/4 of a can of cat food the next morning and ran her up to the vet (the Awesome Doctor Laura) who decided on the spot to keep her overnight.

I don't get it; I've been going back home twice a year for the past 10 years and she's never had a problem. I thought this was stress, but a week later she's back at the vet, dehydrated and with a 10% weight loss while on steroids. Makes no sense, as steroids make pets ravenously hungry and thirsty.

Anyway, while I've been going through Maddie concerns in the week I've been back here in Misery (she's up all night, vocalizing, which means yours truly is also waking up, all night, listening ... last night I actually slept in the spare bedroom so I could sleep through the night), I've also been going crazy over the (possible) new job.

I finally called hiring manager Wednesday to ask after the offer letter, which I had by the end of the day. For much less than I expected. Way less. As in, effectively a cut in pay less. But an awesome relo package.

But too little to actually live on, seeing as there's a 20% delta in cost-of-living.

So I crafted, with the tremendous help of Dad, my counteroffer and shot it off Thursday. And waited for a response.

And waited.

And waited. Until Monday. Which was supposed to have been my start date.

So I called hiring manager, who was headed into a meeting and asked if she could call me back in an hour. Which didn't happen.

So I called back yesterday, we hammered out the pay issue, and she sent a revised offer letter.

But wait. Someone in the upper echelons has to confirm my years of service (this is a sister company) and health benefits will transfer with no breaks. Well, my HR thinks so, but can't be held to it; refer to hiring manager, who thinks so, but can't be held to it; refer to hiring HR, who thinks so, but has only been on the job three weeks so needs to investigate.

Needless to say, I stipulated to the bridge-in-service in my acceptance letter.

And now, it looks like tomorrow morning on the way into work I will be stopping at the veterinarian's to cuddle my dear sweet Mads as Awesome Doc administers the drug (they just cannot get a handle on what is wrong with her or why, and she's not reacting as expected to antibiotics or steroids; her eyes are now slits due to crust and light sensitivity and she's got even more encrustations all over that aren't clearing up). Sigh. This f'n sucks.

So: Nam passed, wonderful 50th anniversary, job interview, wait for job offer, wonderful 4th of July, wait for job offer, discover very sick cat, wait for job offer, get low-ball job offer, submit counter-offer, wait for response, cat gets worse, get revised job offer, very sick cat, wait for HR info, stressed out/no sleep.

Now have to get actual start date, temporarily farm out (surviving) cats and dogs, sell house, pack belongings, store belongings, buy house, ship belongings, transport pets, etc. I'm exhausted, but am pretty sure I'm bordering on happy in there somewhere. Just can't feel it right now. Have I mentioned I'm exhausted? Poor Mom picked up the phone this morning and was ambushed by me bawling over Mads (thanks Mom, and sorry Mom!).

Please, Please, Please Be Careful. Please!

2010-07-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

My BFF texted last night, asking that we pray for the son of one of her sister's friends, who was seriously injured whilst playing with fireworks. Apparently he ... all of 21 ... and a friend were taping a bunch of sparklers together with electrical tape to get a 'sparkler bomb' in an effort to get a bigger bang for their buck.

Something a lot ... and I mean A LOT ... of people do across the country this time of year.

He's lost his right hand (surgeon's amputated at the wrist) and has serious facial injuries and may well lose the vision in his right eye (some reports say he already has, but in actuality he can discern some colors right now) ... physicians are waiting until Tuesday to see how well it heals before they decide on a next step.

The type of eye injury he has, which involves blood in his cornea, is the same type many of our young soldiers are getting overseas, due to bomb concussion and/or phosphorus burns. The best surgeons for this type of injury are also overseas, serving in the military, where they have gained experience treating soldiers.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of surgeons within the United States with the expertise required to save his vision, and they certainly aren't going to throw just any old surgeon on that job ... this, my friends, requires a specialist. Which we do not have. So we wait for his injury-wracked body to heal a bit on it's own, with the support of modern medicine.

What happened? He and his friends were in the kitchen, working on this masterpiece together. And don't get me wrong; if this had worked, it would have been a masterpiece and everyone who enjoyed it would have sang out in glee and awe at the experience.

But instead they got a different experience, and the singing out in glee will be much delayed, and most likely much muted, and entirely dependent on how far and how quickly he recovers.

The blast, most likely due to friction that may have been caused by a drill, actually knocked an external wall three inches off the foundation. In all, three of the four people in the house at the time were injured, although his injuries are the most severe.

So here's where I'm going with this: please say a prayer for his recovery, or think good thoughts, or whatever it is you do in these situations. Please also tell this tale to that person (or people) you know who are planning a similar activity.

Don't rant and rave that it's a stupid thing to do, or that they ought to know better ... we all know this to be true, we all also know that just because it's true doesn't mean anyone really wants to hear it ... just remind them that friction, of any kind, does not mix well with explosives.

In fact, it kind of triggers the reaction that makes explosives so very ... um, explosive. At least of the fireworks variety.

And if that still hasn't convinced them ... hide the fireworks.

I mean really; this kids' parents are freaking devastated over this. Devastated. In that way you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. It is truly horrific what has happened here.

His hand is gone. GONE. He may lose not only the vision in his eye, but the eye itself. The EYE. Witnesses told the local news crews that there was blood everywhere, and his lower jaw was gone. Holy crows, his JAW. GONE.

As my SIL's mom says, "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye."

Then shit gets real serious real fast.

Best Informational E-Mail from a Boss, EVARRR!

2010-07-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

Date: Weds, 30 June 2010

From: Matt Rutledge (CEO – Woot.com)
To: All Woot Employees
Subject: Woot and Amazon

I know I say this every time I find a picture of an adorable kitten, but please set aside 20 minutes to carefully read this entire email. Today is a big day in Woot history. This morning, I woke up to find Jeff Bezos the Mighty had seized our magic sword. Using the Arthurian model as a corporate structure was something our CFO had warned against from the very beginning, but now that’s water under the bridge. What is important is that our company is on the verge of becoming a part of the Amazon.com dynasty. And our plans for Grail.Woot are on indefinite hold.

Over the next few days, you will probably read headlines that say “Matt Rutledge revealed to be monstrous pseudo-human creation of Jeff Bezos.” You might even see this photo making the rounds. Rest assured that these rumors have nothing to do with our final decision. We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor’s wife on our iPods.

Other than that, we plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot – with a wall of ideas and a dartboard. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company that could buy and sell each and every one of you like you were office furniture. Nevertheless, don’t worry that our culture will suddenly take a leap forward and become cutting-edge. We’re still going to be the same old bottom-feeders our customers and readers have come to know and love, and each and every one of their pre-written insult macros will still be just as valid in a week, two weeks, or even next year. For Woot, our vision remains the same: somehow earning a living on snarky commentary and junk.

We are excited about doing this for all sorts of reasons. One, our business model is so vague that there’s no way Amazon can possibly change what it is we’re truly doing: preparing the way for the rise of the Lava Men in 2012. Also, our deal means that Jason Toon will finally be released from that Mexican jail owned by Zappos honcho Tony Hsieh. No, don’t lie, Tony, we’ve seen the paperwork. And we need a powerful ally in case Steve Jobs finally breaks down and comes after us for all our Apple jokes over the years. Don’t think of it as a buyout; think of it as NATO!

I will go through each of the above points in more detail later, but first, let me get to the top 5 burning questions that I’m guessing many of you will have.

TOP 5 BURNING QUESTIONS:

Q: F1RST!!!!
A: Okay, that’s not a question, but it is a good place to mention that our forums will still be policed by a team of moderators, as before. And also, Woot’s previous and always-in-effect privacy policy will still be just as always-in-effect, so don’t worry, there are no plans to suddenly give up or merge your forum data.

Q: Is Snapster leaving?
A: Are you kidding? He’s out the door about ten seconds after that check clea- that is to say, Snapster will continue as Woot.com CEO, just like before, and the rest of our staff’s not going anywhere either. Woot and all our various sites will continue to be an independently operated company full of horrible, useless products and an untalented jerkface writing staff, same as it ever was.

Q: Will the Woot culture change?
A: Amazon is interested in us because they recognize the value of our people, our brand, and our unique style of deep-tissue, toxin-releasing massage. And they don’t want to start changing things now. Amazon’s hoping our nutty Woot steez continues to grow and develop (and perhaps even rubs off on them a little). They’re not looking to have their folks come in and run Woot unless we ask them to, which incidentally you can do by turning off the bathroom lights and saying the word “Kindle” three times; a helpful Amazon employee will appear in the mirror. That said, Amazon clearly knows what they’re doing in a lot of areas, so we’re geeked about the opportunities to tap into that knowledge and those resources, especially on the technology side. This is about making the Woot brand, culture, and business even stronger than it is today, and we expect that any changes will be for the better or we wouldn’t bother with this endless paperwork.

Q: Where can I get one of those vuvuzelas?
A: Are you even paying attention?

Several months ago, when we were all sitting on Jeff Bezos’s bumper drinking orange Mad Dog and trying not to be noticed, we heard a voice in the distance yelling “You kids better not scratch my Mercedes or I’m calling the cops!” We ran. It was later that night when Amazon came by the house and said they liked our style and also wanted to get that money we owed them for messing up the chrome. We like to think that our relationship with Amazon will continue at this level for many, many, many years to come.

But we here at Woot are still a thoughtful company, so, at the end of the day, I watched the sunset, and its golden-hued glory made me think about two questions:

Is there really a universal deity?
Does such a thing preclude free will or are we humans in control of our own destiny?

After spending a lot of time falling asleep at the library while facing the philosophy books, I determined that the concept of destiny is a construct that allows man a gentle release from facing the terror of his existence, and that a Hyundai full of twenties would pretty much offer the same benefits. And so, I ultimately said YES!

This is definitely an emotional day for me. The feelings I’m experiencing are similar to what I felt in college on graduation day: excitement about getting a check from my folks combined with nausea from a hellacious bender the night before. I remember fondly that time when an RA turned on the lights and yelled “WHO OWNS THESE PANTS?” Except this time, the pants are a company, and the RA is you, and the sixty five hours of community service is a deal that will ensure the Woot.com experience can continue to grow for years and years and years, like a black mold behind the Gold Box. Join us, because together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Also, there will be six muffins waiting in the company break room, courtesy of the nice folks at Amazon.com. Welcome to the family!

Matt Rutledge
CEO, Woot

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-06-30T22:25:00.001-05:00

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers ...

That perches in the soul ...

And sings the tune without the words ...

And never stops ... at all ...

And sweetest ... in the Gale ... is heard ...

And sore must be the storm ...

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm ...

I've heard it in the chillest land ...

And on the strangest Sea ...

Tey, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb ... of Me.

-Emily Dickinson

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-06-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

The Cure for Exhaustion

Sometimes, exhausted

with toil and endeavor,

I wish I could sleep

for ever and ever;

but then this reflection

my longing allays:

I shall be doing it

one of these days.

-Piet Hein

Today I Am Actually Embarrassed by You

2010-06-22T20:29:00.000-05:00

What a magnificent horse's ass you are these days, Mr. President:

Apparently you have forgotten, or never quite knew, the definition of "bipartisan". Look it up.
You have shown an almost complete lack of interest in British Petroleum's (as of today) 64 days of eradicating all life and livelihood in and around the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, I joke that it's become the Tragic Kingdom ... but then again, it's no joke at all, is it?
You've actually sucked up to the leaders of nations that care little for our way of life and who consider such sucking up a coup for them, or loss of face for the U.S. (do you have anyone on staff with an historical knowledge of international politics?).
You either have no interest in proofreading your speechwriters, or none in how said insults ... er, speeches ... will come across to me and people like me (you know, the "little people"). "Islam has always been a part of America's story" indeed. Idiot. How difficult would it have been to have said "Islam plays an important role in America's ongoing story" instead? Duh.

Now ... NOW ... you have the incredible GALL to be insulted by any comments made by General Stanley McChrystal?!?!?!

What you should do is offer a heartfelt apology to the man for leaving him hanging in the wind for months. You know, awaiting your response to his work on the action item with which you tasked him. Months, Mr. President!

Instead all we're hearing is that you're unhappy with the General's comments and have ordered him to attend the Wednesday morning SitRep meeting in person. We're all anticipating a dressing down of some sort, with the General probably in line to be censored or fired.

Because poor little pwesident (that's you) can't take it when someone is fed up with your inaction. I love that you want us to keep in mind the central focus ... oh, we are, Mr. President ... if that central focus is, once again, you and your hurt feelings.

This man (who, by the way, is doing much better at his job than you are at yours) expressed his frustration publicly. You're probably expecting him to apologize to you, then offer his resignation.

Shame on you, Mr. President. Shame on you.

You not only owe him an apology, but also the men and women serving in ou military, and their families and loved ones.

Be a man Mr. President ... or at least act like one.

BP, You ARE Responsible ...

2010-06-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

Photo of the Gulf from space, or orbit ... whatever, from VERY FAR AWAY (06/12/10).

Pssst! Hey Dad ...

2010-06-20T13:43:00.000-05:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!

You are the absolute BEST. Ever. Bar none. Period.
And when I grow up, I want to meet a man just like you.

Since When is Disrespect a Positive Quality?

2010-06-15T21:39:00.001-05:00

There are a couple youngsters who are no doubt thrilled with themselves lately, but my opinion is they need a swift kick in the ass. I’m talking about the youths who accosted Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC) on the streets of DC. Yes, I’ve seen the footage … but I must have seen something different than everyone else, because I have no problem with the Congressman’s behavior.

From my perspective it sure seems like this gentleman was accosted by a couple rotten little pukes in an “ambush interview” and treated quite disrespectfully. Let’s see, he’s walking down the street and a kid says, “Hi Congressman.” To which he politely replied. Then the kid asks, “Do you fully support the Obama agenda?”

Okay. So now the Congressman realizes this is not just a polite young man passing him by … oh no! It’s an “ambush interview”! With a camera stuck in his face, and now there are two young turks giving it to him. Nice.

So he asks, “Who are you?” Which is never, not once, answered by these horse’s asses, and that’s my issue. Yes, they said “I’m here for a project, sir” (notice the honorific, which we all know is universal code for non-orific), “We’re just here for a project”, and “I’m just a student, sir”.

The Congressman specifically said, at various times, “Tell me who you are”, “From?”, “From who?”, and “I have a right to know who you are.” Which, guess what? He does. If you’re positioning yourself as somehow allowed to behave in this manner because you’re on ‘official’ business (e.g., working for a company, newspaper, school, etc) then DAMN STRAIGHT you need to identify yourself. And if you won’t? That just tells me you’re full of shinola, pal, and are undeserving of respect FROM me when you won’t give any TO me.

There was no reason, other than to purposely tweak him, not to answer the man’s request for identification. And anyone who thinks the generic, meant-to-annoy, wiseass sound bites these two provided constitute answers is woefully uninformed in general, if that’s their idea of the answer to a question. Either that, or they are easily mislead by basic subterfuge and oh, look! A BUTTERFLY! (scampers off)

Okay … that said, the neck grab. Yeah, the Congressman let his annoyance get the best of him. You can tell he realized it almost immediately, while still being quite steamed. But you know what? Little shitheel deserved it. And he still owes the Congressman an apology.

Now, before you start getting all pissy with me and my 'agenda' ... no, I am not a Democrat; yes, I firmly believe basic common decency and manners will get you a long way, and; yes, you better damn well respect your elders, period. These people have forgotten more than you've ever imagined and experienced combined.

I Feel Guilty/Angry Laughing ...

2010-06-12T02:38:00.002-05:00

Knock-Knock. Who’s There? 2 + 2 = 4, Duh

2010-06-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

So it’s been a week since the house has been sided (vinyl over insulation over moisture wrap) aaaaaand … a week of uninterrupted sleep! Methinks the two may be connected.

It’s been so long since I slept through the night that I’d almost forgotten what it was like. I actually had forgotten that before this house (which is wonderful) sleepless nights were few and far between. Since this house? Seven years of up-all-night. I’d convinced myself that I’m just one of those people who sleeps so lightly that I wake up in between sleep cycles; and I sleep better at Mom’s & Dad’s because it’s VACATION AIR!! SALT AIR!! NEW ENGLAND ISLAND AIR!! Seriously.

So, you wanna know what it’s like to sleep through the night?

GLORIOUS!!! That’s what!! I LOVE IT!

But then I had to think … why would siding the house make a difference? I mean, I knew it would cut down on the noise, because it’s adding to the barrier between inside and outside … but how big a difference can it be? Seriously. How much?

Turns out; a whole lot. Turns out; all the pictures aren’t supposed to rattle against the walls whenever a train goes through. Yeah, this from me, who lives within a mile of a railroad track that has ridiculously looong 150-car trains through every night, in … yeah, you guessed it … two hour intervals: 10pm, 12am, 2am, 4am, and 6am …

I never put it together.

So now, this past week, the house is sssssilent at night, with that crackling, hissing, eardrum-crushing silence only a complete lack of noise can make. Would drive me crazy if I didn’t have a SOUND OASIS, which I only have because I thought the reason I sleep so well at Mom’s & Dad’s is because I can hear the waves crashing on the beach from my bedroom there, so that’s the sound I play back here in Misery.

Didn’t work all that well, by the way … but I stuck with it; frequently changing the sound level, thinking all it would take to work was for me to get it just right.

And it did, after I changed the sound from waves to crickets, and moved it under the window … now, although the window is closed, it doesn’t take much to imagine the window open and the crickets chirping away through the night.

All week I’ve been going to bed and not waking up until the next morning … sometimes not until the alarm goes off!! Cool.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday: Trees, Joyce Kilmer

2010-06-09T19:09:00.000-05:00

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday - ish

2010-06-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things -

For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced - fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change;

Praise Him.

-Gerard Manley Hopkins

Our Thanks, a Million Times Over, to You

2010-05-31T20:37:00.000-05:00

Departure

Oh, why are you shining so bright, big Sun,

And why is the garden so gay?

Do you know that my days of delight are done,

Do you know I am going away?

If you covered your face with a cloud, I'd dream

You were sorry for me in my pain,

And the heads of the flowers all bowed would seem

To be weeping with me in the rain.

But why is your head so low, sweetheart,

And why are your eyes overcast?

Are they clouded because you know we must part,

Do you think this embrace is our last?

Then kiss me again, and again, and again,

Look up as you bid me goodbye!

For your face is too dear for the stain of a tear,

And your smile is the sun in my sky.

-Henry Van Dyke

Weekly Idol - Finals

2010-05-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

Wow. So, if America uses tonight's performance as the litmus for the latest Idol, then Crystal's got it hands-down. She was fantastic, from song choice to vocals to arrangements.

But. Lee's still my fave, so I'm hoping folk recall that three weeks plus of just 'meh' from Crystal as well as a final powerhouse performance does not a best-of-the-best performer make (please please please).

Besides, have I mentioned how I want Lee to win? Because that would mean that for the three seasons I have been watching, I am 3 for 3. SO VOTE LEE 'MURRICA, VOTE LEE.

Oh, well ... since I haven't the time or the energy to vote for Lee a million times over to ensure his win, it's rawther a good thing that I like Crystal, too. Besides, really, who thinks either won't go on to make music?

Yeah, me neither.

YES, Dad ... Crystal did better t-o-n-i-g-h-t. But Lee's betterer. Huh, so THERE. What I really think is that Crystal is not so much a pop star as she is an indie/folkie/rockster ... I think she'd do solid awesome in intimate settings, whereas Lee can rock the arena, so to speak.

I have spoken ... er, wroten ... er, bloggened.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-05-19T18:44:00.001-05:00

Casabianca

Love’s the boy stood on the burning deck

trying to recite ‘The boy stood on

the burning deck.’ Love’s the son

stood stammering elocution

while the poor ship in flames went down.

Love’s the obstinate boy, the ship,

even the swimming sailors, who

would like a schoolroom platform, too,

or an excuse to stay

on deck. And love’s the burning boy.

-Elizabeth Bishop

Weekly Idol: Top 3 – Semifinals

2010-05-18T20:48:00.001-05:00

I so love it that the final three are more rock than pop … more BAM than zip. I love rock, totally, completely, explicitly … doesn’t matter the generation, be it old school or new, rock just plain rocks my world.

And to have the final three of the biggest pop-fest in America be rockers tells me that my peeps may well be universal. Way cool.

Okay, I’m telling you … Lee blew the night away with two very strong performances, hands down. Casey then edged Crystal out for second best (in my humble opinion).

Idol’s Selections:

Lee Dewyze, Simple Man … how much do I LOVE that Lee did Skynyrd on AI? ToInfinityAndBeyond! much! Skynyrd! And a great job! Fan-freaking-tastic!

Casey James, Okay, It’s All Right With Me … I’ve never even heard of the song or the artist before, but I loved it. Take a cup of Seger, couple ounces Cocker, just a pinch of Mraz, a tablespoon of 311, and top it off with just a dash of David Grey. Splendid. Gimme more. VOTED OFF

Crystal Bowersox, Come to My Window … not her best, little bit screechy, but solid. I kind of expected more, you know?

Judge’s Selections:

Lee Dewyze, Hallelujah … can I just say that I’m not enamored of this song? It irritates me no end. It just doesn’t strike me as the kind of song to be whispered (or whatever the heck Buckley did to it). Not one of my favorites, so I was all “SUCK!” when Simon picked it. Then my man Lee came out and did a perfect job of it. Best. Rendition. Ever. Actually brought a tear to my eye. Oh, beautiful.

Casey James, Daughters … I totally expected Casey to collapse on this; could they have done any more to set him up to fail? I have to laugh because I was revising my opinion as I was writing it during Casey’s performance. Didn’t like how he started out, but fell in love by the end. It’s tough to do Mayer, because he’s in a league of his own, stylistically, so you have to really make it different, or duplicate it exactly. I thought Casey was trying (and failing) to duplicate Mayer, until he slipped away and actually did make it his own. Sweet. VOTED OFF

Crystal Bowersox, Maybe I’m Amazed … horrible song choice! Blecht! Poor Crystal didn’t stand a chance; she’s not even remotely this type musician. Wow. Bad week for Crystal.

Seeing as my wishes have been granted in the AI universe lately, I’m going to keep on keeping on wishing for Lee to go all the way … and either Casey or Crystal to runner-up (I’m good with either, although if I have to admit my preference, it’s Casey … that voice! I love that voice!).

All Aboard!

2010-05-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

I am SOOO okay with this ... let's ALL do it!

I'm pretty much done with all the complaining about "illegal aliens". Nope, I'm not a Liberal (actually fairly Conservative, for those of you not already in the know), but I cannot believe all the hoopla about illegal day laborers stealing our jobs, etc.

Really? I don't know about you, but I can't recall the last time I was interested in being paid minimum wage (or below) to do hard physical work. Nope, not even on the radar. I can't paint a house, perform landscaping, pick crops, fix vehicles, build a house/deck, put in a pool, etc.

Which is not to say I'd turn up my nose at the work; if it was all I could find I'd totally be on it. But. I'd have absolutely no idea how to do it! So already a day laborer (e.g., illegal alien) is a better bet than I am!

And the argument that they're going to cost us sooo much money to medically insure ... oh, please. Grow up.

Speaking as someone with a debilitating chronic (and currently) incurable disease that absolutely requires medical intervention to be kept in control, I don't want to be responsible for anyone not getting medical treatment. Ever.

So howsabout we, meaning our Local/State/Federal Government, reign in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries instead of beating up on the littlest of the Little Guys, huh?

And FYI: if you were born in the United States, then you are a U.S. citizen, period.

Next argument being "but they came here specifically to have an American baby so they can stay, and we can't have THAT!!"

I happen to agree. My (radical) thought is to document said child as a U.S. citizen, then to work with the birth parents on the best possible solution for this American child, which may be one of the following:

Move back to the birth mother's country of origin to be raised ... until the age of 18, when the child would be allowed to make his or her own decision on where he or she wanted to live.
Remain in the U.S. with a relative who is a U.S. citizen.
Remain in the U.S. as a ward of the state in which he or she was born, to be put up for adoption by a U.S. citizen.
Create a foster program for these children where they'd be raised as U.S. citizens by U.S. citizens.

There are so many families in the United States that are desperate for a child, why not kill two birds?

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-05-12T20:30:00.000-05:00

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

-Lt. Col. John McCrae MD

Blogger Just Peeves Me ... Lately

2010-05-12T20:25:00.002-05:00

okay, can i just say how EFFING ANNOYING blogger has been lately, what with all the NOT posting as written insofar as SPACING is concerned?

FAAA-AAA-AAACK!

Weekly Idol: Top 4 – Songs From the Movies

2010-05-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

I’m living proof that music frees the soul, because it certainly frees mine. It releases the chains that strap me down in daily life; unwilling to show the emotion that boils directly beneath the surface of the me I let the world see.

For me, music releases dreams to flight and sets the score to the imagination … which is the main reason why I simply love a good soundtrack. If I’m watching a movie (or television series) and the music not only emphasizes the scene but brings a deeper element to life, then that song or score stays with me forever.

My three (you didn’t expect me to have just one, did you?) favorite Masters of Movie Music, mainly due to consistency of excellence, are John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Quentin Tarantino. Although completely different stylistically, they have set the bar for me.

So how did tonight measure up? Weeeeeell, let’s face it, the duets were marvelous:

DUET – Crystal & Lee, Falling Slowly … I love this song, love it, love it, love it; these two started slow and frankly had a HUGE possibility to be horrible, but then they made a magnificent changeover to rock, which (let’s face it) is their shared bailiwick. Looks like I’ll now have three versions of this gem in my iPod: the original artists, Kris Allen, and now these two. Great job; lovely. Best overall performance of the night.

DUET – Casey & Mike, Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman … terrific; almost as good as Crystal's and Lee's duet.

As for the solo performances, here’s how they hit me:

Casey James, Mrs. Robinson … I like Casey more and more every week; that little tremor he gets going; nice, very nice. This was sweet, for reals. I especially liked … almost everything about it. It was like Eddie Vedder meets the Beatles meets Simon & Garfunkel ... I can't wait to hear the full version. Best solo performance of the night.

Lee Dewyze, Kiss From a Rose … not his best performance ever, but nothing wrong with it either; we all know Lee’s pitchy, but for me it enhances his work because it occurs during the moments when the emotions of the ‘first person perspective’ should have impact. Beautiful.

Crystal Bowersox, I’m Alright … hee hee hee heh heh, oh, gasp! It is so flipping fun to watch this little girl GO. She’s like, “make me.” Every. Single. Week. “Make me do it your way, c’mon, make me.” Not. Bloody. Likely. Well done.

(Melodramatic) Michael Lynch, Will You Be There … ergh – bored now; he simply does nothing for me. Nothing (solo, at least … he was swell in his duet, though). VOTED OFF

Hunh, this is more difficult than expected. Based on tonight’s solo performances Michael is done (in my view … I’m sure someone else will get booted, though, because I appear to be all biased against poor Mikey or something, seeing as he annoys the living daylights out of me but the rest of the nation appears to love him).

I want the top three to be Lee, Crystal, and Casey. Who’d a thunkit (um yeah, that, my friends, was sarcasm … I’ve been leaning this way for weeks).

Pssst! Hey Mom ...

2010-05-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!

You are the absolute BEST. Ever. Bar none. Period.
And when I grow up , I want to be just like you.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-05-05T19:26:00.003-05:00

I Keep Six Honest Serving Men

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views;
I know a person small ...
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

-Rudyard Kipling

Weekly Idol: Top 5 – Sinatra!

2010-05-04T21:33:00.002-05:00

I love Sinatra … one of my absolute favorites (among very, very many) is Summer Wind. Love it, love it, love it.

The thing about Sinatra is he’s iconic, so in order to do well in the AI world on a Sinatra song, I really think you have to … wait for it … you know I ‘m going there (I have been all season long) … think outside the box, people! CHANGE IT UP, as it were. And what is the deal with Simon? He’s just been phoning it in lately, no?

Okay, tonight:

Lee Dewyze, That’s Life … Best. Of. The. Night. Period.

Michael Lynch, The Way You Look Tonight … fantastic (HAH! you thought I’d be all “SUCKAGE!”, didn’t you?) but I do have a but, and here it is … Kris Allen did it much, much better just last year, and his is my gold standard for AI renditions. But almost the best of the night, with only Lee doing better (you know Lee? My favorite? Yeah, that Lee).

Crystal Bowersox, Summer Wind … my song! MY SONG!! Started slow, but ended beautifully. Yes, the beginning seemed a little too soft for the backing music. But that wrap up? Lovely.

Casey James, Blue Skies … his voice sounded a little weak (I fully expected Ryan to pull out the infamous AI laryngitis treatment), but I liked it, for real.

Aaron Kelly, Fly Me to the Moon … Very “Glee”, as in … High School Musical, as in … high school musical, as in … simply not good enough. VOTED OFF

Of those remaining I still favor Lee, Crystal, and then Casey … the rest can go, in the words of Timberlake and (former) crew, “Bye Bye Bye!” But based on tonight's performances, Aaron should be packing his bags (IMHO ... well, not very H at all, really).

Wicked Awesome Poem (NOT) Wednesday

2010-04-29T19:16:00.001-05:00

The Song of the Jellicle

Jellicle Cats come out tonight,

Jellicle Cats come one come all:

The Jellicle Moon is shining bright--

Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.

Jellicle Cats are black and white,

Jellicle Cats are rather small;

Jellicle Cats are merry and bright,

And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.

Jellicle Cats have cheerful faces,

Jellicle Cats have bright black eyes;

They like to practise their airs and graces

And wait for the Jellicle Moon to rise.

Jellicle Cats develop slowly,

Jellicle Cats are not too big;

Jellicle Cats are roly-poly,

They know how to dance a gavotte and a jig.

Until the Jellicle Moon appears

They make their toilette and take their repose:

Jellicles wash behind their ears,

Jellicles dry between their toes.

Jellicle Cats are white and black,

Jellicle Cats are of moderate size;

Jellicles jump like a jumping-jack,

Jellicle Cats have moonlit eyes.

They're quiet enough in the morning hours,

They're quiet enough in the afternoon,

Reserving their terpsichorean powers

To dance by the light of the Jellicle Moon.

Jellicle Cats are black and white,

Jellicle Cats (as I said) are small;

If it happens to be a stormy night

They will practise a caper or two in the hall.

If it happens the sun is shining bright

You would say they had nothing to do at all:

They are resting and saving themselves to be right

For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball.

-T. S. Eliot

Weekly Idol: Top 6 – Shania Twain

2010-04-27T22:18:00.003-05:00

Ugh … sigh. If season 9 is any indication, yours truly will not be Idoling it for season 10. Which I guess makes a certain sense. I mean, I never even watched until season 7 (David Cook, people!!! David COOK!), and that was because he was a local boy. Then I watched again season 8 because there were a number of interesting and unique contestants.

But this year? Meh. Shrug.

Of those remaining I like Lee, Crystal, and Casey pretty much equally, and Siobhan almost as much … but my two favorites were removed from competition long ago (Alex and Lilly, anyone?), so I’m not much invested anymore, especially since Michael and Aaron have managed to hang on so long (insert sad tuba sound effect here).

I know, lots of you think they’re both terrif … phbbt! Lots of you have no taste in music, too. BWAH HAH HAH HAH! Just my opinion, people!

So tonight? Mediocre:

Casey James, Don’t … wow, beautifully done, lovely.
Crystal Bowersox, No One Needs to Know … so good; so very, very good!
Lee Dewyze, Still the One … I feel like his version would have benefitted by a listen to the entire song, as opposed to the Idol Snippet, but I still loved it (I figure at this point you can pretty much tell Lee will have to fall down in an on-stage coma for me to give him a less-than-swell review … so sue me, Lisa knows what Lisa likes).
Siobhan Magnus, Any Man of Mine … there’s this weird thing where Siobhan’s vocals drop out of existence between the low notes and the BIG BADS, and that’s a little not-cool, but grrl, you so BAM! VOTED OFF
Aaron Kelly, You Got a Way … sweetly done; too little, too late.
Michael Lynch, It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing … actually better than usual for Michael, but still not my cup o’ tea; but yes, one of his best (which is not saying much … I’m SORRY, but I’m just not a fan).

Had to force myself to post on this tonight … ended up powering through the tedium not so much for your benefit, as for my slightly OCDish have-to-finish-what-I-started-ism.

And Then There's Mads, Who Couldn't Care Less

2010-04-26T20:07:00.000-05:00

Stratton the monkeycat, perched on my shoulders, advising me of his worldview. If only I spoke Mrow, no? He’s up there now, purring fit to bust, thrilled with something he surveys in this shoulder-height kingdom of his. It’s just the mood he’s in tonight … every time I put him down (often) he finds a way to get back up.

And, just to teach me not to remove him from his chosen throne, he keeps digging those daggers most call claws into my back on his way up. He’s declawed up front (oh, shut up … until you’ve had furniture absolutely destroyed by a cat, I don’t want to hear it … besides, he’s an indoor monkeycat, so hind claws are plenty for any escape just-in-case scenario), but those hind daggers are lethal as all get-out.

Harrumph; he must know I’m posting about him, as he’s just left the vicinity with a head snapping leap to the coffee table. The new (to us) coffee table that spent a year plus in the garage. Along with the sofa table, which is now the across-the-front-windows table, seeing as the sofa is of the reclining nature and putting a table behind it would be pure idiocy.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah … aaaand, not to be outdone, Briggsy the monkeycat has just climbed aboard. Blerf. I’ll talk at you later, this typing with monkeycat in lap is even more difficult than with monkeycat around neck.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-04-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art.

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

-William Blake

Weekly Idol: Top 7 – Inspire Me!! Go on, MAKE MY DAY!

2010-04-20T20:58:00.001-05:00

I definitely notice a better Idol listening experience with the audio through the stereo system (thank you, Dad!!), but I have to say this week was a step down from the previous two … maybe it’s just because the Beatles and the King were such great singers/songwriters, no?

Anyway, here’s what lil’ ole me thought:

Two performances were unbelievably fantastic and, dare I say it, inspiring …

Crystal Bowersox, People Get Ready … I love when she sings softly, which is often in the ‘group’ performances yet rare in her individual performances, so this was incredible, and I love, love, love that she got swept up in it (prolly ‘cuz I do, too!). Lovely.
Lee Dewyze, the Boxer … perfectly awesome all the way ‘round; brought a tear to my eye, he put so much emotion into it. Beautiful.

Two other performances were pretty dang good …

Casey James, Don’t Stop … great live show, put me in mind of Bob Seger, but may suffer in the not-live arena.
Siobhan Magnus, When You Believe … not a tune I’m familiar with (I don’t think I’ve ever actually hear it before), but I liked it, and I love that she’s got her own style each week; sweet performance.

The rest of the performances did absolutely nothing for me …

Tim Urban, Better Days … meh. VOTED OFF
Aaron Kelly, I Believe I Can Fly … boring.
Michael Lynch, Hero … cringe, not a very good performance, seemed flat. A lot.

All in all NOT a great episode … not even a good one … but I’m so happy with Lee’s and Crystal’s performances that I’m all good. I will admit, though, that tonight is the first time ever I fast-forwarded through to the end of some of these ‘gems’. Then went back and watched the whole thing because otherwise, my opinion ain’t based in reality. But it was a chore, especially with my bottom three. And I had a very funny (to me) but uncharitable thought about one which I will not share here (it’s unkind, and what has that person ever done to me? Nothing. So no sharing of the funny-but-mean thought) … but it made me laugh out loud, so now I’m checking the interweb to see if anyone else noticed and decided to write it (but I really hope not … did I mention it’s unkind?).

I think the final two will be Lee and Crystal (actually, I hope it will be!).

Crazy Days of Activity and Crankypants

2010-04-18T18:42:00.001-05:00

Wow. Been a minute. Haven’t even subjected all y’all to my weekly poetry blogslam in a couple weeks. I have an excuse … a most awesome excuse: some of you were here!!! Visiting me!!! And I LOVED IT!!!

Now, can we talk about hair? Mine is finally almost all grown out (I’m going for that block-wedge look). After having for the most part very (very) short hair almost my entire life, I find this quite different. Let me just say that the bed head of longer hair is ever so much better than that of short hair, and requires far less work to make presentable.

Longer hair also, I’ve discovered, needs regular conditioning … something I’ve never been too keen on with the shorter hair, but that is perfectly acceptable (even downright necessary) with the longer hair. Okay, done with the hair talk now. You gasp with heartfelt joy, I know.

So, multitasking by watching DVR of new Doctor Who (Rah! Rah!) and writing this little postarooni. Poor little tyke, he told her he’d be back in five minutes, but I bet it’ll be more like five years, seeing as his next companion is currently a child and that will never work. Aaaaand … I am so right. Bet that young officer is Amelia. Bet I’m right. Okay, I’ll stop ‘betting’ and just watch.

Whoa! Fourteen years … didn’t see that long a time coming.

Mom and Dad were here, and can I just say they had me running from sunup to sundown? Those two are energy personified! Human dynamos. Most freaking awesome. Before they ever got here I was commissioned with creating a list of things I needed Dad to fix, and darned if he didn’t blow through said list in about a day and a half. What to do with the rest of the week? I was just making stuff up by the end of their stay. We did so much that I’ve actually forgotten much of it (and by ‘we’ I pretty much mean ‘Dad’) including, but certainly not limited to:

Figured out the proper size filter for my furnace, and installed it (can I just say that thing is a bitch and leave it at that?).
Installed wire grid and put new screen on the sliding glass door (I’ve had to install a new screen every year because at some point in the summer one, or both, the dogs generally walk right through it … but the grid is white metal, which they can see, so walking through the screen door is now a thing of the past).
Hung oak wall cabinet in main bath (bathrooms out here do not have medicine cabinets, but rather giant wall mirrors, making storage a premium).
Cleaned out the garage. Cleaned! The garage! Including the hanging of multiple shelves and hooks.
Brought furniture up from storage (where it had languished well over a year) into the living room (it. is. beautiful!).
Noticed the 50 year old cedar chest had no knobs and used knobs on new furniture to get matching replacements for the chest (why I never thought to replace them I have no idea) … the new ones look lovely!
Replaced fluorescent lightbulbs in the kitchen.
Fixed the light/fan in the main bath (turns out it never worked because it was installed wrong).
Replaced the water valve in the leaking ice-maker.
Fielded multiple service calls for estimates on other home repairs.

Plus, that last full day they were here Mom was in the laundry room downstairs while I was showering upstairs, and actually found the elusive leak from said shower, which Dad figured out, then Mom and I spent five hours or so driving 122 miles or so to eight or so hardware/pool/home stores searching in vain for the busted part, which Dad eventually found on the internet.

It came in day before yesterday, and I installed it today and ran the shower while I stood down in the laundry room checking for runoff/waterfall. None!! Hoorah! Yet another problem fixed. Home feels like a house again, as opposed to a broken-down shack.

While they were here Mom and Dad got to meet Duders and Vonnie (e.g., Briggs and Stratton) for the first time, and fell in love. I know this because EVERYBODY loves the boys. They are the least feline cats you’ll ever meet … more like monkeys. Little monkeys that like to climb on people and give hugs. You heard it here first: I have monkeycats. Very friendly monkeycats, who like freaking everybody. Fo’ shizz.

And wonder of wonders, Mom and Dad took my desktop tower home with them, to bring up to Mike’s this week so he can see if there’s anything he can do to with it. I had explained that it was taking 23 minutes to log in, then what seemed like hours to do anything once I was logged in … but those kinds of time delays really need to be experienced to be fully understood. And believe me, they were indeed experienced! Stupid computer slowing down stupidly. Even Mom, one of the most patient people I know, admitted to a desire to fling it out the office window in frustration. Good thing I’ve got this spare work laptop for the nonce.

Oh! And one night we watched the new(ish) Sam Rockwell flick called ‘Moon’ … I highly recommend it. Some plot points were clearly telegraphed, but some absolutely were not, and the similarities to/differences from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ just made it that much more fun.

And Dad routed my television audio through my stereo, so now that is aaaah-may-zing! For real … I can actually hear the voices over the soundtrack now. No more having to run the closed captioning and read all the lines for practically everything (excluding the news) that I watch. Pure, unadulterated bliss.

Although its cooled off a bit (I actually ran the heat this morning), we had warm enough weather that it reached 80 degrees F inside the house all last week … I even had some windows open overnight. Right now it is windy as all get-out, and is supposed to remain the same most of the week; so Mom and Dad were here during the nice stuff, yay!

Mom and Dad left Tuesday morning, and I, who am trying to get a promotion into a position over at headquarters, had one interview Wednesday, and a second … almost three hour … interview Friday. I’ll find out this Tuesday or Wednesday if I’ve made the cut, in which case it will be stakeholder interviews. Yeah, not worried, me … the stakeholders are only the VP and a couple Directors. Gulp! But I want the job. As I told my boss, there’s no upward mobility for me at the plant level, so if I want to get anywhere with my career I’ve got to move over to HQ (or another company, but I didn’t tell him that, although I’m sure he’s figured it out). I need money, people; I’ve got all the same bills as everyone else, but only the one income to cover them. Sucks. Much.

This job would be perfect for me, and I perfect for it … so I’m kind of using it as a litmus test. If I get it, then I’ll stick around. If I don’t get it, then I need to look elsewhere, because not getting it is what I’ll perceive as an indication I’m going nowhere with this company. It’ll be good to know … ever so much less stressful finding a job when you’re employed.

So, although it’s been a most awesome couple weeks, it has also been a most stressful couple weeks due to immense lack of sleep. You know how I make up for lost sleep on weekends? Yeah, NOT WHEN THE ‘RENTS ARE HERE!! Can’t sleep in with company! Especially company as important as they are! Add to that the work I had to catch up on due to taking a four day weekend, plus having to get up at 5am Friday morning for the (almost three hour) interview and, well, you know … me so tired.

And cranky. Can’t forget cranky. Lisa very cranky when tired. Much like a toddler. Crankypants.

Weekly Idol: Top 9 (Again) - Elvis

2010-04-13T22:06:00.001-05:00

I’m kind of laughing at myself because I’m all “Wow … two weeks in a row and AI has finally gotten some punch”. Then I realized it may be because Dad routed the television audio through the stereo. Der.

But I still think the Beatle’s and Elvis weeks have just plain rocked. If they keep this up, I just may care again:

Four performances were absolute top-notch …

Crystal Bowersox, Saved … as if I could say anything at all, other than whoa!
Lee Dewyze, A Little Less Conversation … just plain fun!
Casey James, Lawdy Miss Claudie … whew! Pure excellence.
Tim Urban, Can’t Help Falling in Love … two weeks in a row and Tim’s stepping it up with the song choices; put me in mind of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, in an iconic sort of way.

Three performances were very, very good …

Katie Stevens, Baby, What Do You Want Me to Do … still dig that powerhouse voice! VOTED OFF
Aaron Kelly, Blue Suede Shoes … really benefitted from Adam’s tutelage, and he is a cutie patootie, no?
Andrew Garcia, Hound Dog … he is a throwback to an earlier entertainment era, isn’t he? Cool. VOTED OFF

One performance was good …

Siobhan Magnus, Suspicious Minds … good, but nowhere near her best, and not up to par with most of the rest of the crew this week; not a rendition of this song that I particularly cared for.

One performance was … oh, why do I even bother?

Michael Lynch, In the Ghetto … read this in a sing-songy voice, “Manipulative!” So tired of this guy; there’s no denying he can sing (can he ever!), but there is something so very off-putting that I just can’t get behind him (at least not at this time).

Weekly Idol: Top 9 - Beatles

2010-04-13T20:48:00.000-05:00

It’s got to be some kind of plot, because just when I get to the point that I’ve given up on Idol (as you can tell by the fact that I’m a week behind on this post … because I didn’t watch last weeks show until about 30 minutes ago), they go and do the Beatles. Well.

And I’d never have known, if Mom and Dad hadn’t said so. So while I taped tonight’s episode, I watched last weeks. And I’m not going through the whole scoring thing, because they haven’t made up the deficit of suckage enough for me to go to that much effort yet, here’s what I thought:

Three performances were equally terrific for different reasons …

Crystal Bowersox, Come Together … kicked it’s ass, picked it up, gave it a lollipop, and sent it on its merry way.
Lee Dewyze, Hey Jude … once again, loved it (even though he did mess up a couple times)!
Casey James, Jealous Guy … just gets better every week; very Allman Brothers-esque.

Four performances were very, very good …

Katie Stevens, Let it Be … dig that powerhouse voice!
Aaron Kelly, Long and Winding Road … gave me an insight into the buzz around this kid.
Siobhan Magnus, Across the Universe … did not like it at first, but quickly changed my tune (gigglesnort!) because of that way cool tome of hers.
Tim Urban, All My Loving … he’s got a great voice, and I love this song, and the way he Beatle’d up his hair was too funny; excellent retro vibe.

One performance was good …

Andrew Garcia, Can’t Buy me Love … there’s something about his vocals, a missing resonance or something, that I think will keep him from having a solo career, but I also think he’d be great with a band … he just doesn’t have the chops to carry it solo … that said, he’d be great in a band.

One performance was so the melodrama …

Michael Lynch, Eleanor Rigby … blecht; I am completely off the Lynch Train; he’s so constant with the stupid grimaces and overwrought performances. ~~VOTED OFF~~ SAVED

I Cannot WAIT 'Til Wednesday

2010-04-03T00:06:00.000-05:00

MOM AND DAD ARE COMING!!!

Got Rain?

2010-04-02T23:51:00.001-05:00

Looks like even Prudence Island has started to notice the abundance of rain lately:

The Ferry Landing parking lot now has a new channel to the Bay.

New waterfall attraction at Mill Creek!

What you can't see is the house directly out of frame to the left, on the brink of sliding onto Sand Point Hill.

So now do we need to build a Schoolhouse Bridge?

Lighthouse Soup.

PIA driveway, closed to traffic ... looks like salmon should be trying to get upstream, no?

Another view of future sight of Schoolhouse Bridge.

Blogger, You Are Getting on My LAST NERVE Today

2010-04-01T20:48:00.002-05:00

Wicked Awesome Poem (Not) Wednesday

2010-04-01T20:41:00.001-05:00

Birthdays

Let us have birthdays every day,

(I had the thought while I was shaving)

Because a birthday should be gay,

And full of grace and good behaving.

We can't have cakes and candles bright,

And presents are beyond our giving,

But let lt us cherish with delight

The birthday way of lovely living.

For I have passed three-score and ten

And I can count upon my fingers

The years I hope to bide with men,

(Though by God's grace one often lingers.)

So in the summers left to me,

Because I'm blest beyond my merit,

I hope with gratitude and glee

To sparkle with the birthday spirit.

Let me inform myself each day

Who's proudmost on the natal roster;

If Washington or Henry Clay,

Or Eugene Field or Stephen Foster.

oh lots of famous folks I'll find

Who more than measure to my rating,

And so thanksgivingly inclined

Their birthdays I'll be celebrating.

For Oh I know the cheery glow|

Of Anniversary rejoicing;

Let me reflect its radiance so

My daily gladness I'll be voicing.

And though I'm stooped and silver-haired,

Let me with laughter make the hearth gay,

So by the gods I may be spared

Each year to hear: "Pop, Happy Birthday."

-Robert William Service

Weekly Idol - Top 10

2010-03-30T22:14:00.002-05:00

Maybe I’ve just been spoiled; I mean, this is only my third season watching AI, and the last two were pretty terrific, so I had high expectations. But this crew is like amateur night at the local Karaoke bar. I've almost completely lost interest.

Here’s how I ~~enjoyed~~ viewed tonight’s performances … but before I do, how impressive is Usher? Wow. EDIT: I watched his performance the next night, and am totally no longer impressed with this kid. Sheesh. And I’m liking Ellen more and more every week. And Kara ain’t no slouch either.

There were three utterly terrific performances tonight, four middle-of-the-road, and three “meh”:

Lee Dewyze, total score: 23. Treat Her Like a Lady – the Temptations. Loved it!

Casey James, total score: 22. Hold On I’m Coming – Sam & Dave. Loved it, too!

Katie Stevens, total score: 21. Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin. Whoa!

Crystal Bowersox, total score: 20. Midnight Train – Gladys Knight. Not her best, but still very good.

Andrew Garcia, total score: 19. Forever – Chris Brown. Much better than his usual crap. Much better.

Michael Lynch, total score: 19. Ready for Love – India.Arie. Good job, but not good enough to get me back on the Michael train … he’s still a tad creepy.

Didi Benami, total score: 18. What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted – Jimmy Ruffin. Not her best, but still brought something kind of cool to it by dint of that wicked voice alone. VOTED OFF

Siobhan Magnus, total score: 16. Through the Fire – Chaka Khan. Yeah, no good. But s’alright; everybody has an off night.

Tim Urban, total score: 16. Sweet Love – Anita Baker. Bad all the way around … poor song choice because he didn’t do anything unique with it, and poor performance for the same reason. But he does seem to be coming out fo his shell, which is great.

Aaron Kelly, total score: 15. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers. Ugh. You know who’s done this better? Almost American Idol prior to tonight, but most especially Kris Allen … from just last year.

Meaning it will prolly be Tim who’s voted off this week, although based on tonight alone I’m thinking it should be Aaron (I know! I’m a HORRIBLE human being, and a big meanie to boot). My overall rankings to date go like this (in case you were desperate to know):

Lee
Siobhan
Didi & Crystal
Michael
Casey
Katie
Aaron
Andrew
Tim

The Crack of WHAT?!?

2010-03-29T19:41:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so my alarm (otherwise known as the-first-thing-I-want-to-destroy-daily), chose to jar me out of a sound sleep at 5:30am this morning. Five. THIRTY. Aye. Emm.

The only folk awake at that hour are people who CLEARLY have no clue as to the luscious glory that is sleeping. In a toasty warm bed. Wrapped in the softest of flannel sheets. Snuggled up to whichever warm body suits (last might it was Maddie, aka ‘furnace-cat’ … she of the fully-charged ever-running purrbox).

But then … the alarm. Ranks right up there with that Bastard RA. For real. On a scale, they stay flat level. Pish.

So anyway, I have to then listen to this thing beep-bellow at me from across the room (where it is located to ensure I absolutely must stumble out of bed to shut it down) until I can get over there. Across the room. In the dark. With my eyes all squinty trying to figure out which button it is, which is it, which freaking button could it be, OH MY GOODNESS SHUT IT OFF SHUT IT OFF SHUT IT OFF!!!!

Phew! Got it. Climb back into bed. But no! Can’t. And not because I have to get up and get ready for work, OH, NO! I’ve been known to put that off for an hour or so extra sleep. But rather because the girls are bounding up and down the hallway outside the bedroom door, snorting in their glee to get out.

I couldn’t fall back to sleep if I wanted to before letting them out; it’s aurally impossible with those two. So I have to go let them out. Where they wait until I’m in the shower to apparently notice a blade of grass has shifted in the breeze. And announce it to the world. At the top of their lungs, “Grass! Hey, did you see that? Grass! The grass moved! Hey Mom, come see grass move, this is the coolest thing ever! You don’t want to miss this!”

Which sounds, to the rest of the neighborhood, exactly like this, “BARK! BARK BARK! WOOF WOOF WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF! BARK! RUFF RUFF! AROOOOOO!! AROODLE-OOOOOO!” Oh, they love my girls, they certainly do.

Most especially at 5:30am. Yep.

Sigh.

And they keep this up until I open the door (after I’ve completed my shower and run out to the kitchen in wet feet, only to slip-slide the last six feet and SLAM into the door. Ow.), which is their signal to sit and grin their magnificently happy Lab grins at me. Irresistable! "Who's a good girl, huh? Who's a good girl?" Mushy-mushy face. Oh, I am so pwnd by these dogs.

I finally get all the morning chores done and head off to work, where I arrive (due to ridiculous road construction) with about three minutes to spare for the 8am meeting. But no worries, one of my buddies had set everything up for me.

I work with some pretty spectacular people, people. Pretty freaking spectacular.

Oh, no! It's Raining Again!

2010-03-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

i opened my eyes and looked up at the rain,
and it dripped in my head and flowed into my brain,
and all that i hear as i lie in my bed
is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
i step very softly, i walk very slow,
i can't do a handstand ... i might overflow.
so pardon the wild crazy thing i just said ...
i'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

"rain" by shel silverstein

Nuh-Unh, YOU Suck

2010-03-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

I had about four different subjects I started to write about tonight, but I lost interest in each and every one about midway through. Maybe I should have kept them all and this could have been the best short-attention-span-theatre-post of all time.

But no, didn’t want to … I may yet finish one of those thoughts and subsequently treat you to the BESTEST POST EVER. You don’t know … could happen!

Anyway, so I’ve got pretty much nothing. I only made it into the plant for the 8am morning meeting once this week, due to an extreme inability to get my shit together before what feels like noon but is actually between 8am and 9am, when I’ve finally left my driveway.

So it’s kind of perfect that I’m facilitating these meetings next week and will have to leave my house no later than 6:45am in order to ensure I’m set up in time for the staff arrival. This means I’ll have to either shower the night before or get up no later than 5:30am all next week (because of that thing where I can’t bring myself to leave the house without having showered).

Fah-hah-haaack!

I am NOT a morning person, people!! Which is a little weird because Mom and (especially) Dad are, so shouldn’t I at least sometimes wake up early? Yeah, never happens. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration … I do wake up, but only to roll over, sigh heavily, and fall right back to sleep. Luscious, glorious sleep.

I got into a debate with a peer over my wicked awesome poem this week … he wanted to know why I was so down on Bush if I’m such a conservative and I was all, “Hunh wha? That’s not about Bush, you moron … it’s about Obama forcing his agenda!”

And he was all, “What, are you stupid?!? It’s about sending our troops into Iraq, dumbass.”

And then I was all, “Yeah, because Dylan freaking Thomas KNEW that was gonna happen a BILLION YEARS AGO WHEN HE WROTE IT … shitheel.”

And then he cried.

Kidding!

And then I punched him until he cried.

Oh, get over it, that’s a joke, too … but I did have to explain that it’s POETRY, so we both interpreted it correctly. And he went off on this hippy-hippy-freak tangent and I lost consciousness due to moral and intellectual superiority (mine), and just came out of the moral and intellectual superiority induced coma a couple minutes ago.

And now Briggsy has climbed up in my lap and I am outta here because it’s kind of a pain typing with only one hand while the other puts the pats on him. Briggsybadoodle, otherwise known as Savior of the Webiverse.

Anticipation is Nothing Like Catsup, People

2010-03-25T22:24:00.001-05:00

I am so ready for Spring weather. I know that technically it already IS Spring ... but I want the weather. The weather that is so nice I can leave my windows open 24x7 … lovely!

I miss that. There’s only a few weeks of the year when I can do it … the rest of the time is too hot, cold, or wet. Meh. I AM JONESING FOR OPEN WINDOWS.

I’ve been thinking lately that I’m kind of done with the Midwest. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Midwest … it’s quite lovely in many ways … but being able to have the house wide open to the elements for three weeks of the year is not one of them. Nor is the fact that its about a million bajillion gazillion miles away from Home … and for the past couple years I have REALLY wanted to go back home.

I also know that if I hadn’t come out here when I did, pretty much on an impulse, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t have a college degree. I wouldn’t have met some of the finest folk I’ve ever known. I would never have joined a dart league or played in the Nationals in Las Vegas. I probably wouldn’t be a homeowner. I definitely wouldn’t have the girls. I wouldn’t have Dr’s Wendland or Box, who are just plain incredible and God-sends in their own rights. I doubt I’d have visited family in San Francisco for the weekend during a lengthy business trip to Sacramento (aka “Sacra-demented”)… and San Franscisco is totally worth a visit … the (former?) Presidio alone is freaking GORGEOUS.

But I also wouldn’t have missed out on a large portion of my niece’s and nephew’s lives. And now I have cousins who are having babies that I don't even know. Gulp! I’d be able to visit family more than twice a year (even those six years that I lived 250 miles away I drove back home every weekend). I could hop in the car and be at almost any family member’s house within the hour. I wouldn’t be landlocked, and miss the Bay.

Don’t get me wrong … I know you can’t go home. I did that once; moved back to my hometown for a year between NJ and MO. Too much had changed in the almost decade I’d been gone. I spent the year lamenting all the differences. And there were many, but the worst, the absolute WORST, was that the little island I’d grown up on had filled to the brim with people. It. Was. Horrible!

Couldn’t hop in the car and zip from anywhere to anywhere on the island AT ALL. It was all traffic, all the time. The two main roads that traverse the length of the island were almost always jam-packed, bumper-to-bumper. At least it felt that way. Mer. Blecht.

So. I want to go back home to RI, but not to ‘the’ island. I’d settle for MA, or CT, or southern NH or VT. But the economy … erg, the economy. There just isn’t one. We’re in the recession no one wants to actually call a recession. I don’t know why we’ve become a society that hides from the truth, but we have. There are almost no jobs in New England. I’m actively searching for a job within my company in NJ, because I know the area and could always drive back home on weekend like I did in the 90’s. I’d do it in a heartbeat, but the logistics are cuh-razy.

This, of course, is a pitfall of being a homeowner during a recession: who’s going to buy my house for enough money that I can roll the profit into what may well be a more expensive house in a more expensive area to live? What if I get back there and I can’t sell my house out here? The house across the street from me, which went on the market in October of 2008, just sold last week. Yep, that house was on the market for 17 months. Seventeen months, people.

So anyway. All this because I want to open a damn window. Hurry up Spring Weather … you’re behaving like a 5th season over here, and I’m getting all kinds of antsy.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-03-24T21:01:00.001-05:00

The Hand That Signed the Paper

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;

Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,

Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;

These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,

The finger joints are cramped with chalk;

A goose's quill has put an end to murder

That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,

And famine grew, and locusts came;

Great is the hand that holds dominion over

Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften

The crusted wound nor pat the brow;

A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;

Hands have no tears to flow.

-Dylan Thomas

Weekly Idol: the Number One Hits

2010-03-23T23:07:00.001-05:00

Yeah, tonight wasn’t all that great an Idol night for me. The song choices were pretty much lame … or maybe not so much lame, as nowhere near the choices they could have, should have, been. And it really seemed like almost everyone was as pitchy as a poop deck in a hurricane. But it may be me, and my all fed-upedness with this season, which seems to have craptastic possible future idols, or perhaps it’s that I’m still (yep … still) peeved that Alex and Lilly were voted off, while Paige – for some completely unknown reason – is still here. Harrumph.

And while no one got perfect scores, aside from one glaringly horrible performance, pretty much everyone else was in the same range … ish. Okay, I’ll give you "ish" … but even Crystal, who was fantastic, started slow and was (gasp!) pitchy. Or woozy. Or something not right. Whatever.

Okay, so here goes:

Crystal Bowersox: Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin. Song choice 9; performance 9; gut-check 1 … total score: 19. Started a little weak, then got in the groove. Crystal is one hell of a powerhouse when she’s letting loose, and this was no exception. My word, she’s incredible. I’d like to see her try Cheryl Crow.

Siobhan Magnus: Superstitious – Stevie Wonder. Song choice 9; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 18. She. Is. Freaking. Awesome! I think she’s kind of fearless, you know? And I so love Stevie. Two things that I wish Siobhan would work on, though: 1) smiling all the time (not that there’s anything wrong with that, because she’s having a blast, but sometimes not the ‘right’ expression for the song subject matter); and 2) always starts soft/mellow and ends with a SCREAM. Change it up, girl. You can do it.

Didi Benami: You’re No Good – Linda Ronstadt . Song choice 9; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 18. Didi’s voice has that singing-in-the-shower vibe all the time. And I am so jealous of that. The little twerp. Kidding. Maybe. Great job. Sigh. Yep, I’m jealous.

Katie Stevens: Big Girls Don’t Cry – Fergie. Song choice 8; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 17. Look at Katie, kicking ass and taking numbers! I’ve never heard this song before (I’m not that out of touch, I know who Fergie is … wasn’t she married to Prince Andrew? Kidding! Black Eyed Peas, got it), but I thought Katie was terrific … almost as good as Put Your Records On was. She brought this slight country twang to it, and her vocals were strong. Very good job.

Casey James: Power of Love – Huey Lewis & the News. Song choice 8; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 17. I am totally feeling the love. I have to admit I was having issues with Casey when he gave me flashbacks to that vapid tool Jason Castro; he of the shit-eating grin … but Casey’s the real freaking deal. And, you know, my love for Huey Lewis KNOWS NO BOUNDS!! But … and it’s a small but … his vocals are at times overpowered by his arrangements.

Lee Dewyze: the Letter – Box Tops. Song choice 8; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 17. Yeah, yeah, I know … I have a soft spot for Lee; so sue me. This was fun, and it sucks having to go first. Plus, that voice. Yummy. And the, what? Scat/jazz/nightclub vibe with just a teeny-tiny smidge of Star Wars cantina? Delish.

Andrew Garcia: Heard it Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye. Song choice 8; performance 7; gut-check 1 … total score: 16. I figured it out! Andrew has maybe three notes to his entire repertoire. Phew! I feel better now that I know what to expect. Well, apparently I’m the dumbass because I liked it quite well enough, thankyouverymuch.

Aaron Kelly: Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing – Aerosmith. Song choice 9; performance 6, gut-check 0 … total score: 16. Great song. Awesome song. Catches my heart and drags it around every time I hear Aerosmith sing it. Very tough song for an amateur (and many professionals) to sing, though; and unfortunately, although he’s just about pitch perfect, Aaron’s voice is too, I don’t know … pure? For this song. It did nothing for me.

Michael Lynche: When a Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge. Song choice 8; performance 7, gut-check 0 … total score: 15. Bite my tongue but I’m getting kind of sick of Michael. It’s all the same, week after week, and not really even that good anymore. Stop with the same old, same old. Gimme some Mustang Sally with soul (real soul, not velvet soul). Right now you’re starting to look like that senior down the hall in the dorm that all the silly freshmen girls hang all over. Bordering on creepy, dude.

Tim Urban: Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen. Song choice 7; performance 7; gut-check 0 … total score: 14. Poor Tim; this is such a fun song, but he doesn’t have the higher vocal range to pull it off. Stage presence: check. Low vocals: check. Made me smile, but that doesn’t translate to radio.

Paige Miles: Against All Odds – Phil Collins. Song choice 3; performance 3; gut-check -1 … total score: 5. Just horrible from beginning to end. I want to be sympathetic of her vocal woes, but come on … it’s been weeks now that we’ve been hearing about them. Poop or get off the pot. I get the music Paige likes … I like it, too … but she’s not in the same league as the rest of the group these days. Do I even have to say it was pitchy? Because it was. VOTED OFF

Yeah, I’m wanting Paige out. Nothing personal, but the rest of this crew have been outperforming her regularly. In fact, three of those voted off to date have outperformed Paige: Lilly Scott, Alex Lambert, and Lacey Brown. Maybe even Katelyn Epperly (I know! You’re all “Katelyn?!? You couldn’t STAND her!”) … go figure.

Spring 2010: 0 … Winter 2010: 7 BILLION

2010-03-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

Or, alternately, “First Day of Spring MY ASS!”

Ugh. After two days when the girls got to stay outside all day because the weather was sunny and temps were in the 60’s, this … THIS?

Is completely unacceptable!

This is the "Train of 150 Cars", which we get twice daily through town, and this is the snow that was blowing like stink while I waited at the railroad crossing on my way to WallyWorld for ~~Spring~~ Winter Cleaning supplies.

And this is the same railroad crossing, on the way home from WallyWorld a couple hours later. Yes, I'm aware you really can't see the tracks, but that's so not the point.

What is the point, you ask?

How about that fact that it's SNOWING the first day of Spring?!? I call bullshit on Spring 2010!

And finally, this is a picture of home, from the sidewalk. I know it's difficult to actually see the house, but the snowfall is way cool!

And right now the drift on the deck is almost two feet, so although I can let the girls out upstairs, I have to let them back in downstairs, because of Boogie's incredible fear of snowy stairs. She is special.

You Called?

2010-03-18T21:32:00.002-05:00

This better be good ... I was getting my beauty sleep.

This is What Happens ...

2010-03-18T21:30:00.000-05:00

... when I forget to put the bunch of bananas I JUST BOUGHT on top of the fridge ... out of reach of the dogs ... who love to snarf ANYTHING they can find on the counter. Seriously, they're LabraHooverDors. And it's not like they just play with the food. OH, NO! They actually EAT IT! Crazy.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-03-17T22:41:00.002-05:00

The Wearing of the Green

O Paddy dear, an’ did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?

The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground;

St. Patrick's Day no more we'll keep, his colour can't be seen,

For there's a cruel law agin the wearing o’ the Green.

I met wid Napper Tandy and he took me by the hand,

And he said, "How's dear ould Ireland, and how does she stand?"

She's the most distressful country that ever yet was seen,

For they're hangin' men an' women there for the wearin' o' the Green.

Then since the colour we must wear is England's cruel red,

Sure Ireland's sons will ne'er forget the blood that they have shed,

You may take a shamrock from your hat and cast it on the sod,

It will take root and flourish there though underfoot it's trod.

When law can stop the blades of grass from growin' as they grow,

And when the leaves in summer-time their colour dare not show,

Then will I change the colour, too, I wear in my caubeen

But 'till that day, please God, I'll stick to wearin' o' the Green.

But if at last our colour should be torn from Ireland's heart,

Her sons with shame and sorrow from the dear old isle will part;

I've heard a whisper of a land that lies beyond the sea

Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom's day.

O Erin, must we leave you driven by a tyrant's hand?

Must we ask a mother's blessing from a strange and distant land?

Where the cruel cross of England shall nevermore be seen,

And where, please God, we'll live and die still wearin' o' the green!

-Dion Boucicault

Weekly Idol: Rolling Stones Wannabes

2010-03-16T22:37:00.004-05:00

See now, the thing about these weeks when everyone has to sing something from the same group or star or whatever, is that they have to either really rock it exactly like the original, or change it up in such a way as to be contemporary, lively, fun or emotional, and memorable … something I’d want to buy.

Call it the iPod-ed-ness or what you will ... if the performance doesn’t have it, I’m all, “Meh.”

So this week, there was a pretty even distribution of male/female throughout my scoring, which actually means either the guys are getting better, or the first week I watched was a particularly dismal week for the fellas.

Anyway, my hometown fave Siobhan (cuz she’s from THE CAPE!!) fair burned the house down; young’un Alex was superb; scratchy-soulful Lee and Crystal both delivered; and you do NOT want to mess with Didi this week.

Siobhan Magnus: Paint it Black. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 2 … total score: 22. Way cool and WOW with the vocals. Very Phantom of the Opera.

Aaron Kelly: Angie. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 2 … total score: 22. I so want to be done with Aaron every time I hear his song choice because I can’t imagine he can pull it off. Then he opens that mouth and BAM! Oh, its ON.

Crystal Bowersox: You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Song choice 10; performance 10; gut-check 1 … total score: 21. She’s freaking terrific.

Lee Dewyze: Beast of Burden. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 1 … total score: 21. Oh, it IS a big deal, Lee! Loved it. Brought a thoroughly American vibe.

Didi Benami: Playing With Fire. Song choice 9; performance 9, gut-check 2 … total score: 20. Fierce, no? Do NOT play with her. I really liked this.

Tim Urban: Under My Thumb. Song choice 9; performance 9; gut-check 1 … total score: 19. I actually liked the reggae spin, but his rendition had a few too many repetitions.

Michael Lynche: Miss You. Song choice 9; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 18. Quite spastic, but he really looked like he was having tremendous fun out there, unfortunately it did nothing for me. Certainly had no trouble going first, though.

Paige Miles: Honky Tonk Woman. Song choice 9; performance 7; gut-check 1 … total score: 17. Was a little slow, and a touch flat … and the AI folk need to teach Paige how to dress and spend some money on her … but she’s got the stage presence necessary and a voice we should watch out for.

Casey James: It’s All Over Now. Song choice 8; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 17. Turned it into a fun country rave; forgettably enjoyable.

Lacey Brown: Ruby Tuesday. Song choice 7; performance 8; gut-check 1 … total score: 15. Weirdly side-dated from one 60’s-70’s style to another, instead of putting a contemporary spin on it. VOTED OFF

Andrew Garcia: Gimme Shelter. Song choice 6; performance 6; gut-check 0 … total score: 12. Went big, but, kind of flat. Not much impact.

Katie Stevens: Wild Horses. Song choice 6; performance 6, gut-check 0 … total score: 12. A little bit boring in an I-expected-that way; standard girl sings love song. Sweet, but not Katie’s best.

I’ve Changed My Mind

2010-03-13T18:01:00.003-06:00

I was going to write a post entitled “Apparently Bullies Never Grow Up” to release a diatribe on both should-be-fired Buncombe County, NC teacher Rex Roland (who has been bullying a 6th grader this year by repeatedly writing “loser” on her assignments), and the should-resign Itawamba County, MS school board (who have pulled the despicable move of completely canceling the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom in an effort to ‘win’ their bigoted stance at the same time they appear to hope to turn over the vilification of gay teen Constance McMillan to her peers, who will no doubt blame Miss McMillan for the injustice of having no prom).

Something about babies and bathwater comes to mind …

But you know what? I’m tired of the negativity. So instead I’m going share a wonderful story of love and sharing that may have begun with an act of stupid violence, but ends in an act of p’awesome awesomosity.

Animal Haven is Kansas City’s largest no-kill animal shelter, caring for approximately 4,000 animals a year, and is very well known to listeners of the Johnny Dare Morning Show, as that’s where Johnny found his little guy, Barger … and we all know Barger, since he’s an integral part of the morning show, and can often be heard voicing his beloved canine opinion on the foolishness that occurs.

It’s not an unusual occurrence for Johnny to stop whatever he’s doing, mid-do, to elicit a Barger response.

In any case, overnight Monday night thieves broke into both the main shelter on 67th and its Lost Pet Center across the street, and did THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF DAMAGES. Major concerns were that funds normally used for the care and shelter of the animals would have to go toward repairs, which included interior/exterior doors, locks, windows, outdoor lighting, walls (sheetrock and concrete), the floor, the safe, and the cash register, among other things.

So Tuesday morning Johnny talked with Animal Haven’s COO Teresa Johnson to find out the extent of the damage (approximately $3500) and to donate $500 to the fix-up … you can listen to their on-air discussion HERE. This started a veritable avalanche of donations from the JDMS listeners, Hope For the Holidays style, and within 12 minutes the full repairs had been covered by the listeners as either cash or in-kind (e.g., materials and labor) donations. I am a member of a club that is so very cool I defy you to find one better.

Then, later in the week Johnny read an e-mail from Animal Haven on-air, where they shared that in addition to the monetary and in-kind donations that had been made on-air, people have been stopping by leaving cash donations at the shelter … to the tune of another $10 grand. And the most telling detail is that the vast majority of folk who’ve chipped in are blue collar working class for whom the donation will cause a tightening of the belt in some other area of their lives … but that doesn’t matter, because our shelter needs help, and we love our pets, ‘nuff said.

WOO TO THE EVERLASTING HOO, PEOPLE!!! TO THE HOO!!

Really America? REALLY?!?

2010-03-13T00:27:00.005-06:00

I give you the vote and you do this with it?!?

No wonder we can't get our collective $hit together on anything truly important ... you sent Alex and Lilly home?!?!

I am very near to speechless.

American Idol: Top 10 Bouys, Take Deux

2010-03-13T00:00:00.004-06:00

I’m kind of sort of all kinds of embarrassed that it took until tonight for me to think, “Hey! Maybe I should check YouTube for the guys I missed the other day!” This after having waited a couple days for the official AI website to post them, then having become highly offended (well, slightly miffed) that those jagoffs were all, “Check out the videos on iTunes … by the way PAY UP!!”

Yeah, I am that slow.

So anyway, I jumped onto YouTube and got to see my guys, which is awesome, because I’ve been sticking my fingers in my ears and la-la-la-ing around for the past couple days whenever anyone in my vicinity has discussed the elimination, as I wanted not to know until I’d gotten to see the boys for myself.

So anyway, here’s the complete and unabridged version of my take on the boys. Goes without saying the grading system hasn’t changed, right? However, I did not watch Lee, Alex, or Tim via YouTube, having caught them on the original night, so … although my computer has a nice audio set up … I may have been comparing crabapples to fuji apples (e.g., much bigger, juicier, betterer apples).

Michael Lynch, 26: This Woman’s Work – Maxwell. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 1 … total score: 21. Wow … very cool; he’s like a soul ninja. After only two weeks, even I know this guy is the real deal. Loved it. And I guess it shows my age that I'd had no idea a guy even sang a version ... I was all "that's that awesome Kate Bush song I haven't heard in forever!"

Lee Dewyze, 23: Fireflies – Owl City. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. Still love that raspy voice! Very, very cool what Lee did with this (even with a few pitchy moments).

Alex Lambert, 19: Trouble – Ray LaMontagne. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. One of my favorite songs, and Alex’s spin was so earnest! So sweet! Nice job. VOTED OFF

Tim Urban, 20: Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley version. Song choice 10; performance 9; gut-check 1 … total score: 20. I am so done with AI folk pulling this one out of the available song hat; it has been done to death. But I also know it’s a good performance when I have to force myself not to sing along … which happened tonight. Vast improvement over last week. Everyone knows this is a tough one to pull off, and Tim did so well!

Casey Jones, 27: You’ll Think of Me – Keith Urban. Song choice 9; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 19. This definitely made me want more of Casey; I want to see what he can do with an entire song, instead of just a minute. And that one moment where he grwwwld it out? You GO, boy! More of THAT! Please!

Andrew Garcia, 24: Genie in a Bottle – Christina Aguilera. Song choice: 10; performance: 8; gut-check: 1 … total score: 18. I didn’t quite like it at first, but the damn thing has stuck in my head and I’m still singing it … Andrew’s version of it … hours later. I had originally scored Andrew last, but have had to move him up due to my subconscious approval.

Aaron Kelly, 16: I’m Already There – Lonestar. Song choice: 9; performance: 8; gut-check: 1 … total score: 18. This song always makes me well up, this time being no exception. This performance proves what I had hoped … that Aaron can sing the contemporary stuff. Good job.

Todrick Hall, 24: Somebody to Love – Queen. Song choice: 9; performance: 6; gut-check: 0 … total score: 15. There’s no denying Todrick can sing, but this was like watching home movies of his high school musical days on VH1’s Before They Were Stars: amateur performance with a lot of heart but certainly not at the skill level of, say, an Adam Lambert or a David Cook. Queen is just too hard an act to follow without almost supreme confidence. VOTED OFF

In all the guys did much, much better overall than last week; after that fiasco I was seriously thinking the gals were going to cream the boys once the top 10 got together, but now I’m not so sure. It will be interesting to see who got voted off, so I’m going to shut this puppy down, fire up the DVR, and find out for myself … be right back.

Oh, and I’ve heard so much about Andrew Garcia’s take on “Straight Up” that I finally checked it out on YouTube as well. Phenomenal. Kid has chops, no?

American Idol: Top 8 Bouys

2010-03-10T22:40:00.004-06:00

Oh! The HORROR!!! But more of that in a bit. It was the fella’s turn this evening, and once again I am treating you to my opinion. You know, cuz it’s my blog! And I can do what I want to!! BWAH HAH HAH HAH!!

Same grading system as last night, and unto the future until I decide to change it up (have I mentioned it’s my blog and I can do what I want to? Yeah, it’s like that, people): song choice, performance, and gut-check emotional response (formerly ‘thumbability’, yadda, yadda, yadda).

Lee Dewyze, 23: Fireflies – Owl City. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. Still love that raspy voice! Very, very cool what Lee did with this (even with a few pitchy moments).

Alex Lambert, 19: Trouble – Ray LaMontagne. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. One of my favorite songs, and Alex’s spin was so earnest! So sweet! Nice job.

Tim Urban, 20: Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley version. Song choice 10; performance 9; gut-check 1 … total score: 20. I am so done with AI folk pulling this one out of the available song hat; it has been done to death. But I also know it’s a good performance when I have to force myself not to sing along … which happened tonight. Vast improvement over last week. Everyone knows this is a tough one to pull off, and Tim did so well!

Andrew Garcia, 24: Genie in a Bottle – Christina Aguilera. Song choice: who knows? Performance: your guess is as good as mine. Gut-check: aaarrrggh!! Total score: whatever.

If you’re getting an inkling that something strange happened here … you’re right on the nose! Turns out the local Fox station’s main antenna suffered a lightning strike the likes of which NO ONE HAS EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE … else why wouldn’t they have prepared for just such an occasion with, oh, I don’t know, a GIANT CIRCUITBREAKER?!?

In any case, at almost the moment Andrew opened his mouth to sing … the Fox transmission crapped out. So, at last check they were in negotiations with someone who wields ALL THE POWER to see if/when they can broadcast the show so we poor Midwesterners can vote and stuff. Fingers crossed and all that stuff.

And I’ve set up the DVR to record Fox until tomorrow morning, on the off chance they actually do get to show the rest of the guys. Sigh. Well, ain’t that the suckage?

**edit: they lied, those horrible Fox people ... I recorded hours of telly and nary a smidge of AI chatter, let alone a re-broadcast of the show. Plus, they claimed we only missed the end ... really? How are 4.5 performances out of 8 "only the end" of the show. Morons.

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-03-10T20:45:00.002-06:00

To Whom it Concerns

To Whom it Concerns,
Darlene's work will be late,
it fell on her pancakes
and stuck to her plate.

To Whom it Concerns,
my Mom made me write this,
and I'm just her kid,
so how could I fight this?

To Whom it Concerns,
I lost my assignment,
maybe I'll get lucky;
solitary confinement.

To Whom it Concerns,
Darlene's great with the ball,
but guys don't watch tomboys
when they're cruising the hall.

To Whom it Concerns,
I just turned thirteen;
too short to be quarterback,
too plain to be queen.

To Whom it Concerns,
I am not made of steel,
when I get blindsided
my pain is quite real.

I don't mean to squawk,
but it really burns.
I just thought I'd mention it,
To Whom it Concerns.

-Joss Whedon

American Idol: Top 8 Gulls

2010-03-09T21:35:00.005-06:00

Is it me, or did tonight seem really mellow? Not that there’s anything wrong with that at all … its just weird when almost all the performers go the same route, y’know?

So anyway, tonight was the ladies, and they (once again) did swell … for the most part. And here are my two cents on each. Same grading system as last week: song choice, performance, and gut-check emotional response (formerly ‘thumbability’, but that was a bit confusing).

Crystal Bowersox, 24: Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman. Song choice 10; performance 10; gut-check 2 … total score: 22. Awesome song. Awesome vocals. Awesome performance. I love that she was so relaxed and really seemed to enjoy herself. She’s like a musical old soul.

Didi Benami, 23: Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 1 … total score: 21. Cool! Didi did exactly what she needed to do with on older song; she changed it up and made it hers. Very nice job.

Lacey Brown, 24: the Story – Brandi Carlile. Song choice 10; performance 10; gut-check 1 … total score: 21. Very cool voice. I liked this (except for that one yodel). Definitely downloadable as it was.

Lilly Scott, 20: I Fall to Pieces – Patsy Cline. Song choice 9; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 19. I love this song, and really enjoyed Lilly’s performance. I thought, “Oh, no!” at first, because its Patsy, and no one does Patsy well. So Lilly went up there and did Lilly and it worked! VOTED OFF

Siobhan Magnus, 19: House of the Rising Sun – Animals. Song choice 9; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 19. That voice! Another song I love. Very impressive, the way Siobhan made it such a sultry siren song. Nice.

Katie Stevens, 17: Break Away – Kelly Clarkson. Song choice 8; performance 8, gut-check 1 … total score: 17. Did a fantastic job at the higher registers, but the lower keys seemed almost too much for her – like she had to push to get them; there seemed to be more than a few rough patches.

Paige Miles, 24: Smile – Charlie Chaplin. Song choice 3; performance 7; gut-check -1 … total score: 9. Awful song choice. Would have done much better showing off her pipes with Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing at All" from the Notting Hill soundtrack (love that song!).

Katelyn Epperly, 19: I Feel the Earth Move – Carol King. Song choice 3; performance 3, gut-check -1 … total score: 5. For me, when they choose the older songs that have such resonance, they need to really own the performance; that didn’t happen here. I just wanted it to be over. VOTED OFF

Okay, so … overall the ladies pretty much rocked it, except for the two I have as 7th and 8th, who were truly not good. Or maybe that’s too harsh (it is) … it’s not that they weren’t good, they just weren’t as good as the rest. By a long shot.

Because It's Better than a Picture of My Toes

2010-03-08T20:17:00.002-06:00

While I have a story to tell about this morning, I also have to share that I’ve been sitting in this chair, at my desk, in my office, for the last few minutes simply collapsed in laughter. The kind of laughter where tears practically squirt out the sides of my squinched tightly closed eyes (a side affect of ROFLMAO no doubt).

And while I wasn’t actually on the floor, that’s only because I didn’t want the glee to end.

Duders (otherwise known as Briggsy) is stretched out on his back, laying along my legs. His rear end is at my belly, and his head is down on my calves (he’s rawther looong). And he is killing me! If you don’t have a cat you may not get this, but the little goober is laying there with all four legs splayed wide open like he’s getting ready to take the Nestea Plunge, so I just had to scratch the bottoms of his hind feet, along the long flat surface between his ankles and his pads.

He. Was. In. Heaven.

Curled up his spine and had his hind legs sticking straight up in the air. He looked like a big furry black elbow macaroni. But the part that made me laugh was when I stopped scratching his feet, and his head popped up with the funniest darn look on his face, like, “You can do that? How come no one ever told me?! Don’t stop!”

Then he lost all interest as the ribbon bookmark dangling from the book on the edge of the desk caught his attention. Well, he is a cat. And I haven’t been able to move since, because now he’s zonked out and my legs have fallen asleep.

Back to this morning, when I almost succeeded in cleaving my little toe from the rest of me via the doorjamb of the master bath. YOWCH!! It still hurts, more than 12 hours later. And yes, said almost self-mutilation came with full surround stereo, only that can’t be printed here … mostly because I can’t remember what was shrieked in the heat of the moment, but also because I am sure … quite positive … that if I could remember, it would be 93% bad language and 7% “I want my Mommy!”

Because at the ripe old age of nun-ya-bid-ness THAT’S HOW I ROLL, PEOPLE.

I am the single most clumsiest person when it comes to foot-eye coordination. I have broken the big and little toes of my left foot, and now have a bone spur from the little toe break; I’ve stubbed both big toes hard enough to lose the nails; and I am forever stubbing the little toes on both feet on the bed legs while making the bed; I once stubbed a big toe so hard while running up the stairs that I was stuck to the riser (eew! gross!). I have learned to wear shoes at almost all times.

Not because it helps with that Bastard RA (although it does), but because my tootsies can’t be trusted not to gravitate, at maximum thrust, toward the nearest inanimate object of more mass. Picture every piece of furniture in my vicinity as a black hole, and now pictures my foot as the spaceship hurtling out of control directly at it. It’s like that. Totally. The USS Broken Toe.

One Massive First AI Posting

2010-03-06T00:52:00.003-06:00

All right, people … I am officially On It. You know you've been waiting with baited breath for MY OPINION, and here I finally am to share. I’ve leaped aboard the American Idol train tonight. Yes, I know … little late, but there was that small diversion called the WINTER GAMES!! And I was not missing them.

Back to AI … I’m a little late, seeing as folk already got voted off last night, but I haven’t watched any of this season to date, so am coming in cold with my opinions. This time around I’m going to use a ridiculously complicated voting system that covers song choice, performance, and thumbability (sorry you asked yet?).

So here goes for the top 10 fellas, who performed these gems Tuesday (March 2nd) … my rankings, from best to ‘meh, whatever’. High score wins:

Lee Dewyze, 23: Lips of an Angel - Hinder. Song choice 10; performance 9, thumbs up 2 … total score: 21. Oh, I have found my favorite male vocalist this season! Figures he went last. Yummy. A little pitchy, but I loved it.

Michael Lynche, 26: This is a Man’s World – James Brown. Song choice 10; performance 9, thumbs up 1 … total score: 20. Smooth as buttah … total package, voice, showmanship … my like it.

Alex Lambert, 19: Everybody Knows – John Legend. Song choice 10; performance 8, thumbs up 1 … total score: 19. It’s difficult to sing Legend … he’s so iconic. But Alex did terrific; he’s got his own unique set of pipes.

Aaron Kelly, 16: My Girl – the Temptations. Song choice 8; performance 8, thumbs up 1 … total score: 17. He’s only sixteen?! Whoa. I’d love to see what he can do with more modern fare. Yes, this was a terrific song choice for him, but it’ll be the suckage of all he’s good for are oldies but goodies.

Casey James, 27: I Don’t Wanna Be – Gavin DeGraw. Song choice 8; performance 7, thumbs up 1 … total score: 16. Solid vocals, good guitar work … they just didn’t seem to gel for this performance, though.

Andrew Garcia, 24: You Give Me Something – James Morrison. Song choice 8; performance 6; thumbs up 1 … total score: 15. Seemed pitchy (dawg, I never even knew that word before watching AI!), but he fought his way through it. Showed definite potential; I can’t wait to see what he brings in future.

Tim Urban, 20: Come on Get High – Matt Nathanson. Song choice 5; performance 5; thumbs up 1 … total score: 11. Eh. I don’t know the song, or the artist, for that matter, but I’m sure he did it well (lest he wouldn’t be here), but nothing about it really made it memorable for me. Pleasant, though.

John Park, 21: Gravity – John Mayer. Song choice 6; performance 3 … total score: 9. Ooh, bad. I know this is mostly because I freaking love this song, so if you’re going to sing it, you need to really change it up and make it yours … preferably not by being all breathy and bleh. VOTED OFF

Jermaine Sellers, 27: What’s Goin’ On – Marvin Gaye. Song choice 4; performance 4 … total score: 8. Horrible. VOTED OFF

Todrick Hall, 24: What’s Love Got to do With It – Tina Turner. Song choice 6; performance 2; thumbs down 1 … total score: 7. I wanted to turn it off before it was anywhere near over. If I hadn’t been ‘judging’ this, I’d have turned the channel to see what else was on. Entirely forgetable.

And now we’ll head on into my impressions of the gals, who took to the stage Wednesday (March 3rd) … my rankings, once again from favorite to forgettable. High score still wins:

Siobhan Magnus, 19: Think – Aretha Franklin. Song choice 10; performance 10, thumbs up 2 … total score: 22. Wow. Just, wow. Loved it … little tiny thing with a voice like that? P’awesome. And I fully admit I’ve already got a soft spot for her … she’s from the Cape! Local girl makes good! Yay!

Katie Stevens, 17: Put Your Records On – Corinne Bailey Rae. Song choice 10; performance 10, thumbs up 1 … total score: 21. Great job: comfortable on stage, such a nice voice … loved it, loved her.

Lilly Scott, 20: Long Time Coming – Sam Cooke. Song choice 10; performance 10, thumbs up 1 … total score: 21. Marvelous. Kind of like a cross between Courtney Love, Janis Joplin, and Betty Boop.

Katelyn Epperly, 19: the Scientist - Coldplay. Song choice 9; performance 10, thumbs up 1 … total score: 20. Definite stage presence.

Didi Benami, 23: Lean On Me – Bill Withers. Song choice 9; performance 9, thumbs up 1 … total score: 19. Would have been so easy to screech through it, but she didn’t … good job.

Paige Miles, 24: Walk Away – Kelly Clarkson. Song choice 8; performance 10; thumbs up 1 … total score: 19. Made it look easy, and fun.

Lacey Brown, 24: Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer. Song choice 9; performance 8; thumbs up 1 … total score: 18. Great song choice, gave it a personal spin on the live rendition. Neat little bit of a country twang to it.

Crystal Bowersox, 24: Long as I Can See the Light – Creedence Cleaarwater Revival. Song choice 5; performance 8; thumbs up 1 … total score: 14. Nice, soulful voice, not a good song choice … she should have done Miley Cyrus’ the Climb, because she would have kicked it’s ass all right.

Michelle Delamor, 22: Arms Wide Open – Creed. Song choice 3; performance 5; thumbs down 1 … total score: 7. Utter foolishness … wanted to fast forward through it. VOTED OFF

Haeley Vaughn, 16: the Climb – Miley Cyrus. Song choice 3; performance 3; thumbs down 1 … total score: 5. Wrong song choice, flat affect … her sweet vocals and lack of attitude are a little too girly for this song. VOTED OFF

Okay, so … overall the ladies outperformed the gents, and the youngsters did a terrific job of holding their own. Of course, to me they’re all youngsters. CUZ I’M OLD.

And Danny Gokey? Still flipping ADORABLE!

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-03-03T22:05:00.003-06:00

The Cloud

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.

I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skyey bowers,
Lightning, my pilot, sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
Its ardors of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.

That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
Are each paved with the moon and these.

I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim
When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,--
The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
Is the million-colored bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove,
While the moist Earth was laughing below.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

Where My iPod Saves My Sanity

2010-03-03T21:29:00.002-06:00

Oh … Wait. I’m almost speechless (so how does that translate to writing?). Okay, Here Goes. Here’s the latest in hunh?

NY Representative Charles B. Rangel shared, "In order to avoid my colleagues having to defend me during their elections, I have this morning sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi (in the words of the Ancient Booer: Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Boo! BOO!!) asking her to grant me a leave of absence until such time as the Ethics Committee completes its work." Hmm … has anyone explained how the rest of the United States defines a ‘leave of absence’?

After Senator Jim Bunning relented on the jobless benefits bill, grateful dems showed their appreciation by lambasting him in the media with the equivalent of placing personal blame on Bunning’s shoulders for any and all financial difficulties people desperate for aid had during the past week … something along the line of, “We could have been here a week ago, blah, blah, blah …”. Really? Oh, grow up, people. You’re supposed to be helping to lead this great nation, not sniping at each other when things don’t go your way. Did none of you have a responsible role model to teach you manners during your formative years?

President Obama, after the scare MA gave him by voting in Republican Scott Brown, wants to force an "up or down vote" that will effectively bar the opposition from staging a filibuster. His reasoning? "I don't see how another year of negotiations would help. Moreover, the insurance companies aren't starting over." What? Oh, and that little gem was followed by this one, "At stake right now is not just our ability to solve this problem, but our ability to solve any problem.” Really? Any problem ever, in the history of the world? So, still going with the whole ‘if everyone doesn’t fall in behind me on every decision it will be the end of the world and IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT, AMERICA, ALL YOUR FAULT!’, are we? Sheesh.

Supposedly he’s on his way here to MO to drum up support. I’d kind of love to go hear what he has to say, but I’m afraid the gas he expels will suck all the oxygen out of the venue and I could die. For reals. Not kidding. Heh heh, well maybe kidding a little.

And that’s about all the politics I could take today, so I turned off the radio, plugged in the iPod, and got me some 7+ hours of solid musical mayhem, be still my fluttering heart. I checked the list,and here are my current top 25 iPod take-me-aways, which I highly recommend, for various reasons:

Geek in the Pink – Jason Mraz
Babylon – David Gray
The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way) – Filter
Fake It – Seether
Bad Day – Fuel
Remedy – Seether
Bubbly – Colbie Caillat
Touch, Peel and Stand – Days of the New
Second Chance – Shinedown
Whistle for the Choir – Fratelli’s
Hemorrhage (In My Hands) – Fuel
In Your Wildest Dream – Reverend Horton Heat
Dragula – Rob Zombie
Moody’s Mood for Love – Elliot Yamin
Hell Yeah – Rev Theory
Sound of Madness – Shinedown
Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag
Train – Cab
So Happy – Theory of a Deadman
Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart – Stone Temple Pilots
Bonafide Girl – Shaggy (feat Rik Rok)
A Falling Through – Ray LaMontagne
Apologize – OneRepublic
Cheated on Me – Gavin DeGraw
Passage Into Midnight - Omar

Already I Miss the Games

2010-03-02T21:51:00.002-06:00

Hello world! Look at me, all full of myself because I uninstalled a couple of ridiculously memory-taxing programs from my desktop and … voila! … I’m running at a semi-normal speed again. But I’m still packing the sucker up and sending it to Little Big Brother for his expertise in compu-doctoring.

S’okay, though, cuz I have my backup work laptop home semi-permanently (e.g., until we need it back at the plant for someone else to use … but since we already have two other backup laptops sitting on the shelf in my office, I’m not seeing that happening any time soon … good thing, too, because I use it, a lot).

So. Where was I? Oh, yeah! I’m sort of back, a bit. We’ll see how the desktop behaves for the rest of the week, and then she/he/it’s off to LBB’s Saturday. My word, I haven’t tweeted in a month! And facebook’s been so sporadic folk have resorted to e-mailing me direct.

But right now I’m kind of going through some SERIOUS WINTER GAMES WITHDRAWAL, people. I am. I really, really am. I keep re-watching the last couple days of events, because I am loath to delete them from my DVR. And I cry eh-hev-vary time Joannie Rochette is shown; then I grin like mad whenever the funhappytimes are broadcast, and even giggle just a little at the temper tantrums, and broader-than-broad flat-out smile at Kevin Pearce’s ongoing recovery (and, yes, lecherously leer at my Aksel). And you know what? The hockey didn’t suck. The final scores? Yeah, sucked a little. But the games? ROCK ON!

Sigh. Guess its time to start watching the new season of American Idol. Or maybe not. I just can’t decide … prolly why I’m currently on my computer whilst recording AI; just in case I decide I don’t want to jump on the semi-pro-talent-show ride quite yet. I’m trying to decide if I should just wait until they get down to the top 10, or if I should check in now so I’ll have a starting opinion on the future celebrities.

I dunno. Maybe I’m just done with AI. Could happen … you don’t know! Oh, who am I kidding? I love me some AI drama.

We’ve had our 2009 reviews at work last week, and mine came complete with Lisa discharging her world-famous “FUCK YOU!” Face. That’s the expression I get the absolute nano-second something sets me off and I’m not in a position to scream invective all over its ass. Of course it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I took it, and my review turned out exactly as I wrote it (I work at one of those places that has the employees write their own review and hand it in for re-review and discussion), so no worries after all.

It’s weird, because work doesn’t know I’m living with that Bastard RA, because I hide it incredibly well, if I do say so myself (and I do, in case you were wondering). But I also pretty much collapse into a sleep-coma on Friday night, with the zzz-covery phase lasting until sometime Sunday afternoon. So, when I was told the expectation is that, as a salaried individual, I should work 10 hours a day, my FYF fair blew my eyebrows right off my noggin and sent them orbiting my skull in dizzying spirals of youcanNOTbeserious.

“What kind of whatthefuckery is this?!” I hissed to myself in thought-speak, whilst eye-measuring my poor boss, unbeknownst to him, for his impending bitch-slap. Poor guy … he got the FYF full-blast, but I didn’t say anything, because I know better than to actually open my mouth when my temper has gone off the chart. So he kind of stammered along for a minute or two then decided we’d meet again later in the week to finalize our discussion.

And it’s not so much the 10 hours a day part, because I did that happily before that Bastard RA moved into my life … it’s that I get SO DEFENSIVE about it having to be in the plant, because I have this system and it works: in a nutshell, what I don’t finish at the plant, I finish up at home.

You’ve heard it before: there are only 24 hours in a day, and 20+ of mine are sucked up by sleep (8), wake-up/get ready (1-2), commute (1+ each way), and work (8+) … so there’s not a whole lot of time left in my day for the rest of it, which is everything else.

However, if I simply can’t finish up what I’m doing at the plant, I login at home and do it there. So C’MON!! What more do you WANT?!?!

And that’s just at the starting gate of what runs through my thoroughly defensive head behind my lovely FYF, folks.

But in all seriousness? Life is swell. Truly scrumptious (see how long it takes you to get THAT little jingle out yo head now … and if you don’t know to what I refer, think Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for a sec … aaaand, HAH HAH!).

Just got off the phone with Big Big Brother, to whom I stated (just because, mind you), “I’m not going to waste my time and energy on a book that doesn’t have a happy ending” to justify my reading the last few pages of books first, to determine whether I’m going to bother actually reading the whole thing.

To which he replied, “Jeez, you’re like, mental”. Quickly followed by an ever so slightly sarcastic, “I don’t read any books that have a ‘y’ in them.”

I call smartass on the Triple B!

Wicked Awesome Poem Wednesday

2010-02-24T23:31:00.003-06:00

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning