In cleaning out my basement (still/again) I found a small archive of dreams that I had written down in a small spiral notebook. The notebook is musty and in poor shape - I've decided to jot down the impressions and toss the notebook.
07/22/94 - Tori Amos stops into the SuperAmerica where I work and buys $14.68 worth of gas. She pays in change, ones, and the gold backs of earrings. I get her autograph.
07/27/94 - My grandmother cuts my hair and uses static electricity to make it stick out and easier to cut.
07/30/94 - I'm at a hot dog stand at the Westland mall in Columbus, OH. I buy a shirt for a friend who's 10 foot tall, but the shirt is too small.
07/31/94 - Driving back to Ohio, the cell phone rings and Dad answers - but doesn't know the code for the area so the signal is mostly scrambled. I try to answer, but I can't hear and I'm mostly mute. Dad says it must be Blackford (?) Mom says, "Oh, he found the rat," The song "Mr. Jones" by the Counting Crows is playing.
08/14/94 - I'm at Ball state helping my sister move into her room. I meet up with fraternity brothers and party at the student center. I goto Miami, FL and Maria from Biomed does not remember me. I end up living in a haunted house at the end of a street where all the houses are miniatures.
08/15/94 - I'm at a SuperAmerica in a Kroger in the mall. My sister visits during my break. She applies for a part time job at Froxx communications which is somehow connected to Zima. I'm suddenly back in high school and I'm being initiated into the Order of the Peach - which is a far less blood-thirsty ritual than the Order of the Kiwi Strawberry.
08/16/94 - I check my work schedule and go in for 2 hours - then, for some reason I go home and call them to ask if I'd been there and should I have been? The manager says I wasn't and that I shouldn't have been - and that I must have been dreaming! I'm next playing poker at my grandparents house and I lose. My aunt stops over and asks if we want to play a drinking game.
Spring 1995 Day ? - At my grandparents house, all the kids climb a raspberry tree and knock the branches off. We gather the branches and sing - like a children's musical.
Spring 1995 Early April - I'm an agent guarding an African diplomat at the mall. 200 assassins come after him and using knives and a sword I kill them all with the help of another agent.
Yeah, I need help.
Monday, July 30, 2007
30 laps
One of my co-workers challenged me to do 30 laps in the pool. So, I paced myself when I needed to and pulled out all the stops when appropriate - and did 30 laps today. Still felt pretty good when I was done and could have gone farther, but ran out of time. Now I just need to get though the rest of the day do I can go home and nap.
later...
later...
pure evil, feline-based humor
I encountered pure evil over the weekend. Pure, concentrated evil.
In the form of a toilet seat cover.
See, these things had to have been invented by a woman. No two ways about it. First, it's just something extra that's supposed to "look" pretty, but has no purpose. No guy would do that.
Second, it creates a problem that wouldn't affect women, but would affect men.
So, here's what should happen - and then I'll explain what happened in the presence of this evil.
A man enters the bathroom, raises the lid and the seat, and stands with feet at shoulder width apart. He extracts, by whatever means he feels comfortable with, that which needs to be extracted. With careful aim, he relieves his bladder and gives a slight shake. The extraction process is reversed and he flushes the toilet while he lowers the seat and occasionally the lid, then washes his hands and leaves the bathroom.
In this case, however, the fuzzy toilet seat cover prevented the seat from remaining in an upright position. Without support, the lid would most likely come crashing down during the operation and cause a terrible mess. Also, not lifting the seat would result in a terrible retribution from the next woman to use the bathroom.
In the past, I've dealt with this problem by using a bungee cord to force the seat into compliance, but none was available. So, with a little planning, I attempted the following operation:
I entered the bathroom and approached the toilet. When it became clear that the seat was going to be a problem, I extracted what needed to be extracted, then stood at an angle to the toilet. I also stood much closer than usual, then raised the seat. Holding the seat in place with my knee, I proceeded to relive myself nearly straight down - which, in the absence of a toilet is a good way to urinate on ones shoes and is thus avoided.
I worked quickly for fear that my leg would cramp up or that I would loose my balance. Task completed, I gave a little shack and lowered the seat, then reversed the extraction. Lid lowered, toilet flushed and hands washed - exit.
Each time I had to use the bathroom at this location, I had to repeat the same operation. I did a lot of swearing and I was cranky. And it was all so that the toilet seat would match the rug.
Evil, I'm telling you. Pure evil.
In other news... my room-mate and I don't have any pets. Still, somehow, we've managed to acquire some music-related, feline-based humor. It started several months ago when he decided that the Enya song "Storms in Africa" had cats meowing in the background instead of the children singing that everyone else hears. Since them, we'll both find ourselves quietly meowing along with a song, where it sounds appropriate. Yeah, it's silly - but you'd be amazed at how funny it is. Last evening, while we were eating a meal, listening to music and I was telling a story - the song, "I can't go for that" came on the cable music.
During the second chorus, my room-mate interrupted me and said in time with the song - "I can't find my cat". Totally matter-of-fact and perfectly timed.
You really had to be there and since I was, its a good thing I didn't have food in my mouth since I most likely would have sprayed it out along with some braying laughter.
So, that's pretty much it for now. Later...
In the form of a toilet seat cover.
See, these things had to have been invented by a woman. No two ways about it. First, it's just something extra that's supposed to "look" pretty, but has no purpose. No guy would do that.
Second, it creates a problem that wouldn't affect women, but would affect men.
So, here's what should happen - and then I'll explain what happened in the presence of this evil.
A man enters the bathroom, raises the lid and the seat, and stands with feet at shoulder width apart. He extracts, by whatever means he feels comfortable with, that which needs to be extracted. With careful aim, he relieves his bladder and gives a slight shake. The extraction process is reversed and he flushes the toilet while he lowers the seat and occasionally the lid, then washes his hands and leaves the bathroom.
In this case, however, the fuzzy toilet seat cover prevented the seat from remaining in an upright position. Without support, the lid would most likely come crashing down during the operation and cause a terrible mess. Also, not lifting the seat would result in a terrible retribution from the next woman to use the bathroom.
In the past, I've dealt with this problem by using a bungee cord to force the seat into compliance, but none was available. So, with a little planning, I attempted the following operation:
I entered the bathroom and approached the toilet. When it became clear that the seat was going to be a problem, I extracted what needed to be extracted, then stood at an angle to the toilet. I also stood much closer than usual, then raised the seat. Holding the seat in place with my knee, I proceeded to relive myself nearly straight down - which, in the absence of a toilet is a good way to urinate on ones shoes and is thus avoided.
I worked quickly for fear that my leg would cramp up or that I would loose my balance. Task completed, I gave a little shack and lowered the seat, then reversed the extraction. Lid lowered, toilet flushed and hands washed - exit.
Each time I had to use the bathroom at this location, I had to repeat the same operation. I did a lot of swearing and I was cranky. And it was all so that the toilet seat would match the rug.
Evil, I'm telling you. Pure evil.
In other news... my room-mate and I don't have any pets. Still, somehow, we've managed to acquire some music-related, feline-based humor. It started several months ago when he decided that the Enya song "Storms in Africa" had cats meowing in the background instead of the children singing that everyone else hears. Since them, we'll both find ourselves quietly meowing along with a song, where it sounds appropriate. Yeah, it's silly - but you'd be amazed at how funny it is. Last evening, while we were eating a meal, listening to music and I was telling a story - the song, "I can't go for that" came on the cable music.
During the second chorus, my room-mate interrupted me and said in time with the song - "I can't find my cat". Totally matter-of-fact and perfectly timed.
You really had to be there and since I was, its a good thing I didn't have food in my mouth since I most likely would have sprayed it out along with some braying laughter.
So, that's pretty much it for now. Later...
Friday, July 27, 2007
27 = 3/4
Just got back from my swim. I was getting tired around lap 15 and figured I would just try and get 20 done and call it a day. When I got to 20 I thought, "well, maybe I can go ahead and get 23 or 24" - which had been my current record. When I got to 24 I was feeling pretty good and decided to do 25. I powered through lap 25 and decided to go for it and do two more laps - which put me at 27.
And, if my math is correct, is 3/4 of a mile.
Which is not too shabby considering that when I started back in December I was exhausted after 4 laps.
And now I'm very tired... :) later...
And, if my math is correct, is 3/4 of a mile.
Which is not too shabby considering that when I started back in December I was exhausted after 4 laps.
And now I'm very tired... :) later...
dremel, work, rain
The dremel was a complete success - I really shouldn't have doubted it. The keyboard tray got installed with very little incident, though I did get a little sawdust in my eyes. I should have followed the instructions and gotten the safety glasses from my car. Actually, I should have gotten them because it would be funny - which is a much better reason for doing things.
I was swamped yesterday afternoon at work - I got a lot of stuff done, but it really wore me out. I think I got everything covered, but I thought I was going to have to stay late to get it all done.
It was raining this morning when I woke up - and it was really great sleeping weather. To the point that my plans of getting an early start on the day were disrupted by my inability to get my sorry ass out of bed. I was a couple minutes late for work as a result, though that was more caused by slow drivers and my need to stop for fuel on the way in.
Well, guess that's about it for now... time to get back to work. Oh, I'm listening to Linkin Park right now - those guys must go through throat lozenges like crazy with all the yelling they do.
I was swamped yesterday afternoon at work - I got a lot of stuff done, but it really wore me out. I think I got everything covered, but I thought I was going to have to stay late to get it all done.
It was raining this morning when I woke up - and it was really great sleeping weather. To the point that my plans of getting an early start on the day were disrupted by my inability to get my sorry ass out of bed. I was a couple minutes late for work as a result, though that was more caused by slow drivers and my need to stop for fuel on the way in.
Well, guess that's about it for now... time to get back to work. Oh, I'm listening to Linkin Park right now - those guys must go through throat lozenges like crazy with all the yelling they do.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
hungry eyes, gray, pacman, drill
So, I'm in the locker room earlier this week and they've got the radio blasting over the P.A. system, way louder than usual. The song playing? "Hungry Eyes"
In an age of YouTube and video surveillance, it was not the most reassuring thing to hear. While I'm all for a bit of streaking and I'm not really shy - I'd really rather not end up on the internet. Do I seriously think I was being watched because of a random song on the radio? No. Did I look around for a camera in the shower anyway? Yes.
As I was getting ready for work one morning recently, I noticed that I had one substantial gray hair on the top of my head that would not play along with the others. And no amount of gel would have any impact on it. So, I pulled the damn thing and went to work - mildly cranky.
I've also recently discovered a surge in gray chest hair. Which is quite disappointing as I'm just starting to develop a chest. Again, cranky.
I played a bit of Pac-man world 2 recently - discount games rock. I was doing okay until I reached a level that required a bit of swimming. I acquired all the fruit in that area, they surfaced, got out of the water and tried to proceed. Except the camera refused to move to show me a forward facing view. I used up a lot of lives, but finally forced my way to the end by luck and guesswork. Except it wasn't the end - it was the beginning of the level. I had gotten out of the pool on the wrong side and backtracked through the whole level. Which explains the camera and the need for guesswork. I got turned around and made my way back through the level and then later on I reached an area called B-doing - which I thought meant I'd have to fight giant bees or something. Instead, it's a reference for the sound it makes when he uses a trampoline - of which there are many and of which I suck at using. There might be giant bees later on, but I can't get past the opening area. For now, anyway...
I bought a keyboard tray for our student assistant two days ago since she was having some soreness in her wrist and arm. My mom had carpel tunnel and I wanted to avoid inflicting it on our SA. So, yesterday, we checked it out to see if it would work for her and what tools would be needed. I promised to bring in my drill today and get it set up. Except that my room-mate borrowed my drill - not realizing that I might need it. And he's out of state for the rest of the week and weekend. We're trying to work out something where I can pick up his drill from his secretary this evening. If she goes into his office and if she can find the drill and if she's willing to bring it back to her house so that I can go and pick it up. If I can remember where she lives. I think I'm okay on the last part, but that's still another delay.
So, I'm going to try to use my dremel to get the job done. It's not the right tool for the job, but I'm going to try and make it work. Otherwise, I'll see if I can find one around here - maybe with the networking dudes.
I guess that's about it for now... back to work...
In an age of YouTube and video surveillance, it was not the most reassuring thing to hear. While I'm all for a bit of streaking and I'm not really shy - I'd really rather not end up on the internet. Do I seriously think I was being watched because of a random song on the radio? No. Did I look around for a camera in the shower anyway? Yes.
As I was getting ready for work one morning recently, I noticed that I had one substantial gray hair on the top of my head that would not play along with the others. And no amount of gel would have any impact on it. So, I pulled the damn thing and went to work - mildly cranky.
I've also recently discovered a surge in gray chest hair. Which is quite disappointing as I'm just starting to develop a chest. Again, cranky.
I played a bit of Pac-man world 2 recently - discount games rock. I was doing okay until I reached a level that required a bit of swimming. I acquired all the fruit in that area, they surfaced, got out of the water and tried to proceed. Except the camera refused to move to show me a forward facing view. I used up a lot of lives, but finally forced my way to the end by luck and guesswork. Except it wasn't the end - it was the beginning of the level. I had gotten out of the pool on the wrong side and backtracked through the whole level. Which explains the camera and the need for guesswork. I got turned around and made my way back through the level and then later on I reached an area called B-doing - which I thought meant I'd have to fight giant bees or something. Instead, it's a reference for the sound it makes when he uses a trampoline - of which there are many and of which I suck at using. There might be giant bees later on, but I can't get past the opening area. For now, anyway...
I bought a keyboard tray for our student assistant two days ago since she was having some soreness in her wrist and arm. My mom had carpel tunnel and I wanted to avoid inflicting it on our SA. So, yesterday, we checked it out to see if it would work for her and what tools would be needed. I promised to bring in my drill today and get it set up. Except that my room-mate borrowed my drill - not realizing that I might need it. And he's out of state for the rest of the week and weekend. We're trying to work out something where I can pick up his drill from his secretary this evening. If she goes into his office and if she can find the drill and if she's willing to bring it back to her house so that I can go and pick it up. If I can remember where she lives. I think I'm okay on the last part, but that's still another delay.
So, I'm going to try to use my dremel to get the job done. It's not the right tool for the job, but I'm going to try and make it work. Otherwise, I'll see if I can find one around here - maybe with the networking dudes.
I guess that's about it for now... back to work...
Monday, July 23, 2007
numbers
1 - the number of pairs of goggles I forgot today for my swim.
2 - the number of red eyes that I had afterwards
20 - the number of laps I swam anyway
2 - the number of red eyes that I had afterwards
20 - the number of laps I swam anyway
basement, games, tomb raider, movies, nightmare, scanner
It started with me looking for something in the basement. I can't even remember what it was at this point, but it annoyed me that I couldn't find it. So, on Saturday morning and on into the afternoon - I worked on cleaning out part of the basement. Mostly just sorting things and trying to put some order to the stuff there, but I did manage to fill the garbage can. This lead to sorting through video games and movies to resell - which is always a good thing. I also gathered together all the loose change in the house and between my room-mate and I, we had nearly a hundred bucks. Not too shabby - and we turned it into a gift card for borders at the coinstar location.
I also tried to play the demo for Overlord this weekend - it took multiple download attempts and an update to some software - and then change the display settings before it would run. Turned out to be a pretty cool game, but the computer doesn't have the processing power to keep the frame-rate consistent and the lag is annoying. So, I won't be buying that one.
Played a little tomb raider, made it through some really freaking evil puzzles. The "swinging from a rope while avoiding narrowly timed spinning blades" really sucked. Still, overall, a good game.
Watched some movies this weekend. "It's Alive 2" - the sequel to the 1970's "It's Alive!" - and every bit as bad as the first. My room-mate got the trilogy (!) and we've been watching them as penance for going to the movie theater and spending too much money on popcorn.
I also watched the remake of "The hitcher" - which was pointlessly gory and dumb. I felt nothing for the characters. Live, die, didn't matter. Waste of film.
Also saw "The Thirst" - a direct to video (I think) waste of a DVD. I couldn't even watch the whole thing - even speeding it up to skip to the interesting parts put me at the end credits.
I've also got Brazil on DVD - haven't seen it yet but I've heard good things about that one. It would have to be better than the rest of them I've seen recently.
I had a nightmare fueled by "it's alive!" and a passing comment that my room-mate made over the weekend. The movie may have been lame, but the nightmare was a full-on terror ride. It was too disturbing to go into in detail.
Finally, I found a bunch of letters and cards that I had saved in an old box. I decided that I wanted to preserve those electronically and I went and bought a scanner at BestBuy. Got a pretty good deal and made it through the install without any problems. I think I want to start archiving these things so they don't get lost or damaged.
Well, it's Monday, so it's time to get to work. Been trying to clear off one of our servers and I've just about got everything moved - hoping to wrap this up this week. later...
I also tried to play the demo for Overlord this weekend - it took multiple download attempts and an update to some software - and then change the display settings before it would run. Turned out to be a pretty cool game, but the computer doesn't have the processing power to keep the frame-rate consistent and the lag is annoying. So, I won't be buying that one.
Played a little tomb raider, made it through some really freaking evil puzzles. The "swinging from a rope while avoiding narrowly timed spinning blades" really sucked. Still, overall, a good game.
Watched some movies this weekend. "It's Alive 2" - the sequel to the 1970's "It's Alive!" - and every bit as bad as the first. My room-mate got the trilogy (!) and we've been watching them as penance for going to the movie theater and spending too much money on popcorn.
I also watched the remake of "The hitcher" - which was pointlessly gory and dumb. I felt nothing for the characters. Live, die, didn't matter. Waste of film.
Also saw "The Thirst" - a direct to video (I think) waste of a DVD. I couldn't even watch the whole thing - even speeding it up to skip to the interesting parts put me at the end credits.
I've also got Brazil on DVD - haven't seen it yet but I've heard good things about that one. It would have to be better than the rest of them I've seen recently.
I had a nightmare fueled by "it's alive!" and a passing comment that my room-mate made over the weekend. The movie may have been lame, but the nightmare was a full-on terror ride. It was too disturbing to go into in detail.
Finally, I found a bunch of letters and cards that I had saved in an old box. I decided that I wanted to preserve those electronically and I went and bought a scanner at BestBuy. Got a pretty good deal and made it through the install without any problems. I think I want to start archiving these things so they don't get lost or damaged.
Well, it's Monday, so it's time to get to work. Been trying to clear off one of our servers and I've just about got everything moved - hoping to wrap this up this week. later...
Friday, July 20, 2007
1408, diablo, spork
I went and saw '1408' last night - based off of a Stephen King short story that I read a few years ago. There were some good jump-out-of-your-seat moments - and in some ways it was better than the book. There was also some cleverness and it wasn't as obvious as some scary movies.
But, the ending was weak and a little too Hollywood. Still, overall, a good flick.
I've been playing Diablo II again at home, it's still a fun game. I've been using a technique to increase the experience gain while making it more challenging. The landscape and the monsters are the same, but I'm still getting a thrill of the hunt.
Today I get to try out my Titanium Spork that I got from ThinkGeek. Never have I owned such a powerful piece of cutlery. It's quite exciting.
Not much else new, time to get back to work...
But, the ending was weak and a little too Hollywood. Still, overall, a good flick.
I've been playing Diablo II again at home, it's still a fun game. I've been using a technique to increase the experience gain while making it more challenging. The landscape and the monsters are the same, but I'm still getting a thrill of the hunt.
Today I get to try out my Titanium Spork that I got from ThinkGeek. Never have I owned such a powerful piece of cutlery. It's quite exciting.
Not much else new, time to get back to work...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
cheerleaders, game, futon, fuel
Yesterday, on the way back from my 22 lap swim, I noticed a group of cheerleaders walking across campus on their way to their cheerleading camp and it made me wonder...
Is there a collective term for a group of cheerleaders?
A herd of cattle, a murder of crows, a flock of seagulls... how about a "blitz of cheerleaders"?
I dunno, it just popped into my head. Anyway, the blitz of cheerleaders were walking not quite in formation and were practicing one of their cheers. And it sounded... a little militant. As though they could easily start marching while carrying rifles in one hand and batons in the other. I don't think I would want to go up against a blitz of battle-hardened cheerleaders - I suspect they would be well organized and have a very precise combat formation. Making them dangerous - and annoying.
In other news... I squared off against two giant centaurs last night in the Tomb Raider game - and got my ass handed to me. Repeatedly. To the point where today I'm going to try and look up some suggestions on the net. Still got a lot of the game to get through and I don't want this to stop me in my tracks.
Also last evening I went over to my room-mates co-worker's new house to assemble a futon she had bought from me that I don't need anymore. Her husband helped me - I had the bolts going the wrong direction at a critical part. I was making progress, but it would have been nearly impossible to take it back apart in the future. We made short work of it - then went to Arby's.
Finally, I stopped for fuel this morning and noticed that the "cheap" fuel button was nearly worn away, but it was in the opposite position as most gas stations I've seen. The sequence of buttons went from Highest to Lowest - instead of the usual reverse. Looks like they were trying to mess with people and get them to pick the "wrong" one. I usually look for the one most worn away, so I was in the clear. Still, with the virtually random changes in gas prices and sky-rocketing price gouging - maybe a little honest and good nature would be a nice change of pace.
That's it for now, back to work...
Is there a collective term for a group of cheerleaders?
A herd of cattle, a murder of crows, a flock of seagulls... how about a "blitz of cheerleaders"?
I dunno, it just popped into my head. Anyway, the blitz of cheerleaders were walking not quite in formation and were practicing one of their cheers. And it sounded... a little militant. As though they could easily start marching while carrying rifles in one hand and batons in the other. I don't think I would want to go up against a blitz of battle-hardened cheerleaders - I suspect they would be well organized and have a very precise combat formation. Making them dangerous - and annoying.
In other news... I squared off against two giant centaurs last night in the Tomb Raider game - and got my ass handed to me. Repeatedly. To the point where today I'm going to try and look up some suggestions on the net. Still got a lot of the game to get through and I don't want this to stop me in my tracks.
Also last evening I went over to my room-mates co-worker's new house to assemble a futon she had bought from me that I don't need anymore. Her husband helped me - I had the bolts going the wrong direction at a critical part. I was making progress, but it would have been nearly impossible to take it back apart in the future. We made short work of it - then went to Arby's.
Finally, I stopped for fuel this morning and noticed that the "cheap" fuel button was nearly worn away, but it was in the opposite position as most gas stations I've seen. The sequence of buttons went from Highest to Lowest - instead of the usual reverse. Looks like they were trying to mess with people and get them to pick the "wrong" one. I usually look for the one most worn away, so I was in the clear. Still, with the virtually random changes in gas prices and sky-rocketing price gouging - maybe a little honest and good nature would be a nice change of pace.
That's it for now, back to work...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
fog, game, meetings, phone calls
It was a little foggy on the road this morning - and though a lot of people don't like that kind of weather, I'm delightfully creeped out by the way things are hidden and sort of fade into view.
Played a bit more of Tomb Raider anniversary last evening. I survived the sandslide, the pillars of fire, the gators, and now I'm facing a room full of moving pillars and spikes. Oh, and pretty much everytime I turn a new corner, there are two giant gorillas charging at me. You'd think I'd get used to it, but they still make me shriek like a little girl. Not Laura Croft though, she just stands there with her guns blazing and together we take them down. Kinda wishing I had a grenade launcher, but there you go.
Actually, a grenade launcher might come in handy in real life - though I'd imagine it would be tricky to get ammo.
Had a meeting yesterday - it didn't really go as well as I would have hoped. Not well focused and I had a hard time asking my questions since I don't like to interupt people. So, it ended early and I'm still a little in the dark. It's not a big deal - I was mostly looking for confirmation of a particular process, but it still would have been nice.
I've got three meetings today - it will be a challenge to get some real work done. I'm going to try and get my laps in as well - but I don't know if I'll have time. I suspect lunch will be a shortened time today. We'll see how it goes.
Talked to my Dad and my sister last evening - had a good conversation with both of them. I need to do that more often, but it seems a little silly to call them if there's not much new going on in my life. Got to save up my stories, I guess.
Well, that's it for now - time to get back to work...
Played a bit more of Tomb Raider anniversary last evening. I survived the sandslide, the pillars of fire, the gators, and now I'm facing a room full of moving pillars and spikes. Oh, and pretty much everytime I turn a new corner, there are two giant gorillas charging at me. You'd think I'd get used to it, but they still make me shriek like a little girl. Not Laura Croft though, she just stands there with her guns blazing and together we take them down. Kinda wishing I had a grenade launcher, but there you go.
Actually, a grenade launcher might come in handy in real life - though I'd imagine it would be tricky to get ammo.
Had a meeting yesterday - it didn't really go as well as I would have hoped. Not well focused and I had a hard time asking my questions since I don't like to interupt people. So, it ended early and I'm still a little in the dark. It's not a big deal - I was mostly looking for confirmation of a particular process, but it still would have been nice.
I've got three meetings today - it will be a challenge to get some real work done. I'm going to try and get my laps in as well - but I don't know if I'll have time. I suspect lunch will be a shortened time today. We'll see how it goes.
Talked to my Dad and my sister last evening - had a good conversation with both of them. I need to do that more often, but it seems a little silly to call them if there's not much new going on in my life. Got to save up my stories, I guess.
Well, that's it for now - time to get back to work...
Monday, July 16, 2007
books, transformers
I took a little trip up to Cleveland on Saturday to go to the Half-Priced Bookstore and encountered the Worst. Construction. Traffic. Ever. It was extra annoying since I was relying on a map.
Finally got to the store and brought in my 4 boxes of books. In a surprising short amount of time, they returned an offer of 26 dollars. Which seemed a little low, but I went ahead with it - most of the books were paperback anyway.
So, I shopped for a bit and was disappointed. The sci-fi/horror section was small and was heavy on Anne Rice and Stephen King. The crafts section had only 2 books on Origami - and the one labeled "Advanced Origami" was, on closer inspection, not very advanced. The comics? Terrible. No bags, no boards, all of them stacked loosely on a shelf in no particular order. It was sad.
I checked out, got over charged on the comics I did find (but didn't really care at that point) and exited. I made a brief stop at the nearby world market for some rubber ducks, green tea, and candy from Japan - then headed home.
On Sunday, I decided to go see Transformers. I checked the movie times, noted 12:35 as the time I wanted to see, then headed out at 12:05 to ensure a good seat. Well, I purchased my ticket and saw that the next showing was, in fact, at 1:00. So, instead of being a little early, I was a lot early. I decided to buy some popcorn while I was waiting, and when I finally go the attention of the clerk, he spieled me with combos and up sizing - even though I was making it pretty clear that I wasn't interested. I think the only way I could have made it more clear was to reach across the counter and smack the shit out of him - and I was pretty close to doing that. All I wanted was a small popcorn - which cost me $5.00
I folded some paper, ate my popcorn and waited. At about 15 till, I headed in and got my seat. 30 minutes of previews later, the movie started.
And I liked it. It was funnier than I expected and the effects were amazing. With the exception of Frenzy/Soundwave - the characters were well realized and the story was well written. There were some cheesy moments, but still really good. And the actors fit into the CGI seamlessly.
There were a lot of themes in the movie - war, power, love, friendship, loyalty, technology - but I think in some ways, it was really about a boy and his first car.
And I have to admit that when I left the theater, I was a little nervous when I got into my own car. :)
That's it for now - got a big meeting coming up. later...
Finally got to the store and brought in my 4 boxes of books. In a surprising short amount of time, they returned an offer of 26 dollars. Which seemed a little low, but I went ahead with it - most of the books were paperback anyway.
So, I shopped for a bit and was disappointed. The sci-fi/horror section was small and was heavy on Anne Rice and Stephen King. The crafts section had only 2 books on Origami - and the one labeled "Advanced Origami" was, on closer inspection, not very advanced. The comics? Terrible. No bags, no boards, all of them stacked loosely on a shelf in no particular order. It was sad.
I checked out, got over charged on the comics I did find (but didn't really care at that point) and exited. I made a brief stop at the nearby world market for some rubber ducks, green tea, and candy from Japan - then headed home.
On Sunday, I decided to go see Transformers. I checked the movie times, noted 12:35 as the time I wanted to see, then headed out at 12:05 to ensure a good seat. Well, I purchased my ticket and saw that the next showing was, in fact, at 1:00. So, instead of being a little early, I was a lot early. I decided to buy some popcorn while I was waiting, and when I finally go the attention of the clerk, he spieled me with combos and up sizing - even though I was making it pretty clear that I wasn't interested. I think the only way I could have made it more clear was to reach across the counter and smack the shit out of him - and I was pretty close to doing that. All I wanted was a small popcorn - which cost me $5.00
I folded some paper, ate my popcorn and waited. At about 15 till, I headed in and got my seat. 30 minutes of previews later, the movie started.
And I liked it. It was funnier than I expected and the effects were amazing. With the exception of Frenzy/Soundwave - the characters were well realized and the story was well written. There were some cheesy moments, but still really good. And the actors fit into the CGI seamlessly.
There were a lot of themes in the movie - war, power, love, friendship, loyalty, technology - but I think in some ways, it was really about a boy and his first car.
And I have to admit that when I left the theater, I was a little nervous when I got into my own car. :)
That's it for now - got a big meeting coming up. later...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
more zombies, swimming
I had another zombie nightmare last night. This time, I was in essentially a chain-link fence box. Three sides and the "roof" were chain-link, but the north side was open. I was inside with a man and a woman - who I didn't know - and outside, moving from east to west, were endless hordes of zombies. The man was standing near the entrance, but not too near. None of the zombies noticed him for some reason, so we were lucky. I was further back in the box, but trying to stay away from all the sides, just in case. The woman was near me - or rather, I was near her since she would shriek if given the opportunity. Granted, we were all pretty scared, but I couldn't seem to convince her that the screaming would just bring the zombies down on us. So, I had to stand next to her with my hand covering her mouth to keep her quiet while I tried to calm her down and/or get through to her. It was very dark in the dream and pretty much all we could see was the night sky and the zombies moving outside the fence. I remember thinking two things:
1. Why wasn't the man back there with us helping keep her quiet. It seemed like the two were connected somehow, but he was doing his best to ignore her.
2. How did I get in that box? Rule number 1 with zombie attacks - Don't let them back you into a corner. The best advantage is speed and dexterity - both of which are nullified if you get yourself trapped in a box with only one zombie blocked exit.
I woke up without any kind of resolution to the dream - and I'm not sure what it really means.
In other news... I swam 21 laps yesterday. Felt a little tired afterwards, but I think I could have done more if I'd had more time.
Lots of meetings and big projects today - better get back to it...
1. Why wasn't the man back there with us helping keep her quiet. It seemed like the two were connected somehow, but he was doing his best to ignore her.
2. How did I get in that box? Rule number 1 with zombie attacks - Don't let them back you into a corner. The best advantage is speed and dexterity - both of which are nullified if you get yourself trapped in a box with only one zombie blocked exit.
I woke up without any kind of resolution to the dream - and I'm not sure what it really means.
In other news... I swam 21 laps yesterday. Felt a little tired afterwards, but I think I could have done more if I'd had more time.
Lots of meetings and big projects today - better get back to it...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
road joy, green beans
The drive home from work has an interesting feature for me. It involves an entrance ramp, a heavy merge since the lane is ending, and an exit ramp. All of which I need to use in a fairly short span of time. It is, invariably, a delight. A couple of days ago, I was attempting this feat as I usually do and managed to get over into the proper location without too much difficulty. I found myself behind a police officer, who I could tell was getting annoyed at the people ignoring the gigantic yellow "Lane Ends" signs and decided to move his car to cover both of the lanes.
Then, a complete idiot in a pickup truck comes barreling down the road and decided that he was in far too much of a hurry to put up with the merge process. So, he arrogantly ignored the Lane Ends signs and the horizontal marks across the shoulder indicating a "no drive here" zone - and drove on the shoulder in an attempt to get past all of us. And it would have worked except that he was also ignoring the cop. As some as the pickup truck flew past him, the cop put on his lights and pulled behind him, nearly hitting him in the process since the truck slammed on his brakes. I slowly drove past, nearly cheering in the shared triumph of seeing the stupid and arrogant being punished for being, well, stupid and arrogant. It was the highlight of my drive home.
In other news... last evening I went to Friday's for dinner and tried something new. I got the fried green beans, which sounded pretty good. The huge portion came with cucumber and wasabi dipping sauce. Now, anyone that knows me will be able to tell you that I don't dip very often. Not a big sauce guy. And cucumber? Not high on my list of favorite vegetables (and I actually do have a list like that). But, the lure of wasabi tempted me and I tried it. And, lo and behold, it wasn't bad. Not great, but I didn't have to spit anything out and actually went back for seconds.
The main course for me was shrimp that was, essentially, burned. I still ate most of it, but I really should have just gotten the fried shrimp. I mean, if I'm getting fried green beans, I clearly couldn't be bothered to care about fatty foods.
Anyway, I tried something new and it turned out okay. Will wonders never cease?
That's it for now... later...
Then, a complete idiot in a pickup truck comes barreling down the road and decided that he was in far too much of a hurry to put up with the merge process. So, he arrogantly ignored the Lane Ends signs and the horizontal marks across the shoulder indicating a "no drive here" zone - and drove on the shoulder in an attempt to get past all of us. And it would have worked except that he was also ignoring the cop. As some as the pickup truck flew past him, the cop put on his lights and pulled behind him, nearly hitting him in the process since the truck slammed on his brakes. I slowly drove past, nearly cheering in the shared triumph of seeing the stupid and arrogant being punished for being, well, stupid and arrogant. It was the highlight of my drive home.
In other news... last evening I went to Friday's for dinner and tried something new. I got the fried green beans, which sounded pretty good. The huge portion came with cucumber and wasabi dipping sauce. Now, anyone that knows me will be able to tell you that I don't dip very often. Not a big sauce guy. And cucumber? Not high on my list of favorite vegetables (and I actually do have a list like that). But, the lure of wasabi tempted me and I tried it. And, lo and behold, it wasn't bad. Not great, but I didn't have to spit anything out and actually went back for seconds.
The main course for me was shrimp that was, essentially, burned. I still ate most of it, but I really should have just gotten the fried shrimp. I mean, if I'm getting fried green beans, I clearly couldn't be bothered to care about fatty foods.
Anyway, I tried something new and it turned out okay. Will wonders never cease?
That's it for now... later...
Monday, July 09, 2007
terrible nightmare and hallucinations in the pool
I had a terrible nightmare a few nights ago. I was on a tram that had just stopped to unload in a cave. It was supposed to then keep going, but it got stuck and another tram slammed into it. The carnage was terrible. We managed to transport everyone to a second level and then started first aid. Two guys had been decapitated, I started working on the one who had also had his head nearly sliced into three sections. The only supplies on hand were rolls of medical tape, so I first lined up and taped the three sections back together, then taped it to his neck. I asked another of the survivors how we could revive him, when the man's eyes flew open and he shouted at me to "don't talk about me like I'm not here". I was startled - mainly because I didn't think he was alive and that if he moved around too much I thought the tape might give way. I also realized that because of the time I had spent on this guy - the other decapitated guy was really done for.
It was one of the most gory and surreal dreams I've had in a very long time and I was shaken when I woke up.
In other news, I had some smell/taste-based hallucinations today at the pool. While swimming my 20 laps, I had a weird smell/taste sensation - but only while underwater. The first was a combination of baby aspirin and tang - a sort of false citrus flavor. It faded out and a little later I had a powder/pine flavor that shifted more strongly to powder then faded out. The final wave was baker's chocolate/caramel/powdered sugar. I smelled this one more strongly while above water and it's possible that the rest of the mostly off-duty lifeguards were having a snack. In any case, it was damn odd and it threw me off a bit.
I was wearing my swim gloves this time around. Supposed to increase speed while strengthening the upper body. I'm tired, but it's not unusually so. Not sure if they are really making that much of a difference - maybe with the different stroke?
So, that's about it for now. Got some work to do before my afternoon meeting.
later....
It was one of the most gory and surreal dreams I've had in a very long time and I was shaken when I woke up.
In other news, I had some smell/taste-based hallucinations today at the pool. While swimming my 20 laps, I had a weird smell/taste sensation - but only while underwater. The first was a combination of baby aspirin and tang - a sort of false citrus flavor. It faded out and a little later I had a powder/pine flavor that shifted more strongly to powder then faded out. The final wave was baker's chocolate/caramel/powdered sugar. I smelled this one more strongly while above water and it's possible that the rest of the mostly off-duty lifeguards were having a snack. In any case, it was damn odd and it threw me off a bit.
I was wearing my swim gloves this time around. Supposed to increase speed while strengthening the upper body. I'm tired, but it's not unusually so. Not sure if they are really making that much of a difference - maybe with the different stroke?
So, that's about it for now. Got some work to do before my afternoon meeting.
later....
Saturday, July 07, 2007
shells, rocks, fireworks
A few photos...
1. Shells from the beach...
2. An interesting rock I found in the ocean, along with a weird thing (coral?)
3. A casing from one of the fireworks we watched on the 4th in Akron when we were Far. Too. Close. This one bounced off my room-mate's foot.
4. This one landed behind us. Yeah, we were way too close. And the embers we had to knock off our arms and out of our hair were a little too close for comfort.
1. Shells from the beach...
2. An interesting rock I found in the ocean, along with a weird thing (coral?)
3. A casing from one of the fireworks we watched on the 4th in Akron when we were Far. Too. Close. This one bounced off my room-mate's foot.
4. This one landed behind us. Yeah, we were way too close. And the embers we had to knock off our arms and out of our hair were a little too close for comfort.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
mostly back from vacation
Just got back into town last night from a week-plus trip to Myrtle Beach with my room-mate and his extended family. A few highlights:
1. On the drive down there, we passed through the Polymer Alliance Corridor. Which was fitting since I work at a university known for polymers.
2. While driving, I nearly got attacked by what I'm guessing was a hawk or an eagle - or maybe a pterodactyl. It swooped in front of my car on its way to someplace else and I recall saying some very bad words.
3. Spent a lot of time at the beach - and SPF 50 was my new friend. No major burns to report - which is a nice change of pace.
4. The first day we were there, we went out onto the fishing pier and saw a guy throwing fish scraps into the water - where the 1/2 dozen 5 foot-plus sharks were waiting eagerly. Not sure what kind of sharks they were, but they were pretty cool. And they were only about 50 feet away from the swimmers in the ocean. I didn't swim anywhere near the pier.
5. Speaking of swimming - I tried to get some distance in while swimming in the ocean. The waves made progress very difficult - but I think the buoyancy made it easy for me to try the butterfly stroke again - did okay with that one.
6. I got mistaken for an author by someone who saw me reading and remembered me from last year when I did a lot of writing. She illogically thought I was reading my own book - I had to explain that I wrote a web-comic last year and that I was reading just for fun. A little odd but kinda cool.
7. We went out for dinner one night and waited 2.5 hours. If I had been on my own, I would have bailed out and gone to Chic-fillet, but it wasn't an option.
8. I brought back some sand with me - on purpose. There is a quote by William Blake (that also showed up in the Tomb Raider movie) that goes like this:
So, I want to take a grain of sand and encase it in lucite or something clear. Just in case I want to check out the world.
9. The Myrtle Beach - being more "family oriented" - tends to shut down pretty early in the evening. So, very late one night, I snuck out to the beach, found myself a deserted strech of sand (not difficult to do) and "dropped trou". I prompted walked out into the ocean and swam around for a bit. It was cold and I was mindful of the dangers of rip tides and beasties in the water so I didn't stay out long. When I walked out of the water, still in the all-together, I felt like some kind of minor sea-god. Felt like something ancient and powerful. I found my swimsuit again and got dressed before heading back to the lights and people. Just for a moment though - the ocean was mine and mine alone.
10. After about a week on Myrtle Beach, we headed to Ocean Isle, NC for a bit more beach and sunshine. Lot more shells on this beach and the place we stayed was really top-notch. Still, despite the grueling drive home, it is good to be back in Ohio.
I'm off today and tomorrow as well for the 4th of July - back on Thursday and Friday to finish out the week. I've been trying to go through my emails and I'm starting the process of getting caught up.
Guess that's about it for now. later...
1. On the drive down there, we passed through the Polymer Alliance Corridor. Which was fitting since I work at a university known for polymers.
2. While driving, I nearly got attacked by what I'm guessing was a hawk or an eagle - or maybe a pterodactyl. It swooped in front of my car on its way to someplace else and I recall saying some very bad words.
3. Spent a lot of time at the beach - and SPF 50 was my new friend. No major burns to report - which is a nice change of pace.
4. The first day we were there, we went out onto the fishing pier and saw a guy throwing fish scraps into the water - where the 1/2 dozen 5 foot-plus sharks were waiting eagerly. Not sure what kind of sharks they were, but they were pretty cool. And they were only about 50 feet away from the swimmers in the ocean. I didn't swim anywhere near the pier.
5. Speaking of swimming - I tried to get some distance in while swimming in the ocean. The waves made progress very difficult - but I think the buoyancy made it easy for me to try the butterfly stroke again - did okay with that one.
6. I got mistaken for an author by someone who saw me reading and remembered me from last year when I did a lot of writing. She illogically thought I was reading my own book - I had to explain that I wrote a web-comic last year and that I was reading just for fun. A little odd but kinda cool.
7. We went out for dinner one night and waited 2.5 hours. If I had been on my own, I would have bailed out and gone to Chic-fillet, but it wasn't an option.
8. I brought back some sand with me - on purpose. There is a quote by William Blake (that also showed up in the Tomb Raider movie) that goes like this:
"To see your world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower. To hold infinity in the palm of your hand, An eternity in an hour."
So, I want to take a grain of sand and encase it in lucite or something clear. Just in case I want to check out the world.
9. The Myrtle Beach - being more "family oriented" - tends to shut down pretty early in the evening. So, very late one night, I snuck out to the beach, found myself a deserted strech of sand (not difficult to do) and "dropped trou". I prompted walked out into the ocean and swam around for a bit. It was cold and I was mindful of the dangers of rip tides and beasties in the water so I didn't stay out long. When I walked out of the water, still in the all-together, I felt like some kind of minor sea-god. Felt like something ancient and powerful. I found my swimsuit again and got dressed before heading back to the lights and people. Just for a moment though - the ocean was mine and mine alone.
10. After about a week on Myrtle Beach, we headed to Ocean Isle, NC for a bit more beach and sunshine. Lot more shells on this beach and the place we stayed was really top-notch. Still, despite the grueling drive home, it is good to be back in Ohio.
I'm off today and tomorrow as well for the 4th of July - back on Thursday and Friday to finish out the week. I've been trying to go through my emails and I'm starting the process of getting caught up.
Guess that's about it for now. later...
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