messed up dreams, messed up hair

I'm back from an extended Thanksgiving weekend (well, I was back to work yesterday, but I was really cranky and didn't feel like blogging), and started out this morning with a really weird set of dreams that I kept dipping in and out of. They mostly revolved around getting a team of scientists to work together in a lab that was full to about waist level with a very runny clay. It was sort of a team build exercise and sort of a computer engineering problem.

I took a quick shower and apparently didn't dry my hair enough - the hat I wore to work really messed up my hair. Which I didn't think was possible considering how short I keep it cut.

Actually, I'm only guessing that it's messed up. I can feel that a section in the middle front is sticking up - and the rest is fine. Oh well. I'm in a cube farm and with no meetings I might not actually see anyone else today, except when I go to lunch and I'll be wearing my hat again.

I beat Spawn: Armageddon last night - on easy mode. The normal mode? Quite a bit more challenging - though ultimatly nothing to write home about.

And I guess that's about it - time to get back to work...

On the way back from getting my lunch I saw...

1. ...a man wearing a black cowboy hat, a black leather duster, and grey-ish boots make from (or made to look like) the skin of a cold-blooded animal. Maybe a gator.

2. ...a guy wearing gray hooded sweatshirt that said "Smartass University"

3. ...a girl with purple streaks in her hair wearing a leopard spotted coat. The leopard spots were a normal color.

There's never a dull moment as long as you pay attention.

Back to work...

feeling a little rant-y

I got a call last night from a charity group. I won't say which one, but I will say that they used the "gosh, oh golly gee, ah shucks" approach to communication - as though that will ingratiate me to support their cause. You know what, if you're the token idiot (or if you just sound like one), don't freakin' call me, okay? It's not amusing and I'm not your buddy.

This morning, on they way to work, I saw a guy on a bike on the sidewalk pull out into traffic to swerve around a car - who was also pulling into traffic. Hilarity would have insued if it was actually funny. Instead, there were screaming brakes, loud horns, and I'm sure some general swearing. Idiots.

Wal-mart, self checkout. Okay, if I'm using one of these things, it almost automatically means I'm not an expert at it. I was trying to get a few oddly shaped items scanned and into some clearly defective grocery bags and the woman behind me had already placed all her crap on the converer belt - and was tapping her foot and looking at her watch. Well, maybe she wasn't actually doing that, but dammit, she might as well have been. It wasn't like I was standing there reading the labels on a soup can or something, I was trying to get out of the braincell killing flurecoent lights and a little patience on her part would have been nice. I glared at her when she started to scan her items and made her move so I could get my cash back. Wanker.

And yes, I do complain about people in lines being slow, but this is my blog and I say she should have been patient.

Let's see...I'm really on a roll at this point. What else is pissing me off?

Holiday shopping is usually annoying, but I haven't really started that much yet. And World Market was cool as usual. The weather has been cold, but I'm adapting. Got a bit of a cold, but it's not bad. So, I guess that's it for now.

Back to my regular mood and back to work...

random stories

This is going to be something of a random blog entry - a little bit of all over the map.

1. The last time I visited my family, while we were in my parents mini-van coming back from dinner, my sister made a joking comment about how not knowing what I was getting her for Christmas might kill her. I replied and said "Well, I'll send flowers. I mean, I'll bring flowers. Yeah, bring flowers".

I think you had to be there to appreciate the comedic timing, but trust me - it was freaking hilarious.

2. A couple of weeks ago I actually saw someone on a segway. First one I've ever seen "live" and in use. He was moving along pretty well with it, but he still looked like a dufus.

3. I'm feeling a little under the weather this morning - pretty much all the stuff that nyqule is supposed to take care of, but I didn't actually take any. I was late to work this morning and I'll need to stay a little later to make up for it.

4. My grandmother is in the hospital with pneumnoia. She's doing better now, but they had fist diagnosed it as the flu and that she should just "tough it out". We're generally a little cranky about that one, but not much we can do from here. At least she's getting good care now.

5. There is no five. I've run out of stuff to say that doesn't talk about mucus and I think that's a line I don't need to cross today. So, time to get back to work...

crossing guard - bonfire - weird dream

I was off-work last Friday - though I went in for a bit to work on my web page and do a little reasearch. When I got home, I decided to go for a walk. Along the way, I was waiting to cross a busy street and I noticed a girl on the other side - very intently watching the traffic. The cross traffic stopped, left turn arrow kicked in, and I watched for the left turn lane to clear so that I could get an early - but still safe - start across the street. When the lane was clear, I started walking so did the girl - holding up a small red stop sign. She met me halfway across the road, then escorted me the rest of the way to safety of the curb. Apparently, she was a crossing guard and while it was the time for the school-aged children to be getting off of school, I do not look like a school-aged person. I guess she was there for anyone crossing the street, but I'm pretty sure I could have handled it myself.

Later that evening, I went to a bonfire one of my friends was having. The directions I got off the net were ever so slightly wrong, so I ended up parking in Sri Lanka and walking until I found the right place. Had a good time there - mostly just good naturedly bitching about work. :) I left a little after midnight and then had an early morning for breakfast with my ex-roommates mom and grandmother. Yeah, I said I would try and distance myself a bit, but the her pancakes are the bomb!

Also over the weekend, I had a weird dream that I grew hair on the bottom of my feet. Kind of like a reverse hobbit or something. I also dreamed that I was driving a jeep and I had to cross several hundred plank bridges, all in a row, at high speed. It was bizzare.

That's it for now - time to get back to work...

not quite a nightmare

I dreamed last night that my family had moved back into together and back into the first house we lived in while in Illinois - a big 2 story farmhouse. It was christmas time and mom was busy decorating the house - and unfortunatly woke up the ancient vampiric horde that had moved into the basement. I carved myself a couple of nice wooden stakes, hardened them in the fireplace and went hunting. My sister went the Palidin route and was in charge of the holy water. She prepped a big red bucket of the stuff and we doused the head vampire before I moved in for the staking. Crossing the two stakes held him at bay, then I staked him and used the second stake to pound it in. Worked pretty well and I didn't have to worry about a hammer. Unfortunatly, instead of turning all the ohter vampires back to normal, killing the head vampire only pissed off the rest of them. We spent the rest of the dream on the hunt through the house and then the rest of the town. I was exausted when I woke up.

Back to work...

work stress and a run-in with an ex-roommate

So, I was over at my ex-roommate's mom's place - putting plastic on her windows. She'd been wanting me to do it and though I usually call first, this time I just stopped by after my post halloween hair-cut.

I had the double-stick tape in place and was trying to get the plastic unfolded when my ex-roommate pulled up to deliver some fish to his mom from the resturant where he works. We talked for a bit and he helped a little with the plastic, but it was....

It was the kind of awkward of two people who were friends, but haven't seen each other in ten years and realize that they don't have anything in common anymore.

I could tell the converstation was struggling, so I asked "How are your boys doing?" - which should have been a fountain of topics for most parents.

His reply was "Oh, you know how they are."

Except that I didn't - I haven't seen them in a year and I was asking. I realized then that it was over - if he wasn't willing to share even the most simple of topics, we couldn't really communicate.

I was still working on getting the plastic in place when he announced he was leaving. He said his good-byes - leaving me to finish put the plastic over his mom's windows. I finished up my work fairly quickly - I've done this several years in a row - and headed out too.

I think I need to distance myself from his mom and his grandmother a bit more - until he makes an effort to seek me out again, I don't think I want to run into him. It was just too awkward.

In other news...man, work has really sucked this week. And it was a short week for me at that. I've been swamped pretty much all the time and I keep getting these big projects with impossible deadlines. I guess it's job security, but man - I've been hopping. And I found myself clenching my teeth in a meeting. Not good.

But, hey, it's Friday. And I've got no major plans for the weekend. Maybe I'll clean out my closets and do a little woodcarving.

For now, though, it's back to work...

Halloween campus tour

On Monday, I took the day off and made my annual campus tour - in costume. One of my favorite days of the year, I usually make my rounds and try and visit as many of my on campus friends. This year, I apparently didn't plan as well and missed quite a few people. I was also easily distracted and ended up back-tracking a bit.

Here's a link to more detail and pictures:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/costume.html

I had a blast - again - and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Got some good reactions from people walking on campus - and a few people that were too "cool" to react. I mean, how could you not react?

I also clanked my way through the library and apparently disturbed a girl that was studying. She took one look at me and turned back to her book with a "sniff" of disdain. I just shook my head as I went on past - wondering if she had ever been a child. It's freaking Halloween - enjoy it!

My ankles are still pretty sore, but I'm getting better. And really, a little suffering for my art is fine by me - it's only one day and it's always fun.

That's it for now - time to get back to work...

links to CyberSecurity videos

Got a few links for you:

http://video.uakron.edu:81/ramgen/zippy/attachment_disorder.rm
http://video.uakron.edu:81/ramgen/zippy/the_trash_man.rm
http://video.uakron.edu:81/ramgen/zippy/password_patty.rm

staring your's truely. My film debut - I'll be on imdb.com before you know it.

I'm ready to go for halloween - and no, I'm not going as a nerd. That would be too easy.

That's it for now - back to work...

a long day and a long blog

You may want to grab a soda and sit back for this one - it was a really long day yesterday and lots of stuff happened. Here we go...

Got to work early with all the stuff I needed for our CyberSecurity Awareness day. Headed out with the crew to the Student Union to help set things up - and mostly held balloons and watched eveyone's stuff. Then I grabbed my bag and headed for the restroom - to make my transformation into Zack Geekis - computer nerd. And the hero of the three videos we did for the event. Once fully nerded up, I sat down at the Prize Wheel (tm) and talked to people for about 4 hours. I gave away a lot of prizes once we got the sytem down and made a few people's day.

When my shift was up, I headed back to the restroom to de-nerd. And, incidentally, I should have gotten some kind of hazzard pay for what was going on in the other stalls while I was in there.

Grabbed some lunch, ran into some friends from the HelpDesk, and headed back to work - only to get a call that posters and buttons were needed at another location on campus. Since I had no way to contact those at the Student Union, I put my coat back on and headed back over to pick up the items and make a delivery.

Back to the office again for some more work and a little problem solving, then out the door at my regular time. First stop, comic book shop for some reading material, then over to Burger King. This is where things started to fall apart.

The clerk atBK was friendly enough, but very difficult to understand as she tended to slur her words together. The portions were smaller than I expected for my afternoon snack, which worried me a bit as I usually need some food in my stomach to keep from getting sick when giving blood.

Food in my belly, I headed out again to the public library where the blood drive was being held. I got there at about 5:10 pm and went in the front door where the signs were. Unfortuantly, that was the end of the signs. Once inside the library there was no indication that a blood drive was going on. I searched the first floor, then headed to the basement - which was distressingly under construction. Back up to the first floor, then outside to see if they were having a blood mobile instead. No luck. Back inside and to the information desk - where people cut in front of me and generally ignored my existance. Then over to the check out desk where I waited in line for a couple of minutes before I finally was able to ask someone - and they had to look it up. I was told it was downstairs and that I should just follow the yellow footprints on the floor.

Yes, that was my sole navigational aid.

Guided by the footprints, I made my way back downstairs and went past the "under construction - do not enter" signs to the meeting room - and the blood mobile.

It was now 5:25 and I sat down to wait. They had a line of people 7 deep waiting to give histories, one person taking the histories, and one person actually taking the donations. Not a good sign. Fortunatly, I had plenty of paper with me and proceeded to fold.

And then I noticed that it was taking longer to go through the history than it was to actually give the blood. Never seen that before and clearly the person in that area was the bottleneck. So, we waited. A few people left to get magazines and come back. One guy simply lefft.

At 6:30, I was finally called to do my history thing. And it took forever, even though they got some more people working. They also had trouble with my new vs. old card as the system wasn't reading my double red donations.

Finally, over to the donation area. Being an old hat at this, I didn't expect any trouble. I'm apparently a fool.

The needle hurt going in and kept hurting. I kept my mouth shut since the only resolution is to move the needle - and that usually just makes it worse. I did my squeezing and focused on the task at hand - going through at my usual pace. Finished up when I expected and the tech went to fill the little tubes. And that was a problem. The little clamp/spout/needle they use to put the blood in the tubes wasn't working - even after she fiddled around with it for a few minutes. She called in the other guy that was working there to help out when he was done with his people. He fiddled around with it too and couldn't get them to go.

So, he gave up and she started to do the wrap up procedures. She seemed disappointed - and then told me that it since they couldn't get the tubes filled, they couldn't use the blood.

Well, there was no freaking way I was going to let that happen. Not after all that. So, I suggested that they use the other arm and get the tubes done. She seemed plesantly surprised that I volunteered for that and then had me switch sides so the other guy could do the tubes - we was apparently better at than she was. Well, no duh.

I think we freaked the people in the room out a little since it looked like I was set to give yet another pint. The guy started to work on getting the tubes filled and the needle he used hurt far worse than the regular one. Finally done - two arms, two bandages. I got out of there with a small can of pineapple juice and a sigh of relief. I'm still going to give blood next time around, but I can't say this was a good experience.

But, there's more. A friend of mine and I went out to grab a late dinner and on the way back to my place he looked in the rearview mirror and swore. The car behind us was dangerously close. While we watched, it slammed on the brakes, then accelerated. Then it weaved from one curb to the other and finally slammed into a parked car on the side of the street. We were half a block away when we saw this, and quickly pulled over and when to check on the driver.

The woman that got out of the car, dusty from the airbags and dazed from the impact, was also totally wasted. When we asked if she was okay, she said "no, I'm really drunk". The car was totaled and the noise alerted the damaged car's owner - who came out while someone else called the police. My friend shut off her car - since she'd gotten out and left it running - then tried to get her out of the street. She wandered around despite our best efforts - and kept asking for us to give her back her keys so she could call her boyfriend. We gave them back to her, since it was clear she wasn't going anywhere. Even with her keys in hand, she kept insisting that we give them back so she could make a call.

The police arrived a few minutes later and my friend gave me his keys to drive his car out of the way and back to my place - only a couple of blocks down the road. He stayed to give a report to the police and I played video games until he got back.

So, over the course of one day I:

1. was a movie star and game show host
2. gave blood from both arms
3. witnessed a car accident

Heck, I'm tired again just writing about it. Better get back to work so I can rest up.

later...

the beeping! the beeping! the beeping of the fryer!!

So, I went for a walk last night to get some contact solution at the drug store - and then I decided to stop at McDonald's for dinner. Which is nearly always a mistake, but I figured that I could get a quick bite to eat and escape with minimal damage. While I was ordering, I accidentally caught my laundry wound on the edge of my pocket and started bleeding again. I was still waiting for my food when I realized the blood was running down my finger. I grabbed some napkins and managed not to bleed on the floor. The fries weren't ready, but they said they would bring them over to me.

So, I sat down with my book and started eating. The sandwichs were, to my surprise, prepared correctly. To my further surprise, they actually tasted good. Amazing.

And then the timer on the fryer went off. The strident beeping could be heard throughout the resturant. And it was unending. Not like a microwave that will eventually shut itself up - these just keep beeping and beeping. It was bad enough that I couldn't read. And you know it's got to be bad if I can't read.

My sister has complained about this in the past - she has very sensitive hearing. My hearing isn't as good as hers, but I'm more easily annoyed now that I'm a little older.

I ate more quickly than I would I have liked and pretty much gave up on the book. Could have been a good experience, but the assault on my ears was too much. I'm really glad I don't work there.

Back to work...

stupid injury, costume work

I worked on my halloween costume over the weekend - well, mostly Sunday since that was the only day with nice weather and I had to work outside. No hints on this one - you'll just have to wait. It's going pretty well, but it's more work than I expected - and a bit more expensive.

In other news - I had a laundry related injury last night. I was getting my clothes out of the washer and saw something shiny at the bottom. I lunged for the quarter that must have fallen out of a pocket during the wash and slammed my knuckle into the washer hub - hard enough to break the skin. I got the money anyway - then had to hurry and get it cleaned up and bandaged before I bled all over my clean laundry.

It was sad and pathetic.

Back to work...

having arrived

When I started my blog it was a small kinda thing, just me and a journal of sorts that I linked from my site. After a while I decided to turn on comments, and later still I decided to let my blog be refernced by blogger - meanings that it would show up on their lists and people all over the world could randomly visit and read what I had to say.

Unfortuntly, this also attracted comment spam - people that set up programs to automatically dump bogus comments into blogs with link so they get a higher page rank. Wankers. So, I had to take some time yesterday to clean those up and set the blog to send me email if someone adds a comment - valid or otherwise.

I guess my little blog and I have finally arrived if the spambots have found us. I'll try to keep it clear of the spam and keep on writing weird stuff that happens.

In other news... you know, I don't think I really think I have much in the way of news. So, I think I'll stop right here.

Back to work...

the protest

I was headed up campus yesterday to reboot a server (hey, I'm all about pushing buttons) and I saw a protest/demonstration was going on along the commons. There were several college age student looking people holding signs and flags. I was in a hurry so I didn't stop to get the full drift of the protest - but I think it was something about "Obey Jesus - Start War!"

Which, clearly, makes no sense. I think they were trying to be ironic - which is fine in casual conversation and bumper stickers - but in a protest if a person has to stop and figure out what you're talking about, well, they most likely won't stop.

The bigger problem is that even if they had been straight-forward in their message, it wouldn't have mattered. I think I agree with their convoluted message so far as I believe that war itself doesn't really ever solve anything - but I feel no more strongly about it now that I know I have the support of a few loud college students that can make signs. And if I thought war was a good idea - would they have been able to sway my thinking?

Not likely.

If they had made the local news, had the story picked up nationally, been in a report that sat on the president's desk, would it have mattered?

Besides the point that we're not really sure he knows how to read - I don't think it would have mattered there either. A college campus protest does not set national policy.

Maybe it mattered to the students with the signs. Maybe it gave them a sense of community and helped them hold onto their ideals. And maybe they'll end up in a position of power at some point in their lives and will be able to make a differnce.

As for me, well, I had to go push a button and get some lunch.

I guess that's all I've got to say on that particular subject - so, time to get back to work...

growling, running, cleaning

It takes quite a bit to get me really angry - but I'm very frequently annoyed. Very. Frequently.
And I've found myself, well, growling at people. Well, not actually at them. Just in the back of my throat. I don't think anyone has heard me do this and I'm not sure how I'd react or what I'd say. Case in point... yesteday, in the student union (and this happens more freqently in a crowd) I was trying to accomplish what should have been the simple task of going up the stairs to get some lunch. While trying to navigate the crowds - which were formidable - I also had to contend with this guy moving slowly and aimlessly in the middle of the hallway. I saw him from a distance and tried to plan a route past him - but his random wanderings were aligned with my path despite my best efforts and I pretty much had to stop and wait for him to move past before I could proceed. As soon as I got an opening, I took it - growling low in my throat as I went past him.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm all for quiet comtemplation and a slow pace - where it's appropiate. Museum, park, forrest trail - all valid. Crowded building with uninspired arcitecture? Nope, let's hustle, people. Nothing to see here. Move it along. Hence the growling.

In other news - I've been doing a little running the past couple of days. It's been too long and I'm out of shape, but at least I'm out there trying. It's about 15 minutes of running and walking - which is not very much. Still, gotta start somewhere. If I can get in the habit of doing this - then I'm more likely to get a treadmill and use it when the weather turns cold and I can't run outside. Well, I guess I could run outside in the winter, but that's a little more insane than I'm willing to be.

I also did a little cleaning/organizing/ de-crappifing my apartment. Tomorrow will be a year to the day when I kicked out my former room-mate - I think a little clearing out is in order.

Work has kinda sucked the past few days, but I'm getting through it. And that's about it. So, I should get back to the grind...

smell, animals, Sarah McG, ansa-phone

The smell this morning as I walked out my front door was that of Liver and Onions - one of my least favorite foods on the planet. I'd rather be covered in angry spiders than eat that crap - and the smell isn't anything to smile about either. Maybe I need to move...

Over the weekend I went to a small zoo in Wheeling, WV. It was raining and there were other events happening in the area, so we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves. A few animals of note:

Ostrich: There were 4 in the enclosure and they were as facinated with us as much as their fairly small brains could be. My friend opened up his umbrella and the male suddenly started following us as we walked along the fence. A mating display, perhaps?

Deer: They had a petting zoo type area with deer that we went into. One of the deer walked right up to me and stopped with what I'm guessing was an expectant look on its face. I didn't have any of the pellet food and didn't plan on letting a deer eat out of my hand - though that's what it was expected. So, we just looked at each other for a moment - each of us having reached the limit of what we were prepared to do. It was an interesting empass.

Frogs: They had a display of poison arrow frogs. Those things are wicked cool - so bright and shiny that they looked like plastic until they moved.

River Otters: My favorite animal on the planet - they had two in a large watery area with underwater viewing. We got to see them right up close as they swam, ate, and played in and out of the water. Just amazing. And the otters seemed interested in us too - they came right up to the glass and peered at us and tapped the glass before swimming off again. I could have stayed there all day.

Also that weekend I got to see a Sarah McLachlan concert on TV. Just awsome - I think she's one of the most amazing and powerful singers out there today. And you could tell she was really enjoying putting on the show. She... resonates... with some pretty deep and powerful emotions.

In other news...my ex-roommates mom called last night and asked if I would stop over and set up her answering machine/caller ID. They seem to go in waves with their requests - though this one does seem to be taking longing than usual to get through. So, I'm headed there this evening.

That's it for now...time to get back to work...

car revistied, work, annoyed, good deed

Well, it's been a few days since I mentioned my car - the check engine light went out the day before my appointment. I drove in a variety of conditions and the car had no problems. So, I called and canceled the appointment - saying it was like a kid that didn't want to go to school, but felt better when a trip to the doctor is suggested. The mechanic had good laugh with me.

Yesterday, on the way to work - the engine light came back on. I not sure if it means there's a problem or just a loose wire somewhere. I'm keeping an eye on things and I'll get it checked if anything else weird happens.

Work has been busy and stressful - a couple of projects have sprung up out of nowhere and gotten rapidly way more complicated than usual.

As a result, going for lunch has been an exercise in frustration this week. It's like people are trying to get in my way on purpose - though the worst has to be the chicks that sit right in the middle of the stairs at the main entrance to the building - chatting on their cell phones while eveyone else has to try and get around them. Maybe a good swift kick to their heads...no, must not let the idea even form in my head.

To try and counter-balance things, I did a good deed again and took my ex-roommate's grandmother to bingo again yesterday and then picked her up in the evening.

Oh, and I got some more halloween supplies last night. One more major component to acquire and I'll be ready for the assembly.

That's it for now - time to get back to work and and put out some fires...

Nerd, car, and halloween prep

Over the weekend I went to a costume shop that is going out of business. Found some good deals for my costume this year and got some ideas for next year as well. Spent too much money, but hey, it's my favorite holiday of the year and I've got my fan base to think about.

Yesterday during a drive home, the check engine light came on again. I've got an appointment to drop the car off tonight and have it worked on - again. For apparently the same problem that they "fixed" before. So, I'm doing it all - again. I'm more than a we bit cranky about the whole thing, as you can imagine. I might have to pack my Mr. PotatoHead "angry eyes".

In other news... I'm involved in a project to put together some videos and a website for Cyber Security Awareness day here on campus. In the videos, I'm playing the part of "The Nerd". So, today I nerded myself up and got my picture taken for a fake ID. I think I managed to pull off the look - I was nerdy that I wanted to give myself a weggie and shove myself in a locker. Yeah, I was styling. Just a few minutes ago I de-nerded myself - though I'm leaving the stuff here at work for when we actually film my part.

It was scary how easy it was to slip into the role - and how nerdy I still feel afterwards.

I think I need a shower. With lots of pumic soap.

That's it for now, back to work...

And yes, I'll post a picture at some point.

why it's a good thing I can't blow people up with my mind

It's been a rough day - things keep breaking and landing on my desk. And at lunch today - everyone was in my way. Everyone.

1. The girl that had to get 8 little cups of catsup for her small order of fries.
2. The nimrod who couldn't find the napkins and made a huge deal of it.
3. The twit on her cell phone - standing on the stairs.
4. The...well, just the random collection of clueless idiots who couldn't see beyond their own small and dim view of the world.

While standing in line I actually had some serious thoughts over whether it would be better to make their heads explode or to just set them on fire. It's messy either way, but I figured that the burning alive would be more painful and I really didn't think that anyone of them deserved an easy way out.

Clearly, I have issues.

And now it's time to get back to work... Oh, the joy is neverending...

good deed and preying mantis

I had a message on my answering machine from my ex-roommates grandmother yesterday when I got home from work. Rather than call her back the nan0-second I walked in the door, I spent some quality time in the bathroom with my new comics. By the time I was done - and yes, I did wash my hands - her currently out of town daughter had called as well. Same topic - could you take grandma to bingo tonight?

Well, as it turns out, I could. So, I called her back and made arrangments. I picked her up from her house and dropped her off at the bingo location with a hearty "good luck". The plan was that she would get a ride home from one of her friends - but she asked if I would be home that evening in case that fell through.

Now where, in all of this, is my ex-roommate? Apparently working, as was "that woman" as the grandmother refered to his girlfriend.

As predicted - she called again later that evening and would be needing a ride. So, I put my shoes back on and hopped in the car. Halfway to the bingo palace - terror struck.

Something huge flew past the front and side of my car before slamming into the open window frame on the driver's side of the car. It was a preying mantis and it was huge. Huge, I tell you!

The impact broke at least a couple of legs and the force of wind kept him from getting back underway. So, he was essentially stuck on the ledge of my window.

Now, I like bugs - because in most cases I can do my thing and they do their thing and we're all cool and stuff. Here, I was trying to do my thing and this particular bug was clearly up in my business.

I finally escorted him out of the car with a bit of scrap paper when I reached a red stoplight - no, I didn't touch it directly. We'd both been through enough. And it was huge.

I rolled up my window a bit once he was gone and then completed my appointment with the lucky bingo lady - who had picked up 50 bucks and a stuffed dog.

Good deed complete.

Well, that's it for now - time to get back to work...

Did I mention it was a huge bug? Huge!

catching up a bit

I haven't blogged in a few days - been real busy with work, including working a couple of late nights. Big projects mostly, but also just a lot of random stuff.

I another cluster headache over the weekend - this one hit me while I was a passenger in a car on a trip. The "normal" sequence for this is: distorted vision, headache, throwing up, sleeping, recovery. Being in a car threw that out of wack and it was touch and go for a while. Feeling much better now.

Watched some of the Firefly DVD - great show! Real story driven sci-fi, which is usually rare in the face of fancy special effects.

I also watched the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on DVD. Pretty good, but I wonder how much a non-fan of the book would have gotten out of it. It was more than I expected, but not as much as I would have hoped for.

The DVD included a trailer for the Chronicles of Narnia - which looked really good in a Harry Potter sort of way. There's a shot of when they first open the wardrobe - amazing...

Talked to my sister last night - she's recovering from a huge quiz and was doing battle with a giant bug while we talked on the phone. I think she eventually won - but it was still twitching when we finished our conversation.

Well, I guess I should get back to work - or maybe go grab an early lunch. In any case, that's it for now...

I see a beige phone and I want it painted red

(apologies to the Rolling Stones)

We need a red phone for the video that I'm going to be in about Computer Security - so, that was job last night. Went fairly well, though my attempts to preserve it as a working phone failed when I forgot to cover the handset jack before spray painting it. Oh, well. It was most likely a lost cause anyway.

Otherwise, it was an evening of video games and paying bills.

Well, that's about it for now - back to work...

car saga concluded and a call from mom

Well, I was able to pick up my car yesterday - though it was a near thing. I called early on in the day and was told it was the thermostat that was sticking and some contaminents in the anti-freeze. They suggested a new thermostat and a "flush and fill". So, I okayed that and they got to work. Before I headed to my meeting in the afternoon I called again to check the status and they said they were having trouble with air in the radiator - but they would call back soon and leave a message if I was gone.

They called back and left a message - the air was a real problem and they would need to keep it an extra day. The second message was them saying it was resolved and done and ready to go.

So, I got a ride over to the dealership, handed over my arm and my leg, then they drove my car around and handed me the keys.

I'm poorer than I was, but at least that light is off of my dashboard.


I called my folks last night and found out that my dad had won his age group in a 5k run - which was very cool. Mom was out, but called me back when she returned. She's back in Ohio and doing fine - though still a little tired. She's planning on heading back in a few weeks as they ERV drivers - and she's an expert on those. The shelter she worked at was considered a model for how it's supposed to be done and one of the directors said they couldn't have run it without her - so, high praise indeed.

Otherwise, not much to report except that I'm busy again today at work. The only reason I had time to write this much is that my 9:00 appointment is late. Well, I guess I should start on some projects until he gets here.

That's it for now...time to get back to work...

car saga continued

Directions gathered, route planned and I'm off to see the dealer - dealership, that is. Or more accurately, drop my ailing car off at the service department. To my surprise, they are still open and not that busy. I give the guy my keys and he pulls my car in and we proceed to "Fill Out The Paperwork" - a ritual that I really dread. He tries to make some small talk and I politely respond - but really I had planned on dropping the keys in a slot with a note and going to dinner, so he's on borrowed time as it is. Nice enough guy - right up until the point where he says its going to be $100 just to run a diagnostic on my car.

Wanker.

Well, good luck, buddy. 'Cause Monroe couldn't even get the socket to work to make a connection. You're going to have to earn that $100.

And if they can't figure out what it is...well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Then I'll set fire to the bridge and storm the castle. And then I'll go get my swords.

Oh, and they are also going to cover a couple of recall issues that I've been neglecting. Well, one I've been neglecting since it didn't refer to "a screaming fireball of painful death and massive destruction" - which is my criteria for having someone waste my time while pretending to do me a favor. The other notice I hadn't heard about yet.

They aren't going to charge me for those, fortunatly.

It was a busy day yesterday and today looks to be about the same. I hope I don't get stuck here late again as I've got stuff to do this evening.

That's it for me - back to work...

the drums

I was in the student union today to drop off a disk and get some lunch when I heard the sound of drums. Loud drums. Hurt your ears kinda loud drums. There was a parade going through the student union as a group of guys in full tribal robes pounded on their drums as they marched through the building. It was almost painfully loud.

Now, while I applude the way they embraced their culture and the skill at which they played - I have to wonder if they realized that these drums are traditionally play Outside?

I have no idea why they did it or what they were all about, but it was loud. Very very loud.

Back to work...

car issues, parking permit, quiet weekend

So, I'm heading out to visit one of my friends on Friday and my check engine light comes on. So, I pull over into a nearby park and pop the hood. Which is foolish, since if it's not shooting out flames I'm not going to know what to do with it. I'm not a car guy.

No fire, but the light is still on. I drive directly back home and notice that the car is running just a little bit hot. Not much, not in the red zone, but just a little hotter than usual.

I took it over to a Monroe service station and they told me that they could look at it first thing Saturday morning - so I left it there and walked home. They said it would be $50 just to look at it. And somehow I knew:

a) They won't be able to figure out what the problem is and
b) They'll still charge me.

Well, I was half right. They couldn't get their diagnostic computer to make a connection - they suspected a bad socket or something. But, when I went to pick it up, they just handed me the keys and didn't charge me. Which was nice - though it would have been nicer if they had been able to actually fix it. They suggested that I take it to a dealership.

I took the car home, checked the phonebook and called the two dealerships listed to work on Chevys. The service area of the first one was closed and wouldn't be open until Monday morning and the second took all my info and gave me an appointment - for tuesday morning.

Gee, good thing it's not important or anything.

So, I drove it to work today - windows down and heat turned up - and again it got slightly hotter than it usually does. And of course I hit every single freaking red light on the way here.

I'm got tranportation lined up to leave the car at the dealership tonight and I'm really hoping it's something simple and cheap.

Because the cost of my parking permit just got taken out of my most recent paycheck. But wait, Anthony, don't you work there? Yes I do. And you have to pay to park on campus? Yep.
Isn't that wrong? Well, I think so. Do you kinda wish you could charge the parking office for helping with their web pages. A little, yes.

So, my finances are a little tighter than usual. Great. And I was planning on getting my Halloween supplies soon. Looks like I'm going to have to wait a bit.

Otherwise, a quiet weekend. I worked on my stained glass and a couple other little projects. Did some reading and played video games and watched movies.

I'm hoping the week is quiet - the boss is out of town at a conference and I've got plenty to keep me busy.

Well, that's it for now. Back to work...

broken mirror, solder, and a rough week

Just about to wrap up the week, so I thought I'd take a few and drop a quick post.

1. I broke a mirror last week. It was the mirror I use to help put my contacts in (not that I really need it, but it's part of my "putting in my contacts ritual" - i.e. force of habit). A little square mirror and I dropped it on the vanity around the sink. It really bothered me, not because of the whole 7 years bad luck thing, but because I don't break things. I'm always really careful with the stuff no matter what I'm doing, but the mirror slipped out of my fingers and broke. Weird.

2. The soldering went well last night, but I decided not finish it since I was getting tired and was already up too late. In any case, once I get my own soldering iron, I should be able to wrap it up in no time.

3. It's been a rough week here at work - and we had some server issues today that put a few of us in panic mode until there were fixed. I'm a little drained from the incident, but since it's almost time to go home I think I can last through the last few minutes and the drive home.

Well, that's it for me - I'm outta here...

headboard and a weird dream

I worked on the headboard yesterday when I got home and got all the pieces put together. Things went pretty smoothly, though I've got one screw that my drill kept slipping in that I'll never be able to get out. Otherwise, it went just as I had hoped and I was able to attach it to my bedframe yesterday without any problems. I'll still need to take it down and do some sanding and staining, but it was a very productive afternoon. I think the project costs on this one are about $38 so far. The stain won't be too much more, so all in all it's been very cost effective compared to buying one in a store.

So, is there a footboard in my future? Not likely. The attachment point for the foot of the bed is a hook-like shape and that would take some construction beyond my ability. Plus, I tend to flail around quite a bit when I sleep and smacking into a foot board wouldn't be fun.

I had a dream last night that I was pregnant on the beach and went into labor - which apparently was a snap. I was instructed to cut the cord myself - which seemed a little much to ask of me after that ordel - but I did it anyway. Not a lot of detail in this dream, but even this little bit was weird enough to note - though it's not the first time I've dreamed about being pregnant.

Tonight's projects involve a trip to the comic store (it is wednesday after all), a trip to home depot for paint and stain, and maybe the grocery store if I have time. I want to try and do a little more stained glass before I return the soldering gun.

Well, that's it for now, time to get back to work...

lumber, solder, update from mom, and vampires

A quick stop at Home depot for wood screws and I was ready to begin my headboard project in earnst. Though, as it turns out, I didn't get to that part. Took me a while to get everything set up in the front of my apartment and just as I was ready to fire up the circular saw and cut my lumber, my neighbors cames out and started talking two doors down from me. I went back in and started my laundry, then watered my plant, but they were still there. So, I just picked up the circular saw and turned to them until I got their attention. I apolgised for the noise in advance and they said it wouldn't bother. 10 seconds later they had all gone back into their apartment. Hey, I warned them. The sawing when pretty smoothly, but I thought that the sound of one power tool in the evening would be more than enough, so I packed that project up and started on the soldering project while I still had light.

In between there, I called my mom since I hadn't been able to get a hold of her yesterday. She was happy to hear from me, but couldn't talk as they were getting ready for a wedding at the shelter where she has been volunteering. So, I told her I'd call her later and I went back to my soldering.

The new soldering iron I got worked great! I think I might actually be able to produce something worthwhile - though I had a little trouble with the outer edges. Still, not bad for my second attempt. I worked on that until it got too dark to see, then I went inside to have dinner while everything cooled off enough to put away.

Mom called me back after dinner and said that the wedding went really well - and all the "gear" (dresses, cake, tuxes, etc) had been donated. So, she was helping get stuff returned - and apparently trying to chase down the flower girls who were having too much fun.

She's doing well, but she's tired and ready to come home. I gues the scheduleing has been weird - alternatly shorthanded and then overflow. She sounded like she's in good spirits and in her element - helping people and organizing things. :)

After talking to mom, I fired up the playstation and made some progress on castlevania: Lament of Innocence. For a vampire hunting game, there really aren't many vampires so far. I would have also liked to see more selection in the weapons - but the whip will just have to do for now.

Well, I think it's going to be a busy day for me - better get to it...

travel, car, lumber, headache

Did a little traveling this weekend - went with a friend down to columbus so that he could buy a car from his brother at the dealership where he works. The dealership is about 20 minutes away from where my family lives, so after picking up the car we headed further south and visited my dad and my sister for the afternoon. Spent most of the time out on Dad's deck and enjoyed the weather and the conversations. Had to head back on Saturday since everyone had plans for Sunday, but it was still a good, if rather short, visit.

On Sunday, I headed to Home Depot to get the lumber for my headboard that I want to build. Had a little trouble with the in-store traffic. Loaded up the car (good thing I have a fold-down back seat) and headed home. I started to get a headache and some distored vision, so I took some Aleave and tried to sleep for a while. Got up, had some dinner and did a little reading before I went to bed. Didn't get anything done on the headboard, but I think thing should go smoothly this afternoon when I get home from work.

Also, a big thank you to my friend who loaned me a higher powered soldering gun. I'm going to give that a try this evening as well and if it helps, I may get one of my own.

Well, that's it for me - time to get back to work...

psychonauts

Picked up a new game recently called Psychonauts for the Playstation 2. The main character is a kid named Raz who's at a Psychic Summer camp to learn psychic powers and earn merit badges. The game play is pretty good - though alternately too easy and too difficult. The best parts are the levels when he has to go into someone's mind. He has to track down luggage (emotional baggage) and figments of imagination, do battle with mental censors, and explore terrain ranging from Lungfishoplois to a surreal Milkman conspiracy.

Raz learns levitation, pyrokinesis, and a psi-blast - and he uses little clumps of anger for ammo.

All in all, a fun and slightly addictive game. And strangely enough, it hasn't resulted in any really weird dreams.

It's been a busy week and the weekend should be fairly busy too. Lots of driving to do. I think, if I've got time on Sunday, that I'm going to get some lumber and do a little building. I've been thinking about making a headboard for my bed and I'm running out of good weather to work on it outside.

Got a meeting coming up in a few, so I'd best get back to work...

dream of school and update on mom

I had a dream last night that I was back in college - though my first class was held in an elementry school. It was an art class and the first project the teacher showed us was a bit of origami. Which would be excellent, since I've had a lot of practice in that, and as luck would furhter have it - I knew how make the model the teacher was demonstrating. Materials were passed out and disaster struck. For some reason, everyone else got normal squares of copy paper - and I got a lopsided rectangle with rough edges. And it wasn't paper, it was a weird mix of velum and a plastic foil. So, it was difficult to make a crease since it tended to unfold and it tore really easily. When everyone else was done with their perfect (and very simple) models - mine was still a hideous work in progress. Everyone was stareing at me when I woke up.

In other news...Mom has been checking in and is doing fine helping at a shelter in Florida. She's working long shifts, but she's okay.

Work has been busy this week - so I guess I'd better get back to it....

sad songs, mom heads south, and lunch in the office

I've been listening to Aimee Mann's newest album - "The Forgotten Arm". Really great stuff, but there's one song on there called "little bombs" that kinda messes me up a bit. This part really gets me...

Life just kind of empties out
Less a deluge than a drought
Less a giant mushroom cloud
Than an unexploded shell
Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

Her album is a story about two lovers...so, of course tragedy. I haven't caught everything about the story yet, even after repeated listenings, but that little section just about reduces me to tears. The whole song paints a very vivid and precise picture of this person's reality and how it falls apart around them. You can almost see them standing there, being destroyed.

In other news...Mom has been asked to volunteer to help out with relief efforts in the south. We're not sure if she's headed to Florida, or Louisiana - it's scary either way. I'm glad she's able to help, but, well, you know...

Also, classes start this week so I'm hiding out in my office - and I brought my lunch today. It's usually a good plan for at least the first week of school. Parking is an issue and the student union is a mess at lunch time. I'm not sure I packed enough this morning - might have to make a snack machine run later.

Well, that's it for now. Back to work...

stained glass is tougher than it looks

I set up shop on the back porch for my first stained glass project last night. With instructions at the ready, I started out...

1. Scoring the glass. Easy as pie - I didn't try the more complicated inside curves, but the straight lines were literally a snap.

2. Adding copper foil to the edges. Not bad - I had a little trouble with the first piece, but it wasn't too tough once I got the hang of it.

3. Adding flux. Doesn't really count - any idiot could do that and this idiot was up to the challange.

4. Soldering. We'll start with the success part of this - the pieces of glass that I had prepped did stay together. However... ugly. Very ugly.

I think my problem was that the soldering iron cooled down faster than I expected. I'd be going along for a couple of seconds and it was suddenly stop being helpful. I guess I was expecting it to stay hotter for longer than that. Apparently, I thought I was purchsing a powerful tool and bought Barbie's First Soldering Iron (tm).

So, it's pretty ugly and I was frustrated toward the end of the evening. Ironically, it took a while for the iron to cool down to where I could put it away - especially since I couldn't get the stuff to stay hot for very long.

Anyway, that was my first trial run.


Last night I dreamed that a trans-dimensional shape-shifting cosmically powered alien landed in my parking space. It was the size of a gerbil. At least to start - then it started some pretty impressive shape shifting and ended up the size of a truck - though got back around to at least looking like a gerbil again. It went on and on about how it was there to study and test us - if we were worthy of keeping around after the invasion. I felt a little stressed that my actions might effect the fate of humanity, but I hung in there and made sure it had plenty of treats. I woke up before I learned what it concluded.

That's it for now - back to work...

a long walk

I was feeling peckish yesterday when I got home from work, so I decided to take myself for a walk. I've been wanting to try my hand at making stained glass - the real kind with solder and extream heat - so my planned destination was Home Deport, about 2 or 3 miles from my apartment.

The walk there was mostly unevently, though I did practice my "folding in the air" origami technique and built a couple of models while I was walking. I think I overextended myself as my hands got a little shaky, but I made it to HD with no trouble. I found the soldering iron, the solder, and the flux all in one section and did the self checkout. Borders is right across the parking lot, but I wasn't sure what to do with my current purchases. So, the solder and flux went into my pockets and the iron got tucked into the back of my pants.

I was looking for The Ring Two at borders, but they didn't have it yet. So, I got a magazine and a book on how to actually make stained glass (who would have guessed? I bought instructions.) and then trucked over to Wendy's for dinner. I got it to go, but figured the sandwich would be tough to eat on the fly - or on the walk, as the case may be. So, I stopped again at home depot and ate my dinner on the grass behind the sample buildings. It was peaceful.

The walk home was fine - though I wasn't able to fold as easily since I had the bag of stuff with me. And it mostly worked - I was tired and less cranky when I got home, though I'm still about 15% more cranky than usual.

Got me thinking a little about my internal walls - and I do have more than my share of them. I've got some ideas about my internal bricklayer, but I think I'll hold off on that topic for today. Too much to do here at work today to spend more time in the blog.

Later...

a crane in a traffic jam and a contact dream

On the drive to visit my family last weekend, I got stuck in traffic in a construction zone - behind an RV. So, no only was I not moving very fast, I also couldn't even see why we were stopped. Fortunatly, I had plenty of new music and a stack of Origami paper, so I was content to wait it out - since I really didn't have any other options. While I was singing along with the music, I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw a woman in the car behind me - looking more bored than I've ever seen one human being look.

So, I quickly folded a crane and waited until we advanced a few feet, then came to a complete stop. Putting my car in park, I got out and headed back to her vechicle. She rolled down her window and I handed her the crane - telling her that I made it for her. She thanked me and I showed her how to make the wings flap. She told me I was clever - which I knew and which is usually my downfall. And I gave her a wave as I headed back to my car. The rest of the traffic jam portion of my trip I occasionally glanced back to see that she was in a much better mood.


Over the weekend, I had a dream that my gas-permable broke in my eye. Which is pretty bad, but the worst was that a sliver of the contact cut my eyeball and I started to bleed. I remember looking down and seeing the blood that had dripped out of my eye fall and hit the table. I think I was looking for some tweezers to pull the sliver out when I woke up.

The first thing I did when I woke up was gently rub my eyes to make sure they were okay - and I didn't put my contacts in for several hours after that.

Which makes me wonder. I have nightmares all the time and people usually blame them on all the weird books, movies, and video games that I enjoy. But, the contact thing wasn't related to anything like that. Are my dreams weird because of the weird stuff in books and games - or are my dreams weird because I'm weird and those elements just end up there?

Food for thought, I guess.

Well, back to work...

watching a headache and traffic travelers

So, two days in a row - while driving - I had people on foot look toward my car. See me. Make freaking eye contact with me.

And still walk right out in front of my moving car.

One guy was at an intersection talking on his cell phone - he crossed against the light. The other guy just crossed in the middle of the street.

And what really gets me is that they didn't even give the illusion of hurrying. Hello? What's up with that? If you're going to be so dense as to delibertly step out in front of a moving car, shouldn't you at least hustle a little bit? I mean, come on people!

So, I had to slow down to avoid hitting them. Which annoyed me. Again.

In other news, I watched myself get a headache last night. Ummm...yeah, better explain that one. The cluster headaches that I get will occationally have a visual element to them, a distortion that looks like the transporter effect from Star Trek the Orginal Series. Not the Next Generation, mind you, but the old style. Like hunderds of little points of light all clustered together that form in my perferial vision of one eye and then expand. It got worse for a little bit as it expanded, then it retreated. As my vision returned to normal, the headache started to kick in. Which actually worked out well as I had time to finish my dinner, take some Aleeve, and lay down with a cool cloth on my head before it really got bad. I went to bed early and slept pretty well - but my head still hurts a bit this morning. Aftereffects, I guess.

I had a dream last night that my great-grandmother was still alive and we all went to visit her in her hobbit house. My uncle (who's over 6 foot tall) and I had some trouble with the doors, but it was a nice visit. It should be noted that she had all her applicances lined up on one wall. Fridge, stove, freezer, washer, dryer - it looked like Sears. And she also called me Randy - though I totally let the name thing slide as at this point she would have been 104 years old.

Well, that's it for me. Got two back-to-back training sessions to conduct today so I'd better get ready. Later...

headache, Kmart, and sinking lozenges

I stayed home from work yesterday morning - woke up with a cluster headache. I thought I could get past it, but when I was dressed and nearly out the door a wave of nausea hit me and I decided to go back to bed. Fortunatly, my neighborhood is fairly quiet during the day so I was able to sleep. At some point the nausea came back and I spent some quality time in the facilities. Hence the need for throat lozenges later.

When I finally got up again a little before noon I was feeling better and decided to go on into work. I went to the downstairs bathroom and discovered, to my delight, that I had a dozen lozenges and they weren't expired. Which, given my bathroom medicine cabinet, is saying something. But, I fumbled. Blame in on the lingering headache or something, but one of the packages slipped out of the box and then...

splash.

Right into the toilet.

In my shock I nearly dropped the other package of six right in after it, but I recovered and saved. I looked down to see the six packaged lozenges slide gently down to the very bottom of the toilet. The toilet had been recently flushed, but I just really didn't want to deal with it then. So, I wrote a big note on my message board to myself - "TOILET" - the hopes that it would me remember. When I got home later that day I fished it out and tossed the package.

In other news...I sent an email to Kmart today regarding asking for my zipcode during a debit transaction. I'll post the response in the blog - if I get one.

That's about it for now...back to work...

helping move

Spent most of the weekend helping a friend of mine move. And the scrawny geek acquited himself well, if I do say so myself. The TV was the worst - down a flight and a half of stairs, across the sidewalk, then up two flights of stairs. Took a lot out of me. Lots of boxes, a computer, mattresses and box springs, etc.

So, I figured that last night I'd be so tired I'd be asleep before my head hit the pillow. No such luck. I went to bed at my usual time and tossed and turned for a while. Finally, around 1 am, I got up and played video games until I was fairly sleepy - sometime around 2.

Needless to say (though I'll say it anyway) - my posterier was dragging this morning. I'd really like to just crawl under my desk and take a nap. Hmmm...nah, I'd never get away with it.

Well, I'm going to try and get motivated and get some work done, so it's back to it...

Retail Annoyance (it's almost a given, isn't it?)

While running some errands this weekend, I made my way first to Kmart in search of a shower mirror for shaving. Which was impossible to find. After scouring the store, I gave up, got my secondary items (soda, beef jerky and a book) and made my way to the check out. After waiting 1.5 eternities, I got to the front and swiped my debit card for my purchase. Instead of asking for my PIN number, it prompted me for a billing zipcode. I told the cashier and she said I needed to put in my zipcode. I said, "but I don't want to put in my zipcode" - thinking it was some kind of marketing survey thing that I despise. She replied, "well, then you can't use your charge card".
I glowered for a moment, then relented and put in my zip code - and then my pin number, then verified the amount, then confirmed that I did not want cash back. While it was digesting all that, I commented that usually the zipcode is some kind of marketing thing. She didn't reply - though she did thank me for shopping at Kmart. I rather doubted her sincerity.

So, why was I tweaked at having to put in my zipcode? Well, it goes back to the idea of public vs private keys. A public key is like a user name or an email address. Fairly easy to find and work with. The private key is some secret bit of information that allows someone direct access to the public key and the information it holds.
In this case, the card - with my name on it - is something like a public key. If I lose it, anyone could pick it up and try to use it. My name alone is a public key and certain information is available without any special access. This information would include my address and zipcode.

If someone got ahold of my debit card and my pin number, then my zipcode is easy to locate. So, Kmart is attempting to verfiy my private key and my identity with multiple pieces of public information. It's pointless and gives only the illusion of security. And it's a waste of time and computer power.

If I hadn't already waited so long I think I would have taken the items back to their shelves out of sheer annoyance. But, I needed some level of success for my trouble and actually making it through the line would have to do.

After a brief stop to gather my wits - I headed to Walgreens. I found a shower mirror, VHS tapes, a magazine, and some Tazo tea (Giant Peach flavored). Got up to the checkout and the women in line in front of me was apparently paying by check. And the guy behind the counter ( I would use the term dottering if I was british) was having a difficult time pushing all the right buttons in the correct sequence. When he was finally done with her, he wished her a nice day and told her "God Bless You".

I knew I was in trouble.

His first action was not to start ringing up my items or determining what kind of bag I would prefer - instead, he opened up this weeks circular to see if there were any coupons for the items I was about to purchase. This involved a careful scan of each page, then his reaching over to a small damp sponge to wet his finger - allowing for easier page turning, then actually turning the page and repeating the process. Scan, wet, turn, repeat.

Yes, this is really what happened.

When he was finally done he concluded the same thing I knew just by looking at my own items - there were no coupons that were valid for my purchases. He then scanned each items with care before placing it in the bag and I was way ahead of him with my debit card before he came up with a total. No zipcode this time - thankfully, but he wished me a good day and also told me "God Bless You".

And again, I'm annoyed.

He used the exact same tone with me as he did with the woman in front of me. No inflection, no depth - nothing. It was as empty as if he'd mentioned something about the weather.

Shouldn't that mean something? A request for an intersession from the supreme being - spoken as though he was trying to determine if I wanted fries with my combo.

Granted, it's not like he told me - "Have a crappy day. or Burn in hell, sinner" It was a generic and mildy friendly send-off. But it was empty. And that alone seemed disrespectful in some way.

So, my foray into the retail world was not that great today ( though the cashier at Taco Bell said she liked my shirt that says "You're just jealous because the voices talk to me") - but I got through it and I'm now that the bile is out of my system I'm going to take my book and sit outside. Alone and quiet. And if you should see me, please don't ask me for my zipcode.

boats and thunder

Woke up at 4:00 this morning - massive thunderstorm. One of the crashes of thunder sounded like I was in a garbage can being hit by a sledgehammer - the size of a city bus. A really huge loud noise. Of course it's not the thunder that's the real problem - that's just sound. The lightning must have been pretty bad too, but I put a pillow over my head so I couldn't see it. It wasn't raining too bad when I had to get up and go to work.

A couple of days ago I remembered something that I came up with while canoeing with my uncle several years ago.

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the river.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Cold things make me shiver.

Not sure why I remembered that, but it struck me as funny.

I've been helping my friend move. He's only going from one building to the one right next door, but he only found out he had to move on Wednesday and they'd like him moved by the weekend. And the new place is filled with stuff (it used to be an office/apartment). And the current buildings entrance is no longer structually sound due to construction. The ceiling could collapse if the posts are "bumped".

So, yesterday we tried to quickly and very very carefully move things out and pile them in the new place where we could find room. We've still got a lot to do and there's just no space. I had to resist the urge to flip off the landlord every time we saw him.

Going to be a busy day here so I'd better get back to it...

the truth of things...

If you open a bag of Doritos labeled: "Now better tasting!", you should be aware that this means:

"Now tastes vaguely like Cheetos!"

and

"It's more orange colored!"


Knowledge is power.

Back to work...

you can't force a rant

I've been working on a particular entry for a few days - the annoyance of attention-getting devices.

It didn't work.

My muse was absent and the whole entry sounded forced, and it was. I guess the reason is that I hadn't been exposed to the stuff that really ticked me off in a while, so the righteous fury was absent. I still think those walkie-talkie cell phones are painfully annoying - but it's been too long since I've heard some bone-headed idiot use one that I couldn't devote an entire entry to them. I just wasn't cranky enough about it. If anyone has one and wants to stop over and demonstrate it for me I'm sure that will trigger my muse again. And maybe a hostile response, so maybe a demo isn't the best thing.

So, in other news...

Had a good visit with my mom - we went out for mexican. I had a tamale - it was pretty good. There was some green stuff mixed into the edge of the re-fried beans, but I was able to avoid that and the rest of the meal was good.

Over the weekend I went out to dinner with some friends and I had Hunan Tofu. My first tofu experience and it wasn't too bad. The actual chunks of tofu reminded me, at least as far as consistancy goes, of french toast sticks from Burger King - though chewier. They tasted like the sauce, which I understand is normal. Overall, okay - but I'm not sure I could eat it everyday.

I slept really badly last night - not sure what's going on there. Trouble going to sleep and trouble staying asleep. Woke up several times, but only once seemed justified (I had to pee). I was kinda cranky this morning - but work is actually improving my mood. Or at least it's not making it any worse and allowing my default personality to take over. Getting some stuff done and helping some people, so that's something.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Stop on over if you'd like to annoy me with one of those accursed walkie-talkie and are feeling brave.

Back to work...

weird vs tall - and a dream of DC

Over the weekend I went to a picnic/surprise birthday party for my friend's dad. While helping set things up, I made a comment of some kind to my friend's young niece. She replied -

"You're weird,"

I was busy with something, so I just tossed out a comment meant to slightly confuse and distract:

"Yes, but I'm also very tall,"

Which is true, at least in relation to how tall she was. She thought about it for a moment, then replied.

"You're more weird than you are tall,"

Her mother walked by at that point and told her that was rude and she shouldn't talk to people like that. I shook my head and said,

"No, she's right. I am more weird than I am tall. It's valid,"

And that was pretty much that.

In other news... weird dream last night. I dreamed I was in Washington, DC and had just stopped at a convenience store to get some groceries. As I was walking out of the store, three teenage kids ran up to me, knocked the bag out of my hands, and made off with my groceries.

Slightly upset by this and looking to balance the cosmic scales, I walked over to a nearby armored truck that was unlocked, unguarded, and ideling with the keys in the ignition. I got in and drove off. I was of course chased and since it was DC in an era of terrorism, they called out the military and various swat teams.

But, no one had gotten a good look at me. So, I got out of the van and walked around until I found a crowd of people watching various teams search a park. I watched them too, then started up a conversation with a young woman and her daughter in a stroller. We shared a couple of laughs and talked for a bit, then I told her I had to leave since I was pretty sure I was the one everyone was looking for. And then I just walked away.

I think, because I was so calm about things, she didn't believe me. So, I walked for a bit until I reached a street that was being blocked off by a soldier. I asked if I could cut through there and he said no and that I couldn't even turn my car around here. I told him that was okay since I was on foot - and that apparently was the wrong thing to say. The keywords of "restricted area" and "man on foot" must have triggered something in him and he told me to come with him - I guess he thought he'd found the culprit. While I was trying to think of something to say to get myself out of it - I woke up.

In still more news...my mom is in town for the day for work and she and I will be having dinner before she heads back home this evening. So, that should be fun - looking forward to seeing her.

And now it's time to get back to work...

sick (literally) from video games and misplaced mind

I fired up the video game Katamari Damacy last night - hadn't played it in a while. Essentially, you roll a giant ball around a house and eventually the planet, rolling stuff up. It's strangely fun and a fairly interesting head-trip, but the problem is in the rolling things around. You tend to roll in circles to pick things up, and this causes the camera to rotate around too. And then I started to get motion sick. Yes, motion sick from a video game.

Stop laughing now, okay?

Thank you.

So, I stopped playing and looked for some pepto. I had some, but it expired 2 years ago. Apparently, I don't get sick to my stomach that often. Instead, I did the dishes, took a shower, and went to bed really early.

And had some serious reality bending dreams. I think I was awake, or at least partly awake, for some of them - and had a lot of trouble waking up this morning. Or more accurately - had a lot of trouble getting out of bed.

I think I've addressed this before in a blog, but it felt like something got left behind in that seriously messed up hodge-podge of dreams. Not sure exactly where I ended up last night while I slept, but I'm not sure it's worth going back there to get whatever might have been lost.

It's already 11:00 in the morning and I'l still a little out of it. Which is scary since I was on the road coming to work around 7:00. Good thing I take the same route every morning - I think my car was on auto-pilot.

Well, not much of an entry, but I should get back to work...

the mythos of the comic book - plus, my grandmother kayaks

I'm 32 years old and I still read comics. Not ashamed of it either. Hey, it's one of the reasons I've got a job - to support my comic book habit. But why do I still read them when they are so easy to dismiss?

The stories. Every month - good vs evil. The age old struggle to protect the innocent from those who would harm them. While Superman is at the top of the heap, he's not my favorite - though there is a good discussion of Supes in Kill Bill vol.2 that I recommend. My fav is the Flash - an everyday dude that has been gifted with incredible powers and who stuggles every day to protect his community and at times the entire world from those that mean it harm. He does this by running fast - but that's a simplification.

Over the span of several issues, the Flash out-races Death itself beyond the boundaries of time to save himself and the woman he loves. He runs faster than an instantaneous signal to win a bet and save the earth. And in one issue - which all takes place over the span of a second - the Flash saves the entire Justice League.

His story is about doing the right thing - no matter the cost. And when he - or anyone in the Flash legacy - makes a mistake, he takes responsibility and tries to make it right.

Ultimately, even with all his power, he's still human - he's real, he's accessible. And he never gives up.

All that for a couple bucks a month - not bad, eh?


In other news...talked to my sister last night. She relayed to me that our 74 year old grandmother went kayaking recently - and loved it. She's thinking about getting her own and paddling up and down the river. Go grandma!

That's it for now - back to work...

escape from a parking lot - and the Flash on tv

I went to a festival over the weekend - the standard carnical rides and elephant ears sort of deal. Not normally my cup of tea, but I was helping out a friend who was part of the committee running it. I got there early evening on Friday and though I had a special pass, I wasn't sure where to park. So, I followed the signs that said additional parking was available at the school. So, I found a school - discovering that it was under construction as I pulled in - and parked there anyway. It's not like I had to go off-roading, but it still wasn't a finished lot by any means.

I enjoyed the festival for a bit, but didn't stay too long. I made the trek back over to my car, but as I tried to leave, a woman was pulling a baracade across the exit/entrance. I pulled up and waited a moment until she noticed me - then she came over to my car and asked me a deeply stupid question:

"Are you leaving?"

My instincive response was to say "duh" - but she still did have things blocked off. I don't think she would have tried to trap me there out of revenge, but you never can tell about crazy people. So, instead, I nodded and told her yes. She then proceeded to tell me that the lot wasn't supposed to be open - and that they had conducted a band event there which is why there were cars there since it was under construction.

I, of course, didn't give a rats posterior about the explaination - I just wanted to leave. After a couple of minutes of droning on, she finally realized what I had known all along. That being:

1. I was trying to leave - making me no longer part of the problem - but part of the solution.
2. I didn't care what she was saying and I really just wanted her to get out of my way so I could leave.

She moved the baraicade just slightly off to the side giving me barely enough room to pull out into traffic and let me get on my way.

I think she was blinded by the problem before her. It might have even been her fault that it wasn't blocked off to festival parking or that there weren't better signs. But she was so caught up in her own vision she couldn't see that the fastest way to resolve the problem was to get the cars out of there - and I was trying to help.

While I appreciated her problem I was still annoyed by her. Which is pretty much standard with me. I try to avoid being strongly angry about things since it rarely does any good - but I can't seem to help being annoyed.

Also this weekend I watched the latest episode of Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network. Only a small portion of the population of the planet might actually care about this part of the post - but that's better odds than what I usually have - so I'm going to write about it.

The Justice League faces off against the combo of Brainiac/Lex Luthor - and the JL gets their butts kicked. They make a little headway and Brainiac/Luthor makes alternate version robo-clones of the Justice Leagues - as based on an alternate version where the Flash dies. Since there's nothing to base the Flash clone on - they used the Reverse Flash: Professor Zoom from the comics! While everyone is battling their clones, the Flashes are racing around. The good Flash stops, begins to vibrate his hand at super-speed, and plunges it into the chest of his clone - causing it to explode (a power that works just like it did in the comics - and incidenatally, the same way that the comic reverse flash was taken out - though less messy).

The Flash is heard to say "I won't be trying that one again".

A little later in the fight, Brainiac/Luthor knocks out all of the Justice league - except for the Flash. Brainiac/Luthor tauts the Flash and he runs away. A moment passes and suddenly there's a blur and a piece of Brainiac/Luthor's armor is knocked away. Another blur and more is torn away. Then we see that it's the Flash - racing past B/L and tearing him apart piece by piece - far too fast to be stopped. We catch a view of the Flash in motion, running across the planet to build up tremendous speed. After several more hits, the Flash comes at B/L at near lightspeed and tears into B/L - fists hammering at the armor and lightning flashing. The rest of the Justice Leage is recovered by now and watches as an explosion obscures the area. When the smoke clears, Luthor is fully human and Brainiac is destroyed - but at a cost. The Flash is now translucent and fading fast - vibrating at incredible speed. He says,

"I think there's something wrong,"

Then he vibrates out of existance.

The Justice Leaguers' jaws drop (mine did too)- then Luthor starts posturing and has words with Superman. Suddenly, the Martain Manhunter shouts that the Flash isn't gone yet, that he's still nearby but fading fast. A portal open up and Hawkgirl reaches in. We hear the Flashes voice, describing where he is - "a force - made of speed - it's wonderful"

(Just like in the comics!)

The Justice Leaguers form a chain and together pull him back from the Speed Force. When he's finally rescued he says that "I can never go that fast again or I may never come back" - harkening to the comics where he used to have a mental speed limit based on his fears and how only his connection to his wife would be enough to pull him back from the Speed Force.

There's a bit more to the show, but it's mostly about Superman.

But, that's not important - the important part is that, once again, the Flash saves the day.
...

This is already a really long blog for me - so I'll wrap it up for now and next time I'll talk about why any of this matters.

another random day

A pretty ordinary day - and a fairly plain evening yesterday. I did purchase a paper-shreder, so that was kinda cool to fire up. Well planned and well executed destruction - gotta love it.

Also picked up the new Gorillaz CD - a little disappointing. What was even more disappointing was Target's music section - I had a list of 5 cds I was looking for and I was lucky to find even one of them. Not very organized.

My playstation 2 is still chugging away. I'm not sure if I should get a new one so that I can play all my games again - or if I should just wait until the PS3 comes out.

Read a new Buffy book - supposedly taking place after the end of the series. I really enjoyed it - right up until the end. If I read it right - they made a sacrifice that was too precious to have made. I may have to re-read the ending again.

Speaking of reading - I saw that the Pope doesn't like Harry Potter books. I'm thinking that maybe he should be focusing on more important issues, but that's just me.

Well, I've got a few things to work on before lunch and my meeting - so, it's back to work...

still sore and the squirrels

I took a look in the mirror last night and saw the underside of my tongue. It was still raw looking and sore. And it's still sore this morning. I'm considering trying to get a picture via my webcam, but a few things are making me re-think the notion:

1. Ewww...that's gonna be a gross picture.

2. What if someone walked into my office? How in the multiverse am I could to explain that one? "So, working hard today, Anthony?" they would ask.

3. The logistics and lighting issues are daunting.

4. What if I got eveything lined up for the shot and it's no longer a visible wound? How lame is that?

So, I think I may pass on the photo op.

Watched a clip of the Wonka movie - the squirrels are excellent. Very focused, very clever, and easily pissed off. And very decisisve. Just like I would imagine squirrels would be if suddenly gifted with substantital intelligence. Though, for all I know, they could be well along on their path to world conquest.

Hmmm...maybe I should buy some peanuts for the ones in my backyard. Just in case. But none for that one that broke into my apartment and peed on my laptop. No nuts for that one.

And that's it for now...time to get back to work.

food related injury and "wait animation"

Last night, while playing a fairly intense video game, I made the mistake of eating some pretzels. And I'm not talking about the tamed "Mr. Pretzel with his arms folded" variety. No, I'm talking about the harpoons of salty death. The kind that, if you grab a handful, there's no way you'll be able to get them anywhere near your mouth without puncturing your cheek.

With a little maneuvering and not a lot of sense (remember, I was distracted by a video game) I managed to get far too many pretzels in my mouth. And then something terrible happened. Through some quirk of fate, one of the aforementioned harpoons of salty death slid under my tongue and stabbed the underside of it. You know, that part that connects the underside of your tongue to the floor of your mouth? Yeah, that part.

Let's start with "ouch" and move on from there. My video game character nearly died, but fortunately she's feisty and runs away pretty well. I managed to retreat until the throbbing in my mouth died down to a dull ache (which is still there today).

And then, because I'm a guy and I had the muchies - I had another handful and got back to my game.

Yeah, I'm an idiot. In my defense, I was more careful - but a thinking and rational person would have thrown out the pretzels and opened up a container of yogurt.

And to add insult to injury (literally) - the game insulted me. See, way back in the day, there was a game called "Sonic the Hedgehog". And if you let the controller sit idle for too long, Sonic would turn slightly toward you, glare, and tap his foot impatiently.

Well, in Balder's Game: Dark Alliance 2 - the concept of an impatient character went a little too far. While I was recovering from the self-harpooning, my character on the screen thought I'd waited too long and said:

"If I have to wait here much longer, I'm going to strangle you with that controller cord"

And my response to that was: "Yikes! Okay, okay, give me a second".

Of course she didn't respond, but she did stop grumbling at me.

And that was pretty much my evening.

Back to work...

Gray hair and restricted access

So, last night I discovered a gray hair on my chest. The gray on my head, well, I started getting that when I was a teenager. The gray in my beard, that's been within the past couple of years. The gray on my chest - that ticked me off. I'm only 32. How is gray chest hair fair? Dang-it.

In other news... I was heading out to a meeting this morning and I headed out the back door of the building, since it lead to a more direct route. This is essentially a one way door and I would need to use my swipe-card to get back in the building via a differnt door. No prob.

As I was getting back to the building, I noticed one of my colleagues step out that one-way door to have a cigerette break, proping the door open behind her. I smiled and waved - then headed in that direction. I figured she could let me in that door and I'd get a short-cut back to my office.

No can do. Apparently, once the building went swipe card access only, a rule was put in place prohibiting anyone from being let in through that door. And if anyone was let in that door, then the "smoking dock" (since it's the door for the loading dock) would be taken away.

Theoretically, I could have gone around the building and out through that door and joined her for a smoke - if I was a smoker - and then gone back in through that door that was propped open. But I'm not and I just went back to my desk.

Rules are rules. I understand and appreciate that. But, according to the letter of the law - should she have been allowed to prop open the door? Technically, she went outside via that door and then re-entered via that same door.

And what if I hold the door open for another colleage if I'm entering via the card-swipe door and they have their hands full? Should I require them to use their card, even if I know them and sit not more than 5 feet away from them? Would I be in the wrong - or would they?

It's not a big deal either way and I'm not even sure it's worth an entry in the blog. But, I thought it was odd and I figured that what this blog is all about anyway - documenting the odd.

I guess that's the problem with having so many rules. They have to cover every situation and they have to be enforced. Maybe it would work better to change the rule so that you can only let in people that you know work there and are allowed in. Or maybe just put a card swipe on that door too and have people swipe to get back in after a break. The current set up just seems a little weird to me.

In other news...I need a nap. But, instead, it's back to work...

under the (radar) gun

So, I'm crusing down route 8, minding my own business and trying to get home - when, all of the sudden, everyone in front of me hits their brakes. So, I hit my brakes too - wondering for the billionth time what's going on up ahead. Accident? Idiot? Cosmic glitch in space/time?

Nope. It's a cop standing nex to his car, aiming his radar gun into traffic like a papparatzi tracking Jennifer Aniston. He's hunting speeders, so everyone slams on the brakes so as not to be a speeder. And nearly causes an accident.

Now, I've heard about this big push to get rid of the "speeding cushion" to "help save lives". Well, I've got news for you. It doesn't matter how fast you're going - the real danger is from idiots on the road that don't pay attention. Maybe they're talking on cell phones or yelling at their kids or putting on makeup - they're still under the general catagory of idiots and they're still a menace on the road.

So, everyone slows down to the speed limit for awhile - then once we're all past him, everyone speeds back up to about 5-7 miles over the speed limit.

Is this really the best use of this officer's time? Aren't there bigger problems out there that he could have helped with - or prevented?

Seemed like a waste to me - but hey, what do I know? I'm just one of the majority of people out there that think they are better than average drivers. :)

In other news...been working my posterior off with a file for work. The freaking thing is 9.7 mb and I'm trying to get it down to 2 or 3 mb. I've flattened the images, ripped out the fonts, and tried every compression option I can find. The best I've been able to do is 9.5 mb. I think I'm going to have to call in the experts - or maybe just delete a few sections. Think anyone would notice if I skipped pages 20-160?

I guess that's it for now...time to get back to work...

vacation blog part 4

Work on Friday was too busy for me to make an entry in teh blog, so, better late than never.

Over the course of the vacation week we:

1. Fought with the rain - getting things set up on the beach and retreating when the clouds took over.

2. Walked on the pier and the beach - and bravely laughed at talk of sharks from the safety of dry land.

3. Went out to eat several times - including a trip to the Hot Fish Club where I, ironically, got some fish that was mostly raw (kinda like sushi)

4. Did some touristy shopping and a very small degree of site-seeing.

And then we said our good-byes to the beach and ocean and headed back. We left very early on Saturday morning - and dealt with the overheating again, though it wasn't as bad since the position of the sun made it less intense.

Then finally home to unpack and relax before going back to work.

The massive sunburn put a damper on the trip and the weather could have been better - but as I said all along, "No email, no phone, no voicemail, no work - still a good vacation"

I learned several valuable lessons and had quite a bit fo fun anyway - so, it all balances out to a good vacation.

Next time... back to the usual entries of funky dreams and random rants.

Later.

vacation blog part 3

So, Tuesday night - instead of going out with my friend for his birthday - I went to the Doctor's Care office in Surfside. I folded paper like a madman to keep from scratching and made a couple of complex models while waiting to be called. I gave them away to a kid in the waiting room. The first nurse got my weight and other vitals, then the doctor came and was somewhat amazed at the degree of sunburn. He wrote a prescritption for a painkiller (though it was itching more than hurting), and sent in nurse #2 to slather on about a pound of heavy silver-something cream. I kept folding and the cream helped - though she felt bad when she had to add more to a sensitive area of my back 'cause I would gasp. She got some origami when she was done too. Heck, I gotta give the stuff away or I'd be buried in it.

They put a hospital gown on me - backwards, so it was like a vest - then sent me on my way. We got the perscriptions filled - then headed back to the condo for cake. I took off the "vest" and kept threatening to hug everyone.

The next couple of days were a bit of a blur - and though I kept seeping with the blisters, I was getting steadly better. Spent a little time on the beach - fulled dressed under an umbrella - and in the pool, which really seemed to help. Though, I felt a little bad about "shedding" flakes of skin into the pool. It was a little gross, but I did try to stay away from everyone else in the pool.

Next time: wrapping up the week and heading home.

Now, back to work...

vacation blog part 2

Sunday had some great weather - lots of sun and blue skies. I was on the beach building sandcastles or swimming in the ocean for most of the day. I was starting to get warm and knew I was sunburned, but didn't realize how sunburned until later.

We went out for dinner that evening and I got the shivers - which I thought was just a reaction to the really cold resturant. I only ate about half my dinner and took the rest back to the condo. That night, in an increasing amount of pain from the sunburn and ensuing blisters - I lost my dinner in a fairly spectacular fashion. And I had a sore throat the rest of the week as a result.

Monday was spent indoors, fully dressed, and watching TV. Still cold, but feeling ever so slightly better to be out of the harsh sun.

Tuesday - and the blisters are taking on a life of their own. But only on my back. My front is a bit sunburned as well, but not as bad. So, I put on some aloe on my chest to help forestall any problems. Turns out - big problem. I had a terrible reaction to the aloe and started itching like crazy. And when I say crazy - I mean full-blown-put-me-in-the-psych-ward kinda crazy.

Part of me wanted to scratch. Part of me knew better. My compromise was to rub the affected area - which still wasn't good, but was better than humping a tree.

Got the aloe washed off and tried a couple more anti-histmine flavored sprays - and it kept getting worse. I was in full freak-out mode. So, armed with a stack of paper to keep my hands occupied I was taken to the stat care down the street.

Next time: Lots of cream and a spiffy new vest.

vacation blog part 1

It's been a bit since I've blogged - I've been out of town on vacation. I'm back to work now and trying to get caught up, so I'm going to break down my vacation report into several days.

We headed out the Friday before last - driving south toward Myrtle Beach. The car was having some overheating issues, so for a good part of the trip we drove with windows down and heat turned on. I don't really mind the heat so I wasn't too bothered by it, but the hot air did tend to dry my contacts out.

Over the course of the drive we passed though:

Virginia's Technology Corridor - which appeared to be mostly trees.

Bland, NC - where we stopped to have to some white rice, plain backed potatoes, dry toast and water without ice. Just kidding - we didn't stop there.

Polymer Alliance Zone (WV). Not sure what that means, but I felt good about it since I work in Akron - Aka Polymer City.

We arrived at our waypoint for the trip a few hours later and stopped for the night. We were awakened at 12:30 that night with a loud pounding on the door, but when we finally answered it, no one was there. We're still puzzled about that one.

It was raining when we got to the condo the next day and it would rain on and off for much of the week. Saturday was for grocery shopping and settling in.

Sunday, the weather broke and we headed for the beach. I dutifully put on sun block, but apparently the ocean washed it off much sooner than I anticipated. The results of this situation were soon to become painfully obvious.

Next time - the beginning of the blisters.

Back to work...