Fish Tacos - what's your favorite condiment?

Let me know after watching.

Funerals are family reunions

Yeah, I know, everyone knows that. But it's especially true for my family. I have about 9 first cousins and never see them. So, going through the receiving line at the wake, 'how are you' to me was replied with 'I'm getting divorced and just bought a house' and then waited to see which one they'd respond to more and how they'd respond. One cousin looks at me, say, well, how many marriages that have lasted a long time do you know are happy?. Then she proceeds to tell me she's been married for 24 years this year. Wonder if she noted the connection?

The best part was seeing a couple of the old old relatives. My dad's uncle Peter is a year older than he was, and he and his wife (married for 58 years, and looking happy btw) told some stories about growing up with my dad and my uncle. So that was nice. I remembered the story of my dad randomly meeting him on a street in Germany during the war and noted that to Uncle Peter - and he says 'that's about the closest I ever got to combat during the war' (my dad had surprised him). Another Uncle Peter I haven't seen in a long time was there. I remember giving him shit and him giving me shit - he always has a grumpy face but he's a great guy and does joke around, so I was trying to make him smile. When he and his wife were leaving my brother tried to give him his wife's cane to make him use it, so he shook my brother's hand and almost had him to his knees with his grip - in a friendly 'I still got the goods so don't mess with me' sort of way. Which I"m sure was great for his ego.

Oh, after the wake the 9 of us (my immediate family) got pizza at Crusty's across from the funeral home and brought it to the hotel. I was in charge of getting it. We asked a random guy going in if it was good pizza, and he said the best in RI. Went in and saw it's run by two older Italian men. Ordering the pizza the bald one brought a pizza to a teenage girl who he obviously knew - she asked for plates and he joked with her and handed her one at a time. So, when I came back 20 minutes later to pick up the pizzas, and asked for plates, he looked at me wondering if I was serious. I said I really needed them, so he pulls out the stack and wants to start the routine of one at a time. So I grabbed the whole stack out of his hand, and he immediately picked up the pizza boxes and walked to the back of the kitchen. So then there was a truce and I got plates and my pizza. Hard to explain the interaction, but it was fun and reminded me of my dad. And it was very good pizza - Crusty's in Warwick, RI. A bit salty, but good.

BTW, I cannot say Warwick with the 'r'. I say it like Waw - wick. Same with Warsaw. That's how you know I'm from RI.

There's drama and sadness also, but I don't feel like writing about it. Hope all are well.

I'm a woman

I feel kinda bad, so I shop. Except I'm a modern woman, so I shop on ebay. I had seen these yesterday, and wanted them. So I bought them today. It's not so frivolous, because I have had this style for years (Smith Slider 01) but the frames disintegrated finally, and I still have replacement lenses, so it's technically a need rather than want. Right?
And they are PINK!

Rest in Peace

My uncle died yesterday. I think he was ready to go for a while, but it's still sad. You can see he's related to my dad - interesting he died on my dad's birthday. I'll be flying up to RI tomorrow for the wake. I'll get back to blogging perhaps Thursday, unless I find something short for Twittering Tuesday.

The cat ate my doughnut

I bought doughnuts for my workers on Saturday and had some leftover. I was all excited because I had a plain donut and was going to toast it and do the butter thing. I wake up this morning to find most of it gone and crumbs lying around. Damn cat! Next thing you know it's going to carry a badge and a holster.

My friends rock. Here's the list of accomplishments from this weekend.
- all rugs up and out
- smoke detectors up
- washer and dryer picked up
- bathroom sliding glass door taken off
- 2 doorways widened
- 1 doorway and some wall torn down
- 1 cabinet torn out (with sink)
- 1/2 of fence torn out
- 2 locks re-keyed

I had 6 people with me Saturday and 1 person Sunday. And while that is a TON of work, I am much more realistic about what can and cannot be done in a certain amount of time. As someone said, it's a work in progress and I need to enjoy the journey. And keep my day job so I can rest.

And since everyone loves muppets, here's the Swedish chef making donuts.

saturday hunt - local

Well, still no access to camera, and this time I have to do an audio hunt submission. When I saw the word was local, the first thing that came to mind was: "brown eggs are local eggs and local eggs are fresh" It was an advertising campaign in the 80's in Massachusetts.

Here's the NPR story on brown eggs vs white eggs that will have the ad.

Here's a blurb from Megnut:
From NPR's "All Things Considered," White Eggs, Brown Eggs: What's the Difference? Anyone who grew up in Massachusetts in the eighties can tell you, without having to even listen to the audio: "Brown eggs are local eggs, and local eggs are fresh!" At least, that's what the TV was always telling me. And it sure stuck, I always buy brown eggs. I only buy white eggs if that's all they sell, and I do so begrudgingly.

paranoia may destroy you

So, if these are the signs for women for heart attacks how can you tell if it's not major depression or life events (like buying a house) that are impacting you? IE, if I have little twinges in my chest, (left side, not center of the chest), should I go to the doctor? Oh, and my father, grandfather, first cousin all died of heart attacks.

Heather, I blame this paranoia on you. Making me think about heart attacks and death. I wrote to my doctor friend and asked. We'll see.

OK, my psychiatrist called back and her diagnosis is simple anxiety. I'll stop worrying and get a full physical soon.

I'm my own housewife

Holy shit, I'm a homeowner. And my own housewife.

Everything went well - thanks for all the good wishes. And, the seller paid for my interest rate lock extension! So that was great. I'm trying NOT to have the mindset that oh, that means I can spend that money. Thankfully at my bank I have two savings accounts, and I'm starting to use the secondary one for money that I'll allow myself to use for fun stuff like vacations, and buying new ski boots this fall.

It's all about the food. The office I closed at had tons of food and drink, and so it's my favorite place to close now. My lunch consisted of a packet of doritos, two packets of freeze-dried fruit, a glass of apple juice, and two candy bars (I had earlier eaten a package of peanut butter and crackers). The woman who handled my financing brought me a bottle of champagne. After the closing my realtor and I brought a case of beer to the seller's agent, since he really did so much for us.

The seller's agent looked at my keys and said, now you can get into any foreclosed house. They use the same keys for all of them. So I know what I'm doing soon! New locks.

And, the title of the post refers back to a song: I'm my own grandpa. And here we have the muppets to sing it for you:



Image

i can't stop this feeling

You know that feeling when you were young, in the morning when you'd wake up after the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause visited, but before you saw what they brought? That's what I have right now. Except, with buying a house, it's kinda like they're a little scary too, like a bunny with sharp pointed teeth or santa with devil's horns. Off today at noon to sign my life away.

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Trolling

Here's some of the better listing titles I've seen today:

Lazy guy wants a girlfriend

sugar daddy looking for hard bodied femail

Are you deaf, mute, limp, amputated, or have any other "imperfection"?

Dear Mr. Perfect, It's Me, God

Calling women readers who work in tech...

From a listserv I am on:

Temple University is conducting research on women who have careers in technology-related fields, specifically with the goal of trying to create more responsible policies toward women workers, and improving the educational opportunities of those girls who aspire to careers in technology-related fields. Would you be willing to forward this to your members? If not, could you suggest some way we might be able to let your members know that this survey exists, so we can make it available to them in another way?

The survey might be found at: Women Moving Forward Survey II

Color Me Beautiful

It looks like I'm actually going to close on my place on Thursday. All the ducks are in a row, the cogs in place, oh, and whatever other saying you want to use. It frankly feels like a miracle. And I won't believe it's happening until it's over with.

Is anyone good with color? I've been wanting to ask this for weeks but didn't want to completely jinx myself. I have an entire place to figure out the colors for - every surface is the same exact gross off-white/beige yucky color, even the ceilings. Colors intimidate me - I mean, I can handle them and take them down in a wrestling match if need be, but that doesn't mean it'll be pretty. And it's so much work to paint that I don't agree with the saying that you can always paint over it. Sure, in about 5-10 years.

Any suggestions you have are great. Here's some information:
- Layout: walk into living room, connected to a dining area straight ahead. You go into the dining area and to the right is the kitchen (galley, small - and making a cutout to the dining area). To the right in the living room are the stairs to the upstairs. You get upstairs and straight ahead is the bathroom (which needs to be redone). To the right are the two small 'bedrooms'. To the left is the 'master bedroom'.
- I'm ok with bold colors as long as they are natural. And I'm ok with dark colors. I like soothing colors, whatever that is (sage?).
- When is it ok to paint a room a darker color?
- Can you paint molding/trim a dark color if the wall paint is light?
- I have a dark-ish blue couch (which in the old place looked great with light carpet, brick fireplace, dark blinds, and light light blue walls)
- My table/chairs/hutch from my great aunt are honey maple (dark-ish)
- Floors are wood (natural oak color)
- Kitchen cabinets and appliances are white. I need to replace the counters, so am trying to figure out a color there too. In the cut out I"m making I'll have the same color counter, so ... it's important.

So, have at it. My initial thoughts are to paint the dining area blue-ish, so there's sort of a flow from the living area. And maybe a gray in the stairwell. I haven't gotten beyond that.

Kenny - the movie

In addition to Hellboy, this weekend I saw Kenny. I highly recommend it. It's about an Australian guy who works with corporate portable toilets, and filmed like a documentary. Funny as all hell, but then again, I'm into potty humor. Below is what I think is the first 4 minutes of the movie - I wanted to provide that rather than the trailer, because I think the trailer shows too much. The problem is, the movie's only showing in about 12 theaters in the United States. Hopefully it'll get a wider release. It's also pretty funny that it's subtitled, but maybe when watching the clip below you'll wish you had subtitles?

Saturday Hunt - Refreshed

Well, when I chose the photos I thought it was refreshing, but I think these apply to refresed too. Looking at these photos made me feel refreshed/ it was refreshing.
First, my kitties in a perfect pair, refreshing themselves.

Second, picking a bouquet at a flower farm and then being able to look at them, makes me refreshed.

Fishing in Maine refreshes, and I am so looking forward to it at the end of August.

And I do manage to catch a few big ones.

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela! 90 years old today

If you'd like to send him a birthday message - www.happybirthdaymandela.com. If you wish him happy birthday you get a free download. (They're tracking the numbers, and Tanzania leads the pack in number of wishes! Go Tanzania!)

Read about the Aids Charity - www.46664.com - and donate in his name. (46664 was Nelson Mandela's prison number when he was imprisoned on Robben Island, off Cape Town in South Africa).
More info on www.SouthAfrica.info.

Here's an older video in which Johnny Clegg sings his Nelson Mandela tribute, and Nelson Mandela gets down...sort of. :-)

Mojito Mama

So, last night I went to a bar alone. I don't remember if I've ever done it before, but I did it last night. It may not be a big deal for some of you, but it was a little bit of a deal for me. Anyway, there's a place I know of that has mojito happy hour until 10:00 pm. I tried to get a friend to go but she couldn't go, and I desperately wanted a mojito, so I went. It's an upstairs bar to a restaurant, so not a 'normal' bar.

During the first mojito I felt a little awkward. I called a friend I hadn't talked to in a while, and left a message saying 'this is a little more difficult than I thought it would be'. I ordered a side dish, and kept drinking, and watched some surfing and skateboard thing on the tv in the distance.

My side dish arrived and I started on my second mojito. People had been arriving in dribs and drabs, and there was another lone woman a few seats down, and a couple sat down to the right of me. Of course, the more alcohol you drink, the easier things get (except for driving and walking). And there were some friendly people there. First a woman who stood at the bar to get drinks asked me how my mofongo was, which seems like such a simple thing but it was nice to have someone talk to me. Then the woman of the couple next to me starting talking to me. Tells me how she just got in from Spain and visiting him and they met when they were 5 and 8...

You here alone? she asked. I said yep, and she bonded with me then. Oh, I do that too. Movies too. Her date got up to go to the bathroom and she came clean. I'm such a liar. I'm not from Spain, I'm Puerto Rican, etc. She's a flight attendant and is based in Philly but in town, and they had met through the internet many years ago. She had a lot of energy, was drunk, and was hilarious - making jokes, flirting with her date, suggesting a threesome (semi-embarassing her date, but of course he's used to her), telling me about meeting Mr. Big in NYC (and pulled out her camera to show the picture of her with him). Took my photo.

At one point she sticks out her hand with the middle finger extended (downward, not at me) and says, meet my best friend. She had a ring on her finger so I was confused for a moment, and then I got it and laughed hysterically but also apparently turned beet red. They loved it. I was more embarrassed that it took me so long to get it. I told her I didn't get it at first since we use things with batteries here in the US. They then bought me a mojito, but made me try a strawberry one. And I made everyone try it, and the woman behind me who had asked me about my mofongo felt more than comfortable taking a straw and trying some too.

10:15 came and the bar closed down. I said goodnight to my new friends and went back to the 'hood.

Updates

- I may actually close on my house next Thursday, if yet another complication does not arise. The last week it's been that they couldn't find the deed! Amazing.
- I had planned my move date for Aug. 2, but I'm not sure now if I should give myself another week to do shit around the new place before moving (floors refinished, electrical fixed, painting, some demolition?). Of course, if my friends will let me stay with them another week.
- I received my first housewarming gift and it was from my firefighter-ex. Four smoke alarms and a CO2 detector. Four because 1 for each level and one in the bedroom, which he said you really should have because too many people die from fires that start in their own bedrooms. I thought that was very sweet. And note that for your safety also.
- Oh, closing on the assumption Monday evening, so I'll be off that house and will get money from my soon to be ex. The woman working with us has been very responsive and helpful, so I left a message with her supervisor noting this, and she was so grateful for the positive feedback. It's good to be good to good people.
- And to balance out that niceness, I must admit I did a passive aggressive thing this morning and clomped around in my biking shoes. Last night the downstairs neighbor was playing club boom boom music loud enough to make me take a sleeping drug and move to another room to sleep. If it happens again I'll go and ask him to turn it down just a little. It's not like it was horrendous, but that crap just can't be ignored. And I do mean CRAP.

Is it human instinct to do nothing?

I just ran across this article. From the article, a description of a video:
[A 78-year old man] steps off the curb just as two cars that appear to be racing swerve on the wrong side of the street. The first car swerves around the man. The second car hits him and throws him into the air like a doll, then speeds away. What follows is even more chilling: People walk by. Nine vehicles pass him lying in the street. Some drivers slow down to look but drive away.

The article further states:
If no one else is moving, individuals have a tendency to mimic the unmoving crowd. Although we might think otherwise, most of us would not have behaved much differently from the people we see in these recent videos, experts say. Deep inside, we are herd animals, conformists. We care deeply what other people are doing and what they think of us.

It states finally:
But it's different when the bystander is a solitary witness: "They are more likely to come to another person's aid than if there are other people around and nobody is doing anything."

So what do you think you would do? Can you work against the crowd? Would you ask the questions / do what needed to be done? Think about it next time something happens. Jump in and help. Go against the herd mentality. Stand out.

But, if your moral compass will stay awry, then perhaps you can go into management:

Great Depression

Ha. You thought this was about me. But it's not. I just wonder if this is what it was like way back in the late 1920's. Hearing about runs on banks. News of the stock market going lower and lower. Is this what it's like to live in the beginning of a tremendous downturn? Hope and optimism being spouted by the government, but the reality of people losing homes, losing jobs, etc. overshadowing that? I just wonder. I certainly hope not. As I wait to buy a home. And become single and will have to depend on my job for my health insurance, which I desperately need.
[on a side note, I can't even get a picture of money to post in this post... an omen? :-) ]

Zimbabwe

When articles about Dictator Mugabe and beating the opposition don't sway Americans' opinions, turn to the stories about the white farmers trying to save their land. Either way, it's such a horrible situation. It would be nice if the African states, the United States, some country in the world, would pressure him out of office.

Greasy limp noodle

As my realtor put it. Yup, that's what I am. I was supposed to get 45 minutes, and he gave me 1.5 hours, and charged me for 1. I thought it was going long, but didn't know it was that long. I should be upset, but how can I be when I walked out of the room in a daze?

And apparently the American Gladiator was a wanna be. Though, as the masseuse said, it's unlikely he'd become one if he can't even put his arms at his sides.

Tweet-masseuse

I am off work today since it's take care of me day. I slept after writing the last post, and just made an appointment for a massage. I asked the guy if he'll be able to [crap,nothing I can think of to write doesn't sound dirty, so here I go] get deep, and he replies, 'well, the other day I gave a massage to an American Gladiator, so I think I can handle you'. I'll let you know later how I compare. :-)

I Yam what I Yam

Yesterday I biked back to the 'hood despite feeling like crap from a migrane. I've gotten comfortable enough that I don't wear baggy clothes over my biking stuff. Well, I'm going back to the baggy clothes.

I arrived at the gate and stopped to open it. The guy hanging out of the red 4x4 passenger side called to me. It took me 3 tries to understand what he was saying, but he basically asked me if I had a boyfriend. I was too sick to be clever, and didn't want to be rude because who knows who is who there, so I answered. We had a little back and forth, and he felt comfortable enough to come out of the car and stand beside the fence. He asked how old I was, and I asked him how old he was - 28. I just laughed - I'm too old for you! And wanted to shake my finger at him and tell him to respect his elders and take off the friggin sunglasses when he's talking to me.

I told him I'm 41, and he told me I looked good, so that's something. He wanted to take me out to dinner, go biking with me, etc. As we're speaking a few older, respectable men came out of the store next door and looked at me disapprovingly even though I said hello with a smile. Because I'm standing there practically naked talking to this young'n. I thanked the young'n for the offer and said no thank you, and went inside, him staring at my booty as I left.

So, I guess there's no need to stalk the prey. Ha. I've been looking at craigslist and even signed up yesterday for fitnesssingles.com (it was a link that appeared on my map of who visits my blog) and realized how not ready I am for all that crap. I had even written to a guy on craigslist (no, not the 22 year old, a real one) and said I'm not ready for a relationship but I'm writing anyway, and referred him to my blog. [side note: I wonder what a guy would think of me from my blog... probably scared shitless to interact with this crazy pervert...] Not quite sure why I'm doing it - I guess gauging where I am emotionally, trying to see that there ARE guys out there I'd be interested in dating, etc.

I am what I am. Especially right now. My view is inward and that's mainly what I write about given everything that's going on. Life will move forward.

World's Oldest Blogger dies

Here's the story. I wish my mom would blog. Or at least read blogs. Ok, well, not mine.

Weekend Weirdness

This whole 'staying friends with the soon to be ex' creates some strangeness that has me a little discombobulated.
- Packing my stuff Sat am/afternoon, and he arrives with a friend with some furniture that he was given. It's my place but not really, so it's weird to offer the friend something to drink.
- Found out the actual final divorce will take 4-8 weeks after the 6 months, which, whatever, we can deal with. But my ex says on Saturday as he's leaving to go to a party we are both invited to, 'guess that means we will make it to 6 years' (Sept. 28).
- We're invited to the same party, and someone sings the praises of another guy to me in front of my ex.
- I had sent an email out to friends asking for help moving Aug 2, and made the mistake of bcc-ing him rather than sending him a separate email telling him when I am moving my stuff out so he won't be there. He commented 'it's weird that my friends are moving you out'. I corrected and said 'our friends.'
- Another friend at the party tells me about how it's cheaper to take your locks out and get them re-keyed at Home Depot than to buy new locks, but you just need to have people at the house while you do that so noone breaks in, and my ex asks them jokingly what they are doing on Aug 2. I just said 'fuck off'.
- He made a blueberry pie for the party that everyone loved, and I was very proud of him. And I asked him later, didn't it feel good to have people praise your pie? And it did.
- We went climbing together Sunday, and had a good time. We were supportive of each other, and were happy to share the sense of joy of getting to the car 5 minutes before a tremendous downpour, which made the temperature go down 20 degrees, and then driving to a place at which the downpour had not occurred yet, and the temperature be 20 degrees higher.
- We get back to the house and there's bugs in the garbage that holds the cat food cans, so I clean all that shit out while he's outside mowing the lawn, and he gets me food when he goes to buy dinner, and it feels like we're married again.
- Then I leave to go back to the place I'm staying, alone.

Saturday Hunt - bottle

This is from my visit to the sake factory. Lots and lots of bottles of sake. I was obsessed for a little while, but now that I know what kind of hangover I get, I'm less inclined to drink it...

milkshake

Yeah, this is how I like to drink my milkshakes... oh baby.
Of course, the model here promptly went and stuck a finger down her throat.

Oh wait, this is supposed to be a pleasant post. I got my milkshake finally! Expensive as all hell, but I got it. BUT, I have an improvement to make. Often in mint chocolate chip ice cream they make the 'chips' itsy bitsy. So, by the time they make it into a shake, there's no bits left. Which was my issue today. So next time (in the month it takes me to get down off this sugar high) I'll mix regular chocolate chip ice cream and peppermint stick ice cream. mmmm... can't wait. Ok, well, I can, since if I had another today I'd barf.

Habits of the Mind for Critical Thinking

- Confidence
- Contextual perspective
- Creativity
- Flexibility
- Inquisitiveness
- Intellectual integrity
- Intuition
- Open-mindedness
- Perseverance
- Reflection

I get paid to be a critical thinker, but don't always have these traits at work. Gotta work on them.

lunch today

Was no picnice. Ha ha!

Yes, this is a recurring theme Evil-e, so I will start labeling.

So, I've been using the work computer at the various homes I've had. And my boss calls me at 8 am expecting that I'll hear it and bring the computer in. And since I didn't, and since I don't have it here, I needed to go back and get it at lunchtime.

Fine. I was all ready to taxi it, and my door guy friend offered to let me use his car. Which is of course very nice of him. So, I drove up there, got the computer, gave the cat some treats and a scratches on the neck, and walked out the door.

Without my keys. PIMFA.

So, this means:
- I did not bolt the door of the apt. nor the door outside.
- My bicycle is locked on the street with no way for me to get it.
- I have to get someone to help me get into the place (luckily others have keys), and then drive my car back to pick up my bike.

The silver lining in the cloud is that I found something in the bag I used to carry the computer that I had been missing for a while. So, some things are well that aren't going well? Or however that goes.

Whatever. What is eating away at me and it's so difficult to keep my mouth shut, is that I didn't need the little lecture from my bos about how the computer belongs here for when it's needed. She is getting her PHD and from Sept to March this past year had the computer at her house so she could run SPSS on it. If I needed it for travel I'd have to remind her to bring it in. Hypocrite. I get blamed because she didn't remember until the morning she has to leave on a trip.

Oh well, it's an hour not at my desk and I'm not making up the time. And now I can't work at 'home' anymore so they can't expect that of me.

HEY PUSS! It seems it is indeed in the clause. See an old post of mine.

Tagged by Laura B

So this is the task:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

I wish I could write the next three lines rather than the next 3 sentences, but here goes:

"Then they just cut chunks of fish and skewered them on green sticks and roasted them bare over fire coals. Veasey talked on and on, and when he tired of relating his own history, he tried to draw out Inman's story. Where his home might be."

It's from Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. I still have not finished it, but not because I don't love it. I want it to last longer and I read so fast. The writing is so beautiful. I have many pages marked and once I finish and write a final review I wanted to share some quotes.

Anyway, tagging:
MRT, Squirrel, Smalltowngirl, Puss, Heather, Tera (I know, it's six, but I really want to know what all have nearby.)

Shittles

Or, chocolate skittles. I had heard about them on the radio and thought it sounded disgusting, so figured I'd have to try them. There's supposedly five flavors in the package and I will taste all.

Vanilla: tastes kinda like vanilla I guess. like that vanilla syrup they put in milkshakes or some coffees. kinda gross.

s'mores: if I use my imagination I can taste the graham cracker. the vanilla is still there. not sure I taste the chocolate. edible.

chocolate caramel (I think): pretty disgusting

chocolate pudding (I think): pretty digusting, but not as much as caramel. trouble is these two look similar on the package.

brownie batter: I think I taste salmonella eggs. actually, it's kind of ok. passable.

So how's that for some glowing recommendations?

BTW, I know I'm on overdrive on posting, but I'm in a place where I don't have much to do, can't go outside and hang out, but do have high speed access. Come end July/early August I'll be in my place with no computer, and too much to do every night... And at work I'm kind of procrastinating on a final report I have to write.

So, should I go for this one?

Hey I am a white 22 year old and probably the best looking in x. I am looking for a lady between 30-45 to celebrate life with. I have a job and am not trying to live off anyone but just can not stand girls my age anymore and was hoping there was an older woman out there that wants a trophy boy toy or something like that.

Star Trek - who are you like?

Your results:
You are Uhura

Uhura 60% Will Riker 60% Data 51% Beverly Crusher 50% Deanna Troi 50% Geordi LaForge 50% Spock 47% Chekov 45% Worf 40% Jean-Luc Picard 40% James T. Kirk (Captain) 35% Mr. Scott 30% Mr. Sulu 30% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 30% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 25%

You are a good communicator with a pleasant soft-spoken voice. Also a talented singer.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

Butts for lunch?

So, I got invited to lunch by the guy who eats his butts. The doorman helps him walk to a nearby club for lunch, and I'm always chatting with the doorman, so he finally stopped to talk with me. He found me intriguing enough to invite me to lunch. I wonder if it'd be cigarillos butts for appetizer, cigar butts for lunch, and menthol-flavored cigarette butts for dessert. Oh, and my mind just went to a place I don't want to go for what he might expect in return...using butts. ICK! OK, I'll ask the door guy if he's safe. It'd be interesting to go.

Young Recruit

Ah, who is this young recruit working on attacking a vehicle? Me! Thirteen years ago. Wow. This was at a training session. I tried for a while to learn how to firefight. Did a lot of training. Rode on some calls. Climbed an extended ladder on the ladder truck in my gear. Crawled through some training exercises at the burn building. But firefighting did not capture my heart so I never took the extended course. I just couldn't get excited about the whole concept.

I did however learn how to drive a fire engine. That was great. On my graduation drive out in the real streets, I ended up in a wrong lane that made me get onto a highway. The guy in the passenger side about had a heart attack, but I kept driving. Ended up just beating a parade of fire engines down a street (really!). And made it back in one piece. It was so much fun. Those things take up the ENTIRE lane though, so you have to be so careful driving. I do have a lot of stories beyond this one, so maybe will tell some more.

Is it twittering if it's all in one post?

- My trainer was able to have me exercise my arms and shoulders yesterday without me using the injured muscle in my right arm. I was very impressed.

- My hair is growing in, and without itchy-ness (except for the chigger bites). Early on I looked down and Don Johnson came to mind. Go figure.

- The closing for my house has been moved back indefinitely - waiting on the loan assumption. We weren't told all the steps that had to be taken. Ugh.

- Nature moment on the ride home from the Gunks. Driving by a city, saw a hawk flying in the direction of a parking lot. I realized he was diving, saw the lone sparrow in the lot, and saw the hawk hit the sparrow. Then, since I was flying by at 80 miles an hour, I didn't see the outcome.

Weekend and scavenger hunt rolled into one

My migrane is finally gone and so I'm eating some toast and figured I'd post. (What a poet am I.) Back from the Gunks - and despite a horrible forecast, we were able to climb as much as we wanted, with a delayed start on Saturday due to heavy rain the night before. It actually was perfect weather, and since the forecast had been so bad, empty at the rocks. And, btw, also missing my husband since his group decided not to drive up given the forecast. Anxiety gone. And since we were a group of three, there's photos to share!


This is my friend climbing a chimney. She actually likes doing this - but chimneys are not my favorite. You have to get your entire body into them. Often the gear is minimal so you are wedging yourself up the rock bit by bit either the way she is doing it or with feet on one side of the wall and back against the other side.

This is me rounding a corner on a climb. You can see all the crap you have to carry - I have a water carrier thingie since I need food and water regularly. And some people carry their gear on their belt but I use a sling. I tried it on the belt once but it changes you center of gravity and for me it was so much harder to climb, I use the shoulder harness.

This was the reward for getting to the top. Blueberries!!! So many! and So BIG! We spent 1/2 hour every time we'd get to the top picking and eating blueberries. Yummmmmmmm. Actually, over in the Trapps there were even some blueberries growing on the walls, so I stopped on one rappel and ate some. Yummmmmmm. (and to fulfill my scavenger hunt, I'll note that I did not clean them before I ate them). The one downside to all this was that this is chigger country, and I have at least 10 all over my body (though centered on the crotch area because that's where they like to go).

This is a view you often get when the leader is starting the second pitch of a climb. All you can see are their un-clean feet (scavenger hunt again).

I wasn't belaying so I had time to look around and photograph, and saw this face through the rock. Can you see it?

This is me starting to climb Morning After on Saturday morning. What you cannot see well is how wet the climb is. I actually fell on the first piece (a tricam - my first fall on a tricam - and my belayer was great - I didn't hit the ground because she squatted and maybe also stepped back. I did pull a muscle in my right arm, but was so mentally prepared to climb that I just kept climbing). And later my friend told me when I was putting a piece in about where you see me now when I pulled on the nut to make sure it was set, water spurted out of the crack. So let's say this first pitch was a bit challenging.

This is me at the top of the second pitch belaying up the second follower. You can see the rope that ties me to the anchor. I had to extend the rope quite a bit because the tree was so far away. Both ropes to me should be taut, but at the time, it was good enough for me. I'm kind of hunched over because I had to bend over to pull up the rope and feed it through the belay device. It's best to belay from right at the edge so there's no rope drag and also to make sure the rope doesn't knock any loose rocks off the edge. Refer back to my lion queen episode to see how it feels sometimes standing there peering off into the distance.

Part of the reason it was good enough was that I was so mentally dead at the top of that second pitch. I had rounded a corner and gone over a small roofie and did some face climbing. Well, this climb is rated PG, which means the protection is ok - there's a potential for a big fall due to lack of availability of protection but the climber shouldn't get seriously injured. Well, I got to one spot halfway up the face where my last piece was at my feet (actually two pieces since I knew the next moves would be difficult) and I did not have any placement for gear that I could see, and I did not have very good handholds and footholds.

I stood there for at least 15 minutes saying to myself over and over "it will all be ok, everything will be ok" - standing on my tippie toes since the only decent hold I could reach was available to one hand, and only if I stood on my tippie toes, and I had to switch hands every minute because I had no idea which way to go. When I finally made that move, STILL there was no gear and no good holds, so I was PETRIFIED and screamed/grunted up the next 10 or so feet until I had a good handhold. With each move up those 10 feet I thought I was going to fall. When I got a good handhold, I just screamed 'fuck me' because I was so pissed I had had to do that, and also said, never fucking again. I don't often scream that much, and it is kind of verbal pollution, but dammit, I was petrified. I think technically it was only rated 5.7 but when you have no gear below you and the holds are not bomber, it is SCARY. But I got the second pitch clean (again, scavenger hunt).

My friends who followed me were impressed with my lead head. I did pay the price since when I got down I realized really how I hurt my arm - I can't pick stuff up really and it's difficult to reach my arm back. So, we didn't climb on Sunday - just drove back.

So, you've gotten lots of photos and stories, and if it isn't enough, then bleh to you. :-) This was a nice dog at the bottom, who hung out with his tongue sticking out.

OK, I just read Churlita's post and realized I'm a week behind in the word. Oh well, sorry. I'll just say after the first day, I actually had a drink (a beer) but after the second day I was so wiped, my drink of choice was Root Beer.

Off to Climbing this Weekend

Happy 4th!
This is a photo a friend took while climbing in Turkey. Apparently it's amazing climbing there.

Aren't you even a little bit sad?

He asked as I was walking out the door.

I just looked at him in disbelief.

I'm in shock. And as soon as I'm alone I'll be crying. Do you want me to cry here and now? As tears started coming to my eyes.

No, no. I was just wondering.

I started walking out the door and closed the door behind me as he said, wait.

I waited outside the closed door, backpack and sleeping bag filling my arms.

The door opened.

I'm sorry I asked it like that. Can I give you a hug?

Silently I put the backpack down.

We hugged.

I turned and left without a word.

And started crying hard as soon as I was in the car alone.


I'm so tired, but so wired from all this. I was at the house picking up the separation agreement that's been notarized and initialed by us, and which is now our legal document and we are now pretty much divorced. And all I wanted was a weekend to have fun, and in this small climbing world, I can't escape too easily. So, we'll both be up at the Gunks this weekend. And he has to unexpectedly work tomorrow am and can't go up with the people he was going to go up with so of course I offered him a ride. I mean, it's hard, really hard, but the alternative is feeling like a shithead just for trying to stick to some kind of 'rules' that are out there. I take care of other people to the detriment of myself, sometimes. And this is one of those times. Did it even this morning with my trainer - my time is 11:00 and he had a bunch of people cancel so asked me to come in earlier. And I did, despite the fact that it irritates my boss when schedules suddenly change, and I know that, and then I get stressed. At least I told him that I couldn't do it any more. And he rightly said that I didn't need to do it today. I told him I was just trying to be nice, and he responded that I didn't have to be nice. Damn him and his reasonableness.

My husband just called to check in. I figured I'd ease his mind and tell him that I started crying in the car and cried all the way to the ghetto, and into the house. One guy outside told me I looked very very tired. Yep.

I will have fun this weekend.
Everything will be ok.
Really truly.

MRT sent me this via email - made me laugh quite a bit, thank you!

Tire tips

I did some research after my trip to NTB. Here's interesting information. (It's not me speaking.)

I had always thought that if it's a front wheel drive car, then surely I want my good tires on the front, right?

However, when installing 2 new tires with a deeper tread than the other two, they should be placed in the rear to minimize the chance of oversteer.

What is oversteer?

OVERSTEER:
The tendency of a vehicle to steer into a sharper turn than the driver intends, sometimes with a thrusting of the rear of the vehicle to the outside. Example a vehicle is said to have an oversteer condition during a turn when the rear tires have less grip on the driving service than the front tires have. The tendency is for the rear of the vehicle to slide out toward the outside of the turn. Oversteer is also referred to by the term Loose.

The tire manufacturer's have been saying for years that the better tires, when they are not matched, should go on the rear of the car. I had just never heard it until recently when my tire guy informed me.

They maintain that it's all about control and you have less control in the rear, so the better tires should be back there so you don't lose control/oversteer. (You don't want the back end coming around on you!)

Check out some links I dug up, especially that last one...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tires
(Look under tread section.)

http://www.michelinman.com/care/reartire...
(Download the larger 9 meg video if you have high speed internet. It's worth it.)

Go with what your tire stores and tire manufactuer's are telling you and not what your friend, your dad, or some so-called answer's expert says. That includes me.

I'm so [adjective]

I think it's hilarious that for every little thing my boss needs me to buy into and agree with what she's saying. It's not allowed for her to just tell me, 'make it so', or for me to disagree with her but go with her choice since she's the boss. There has to be consensus, and sometimes I just don't have the patience or desire for consensus.

I thought it was teutonic, but that's not the right adjective. Does anyone have the right one? and don't be mean...

And what's good after a shake?

A plate of fresh beets. And a few olives. Not kidding you. That's what I'm eating right now. Natural sugar after the fake sugar. mmm....

Another cure

I have realized that what I need is a mint chocolate chip milkshake. Now I'm searching to see if I can get one near where I work.

The Best Medicine

A kiss and a smile from Cutiepie. Stopped off this morning to drop off their key and commiserate with Cutiepie's mom.

And I thank god that I am relatively strong. And am not battling a losing fight with cancer, such as PunkRockMommy.