M-I-C-K-E-Y

After all the daily mishaps, its good to finally have internet access!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!

So in the crazy world of blah today, it was hard to see the lighter side of things, but I have survived thanks to some words of encouragement.

In other news...

Please come get your mouse.

I found him wandering around outside. He is obviously your pet since he knew how to climb up onto my hand when I put it at his level.

He is cute, he is tiny, he doesn't bite, and he might be fun to stare at if I had a wheel and glass box to look at him inside of...

But I don't.

I have a shoebox. A shoebox that he cleverly chewed his way out of today since I left him there when I was at work.

I also have a mom who is deathly afraid of mice.

So please please PLEASE come get your mouse. I don't have another shoebox that he can use, so I patched up the chewed up one. It won't last long.

Anyway, with that being said.... its fortune time

TREES ARE MADE OF WOOD

Friday is just around the corner

Working 12 hours [technically 13 since I took a lunchbreak] is a bit tiring. Especially with not a lot of sleep.

There are several phases of lack of sleep.

The first phase was tension. The start of the day was very tense. I had 13 hours before my ride was to pick me up, and the first hour had barely passed at a speed that would make a turtle look like Speedy Gonzalez.

Tension turned to fear, the next phase, when I realized that I might fall asleep in the middle of my boring monotonous work, which would probably cause me to get fired.

Soon after, the next phase to appear was anxiety, when my eyelids closed for almost an entire minute. I jumped out of my chair too fast, causing a headache from the sudden rush of blood to the brain.

Then my coworker arrived that I was going to tell 'No' to, and I was suddenly alert and ready to do battle... until the power went out. Hooray! Now I was at liberty to walk around and fight the phases of sleepiness.

But the physical conditions soon started becoming apparent. The knee started twitching and giving out on me [does that if I don't sleep enough.] My ears suddenly became keenly aware of sounds that I could swear came from miles away. My eyes became sensitive to the outside light, especially in the dark powerless workplace.

After power came back and things were back to normal, the next phase kicked in. Relaxation. Its ok to give in, I could hear my eyeballs telling me. You can't hold the weight of your eyelids any longer.... you know you want to give in to sleep.

Food strengthens me at the halfway point, and then it feels like things just start all over again.

But miraculously, I have survived almost 10 hours.... and make it to the final phase of the day.

The giggles.

This would have been easy to ignore and skip right over, but suddenly reared its laughing head all the way to the top of all the phases when a coworker injured her eye.

Typically, when you hurt yourself you usually say Ouch! Or, My [body part that got injured!!] Or I'm bleeding! Or even just a weird noise that signifies pain.

My coworker?

I have asbestos in my eye!!

And with that as giggles material to hold me over the final hours of the day, I have conquered the phases of lack of sleep.

The bed is calling me now though. So is my brain. It's angry that I didn't let it function at its full potential, and is upset that I tried to trick it into thinking it could with multiple cups of green tea.

And the bed is telling me, long time no see, let's catch up....

So with that being said, its fortune time.

YOU WON'T THINK THIS WAS VERY FUNNY.

The Clock is fighting with me again...

I think Lauren is right.... no tea for me after 4pm. I had some right at 4 I think.... and ta-dah, the clock won't shut up.

But I don't think its just the tea. The week has been icky all around, I tell ya. Stress filled weekend, stupid Office-Space type work scenario at the job, crazy landlord breathing down my neck at home, negotiations at trying to get a place to live, and overall the week so far has been full of life related BLAH.

And in the midst of it all, Grandpa's clock has stopped ticking, and it is no longer possible to fight. It is unclear whether or not we would have won anyway... and the sun would still rise and fall the same way it has been for the past two years since that day...

Rising and falling... without him.

Things are too overloaded right now to focus on that. Tomorrow I get to focus on the art of saying NO.

I like to think I'm a team player. If a fellow coworker needs my help, I'm all for helping if I can make it fit into my schedule.

But not this week. Picked the wrong week to delegate your workload onto someone else. Tomorrow, if it happens again [should I even ask that -- of course its going to happen], I shall play the 'I don't speak english card.'

Wakaranai

Yo No Se

Ich weiss nicht

Okay not really, I'll say NO. But that would have been funny...

So what is the polite way to say 'I'm not your personal secretary, and I refuse to take orders from you.'

Suggestions?

I don't think I have a fortune that covers this one...

WHEN IN DOUBT... GO TO SLEEP

In Memoriam

This is why I watch my tv shows online...

I have a complaint about the swiffer wet-jet commercial

The lady is clearly using it on a wood floor

But for two.. no, not even two seconds -- like HALF a second -- there's a disclaimer "Do not use on unfinished wood." So why the heck try and trick people into using it on wood in the first place? Its a conspiracy -- the swiffer people must be teamed up with wood flooring people. Hey flooring people, we'll trick people into buying our product, and then trick them into ruining their floor. And then you can go get paid when they ruin their floor.

And what the heck -- trying to give life to inanimate objects?? There's only one commercial that truly pulls that off.

Lets face it people.... Mops are nasty.

They know they're nasty.

If you throw them away, they will forgive you.

They will not buy you chocolate or send you flowers. Most men don't even do that, why would a mop do that?

Swiffer people -- come talk to me. I'll show you how to make a good commercial that doesn't annoy people and ruin a perfectly good song.

Actually you know what -- no commercial thus far is more ridiculous than the new Axe Chocolate Man commercial.

Are you KIDDING?? Seriously?? That is so NOT irresistible!!! That's downright SCARY!!!

See..... this is why men are stupid. They're easily influenced by BS.

Okay not all men... just the men that buy that AXE spray and think it will make them irresistible.

Anyway, its fortune time.

YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE THIS FORTUNE.

Saturday Grab Bag

So the weekend is here. Woohoo!

But what do I do with it?

Never fear, you have come to the right place. Here's my Saturday Grab Bag of cool things to check out.

The youtube channel of the week is JetSetShow, but actually known as Epic Fu. They have a fantastic website here. Get all your news, entertainment, and tech need-to-know all in one place.

Local entertainment can be discovered at The Annual Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival if you're up for a drive and want to enjoy some of this awesome weather.

Movie rental that you should check out this week is Open Water. If you're a scuba diver, you'll want to see this movie. The independent film lover will enjoy the art of having only two or three major sets to film the entire movie.... and making it work! Its also based on a true story.

And for some good old videogame fun, go check out De Blob for Nintendo Wii. Its extremely simple but fun, and the coolest part [for me anyway] is that your actions directly influence how much music gets to be heard. The only real drawback is that you have to shake the controller to jump. There's like 2 buttons they could have easily made a jump button, but its nothing buggy that will affect how easy or hard it is to play.

Enjoy!

And now, its fortune time.

DUCK!

[I promise that's a real fortune that I won. Didn't make any sense to me either when I got it...]

Welcome to the End Of Your Workweek

Happy Friday to all!

Welcome to the second edition of "The End of Your Workweek!"

Here's what you may have missed....

John McCain vs. Barack Obama

Speaking of Obama.... why aren't we allowed to know that his middle name is Hussein?? It's the man's name, why is it suddenly a swear word that we're not allowed to say in publc?

I'd like to file a lawsuit... I screwed up my hair, but decided that I want its original naturality back... even though for some reason I was at the store buying products to screw up my hair... Gee, wonder if I can win that kind of lawsuit....

Still not a good idea to have dairy products in China

Here's a tech lesson -- Youtube requires flash player to properly display its videos. If you ever get prompted to install a codec to properly watch a video, especially if you can view other youtube videos without problems, DONT click on the links provided, go directly to www.adobe.com and install the free flash player plugins. :)

Along the lines of tech stuff.... hate to be the bearer of bad news, but its not really just Youtube that's at stake.

Here's the advisory referenced in the previous article -- Adobe's technotes on how to keep your microphones and webcams safe. Make sure you don't leave those plugged into your comp when not in use, by the way.

Where do THESE donors come from? How does donation for that work? I don't think its covered in an organ donor card... If this is possible, the latest X-Files movie might not be too far off in the future, eh? To all the transplant doctors of the world -- you guys have an awesome job and amazing capabilities.

The National Debt has a clock... and its running out of time... Digits, to be more precise.

The stock market is falling....

Hope the week went well. Don't worry about the news -- I got ya covered same time next week. :)

And now, its fortune time.

OTHER TIMES, OTHER CUSTOMS.

Poet -- meet your friend Insomniac.

I know I have to get up in like 4 hours to work tomorrow... but darn it all because I CANT SLEEP!!! I'm trying, really I am... I've had like no sleep in the past two days, but I just can't get my eyelids to close.

So I present to you what happens when the poet part of my brain demands sleep but is met by the insomniac part of my brain.

Jen Vs. The Clock

The clock is watching me tonight
It knows of my sleeping plans
Its ticking taunts me so I can't rest
Saying, 'beat me if you can'

'I shall', I reply, 'I will be victorious'
'When I wake in 5 hours'
'Don't think so,' the clock diagrees with me
'You really don't have enough power'

'Sure I do!' I tell the clock,
'I'll go to sleep right now'
'Yeah right, okay,' mocks the clock,
'I don't think you know how...'

'Watch me win!' I argue back,
'I'll be out in a jiffy.'
'But tonight,' says the clock with disapproval
'you'll wake up at around one-fifty.'

'Two-thirty, three-twenty, and four-fifteen'
'No solid sleep,' he says
'Shut up, you liar,' I tell the clock
as I pull the covers over my head

But his ticking - his laughter - continues on
and tomorrow soon awaits
'Sleeping well?' asks the smart aleck clock
because he knows I'm wide awake

'Shut up,' I tell the clock, ignoring his sarcasm
'Or I'll unplug you from the wall'
'I run on batteries,' he proudly says
'And you can't reach me, you might fall'

He is correct, that stupid clock
My tall friend put him there
I cannot stop the thunderous ticking
Unless I climb a chair

I toss and turn and have no dreams
That stupid clock was right
But the night isn't over yet...
I am determined to win my fight

The hours pass me by like seconds
Too soon I must awaken
'At least I slept two hours,' I say
The clock says, 'You're mistaken'

'You didn't sleep, and you're running late,'
The clock teases me with glee
'But you have lost,' I tell the clock
'Meet my best friend.... COFFEE!'

Anyhow, its fortune time.

LOST TIME IS NEVER FOUND AGAIN

The rules do not apply for 1st class or Elite miles members, or armed forced

This just in --- Continental coach/economy travelers now must pay not only for their 2nd checked bag, but their first checked bag as well.

Now go scroll down a little bit and read the post that has the word "Priceline" in the subject line. Or click the tags on the right side that says travel, holidays.

I'm telling ya.... Google's onto something there!!

Watch out for that rain this morning.

If I saw you in person yesterday..... told ya so. ;)

And now, its fortune time.

How about a gag fortune, courtesy of Steve Moraff's Mahjongg.

LOLLIPOPS ARE GOOD FOR YOUR TONGUE, NOT YOUR HAIR.

In the brightest day, in the blackest night, no HTML shall escape my sight...

The weekend is coming to a close, and as I sit here behind the computer screen, several things come to mind..

1. What did I accomplish this weekend? Did I learn anything throughout the week?

2. What are my plans for the coming week?

3. How come there's still so much laundry??? I felt like I did that all weekend....

4. Why so sad that the weekend is over? It should be ended with a positive note... Surely the coming week can't be that bad...

So here I go.

What did I accomplish? HTML! Behold the new and improved blog by Jen! If anybody was here just a couple of days ago, you can see that I drastically spiced up the look of things. The title image still needs some work but it'll do for now. Shameless plugs go out to HTML Goodies and HTML Dog for their awesome services that have continued to help me build on my html knowledge for the low low price of FREE.

No no... in actuality, I accomplished something quite big. I began real work on building up my photo studio. My first backdrop arrived in the mail, and inspiration just filled the entire weekend up once I held it in my hands. Ideas ran wild, the creativity just came to me like it never has before, and I was able to visualize alot more than just the one big project that I've got lined up at the beginning of next year, and the smaller ones waiting for me near the end of this year.

I'd like to share something that I heard in church today and looked up for myself... The Great Stone Face, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Visualization is a powerful thing. :)

It is, actually, the lesson for the week, I'll say. It seems lately that I just haven't really tapped into how important visualization is for daily and long term goals... Its always been a very important tool to me, and I've tried to teach to others. Best example I can give is buying a car. The person who says, I'm buying a car, will have a harder time finding it than the person who says, I'm buying a current year model of a Mitsubishi Lancer, blue, with sunroof, leather interior, tinted windows, cd/mp3 player, bucket seats, and a keyless entry keychain.

When you know the specifics, and have that picture of what it is you want for yourself, the stepping stones and walls that were in the way of getting it become alot easier to climb. Nothing is impossible, so long as we visualize that we have the ability to do it. Very glad to be reminded of it again. :)

Plans for the coming week are Packing! Pack pack pack pack pack! A box a day, and a load of laundry a day, so it doesnt scare me when the weekend comes up again. Moving so close to the holidays is a bummer, but at least its *before* the holidays and not *during*

And to end the week with a positive note...

This week went great, actually. I know I did a lot of worrying about what each day would bring, but to sit here at the end of the week and look back, it went alright... This coming week will go better if I don't stress about what is to come. One day at a time.

Anyway, its fortune time. If you didn't read the first post, fortunes come to you courtesy of my various taipei and mahjongg games.

SEEING IN THE DARK ISN'T DONE WITH ONE'S EYES.

Priceline can't even begin to compete...

In this day and age of high gas prices and old unreliable cars that aren't as good as they once were back in their prime, I'd like to take a moment to show you something that you may find very beneficial.

Google Maps's latest feature...

The poor man's GPS.

*drumroll*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*crash*

Walking directions!

That's right, WALKING directions!

Who needs a car when someone has mapped out a route for you to get from point A to point B on FOOT!

So you want to go visit the loved ones in Dallas for the holidays eh? Well gee, I dunno... 3 hours from Houston in the car adds up to a ridiculously expensive amount of gas...

But wait!

There's no need to fear!!

Google Walking Directions is here! Tell those high gas prices and the clunker gas guzzler that they can forget about even looking at your paycheck this holiday season. With this awesome feature, you can go see Granny on foot for the low low price of ZERO gas dollars!

That's right -- ZERO gas dollars. No money that could have been used on Christmas presents will be spent on any fuel for your vehicle this winter when you take 3 days and 9 hours to walk 249 miles to your holiday destination.

And I'm totally not kidding. Seriously. Go see for yourself. Houston to Dallas on foot.

Take that, you stupid gas station that always tricks me into buying a carwash! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Give the oil companies the boot this year, and make walking the new way to travel.

Just don't forget the suitcase with the wheels.

Anyway, its fortune time.

A JOURNEY OF 1000 MILES BEGINS WITH THE FIRST STEP.

Welcome to the End Of Your Workweek

Happy Friday to all!

Welcome to the first edition of "The End Of Your Workweek!"

Here's what you may have missed this week:

Sarah Palin vs. Joe Biden.

Why can't we hold a re-election for president if the first vote doesn't go the way some people wanted it to? Why? Because usually a vote is supposed to mean THIS IS HOW IT IS, **IT HAS BEEN DECIDED***. Anyway click this to go check out what the heck I'm talking about..

Governator wants a bailout too

Have you ever read the entire bible? How about giving it a try -- in one week, out loud, on TV, with the help of a bunch of people

Hurricane Ike didn't just destroy and devastate, but it left a long trail of debris hundreds of miles away from where it actually touched down...

Dairy products aren't very good for you in China right now...

A year after his disappearance, the mystery of Steve Fossett has finally been revealed..

"He was smiling... That's right. You know, that, that Luke smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end... Oh, Luke. He was some boy. Cool Hand Luke."

Hope the week went well. Enjoy the weekend. Don't worry about the news -- I got ya covered same time next week. :)

And now, its fortune time.

YOU WILL THINK ABOUT LISTENING TO YOUR CONSCIENCE, BUT QUICKLY PUT THE IDEA ASIDE.

I need more posts...

How about a letter? Sure why not..

Dear [my bank],

Thank you for finally giving me a savings account. It has only been years since I wanted one in the first place... as this was the reason I opened up an account with you to begin with. I did not need my account because I got a job. I can easily turn my paychecks into cash with my signature, and a little waiting in line at H.E.B.

Thank you for denying my savings account approval for the past few years. It made me feel privileged to have just a regular account with you, since pre-approval was required for a savings account. It also made me feel stupid, since I could not understand what approval was needed to save money.

Thank you for not merely denying my savings account, but denying it in writing, in my mailbox, when I least expected it. Those brief few moments of excitement were very exciting... but brief.

Actually they were not as brief as you'd think, since you sealed each and every letter with something I could have used to mount heavy and expensive things on the wall with, and be certain without a doubt that they would NEVER fall....

Not that I have anything expensive that I really want to mount on the wall... since I was never able to save money to buy anything expensive.

Thank you for offering me a savings account each month -- it taught me to never lose hope, and it also taught me that I am able to withstand multiple slaps in the face.

Thank you for sending me a keychain credit card in the very same kind of envelope that you use for your rejection letters. It got stuffed in my 'junk mail' pile, only to be discovered accidentally when I was preparing to SHRED my pile of rejection letters.

But most of all, thank you for teaching me that no expectations are great expectations, because I certainly did not expect anything anymore.

Except perhaps that slap in the face you've been giving me every month...

Cheers!

-your friendly neighborhood account holder.

And now, its fortune time.

WILL THE IMPOSSIBLE; ACCEPT THE INEVITABLE.

13 years ago...

Thirteen years ago, 'cancer' was a word that happened to other people.

'Cancer' was a thing that made people die.

Cancer was incurable, and people who smoked or drank got it mostly....

Cancer was nothing I needed to concern myself with in my ripe years.

Thirteen years ago, I was wrong. I didn't know anything at all.

You can be perfectly healthy and get it. Never drink a sip of alcohol, never smoke a cigarette, never go a day without exercise and 8 cups of water.... and you can still get it.

.......and with the knowledge we have today, you can also live.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I learned this 13 years ago. Go learn about it today. Go get more knowledge than I had 13 years ago.

www.komen.org

Find out where your nearest 3 day is taking place, and participate in the Race For The Cure this weekend. :)

And now, its fortune time.

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER DOOR OPENS.

a real blog post!

Ya know I used to have one of these blog thingies ages ago...

Wait I shouldn't start that sentence that way, it makes me sound old.

Okay then...

I used to have a blog. Then things went south, and the blog server died... and all my blog posts left me.

Wait... I shouldn't start that way either, it sounds like a country song.

Once upon a time there was a server named Staas, who decided that broke people who used their free web service needed to pay up because they were costing too much money, since there were more free websites than paid websites... But the Staas people neglected to tell the free website holders this, and so one day -- nothing out of the ordinary type day -- I attempted to go create a new blog, but discovered that there was 'no such url or domain name.'

Wait, I don't think I should be naming names. Oh who cares, its long gone now.

It's been a while since I did the blogging, but it was suggested that I should start it up again. So what am I supposed to put here?

Should I put a poem perhaps? Maybe some dancing words?
Or how about links to pictures? Or maybe some nonsense blurbs?
How about a survey? Or maybe talk about my day?
Maybe I shouldn't put anything... who will read this anyway?

In all seriousness though [if blogs can be considered 'serious'], I shall say these things -- a text trailer, if you will, that will give you an idea of what's to come.

I like words that rhyme... and will randomly break into it for no reason other than 'I feel like it.'

Taipei/Mahjongg is the most awesome computer game on the face of this earth, if only because of the fortunes that you receive at the end. Who says you need to eat a sugary fortune cookie to get a fortune? Go play taipei! I may feel the need to share these fortunes with you...

God is awesome, the bible rocks, and I love Jesus. :)

Guitars are fun. I own 8.

I am not a republican.
I am not a democrat.
I am not an independent party.
I am a "This person's views and ideas best match my own."
Don't try to tell me why my views and ideas are "wrong". I don't think that I have 'wrong' views... maybe I'm misinformed -- do enlighten me! I love debate [HS president of the debate team here] and love to see both sides of the argument. Put me in your shoes, and I will do the same. You tell me your position, I tell you mine... and we leave the boxing gloves, sharp objects, etc. out of the picture, okay?

Peter S. Beagle rocks. :)

Firefly was an awesome tv show.

Anyhow its kind of late... guess this is enough posting for the day.

Its fortune time.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, BUT WISDOM DOESN'T NEED POWER