Pay no attention to the voices inside my head...

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-08T11:53:00.004-06:00

Wow I haven't been here in FOREVER!! And its been more than a year I think!

I didn't do my christmas movie list or anything cool at all. But hey, how about the year in review!

Yes! Lets do my year-in-review for 2010:

1. January
-Extreme Makeover Home Edition! I took a week off work and spent the best 7 days of the year building a 6000+ squarefoot room for a very deserving family. Here's a picture slideshow. Got to meet Ty, Tracy, Paul, Michael, and Jessica Alba. ...and I took the giant EXHE Spectator Viewing Area sign. Its in my room right now.

2. February
-Saw my brother for the first time in many many years.
-QUIT MY JOB!!! WOOOOOO!! But it was sad to not be able to see the awesome Kat everyday anymore.
-Started a new job and learned how awesome it is NOT to drive.

3. March
-end of Rodeo season
-having fun rocking out with my new band
-new job is cool
-catchup with the marine
-went to visit my brother again
-finally realize what an ass he is, and know that the friendship is ending

4. April
-Viewing party for EXHE: Beach Family, episode 719! I appeared for two seconds.
-the friendship is over

5. May
-Birthday! Took 'Osaka' out to the Hard Rock cafe.

6. June
-prepping for moving

7. July
-the band loses its practice venue, and we don't see much of eachother.
-MOVING

8. August
-Preparations for our 2nd annual Extra Life fundraising gaming marathon! http://extralife.sarcasticgamer.com - moving in/settling in has put much prep-work behind schedule.

9. September
-The past few months without talking to him were fine, and he decides he wants to patch it up this month. Didn't last long, as he screws it up on my birthday next month.

10. October
-EXTRALIFE! Team JenRei raises $223 for our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital - Texas Children's Hospital! 27 hours of gaming all for charity!
-Birthday sushi celebration!
-Texas Renaissance Festival with Rei!
-saw my brother again
-no more of him, courtesy of his girlfriend's grudge against someone she hasn't even seen in years.

11. November
-went to visit my brother again
-happy thanksgiving!
-carpooling for long distance trips is not fun. Seriously.
-Camping with the Marine! 17+ hours in the cold and rain with total strangers, and it was fantastic! Plus we came out on all the tv stations so woot!

12. December
-visit to bro again
-post office lost the marine's package - specifically the newspaper clippings of our camping expo
-heard from my other brother that i hadn't heard from in years. Found out I have a niece, and that my nephew was the posterchild for a city-wide charitable campaign.
-his chickenshit ass had someone else call me to say he wanted to wish me a happy new year. When I hung up, he did not cross my mind, as he hasn't since he screwed me over on my birthday.

happy new year peeps!

Knock knock...

2009-05-07T22:03:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my good friend and all your comments reminding me that I should update and spice this place up a bit. :D

Interesting tidbits to say? Not really...... I mean sure I've got things I could go on and on about, but not right now. Its late at night, I'm tired as heck, and I got slapped in the face with several phone calls that kind of just knocked the wind out of me. My mind is bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball, and I think my left eye is involuntarily twitching when I'm not trying to see it in the mirror.

Here's a quick cliffnotes of what's up:

The photography website is almost ready for viewing. woooo

I survived swine flu / didn't get hit with any symptoms. wooo x 2

I'm going to see Gavin Rossdale this month. wooo x 3

and I'm going to geek out at Project Akon and get some awesome pictures for the photography website. woooo x 4

Anyway, I'm out for now.

As Mookie, (who is, by the way, the one person I'm looking forward to meeting at A-kon) would say, Rock on.

woohoo!!!

2009-04-06T23:38:00.001-05:00

Just won a macheist bundle!! wooohoo! Thankyou Chris Pirillo !!

D.A.R.E.

2009-03-23T23:24:00.003-05:00

No post in a while......

I've been trying not to post until I get over my recent run in with stress, but I think perhaps writing about it will instead be a better method of combating the emotions.

So be warned... Here comes the anger....

Time stops when you take drugs.

I've never taken them myself. But I am unfortunately related to distant people who would rather be living in their parents basement, high and unsociable, than sober/clean and successful.

Perhaps this is a fortunate thing that I am related to such people.... for I have a constant shadow following me, reminding me to keep on the narrow straight pathway.

I don't think I'm a judgmental person in general... but I am extremely prejudiced against people who do drugs. It is an awful trait to have.... but I cannot see any other angle of the argument. Drugs kill people, and I refuse to see it any other way. I don't care if its a 90 year old dude who's smoking marijuana for 'its health benefits' or not.

I try very hard to not have any deadweight like anger inside. But it was absolutely infuriating when people I have seen in recent years ask me the same questions they asked me when they weren't taking the drugs.

Time stopped for them... and all they remember is their last few moments and the surroundings that no longer exist for them before they became high 24-7.

I was very ill for a long period of time, and my family was kept posted about my condition on a regular basis.

I've been well now for, thankyou God, almost 5 years.

The high people, however, still think I'm not well..... and for the past 5 years, they give me the same shocked "OMG" look as I retell the story of how I recovered. The same story I've told them over... and over... and over again.

They may not be physically dead, but their time has stopped. And when you stop moving... you no longer have a purpose...

And you die.

I don't know why I keep running into these people that I try so hard to stay away from.

Maybe its because I need to be reminded why I should fight to never become them.

Maybe its because I need to keep telling them the same thing over and over again...

Or maybe its because it was going to make me angry enough to rant about it here, so that someone out there living this kind of deteriorating wasteful life can see that no matter how much fun you think you're having, others like me have already written you out of their lives and labeled you as living 6 feet under.

Quit the junk. Start moving forward again. Its not impossible to change. It *is* impossible, however, to expect others to change your life for you. That change has to come from within.

So do it already.

Just a quick note to say...

2009-03-14T16:25:00.002-05:00

Hello!

FYI -- if you're a fan of Pencil Things, the link has been updated!

Go get all of your pencil needs over at the new link: http://pencilthings.com/blog

That's it for now... :)

The layout has returned

2009-03-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

Time to brighten things up around here...

The last post stayed up a little longer than what I had anticipated. Oops

Unexpected out of town affairs called, and I had to leave. I'm back and can put the happy layout back up now.

I had a lot of ranting and raving and whatever to say.... but I'm sleep deprived and actually kinda hungry... soooo.. adios!

Happy Birthday.... wish you were here....

2009-03-06T08:07:00.002-06:00

"Necesitado me ecuentro senor
ayudame hoy
yo quiero saber lo que devo hacer
muestra el camino,que devo seguir
senor por mi bien
yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Un dia a la vez mi cristo
es lo que pido de ti
dame la fuerza para vivir un dia a la vez
ayer ya paso mi cristo
y manana quisas no vendra
ayudame hoy yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Tu ya viviste entre los hombres
tu sabes senor que hoy esta peor
es mucho dolor hay mucho egoismo
y mucha maldad
senor por mi bien yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Un dia a la vez mi cristo
es lo que pido de ti
dame la fuerza para vivir un dia a la vez
ayer ya paso mi cristo
y manana quisas no vendra
ayudame hoy yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez"

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: That

2009-03-05T19:24:00.001-06:00

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: That - clarification by jentherose

See the actual prompt here: http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2009/03/todays-writing-prompt-that.html

And get more One Minute Writer here: http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com

OMW

2009-03-05T19:21:00.003-06:00

I think I should have specified in my comment for the One Minute Writer entry that I was joking.

I just saw Made of Honor.... couldn't help myself. LOL

Diet Update!

2009-03-01T22:07:00.006-06:00

So as far as the crazy diet stuff I'd been trying, here's some of the stuff I've been doing... and it seems to be working!

1. Snacking. LOTS of it. Nothing big, of course. I've been buying lots of bananas - they're the cheapest form of fruit I know of, and I know I don't eat enough fruit as it is. Also, I've been keeping 100 calorie packs of daisy-go-rounds in my desk [not the most nutritious, but its the truth.] As far as the chocolate cravings go, I got a pack of dark chocolate individually wrapped squares... but the catch is this - the serving size! Four pieces = one serving, which = approx. 130 calories. Well I don't need to eat FOUR pieces, I just want something to saitisfy the craving for the day. I haven't done the math, but its a smaller calorie count if I'm just eating one piece.... and if I decide I want a second piece, its not a full serving. Check out those serving sizes people!!

[I find that by snacking, when it comes down to actual meal time, I eat very small portions, which is pretty much more snacking.... and its not quite eating every hour, but its eating at my own pace, I guess?]

2. Eat breakfast. EVERY DAY. Even if its not the 'best' or 'healthiest' breakfast out there. If I eat something moderate or even big in the morning, I eat a lot less during the rest of the day. And its not like I'm starving myself or depriving myself either... I just don't feel hungry at all.

3. Drink lots of water, especially before meals. Hey, they used to do it when we were fighting the world wars so we could send more food to the soldiers, why not do it now? It helps you to eat less. Also, drink green tea between meals. Its all-around good for ya, and it kind of has a bit of an appetite suppressor. And, sometimes you can mistake thirst for hunger, so if you start to feel hungry, drink up... you might surprise yourself and realize that you're just not drinking as much water as your body wants you to.

4. EXERCISE! TV is a great thing.... but its a terrible thing because it encourages you to sit idly and relax, but not completely because your mind is processing what's going on. You may as well be sleeping with your eyes open. This is something that I heard from one of the contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' - Don't say you don't have time to exercise if you have time to watch tv. So if you're going to watch TV, stand up. Do some squats. Lift some weights. Do situps. Learn some simple yoga stuff. Do some core exercises. Get an exercise bike or treadmill and plop it DIRECTLY IN FRONT of the TV, and make it a rule that you can't watch TV unless you're using one of those. Use exercise balls as chairs. You don't have weights? BS! Yes you do - you have cans of something whether it be food or soda, I'm sure. Bottles of water. Apples and oranges. A gallon of milk that can be filled with something once the milk runs out [water, sand, etc]. Weights don't have to be HEAVY, so don't be afraid to improvise.

If you're bored at the gym, assuming you're going to one, SERIOUSLY -- go get an mp3 player! They are soooo cheap! I just saw one for 30 bucks! 2 gigs of music for 30 bucks! Chances are that you wont even work out for the full length of however long 2 gigs of music will run, so who cares if it can only hold X amount of songs. If you really want to shell out big bucks though, get something with video capabilities, and put some tv shows on there. It really changes the entire atmosphere up if you're on a treadmill and you've got a video player propped up in front of you, and you're laughing at something or watching a concert and focusing on something other than the burning and the sweating.

5. Brush your teeth. OFTEN. As gross as this sounds, sudden hunger cravings come 'out of the blue' because you sometimes have a piece of food lodged that finds its way to your stomach after a meal... and confuses you into thinking you want more food when really, you just had some not too long ago.

6. NO TV DURING DINNER! Or any meal for that matter. I've found that you get easily distracted with TV, and then you're not focusing on eating/making sure you're full. You start getting entertained, then you get into movie-theatre mode and start eating without thinking... and soon you ate twice as much as you would have if you had just been by yourself in a quiet room with no windows.

Foods I've been staying away from: Ice Cream, Any kind of soda [but I don't really drink soda to begin with anyway], fried stuff, BEEF, cake & other oven baked pastries, milk.

Things that I've been doing instead: sherbert & sorbet or even a bowl of cereal if I want something cold and junky, iced teas & mineral water if I want something that's got carbonation like a soda, grilled or boiled stuff instead of fried, turkey & chicken instead of beef, 100 calorie packs of stuff and/or low calorie packages of sweet stuff that has a serving size of more than 1 piece, but eat only one piece at a time and not the actual # of pieces required to make a serving. And the milk? Wow.... its been almost a whole year I think that I haven't had milk. I'm not dodging dairy altogether, just the milk. There's this fantastic thing called Almond Milk. I swear it tastes just like regular milk... or at least its how I think regular milk tastes. If anything its closer to lowfat/skim milk, but if you're using it for cereal you're totally not going to notice.

I think the biggest thing in all of this is the exercise, as it plays the biggest role. But as I documented before, even without a gym you can lose weight. [crazy hourly eating.]

The final tip I shall leave you with is for the exercise - stick with it. It doesnt have to be 5 hours a day.... but stay on schedule and keep doing the same thing every day, as long as you're getting at least 5 minutes in. Its better than nothing, and consistency will pay off.

I am happy to report that so far.... I've lost one whole pants size! WOO! I dont know how much weight I've actually lost, but I'm in it for the inches. :D

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Gotta get the car repaired in the morning, and then deal with crazy people at work.

I havent posted a fortune lately. Sorry about that... I'll try to pick a good one for ya:

OWN A CLEVER GOAT BY ALL MEANS, BUT MAKE SURE YOU CAN OUTWIT IT.

WTF is the matter with America???

2009-02-28T01:08:00.003-06:00

Why is it that I can go to a restaurant, and people who have been waiting longer than me will have to wait longer still... just because the waiter/waitress takes favoritism to me because they think we have something in common? [e.g. race/ability to speak their language]

Likewise, why does that work in reverse? (Even if we're seated at the same friggin table on the same ticket!!)

Why is it that mechanics assume that girls should be toyed with and charged more money for routine repairs and/or something as simple as an oil change? Why is it that it takes my mom twice as long to get the same oil change as my stepdad?

Where in the hell did 'all men are created equal' go??

Why is everything so darn black and white? Why must we all have this 'you're either for us or against us' attitude?

Why is good service and kindness reserved only for those we want to impress? Or those who we think will pay out better, or are pleasing to the eye?

Screw that!

No one is higher or better or lower or any less or more deserving.

Singling out someone for better or worse reasons, is uncool

Making uninformed decisions and attaching labels is uncool

Telling me that something is 'not acceptable to society' means its 'wrong', when really its just your fear of the unknown and lack of knowledge that teaches you such judgmental thoughts, is uncool

People of America........... don't be uncool

Don't be stupid

We're fighting wars in other countries and each struggling with economic times.

Why the heck would you start battlefields with your allys here at home?

Greetings, updates, etc...

2009-02-19T22:39:00.007-06:00

Lance Armstrong has reported that his bike has been recovered, and is in tact/good shape for his Friday time trial ride! Hooray!!

I was on a roll, writing at least every other day... but as usual, life caught up with me. Its always so hard to be one step ahead on life, haha.

So let me give it another shot....

I've been surrounded lately by reminders of time. I remember first starting my job, days after I had just attended my grandfather's funeral, and I was so angry with my coworkers watching the clock, complaining that five minutes, ten minutes, it was not fast enough.... too long, they said. They couldn't wait for that clock to tic to the right beat so they could be the first one out the door.

I sat there in my cube chair, boiling on the inside because they didn't get it... I would give up everything I had in the world, if I could only have five more minutes with him.... even 30 seconds.

Here lately, I've been seeing him a lot in my dreams.

Just a couple of nights ago, I was standing next to him at a gate/doorway... it wasn't really a gate, but it was definitely an entranceway. And I asked him if this was real, was he really here? He said yes.... but he had to go now. He started walking through the entranceway, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"Please, just a little more time. I need to say I'm sorry..."

Why are you sorry? he said.

"Because I took you for granted. Because I didn't tell you I loved you enough. Because I didn't know that my days... minutes... seconds with you were numbered. Because I didn't get to say goodbye."

He kept trying to walk through that entrance way, but I just held onto him, crying, saying it over and over again.... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

He finally looked me in the eyes and said it was okay. He didn't want me to be sad because he wasn't sad... and there was no such thing as sadness or tears where he was going. He said he vaguely remembered that emotion when he was alive, but where he was going now, it didn't exist because everyone was happy...

He said not to apologize, because there was nothing to apologize for. He said he knew I loved him because I told him everytime I did see him. He said I could talk to him any time I wanted if I had more to say...

And he said not to say goodbye. I would see him in just a matter of minutes because time, where he was now, is different.

"But I don't want you to go... I miss you, and I love you," I said to him, still holding onto his hand so he wouldn't leave me.

He said he loved me too, and that didn't change just because he was going somewhere else..

'I'm not going anywhere you can't follow,' he said. 'You'll see me in just a little while....'

Then he pointed to the inside of the entranceway and said, 'They're waiting for me.'

And there, all standing anxiously in a crowded line/group, as if they were waiting to get the first glimpse of a rockstar as he made his first public appearance, were all my family.... my aunt, my grandma, my great grandma, people that I somehow recognized as family even though I never met them because I hadn't been born yet...

All of my family that had passed away.

They were waiting there to greet him.

So I let go of his hand. He smiled his unforgettable gigantic smile at the sight of seeing them all, and he turned to look at me once more.

'We'll be waiting for you too, when you get here. A thousand years will pass on Earth before a day passes here, so I'll see you very soon'

I watched him walk through the entranceway, and I saw him greet everyone waiting for him. He was smiling, laughing, hugging people that he hadn't seen in so long...

And the dream ended.

The next day when I went to pick up mom from work, she brought me in and showed me a letter that was left behind at her job in the mailbox with no postage. For hours she kept reminding everyone that there was no postage, do we 'return to sender' or just put a company stamp on it?

At the end of the day, when the letter was still there, she decided to stop waiting for someone to do something about such a trivial thing - she'd just go to the stamp drawer and put one on herself.

The letter was addressed to him.

Not his 'actual' address, but someone with his very name, written in his handwriting.

Then as I grabbed the bible that night [one I got from the library actually - it looked cool. A 'chronological order' bible rather than a standard bible] to read before bed, I dropped it....

it opened up to Psalm 90, and this was highlited: So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom

I thought maybe it was another Godly reminder of time, reminding me not to take things for granted... I didn't immediately notice the non highlited portion in that same chapter...A thousand years in your sight are but as a day when it passes

It was just like Grandpa said in the dream.

I had some great meaning in telling you guys all of this... but it has suddenly faded from my mind. So instead here's some words of wisdom from 'George Lass' [aka Ellen Muth] from Dead Like Me - The Movie.

Everybody dies... but until you die, you still have a lot to do. Be adventurous, but not reckless. Fall in love [but not with some loser]. Stay in school, have a great career. Get married, have a lot of kids, come 90 years old and be a crazy old lady and scare the crap out of kids on halloween. Don't keep secrets.

When I was a little girl, I thought there was a clock in my heart that had these little hands... I wish someone had told me how easily those hands would be broken... how quick that clock would stop. I wouldn't have pretended I was invisible. I would have paid more attention to people... to time. I would have paid more attention to everything.

Don't fear tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after.... because the future is built on tomorrow. One day you may find yourself so far in the future that there's not enough tomorrow's left anymore.

Anyhow, on a lighter note, see that link I have over on the right that says "One Minute Writer"? I totally won the Writing of the Day! Yay!! Go check out what I wrote, or just go check out One Minute Writer and spend one minute everyday doing something productive - Writing! :)

With that being said, I'm outta here. I took the day off tomorrow so I need to sleep enough to be productive all day and get my last minute planning done without the aid of caffeine.

Okay maybe I can have some tazo green tea from starbucks.... mmmmmmmmmmm.....

APB - Lance Armstrong's Stolen Bike!

2009-02-15T14:57:00.003-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51527107730

Help find Lance Armstrong's Stolen Bike!

No joke, by the way.... Lance Armstrong is on Twitter

Repost, retweet, do whatever it is you do to get a message out there.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T11:52:00.003-06:00

Or, if you're like most single people out there, Happy Single's Awareness Day!

Me.... yes I'm single. But I'm not letting it get to me. I saw a cool concert, I got free chocolate at work [even though it wasn't *just* for me - it was 'something for the whole class' so I got included, hahaha], and quite frankly, I was up way too late last night to feel like I got any sleep. I might start dragging and yawning if I had a date tonight. LOL

So..... youtube has a billion videos up today about Valentine's Day and how to mess it up/how not to mess it up. The TV has a hundred thousand billion commercials, hidden advertisements, etc on a 'last minute gift' because they know you still forgot to get a gift today. Billboards and newspapers are all colored red and pink with hearts and other 'mushy' blah blah blah

Now, if you've got someone to share today with, its fun to have a set date on the calendar to look forward to something and plan some special time together.

But when I was dating, the best 'valentine's day' was the one that wasn't marked on the calendar. It was the days that he remembered me when it wasn't a 'holiday.' The element of surprise! The random act of kindness when its NOT planned - that's what should be considered special, not some landmark date every year that makes men out to be the bad guy if they don't remember that being a nice guy counts on this one day out of the year.

So I'm not going to be all beat up and sad over not sharing it with anyone. If anything, I've been single for a while now, I've had plenty of time to beat myself up over it [e.g. when I sign for the various flowers/gift baskets/etc at work that OTHER people are receiving!! LOL]. Why spoil a perfectly good day with woe-is-me and boo-hoo that I didn't get anything. That's what Mondays are for! [haha kidding]

Anyhow... no big deal. :)

Plus, when I find Mr. Right, he's probably going to forget about Valentine's Day anyway. Which will be absolutely fine with me, because he'll remember me on other random days that won't be marked on the calendar, just because he's going to be awesome like that.

So my advice to everyone today is this: Don't try and find fault or disappointment in your special someone, and don't be upset if you don't have a special person to share today with. Appreciate every breath and moment that you have in the presence of whoever it is that you'll be spending today with. Friends, family, husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. Be happy, and pretend its not even valentine's day.

Because... there's plenty of people out there today that won't be celebrating. A spouse may have finally lost a battle with a disease, someone headed home to spend the holiday with family may have not made it to the scheduled destination and instead went on an unscheduled trip to Heaven, or the flowers being purchased today may be delivered to someone's headstone rather than their hands.

Time is too short to count faults and disappointments, and its simply a waste to stare at others being happy while comparing it to your own unhappiness. Take hold of the steering wheel that directs your life, and go make your own happiness today without the stress of some silly greeting card holiday.

Be thankful, and be satisfied.

And pray for those who got that taken away from them because of a tragedy or other unforeseen circumstances.

I'm getting good at this 'staying connected' thing...

2009-02-08T21:40:00.003-06:00

Or I'm kidding myself into thinking I am.

I'm actually quite paranoid. I'm trying to master 'the facebook', and totally freaked out when I started getting instant messages from one of my friends. Now I'm terrified to log in because it takes me FOREVER to figure out how to maneuver in there, and I don't want to look like one of those people that's on facebook 24-7. I'm not logged in there for long periods of time playing the games or watching the statistics and waiting for someone to come online.

No no, I'm just logged in for stupidly long amounts of time because I can't figure out how to get to what I want.

I got an email saying that I was 'tagged' in a survey, so I logged in and ta-dah! There's a button that says [Friend] wants you to take an interview!

So I did, and talked to said friend later. Apparently that wasn't the 'tag' that I received. I think I'm supposed to repost that to my own facebook and then re-answer the questions?

Huh??

Its so confusing!!

And now, its promo time!

Go check out live chat with 'supricky06' (whose real name is actually Chris) on Tuesday at 5pm 'West Coast' time which equals 7pm for my fellow Texans, and 8pm for the East coast.

You might remember him from my Happy Holidays post with what is now my profile picture. Fun guy to talk to! Go follow his twitter and his youtube channel.

I'll remind you guys again on my own twitter on Tuesday.

/End promo time

Off to work on core workouts then probably go to bed. Got an early start in the morning in the gym!!

Fortune for today is:

HE WHO SINGS FRIGHTENS AWAY HIS ILLS

Where's John Quinones when you need him??

2009-02-07T20:05:00.000-06:00

I have one tiny frustration to vent today.

A friend & I went to a birthday party last night at a bar/restaurant that's kind of got a family environment to it. There was some idiot at the bar portion obviously drunk... and he was holding his extremely young child.

Then... he dropped the kid, smack on the floor.

And the bartender served him another drink as he picked up the crying baby off the floor.

The friends in my group went over next to him to snoop and order a drink while really being nosey. They overheard the guy telling the kid who is was obviously too small to understand, "You shouldn't have been moving around so much"

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!? How about, "Hey your drunken poor excuse of a parent shouldn't be drinking alcohol while holding a child! Let me go give you a motivational smack to teach you a lesson"

Stupid people.... seriously.

To Someone I Used To Know...

2009-02-04T22:33:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry.

You were right.

You were always right.

I should have listened to you... but I didn't. I was horribly wrong. I was blinded when you tried to show me what was right, but I didn't listen... and I suffer for it daily.

Words are simply words, and actions speak the loudest. The great pain that I live with everyday as a result of mine is something I deserve, and when push comes to shove, 'sorry' is meaningless.

But... it is all I have to give.

I'm not asking for forgiveness, nor do I expect or want anything that I know I cannot have.

I just wanted to say I'm sorry.

I've encountered so many things in my life this far, and try my hardest to ensure that I never use the word "regret" with anything I do.

What happened between us though... that is the one thing that I truly and deeply regret. No amount of apologies can fix it, and what's done is done. I've thought of you so much... but time has passed, our lives had carried on, and its too late.

If you're out there still.... I owe you an apology. I owe you so much more... I hate myself for taking away the time we could have shared. Every mistake that I've made does not measure up to the regret that I feel when I remember what we were... and wonder what our friendship could have still been today.

I hope that you've been well.

I miss you.

And I'm sorry.

Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo!

2009-02-03T18:27:00.007-06:00

Woooo..... no blog update in a while. Sorry

Nothing new to report or rant about. Actually that's not entirely true..... but I'm keeping it to myself until the website goes live. :)

I'm not really feeling 'bloggy' today. But I forgot that I still had the breast cancer layout up and needed to post something so I could update the layout back to the 'new' layout.

I did learn a cool new terminology/phrase/whatever at work today. So I shall share that with you.

"Motivational Slap"
MO - TI - VA - TION - AL (moe-tuh-vay-shun-el) SLAP (slap)
-verb (adverb: slapping)
Similar to slap, in that you swing your hand with great strength to make contact with a person or object in an extremely forecful manner that causes the said person or object to suffer pain as-well-as/and/or/may cause unwilling [and in most cases unexpected] movement from a [most likely] stationary position (e.g. falling, tripping, head spinning). The only difference is that the motivational slap is used **at the exact moment** when the said object of the slap is doing something you want them to NEVER DO AGAIN - thus motivating them to always be on your good side.

Reference - Cool guy at work that I sit next to who taught me that I was incorrectly pronouncing the following words:

punch
hit
bash
slug
knock
smack
beat
swat
thrash
strike
pound
sock
clobber
whack
pelt

'Motivational Slap' is the proper pronunciation

No fortune needed today if I'm teaching you new vocabulary words. :D

In Memoriam

2009-01-31T08:53:00.005-06:00

Seven years ago I was on the way to see her because we were told that it was getting bad... but half an hour away from her, we got another phone call that said it was okay... we didn't have to rush.

It was over... and she was gone.

**

THE BROKEN CHAIN
We never knew that morning that God was going to call your name,
In life we loved you dearly, in death we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone,
For part of us went with you, the day God called you home.
You left us peaceful memories, your love is still our guide,
And though we cannot see you, you are always at our side.
Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.
--Author Unknown

**

I used to light a candle on this day, as well as her birthday in April...

Just a couple of days ago, I came across this poem from this website from © A.Pell 24/08/2005

Light a Candle
Light a candle for those we mourn.
Into a new life they will be born.
Do not look for them at the gravesite.
They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light.
They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain.
Their light and essence will always remain.
Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place.
They are free to travel through time and space.
When we think of them, they are near.
When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear.
When we listen to a divine symphony,
We close our eyes, their faces we see.
Light a candle for they have not really gone.
With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong.

**

Cancer is Limited

It cannot cripple love
It cannot erode faith
It cannot eat away peace
It cannot destroy confidence
It cannot kill friendships
It cannot shut out memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot reduce eternal life
It cannot quench the spirit
It cannot lessen the power or resurrection.

Layout changes

2009-01-27T19:34:00.002-06:00

I've been messing with this for about an hour and I think I'm happy with how it looks. The goal was to make it happier than the previous layout.

If its too radioactive to the eyes, let me know. The picture is from the Austin trip.

Another Diet Related Post

2009-01-26T21:40:00.003-06:00

I think the reason I succeeded so well with the hourly 'snacking myself thin' thing was because of the internet.

I told total strangers that I was going to do something, and I was going to report back and follow through with results and findings. So it got to be exciting that first day to go experiment and be sure to run back up to my apartment to tell everyone how the snacking and gym went.

Because, as silly as it sounds, I wasn't just diving into yet another weight loss plan - I was showing other people how to do it.

Not that I'm trying to be motivational or anything. I'm moreso picturing myself as guinea pig. The mikey that's eating the strange new food for the first time that everyone wants to try, but wants to see someone else try first... Ya know, to make sure its for real.

Anyhow, I used to get up at 430am everyday and go for a 2 mile run. Sometimes, I'd even come back from the run and hop on a bike and go that same two miles.

Then I'd shower up, have some breakfast, and be on my merry way to work. Then I'd come home and do another two mile run.

What's the point?

The pressures of the internet!!

I dont think I can quite muster up 430am again, but I think 5am is doable.

Okay maybe not... 520. Yes, 520am is doable.

You see, if I tell you fellow people of the internet that I'm going to get up at 520am to go exercise, then that same guinea pig attitude I had with the snacking-myself-thin diet will force me out of bed when no one else is awake, and I'll *have* to get up and do it.

After all, there's one lone person somewhere out there reading who I can't let down, right?

Or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself tomorrow at 520am.

Goodnight everybody! See you at 520am from the twitter.

Fortune time!

NOW IS THE TIME TO TRY SOMETHING NEW.

no days off

2009-01-25T21:56:00.003-06:00

I haven't worked 7 days a week in umm.. three years? It was strange.

They say you can find out a lot about someone by going through their trash.

Turns out, you can find out a lot about your fellow coworkers by doing their job for two days.

The internet is a great invention. It's essentially this massive speakers corner, and whenever you want, you get to take center stage and tell everyone that's listening [and in my case, not a whole lot, hahaha] what makes your buttons tick, why you're upset with the now, and do your dark poetry slam screaming until you feel better.

When it comes to my work, I'm all about organization, planning, efficiency, and having a map in place that shows me the path to getting the work done. If there wasn't a guidebook written when I got hired, I write one as I learn, and continually add on to it when I learn something new. I like having points of reference and a go-to checklist or manual so that way I don't need to waste my brainpower on something that a pen and paper can remember for me.

Plus, I haven't figured out how to utilize the part of my brain that still remembers that 19, 65, 9, 17 and 4, 2, 1, 6, and 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4 are codes that go to a videogame that I played when I was 8. That part of my brain is awesome, and I wish I could harness that memorability and make use of it for things that I could REALLY use.

The weekend was okay, but it was extremely frustrating that my job was organization... and the people I was cleaning up after had no sense of it whatsoever.

Anyhow, I'm sitting here at the end of the day and thinking that when its all said and done... it was a colossal disappointment that no one else showed up to help with the extra duties that needed to get done. So I did the one thing that I thought was the best investment of my time.

I LABELED stuff.

Its amazing how much faster I got things done once there was a simple improvised organization system. Not everything got done, but at least I was able to leave some kind of stepping stool for the person who is to fill that job tomorrow.

Thankyou internet for helping me survive by myself at the office. Had I not had the endless blue ocean of www to vent my frustrations to, I think I may have gone crazy.

Well... I mean *more* crazy.

Fortune time:

DISAPPOINTMENT IS THE NURSE OF WISDOM

Weird Children's TV Shows!

2009-01-24T07:31:00.000-06:00

Today's edition of weird children's tv shows comes from France.

Keep Weird Al far away from this one, he might stick 'em in a kettle!

Diet = FAIL!

2009-01-22T21:24:00.004-06:00

So... it worked. Very well.

However....

I felt like I was in high school sleeping 4 hours a night and having energy to study for finals, participate in after school activities for 3 hours a day, then going to hang out with friends every waking hour on the weekends, and not even touch a sip of coffee or energy drinks.

No drugs or any kind of substance, actually. :)

Anyhow, back to reality - I thought that maybe the high energy/through the roof metabolism was the working out. So I cut back... but that didn't seem to do the trick, so for two days I didn't even work out.

So when that didn't work, I thought, maybe the 'healthy subway' is a little too healthy. So I cheated and ate bad food.

But the weight kept falling off. And the energy was still there.

Pretty soon, it was getting to be midnight, 1am, 2am, and I had only slept 4 hours the previous day but just *couldn't* sleep! I tried to go exhaust myself and work out at ridiculous paces but still couldn't sleep.

Here's the strange thing - I wasn't falling over at work or dozing off at the wheel. But I wasn't getting enough sleep, and I even felt too awake to want my cup of tea.

Last night when it was past midnight, I finally said enough is enough.

So the diet was a success, definitely. I reported on the twitter that I lost 4 and a half pounds. Weighing myself today, the actual total is 6.

But I'm going to quit the hourly eating. I felt like I jumped backwards into the time in my life when I suffered from severe insomnia. I like the energy, but I don't like not sleeping.

Call me old fashioned, but I like to pick and choose when I do and don't sleep.

I'm still going to do the gym.

The next dietary experiment is this cactus smoothie thing that the bodybuilder wants me to try. I'm apparently the guinea pig of diets for him. That's not exactly a compliment... but its not an insult either, right?

Fortune time:

UNUSUAL OFFER WILL ENHANCE YOUR FUTURE

Austin Pictures from MLK Day

2009-01-20T21:27:00.004-06:00

If anyone was following the twitter, I took a random road trip to Austin on MLK Day, hunting for a giant chicken that I saw on Agility Nut.

I didn't find the chicken, but I did take some cool pictures never the less.

If they appear distorted or are cut off at the edges, give me a couple of minutes to modify the html, I'm working on it as I post this.

I took a billion pictures, but picked out just a couple to share.

------

First, for the democrats:
[I had to cross off only one bumper sticker]

Something from downtown:

On the capitol building lawn:

Playing with my 15X zoom

And the virtual post card:

------

I'll sift through 'em again probably later in the week and put some more.

[[end transmission]]

Weird Children's TV Shows!

2009-01-19T08:00:00.002-06:00

I have no real comment for this....... but I'm assuming its a kids thing because of the odd costume.

Weird Al probably would have no comment either.

Cactus Smoothie!

2009-01-17T22:21:00.003-06:00

This was going to be an instructional video via youtube, but 'the bodybuilder' decided to make some funny comments and strange faces that I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate being plastered all over the world of the internet.

So here's the basics:

Ingredients: Cactus, Celery, Pineapples, and a juice of choice [we used apple juice]

Substitutions: in place of pineapples, use other fruits like oranges, apples, bananas. Something fruity anyway

Substitutions: in place of apple juice, any kind of juice really. e.g. use apples in place of the pineapples, and then put orange juice in there.

Took all of 5 minutes to make. probably would have been quicker if I hadn't insisted that I get good video of each step for what I thought was going to be a youtube upload.

So here you are! How to make a cactus smoothie in pictures:

Remember my weight-loss plan?

2009-01-17T09:39:00.004-06:00

Yeah neither do I, since was out the window so fast.

Anyhow, here's to picking up the pieces and continuing where I left off.

An experiment, if you will.

I heard this guy on the radio this week trying to sell this book, and his stuff made sense... I know someone who was a former bodybuilder and was under several eating/dieting regimens that swears by this method of 'dieting', and if you watch The Biggest Loser, Bob and Jillian are constantly telling the contestants the same thing.

So anyhow, here's the basics:

Bob & Jillian on The Biggest Loser, right from the very start, tell the contestants they're going to eat 5 meals a day. The three basic meals, and then snacks in between. Don't be afraid to eat a snack - eating all day boosts your metabolism, and it helps you lose weight.

Which is what the bodybuilder swears by.

And then, I think it was Thursday on the radio, Dr. Warburg says that the problem with losing weight and going on a diet is that once you lose the weight, diet is over, you go back to normal, and then you gain it all back. You eat a diet meal, then you're just staring at the clock counting the time until you can eat again because you're still hungry.

And then you cheat.

So diets don't work.

He says dieting and starving yourself is bad because your body stores on more fat because it goes into 'starvation mode' and tells your brain you're not eating. The answer?

Eat all day.

The 'healthy' calorie intake a day is 1500 calories, he says. So eat that all day. Break down 1500 calories into snacks you can eat all day every hour. Eat snacks every single hour of the day from when you get up all the way til an hour before you go to bed. This eliminates your big meals because you're snacking every hour, and it will take a day or two for your body to adjust, but you'll find that when this is combined with a workout, the weight will drop faster because your metabolism is running high since you're eating a lot more.

But that's the trick - you're not really eating more, you're just eating the same amount of food you used to eat with your three meals a day, only you're just eating it one hour at a time. And it doesn't have to be completely balanced. One hour you can eat 200 or 300 calories, while another hour you eat 100.

As far as junkfood/cheating goes, he says he fits in a piece of chocolate here and there [I think he said 2-3 times a week but I don't know for sure], and a couple of seasons ago on Biggest Loser, Bob & Jillian said all the contestants are given a 'cheat day', so I'm all for the cheating once in a while, hahaha.

Anyway... the experiment is that I'm going to attempt this in combination with working out, and I shall report it all here!

This time its going to stick.

Also, this weekend I'm going to attempt to log my hourly snacking over on my twitter. Figured I should use it for something cool, right?

So today I'm packing a sandwich and almonds as I venture out to go get an oil change. I think that will take maybe an hour so I'm going to go prepared just in case.

But first, I'm off to go eat the first 'snack' of the day.

And now its taipei fortune time!

MEET A CHALLENGE WITH CALM ASSURANCE

Who was this police officer?

2009-01-16T23:04:00.004-06:00

He was my friend.

Someone whom I confided in a lot...

A role model, and a person who offered guidance when I needed it.

He was even taller than the person who's currently labeled as 'the tallest person I know'.

He was inspiration for excelling at what I did best.

He was always there when I came home...

He taught me what it truly meant to laugh, and he showed me what it felt like to fly.

And on the day he left this earth... he was the first person the break my heart.

I miss him a lot, and often wonder where my life would have gone had he not died. But things happen sometimes that you have no control over, and you will never get an explanation for. Its maddening and frustrating and definitely unfair. And its not something you get over or just shurg and say, there's a reason for it.

But I realized that I'm not unhappy where I am now.

Not to say that I'm here because he's not. The road that I've traveled to get here was in the beginning harder to continue walking on when he left. He was supposed to be there. He already planned out the directions we were going to take when we got X amount of footsteps down the road.

But it was hard once he passed away. There was even a point where I stopped walking on it altogether.

Then one day I realized that this road that I'm on shouldn't be so difficult to continue travelling on without him... it should be easier. I had such a small yet so very very valuable and precious amount of time with him walking beside me on that road called Life, and that alone was reason to be thankful. There weren't many others that could say the same thing, or tell the funny stories about him that I could. I realized that it shouldn't have been so hard to continue taking the same steps I was taking the day before he died. For he showed me how to not just walk on the road, but to skip across it, to dance on it, to sing about it, and to enjoy the road so much more.

So at the end of today, on the anniversary of the day he passed away, the pain is still there...

....but underneath it, a smile, because once upon a time I was blessed to know this terrific person, if only for a little while...

In Memoriam

2009-01-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

THE POLICEMAN STOOD AND FACED HIS GOD,
WHICH MUST ALWAYS COME TO PASS.
HE HOPED HIS SHOES WERE SHINING
JUST AS BRIGHTLY AS HIS BRASS.

"STEP FORWARD NOW, POLICEMAN.
HOW SHALL I DEAL WITH YOU?
HAVE YOU ALWAYS TURNED THE OTHER CHEEK?
TO MY CHURCH HAVE YOU BEEN TRUE?"

THE POLICEMAN SQUARED HIS SHOULDERS
AND SAID, "NO LORD, I GUESS I AIN'T,
BECAUSE THOSE OF US THAT CARRY BADGES
CAN'T ALWAYS BE A SAINT.

I'VE HAD TO WORK MOST SUNDAYS,
AND AT TIMES MY TALK WAS ROUGH,
AND SOMETIMES I'VE BEEN VIOLENT
BECAUSE THE STREETS ARE AWFULLY TOUGH.

BUT I NEVER TOOK A PENNY,
THAT WASN'T MINE TO KEEP.
THOUGH I WORKED A LOT OF OVERTIME
WHEN THE BILLS JUST GOT TOO STEEP.

AND I NEVER PASSED A CRY FOR HELP,
THOUGH AT TIMES I SHOOK WITH FEAR.
AND SOMETIMES GOD, FORGIVE ME,
I'VE WEPT UNMANLY TEARS.

I KNOW I DON'T DESERVE A PLACE
AMONG THE PEOPLE HERE
THEY NEVER WANTED ME AROUND
EXCEPT TO CALM THEIR FEAR.

IF YOU'VE A PLACE FOR ME HERE, LORD
IT NEEDN'T BE SO GRAND
I NEVER EXPECTED OR HAD TOO MUCH
BUT IF YOU DON'T I'LL UNDERSTAND."

THERE WAS SILENCE ALL AROUND THE THRONE
WHERE THE SAINTS HAD OFTEN TROD,
AS THE POLICEMAN WAITED QUIETLY
FOR THE JUDGMENT OF HIS GOD.

"STEP FORWARD NOW, POLICEMAN.
YOU'VE BORNE YOUR BURDENS WELL.
COME WALK A BEAT ON HEAVENS STREETS
YOU'VE DONE YOUR TIME IN HELL."

twitter stuff

2009-01-14T23:58:00.002-06:00

I have too many feeds I try to keep up with on twitter, and I'm slowly forgetting all of the different URLs.

So ta-dah! I have a twitter now!

I just need to figure out how to actually *use* it.....

Think I need to take Epic Fu's crash course on it again...

Chances are I won't really use it to post stuff, I'll most likely just go use it as my central 'twitters that I check up on website', hahaha

Woooo....... gotta be up in like 5 hours. Goodnight!!

Weird Children's TV Shows!

2009-01-13T20:23:00.003-06:00

Inspired by the strangeness of Yo Gabba Gabba, I have decided that it is my new blog mission to find weird children's tv shows and share them with you!

Today's tv show is some bizarre Japanese Mr. Rogers on weed.

Weird Al would have nothing cool to say about this... He might actually get scared of it.

Where was this when I was little?

2009-01-12T20:41:00.004-06:00

A youtube search on a peculiar birthday present item I got to see this weekend came up with this.......

Somebody smokin' crack? I think so!!!

As Weird Al would say,
That's Your Horoscope For Today!

Your photgrapher wants us to take a picture.....

2009-01-11T20:43:00.004-06:00

Definitely the phrase of the weekend.

Its funny how because I've taken pictures of these people before, I recognize them... but they didn't remember me because I always have a camera in my face.

The life of a photographer. :)

Also, Google maps - you suck. You told me to make a left turn when I should have made a right turn. Why didn't you tell me there was construction and detours and a brand new road in my path?

You suck.

Anyway, I'd like to address one more thing:

Dear Lee Majors

Where the heck have you been the past 30 years?

Must you stoop down to a 3am infomercial that is falsely making people believe that they're getting some futuristic piece of technology, when it's actually the *same old hearing aid* that anyone can get from any other 3am infomercial.

Sell something that is bionically believable.. Like a bionic camera or a bionic computer flash drive. OH I KNOW!! Sell a bionic electric guitar, I'd sooo buy that.

Bionic Hearing Aid?? Really?? Is that the best you can do? 'It won't cost you six million dollars.'

Don't you have at least 6 million dollars?

Sincerely,
Fan of yours

Anyway, hope the weekend went well for everyone.

Fortune time:

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED GETS YOU HELPLESSLY LOST.

Cool thing to check out...

2009-01-08T18:38:00.003-06:00

There's this awesome blog that I love to read - you can check it out over in my links to the right. Its called The One Minute Writer. Its really fun to read the prompts, and just as interesting to read the replies.

Today's word of advice is to go check it out, and try to go write a reply at least once a week this year. :)

I'm experimenting with the background so bear with me... it should change a few times in the next couple of days until I can photoshop something cool together that's not so 'radioactive' to the eyes, haha

But hey, no more christmas background right? So sad, I know... but never fear, time flies and it shall soon be around the corner.

Anyway, fortune time:

YOU WILL HAVE THE DISQUIETING FEELING THAT YOU LEFT THE STOVE ON.

as a reminder, these fortunes come from the various mahjongg/taipei computer games that I've played. Mostly Moraff's Jongg.

PSA

2009-01-07T22:05:00.004-06:00

Less than a year has passed since Randy Pausch's brave battle with pancreatic cancer ended, and unfortunately pancreatic cancer is once again a household term because of the latest advocate and soldier fighting the disease - Patrick Swayze. He has finally spoken out about his diagnosis. Read the story here.

I actually had the pleasure of meeting him once. Very tall, extremely kind, and one of the most friendly person you can ever meet. He has the most incredibly beautiful blue eyes - the tv/movie cameras definitely cannot capture their amazing essence fully.

I wish him the best, and shall pray for his continued good health.

For information about pancreatic cancer, go over to Randy Pausch's website, as there are links to the Lustgarten Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Watch his public service ads. Read his blog. Watch his testimony before congress. Buy his book.

See that there are real people behind the disease - real people who are just like you and me.

Fortune for you today:

MANY RECEIVE ADVICE, BUT ONLY THE WISE PROFIT BY IT.

Blame the rain on me....

2009-01-06T15:04:00.002-06:00

Yup, that's right, I was the only person washing my car when the sky was overcast and cloudy yesterday.

Couldn't help it, my car is white and it needed a quick hosing off, and I only had time to do it in the evening when the clouds were passing by. I didn't even do a thorough cleaning, just a dollar soap spray and fifty cent rinse. But the clouds saw me rinsing my car off and decided to stop over us instead of continue passing through.

Sorry.

I'll warn everyone next time I wash the car, hahahahaha!

New Year Stuff

2009-01-03T12:46:00.004-06:00

The New Year was brought in over omelets and coffee at a 24 hour diner hidden in a remote yet semi-accessible corner of the world. The staff was counting down the seconds, and I actually was in mid-sentence talking about economics while still trying to swallow my mushroom stuffed egg when the actual 'bell dropped'.

Gotta say.... it didn't feel much different than when I was chewing it 5 seconds before.

Then I got a phone call.... and I went as fast as I could to get home and grab my camera equipment, and then I drove 5 hours to go see a dear friend off to California. Had to grab the equipment to take a family portrait of her family, and so I can get the once-a-year picture with her that I've been lucky to get sometimes more than once a year, since I hardly see her, what with her joining the marines and all.

Then I drove 5 hours back home to be "two of five" people that had to work Friday. ;)

We're only on day three of the new year, but in these three days I feel like I've just been going 100 miles an hour.

That's a good thing, I think....

So to start the weekend off.... last night I ran into someone that gave me a key to a door that goes to a certain time frame in my past. It got locked long ago, and I've always wondered what happened to those who exist behind it.

Today I'm going to use the key.

How's the new year going for everyone else?

Sorry about the Christmas background still being up. I'm actually looking at it this way: My Christmas tree is still up. I'm sure most of the world's trees are still up. So I'm going to try and motivate myself and leave the christmas background here. Now maybe when I log in and say, "oh no! i still have this christmas background when christmas is over and done with," then perhaps I'll also say, Hey the Christmas tree is still up too.... I should take it down.

Fortune time:

GOOD NEWS WILL COME TO YOU BY E-MAIL.

The Year in Review...

2008-12-31T06:51:00.002-06:00

The Year In Review.

No big fancy news of the year or anything like that. Just a few key events here and there that come to mind when I sit and think of this year overall.

January 2008
*Happy New Year! Having just moved into a higher end neighborhood, I get to experience the Times Square fireworks display from my own backyard. It's awesome
*I was still high off my previous Canada trip and couldn't believe my paycheck - I had two full weeks of vacation! So I was the craziest person in the office when I applied for ALL of my vacation days at once during this month.
*I was really focusing a lot of extra time into the book. Several chapter outlines and basic summaries were produced but never written in full...
*In Memoriam

February 2008
*Happy Birthday to lots of people!
*I attended maybe three birthday lunches in ONE WEEK at work this month but a bunch during the entire month overall. This is a good thing because there were many many birthday lunches the rest of the year, and in this month I learned which places to never eat at, and which ones were excellent.
*February 15 is also a monumental day for Randy Pausch, as he proudly holds a newspaper in a photograph and shows the world that it is exactly 6 months to the day he was told that he only had 'three to six months' left. I frequently find myself looking at this picture, reading his blog post on this day, and being inspired. When I felt that it was time to give up or I just couldn't make it to the finish line, I'd go back to this and see him, and see that even death's timeline - the one sure thing that we all have in common - was something that he proved he could take on and win.
*After reading Real Life Comics for 7 years, I finally get to meet Greg & Liz in person, and I discover where Lockhart, Texas is on a map.

March 2008
*Car repairs. Lots of them.
*Lots of prayers for Randy, as he reports his rollercoaster health for this month.
*Happy Birthday to a good friend of mine that, surprise surprise, I met online. She's been one of my closest friends throughout the years. At this time I hadn't seen her since the summer of 2007, so we bonded over Wii Bowling and anime, and our traditional Taco Bell & Mountain Dew.

April 2008
*Randy Pausch's 'The Last Lecture' is finally released in a book format. I buy it on release day.
*Easter! The days off work give me the opportunity to go spend some time with a dear friend out of town. I also, after passing it hundreds of times over the years, actually STOP for the first time ever and take a tour of the Giant Sam Houston statue.

May 2008
*I use my first sick day of the year for a legitimate reason - a doctor's checkup......... but then I use another one shortly later for a fake-follow up appointment, only to actually go out of town to a convention because I was stupid and already applied for [and got approved for] blowing all my vacation days for a trip at the end of the year... And one of my coworkers as well as several friends convinced me that 'sick days are extra vacation days in disguise'. I had a blast at the out of town three day weekend trip, but came back to work sicker than a dog.
*Randy Pausch gives his last public speech for the graduates at Carnegie Mellon. His words are more powerful than the 'last lecture' that I saw last year, because he says this: We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but we beat the reaper by living well. Find your passion. You will not find that passion in things or money - the more you have, the more you will see someone with more. It took me until I was 39 to get married because it took me that long to find someone whose happiness was more important than my own." Those words inspire me to re-evaluate why I'm still at work in a job that I really don't plan on making a career and retiring from. I have no passion for anything at work other than the paycheck. The friendships that I have are something that I can have whether I work there or not.
*I learned how to ride a motorcycle.

June 2008
*I decide to be bold and take another fake sick day at work... but then I get sick for real again and have to take a real sick day.
*I almost quit because I was so sure that I had got another job. I did get it but it wasn't enough money, and they put it simply: We can't meet your payment requirements and we don't offer the benefits you currently have so why would you work here?
True, so very true.... So I don't quit.
*Surprise email from a friend reveals an engagement! Congratulations!

July 2008
*The job hunting continues
*Interviews and appointments are lined up in Canada in preparation for the trip
*Lots of prayers for Randy, as his blog has suddenly become silent
*July 25th - After fighting pancreatic cancer and inspiring millions across the world, Randy Pausch ends his fight against the disease. He passes away at the age of 47.

August 2008
*After years of anticipation, the 2nd X-Files movie is released.... and to my big surprise, lots of people are angry that it's not as 'sci-fi' and 'extra-terrestrial' as most of the series was.... But does anyone not remember that a lot of the cases Mulder and Scully investigated weren't *all* alien oriented? Anyhow its a movie that I get to go see with one of my best friends. Thoroughly enjoyed it actually... We also go see Mamma Mia!
*I found a job in Canada, typed up a resignation letter... and just as I was about to hit "send", I get a friend to proof-read it. Then the new boss doesn't call me back, and I can't go see him in person until the day after the flight... So instead of chancing that, I return back to America and back to work, and no one knows [except for three coworkers] that I wasn't supposed to come back. Misery hits all over again and I once again resume looking for another job
*Bernie Mac passes away at 50.

September 2008
*Almost impulsively quit again at work
*Type up lots of resumes, do lots of emailing.
*Use another fake-sick day but this time I don't get sick because I ask God for permission first.
*Packing because my lease is up
*Tax time! Hello Tax stimulus and bye bye refund.... but hello to paid off student loan. I think my credit score went up all of 5 points for having that paid off.
*We're actually the only people in the world that were filing our taxes as hurricane Ike began to make landfall.

October 2008
*Craziest month of the year.
*Moving
*Garage Sale
*Another almost-quit day
*more car repairs
*Happy Birthday to Randy Pausch. He would have been 48
*In Memoriam

November 2008
*The car is officially gone. It is repairable, but it becomes too expensive to repair it.
*Happy Thanksgiving
*Freak accident almost causes me to lose my hand. Extremely thankful to God this month.

December 2008
*New car!
*Merry Christmas!
*I make a promise with God unlike any other promise that I've made, and I give a total stranger 100 dollars.

Just a few highlights... Its interesting to see what I started, what I did, and what I never finished..... Definitely going to use this list tomorrow as things I need to focus on more for the new year.

I think its kind of bad that almost every month out of the year I contemplated quitting my job or looked for other jobs. hahahaha

The Year of Randy Pausch, if I had to name it anything.

Happy New Year to All!

Here is your last fortune for 2008:

ONE WORD FREES US OF ALL THE WEIGHT AND PAIN IN LIFE. THAT WORD IS "LOVE"

3 day weekend! WOOHOO!

2008-12-28T22:13:00.003-06:00

I remember the first time I took a three day weekend at work. I used a 'fake sick day', in that my doctor's appointment was really Thursday afternoon after work, not Friday. But I got the note and prescription all the same for my cover story, and used the actual sick time the next day.

That weekend was awesome! I took a nice long road trip far far away from the confinement of 'the cube' and put on a disguise that no one would recognize me in since the plan was to get my picture plastered on as many websites as possible. [50+, I lost count]

And then.... God smacked me and made me sick the entire week at work. So sick that I ended up using a real sick day.

I was stupid, I should have asked God for permission. And my friends that don't get more than 2 sick days a year at their jobs convinced me that sick time was 'vacation days in disguise'.

Anyhow, I get another three day weekend coming up tomorrow - the 3rd day. Like that last weekend, I shall make another ridiculously long trip in the car only to get a mere hour or two of fun somewhere else, and then spend an equally ridiculously long time coming back. No disguise this time, and no internet poster girl ambitions. Just hunting for some rare dives and pictures of another place.

Since I'm actually at my own computer now, I can leave you with a fortune!

AN EMPTY STOMACH IS NOT A GOOD POLITICAL ADVISOR

Somewhere on the other side of the world, there is someone who will share in the excitement with me....

2008-12-27T17:33:00.005-06:00

I finally got my hands on the 3rd album by The Black Mages

There is no way to explain my giddy-ness for this:

Part One and part two of the opera scene from FF6. Thank You Nobuo Uematsu!! THIS is the song I've wanted you guys to rock out to since the first album!!!!

I'm a nerd, I know. But back in 1994 when my young music loving soul heard this for the first time, it was a pivotal moment in my musical life. *This* is what flipped that switch in my head that says, Hey - videogames can be more than fun. They can be musical too.

The world of videogames was never the same for me after this opera sequence. From then on I only played what sounded cool.

And just in case you're curious, here's what I heard 14 years ago:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Thanks to the cool person that sent the album this way! You rock!! :) Now I have something cool to put on the awesome mp3 player Santa gave me!!

To Everyone Who Doesn't Have To Work Today....

2008-12-26T14:23:00.003-06:00

You suck.

All ten of us that had to come into work today envy you and your whole day after Christmas that you have to play with the cool toys Santa brought yesterday.

Even all the authority figures aren't here.

Hmmm..... that makes for an interesting scenario though -- does that mean I can leave early?

No... because with my luck, even though there is no one of superiority here, I'll get a customer that needs something that only someone-who-isn't-here can help them with. And it will be worse if I'm not here and they need something. Its better to be here to tell them that they wasted their time coming here because Professor X is busy far away from here recruiting more mutants, and they need to come back next week. Only they won't come back next week, because on the way out the door Magneto will recruit them instead... and it will have been the same as if I wasn't here in the first place, so I may as well leave early... but I can't

That made absolutely no sense, haha

But to get back to the point.

I have to work today and you don't. But I shall have my revenge when I don't have to work on Monday! MWAHAHAHAHA!

So I stand corrected....

2008-12-24T07:02:00.002-06:00

Apparently Ice Age is going to get a 24 hour marathon on Christmas Day too.

Well they hadn't announced that when I wrote the previous post so :P on FX network!!!!!!!!11!!11111one!!oneone11!!

Happy Holidays, part 2

2008-12-21T18:21:00.004-06:00

Now that you've seen the video of how to survive the holidays [in the previous post], I present to you my holiday movie picks!

[*note - these are in no particular order, and are not ranked from best to worst or anything like that. :p]

Here we go!

1. Jumanji
Okay I know its not entirely 'holiday movie' material, but it opens and closes with a Christmas party, and the movie originally had a Christmas Day theatrical release back in 1995. And the actual board game produced to go along with the movie was the hot christmas gift the following year. :)

2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
This is excellent reassurance that your screwed up family is actually quite normal..... It also reminds you that it doesn't matter that your Christmas bonus isn't as big as the last one - there's someone out there that probably didn't get one even though he spent it already.

3. The Polar Express
I read this book a million times as a kid, and even read it to my class in 3rd grade. Never lose your childlike wonder, as Randy Pausch said. This movie is a good way to do that.

4. Serendipity
Because leaving the greatest night of your life to fate, and then having fate give you what you want in the end... is awesome. Especially on Christmas

5.While You Were Sleeping
All I have to say about this one is five little words. 'I was gonna marry him...'

6. The Family Stone
I'll admit it, when I saw the promo movie poster that had Sarah Jessica Parker's name on it, I didn't even want to bother with this. But it unexpectedly appeared in my DVD player one day, and it has been one of my favorites ever since. A picture is truly the best gift of all for Christmas.

7. Edward Scissorhands
Its creepy, its not nearly as holiday themed as the rest of the movies on this list, and it even has some blood in it... but its still a must see this holiday season. White Christmases take on new meaning once you've seen this one.

8. A Christmas Story
This also goes along the same lines of keeping the childlike wonder. Plus, TBS has a 24-hour marathon of this every year! What other movies can you name that get a 24 hour marathon ever? Oh I don't know... NONE! :)

9. Its a Wonderful Life
Every time a star lights up, an angel gets his wings.

10. A Charie Brown Christmas
Christmas is definitely not about the size of the tree, or how many gifts are under it.

11. The Wizard of Oz
Not Christmas oriented in the least.... but here's a 'Did You Know' tidbit -- ask your parents or grandparents, they'll tell you. Every year this movie used to air extremely close to Christmas, and all across America people would take this day off, gather the family around, and all pile onto the couch to watch The Wizard of Oz. It was a national holiday whenever this came on TV. So its a holiday movie pick in my book!

12. Mickey's Christmas Carol
I should probably list the original one instead of this Disney remake. Or maybe even the Muppets version. Or how about Scrooged, with Bill Murray, since that's the same thing. But I know you agree with me - Mickey Mouse does make the lesson - it's more important to give than to receive at Christmas - more fun.

13. Autumn in New York
Time is precious, and you should make every second of it count.

14. Home Alone 1 & 2
They're both kinda the same movie, and they're not up to today's standards by any means. But they had a comedic magic about them during their time, and they still teach you that no matter how big your family is, it's not complete without the little bastard that causes all the trouble, especially around the holidays.

15. Gremlins
Oh come on.... Gizmo is cute!

16. Miracle on 34th Street
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...

17.You've Got Mail
I wanted to put Sleepless in Seattle here instead, but this is more christmas themed [even though Sleepless in Seattle does open with holiday times.] And ta-dah, its Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks so its like the same movie anyway! :)

18. The Nightmare Before Christmas
I've only seen this once actually, and I'm not really a big fan of it.... but I only include it because I know someone who will get mad if I don't, and they'll whine at the fact that I put Edward Scissorhands on here but not this. So there you go. This movie seriously freaks me out and I personally wouldn't go running to see it again. Its scary

19. The Nutcracker
That's not a movie, that's a ballet! Yes I know that but there was a movie style adaptation of it once. And you might not realize why you have a nutcracker somewhere in your house that you take out specifically around christmas. Its because of this.

20. The Nativity Story
Because this is what the true meaning of Christmas is.

Anyhow, happy watching!

Fortune time!

TRAVEL WITH A LIGHT HEART AND HAPPY EXPECTATIONS

Happy Holidays

2008-12-20T13:47:00.002-06:00

Here's an accidental fun picture:

It looks like the place is a mess but its actually not, the Good Old tree is sitting on a shelf that has a bunch of bills on it, and the fisheye effect makes it look like there's mess everywhere.

And now, some must-know information for surviving the holidays from my favorite guy on youtube:

I love him... I really do. :)

I am not from Texas.....

2008-12-16T21:19:00.004-06:00

So I was watching The Biggest Loser, and I was all, Hooray Texas! Go Michelle! Go Jillian's Team for winning yet again! I was jumping up and down saying 'Woohoo! Go Dallas girl! I knew you could win it!'

But then.....

*dramatic heavy sigh*

....the next tv show came on.

'Mamma's Boys.'

And suddenly, being from Texas has become the worst thing to hit reality tv.

Dallas contestant trying to win herself a mamma's boy has been to jail.

Houston contestant has 'stainless steel cantelope sized balls' [hypothetically speaking she says]

....and Corpus Christi is on crack.

I swear it, she's on crack. The first 5 seconds of watching her will prove it.

So there you have it.

I am not from Texas anymore.

Fortune time:

YOUR PERSONALITY DEFINES YOU

One Tree to rule them all....

2008-12-14T21:00:00.005-06:00

See...... having a small tree isn't all that bad.

'Cause... ya know... I don't exactly have a 100 foot roof to put THIS thing in. I don't even think that accumulating christmas ornaments for the past 20 something years is enough to fill a tree this size.

Oh wait... I almost forgot -- I don't have an 18-wheeler that big to put that in.

HAHAHA

Okay all joking aside, I happened to have the trusty camera in tow on an outing that led to a mall with a surprisingly massive tree. Had to take a picture since that's probably the biggest tree I'll get to see for a while.

One of these days though I'm going to make it to Madison Square Garden and see them light that super huge tree...

Anyway, time for a fortune:

WILL POWER IS HABIT FORMING.

It's not shiny or aluminum... nor is it painted pink...

2008-12-12T23:43:00.002-06:00

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree....

And I'm totally not kidding. That's really our Christmas Tree this year. It's not bad at all really... It just needs a little love. ;)

The funny thing here though is that I actually paid money for it, rather than getting the only thing left on the tree farm... or whatever you call those places.

And the best part is that it took all of 30 seconds to assemble and doesn't require figuring out how to untangle and evenly distribute lights, or climbing on a ladder to stick anything on top. Good Old tree stands a little over 1 foot tall. :)

Not that I'm knocking anyone else's trees or anything like that. I love christmas trees and half the fun of christmas is unpacking the previous year's decor and bringing in the chrismas atmosphere by putting up a tree. This year's just a bit different.

So there you have it!

Fortune time!

THE MOST RIGID TREES ARE THE FIRST TO BE SNAPPED WHEN THE WIND BLOWS

Shopping For Cars...

2008-12-10T22:26:00.003-06:00

I know there's snow outside, and I know that I haven't posted my christmas tree picture yet..... but I thought I'd take a moment to inform you of the dangers of shopping for cars.

I had a very very low budget to work with, so one of my first stops was used car lots. Hey guess what, mom says, I used to work by this used car lot. Its a park and sell lot, she says. Its for sale by owner, and people park their cars there and you go look at them...

Cool, I say. Lets go see.

We pull up to this lot that has a mysterious gate around it. But its open so we drive in. We park, we wander, we write down ID numbers... all the cars are listed online, so you take the ID and look up the car numbers and find out how to contact people that way.

Suddenly, without any warning at all, the mysterious gate closes.

Its ok, mom says, it should open like an apartment complex... we'll drive up to it and it will let us out.

Suddenly, like clockwork or something..... THIS appears from out of nowhere...

and suddenly we become very aware the 'beware of dog! Guard dog on duty' signs

TIME TO GO! mom says

Agree! I say

We jump in our car, and rev it up. We pull up to the gate to leave...... but it doesn't open.

Pull up closer, I say

Do you want me to make this gate a hood ornament, mom says

Suddenly....... another thing becomes painfully obvious. A keypad on either side of the gate.... to let you in, and to let you out.

What do we do? mom says

Pray that Kujo doesnt chew through metal? I suggest

So we're stuck...... and our lovely 4 legged maneater is waiting for us.

There's no one to call to get a code.

Then I say, OH I know! The cars! The ID numbers! I can call someone with internet access, and they can get on that website, give me a number to call a car owner, and BS them a little and say, I want to buy your car, but now i'm locked in... whats the code to get out?

Mom says, Great Idea! But Kujo might disagree with you.... so I have a plan.

What?? ALMONDS?? I say

Yes, she confidently proclaims as she pulls out her leftovers from lunch. Give kujo these almonds, and he will be nice.

Uhhh.....

You have to watch this video, right about two minutes into it....

I kind of laughed at her suggestion like that.

Then I had to stop because Kujo didn't like it..

Anyhow, after some time Kujo gets distracted long enough for me to run out of the warmth of our car, jot down a phone number that is listed on a pontiac, and run back without being eaten.

We explain to the car owner that we want to buy his car/are interested, and wouldn't you know it, we just got locked into the lot.... does he know the code to get out?

'Oh Golly! Wow! I can't believe they locked you in.... Let me find a phone number to the owner of the lot. But while I'm looking... let me tell you about my car..'

Oh my gosh oh my gosh DUDE! Just get us out of here!!! We don't care that its a v6 turbo standard engine with custom rims and can do 0-60 in 3 seconds. Nor do we care that the steering wheel is custom, and that the seats were newly upholstered, and that the engine was modified to sound louder. We're FEMALES! We don't care how it works or how it runs, we just want a way out so we can PEE!

Anyway a good 10 minutes on the phone with this guy leads nowhere and the phone number he gives us goes to voicemail.

Kujo is still lurking in the darkness, waiting for us, and its been a while since we left the owner a message. No luck in reaching anyone at home with internet to find any other phone numbers.

So we called the 'five-oh', and in two hours [after passing by several times due to the bad not very visible location] they finally rescued us. GI Joe must have retired and picked up a badge because the guy that came to our rescue scaled the 8 foot fence in a single leap, and hotwired the fence from the inside to let us out.

We were locked in for about two and a half hours.

We contemplated sleeping there until someone found us.

We debated on me attempting to scale the fence myself and go stand in a visible area to flag down a policeman... but Kujo didn't let that happen.

There were a lot of 'maybes' and 'what if we do this' suggestions.

All in all....

Don't ever go shopping for a car that is surrounded by a gate.

EVER

No good will come of it, and Kujo will eat you.

Anyway, consider this post your Lesson One for car buying.

Fortune time!!

AS THE BIG HOUND IS, SO WILL THE PUP BE.

Lord, move in a way that I've never seen before.... 'Cause there's a mountain in the way, and a lock on the door.....

2008-12-07T23:08:00.005-06:00

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me the key to that locked door.

I owe ya big time. You're the best! :)

THANKYOU JESUS!!

And so now I journey into the wild...

2008-12-06T09:54:00.002-06:00

I need a car today! Send some prayers, happy thoughts, good vibes, etc. my way please!!

Its do or die today because I run out of borrowed time at 5pm tonight.

I'll report back tonight with good results God willing!! :)

ER 101

2008-12-03T22:31:00.004-06:00

So now that I can type with two hands again, I present to you the lessons I learned while sitting in the emergency room.

First lets define emergency, courtesy of dictionary.com

1. e⋅mer⋅gen⋅cy
[i-mur-juhn-see] noun, plural -cies, adjective
–noun / a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action.

Now that you know what it means, here's the rules.

First rule.

Your kid's snotty nose does not warrant a trip to the ER. Especially if he is well and able enough to run around smacking the back of everyone's chairs, shake the vending machine until it breaks, or scream at random for no reason.

This also means that you do not have to bring the kids brothers and sisters who are not sick or have no emergency. You also don't have to bring their cousins. Or their uncle. Or grandma and grandpa and the rest of the extended family.

I mean seriously?? For a snotty nose?? Why the heck would you pile up so many people for?

You do not need to be in the emergency room for that. You need to go to HEB or Kroger and go to the medicine aisle and get some kid's cough and cold cherry syrup and stop taking up every single chair available. Sicker more emergency-stricken people could use them.

And should you disregard this rule, then you are hereby ordered to put your kids, cousins, and any other person that is not old enough to drink, on a tight leash and keep them in your immediate reaching radius.

Next rule

An emergency room is NOT a restaurant. There are no reservations, there is no one to wait on you and give you whatever you want when you snap your fingers, nor is anyone obligated to take orders from you. YOU have an emergency, and you are not in a position to be a mean [swear word], because the people you are working so diligently to piss off can decide that your emergency isn't important..... and that leaves you back at square one.

So mister 'I have a business in Market Street and have giant gas guzzling cars' - if your tush gets out of your chair when the waiting room is standing room only, every man for himself ER - I will **not** hold your spot. Didn't you ever hear the saying, 'move your meat, lose your seat'? And how dare you try to demand that after you walk away for 30 minutes - HALF AN HOUR - that I move once you return so you can have your seat back. This is not a restaurant, and there are no reservations. No no guy, don't mess with me. ESPECIALLY when I'm in pain and clearly have more of an emergency than your moneybags have ever seen or known. Its not my fault that your penny loafers don't know what solid ground feels like since you've apparently bullied everyone around you into thinking they need to act as your footstool. Maybe if you offered me some of your mountains of cash that you brag about, I might be inclined to do you that small favor instead of you demanding that I am lesser than you and therefore should listen to your money. Go buy yourself some manners and social skills.

Next rule

Don't be drunk. Drinking, you see, is supposed to be in moderation. Being DRUNK in a place that's not a bar is considered public intoxication, which will get you arrested. And if you showed up to the hospital drunk, you probably drove. And drinking while intoxicated is illegal. And OH YEAH -- hospital staff do blood tests, and if you have an illegal amount of alcohol in your system, the good old boys in blue will be paying you a visit. Hospital staff, you see, can't be held liable for letting a person who has a BAC over the legal limit back on the street... because you might hit someone, and that someone might sue the hospital for not sending you off safely. So you get to go to jail instead.

Next rule

Dude...... your stab wound, blood stained hands, and dirty torn up clothes tell the whole story. You obviously fought with someone, and they got the better of you. And you look like you were probably not 'fighting' with someone, but rather ATTACKING someone, and they got the upperhand and showed you something you weren't expecting, therefore your crime that you tried to commit just got rained on.

Don't go to the hospital. They will call the police because you look suspicious.

The patients in the waiting room will call the police because you look like the guy I just saw on America's Most Wanted, and we overheard you calling your buddy on your cellphone, panic stricken, telling them how you 'cant talk right now' but things didnt go as planned.

Next rule

The phonebook by the telephone is a resource material for people who might need to use it to perhaps call a number listed in it. You may not give it to your kids as a toy to tear pages out of and throw paper balls or paper airplanes or make spit wads out of.

Next rule

NO TEXT MESSAGING DARN IT! The sick lady who is obviously having an emergency cannot sleep when your text messages keep ringing every 2 seconds. PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THAT PERSON -- don't spend 3 hours sending 10 words back and forth. And if you choose to disregard this rule, put your phone on SILENT!

Next rule

The tv on closed captioning lets those of us who can't hear the tv know whats going on despite your loud phone conversation, shouting screaming kids, and ringing text messages. We all just saw what happened. You do not need to keep recapping for us. 'OH MAN Did you just see that! So and so just did this!

I know. The person next to me knows. EVERYONE knows. We all are staring at the tv because we're pretending not to notice the rest of the annoyances, and we're biting our tongue so we dont lash out at stupid penny loafers who is demanding that sick people wait on him. We are paying more attention to the tv than we do in our own homes. Really, you don't need to narrate for us.

Next rule

Do NOT socialize with the drunk man! He'll think he's in a bar and then try to hit on the rest of us! Seriously!!

Next rule

Do try and make an effort to listen for your name. Don't ask me if they called your name because I don't know your name... we haven't even met. And I'm not interested in meeting people in the emergency room. I'm interested in getting my emergency taken care of

Anyhow I can keep going... but this should be enough learning material for you today.

As for the doctors, nurses, interns, reception desk, and other hospital staff - you guys were awesome and gave me some fantastic care! But get a police officer to do security detail. Then he would have thrown drunk guy away, and I could have told the noisy kids that the 'man in the uniform over there is watching you so BE QUIET!!', and maybe penny loafers would have realized that you don't have power unless you have a .22 strapped to your waist and a badge pinned to your chest.

[Police officers are awesome, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for them, by the way. :) ]

So there you have it. As GI JOE Would say...

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

Fortune time!

SUPPORT BACTERIA -- IT'S THE ONLY CULTURE SOME PEOPLE HAVE!

new layout

2008-11-29T07:53:00.004-06:00

New Christmas layout originated from here, but I tweaked it up a bit and turned it into a banner. They have other stuff too, not just christmas, so go check out SL-DESIGNS. :)

happy thanksgiving from your friendly neighborhood hospital

2008-11-27T06:05:00.004-06:00

you know its going to be a strange thanksgiving when you spend the early hours of it in the emergency room.

thankyou god -- no broken bones, no cracks, just major major swelling. a full recovery is expected, and i will be back to playing guitar and typing with two hands in no time. no black friday for me though... so close!!!!! oh well, i have other things thar could have been worse. almost lost my finger if i hadnt been wearing my ring. :)

and because the injury [crushed hand] involved metal, i got to have this conversation at 1am ----

doc: when was your last tetnis shot?
me: i dont know?
doc: today, thats when
me: really? i dont think i remember that
doc: [holding rather large needle] i know, but i remember so its ok. [giant excited looking yet scary smile]

so i have one good hand, and i feel like i got hit with a baseball bat on my arm. ugh...

but im ok, as long as i keep it elevated and apply ice. :)

anyway, happy thanksgiving to all. stay out of the emergency room today. its packed, they will take a long time to get to you, and they dont have turkey in the vending machine.

fortune: As we live, so we learn

Pictures for the Lifers

2008-11-17T22:34:00.006-06:00

Since photobucket is weird and won't let me hotlink on the RLC forums, I shall share the pictures here for them to grab!

I know they look funky and small but if you right click and 'save as', it should save it in its original format. If not, leave me a comment with your email and I'll be more than happy to send. :)

Thinking Pose

Regular Pose

Jazz Hands!

Who is the Jazz Guy???

2008-11-16T21:14:00.011-06:00

Trip to Lockhart was a blast, and this post is a bit of a tribute to the newfound friends I made there. :)

Fortune:

THE MEANING OF LIFE CAN BE FOUND IN A CAN OF ALPHABET SOUP.

Dear Science Channel....

2008-11-12T22:33:00.005-06:00

I'm watching 'How Its Made', and the announcer is saying that the grinders used to shape and sharpen these giant screw machining shanks, are made of diamonds so that way the the tools they are sharpening/creating are also as hard as diamonds...

Ummmm..... how??? The actual tool they're making isn't made of diamonds?? Its metal? Formula does not compute...

And furthermore... they always show how 'this machine shapes X material to be formed into X part that will then go through this other machine, and it will shape the X part into a Y part, and then this other machine sends it through yet another machine to be cooled and pressed..'

My question is this....

How the heck do you make the MACHINE that makes stuff?? How do you make a machine that reads handwriting on letters and automatically sorts them?? How do you make a machine that shapes metal bottle caps? Or the machine that cuts noodles?

How do you make the machine that makes the stuff?

And before the machine...... how did you make it without that technology?

Oh come on, don't roll your eyes at me.... its a good question!!

Fortune:

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

For a friend...

2008-11-11T02:05:00.000-06:00

I was faced with the painful task of speaking the words that people would remember my grandfather by... standing up in front of a crowded room, pain gripping at my heart, and having one last chance to say to the world what this man meant to me... and what kind of person he was.

I was the one who was going to give light to his legacy one final time.

How was I supposed to do that? It wasn't possible to even *try* to show a room full of friends, family members, and strangers the lasting imprint on my heart that I received from him, for it was special and unique... just the way the imprints on their hearts that he gave to them were indescribable.

How was I to tell others how much he meant to me... when I was still in shock and pain, and didn't even realize the magnitude of his impact on my life... until the day he went away?

How was I supposed to comfort others, and be the pillar of guidance at such a sad time when I couldn't even find comfort for myself?

In the midst of it all, when I couldn't quite figure out what to say without choking up in front of everyone, I came across a poem...

In it was the comfort I needed in that difficult time.

It became the words that I would speak that would sum up his legacy.

I hope you can find comfort in it as well...

more diet stuff...

2008-11-08T13:13:00.001-06:00

I just slapped myself in the face a million times....... my breakfast calorie count was more calories than I ate all day yesterday.

HELLO NICE BIKING WEATHER!!! Time to shed some calories.......

So far though I've walked 3 miles today. Which helped with the breakfast [but hardly!!] since it took a mile to walk there and a mile to walk back to the car shop.

Status of the car is still in limbo... I was given some 'medicine to administer' and we'll see if it 'cures' it, hahaha. I mean it!! It felt like leaving the doctor's office with a prescription. 'Go to Autozone, go buy this kind of additive. Put it in this spot in the car once its cooled off. Do this twice today'.

Only difference is that my insurance won't cover the cost, nor can I go resell it to someone who wants it more than me.

JOKING!!!

Anyhow thats my cue to go shed some calories.

Fortune:

SAY NO TO DRUGS

The plan...

2008-11-07T21:50:00.001-06:00

Here's the workout log:

Walking - 4 miles [approx.]
Stairs - 10 flights
Pushups - 10
plank - 30 seconds

not much I know but come on now.... its friday!!! LOL

and once again the car was not repaired, so I think the filling and refilling of about 20 gallons of water qualifies as weight lifting, hahaha. Anyway time to go to sleep and hopefully get the car fixed tomorrow. weeeee

Fortune time:

A HEN IS HEAVY WHEN CARRIED FAR

Bag of Dreams

2008-11-07T18:13:00.000-06:00

I have found it! I have found it! The tote bag for my on-the-go photo studio! His name shall be Maxfli!

You see, my car needed to be left with the mechanic again today so I needed to go do something that I could walk to. Hello thrift store!

I walked in expecting to smell the moth eaten old clothes, trip over old toys, and wonder if the rows of tvs and various electronics was actually in working condition. But to my surprise, it was a much different thrift store than any I'd ever been in.

Figured it was worth my time and I'd take a look around...

Then suddenly, like those terrible cliche movies where the light at the end of the tunnel is overly revealed to the main character, and a heavenly chorus sings "aaaaaaaaaa", I saw the bag!

I ran as fast as I could, as there was a crowd gathered around him... only to find that they were in awe of the jackets and sweaters on top of him, not the actual bag. Poor bag!

I grabbed the bag, full of golf clubs, and said I only wanted the bag... the clubs have no use. The sales lady answered me in such a tone that I had to assume I'm not the first person to give such a request. 'Bag is priced as marked with or without the clubs.'

Are you sure, I say.... this club has a dollar sticker on it.

'Price as marked with or without the clubs.'

Okay I'll take it.

Poor Maxfli had a horrendous coffee stain, lots of dust, and a strange yellow film on him due to sitting in the same place for so long. Looked like the 18 wheeler I was driving behind the other day that was so dirty, someone drew the following message on it: "Also available in white."

Almost wasn't sure if it was worth my time...

But having gone to Academy and seeing him -- the exact bag -- for almost 200 dollars, I figured that a little elbow grease for the 5 dollars I paid for him was worth my time after all.

Lo and behold, he is good as new!! See for yourself!

He shall be my photography companion for as long as he will hold up. :)

And now, its fortune time.

IMAGINATION IS THE EYE OF THE SOUL

It's here...

2008-11-06T18:01:00.001-06:00

The Diet Plan!

My goal is to lose... well ok I don't quite have a pound number, but I do know that I have some nice pants I used to be able to fit into that are practically brand new that I can't wear anymore.

I'm kind of going for some inches... Because really, it doesn't matter if I weigh like a million pounds, I just want to be small enough to fit into those magic pants like I used to, ya know? ;) [keep in mind I'm thinking along the lines of Metal Mario when I say this, hahaha]

Anyway, Monday was supposed to be the start of the dieting, but when you sleep two hours the night before, kind of puts a damper on the diet and exercise attitude.

First off, eating habits have been AWFUL! So we're going to change that.

I've been moving, so I've been eating food cooked by others (*coughtacobellchickfilawhataburgercough*) since I didn't have dishes unpacked or power to cook... So I've been eating a little badly. You too can check up on your eating habits at a fantastic website called Calorie Lab. Go ahead and check on your favorite fast food and restaurants.

Along the lines of calories, My Calorie Counter is a cool website to help you keep a diary of what you eat, what you exercise, etc. You know, because that's the big thing that dietary experts are saying nowadays -- KEEP A DIARY OF WHAT YOU EAT.

Also, The Biggest Loser Club has some cool stuff if you're willing to shell out money.

But hey, you're reading this thing, you want whatever's free right? LOL

Now for the exercise...

The Plank, One Hundred Pushups, Les Romack's Free Workout Vidoes that require NO workout equipment at all -- he has his own website as well, and I'm going to also do some good old running, biking, and stair climbing.

I do have access to a free gym, but I want to start with stuff that most people don't have access to themselves. You know, something you can do in your own home.

Today's workout was kind of blah, and I didn't eat well at all, so we'll call it a cheat day.

Hey I know -- we all have cars, right? Pushing that is a fantastic workout. Man oh man do my arms and posterior burn today! I knew that the car breaking down in an inconvenient spot would have its benefits somehow.

We'll start on the official logging and whatnot tomorrow. Why on a Friday? Because even though its a 'party day' its less of a party day than Saturday... because on Saturday you'll say, I'm too busy I have plans... and Sunday is Church day... I know -- how about Monday? But in reality, when Monday arrives you're too tired from the weekend, and then you say you'll do it tomorrow... and then its the middle of the week and inconvenient and off balance.

News flash - LIFE IS OFF BALANCE!

If you don't do something when you say you're going to, it won't get done... because there is no tomorrow, and there is no later. It's only what you do and do not allow to happen.

Alright. Stay tuned next time. Right now, its fortune time.

And on a side note to Ondrea, I swear this was a real fortune I got. This one is especially for you :)

YOU WILL HAVE THE STRANGEST URGE TO SAY 'YEEEEEEHAAAAAAW'

It is done!

2008-11-06T09:08:00.002-06:00

Say hello to new fall layout! Available here for free use. No hotlinking, no selling, profiting, etc... They've got a TOS you can read. :)

And remember, only 22 days left until Black Friday!

No fortune for this post... this isn't quite a post, just informative blah. :)

I have returned!

2008-11-05T20:32:00.001-06:00

I'm back!

Today was all kinds of crazy, and going home didn't end it. Nope, got stranded on the way home. Actually broke down several times getting home. Thank goodness though -- I broke down AFTER I got the starbucks!! WOOOO!

And then on the way home I think I broke down in England.... seriously -- like three british people stopped to ask if I needed assistance. And then I think a German person stopped too?? Who knew that the other side of the atlantic was just a few blocks away from home!

So many of you are cheering today... and many of you are booing today. But its all over now, so we can all be friends and stop hating eachother because the person we voted for wasn't the person that someone else voted for. We don't need to vandalize anyone's signs, or puncture tires of a vehicle that has the 'wrong' support sticker on it.

Oh yeah! --- Tina Fey - you can stop freaking out because you can continue working on your show that no one really knows the time slot for anyway. You should get on those NBC people, Earl gets more commercials than you do. I might even watch it sometime if I knew when it came on.

Anyway I know my layout is kind of screwed up. I'm working on getting a new background in place and making it a bit more pleasing to the eyes.

The mouse went unclaimed, and was sent into the wild.

Stay tuned this week -- I'm going to start logging the diet!

With that being said, its fortune time.

IF A MAN IS WORTH KNOWING AT ALL, HE IS WORTH KNOWING WELL

M-I-C-K-E-Y

2008-10-22T21:40:00.001-05:00

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

2008-10-16T20:44:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-11T23:02:00.001-05:00

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

2008-10-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-10T09:04:00.000-05:00

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.

2008-10-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-07T06:51:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-05T23:26:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-03T23:31:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-02T23:47:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-02T23:29:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-10-01T23:15:00.001-05:00

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