solidstate8

So, that big post I just made I had to spell check, obviously. It came to the Hard Rock Cafe, and guess what, "cafe" was not in the list. Super LOL. And as I'm typing this, the lower-case "cafe" is also coming up unknown. What's possibly even more funny, when it came to the word "oi", one of it's suggestions was "poi". WTH, it knows the word poi, but not cafe? Yeah, that's defiantly random. (for those of you who may get that last little inside joke, no courtesy laugh is necessary.)

So I wanted to write more about our drive to and from California. We left town Tuesday afternoon and headed down to Ashland where we stayed at the house of a family member. She wasn't there so it was just us in the house, which was kinda different. I'm used to staying with friends and family when we travel around, but usually they're home. Anyway, we needed a few supplies from Wally-World, and since it was so close we just walked. But they were closed. Do most Wal-Marts close at 10pm? I thought the one here was midnight. So we just went back and got some sleep. Got up and headed out, stopping back at Wally's before getting some coffee/chai, and then stopped to say hi to N's Grandparents briefly. Traveling South went pretty well. Never realised that Cali has a checkpoint station for drivers entering the state to check for plants, fruits, animals and other various stuff. We had originally planned bringing the dog along with us, but since we couldn't have her in the hotel, that got nixed. But it did mean we got to breeze on through the checkpoint. At this point, most of the drive is straight and boring.

Several hours down the road, we begin to close in on Sacramento. ( Sacramento Rant Here... )

Heading further South just leads you into lots of desert. You'd see a city, then desert.... smaller city, desert...... rest stop, more desert.... On and on like that until you hit the Grapevine. Then it's kinda like a big, long, uphill desert. It wasn't a big deal in our sweet little ride, but it's a big deal for the truckers. Just miles and miles of uphill. Somewhere during this stretch of road we see a sign that says something like "Welcome to the Los Angeles County National Forest". ( Yeah, Forest ... )

After you come out of the "forest", you start heading down into glorious L.A. Man, some of you know my aversion to big cities, I don't even really like driving through Portland. But I'm thinking, it's fairly late in the evening, traffic will probably be pretty light, especially on a Wednesday night. Well, surprise, lots of traffic, everyone's going 80 MPH, and I'm just holding the steering wheel for dear life praying that I had a "Q Street" to exit off to. And in all reality, for L.A., that probably was light traffic. Anyway, my lovely navigator got us to our destination without incident or turning around, and I got out of the car and took the biggest breathe I have ever taken in my life.

So, our destination was the Queen Mary. A huge ocean liner from the early 20th century that has been permanently docked in the L.A. harbor for the last 40 years. It was turned into a hotel and local tourist attraction, and it is just beautiful. If you ever get the chance to just visit it, please do. Take a tour or just wander around for a couple of hours, it's awesome. Anyway, we were hungry and exhausted, so we checked into our room and then found an open restaurant before crashing for the night. (There's, like, four full-service restaurants on this ship!) Slept in a little bit Thursday and then wandered around the boat for most of the afternoon before the wedding in the evening. ( Wandering... )

After our touring, we got ready for the wedding and headed out to the rear deck of the ship. It was a beautiful day, and the wind even stayed nice and low for the event. I, of course, was there recording the ceremony. It was a lovely ceremony. Only one ring was dropped, and lighting the unity candle was only mildly entertaining. ;P Had a fun reception, then the wife and I were ready to hit the hay before driving all the way back home the next morning. We did stop at the bar for a night cap though. (Thank you Kahlua, I love being able to have a nice, quiet drink with my lady.)

Got up shortly before 5 AM and headed out. Thankfully, the heavy commuter traffic hadn't set in yet and we were able to get out of L.A. pretty quickly. Stopped on the other side of the "mountain" for fuel and some similance of breakfast. The wife told me a guy there was pouring water onto his cars front brakes to cool them off... ( sigh. )

Passed a cattle ranch that I must have been sleeping through on the way down, cause, oh my. Anyone ever been through Tillamook on a rainy day? Multiply that by 20, then add a little bit for good measure. Thank God I was sleeping the first time through.

Around lunch time we decided to give Sacramento another chance. I had gotten directions (again) during our short stay on the boat and felt confident I could find the Hard Rock Cafe this time. And, Success! Had a delicious meal and got to pick up a new hat for my rotating collection. Did a quick bit of shopping in the mall and then got back on the road. Almost t-boned a guy going through a weird intersection. I had a protected left turn, and I think he was supposed to turn right, but instead he went straight into a parking lot. I gave him the what-the-hell hands and he appeared to be thoroughly unconcerned. Or stoned. Anyway, crisis averted and back onto the highway. Leave town and guess what... yup, more desert...

Wound up back in Ashland with pretty good timing and said hi again to N's Grandparents. Shared a few photos, then headed back out. At least we were in familiar territory again. And at 7 PM, we were only about 5 hours from home, oi. Stopped in Roseburg for fuel, some road chow and caffeine. The gas attendant was so chatty, it was kinda weird. ( Gas guy rant... )

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Got home shortly after midnight and subsequently went straight to bed. Ugh, 19 hours on the road. I don't think I will ever drive through California again. At least not in that short amount of time. Of course, this whole thing came about because we wanted to make it a nice leisurely train ride there and back again, but my work schedule screwed that up. And plane tickets at that point were just too expensive. But anyway, all went well, and 2000 miles later we were safely home again.

And if you made it all the way through this long report, congratulations! You win a cookie!

So, french_creek once told me that she missed my daily randomness stuff. I didn't listen to her then, but I'm listening now, so here you go K.

Today, on my walk with Kimi, I saw a car with a bumper sticker that said "fetus bomb". It looked like a teen-ager's car and it made me wonder, is this person pro-choice, or do they simply not know what a fetus is?

Things that make you go, yuck.

My goodness, where have I been recently.

Mid July - Got new countertops in the new place, they're very nice. The sink has to be babied a little bit though. You wash a pan in it and the pan leaves marks on the sink that you have to scrub them off.

Late July - Getting ready for the whirlwind of activity in early August...

Early August - !$%!#$!#$^#$%!#$%#$

But seriously, the Wife's family was here on the coast for the first week of August. My Oklahoma family was in the area the same week. Meanwhile, the Wife and I are in California for a wedding. (Congrats again, M and J!!) We drove back from Cali on Friday, and I mean all-freaking-day Friday. Wif spent time with her family on Saturday and I spent time with mine. Worked Sunday and then fell ill with a sore throat and fever. Still fighting the throat junk a little bit.

Mid August - Geared up for a breif performance of a classic radio show from the late 1940's, did that last night and tonight, was pretty fun. The wife went to Sport of Kings over this weekend. I was able to hitch a ride up to the airport this morning to see her off to Cali again for a work conference. Flew up in a small Cesna aircraft and the view was awesome. Had breakfast and saw her off and then drove the car back home and took a nap. Now getting ready for a full week at work.

Ciao!

Well, kinda sorta, she's two years old. And I can't believe I'm beating brightshadowsky to this post, she had almost half the day with her yesterday. Oh, she probably tweeted. Anyway, the introduction...



So this scared looking creature standing in my living room is Kimi, and we just brought her home yesterdy afternoon! She's still getting used to being in a new place, but is adjusting pretty well I think. We went to the Greyhound adoption event here in town yesterday morning and got to meet all the pretty dogs. Kimi stood out to us because she was interested in meeting us. Many of the others were fairly aloof, or simply over-stimulated by all the noisy traffic going by. Anyway, I had to go to work, but the wife got to stay and chat with the folks there and arranged a home visit for later in the afternoon. She can tell you the details, but we wound up taking Kimi in, and she's all ours!

So now there's lots of fun papers to fill out, and other various things. But I almost can't believe that, just like that, we've adopted our first dog into the family. We've been wanting to for so long, and finally have gotten the opportunity. So that's the happy news, later all!

PS
Apparently she had a fairly short racing career. With 21 races under her belt, she only came away with one win. Ironically, it happened on April fools day...? Her Grandfather, Wigwam Hoss, was quite the champion though. If you want to check out her lineage and racing history, here's the link.

http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1522616

Heading home from work today, I past a car going the opposite direction that had something interesting going on with it's headlights. The passenger side light was out, but the driver side lamp was flashing. You see this occasionally on motorcycles, but it's something I've never seen before on a car. It went buy to fast for me to tell if it was an intentional design, but I think it was more like when a flourescent tube is on the fritz and won't fire up all the way. Or, my other theory is that someone was trapped in the trunk and had rewired the headlamps so they could get a message out via morse code. Of course, this would only work during the daytime...

Before I get into my actual post:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY brightshadowsky!!!!! I Love You Wif, Hope You're having an OK day at work.

Anyway, some of us went out to lunch today for her birthday, and since I didn't work today and didn't have a car, I walked. While on my walk, I noticed a series of atleast a half dozen disposable coffee cup lids strewn about various lawns whithin the span of about a block and a half. They were all the exact same type of lid, the kind that has the little tear away tab where you drink through. I thought it was kinda funny that big cities get serial murderers, and we get serial litterers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'll take the litter anyday.

So I was paying some bills this morning, and one of them was for a doctor visit. They had all the information about insurance and what's left to pay and various other stuff. And down near the bottom there was a series of boxes that had something to do with how your payments change depending on your age. Ours was listed in the first box, which represented ages 0-30. The next box was 31-60, followed by 61-90, and 91-120. Well this is all well and good, considering that people can live to a ripe old age of between 91 and 120, but what caught me by surprise was that there were two more boxes. 121-180, which seems a little far out there to me. I suppose that a person could live to be 121 years old, but it certainly isn't common. And the last box, OMG, 181+! Apparently this doctors office has been around since Biblical times, cause, wow. I certainly don't want to find out how the premiums change at that age.

Wow.

So this was part of the conversion as my wife and I were on our afternoon walk today...

me: Oh look, the moons still out. I guess I'd better return the favor.

her: Yeah, but it's only half a moon so you'll have to only show one cheek.

me: Nah, I never do anything half-assed.




Pause for effect, aaaaaand thankyouvermuch, you've been a wonderful audience, try the veal, it's been here since Thursday.

I want a sports car, but I can't afford one...

That's why I'm grumpy.

Also, my neck and back are a bit sore, and I don't know why...

That's why I'm grumpy.

Plus, some guy came to the shop today and honked his horn at us so we would come out to his car and help fix his zipper, even though we don't deal with clothing or upholstery, all because he has a hard time getting out of his van. Given, he does have a wooden leg and a wheelchair, but he was also really, really fat and was wearing an NRA cap. I know that doesn't explain anything, but...

That's why I'm grumpy.

So I haven't disappeared off the face of the planet, and none of us got stuck in southern Oregon either. We drove down to Ashland for Christmas and had a nice time with family. The drive down was very rainy, with a little bit of snow flurries through the mountain passes, but nothing outrageous. It did snow later that night, so we did get to have a white Christmas which I always hope for. Of course it all melted off later that day, but hey, cest la vie. We got to see the Grands' new place, visit with everyone, and even had a short visit with an Aunt and Uncle from Spokane. Plus, we got to go shopping at a "real" mall and some of the other fun little eclectic shops around town. Which is where I bought some fun video games, which is why I haven't been spending much time on the computer recently. Our drive home was also very wet, but around 45 degrees so no worry of snow.

So I played through Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 about 3 times before I even touched the other games. I was pleased with how sweet that game is. Anyway, I'm playing Kingdom Hearts 2 right now, and saving SSX 3 for later.

Otherwise, been just working away as usual. Will be receiving a raise here soon, which is super sweet considering the economy. We just happen to fill this little niche that no one else around really can manage. So thank God for a good job.

Oh, and we just got our rowing machine yesterday. Quite a fiasco actually getting the package.

( Rowing machine fiasco )

But the machine works great, I've already done almost 6000m worth of rowing, and man is it a workout.

Oh, and we're also getting into rehearsals for United States of America, which is going to be a blast.

That's about it for now, I'll try to start back into the random daily stuff again. Later.

Been not having any work to do lately, so I get to take the remainder of the week off. Yay! Although that does mean fewer hours for this paycheck, but I consider myself very fortunate to even have a job.

Speaking of work, I spent some time sewing down the pull cover for the back of our car the other day. It was starting to come loose around the ends of where the handle meets the... fabric? vinyl? whatever the cover is made of, so I just reinforced it a bit. But that meant using the other machine cause of how the foot is designed. I won't try to explain, it would take too long. Anyway, I was trying to adjust the light so it was out of my way and it just kept drooping down right into my face. It's one of those desk lamps with arms that you can move around and adjust, which are supposed to stay in place, but this one kept drooping. So I tried tightening the screw on the loose bit and the whole plastic thing holding it all together snapped and pieces went flying. The worst part is, it's a brand new lamp. I picked up a new bolt to see if I can piece it back together without too much work. Here's hoping.

We're looking forward to brightshadowsky's mom and sister coming out for the Christmas holiday. The plan was that they would stay a couple days with us, then we'd all head south a ways to visit the Grands and an Aunt, then head back here for a few more days of visit time. They were hoping to be here yesterday, but the major highway between here and there was closed so they postponed traveling. This morning the roads were reopened, but with leaves blown around and melting snow, the flat roof of their building is not draining off properly and somehow that's making their kitchen flood with water. I wander what could happen next!

So travel plans are on hold for the moment and we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Here's to safe traveling for all of you out there, and have a fun and pleasant Christmas. Unless you don't celebrate Christmas, then just have a fun and pleasant whatever it is you do.

I just woke up at 11:30, I go to feed the fish and our Beta, Blue, is resting on one of the plants, laying kinda face down. This is not an unusual occurrence for our strange little fish but he was dead still, not moving a fin, and that was a little odd. I watched him for a bit and became worried that he had died, I mean he was just laying there as if he had fallen in battle. And then it occurred to me, "I thought fish float when they die." So, against better judgment, I tapped the glass lightly to try and stir him. The other fish sneer at me momentarily and then start flitting around the tank in an attempt to deliver to me the message "FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!" I notice Blue move the one eye that I can see, and I take a sigh of relief, he's apparently in a deep sleep. Do fish suto-hibernate? It is really cold after all. So anyway, I relax a bit, lift the lid to feed them all, and in the process of putting the lid back down (please, no toilet seat etiquette references...) it slips from my fingers and snaps shut. Blue darts from the plant in surprise, little heart probably beating a million miles per hour, and the irony sets in.

In my attempt to see if the little guy was still alive, I probably shortened his lifespan by scaring him half-to-death. Oh cruel fate, thy name is Pisces! (or is it butterfingers?)

So the weather has been on and off recently. Monday was pretty slickery, Tuesday was so so, Wed - Fri were cold and drizly, but not freezing and nasty. So some of the regular schedules around town have been bumped a little bit. Mail was running late, paper too. Today, the garbage and recycling pick-up didn't even come. However, as we were debating wether or not to go to work today (the radio said all the schools were closed and we hadn't realized yet the roads were actually ok in town), we heard a knock on our door and the bell ringing. Very odd for first thing in the morning, we didn't know what to expect. We opened the door and there was the UPS guy, with a package. It's not like he was lost or anything, he was actually delivering a package at 8:30 am! What has this world come to!?!?

It was so cold today...

(how cold was it?)

It was so cold that this afternoon, it warmed up to freezing temperatures.

(chirp... chirp...)

So it's Christmas time and one of the typical things you find around, especially at parties, is mistletoe. Now it's sweet and all that if you find yourself under one of these with someone: A) you love, B) you like, C) you find attractive, D) who doesn't hate your guts, or E) who happens to be the hottest babe at the party wearing a pair of cute and sexy reindeer antlers - that you should give them a kiss. But if you're at said party with your significant other, isn't the mistletoe a bit unecesary? I mean, you can give them a kiss any old time you want to really. And what if you accidently wind up underneath it with someone who you shouldn't be kissing? For instance, your boss, your spouses parents, a crazy uncle, the party lush, or perhaps the hottest babe at the party who happens to be wearing a pair of cute and sexy reindeer antlers, whom your wife/girlfriend refers to as "that waify tart". I can't even imagine the full range of problematic possibilities that could arise from such situations. I have enough trouble dealing with gift shopping. Not to mention figuring out what I should bring to these Christmas parties and how I'm going to avoid drinking the fun punch because someone thought it would be funny to hang some mistletoe right above it. Honestly, who needs that kind of strees!

Been working on video projects, brain melting, eyes bloodshot, teeth floating, must finish soon...

So my boss Jedi Master had his young kitty nuetered just yesterday, and wanted to keep him under a watchful eye, so he brought the little guy in to spend the day at work with us. He was the cutest little thing and probably the friendliest cat I've met so far. Very quiet too, until you got him purring. He would occasionally dart about the shop for a couple of minutes, then wander around my feet rubbing up against my legs. Then head over to get some attention from the boss Jedi Master. Then go sleep for a few hours and prepare to start the process all over again. It's not quite the same as puppy attention, but similarly satisfying to the soul nonetheless.


WWWWwwwwwhhhhhhaaaaaaahhhhh, I wanna kitty..... sniff. Or a puppy, I'm not picky.

Anyway, went to see the local production of "Oliver" tonight. I try so hard to not be critical of the level of competence that exists in a small, community theatre setting. But when you can't get your microphones working properly by the last weekend of perfromances, it's time to do something about it! Pay the money to fix what needs to be fixed, replace what (or who) needs to be replaced, or ditch the whole thing and try something different. And quite honestly, that theatre isn't so big that anyone on stage, especially singers, shouldn't have any problems making themselves heard. I mean come on, theatre itself was built for people that love to yell for no good reason. Why do you think they have such big mouths?

Well I'll stop ranting. I will say that a couple of people I've worked with before did very well. "M", the gal that played Lucy in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", was fantastic. And "S" was dishing it out during one of his solos and the crowd was eating it up. I'm looking forward to working side by side with him this spring in "Stan Freeburg's USofA".

That's it for now, later.

So I'm eBaying for a couple of items I've been wanting/needing, and one of them is a slide scanner. Yeah, you know, for scanning those old 35mm slides everybody used to have so many of. I guess a handful of pro photographers still use them from time to time, but I believe that's pretty rare. Anyway, been looking for an automated one that will run a batch of them while I'm working on other stuff. A new one will cost you about $800. So I figured I could find a used one on eBay for less.

I know, I know... I've already learned this lesson before, and some of you probably have too, but I will never cease to be amazed at the idiocy that surrounds the world of eBay. I was watching a few items, but wasn't willing to pay as much as others had already bid on them. The last one listed, which had the most time left on the bidding, was still in my range so I bid. A few days later I wasn't surprised to see that I had been outbid, but I was a little surprised at how much the winning bidder was willing to pay for it. Can you see what's coming? Well folks, welcome to the bargain capital of the world, where you can pay $799 for a two-year old used model, when you could have bought one new for $800, warranty included! (but not shipping) Maybe you can take that leftover dollar and buy yourself a cup of coffee. Oh, wait...