RedJen's Rearview Mirror

Sleeping in seems to be a common theme�

Hang out with the girls until lunch time, took the girls out and discovered where all the moms gather during the summer (Chick-fil-a), met with a realtor to start the house hunt, dropped the girls off so they could swim while I started looking at houses, hung out with some friends�

Tomorrow: Water Park

After spending 8 hours going in and out of houses, I ended back up at the second house I saw on Monday. I enlisted the adult eyes of a friend to take a look at it and brought my sister over to take a look at it. So far so good, now I have to last through the offer, contract and closing.

Target acquired, House Hunt complete.

In case there was any doubt, house hunting is exercise�

And now the real fun begins, hurry up and wait. The current owner is waiting for his realtor to call him back. The owner's realtor is waiting on my realtor to call him back. My realtor is waiting on me to call her back. I�m waiting on my mortgage broker to call me back.

...the house that Jack built.

My mortgage broker (TH) called back. I�ve put her in touch with my realtor (XC). They now get to talk today and fax things to each other. I have a list of papers that I need to get to TH next week. And even before getting off the phone, I�m in wait mode once again�

* In case anyone is worried, I go back to work on Monday, so I won�t be able to deliver blow-by-blow updates at all hours of the day. Well, at least I�ll have to do work in between. : )

I made an initial offer this morning. They countered, I countered back and they accepted! I am floating! I can�t believe this is happening and boy is it happening fast. I now have a closing date and the inspections are scheduled.

There is a �fly in the ointment�. My mortgage broker, TH, has been less then helpful. So far she�s promised to call on Monday and didn�t. She was supposed to call on Wednesday and didn�t. I called her on Thursday and she did call back, but then didn�t get XC the pre-qualification letter Thursday evening. In fact, she didn�t get XC the letter until Friday afternoon, after XC called again to request it. TH has had nothing but excuses. I told her when we met, that as long as I was happy with her work that I didn�t see any reason to look for another lender. Well, she didn�t call on Monday or Wednesday, she didn�t get XC the letter on Thursday. I began questioning whether or not TH was going to have my best interests in mind.

Contracts signed, mortgage applied for, inspections scheduled, closing date set and insurance company informed of purchase. Now I need to remember to officially notify my apartment complex that I will not be staying in my apartment once the lease runs out before July 30th.

No word more word from TH... I wonder if she decided she was losing that battle...

A picture of the house can be seen on the Photo Album page.

A larger collection of house pictures can be found on Photo Page 10

I�ve gotten back the summary from the inspection I had done on the house. There are some things that need to be addressed, but nothing that immediately makes me say �I�m not going to go ahead with the purchase.� What it will come down to next is whether or not the current owners are willing to fix the things identified. Someone asked me today if I could walk away from the house. I had to think about it for a moment, but the answer is yes, I can walk away and start looking all over again. I�d rather not, but I could do it. I think that�s part of the reason I haven�t turned in my notice at my apartment complex yet. I have until next Wednesday to do it and I want to see what the owners say about the findings in the inspector�s report. If they aren�t going to fix things, I may need my apartment for an extra month.

I was much more comfortable with the idea of having a housecat (or three) as a totem animal. Well, it would appear that they are around, but as relative and representative of another feline, the lion. It isn�t much wonder that the female lions have so much strength that they represent feminine power. This is going to take some time to fully grasp, but here is some of what I�ve found so far:

The seller has agreed to make all the suggested repairs from the house inspection. No haggling or anything, just an �Okay, the repairs will be done by August 11th�. I've been told this is an unusual occurrence, but it works for me.

It was fun while it existed, but the person driving Blog Candy has decided not to continue. This means I�ll be surfing other meme sites for ideas.

I've found The Memes List as a place to start the search...

All the papers are in for the mortgage. The current owner has all the repairs (and suggested maintenance) scheduled for completion by Monday. The survey for the property lines has been ordered. I�ve notified the apartment complex know that I won�t be extending or renewing my lease. All the utility changes have been requested. The movers are scheduled. Now I just need to pack, buy a refrigerator and find out when my parents are going to visit.

I have the final walk through on the house in the morning, then on to the paper signing. At noon tomorrow, I get to begin signing my name several times, to make me an official homeowner. Well, I�m not sure if owner is the correct term. For a good while, the bank is going to own more of it than me. Of course, I�ll have the privilege of paying all the property taxes. My theory is that it is only fair that if the bank owns part of something, then they should pay an equal percentage of the property taxes. So far no one seems to agree with me, but I haven�t given up yet.

They did it. They really gave me keys.

I guess now, I really do need to start packing.

With the wonderful help of my parents and Rugrat, today has been a highly productive. Most of the stuff in my living room (save the furniture) has been packed and moved. About 90% of my kitchen has been packed, moved and unpacked by my mom, which is probably the best news of the day. I absolutely HATE packing up the kitchen. Whenever I go to move, I end up avoiding the kitchen for as long as possible. Every time I look in the kitchen, I hurry up and find something else to do. Now I don�t have to shudder whenever I go by, which is good, since you have to pass my kitchen on the way up to my bedroom. I�ve been lucky now three times that someone else has packed up my kitchen for me.

I will have some extra time on my hands for a while to spend reading or writing, as I made an extra purchase yesterday for the house. I had planned on having to buy a refrigerator, but I was planning on putting off buying anything else for a while. I didn�t. The refrigerator is being delivered tomorrow and the extra is being delivered next Wednesday.

I�m sitting in the middle of my family room, logged on to the internet and working from home. That has a nice sound to it. Granted, I�m using a dialup connection, but the cable doesn�t get turned on until Saturday, which is the same day that my furniture is getting moved. I figured that until I�m here full time I�d rather have cable at the apartment while I�m packing and such.

The parents and Rugrat left for Ohio this morning. I can�t say enough how much of a help they were in getting me started with the packing and moving of stuff. The kitchen and most of the stuff that I had stored has been moved. The only dishes I have left at the apartment are the ones that were in the dishwasher and a few wineglasses that didn�t fit in the last load of stuff we brought over.

So it�s just me here now. The squirrels outside are cute. The cats are going to enjoy watching them. I sat in the family room earlier today with the ceiling fan running and just sat for a while. I couldn�t hear any noises next door. I could hear some birds outside, I�m getting used to the open space thing, but I don�t think it�s going to be an issue.

It�s going to be fun figuring out what to put where in the house. I�ve already identified a place that is going to need art of some kind. I haven�t given much thought at all to what to do with the living room. Since I�m planning on primarily using the family room, the living room has pretty much been on the backburner to this point. Now that it is going to start with furniture, I should probably think about that a little more.

I�m about to fall asleep, I�m having trouble staying awake, but I wanted to jot down a note here before I surrender to sleep. Tonight, I�m sleeping in my house. Just about everything has been moved. Tomorrow the movers will be transporting my furniture. The cats are exploring the new digs. Goodnight.

Well, other than not being able to find much of anything, I�m moved into my new house. I�ve even met one set of neighbors and they seem really nice. Apparently she and her daughter moved in a few months ago, she said the neighbors all came by to say hello when they moved in, so it sounds like the neighborhood is friendly.

So what has surprised me the most so far about acquiring the house is the response it garners from other women. I�ve never heard so much along the lines of you-go-girl. Some of the women who have found out that I�ve bought the house myself get really excited that I�ve done it myself. I didn�t expect that kind of a reaction, but it is fun to be able to celebrate being independent. What makes it fun is that they are the ones initiating the celebration, so it doesn�t feel like bragging with it occurs.

Girls ROCK!

In August, I received an email from a guy named David, who was putting together a very interesting site based on the premise of �A Picture�s Worth a Thousand Words�. After running across my site, he asked if I would be interested in looking at the site and contributing. To make a long story short I did and today a slightly smaller version of �Sure, I�m unaffected�� was put on his site, along with a picture I took on the morning I reflect upon in the entry. Before the slight edit, it was about 200 words over the 1000 word limit.

There are some really cool stories on the site from around the world and each has a picture to go along with it. I�ve really enjoyed browsing through the stories.

The site is called A Picture�s Worth.

So I thought I?d met a halfway decent guy online, although being the control freak that I am, I wasn?t going to move very quickly. My idea of fun does not include meeting strangers in my home or theirs the first time. I was figuring that if we were going to meet, it would be in coffee shops or movie theatres the first four or five times.

We started talking online Sunday evening, talked on Monday and Tuesday evening, got creeped out as a result of the whole three day conversation and sent him email saying thanks, but no thanks on Wednesday evening. I also went out of my way in the email to tell him the real reasons behind my decision to break things off.

I?m new to the whole online dating scene. I?ve never felt inclined to give it a whirl, but figured what the heck, I?ll give it a try and see what happens. I didn?t want to be false with anyone, so I was very specific in what I was looking for. I also didn?t want this guy to think that I was just blowing him off for no reason.

(Don�t panic, I haven�t resigned, I�m just feeling that way.)

I�m still not happy. As you may have guessed, I did get a response back after asking how code in production a day early equals three days late. I�ve decided not to respond to the latest bit of news via email, so I�ll be talking to the cause of my frustration early tomorrow morning. I don�t know if it will do any good or not, but I figure as far as this immediate situation is concerned, it is the only thing I can do.

I really think I want to talk to someone else at work about things, but I�m not sure how to go about it. I�m a little concerned that if I do, it will be viewed as mutiny and make me a bigger target. This definitely seems like a case of CYA (cover your ass). Apparently my ass has gotten way too big and I�ve really got to start exercising more, because I just can�t seem to get it covered.

I�m going to try and put this out of my mind for a while. I�ve made a list of things I need to get from the store so I can do some work out in the yard today. I�m still not going to mow the lawn. I firmly believe that lawns should not be mown during the wintertime. So far I�ve gotten away with this theory and in a few weeks it will have lasted the test of one season. Hopefully some time out in the sunshine will do me some good�

If you are a Zanuc victim and want to take your domain name back, contact technical support at http://www.eNom.com, they are the registrar that Zanuc is contracted with as a reseller. The support person at eNom was very helpful and after being unable to contact Zanuc, they gave me access to the listing for my domain so that I could update it myself.

I just finished a 6-week power lifting cycle at the gym. The awesome news is that I dropped a net of 6 pounds, increased my max bench press by 25 pounds and decreased my body fat percentage by 5%. What makes this so great is that based on the advice of a nutritionist, I altered my eating habits so that I�m pretty much eating all the time and I gained 5 pounds before my body became convinced that I was really going to keep eating and my metabolism kicked in. So if you count the 5 pounds I put on after starting, I actually lost 11 pounds, but I�m going to say I lost 6 pounds and my metabolism kicked back into gear. My max bench press had been the same since I was a senior in High School, so to have a 25-pound increase is great. The actual goal for the last 6 weeks was to decrease my body fat percentage by 3%, so I�m thrilled to have surpassed that goal.

Another thing that has come out of this training cycle is that my body responds well to heavy weight training. Apparently this isn�t the case with a lot of women who are looking to reshape their bodies. Many women can do a lot of cardiovascular work to burn off body fat. I, on the other hand, apparently need to ramp up my metabolism through strength training. I�ll admit, the day after a good workout, I really like being able to feel that my muscles have been taxed. It is a good feeling, it lets me know that I worked hard at something and that gives me personal satisfaction. It is also nice to know that if I have to, I can lift heavy objects on my own.

I�m considering adding to my list of minimal qualifications for a date. There are two similar, but different options I�m considering:

1. You must weigh more than I can bench press.
   
2. You must be able to lift more weight than I can.

Gotta love being independent. I love the idea of having people in my life because they make me a better person and I want them there. I can survive on my own. I can meet my own basic survival needs, so I don�t need people in my life for the sole reason of performing a task or paying a bill. I have some awesome people in my life and the best are ones that I know would give me anything they could if I needed it. I don�t plan on asking for anything too often, but these are the people I trust beyond all reason. These are the people that I�d do the same for without hesitation.

Today was the first day I had gotten any response from Zanuc since 10/28/03. That's 6 months of no communication with your customers. I know for a fact that I'm not the only person who has tried to contact Zan-SUCK. They are loosing customers because of lack of response and I am more than happy to tell anyone who asks hot to gain control of their own domain names by appealing to Enom for assistance.

When I went to their billing site, I found this:

(Stolen Cross-posted from ShaeSin, the Ranting Virgo.)

Get tattooed to celebrate Annie's escape Party
RedJen's house
This Saturday
2pm until ...

Bring cash if you want in on the artwork.
Bring music if you want to chill.
Bring food if you want to eat.
Bring booze if you want to drink.

Call, email or post to me or RedJen if you think you're coming so we can do that thing we do best --- PLAN.

The escape was successful. Annie is safely in Raleigh. Brands were created, no one slept on the lawn, although I did sleep in my contacts on the couch. Annie has proven capable of using the alarm system (both turning it on and disabling it).

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/gollum.php

I have an interview on Friday with another group at work. I'm interested to see how that turns out. It is different from what I've been doing, but it should also draw on my strengths and what I've learned to this point.

This year for my birthday, I�ve gotten a new job, a new car, a new tattoo, a new computer game that I haven�t been able to play yet and friends I wouldn�t trade for the world.

Well, I survived the first week back in the office after being on vacation. The most common question asked this week was, �Where did you go?� When I responded by saying, �Nowhere,� most people just nodded in understanding. The second most common question was, �When is your transfer official?� This was an easier reply, since it is June 16th.

My office was moved yesterday and today. When the admin assistant put in the request to move my office, she only requested that my phone be moved, so when I got into my new office today I had a phone, but none of my stuff. After calling the space planning people, they arranged to have my things brought over. There were 3 boxes and a desk chair, so it wasn�t a lot that needed to be moved, but the chair in my new office was broken, so I REALLY wanted to get my chair. My stuff arrived at my new office at about 4:30 this afternoon. This explained why I didn�t feel an overwhelming need to get out of office today. I guess I was waiting for my stuff to arrive.

It is going to be interesting to see how things work out in my new assignment. This may turn out to be a really good move for me. On Wednesday I went with my Team Lead to a quick meeting to see some proposed tool upgrades and evidently asked insightful questions of the development team. I�m not sure if that was good or not, because the IT Lead for the development team looked me up in the corporate employee listing to see where I was transferring in from. I found this out at the end of another meeting I attended in place of my new Team Lead. My new manager was also there, so I was able to see her outside of her office. I think I�m going to like it here.

Well, I was planning on doing house projects today anyway, but I hadn�t planned on them being quite so timely. My air conditioner has decided that it is tired. The good news is that while tired, it still works, so as long as I give it a break now and then, it is fine. The timely part of my house projects being that I�m going to attempt to put in a few screen windows and install a retractable screen door out onto the deck. I�m keeping my fingers crossed that the AC unit will hold out until Friday, I had already scheduled to have it cleaned, so hopefully that is all it needs and the 100 degree plus heat index of the last few days has just been taxing it.

Things to remember all day:
Eat
Drink
Sunscreen

Projects for the day:
Measure windows (check � 31 x 61 & 28 x 71)
Make lemonade.
Vacuum the living room.
Vacuum the steps and upstairs.
Run Errands:
> Sears - cordless drill/screwdriver & lawn trimmer
> Home Depot - window screening kit & filters for AC unit
> If there is room in the car, stop at Bed, Bath & Beyond - bed desk & half chair.
Install retractable screen.
Install screens for bedrooms.
Install screens for living room.
Remove debris from the last set of thunderstorms from the lawn.
Mow & edge the lawn.
*Rework distribution of labor.
Email pen pal

Well, it will be 10:00 AM by the time I get this posted, so I should probably get working on this list if I hope to get the lawn mowed while there is still some light outside.

*There is something seriously amiss when it is my roommate�s parents that are supposed to be visiting and I�m the one doing all the pre-visit prep work. Don�t get me wrong, the installations are definitely my tasks, but what good is having a teenager if they don�t mow the lawn? (Please note, there is ZERO angst associated with the last sentence and I will kick anyone who tries to make it seem like there is. Said teenager has not been asked to vacuum the carpets or do anything with the lawn. In fact, she has done a wonderful job of taking up the task of keeping the dishwasher contents on a fairly regular schedule. Her doing that is great, because I always forget to take the dishes out once they are clean and end up just putting things in the sink until I�m forced to empty the dishwasher in order to wash the dishes. She pays her rent without being prompted and is generally nice to be around.)

The world news lately has been saddening. It is hard for me to imagine what the hostages� families are going through. I saw tonight that four marines were killed and the last I saw the location of the bodies was known, but they had not been able to be recovered yet. I worry about the turn over of power at the end of the month. I really hope that the people will embrace the idea of ruling themselves, but I fear that they will fall back into a pattern of allowing the strongest arm to run the country, regardless of the will or good of the people. Rereading that sounds funny to me. Here is the United States going in and taking over and I�m saying the people may fall back into a pattern of allowing the strong arm to take control. It isn�t like they know anything else.

Sigh - the air conditioning is back on.

Residents of Wake County, North Carolina get free admission to Exploris in downtown Raleigh on the first Wednesday of the month from 1 � 5 pm. You need at least one person to have an ID that shows they are a resident. Yesterday, my mom, grandma and 4 redheads all went in for free on my ID. Once I get the pictures added to the photo album, I�ll let you know.

Early morning, drove to beach with top down (slight sunburn on shoulders), strong waves, much goodness, started to storm, head for home, good talk with dear friend, tired & sleepy.

(Rugrat has slight sunburn on nose & cheeks)

So I�ve been relatively quiet lately. I think most of it is because I�m not sure what I want to say. Things are going fairly good, so I don�t have any huge stressors in my life beyond the usual money thing.

My sister is here on her summer visit. Since she hadn�t seemed to enjoy the summer camps the last two years, I didn�t sign her up for any this summer. I�m not sure if that was a good idea or not. Next week, I�m planning on taking her with me to work on Thursday, because we are having a department outing to Jillians, which is a bar with a bunch of video games, pool tables and such. During the day it is family friendly, so I figure she can enjoy beating me at video games for an afternoon. She may be going to an overnight camp with ShaeSin�s little sister the first part of August, but that assumes that I hear back from the woman organizing the camp. It seems crazy how time slips away. You would think I would be used to it by now, but it always sneaks up on me.

My nephew Brett is having the party for his first birthday tomorrow. At times it can seem like yesterday that Pete, his dad, was 5 or 6 years old himself.

Wow, I can�t believe it�s already Saturday and looking back on the week, I�ve been silent. Well, I�ve been silent here. Work has been rather busy. I had two projects that needed a ton of attention at the beginning of the week. I had another project that needed some one-on-one time in order for me to explain to the other group that it didn�t matter to me how much they wanted to put on their plan, I just needed them to make up their minds before I finalized it. Not to mention that anything they requested to be put on the plan, they had to report back on. Pointing out to people that defining the world results in them having to do the homework has a way of making fringe things unimportant.

A couple of things happened this week that have been bouncing around in my head.

Blasts from the recent past:

I found out that my beloved ex-boss announced last week that the team I was on has been given a rather sizable team award for going above and beyond the call of duty and for working so hard for the last year to generate the tools to meet the changing security needs of the company. Let it be noted that the people who were named and who received the proceeds from this award richly deserve it and under no circumstance do I believe otherwise. That being said, you don�t get the approval to hand out $10,000 overnight. You don�t get the approval to spend $50 to buy a book overnight, so unless GW found a way to fold time, I was still very much a part of the team when this award was applied for. I have the sneaking suspicion that a good deal of this award came as a result of the area passing their audit in May, where I spent the better part of a week holding hands with the management team to make sure they knew how the tools worked and which standards they were designed to meet. It pisses me off to no end that GW would purposely wait until he had forced me out of him department to acknowledge the work these people and I were doing. Without my work, three of those great tools would not exist unless they had found someone else to build them, they�d be missing the operations manual that was needed so desperately AND the underlying logic to go with the operations manual would not exist. It would have been nice to hear a word of praise at some point before I left, but I figured out a while ago that wasn�t going to happen. Team, you deserve your awards, I have nothing but congratulations for you on this. GW, you�ve treated me very poorly and I�ve come to think of you as pond scum.

So after I find out about the generosity of GW Slimball, I get an email from one of the people who are on the team I had left. Apparently, GW can�t seem to figure out how to get some of the numbers I generated for one of the reports that result in him being given money for the department. Not only that, he�s the one filling out the report now and he doesn�t� know what all the numbers mean or where they come from. Unfortunately for him, I did show him all that before I moved on. In fact, not only did I show him, I explained the funding structure and how it is modeled into the department�s budget. I was polite and I was through, because I have friends who are still associated with that project. I couldn�t care less about making him look good, but I do care about my friends. So what�s up this week? Since he can�t figure out how to get the supporting statistics he needs and because he�s not a big enough person to ask me how to generate them himself, he�s pawned that off on one of my friends to approach me and ask for my help. To me this is a really underhanded way to try and get me to help him after the poor way he�s treated me. I don�t want to help him, but I will probably end up doing it anyways, but only because to refuse wouldn�t hurt him, it would hurt my friends.

What a schmuck!

In the now:

The new job seems to be going well. I�ve been working to effect positive changes in a gradual manner as to prevent anyone from having a coronary and getting riled up in protest. This week lacked a certain grating voice of unearned superiority, so that was nice. Note: if you are an assistant to my position, while I do not expect you to genuflect or lick the bottom of my shoe, a little respect would be nice. Especially when I�m polite and the only thing I�ve requested of you is that you do your job.

So I�ve officially been in the new position for just over a month now. Being the slightly paranoid over achiever that I am, I�m a bit anxious to get feedback from my manager, because the teamlead I�m working with gives feedback like it was the Hope diamond. There have also been a few minor things come up have we a bit off balance. In this division, there seems to be less restriction on taking internal classes than I was used to. While I don�t plan on breaking the bank if told that small expenditures are easily approved, it would be nice to know how the process works in this division. It would also be nice to know when to assume approval for actions and when to seek sign off before going further. I get the feeling that my manager is very busy and she seems to let her people do their jobs. I�m completely cool with this idea, but I�d be more comfortable if I knew what define the boundaries on the playing field.

On Wednesday, I asked to meet with my manager next Monday morning to talk about the job I�ve been doing, her expectations, suggestions and general feedback on what she wants to see happen. I�ve also asked her to let me know how fast the team award GW gave out can be processed. To be honest, I�m more curious that anything on that one. GW screwed me again, which is nothing new, I just want to know how purposefully he did it.

Thursday was pretty fun, I took Rugrat to work with me, so she could see a bit of what goes on there. It was a boring paper pushing day of making sure reports were accurate and people had the information they needed. On the good side, my department went to Jillian�s for an outing, so Rugrat only had about 3 hours of boring office time, during which she got to meet all the people who showed up at my desk and did double-takes at my clone.

Friday morning, I found a really nice note in my email. One of the teams of people I�ve been working with sent an email this week to my manager and copying his own saying:

I want to bring to your attention the excellent response and attention to detail we get from RedJen in regards with our SP Plan requests. Not only she does have a quick response, she also put special attention to detail, this translates into an easy to understand SP and shorter time to have the SP in place and ready (important requirement to enter the next phase). Needless to say that with the large amount of new qualifications, urgent requests and tight schedules, this level of response and dedication is appreciated and valued. Thank you!

My manager forwarded the email, added her own comments and copied the rest of the department:

You may have just come on board with our team but you are setting the pace. Thank you for your outstanding work!

I think I�m going to like it here.

More news on the kitty and family fronts, but I need to get moving. Rugrat needs to be ready for camp today and we need to pick up a birthday present and purple or orange t-shirt before we can leave for that.

Okay, I lied. Rugrat is getting her stuff together for camp, so I have some more time to sit back and think about stuff in relation to me.

If anyone has some spare good thoughts, send them toward my mom. She wasn�t feeling well this week and has gone in to have some tests run to determine what is causing the issue. From what I�ve been told, it shouldn�t be anything major, but I�d like to have that determined quickly and have her feeling better soon.

I�m also in the process of adopting two new cats. The boys are about 2 years old and are coming from a loving home, where their owner just can�t give them the attention he feels they deserve. I�ve never been through an interview before to adopt a cat, but I can understand him wanting to be absolutely sure they are going to the right home. It is obvious he really cares for them. I feel like I�m waiting for a social worker to ensure that my house is a good environment. Their owner will be coming by next week end to check out the living conditions. I doubt if he�ll have a problem, since my cats appear to be as spoiled as his.

Stormy & Bagel

Rugrat is back from camp. I picked her up Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, she appears to be tired out and isn�t feeling well at the moment. In a rare bout of talkativeness, she has admitted to enjoying the canoe camp I sent her too last year, although one of the counselors was (in her opinion) annoying. I�ll check into that for next year when summer camp sign up comes around.

Eve had her birthday party Friday night. The house is still here. It was fairly small, but a nice party all the same. I have a few pictures, but my camera is downstairs, so I�ll put those up later. Eve�s car decided to take a break on Thursday night, but thanks to a handy friend, the car is once again mobile. For those who would care about such things, to my knowledge, the water pump and serpentine belt needed replacing.

The weather for the past three days has been wonderful. The temperature has been in the 70�s, the skies have been blue with fluffy clouds and the winds have been rather gentle. This has definitely been good convertible weather. Yesterday, Rugrat and I went out to Fuquay to assist as part of the chase crew for a hot air balloon flight. Once the balloon was ready to take off, our job was to make sure we could see it, so that when it landed, we could find it. Getting a balloon ready to take off is not small matter. It took a little over half an hour to get everything ready and I definitely got my workout as part of the crew. Unfortunately, this was when Rugrat started feeling poorly and I don�t think she enjoyed herself much. Once the balloon was in the air, there really wasn�t any way for us to get back to my car so she had to tough it out until the flight was over, the balloon packed up and everyone back in the van to go to where the car was parked.

Rugrat � Strep Throat, cold stuff to drink and icky gargle medicine.
Blue � Slowing making progress with Omega. Neko is being more stubborn.
Bagel & Stormy � Haven�t heard back from their human, I�m beginning to wonder if he�s having second thoughts about giving them up at all. I completely understand having reservations, it would take a lot to get me to give mine up.
Reading � Just finished the third Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton (Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned). These are easy reads and addictive. If you are looking for an in-depth work of literary greatness, these aren�t the books, but I enjoyed them.
Softball - We had the semi-final game tonight and won. We'll play the finals next week.

Pictures from Eve�s birthday are now in the photo album. More pictures of Blue are in his album.

Blue�s ninja skills are growing by the day. His most recent exploits include the following learning experiences:

• His light fur blends better with the carpet on the stair than on the red couch
  
• If he hides in the corner of a step, he can pounce on the unsuspecting ankles of people walking down the stairs
  
• Under the TV, couches and dressers are great places to both stalk ankles AND hide from other angry cats
  
• Neko and Omega do not like to play tag my tail
  
• Neko hits and Omega eats his food
  
• Cushions and pillows that are leaning away from the couch make good hiding places
  
• When hiding under the covers, getting inside the duvet cover probably isn�t the best idea

The good - My doctor took my word for the fact that I was sick and most likely developing strep throat Had I not already known that I had been exposed to strep for a fact, the doctor probably would have said it was too soon to tell if I had caught a bad cold and needed to wait out the virus or if antibiotics were called for. Yeah antibiotics, getting on them yesterday should help me avoid feeling like death warmed over while driving up to Ohio.

The bad - If there was any doubt about whether or not I picked up strep, waking up this morning removed it. A person shouldn�t feel so many aches at one time as a result of sleeping. I won�t be sleeping much for the next week. I have a talent for manifesting the possible side effects associated antibiotics. For the last 5 years, my favorite antibiotic has been Biaxin. Possible side effects include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bad taste in mouth, indigestion, stomach pain or discomfort or headache. Other side effects listed with the warning CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE include emotional or mood changes, confusion, hallucinations, depression, nightmares and trouble sleeping. Like I said, Biaxin has been prescribed for me fairly regularly while I could live with the rare bout of nausea and vomiting, my favorite is the trouble sleeping.

Last night rather than sleeping and since I was WIDE awake, I read a The Lunatic Cafe and the first six chapters of Bloody Bones. Did I mention I started reading after midnight? One night down, nine to go.

It�ll be an interesting week since I won�t be sleeping much�

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of when I signed the papers and "bought" my first house. I guess I should get a move on and finish getting rid of the last of the boxes.

Mullets everywhere!

(Tomorrow - Escape from Mullet-hallow)

1. Note to self � red hair plus convertible on 500+ mile drive necessitates sunscreen (ouch)
2. Mom is home and seems to be feeling better. Check up with the doctor in 3 months
3. Haven�t heard anything from Bagel & Stormy�s keeper
4. Blue is one HYPER kitten
5. White kitten with a naturally occurring dark halo = demon spawn
6. I�m beginning to wonder if Eve has been run off by Blue
7. Lawn needs mowed before it is declared a wildlife preserve
8. Blue says: iuuuuu
9. Did someone get the license plate number of that bus?
10. Finished reading the eighth Anita Blade novel by Laurell K Hamilton
11. Sleep good

This is the first time I�ve touched a computer today and I haven�t checked my email or anything else. That makes today different from a usual Saturday.

I�ve gotten to the point that I�m beyond sick of it. Honestly, I have enough of it going on in my own mind that I don�t need everyone else�s as well. If you want my opinion or insight on something, to this point I�ve been happy to oblige, now I�m not so sure.

Some people seem to need drama in their lives, others work to avoid drama and I work to minimize drama.

RedJen�s drama minimization questions:
Where is the drama epicenter? What is the base issue/event behind the drama?
Is the drama serving a positive purpose? Are there unwanted side effects?
What is feeding the drama?
What part of the drama can be controlled? What can I control?

Often it appears that there is a single point of contention behind drama. Ro says, �Don�t paint the fence with these 3 paintbrushes (PbA, PbB and PbC).� Jo says, �I should be able to paint if I want to.� It may appear that Ro and Jo are at odds with each other, but their statements don�t have much in common.

Ro�s Statement: Don�t paint the fence with these 3 paintbrushes (PbA, PbB and PbC).
This statement does not say Jo cannot paint. Neither does it say that Jo cannot paint with PbA, PbB or PbC. Only when Jo wishes to use PbA, PbB or PbC to paint the fence, does there become an issue. If Jo wishes to paint a door, house or anything except for the fence, Ro has not said that Jo cannot use PbA, PbB or PbC.

So where is the drama? If Jo agrees to go along with Ro, but then decides to move specifically against Ro�s wishes, drama ensues.

My first questions for Jo are, �Why are you painting the fence? What is it that you get out of painting the fence with PbB?�

If Jo is painting the fence to test the paintbrush (PbB) or to see what color the paint dries, then why does Jo have to paint the fence? Would painting the door not allow Jo to test paintbrush and all see what color the paint dries?

If Jo is painting the fence because the fence needs painted, then why not use another paintbrush to paint the fence?

My point is that there are so many ways to compromise in this case that both Ro and Jo get what they want or need, that it seems a shame to place so much contention on something that really isn�t that much of an issue.

Thing I�m hating right now: Eve�s Sony Vile (Vaio) � the stupid thing can�t remember how to access its own CD-ROM drive. The pain in my ass is still there, although I just forced it to read the drive, so the tide has turned and I will win.

Good stuff:
* My manager sent the department home at noon today to start the holiday weekend early.
* The North Carolina Exotic Animal Show is this weekend. I want to go check out the exotic cat breeds.
* Blue is curled up with me and I should have time to take a nap while Eve�s laptop finishes the current scan.
* There are no big plans for the weekend. No weddings, no trips to Ohio, no bookclub meeting, nothing to do except sleep in late and relax.

Other:
Some new pictures are in the photo album, family shots (mostly my nephew) from my trip to Ohio and the sky on my way home earlier this week. The new pictures are in the Family and Summer 2004 albums.

A lot of sleep, a couple of naps, a quick dinner and over 24 hours later, the vile is back up and running. The operating system is current, over 300 pieces of spy-ware and 2 removed, a new anti-virus and firewall installed, and it can access the wireless network. I�m sure there�s something that will need tweaked, but I�m tired of messing with this thing for the weekend. Once I make sure it can do a smooth shut down and start, I�m putting it away and calling it done until Eve gets a chance to use it. If she finds anything that needs tweaked and tells me about it, I�ll check it out.

I've never met this guy, but I have the feeling we could sit down and be talking as if we met in grade school.

His article Living a life as a Myers Briggs INTJ, voices many of my own thoughts. It is nice to know that I'm not the only one...

Bush by numbers: Four years of double standards By Graydon Carter
03 September 2004

Giving a hand up to the advantaged

$10.9m Average wealth of the members of Bush's original 16-person cabinet.

75 Percentage of Americans unaffected by Bush's sweeping 2003 cuts in capital gains and dividends taxes.

$42,000 Average savings members of Bush's cabinet received in 2003 as a result of cuts in capital gains and dividends taxes.

10 Number of fellow members from the Yale secret society Skull and Bones that Bush has named to important positions (including the Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. and SEC chief Bill Donaldson).

79 Number of Bush's initial 189 appointees who also served in his father's administration.

George Bush: Tax cutter

87 Percentage of American families in April 2004 who say they have felt no benefit from Bush's tax cuts.

39 Percentage of tax cuts that will go to the top 1 per cent of American families when fully phased in.

49 Percentage of Americans in April 2004 who found that their taxes had actually gone up since Bush took office.

88 Percentage of American families who will save less than $100 on their 2006 federal taxes as a result of 2003 cut in capital gains and dividends taxes.

$30,858 Amount Bush himself saved in taxes in 2003.

Employment tsar

9.3m Number of US unemployed in April 2004.

2.3m Number of Americans who lost their jobs during first three Years of the Bush administration.

22m Number of jobs gained during Clinton's eight years in office.

Friend of the poor

34.6m Number of Americans living below the poverty line (1 in 8 of the population).

40 Percentage of wealth in the United States held by the richest 1 per cent of the population.

Security and Foreign Policy

1 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida.

104 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein.

$1m Estimated value of a painting the Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, received from Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and Bush family friend.

0 Number of times Bush mentioned Saudi Arabia in his three State of the Union addresses.

1,700 Percentage increase between 2001 and 2002 of Saudi Arabian spending on public relations in the United States.

79 Percentage of the 11 September hijackers who came from Saudi Arabia.

3 Number of 11 September hijackers whose entry visas came through special US-Saudi "Visa Express" programme.

140 Number of Saudis, including members of the Bin Laden family, evacuated from United States almost immediately after 11 September.

4 Rank of the United States among countries considered to be the greatest threats to world peace according to a 2003 Pew Global Attitudes study (Israel, Iran, and North Korea were considered more dangerous; Iraq was considered less dangerous).

43 Percentage of the entire world's military spending that the US spends on defence. (That was in 2002, the year before the invasion of Iraq.)

237 Minimum number of misleading statements on Iraq made by top Bush administration officials between 2002 and January 2004, according to the California Representative Henry Waxman.

10m Estimated number of people worldwide who took to the streets on 21 February 2003, in opposition to the invasion of Iraq, the largest simultaneous protest in world history.

2000 Year that Cheney said his policy as CEO of Halliburton oil services company was "we wouldn't do anything in Iraq".

$4.7bn Total value of contracts awarded to Halliburton in Iraq and Afghanistan.

$680m Estimated value of Iraq reconstruction contracts awarded to Bechtel.

$2.8bnValue of Bechtel Corp contracts in Iraq.

$120bn Amount the war and its aftermath are projected to cost for the 2004 fiscal year.

35 Number of countries to which the United States suspended military assistance after they failed to sign agreements giving Americans immunity from prosecution before the International Criminal Court.

92 Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2002.

60 Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2003.

55 Percentage of the Iraqi workforce who were unemployed before the war.

80 Percentage of the Iraqi workforce who are unemployed a Year after the war

A soldier's best friend

40,000 Number of soldiers in Iraq seven months after start of the war still without Interceptor vests, designed to stop a round from an AK-47.

$60m Estimated cost of outfitting those 40,000 soldiers with Interceptor vests.

George Bush: Military man

1972 Year that Bush walked away from his pilot duties in the Texas National Guard, Nearly two years before his six-year obligation was up.

$3,500 Reward a group of veterans offered in 2000 for anyone who could confirm Bush's Alabama guard service.

600-700 Number of guardsmen who were in Bush's unit during that period.

0 Number of guardsmen from that period who came forward with information about Bush's guard service.

Factors in his favour

69 Percentage of Americans who believed the White House's claims in September 2003 that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the 11 September attacks.

34 Percentage of Americans who believed in June 2003 that Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction" had been found.

22 Percentage of Americans who believed in May 2003 that Saddam had used his WMDs on US forces.

85 Percentage of American young adults who cannot find Afghanistan, Iraq, or Israel on a map.

11 Percentage of American young adults who cannot find the United States on a map.

30 Percentage of Americans who believe that "politics and government are too complicated to understand."

This is an edited extract from "What We've Lost", by Graydon Carter, published by Little Brown on 9 September

In one of the most annoying bits of SPAM to date, I got email today from me, to me with a subject of "Make her scream tonight. Details here 5s". Somehow I don't think I'm going to believe this is real.

Or so I was thinking earlier today as I was perusing through the blogs I follow. Then I realized that my blog has been quiet as well. So I guess I shouldn�t complain about something I�m not doing a good job of myself.

Lately most of what I�ve been reading has centered on politics and the weather. To be honest, I�m getting bored. In short � if you are eligible, vote. Make the world a better place and do something nice for someone else. If a category 4 hurricane is heading in your general area, you are in the wrong general area.

I got to tinker with things at work today. I�m working on putting together a server and application set together to replace a bunch of manual and tedious admin work. If it works as I suspect, it should say time and DASD, so real dollars saved and time saved at the same time. Double bonus for me, I get to be cool with very little work.

I have discovered that recounting my mishaps can be humorous to people without being threatening. If I run out of things this week, I may even put it here.

Much fun was had last night. It�ll probably take a few days before all the stories come out, but everything appears to be intact.

For those who didn�t attend, you missed the extremely rare occurrence of seeing Dragonfly and I both highly intoxicated. Some highlights include Karaoke, Twister, wrestling, torn clothing, Weird Al, squirrels hurling acorns, backrub torture, three man and the adorable Ninja Kitty. Next step, find my camera and get the pictures uploaded.

According to two horoscopes that were sent to for this week, this was apparently a very good weekend to have a party and I�m not about to argue.

Trust your instincts, and explore your impulses freely. Take care, however, that you're not crossing the line and endangering others.

Weekend Update: Jupiter�s entry into your solar fifth house of fabulous flirting and flamboyant fun makes Friday a personal turning point. You�re such a dreamy, responsive romantic this weekend. You drop everything unrelated to love, passion or creative expression, and concentrate all your energy on the truly good stuff. You also wax philosophical, and may go against accepted tradition. Because you have a different view of religion, politics and morality than the rest of the herd, you sometimes feel like the black sheep. This weekend, however, supports your unique views with growing evidence. You might actually get the last laugh, Gem. Saturday keeps you on your toes. Loads of preparation and last minute adjustments may seem somewhat disruptive, but also strangely invigorating. A financial matter turns in your favor. On Sunday, Mars moves into Libra, turning practically everything into a competition. This is not a bad thing, btw. In fact, it increases your passion and determination and creates plenty of interest and enthusiasm in nearly everything you do.

...are up from last night in the Triple Threat 2004 album.

Forgetting to take your medication can lead to a reverse hangover if the medication has withdrawal symptoms that mimic a hangover. When I woke up Sunday, I felt fine, but as the day went on, I started feeling achy, nauseous and developing a major headache. Funny, once I remembered that I hadn�t had my medication and took it, I started feeling better in 20 minutes.

Evites have gone out for the Halloween Party. If you suspect you were missed or if you've changed email addresses, let me or ShaeSin know.

I saw something last week that really bugged me. I saw a man deliberately run a truck into the side of a woman�s car, then proceed take a swing at the driver as he ripped a child out of the backseat. Because of this man�s actions, I saw 6 vehicles involved in a single person�s temper tantrum and the only thing that kept me from being one of the 6 was a single car length.

Had a nice walk outside tonight. I owe ShaeSin email, so Shae, I haven't forgotten, I'm just tired.

Tuesday � Got home from work and found two books I ordered from Amazon (Cerulean Sins & Incubus Dreams).
- Finished reading the book I had just started.
- Started reading CS
- 1:30 am - Notice odd chirping that is coming from outside my bedroom
- Finally determine sound is coming from a smoke detector in the hall with a low battery, but not before dismantling the one attached to the security system and setting off the alarm. (Poor Eve was asleep when this started.)
- Read some more CS
- Stopped reading after I�d finished half of CS and went to sleep at 3:00 am.

Wednesday � Got up at 6:45 am and went to the gym.
- Got home and started reading CS while waiting for the shower to get warm.
- Looked up half an hour later, stopped reading CS and took a shower.
- Got ready and went to work.
- Held a class to show my team how easy a new tool was. (Really, in order to have them believe they were going to learn something, I scheduled 4 hours, because they wouldn�t believe it would only take 1 hour.)
- Met my former officemate and her family for a walk around one of the local lakes, where I was very good and kept my complaints about how her husband was ignoring the whiny kids and leaving her to deal with them on her own. He went so far as to walk on without them, as if he wasn�t a part of their group. (Must control fist of death)
- Watched CSI: New York
- Continued reading CS.
- Finished reading CS at 1:00am and went to sleep.

Thursday � Got up and did the work thing
- As I was leaving work at 7:30 pm, I called ShaeSin at work to see if she wanted to veg out to CSI and Without a Trace together.
- Got home, collected Blue, left to go through Chic-fil-A and meet ShaeSin
- Chat, food, TV, play with kitties (King, Mona, Felicity and Blue)
- Go home, go to sleep.

Tater Salad Saturday!

Well, it�s only 10:00 and so far I�ve managed to blow away the operating system on my personal computer. Luckily I brought my laptop home from work or I�m not sure I�d be sane right now. (insert lots of grumbling noises) The (censor) stupid file corrupted. So there go all the files, but on the up side, it�ll be a clean install.

I�m torn about what I want to talk about. I�ve been avoiding something that�s been on my mind most of the week, because I�m not sure whether or not I really want to put it out there for the rest of the world. The one thing I�m not worried about with this is that it has nothing to do with anyone other than me. As far as collateral fallout is concerned the topic should be safe, unless someone forgets that this is about me and not anyone else.

The number on the scale is at a point that I�m not happy with. The funny thing is that as far as things go, I�m feeling really good about myself in spite of what the scale says. Actually the fact that I didn�t get upset about the scale was a surprise to me. I guess this means my self-image isn�t completely wrapped up in the numbers.

I had some fun today and made these for�

ShaeSin:

Dominion:

Desufnoc:

And Me:

Well, this is entry 600 for my journal. To be honest, I didn�t expect that I�d do such a good job of keeping up with things when I started out. I�ve tried keeping a paper journal before, but always got to a point where I stopped. Anyway, yes, there is a lot of drama coming to light in my immediate area, but it isn�t mine and unless it escalates to a point where staying out of it is worse than acting as the referee, I�ll be over here.

I�m not sure how many people who know me from actually interacting with me read this. For those who do, I have a quick reminder:

In order for me to dislike you, I either must have liked you at some point or you�ve hurt someone I care about. If you never fell into one of these two categories, I may be aware that you exist, but you don�t affect my life. If you don�t affect my life, then as long as you operate within the laws of the land and generally polite society, feel free to live your life as you see fit, I honestly won�t care one way or the other.

If you fall into the category of people who do have a direct affect on my life, then you may have noticed that I tend to be aware of things that other people miss. I still would like to see you live within the laws of the land, but I also want what is best for you. I�m not going to tell you how to live your life, but realize I�m aware.

There is a lot of stuff going on around me, but it isn�t about me. I may talk about it later, when it isn�t so fresh to the people involved, but right now they need to deal with things without me creating a public announcement of my take on things. (This would be me staying out of things.)

I woke up last night with a migraine, luckily I remembered where I�d put my medicine and was able to get to it without breaking anything. I think I�d been building up to this headache for the last week. I�m hoping that taking it easy today will be enough to recover from it. I spent today feeling like I went on a real bender last night. If I�m going to feel hung-over, I�d really like to have the fun involved with getting to that point. If I have to suffer the punishment, I�d really like the opportunity to actually do the crime.

Off to sleep, hopefully I won�t wake Eve up screaming in pain. I almost did last night, but caught myself in time.

Current frustration: Young does not have to equal stupid, but sometimes it seems that way.

Dangers lurk around each and every corner, but you can avoid them if you simply take the time to plan ahead. Expect the unexpected.

---
And this differs from every other day how?

Things are getting interesting around me. Halloween is almost here. Saturday night we�ll celebrate a little early on All Hallows Eve-Eve. It should be a great night, the weather is supposed to warm up into the mid-70�s toward the end of the week, plus we�ll also be gaining out Daylight Saving Time hour that night.

Blue spent today at the vet�s office. I was really wondering what they were planning on doing while he was under sedation, when I set up the appointment the tech told me they would want to keep him overnight. When I took Brewster in to be neutered, they vet let him come home that same afternoon. Heck, when I took Neko in, they took her girl parts AND her leg at the same time. They let her come home that day. Well, it turns out the tech was smoking something herbal, because the girl who took care of Blue this morning told me to call in around noon if I wanted to check on him and that I�d be able to take him home in the afternoon. So he�s home, although he apparently doesn�t metabolize sedatives very quickly. He�s still walking with a bit of a sideways slant. Poor baby�

There is something big going on at work. Right now I�m under orders to keep it under wraps, so I�m not going into any details here yet. As soon as I can, I�ll let the rest of the world in on it.

There were a few bright spots amid the drama Saturday night. Those were marked by seeing special people that I�ve missed. Drix, Morgan, Rob E., Clif, Jeff and Veleda, thanks for the great hugs!

While there are a lot of very vocal people who have expressed extreme dismay at the overall election results, there are some very positive things that happened on election day.

Over half the people eligible to vote did. This led to the highest voter turnout since 1968. People are getting involved and getting aware of what is going on in the world around them.

Am I happy with all the election results? No, but I didn�t go into Election Day expecting the Presidential Candidate I voted for to win. Yes, I voted for Nader and I�m hopeful that the renewed awareness and interest in the politics that surround our daily lives continues.

The good: on Monday, less than 6 months after being told I wasn�t a good fit for the corporation, my new manager announced that I was stepping up as the team lead of for the team I joined in June. The people I expected to have issues with me being named the lead have been supportive.

I feel good about the change, I have gotten really good feedback from people outside my team as well on the change. Fixing things is one of the things I do best (ask just about anyone). I�m excited to move forward and there appears to be a cheering squad who are liking what they are seeing.

Oh and to my former asshole manager � na-na-na-na-na-na!

Success is the best revenge. Just wait until the newsletter with the announcement comes out�

Eve is making plans to move out. Some of the reasons she told me make perfect sense for a 20-year-old, others make a lot of sense in general and were ones that I was planning on discussing with her myself. Her reasons include that she wants to be more independent and eliminate drama from our relationship. I agree that her moving out will do that, since it will very effectively buffer our personal lives. Looking at things without emotion, I am the lynchpin that connects two otherwise disjoint worlds. If she no longer lives with me, then those worlds again become disjoint and therefore able to coexist. On the positive side, she has been able to move out of her parents� home and is establishing herself as an individual. Her choice to move out is a very adult one and I wish her all the best. She�s 20, so by definition, she has some more growing up to do.

Yeah, raking my lawn didn�t happen. I was going to do it on Saturday, then I was going to do it this afternoon and it still didn�t happen.

Hey Shae, would you be interested in trading some manual labor (i.e. the Distracted) for expert supervision of your pet door installation? I�m willing to do the work, but I can�t seem to get motivated to actually get started.

On the up side, crunching leaves make an extra alarm system for the house, but I should probably get started with the raking before the house gets buried.

I knew my cardio fitness wasn�t where it should be, but this sucks. With my contract with the fitness studio getting set to end this month, I joined the gym where ShaeSin has a membership. The logic behind this is that it is actually cheaper to pay the monthly fees for the entire membership, than it would be to add group classes to the cost of the fitness studio. Since the reason behind me going to the studio is that in order to be consistent with working out, I either need an appointment or a partner and I didn't have a partner.

Anyway, kick-boxing is kicking my butt and I�m not throwing full punches! It has been a long time since I�ve had a workout so hard that I felt sick when it was over.

Veteran's Day: Because freedom isn't free.

I made the banner using MS Paint and MS Word. This is a very simple banner, so here is what I did to make it using Windows:

1. Open MS Paint and create a new image that is the dimensions you want.
   
2. Find the base image for your banner. In this case it was the graphic of the girl.
   
3. Copy it into you clipboard
   
4. Paste the graphic onto the open image in MS Paint. Do not let MS Paint increase the size, have it shrink the image you are pasting.
   
5. Rotate the image in MS Paint by 180 degrees.
   
6. Paste the same image into the MS Paint image. You should not have the two flipped ends.
   
7. Save you banner, but don�t worry about closing MS Paint you aren�t done yet.
   
8. Open MS Word or some other word-processing application that has cool fonts. Type the text you want on you banner and get it to the approximate size you need as well.
   
9. Do a Ctrl + PrtSc (Control and PrintScreen) this will snapshot your entire active desktop into you clipboard.
   
10. Go to MS Paint create a new image, it doesn�t matter what size it is.
    
11. Paste you desktop into the image, this time let it increase the size of the image.
    
12. Click the top button on the left of the icons for MS Paint (mine looks like a squiggle).
    
13. Click on the button directly to the right of the top left button.
    
14. On the image, go highlight the part you want to use in your banner. Try to get as little extra stuff as possible. You don�t want a lot of extra white space.
    
15. From the file menu, do an edit copy.
    
16. Open you half done banner. Don�t worry if you have to close the image of your desktop to do this.
    
17. Paste the text/image from your desktop onto the banner and position it where you would like it. Press your enter key and then save you banner.

Step away from the BE crack-pipe! I�m neglecting my own writing due to spending time surfing other people�s blogs. I�ve found some really interesting blogs through BE, it is like an insane webring with fewer broken links. If you haven�t played on BE, you may enjoy surfing through.

Caution: Surf at your own risk!

Need a good web host? Check out iPowerWeb, I absolutely LOVE these people. They even answer the phone when you call customer service!

All day Wednesday was spent bopping around and making sure people participated in the event that was held by our area management at work. The DJ was beyond corny, but fun. The only real issue I had with him was that apparently he doesn�t know who Jimmy Buffett (Buf-et) is and kept calling him Jimmy Boo-fae. I wanted to ask him where the table was and exactly what was being served in the buffet line. Overall it was a lot of fun.

Today has been one meeting after another. Luckily they�ll all ended early so I�ve actually gotten a chance to sit down and get some work done at my desk in between things. I spent last night putting together plans for one of my projects as a favor to one of the other leads. Part of that was because his area is going to be working tomorrow, when mine was given the day off and I didn�t want him to be waiting on me when I got into work on Monday.

Tonight is a party that is being put on by work. I�m not sure how it will go or what it will be like. This is my first work event of this kind, plus being relatively new to the area I�m working in, there won�t be a lot of people there that I�ll know. This is definitely a night to remember to pack the Advil.

A few observations:
I�m really happy with the guys at the Sprint PCS Store right now. (There�s a story here that I�ll get into later.)
Six prepared cake mixes are REALLY heavy.
It�s good to have friends who are willing to go to events as your plus one.

Following some goal setting advice that ShaeSin has been working with, I�ve set 3 goals for myself. They are financial, physical and career goals, one of each.

Goal #1: $0 in credit card debt
Goal #2: 8% (or higher) pay raise in 2005
Goal #3: Fit into size 10 pants

Call me slightly more paranoid, but I�m not going to post specific numbers as far as the credit card debt or my weight is concerned.

I�ve started making strides toward Goal #1.
- I�ve met with a financial adviser, who assessed my finances.
- I�ve sold off certain eligible assets.
- I�ve given up my personal trainer and joined a gym instead. The gym isn�t cheap, but it is $150 less than my trainer per month.

So always moving forward...

Last night I spent an extended amount of time at the office. The thing is that I wasn�t working on my normal work. I was playing reporter of the department�s quarterly newsletter. For the last two quarters, my appearance in the newsletter has been a cause of slight tension. The last one had me pointed out for special recognition. This time I had to write the article for my team, which included the information that I am now the team lead. I actually had three articles to write up, covering nine different things and after writing up all the others, I struggled for close to an hour trying to find a way to write up that last one in a way that would not be perceived as condescending or belittling to the former lead who now reports through me. I got to the point where I was ready to beg someone else to write that part for me, but everyone else had already left for the evening and I had promised to finish the articles before the next day. I finally caved and called my manager to get some help. Her advice was to state it as simply as possible and not try to go into any details of why the change happened, only that it did. So my struggle came down to a single sentence saying there was a change and I was now the lead. Short, simple and hopefully not causing any waves from my team.

It is back to just me and small furry critters.

Well, the last minute scramble is on for the holiday. There isn't much time left before it is off we go. I'm curious about how things will work out. I'm not sure how much Pepper will like having his place invaded by two kittens, although I'm sure Blue and Toby will enjoy tormenting Pepper while we're there.

The laptop install has been going along. It turned into a double laptop install, rather than a single one and I lost some of my data when one of the harddrives crashed, thus the second install. I'm about 90% done with both of them.

I didn't manage to get to the gym yesterday morning, so ShaeSin was on her own. I'm very proud of her for making it when I didn't, especially since I was snuggled up warm and sleeping when she went. I did however make it to the gym this morning. That crazy woman was there on the bike again. Luckily I was 2 bikes away...

Off to prepare to invade the family...

Here is your horoscope for Friday, December 24:

Peace on earth feels like a reality to you. If the losers will listen to you, they'll understand how they're winners, too. While you're saving the world, don't forget that your loved ones want quality time with you, too.

I took 0mega to the vet this morning for her yearly check up. The vet gave her a clean bill of health with the exception for needing some dental. I�ll take her back in tomorrow morning to have two teeth pulled. One of them is broken and the other has a cavity that was described as a canker lesion, which the vet said is very painful. I know she isn�t going to be happy about going back tomorrow, but if the tooth stops hurting her, she should feel better.

It would seem that my mom has high hopes that I�ll finish putting curtains up in the house. She�ll be happy to know, I put up sets in the kitchen and living room. Here you go mom, curtains in the window:

May the new year bring you health and happiness.

I broke the news about Neko this morning to my friend that was responsible for me bringing her back to North Carolina from Ohio.

After she told her mom about Neko, she came back online and said, "Mom wants to know if we can mail you another one that we found recently. My mom was serious about mailing you a new one. We think it's a girl maybe 3 or 4 months old and whiney. Prissy (her cat) hates her because she has run into the house a few times. She's little, grayish/black and white and very cute. Want me to Fed Ex her to you?"

So now running through my head is a kitten smuggling ring running from Ohio to North Carolina. How many kittens can you fit into a single Fed Ex box and just what are they willing to pay Prissy to escape from the harsh winter in Ohio for a chance at a new life in North Carolina. As soon as word gets out will Prissy start taking bribes? Will there be cats lined up outside their house ready to make a dash for a chance to be shipped to my porch?

I think I did manage to dissuade them from exporting kittens to me using Fed Ex, but only because I pointed out that I don�t think Fed Ex would be real happy with the idea.

That was a close one. I came really close to being the last stop on a feline version of the Underground Railroad.

Notes: A few things before anyone gets their knickers in a twist. Yes, I do know what the Underground Railroad was and I think that the conductors were some of the bravest people who lived at that time. No, I�m not saying that this is in any way the same thing, but that was the first thought that came to my mind. That thought was followed closely by a box sitting in the back of a beat up old truck under a tarp filled with Mexican hairless cats smoking cigarettes and playing poker as the truck inches across the border.

I'm falling apart fast here at work today. I think my body is about to give up the fight and put me into bed for the next few days. If nothing else, I may have to work from home so that the people in the office don�t have to listen to me cough all day long�

It would appear that this week is going straight down the crapper. I�d suggest skipping this entry, because it is boring and completely uninspired.

I will not be spending extra energy to keep track of information that does not pertain to me.

I'm spending the first half of this week in class for work. Today we took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator profile. I'm interested to see what comes of the information. According to my results, my previous typing has been accurate, although I had not realized how much my Sensing/iNtuition score played into things. Generally you expect that your extreme scores are the ones that drive the definition of your personality and that is true. It would seem that my 50/50 split of using my physical senses and my intuition can explain why some people baffle me. This is the trait represents how people deal with things in their environment. Apparently people are either focused on now (details) or they focus on the future (big picture).

Extroverts � aren't always trying to be the "center of attention", a lot of the time they are just trying to get interaction.
Introverts - often assume that Extroverts just want attention.

Sensors - gather information using their five senses.
iNtuitors - gather information using their intuition "sixth" sense.

Feelers � would rather draw straws to avoid having anyone disappointed by their actions.
Thinkers � would like to strangle Feelers for suggesting people draw straws instead of using logic and reason.

Perceivers � aren't fond of schedules.
Judgers � like schedules and getting things done.

Let's ignore the fact that it rarely takes more than 20 minutes for me to get home from work and today it took well over an hour. Right before I managed to get to my street, I saw an accident that was composed of 15 cars, vans and trucks AND two school buses. The radio was reporting accidents all over the place, including a case where 2 18-wheelers were sideways and blocking each side of one of the state highways.

I consider myself lucky that I didn't get into any accidents. My car is definitely NOT built for driving on ice. I've never before been driving up a hill sideways.

Anyway, the car is in the garage, the driveway shoveled and treated with a de-icer. All I can do now is wait. According to news, there are still thousands of people stuck on the roads and kids stranded at their schools.

After being late to take the final test, choosing not to study last night and completely missing the "review" session, I took the exam in 15 minutes and only missed one question out of twenty-five. Not bad when you factor in that there were people who missed 6 and 7 questions after studying and being there with for the review...

I hereby admit that I�ve spent the day being torn between doing what needs to be done, what I�ve been planning to do for some time and absolutely nothing.

I need to do my routine cleaning and sort through the mail. I�ve been planning on writing up the introduction of Eve for the Naked Justice Squad (her Official NJS name is Evolutionary Upgrade). I�ve ended up mostly doing absolutely nothing. I have been saved from a complete absence of accomplishment today by ShaeSin�s impulsive deletion of files on her website.

Alive & kicking, just VERY busy with work at work and at home. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I've been able to get to the gym every morning this week.

Rocking back and forth during your interview is bad. While this may make you feel better, it leaves a negative impression on the person with whom you are talking.

If you are going to lie, at least avoid the obvious. I may make a habit of assuming the best in people, but even I�m going to be suspicious of someone with a Masters degree in an engineering field who says their ideal job would be data entry and data administration.

If you don�t care whether or not you have a job, don�t bother me.

It is a seller�s market as far as jobs are concerned. Beyond giving the candidate an honest representation of the work they would be doing, if there is any selling going on, it is from the candidate.

Desperate is not attractive.

I've been playing geek this weekend and tweaking tiny things on my blog. It amuses me and doesn't involve actually breaking anything. Pretty much it came down to doing this or alphabetizing M&M's.

That�s two interviews down, six or less left to go for this position. I wonder if this will follow that same pattern as the previous set, where the first candidate sets the bar and the rest are compared to it. I�ve found that in the case where you really only need to find the one you like best out of a group that if you start with two objects, keep the one you like and toss the other. Grab another object and repeat. One time through the pile and you�re done.

The interviews are over. In the end, there were two candidates I REALLY liked. Both could do the job, in fact everyone I interviewed could do the job. The two that stood out each had something I would love to add to the team. One I could learn a lot from and the other had a zeal that I can't describe. I didn't pick the one I could learn from, after chatting with my team about generalities, it was clear to me that the right choice in this case was the other. If I had a second position, I'd offer it to the other in a heartbeat. I hope I can convey that to the ones I didn't select.

Actually there was a third candidate that I liked as well, but I didn't think it would be fair to have two people who think like me on the team. In most cases, one of me is enough for anyone.

In an interesting twist, the candidate that I chose based on who I thought would add the most to the team as a whole has become ineligible. I don�t know why and I don�t intend to dig into what has changed in the last 24 hours. This means that I made my decision based on what was best of the team, but I�m going to get the candidate that I feel that I will be able to learn the most from. Nothing like doing the right things and getting your way after all.

I admitted to myself yesterday that I�ve been completely stressed out about getting my taxes done this year. After being very much short two years ago, I�ve been a bit gun-shy when it came to doing my taxes. Last year things were better with the house and all, but with pay property taxes on the house and all, I was terrified of ending up with a bill I couldn�t afford to pay. Thanks to the gods of TurboTax, I now know that isn�t going to happen.

We now return you to our standard stress level.

Today I spent the first part of the morning taking a conference call on my office phone, while answering questions on my cell phone. In creeps annoyance to press the buttons of my already stressed team. Why annoyance? Well, the problem has duplicated itself fairly regularly and could be avoided if a single person was either a bit more attentive to what she was looking at OR if she used one more of the search criteria at her disposal. Vague enough? So finish up the conference call while contacting my tool developer to try and get him to add one more function to the next update, which would prevent the annoyance from occurring. No dice yet, we can�t get a hold of the culprit to get them to admit that it is okay to make the change.

Lots of mind numbing data entry, followed by a really good brainstorming session and the discovery that there is a configuration and options guide that no one bothered to tell me why it was important. That�s a nice bit of news that I�ll be using to its full advantage.

Dinner with Shae and Roar, followed by quality time with my fur covered friends.

The kittens are going nuts this morning.

Ruffles are okay, but what I just saw is too much. Moderation people, moderation!

My cats say the same thing...

Observation: mid/lower back tattoos are the equivalent to continuous abdominal work.

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your girlfriends," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that "girlfriends" are not only your friends, but your sisters, your daughters, and other relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice,' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! - a grownup, Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother; she kept contact with her girlfriends and made more each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, girlfriends are the mainstays of her life. After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

Times passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Love waxes and wanes.
Hearts break.
Careers end.
Jobs come and go.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Men don't call when they say they will

BUT girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out. My mother, sister, sister-in-law, "sisters", extended family, and friends bless my life! The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I.

So here I am sitting at the office on Friday evening. I work first shift, so this means I�m at work late for a Friday. I hadn�t even thought about updating my journal, but then I saw that Dragonfly had left a note on Dominion�s journal, which triggered a memory that she�ll worry about me if I�m absent for more than a couple of days at a time. Since I haven�t been signing online much in the evenings, I figured I�d take this bit of time to say �Hello�. I�m waiting for a test to finish running on the hard drive of what should be my new laptop for work, assuming it works. I�m not real fond of hard drive errors, so I�ll see how well the test runs before I make any final decisions.

My week:

It�s been a long week and I�m tired, but for the most part it�s been a decent week. There was a lot of new stuff in the office on Monday. One new team member finally got settled in his new location with the team. Another new team member started working with us. I have a third new person starting with the team on Monday, so there is that to prepare for.

Tuesday found me out of the office all afternoon. It was a nice change, although the nap I had envisioned didn�t happen. I did however get to spend some time with Shae and Dragonfly, although I had to stalk them at their office in order to do it.

Wednesday my department was supposed to go ice-skating and my team was supposed to go as well. We weren�t very good and my entire team ended up staying in the office and working instead. I guess this means I�m going to have to set up an outing for us that we actually go through with to get them out of the office.

Thursday starting out as a sprint and didn�t let up for the entire day. I started the day in a meeting where I had to explain why what my immediate organization does is vital to the company. I think I was successful, but whether or not this person actually takes that information and conveys it accurately is another thing all together. Bottom line is that the business we are in relies on repeat customers and high volumes of sales in order to make a profit, which is not the same model that the person we spoke with is familiar with. By the time I got home, I was tired of looking at a computer screen, but I had promised my brother that I�d send him information on how to network two computers together using a single internet connection for both of them. Translation: sign on to computer at home, quickly find and send information, sign off and go to sleep. In fact, I�ve gone to sleep early more nights than not this week.

Normally I don�t get to bed until after 11, but this week has been different. You�d think that since I�d been getting to bed early that I�d have no trouble getting to the gym, but you�d be wrong. Most of my exercise this week has been from running between meetings among different building at work. Don�t get me wrong, that�s still exercise. Lucky me actually made my 10,000 step goal in heels yesterday.

Well, my new laptop has decided that it requires more attention than I�m willing to give it tonight, so it is time to pack it up and take it home. Does setting up a laptop for work count as working on the weekend if you enjoy playing with techie stuff? In this case I�m going to have to say yes, since I�m not inclined to do much in the way of work right now. Time to head for home�

Dear Jennifer, Here is your horoscope for Saturday, February 19:

Take a look around your place when you get up this morning. If there's anything about it you're not especially delighted with, why not take steps to correct it? Wouldn't redecorating be fun?

(Um, okay I get the hint...)

Thanks to Shae coming over and keeping me distracted, my closet has been put in order. Picture (proof) to follow.

Last year Special Clif gave me City of Heroes for my birthday. I didn't get to play because my computers didn't have powerful enough graphics cards. I now have a new laptop and started to play on Monday.

I'm having fun. Now I have to go to sleep so that I can go to work in the morning.

Nothing really to say, so I won't, I wanted to note the anniversary.

[Sometimes you just have to go "Damn!"]

Once again, you'll have to find a happy medium between someone's extreme pessimism and your eagerness to make changes. Fortunately, you're the most cerebral sign out there, so the decision you make will be an intelligent, well-informed one.

Monday: got into work just before 9, left work about 12 hours later.

Tuesday: again made it into work about 9, although this time I left at 8. What made me leave? I had a volleyball game that I was late for. My team of guys is pretty cool. I was in meetings and conference calls from 10 until 3, so they picked up lunch for me.

(Are we seeing a pattern? My friend�s mother isn�t doing well and his trip out of the country has been moved up to next week, so I�m trying to help him get all his things knocked out by the end of the week to relieve some of the stress for him.)

Wednesday: Working 9 to 9, although the last couple hours included a lot of laughing.

Thursday: I�m wondering if I can skip today, but knowing that I can�t. It is time to get moving and out the door. I have a volleyball game again tonight at 6, so I may make it home early tonight.

Today I stayed home and worked in my PJs. Amazing how much I got done once I actually got to work without interruptions every 5 minutes...

Nate was right, Pope John Paul I died after only 34 days as the Pontiff.

Imagine this...

The medical field has recently becoming more open to the idea that since our body's chemistry isn't static (it cycles, especially in women), the medicines taken to adjust body chemistry should perhaps also be altered to adjust for these changes.

Evidently the clue fairy has been making house calls.

"BRING ME ALL YOUR FLOWERS NOW"

I would rather have a single rose
From the garden of a friend,
Than have the choicest flowers,
When my stay on earth must end.

I would rather have the kindest words
Which may now be said to me,
Than flattered when my heart is still-
And this life has ceased to be.

I would rather have a loving smile
From the friends I know are true,
Than tears shed 'round my casket,
When this world I've bade adieu!

Bring me all your flowers,
Whether pink, or white, or red.
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truck load when I'm dead!

-R.D. RICHARDS

The Rose

Some say love, it is a river,
That drowns the tender reed;
Some say love, it is a razor,
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
And endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you it's only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes a chance.
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
Or the road has been too long,
Then it seems that love is only
For the lucky and the strong.
Just remember, in the winter,
Far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed that with the sun's love,
In the spring becomes the rose.

- Amanda McBroom, recorded by Bette Midler

The weekend was busy. My house is a wreck. I'm worn out. It was nice to see them, but now I need a vacation.

Woke up to my neighbor knocking on the door to let me know that my yard was a swamp. I turned the water to the house off at the shutoff valve and called for a plumber. It could be much worse, it is a busted pipe, but it can be replaced and nothing has to be torn apart.

1. When your internal dialogue gets hijacked by your concerns about what your readers will think, you may have burnout.
2. When you are afraid to write down what you are truly thinking about at that moment.
3. When you believe the lie that some people just aren�t capable of good writing.
4. When you believe the lie that there is a certain way that you "should" write anything.
5. When you get more involved in punctuation, spelling, or aesthetics than saying what you want to say.
6. When you get caught up in traffic, hits, popularity, readers, and/or fame.
7. When you believe the lie that what you think doesn�t matter.
8. When you believe the lie that what you�re about to say has been said before and/or written down better.
9. When you forget that most ideas can be expressed in less than 15 minutes.
10. When you don�t set aside a little bit of time each day to update your blog.

If your blog feels more like a "have to" instead of a "get to" you�re writing about the wrong things.

I'm still debating whether or not I cheated on my entries for the 2nd half of last week. I wrote, found or planned them on the dates they are posted, but I didn't actually post them until later. In my defense, I just did a complete site backup and I'm getting ready to upgrade the level of MovableType that I use to generate 99% of the content. I also finally got tired of people using my Guestbook to try and steal traffic, so I've converted that to MT as well.

Dear Intervention Group � I have an appointment to see a Dermatologist tomorrow morning.

Skin - has similarities to acne and psoriasis, but isn�t either. Doctor says can be taken care of with some time and treatment. Apparently I�ve had it for quite some time, but the time I spent as a lifeguard helped keep it in check. That is because sun exposure is one of the ways to treat it. Having a desk job for the last 8 years has kept me out of the sunshine and let it get more obvious.

Friday � I get to meet my long distance IM/email friend. We�ve never met, but spent a good amount of time chatting online and through email. I have to admit, I�m looking forward to putting a face and voice to the name and words.

ShaeSin & Dragonfly - actually managed to talk to both of them within a single 24 hour period. Trust me, with the schedules we're on, this was impressive.

Seek out a new friend with similar interests to yours. Certain activities are always more fun with someone special by your side.

(Glad I didn't see this until now...)

New photos coming, but not until I get back on a high speed connection.

I'm fine, which is to say I won't be hurting myself or anyone else and while I did go to the mall, I have not spent myself into the poor house. This is just a bad day. I'll be back tomorrow evening.

I'm sitting the in airport making site updates. Hopefully all the flights will be on time today...

In yesterday's entry, "little one" is the part of me that wants something that I've wanted for as long as I can remember. I've let that part of myself remain open to being hurt and it has happened over and over again.

Evidently, if one plane is late in this airport, all flights are late in this airport. We'll be getting in about 2 hours later than we were supposed to because our original connecting flight will be leaving 10 minutes before we land in Dallas.

...time to sleep.

Later all...

Friday night was just what I needed. I got to spend real quality time talking with the girls. It still seems almost surreal that I have "girls".

I have put David's Bridal on my personal form of probation. When you go to as much trouble as I did to keep a specific piece of information from someone in order to do something special for someone, it sucks when the people who are supposed to be helping let the cat out of the bag. They are supposed to be bringing people's dreams to life and such. If I want to play fairy godmother, they shouldn't be screwing it up.

Oh yeah, if the person responsible for the fortune cookie that arrived with the Chinese food last night would fess up, that would be nice. Unless someone was taping Friday night, I'm not sure how else this ended up at my house.

"You have the rare ability to recognize ability in others."

Um, take out the word rare and change the tense of the sentence and I'm fairly sure I said that Friday night.

...of something to write about today. I was driving into the office and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then I lost it...

I think I blinked, it can't be July already...

(In completely useless happenings, my superhero reached level 30 in City of Heros.)

I woke up this morning, stretched out as far as I could and them stretched my back before opening my eyes. My first thought wasn�t whether I was safe nor was it to wonder if I�d be able to get a shower and a meal before the day was over.

So today I�m thinking of the people who don�t know what it is to wake in the quiet without fear.

I woke up this morning to news of explosions in London. So far the news has two people listed as dead and more injured. I haven't heard the word terrorist at this point, but I assume it is only a matter of time before that is brought into the picture. Correction: Tony Blair has just stated that it is "reasonable clear" that London is dealing with a series of coordinated terrorist attacks.

I�m not sure who is advising the attackers, but they may be a few grains of sand short of a sandcastle. Even if these are not related to the ones against the US on 9/11, this is a stupid idea. After Afghanistan was bombed following 9/11, considering that the UK is the most vocal supporter of the US, I would think any attack would be made against a group less inclined to get support from the US.

Tonight I plan on going to bed as early as possible and falling into an exhaustion induced coma. I'm still here and I have stuff to say, but there aren't enough hours in a day right now, be prepared for the novel.

Bantam Spectra (US) will publish A Feast for Crows on November 8, 2005

HarperCollins Voyager (UK) will pusblish A Feast for Crows on October 17, 2005

I seem to have lost the links on my calendar. I should probably figure out what's going on with that...

Part 2
Or maybe the site was just tring to tell me that it was time to update. I'm not sure which, but they seem to be back now.

Work is cool, got a nice "good job" yesterday from a VP who didn't actually know it was me he was talking about at the time. During April, we had a huge project with an end of the month deadline. It is common knowledge that the details of the project were not finalized early enough to allow for the work to get easily managed. When the details were hammered out, the bulk of the work came down to my team. Since everyone else was swamped and I was working "special projects", I took on the task of getting everything done. According to this VP, the transition is being talked about as a huge success and that someone pulled off a miracle to make it happen. Imagine my surprise and glee at being able to tell him that I appreciated good tidings, as I hadn't gotten that feedback. (Insert huge mental "YES" going off in my head.)

Most call that going out on a high note. Now I'm off to the beach for a mid-week escape.

Until 11:59 PM on Sunday, North Carolina is under a sales tax holiday. Most clothing (<$100), school supplies, athletic equipment (<$50) and computers (<$3500) can be purchased without sales tax.

Specifics are defined by the NC Department of Revenue.

Lady of the Seasons charity poker tournament
Deadlines (Personal & Work)
The Favored Daughter

NEW DATE - SATURDAY AUGUST 27TH

On August 27th there will be poker in the house. (Edited - old date August 28th)

1) The game is Texas-hold-em and not 5-card-draw, so no one starts betting with a full house.

2) I will not be playing poker that day, because the event is being held at my house and run by me (with my beautiful assistant Dominion) and playing would be a conflict of interests.

This means that Desufnoc need not worry that I will be holding pocket aces every time the cards are dealt. If the Devine decides to shine some miracle mojo on someone, it will not be anyone directly involved in Lady of the Seasons.

Some of you may be wondering, �How will Lady of the Seasons benefit from this fundraiser?�

I am currently working to define a tournament placement and prize awarded structure. The �rules� that I am defining the structure under are as follows:

1) No less than 50% of the entry fees shall be given back to participants as prizes.
2) Lady of the Seasons will be given at least as much as the tournament�s overall winner.
3) Any unspent money earmarked to cover tournament costs gets added to Lady of the Seasons.
4) Assuming that a minimum of 20 people participate, the smallest prize awarded will not be less than the original entry fee.

I�m trying to decide whether to make the entry donation $10 or $20. Obviously $10 is easier for people to come up with, but $20 makes for a better overall donation to Lady of the Seasons and better prizes.

Math follows based on a $10 entry, for $20 results, multiply by 2.

September started out on a really good note for me yesterday. I’m not sure how much fun Dominion had for his birthday, but it was a great day for me.

Since I moved divisions last summer, the biggest frustration in my long term career goals has been that while I do great work, networking is not the most natural activity for me. Changing divisions meant that I would have to work to build up my professional reputation in the new area. The reason this is so important is that promotions are highly competitive and unless you have backing from management outside your direct reporting structure, hard to come by. I spent almost 8 years in the other division and knew people throughout. Changing meant starting over from scratch, but was a better option than staying and letting a jerk use me for his personal gain.

That probably seems like an odd tangent to go on to everyone. Keep going, hopefully all will be clear soon.

Yesterday, the following occurred:

The restructuring of departments that I’ve been expecting for close to a year happened. My department was huge and had two very separate purposes. While I really liked my manager, I’m not unhappy about any of the changes that happened.

I have a new manager. My team and our responsibilities were split off from the department and we have been placed with another department that is more closely tied to what we do on a day to day basis. The really cool part - my new manager reminds me of my favorite former manager from the other division. He’s been very positive about my work when we were in separate areas, so this is a really good place for me to land. Add to this that two of the people I’ve gotten to know the best in the new division are already in department I’m now in and the move is probably the most positive restructure I’ve gone through.

My new department reports through a different 2nd level manager. My managers (previous and new) report to different managers and now I have a new 2nd level manager. I got along really well with my previous 2nd level manager, so now I have people in a peer area that have positive feelings about the work I do.

It gets better. My new 2nd level manager has had a very close working relationship with my local senior VP! So not only do I have a new person that I can impress, he has the ear of people who can make big things happen!

If that wasn’t enough to make a great day, I was also given a bonus for a set of work I did earlier in the year that helped make a huge transition seamless to our external customers.

And we were given half of today off from work to start our Labor Day weekend early. The news yesterday just wasn’t bad anywhere.

Talk about ending the week on a high note and what a way to start September!

A few observations:

• If you are a female under 5'5", you are short and need to get over it. Elbowing taller women will not change your height or cause them to shrink. Buy taller shoes.
  
• Ladders are good when installing ceiling fans.
  
• I still don't know where A&H get that pizza I like.

Things are okay, I'm just not feeling a lot like talking right now.

So in general stupid news...
I had a ton of dental work done earlier this week and my mouth still hurts.
I have a new "Things that Suck" brewing and may actually write it up at some point.

Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot,
who calls you back when you hang up on him,
who will stay awake just to watch you sleep.

Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead,
who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats,
who holds your hand in front of his friends,

Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you.

Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says,".....that's her."

I'm not exactly sure what is going on. I may be doing a bit of hiding from myself. I'm not sure, but I suppose I'll figure it out eventually.

There comes a time when you just don’t know where to start. Once I got an idea of something I could talk about, something else happened and I end up back where I started again.

So rather than try to be eloquent, here is the list in no particular order:

Shae – if you don’t contact me before Monday and let me know you are alive, I’m using my key.

Dragonfly – I am beyond proud of you! I knew when you started Cella, that you’d do an incredible job in the program.

Halloween – I’ll be celebrating by handing out suckers to the neighborhood kids.

Jerri – you’re awesome.

New additions – Jbat & Necessity both had little girls.

Work – Busy, but so far I haven’t told anyone to take a flying leap.

TV/Political concern – Is there a hidden agenda behind putting “Commander in Chief” on the air now? I’m enjoying the show and the political maneuvering, but I have the worst feeling that they only reason it is on the air is to pave the way for Hillary to run for President during the next election.

Thanksgiving – Looks like I’ll be having company the weekend after Thanksgiving.

It struck me odd – I saw a flier at work talking about “Ovarian Awareness Week”. It makes me wonder where the inspiration for this began. The last time I checked the majority of the female population is painfully aware of their ovaries for a week every month.

Claire found out that she passed her first set of Board exams! So she's half way through her graduate program and a quarter of the way through all her certification exams.

My nephew and his parents may be coming down to visit at the same time Rugrat and our parents come down later this month. It may turn into a full blown family affair.

On my way into work the other morning, I heard discussion on the radio of the unrest and riots happening in Paris. One of the speakers kept insisting that it was time for the government to step up and take the proper action to provide for their citizens and save their lives.

I expect to hear the announcement of France's unconditional surrender to the rioting teenagers at any time now.

For a government so steeped in far reaching colonization, they have yet to consider how each new culture colonized creates a change in the cultural identity of the French as a whole. They go into an area selling togetherness and the joy of being French, but after the sale if over, where does it leave the people?

All over the world, you can find people who embrace that their culture was changed with the addition of French colonization. French-Algerians and French-Canadians are only two examples. The French bring in culture in the form of education, art and government. They insist that to be French is to be the highest form of life. In many cases, after arranging for their continued consulting fee to be sent back to Paris, the French appoint someone to keep an eye on things and the rest go back to France, where they are hailed as heroic missionaries. They have brought culture to the savages. Not that the savages will ever fully understand the gift they have been given, for they are so new and it will take generations before the children will comprehend the true divinity of being French.

The French Constitution claims that all French are equal. This equality extends to all colors, religious creeds and place of birth. No one can deny that claim. It is in the practice of such a lofty ideal that problems begin to emerge.

When faced with challenges of discrimination (racial, sex, religious), the United States acted to measure and assess the problem in society as a whole. It may not have been fast and it surely wasn’t pretty, but it happened. Statistics are routinely gathered to help behaviorists to identify and predict areas of discontent. Armed with this knowledge, the non-discrimination laws can be enforced in an effort to prevent that type of activity from spreading.

To be being color-blind simply means that everyone deserves a chance to make their own first impression. It is the same manner of thinking that has prompted much of our judicial system to be run on the premises of “innocent until proven guilty”.

Justice is always pictured blind and holding a scale to weigh the evidence. She is not blind to the evidence, only to face of the accused person. Justice makes no assumptions based on appearance, any evidence pointing to physical appearance can be identified, but prior to that, the size, shape, color, dress, stature of the one accused has nothing to do with determining the outcome.

(Back to the original topic France)

The French government looks upon polls that include racial statistics as vulgar and refuse to do so. In fact to do such a survey would be something that only the dirty Americans would do. So the problem is locked in a closet and ignored. But the problems of racial unrest and feelings of being a second class citizen grow and flourish when ignored and kept away from the light. They grow stronger and larger until the day when not only do they break out from the closet, but start to break the society that ushered them into the closet to grow.

In Paris, the unrest has spilled into the streets and across 163 towns. Over 2,000 people have been arrested in less then 2 weeks as the police try to curb the violence. Knowing the ethnic breakdown of the groups of rioters could shed much light on what sparked off the violence. That type of information could help the French government rebuild relationships with its own people. I only hope that the idea of stooping to the level of dirty/vulgar Americans to find their answers does not cause them to choke on their baguettes.

If you don’t know who is hurting, how can to give them comfort? Until you know who has been injured and how it affects their lives, you cannot effectively treat the cause.

I’m sure some in the French government look upon the riots as the problem and they will look no further. But in truth the riots are just a symptom of a much larger problem that will not be fixed overnight. Societal discrimination and prejudice happen over generations of mistrust and miscommunication. The seeds for these riots have been growing in a dark closet for decades and now there is an arsenal of hate and distrust on both sides. If the world is lucky, France will find a way to expand the idea of who is truly French to include all their citizens, even if it means taking some guidance from the hard learned lessons of dirty Americans.

France now faces a war in which they cannot surrender. This war is in the social fabric that they have created. Without abandoning the je ne sais quoi that is at the core of Paris, the French will have to find a new way or their legacy of colonization will lead to their own exile.

May your day be filled with good food, fun and company!

Everyone got home okay, Rugrat and Bret were a little worse for wear by the time they left here.

I spent Monday and Tuesday feeling tired and hoping that the family didn't leave behind little germs just waiting for me to sneeze.

I sneezed and I've been working from home since Wednesday. The pain in my head has gone down and I've gotten a ton of work done. Hopefully I'll be able to kick this bug without resorting to going to the doctor for antibiotics.

Okay, I should get back to work, I have a couple of things I want to knock off my list before meeting with my girls tonight.

The longest night in the cycle of seasons has past and daylight will slowly push back more of the night. It is ironic that as we celebrate the first day of Winter, we are also celebrating the beginning of longer days that remind us that Spring is coming and that the chilly air will eventually give way to warm breezes and fragrant flowers

1. No crying - Yesterday, I started looking at my journals from Decembers Past and got choked up reading about Brewster and Neko. Then, the mailman delivered a box with Christmas stuff from my family. I opened the box and in my Christmas card was a note from my parents, that got me going again. (Side note - I saved the other packages in the box for Christmas.)
2. Find Shae - Just needed to make sure she was alive. She's been so busy that she checks her email about once a week. Most people have probably never been that busy EVER.
3. Ready the last of the Christmas gifts - All the gift plans are in place, but I still needed to pick up 2 containers before I could finish.
4. Check UPS & FedEx - All the packages I had sent to Ohio were supposed to be delivered by today.
5. Start the cat project - I had an idea, but it requires some construction. I'll let you know if it turns out.
6. Update my Journal - Yesterday I played Memes-R-Us and I've been really behind this month.

Results:

1. So far so good.
2. She still sounds tired, but better than last weekend.
3. This is a work in progress. I picked up the containers, but I'm working on assembly now.
4. Check, all packages show as "Delivered"
5. I started, but I needed to charge the drill, so I didn't get as far as I wanted.
6. Check

Dashed... So much for sugarplumes...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Now it is time to retire for Christmas Eve dreams
With luck there will be visions of sugar-plums dancing;
The cookies are out for Santa and the fireplace fire-free
The kittys are at the window and listening for a clatter

As I head for my bed and turn out the light,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Spammers
People who write viruses, ad-ware, spyware
People who release viruses, ad-ware, spyware

I spent 3 hours on the phone yesterday helping my dad remove all of the above from his computer.

My day:

1. Get up, feeling like somone shoved a golf ball up my nose and then teed off.
2. Go to the dentist, where I hear comments like, "Not much tooth left" and "Make sure she's not drowning."
3. Go to work, where half my team is missing. It turns out one had a broken tooth and enjoyed more fun than me at the dentist. The other had told me about 2 weeks ago that he might take the day off, but didn't call until after noon.
4. Found over 400 new pieces of email in my inbox. (Left work with 353 still unread)
5. My feet are freezing cold, but my shirt is wringing wet with sweat
6. The kitties are ignoring me, so I'm unloved and feeling sick

Evidently, I should have Shae & Dragonfly pick out all my clothes & jewelry.Yesterday, I got more compliments on the color of the top Shae gave me for Christmas and Tuesday everyone was noticing the nifty necklace from Dragonfly.

Bright spots in an otherwise crummy day...

Since I've told Shae she can't leave us hanging, here's a quick update. I spent most of yesterday napping and I'm feeling a lot better. I'm not 100%, but my sinuses are clearing up and the cats came back...

I swear I was going to update this about 5 times this week and got distracted every time. Now, I have a hair appointment, so I can't take too long now either...

So I PROMISE, I'll update this within the next 48 hours with a real entry.

... tired and cranky, that's me... Hopefully I'll get my first new addition at work soon to take some pressure off from there.

Hollywood seems bent on remaking classic films under todays "moral" standards. I can just see it now...

Disney Presents: "The Good, the Bad and the Fabulous"
Dirty Harry goes to the salon and emmerges after a full makeover. No longer dirty, meet Metro Harry!

Work - crazy busy, but also providing external validation
Home - still toying with the idea of painting either the kitchen or my bedroom
Reading - Off the Cuff
Playing - City of Villians/City of Heroes
Recent IM - Thespis
Frustration - lives by a lake and doesn't like to follow the rules

There are days when you wake up and just know it is going to be a good day. Despite everything else, that’s how I woke up this morning. In the middle of a tempest, I’m having a ball!

Not only has today been a good day, but it has actually been a good week. I’ve been quietly moving through the trenches at work to make some changes and tighten up existing processes. My motivation is that I’ve been worried about what would happen if the process was stalled by a certain piece of the business. This week, a small bubble of what I’ve been afraid of came to light.

Am I being cryptic? Sure, but the bottom line is that the little bubble got the attention of the right people. These right people are in the right place to help add the weight behind the work I’ve been doing. Even better, before anything bubbled up, the steps needed to minimize the impact to the business were already in place and working. I put those steps in motion and I did it before anything started to seem messy. Yesterday, my executives were worried because someone said the sky was falling. Today Chicken Little looks like they were overreacting, because every issue they raised was either negated by noon or on target to be negated within the next two days.

My managers went into a command performance meeting with less than 24 hours notice armed with the information needed to completely defuse the situation AND show that steps are already in place to any prevent future occurrences.

Does it get much better? To the top brass, it looks like we have our stuff straight. To the local brass, I just made them look really good and did it in such a way that was drama free. The “I”s were dotted, the “T”s were crossed and all my people look good.

I’m sure some people would think this was stressful, but I’m excited. I thrive on making positive changes. In this case, I had the foresight to put backup plans in place, I’ve designed mapped out the strategy to prevent future mishaps and I’m having fun!

Now where did I leave my white horse?

Want to talk to an actual person instead of a VRU (voice response unit)? This man behind this may be my new favorite person: http://www.gethuman.com/

I'd like to thank the New York Times for bringing this to my attention in "Your Call Should Be Important to Us, but it's Not"

If you can't find it on the NYTimes site, I've saved it for my own reference.

Evidently when you update your index files and force a rebuild, it helps if you've actually posted in the last week...

For those aware, I made it to Ohio and only almost got run off the road twice in the process. My brother and sister-in-law have left my nephew here at our parents house for some quality time. He's a trip and it gives my mom someone to play with.

I guess technically I'll be on the road later this morning. I think the best part of this trip was the time I didn't plan on taking with my friends. There is something to be said for people who are just glad to see you and happy to have you around.

I'm back home, the plants have survived so far. I'll be attempting to spruce up the lawn this weekend. I made a trip to Home Depot after work on Thursday to get a real shovel. Hopefully I won't kill what little lawn I have in the process.

Actual comment overheard – “It looks like they shoved raccoons on their feet.”

In the absence of snow, fur footwear has no purpose.

I found out why the builder I bought my house from had an ancient water heater. There are installation permits to replace it and they aren't cheap. Not to mention the required over-flow tank and a few other fees to boot.

By the time I left Sears, I'd spent as much on fees/taxes as I had on the water heater. God forbid I decide to replace my heating/air conditioning system. Apparently those have a another huge set of county fees and permits on them too.

I'm okay with having fees for something that actually requires paperwork or needs tracking (car tags, driver's liscencses or new construction), but if I already have something and I'm just replacing it, give me a break. I have a water heater, I'm replacing it with the same type of water heater, what about this requries a permit?

Apparently if I decide to replace any of the board in my deck, I'll have another set of permits to figure out.

Good - Had someone knock 5 years off my age...

Bad - In order to replace my water heater, I have to get a "designer" type.
Good - The special water heater is supposed to be super efficient.
Bad - Didn't find out about needing a special water heater until the guy came to install a regular one.
Good - The old one still works, it just isn't pretty

Kitty - Mya turned 2 yesterday. Pretty little girl, I need to put some new pictures of her up in the gallery.

I'm seriously considering going completely tech free this weekend. That may not seem that significant, but when I seriously started considering it, I realized that it has been YEARS since I've completely unplugged. What the heck did people do before the laptops, wireless internet and cell phones?

I made it back from my weekend without tech. I found all the cats alive and talkative. Now on to the next set of fun...

Amazing how much calmer things seem without a computer all weekend. I took a ton of pictures (which I haven't downloaded from the camera yet), sat in the sun, ate lunch on a picnic table and wandered around in the woods. All of which are rather hard to do when attached to a computer. I think it is time to seriously look at limiting how much time I interact via computer on my off hours.

Interacting with nature and real people is good =)

This may be blowing smoke, but I'll take it...

Born today, you are one of those interesting and sometimes mysterious individuals capable of shaping the thinking of those around you and persuading others of what they should be thinking about you. In this way, you will enjoy a great deal of popularity -- but the truth is, you would be enormously popular anyway, for you are friendly, positive, fun-loving, creative and always willing to lend a hand when someone near you is in need. However, the fact of the matter is, you don't always hold yourself in the same high regard as others do, and you often feel that you have to compensate for your own insecurity.

There may be times in which you actually cross the line and do things in such a way that you attract the wrong kind of attention -- and you are likely to suffer for it in some respect. In time, however, even the most serious setback can be overcome; all it takes is perseverance and imagination.

I've got to wonder what else is celebrated on May 25th...

The project to update my office has begun. The picture was taken after taping off the windows and doors. More as the project gets closer to done.

The project to update my office has begun. The picture was taken after taping off the windows and doors. More as the project gets closer to done.

I had an awesome week last week. I got promoted at work this week! Fancy new title and everything, I thought that I was going to have to wait until next year before I had a real chance of it happening, since they are generally tight about promoting to this level and there are a lot of people for whom a case could be made that "they have been waiting longer"...

I'm looking forward to Rugrat coming down on Thursday. Once she gets here, I may even be able to get the lawn cut (joking). I should probably call my insurance company and make sure that my car insurance is maxed out. I'm not sure how I feel about her driving my car, 16 and a convertible don't seem like the best combination...

I'm not sure if this counts as a fortune, but the basic idea came out of a cookie and I definitely agree with this one...

• The purpose of education is not to memorize information and test how well you retain what you were told to remember.
• The purpose of education is to teach you how to think for yourself.

Ponder that the next time someone wants to discuss why it is a good idea to have teachers' pay tied to how well their students perform on end of grade tests.

How tolerant is too tolerant? If I strive to judge each person on their own merit, what does that say about me? Damn it, when does it get to be about me? Do I really have to be a needy bitch in order to register on people's radar? I know life isn't fair. I don't expect it to be. I've tended to gravitate toward people based on how they treat the people around them. I'm wondering if even that is a good measure.

I deliberately made the choice not to read my email today. I'm not upset, mad, tired or otherwise in a bad way. Yesterday, I found myself in a contemplative place after having "interesting" dreams overnight.

One of my emails came in today with the subject -

Remember, you don't have to be perfect to be appreciated.

One day on the river, followed by a day to recover. The water was ice cold, but the trip was much fun.

Well, it happened, the plane took off and flew her back to out parents. The last weekend was a full one, drive to the mountains on Thursday, "white water" rafting and drive back to Raleigh on Friday, short recovery period on Saturday, beach time followed by "a three hour tour" through Eastern North Carolina Sunday. She's been sent home with birthday presents for all the guys and a few extras. Where did the time go?

... one project at a time.

Have sword will travel.

Still looking for my epic level white charger, but it should be in the mail soon.

My mom asked me what I did with my dining room now that I moved the table into the kitchen. From her reaction to my response, I think she was actually serious.

The answer to what did I do with my dining room is that I bought an easel and raised the lighting fixture up so that I could paint in there. My mom's reaction was "I didn't know you were artistic".

Poetry I've written has been published, the logo I designed is still being used by a major university, I painted my sister's walls and they are often mistaken for wallpaper. I'm not going to be doing any portraits, but I've had an eye for colors and flow for a while now...

How is any of this a surprise? I'm going to assume that the surprise is that I actually used a canvas and then gave the painting away.

Got up this morning to a definite chill in the air. Unfortunately, I had remembered to flip the switch from "cool" to "heat", which means that there is something up with the HVAC unit and it'll probably cost a limb to fix or replace.

Tomorrow will give new significance to TGIF. For those wondering, the 10+ year old system can either be fixed for over $1000 dollars or replaced. Since I've already done the fix version with the system and it lasted about 2 1/2 years, this time I'm clenching my teeth and going for a replacement.

Oh how the mundane has taken over my life...

So Friday came & the heat is back. My wallet is much lighter. Saturday came & I got to play dress-up with ShaeSin, the groom's mom and another of Shae's attendants. If you didn't already know, ShaeSin is a knockout.

I have some reflection left to do, but I have the overwhelming feeling that someone is sitting on my shoulder, drumming their fingers and shrugging while saying "and this is a surprise why?"

But the weather has turned crisp, today is my sister-in-laws birthday and things are actually pretty good.

Public service message from RJ:
If you leave a browser open on MY computer and I hit the back button, you don’t get to be upset that I see something withheld from me. Saying I got what I asked for is stupid. Just close the damn window or own it.

Indignant does not top busted.

Rock beats scissors.
Scissors beats paper.
Paper beats rock.
Busted beats indignant.

For the Buckeyes, who've been No. 1 all season, it was the second time this season they beat the No. 2 team -- and with Troy Smith leading the way. Smith has been the Heisman front-runner since September, when he led Ohio State to 24-7 victory at No. 2 Texas.

Left: Troy Smith by Joe Robbins-US PRESSWIRE - Right: Amy Sancetta/AP Photo

For the annual leaf complaint - the trees in my yard should learn to clean up after themselves.

Work stuff is wrapping up for the year. That seems odd to say only 3 days into the month, but it is December and I didn't use much vacation during the year.

Serious note - my grandma fell this morning and will be having her hip replaced tomorrow.

Today is about wrapping things up -
- Last day of work for the year
- Closing the refinance on my house
- Fight club mode finished

Today is about starting things -
- Payday! (extra good because there was a bonus in my check)
- Time to replace the TV that has been going bad for 3 months
- Planning what to do before going up to Ohio
- Maybe pick up the cat tree I’ve had my eye on for the critters
- Christmas shopping for the last of my list
- Catching up on Email

My cats stayed at home this trip, but I have the company of my sister's two cats and my dad's dog, so the four legged furry critters are represented.

Thanks to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the drive home took 5 hours longer than it should. Although tired as all heck, I'm home in one piece. More much later, after I sleep.

It would appear that trips home bring interesting realizations. This time brought the understanding that I'm not the only one to test the family to see if I'm actually seen. It makes me wonder if this is something common to people with multiple siblings or if it is specific to us.

Spread my vacation through the year, rather than using it all during December.
Travel outside of the United States and cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Identify my needs and see that they are met.

Happy New Year!

• Happy Birthday to Madison
• Happy Belated Birthday to Nathan
• I found what appears to be the main issue preventing Roar using the new site style on his blog. There is a lingering issue, but I think the main one is resolved.
• Back to work, my email is (mostly) cleaned up. I have one piece of paperwork to finish before I can truely wave goodbye to 2006.
• At Claire's request, the Wish List has been updated.

Many things seem to be changing around you, I hope this year finds you new adventures and happiness.

Hope you have a great day!

(Edit 1/7 - Sorry, I forgot to make this as "published" yesterday.)

Least anyone think I ignored it, last night's game started on a wonderful high note for the Buckeyes and then quickly went south. Florida was the better team last night and while it hurt physically at times, I watched the entire game.

In more important matters, it is now 10:56 and Michigan still SUCKS!

Least anyone think I ignored it, last night's game started on a wonderful high note for the Buckeyes and then quickly went south. Florida was the better team last night and while it hurt physically at times, I watched the entire game.

In more important matters, it is now 10:56 and Michigan still SUCKS!

You had a lot of good stuff happen in your life last year. I hope that is just the beginning!

... I seriously think I'd like to quit my job and become a hermit. I'm sick of little boys who don't what to share their toys with the girls. Especially when the toys aren't actually the little boys' at all. I'm feeling a bit destructive at the moment. The idea of wearing a sign that says "I'm sorry we got promoted to the same level on the same day & I'm more than 10 years younger than you. Obviously, I rock more than you do, so grow up and get a pair!"

You may be receiving communications that are below the threshold of consciousness as the Moon enters your 12th House of Mysteries. You could even waste precious time scrambling in order to sidestep an imaginary difficult situation. The energy you put into avoidance tactics could make matters worse. You will be better off just responding to the changing circumstances as they unfold.

The iPowerweb server that hosts this site underwent some updates last night. As a result, the url for rantingvirgo did not get updated with the new information. While the DNS servers catch up, you can get to a less stylish version by pointing your browser here -> http://redjenosu.com/RantingVirgo/

Distracted Constantly has a similar issue and can be viewed here -> http://redjenosu.com/RantingVirgo/distracted/

According to iPowerweb, the DNS servers should catch up by 5 PM PST.

There are new pictures in my photo album. Here are a couple I pulled out of the More Pets album.

Mya being cute

A good picture of Blue's eyes

I1. For any two distinct points A, B, these exists a unique line l containing A, B.
I2. Every line contains at least two points.
I3. There exist three non-collinear points (not all contained in a single line).

Just three rules to form the basis of Euclidean Geometry. From this we get the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. A plane can be defined by a line and one point not on the line. In a right triangle, a squared plus b squared equals c squared, where c is the hypotenuse of the triangle.

I always had to do my geometry extra slow, because otherwise, I’d get points taken off for skipping steps. I’d know the answer too soon. My brain would be perfectly content with using the basics to extrapolate the final answer. For some reason no one else seemed to see the logic…

So yeah, given a few pieces of information, I’ll deduce a lot. There isn’t much I can do about it, except decide whether or not to admit to what I know.

I'm fairly certain that Survivor is not the game for me. It's probably a good thing that I'm not a guy as well. Cold showers are definitely not for me. Thankfully the hot water is back on at my house. Clean never felt so good.

NEW YORK, NY - Attention gamers: Want to get ahead in your career? According to new IBM research (NYSE: IBM), online videogames can help you become a better corporate leader by fostering skills related to collaboration, self-organization, risk-taking, openness, influence, and communications. These competencies are increasingly being sought by businesses as they compete in the global economy.

IBM's Gaming and Leadership Report

IBM's Global Innovation Outlook

Replacing smoke breaks with MMORP breaks sounds like a good plan to me...

I've made up my mind. I want a smaller house. Over the last six months or so, I've found myself systematically simplifying things and it appears that I've run out of little stuff. Actually, this decision has come from multiple directions.

1. I don't need the extra space (simplify)
   
2. I don't like cleaning the extra space (simplify)
   
3. I've realized that if I want to work on my next promotion, I don't have the time to devote to general upkeep on the house.
   
4. I want more disposable income (smaller mortgage)
   
5. The house needs kids in it. Any family that move in will find an array of children to play with

The more I've been thinking about this recently, the more I'm leaning toward looking to townhouses. Most townhouses would mean an instant loss of yard work and community pool. Now to figure out how to balance this during a trip to Europe...

I've been busy lately. Some of it has been fun (WoW & Harry Potter), other has been work and some has been house prep.

Unless something drastic turns up, there is a really good chance that I'll be putting my house on the market in the next 7-10 days. If that happens, there's a really good chance that I'll have a new address before I head to Europe on vacation. It is possible that is just the paint fumes talking though too...

I'm going to try and keep everyone up to speed on what is going on. Too bad I didn't think of it earlier or maybe I could have gotten TLC to help with this.

Target - 29 days to finish the house, sell it, close, buy a new place & move. The fumes may still be affecting my brain...

So here's the plan:
Goal - Finish my prep work on the house by Friday
House on the market by Monday August 6th

Before Thursday - Get a storage space for stuff or buy additional tarp for garage.

Monday Items -

The entire outside of the house has gotten a face lift. Power washed, then all the hardboard & trim checked, (replaced where needed) and followed by a fresh coat of paint. Did I mention that they did this in about 15 total hours? Three hours on power washing on Friday and then 12 hours on Saturday.

First revision - now looking to put the house on the market on Thursday. The carpet guys can't get here until Wednesday.

I'm wondering if my neighbors would mind if I filled all of their trash bins as well as mine. So far I'm running at about 30% keep and 70% throw away.

Other stuff -
I heard from two friends outside of NC yesterday. One has been offered a post-doc in South Carolina. The other is facing the loss of her mother within the next week. I'm thrilled for one and ache for the other. It amazes me that we can feel such divergent emotions at the same time.

Back to work for me, I'm sure there's more stuff to get rid of around here...

It is official. The house is for sale as of this afternoon. Once Bryan sends me the link, I'll post it here. I have a few small things left to do. A few things that still need boxes and couple of places that need a last bit of touch up paint. Did I mention that I'll be glad then this is done...

Tired doesn't begin to cover it. Now that it's on the market, I want this place sold so I can concentrate on work and getting ready for vacation. Did I mention that I'm going to sleep early...

Here is the virtual tour through the house... Click Me

Check out the slideshow & virtual images.

I have a serious case of short-timer's disease going on at work. Luckily, vacation is just around the corner. After this week, I just have to get through Monday & Tuesday before I get some R&R. Now to make a list of things to get done by this weekend...

In house news, we've been on the market for 10 days now and have had about that many showings. I have someone coming in this evening. I'm wondering if I'll have time to mow the lawn before I need to make myself scarce. Thursday my brokers are having a Broker Open House to bring in some more agents to see the place. I'm hopeful that it is just a matter of time at this point.

In new house news, I haven't started looking very seriously and that's the plan until after vacation. Leslie took me out Saturday looking at listings to get a feel for what is available now and if I'm guessing right to let her get an idea what I like/don't like. After that, I do know that Apex is too far away for me. I'm probably going to end up in Morrisville or the west side of Cary. But that is something to dwell on later. For now I need to mow the lawn, run the vacuum and get ready for vacation.

This morning as I opened the door to go to work, Blue executed a perfectly timed escape dash. I have real doubts that it was spontaneous. It was too perfectly timed to have been unplanned.

Checking out how well I can use a remote system to post updates.

Checking out how well I can use a remote system to post updates.

After almost 24 hours awake and most of that time in a car or on a plane, I make it home last night thanks to ShaeSin & Beau. The cats are demanding attention. They left a few surprises to indicate their displeasure with me being gone so long. Hopefully no one wants to see the house today, as I'd rather stay home all day.

Did anyone catch the name of the plane that hit me? I was so tired yesterday that I was barely able to move. I ended up spending the day sorting email and catching up on conference calls from the living room. I expected to be dealing with jet lag, but not after a four day delay.

I've almost finished uploading the pictures from Scotland. Once I get them sorted into somewhat reasonable groups, I'll enable them in the gallery for general viewing. There is one set of pictures that I hope I'm able to get uploaded. I'm not sure if the disk got scratched, but I am hoping that I'll be able to get them, as there are some really good pictures of the stonework on Iona.

I'm hoping to have all the pictures done and available this weekend. I'm also hoping that the jet lag will have subsided enough that I can actual enjoy some of the Scotch I brought home without going immediately to sleep.

My pictures from Scotland are in my photo gallery. (I haven't added the pictures taken by Mike, Aaron & Amanda yet.) I fear that the second set of Iona pictures are lost, but I hope you enjoy the ones that made it.

A few other links to enjoy from Scotland

If I seem more distracted than usual, that isn’t too surprising. The funny thing is that I’ve been in a really good mood despite everything else. So for the record…

Work - busy, but good.
House - still for sale, had an open house on Saturday, had good response, still waiting for an offer
Health - I’m feeling fine, went to the doctor for a check up, apparently got some odd results, as she sent me to have other tests, but I have no idea what about the first set were odd. I go back in to see her on Friday. Hopefully I’ll get some type of answer or than “I’m weird”…

I really miss being able to go to the doctor and have all the necessary "tests" run in their office. I have another set of tests this afternoon. My doctor assures me that she's just being extra careful, but I'll be glad when she happy with the results. All the results are supposed to be in on Friday when I go back to see her. If the medical profession really wants us to take better care of ourselves, they should perform all these tests on teenagers so they have some incentive to to avoid them later...

This week will be a short one as far as the office goes. A significant percentage of people will be taking advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend to maximize on their vacation time. I however will be working. I plan to get some of the stuff that keeps getting put off finished and put away.

I'll be celebrating the holiday with my parents, Rugrat and maybe another friend or two, but I'm already done cooking for the big day. All that's left is to arrange for certain pieces to be reheated.

Project Management is about getting people to do what needs to be done on time, usually in a situation where you don't have any authority to bring consequences down on their heads should they fail to live up to their obligations.

It takes a special kind of twisted to do effective Project Management. In most cases, you have all the responsibility, but none of the power to get things done.

Some analogies that are WAY to accurate concerning Project Management

• ... like nailing Jell-O to a tree, without the Jell-O
• ... cat herding, through a field randomly populated with shiny things, fresh fish & catnip
• ... juggling chainsaws while pedaling backward on a uni-cycle, though a flaming hoop

The true benevolent overlord excels at Project Management.

Not much new going on... I'm getting tired of having my house for sale. That's pretty much the big thing on my mind at this time.

I have a new toy. BlackBerry has added some nice new features in the last 8 months. I think I'm going to like it.

There has been so much and so little going on of late.

Work has been consistent, which has been a blessing if a bit boring. I’m not sure if I would have been able to deal with high stress at work and at home.

The crash of the housing/mortgage market conspired to keep me from my first attempt at simplifying things. The activities of preparing the house for show and sale have left me with a garage half full of stuff from various areas of my house. When I originally packed things up, it was with the assumption that I would be moving in under 3 months. Nine months later, I found myself with lost of showings (over 100) and plenty of positive comments on the house, but no bites. It also found me highly stressed out from having to keep the house in show ready status at all times. My stress has been matched by stress on the poor cats. Blue and Mya are still working through territory issues resulting from stress over having random strangers in the house. They are slowly going back to calm, but I’m still seeing a few fur flair ups from time to time.

Trying to save money in order handle a move, prepared me rather handily for dealing with the rising fuel costs. It has had the less than ideal side affect of turning me into more of a homebody than before. While there are merits to being frugal, I’m afraid that without some other changes, I may isolate myself.

I’m looking forward to having Cassie down next weekend. We’ll be taking a week of vacation while she’s here, assuming I can figure out where we’ll be headed.

I’m getting closer to more writing. After taking the house off the market, I’ve been slowly relaxing. With that I hope I’ll also be writing and painting more.