Although it was nice seeing my Pratt family again, I'm glad to finally be home.
If you don't mind, I won't pick apart my weekend and tell any stories just yet. Suffice it to say that the funeral went well and Grandma is not suffering anymore.
I don't think it really hit me that she was actually gone for good until last night after everything was over. I'm really going to miss her.
I'm beginning to think it just hurts to much to love people. There should be a way to turn it off.
Also, I hate to cry.
More later.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A QUICKIE
Once again, I'm asking for any spare prayers you may have lying around.
Mr. Lee got a call this morning about his mother. She had another round of seizures and was put back into the hospital. As things look now, she probably won't get better this time.
Please pray for Gramma, so that if she can't recover, she can at least pass with dignity and peace. She's an awesome lady and she deserves at least that.
Also pray for the family, as this is tough on everyone and we will miss her very much.
Thanks.
Once again, I'm asking for any spare prayers you may have lying around.
Mr. Lee got a call this morning about his mother. She had another round of seizures and was put back into the hospital. As things look now, she probably won't get better this time.
Please pray for Gramma, so that if she can't recover, she can at least pass with dignity and peace. She's an awesome lady and she deserves at least that.
Also pray for the family, as this is tough on everyone and we will miss her very much.
Thanks.
Monday, August 22, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) After church yesterday, I was standing the in lobby talking to one of our deacons, when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone looking at me. I turned my head, but the man that I thought was looking my way wasn't looking at me after all. I turned my head to talk to someone else and it happened again. I looked back and noticed that the same man was looking my way with an odd expression on his face, he seemed to be looking at me as if he...uh..."knew what I looked like without my shimmy," and when he saw me looking at him, he turned his head away. I immediately got the wiggins. I'm not so vain as to think he was checking me out, so my next idea was that something was wrong with my clothes, i.e. my fly was open or my shirt had fallen off, or I'd forgotten my shoes or something obvious to everyone but myself. Seriously, folks, at this point, I'm lucky I haven't walked out of the house in nothing but a petticoat and a pair of wellington boots. So I stood there, completely awkward but trying hard not to look awkward, which only amplified my awkwardness, and trying to figure out why this man was looking at me. I mean, I don't know him very well, but I'm fairly certain he isn't a creeper or a perv and all I could do was wonder if there was something hanging out of my nose or was I wearing my underwear on the outside of my pants or something.
It only dawned on me after I got home that I was standing in front of the bulletin board. My guess was that he was reading flyers posted behind or beside me from across the room. Because of this, now I'm wondering if he thought I was surreptitiously staring at him across the room, because I kept looking at him while trying to figure out why he was looking at me. For all I know, he went home and told his family about how that one lady, you know...the one who sings sometimes and works in the kitchen, kept staring at him and how it was weirding him out.
I think from now on, every time I go somewhere public, I'm just going to wear a shirt saying "I have few social skills and am easily rendered self-conscious. Please don't look in my direction or I'll get awkward. Thank you for your compliance."
However, I will say this much: If that was his "reading-a-flyer-from-across-the-room" expression, I wish it conveyed a little more "reading-a-flyer" and a little less "I-wonder-what-her-spleen-tastes-like."
2) You know, I usually really appreciate the anonymity of the Internet. It's nice to be able to interact with people from all over the world without your entire life being on display. However, one thing I hate about it is that a great deal of people tend to think that because we don't know their names or faces, they can behave like complete jerks.
I usually like to read the comment sections of web articles that I find interesting, but lately I've noticed that more and more often the comments can become downright nasty for seemingly no other reason than that the commenter wants to be hateful. Are we as a society so repressed that it becomes necessary for us to viciously, verbally attack perfect strangers because they have different opinions or ideals than we do? It isn't that I think people shouldn't be able to express their opinions, because...well, that wouldn't be fair either, but is it too much to ask that people show a little bit of respect for others, even when we really don't HAVE to?
I know this sort of thing has gone on as long as the Internet has been around. Honestly, I'm sure that I've probably typed a few things that came across as overly ugly if I wasn't thinking about how it sounded. But ever since I actually sat back and started really noticing the genuine contempt people show one another when they disagree on religion, grammar, sports, or...I dunno...anything really, I've begun to worry about how this affects our lives off of the internet. Is that crazy? I know that the forums online don't exactly represent the whole of society and that usually the squeakiest wheels are the loudest and most noticeable, but in an increasingly digital world, how long before the comfort some people feel about attacking perfect, faceless strangers spills over into their real lives? I'm not talking about, you know, physically attacking someone necessarily, but it isn't a complete stretch of the imagination to think that someone who gets comfortable attacking another person's beliefs and ideals on such an impersonal level as the internet, could eventually let that happen in everyday life.
One of my high school teachers once gave us a quote by a man named Dwight Moody that says "Character is who we are in the dark" and that's what I think of when I read the kind of hateful things that people say online. It doesn't get much darker than complete anonymity, does it?
Aaaaaaand if we all join hands and sang Kumbaya, the world would be a better place. :) Sorry, didn't mean to preach.
Just...be nice. To everyone. Even when you don't want to.
3) Speaking of high school...my 15 year reunion is coming up this Saturday! I'm not sure how excited I am about it because there seems to be a great deal of disinterest by the majority of the members of our senior class. It'll be great to see people again, to be sure, but I wonder how many people will actually be there?
I was given the job of making a "memory table" for the reunion, which is going to consist of my yearbook, whatever mementos I can scrape together, and a big fold out foam board thing that I'll attach pictures to, but I know for a fact that I can't fill that thing. I had to send a Facebook message out to beg other people to bring pictures to use because in the process of trying to think of what I could add, I realized that I had a less than typical experience. I literally never knew I was missing anything until someone started one of those "You Know You Went To (Insert High School Name Here) If..." pages on Facebook. I don't know what I was doing, but whatever it was, it wasn't what almost everyone else was doing! I was never invited to any parties, I had no idea where the cool kids hung out, and I didn't date much, so I don't have many pictures that don't revolve around being in the band or FFA. Don't worry, I'm not feeling sorry for myself about it, because I remember high school being just fine. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't bullied. Most people just thought I was weird, and I was OK with that, I guess! I had friends, and I don't remember any real enemies. I have always kind of been a flake about that sort of thing, though. I wouldn't have realized someone didn't like me unless they told me to my face, which didn't happen, so there very well could have been a whole section of my class that wished I'd die in a wood chipper accident. Who knows? I'm not worried about it, though. It was a long time ago. Oh, well. I just hope someone else brings pictures!
Oh, and as for that project board... Oy, vey. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some things to decorate it with, and I wandered into the scrap booking section to see if I could find some pre-made do-hickies that I could add to it. I found music notes, sports stuff, and even a really cute cheerleader uniform thing in the correct colors. Scrap book companies sell almost any kind of thing you could ever imagine, every theme, every sport, every hobby...whatever. You can find something to fit your scrap booking needs. I, of course, couldn't find the one thing I was looking for. I needed something that would go along with our school mascot, but it is next to impossible to get my hands on anything appropriate because of my school's completely un-PC mascot, the Indian. We weren't a specific tribe of Indian, or the Chiefs or the Braves...just The Indians. I was boned. Seriously, there were no feathers, no tee-pees, not even one Native American anything. In fact, the closest thing I could find was in the Thanksgiving section, and it was a package of those weird, foam, bug-eyed kid cut outs that were not only ugly, but completely the wrong kind of thing. I mean, I get that Indians aren't PC, but it isn't as if we were the "Fighting Gay-Jewish-Black-Crippled Guys" or something! Of course, had we been that, it would have been easier to find themed stickers. *shakes head*
1) After church yesterday, I was standing the in lobby talking to one of our deacons, when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone looking at me. I turned my head, but the man that I thought was looking my way wasn't looking at me after all. I turned my head to talk to someone else and it happened again. I looked back and noticed that the same man was looking my way with an odd expression on his face, he seemed to be looking at me as if he...uh..."knew what I looked like without my shimmy," and when he saw me looking at him, he turned his head away. I immediately got the wiggins. I'm not so vain as to think he was checking me out, so my next idea was that something was wrong with my clothes, i.e. my fly was open or my shirt had fallen off, or I'd forgotten my shoes or something obvious to everyone but myself. Seriously, folks, at this point, I'm lucky I haven't walked out of the house in nothing but a petticoat and a pair of wellington boots. So I stood there, completely awkward but trying hard not to look awkward, which only amplified my awkwardness, and trying to figure out why this man was looking at me. I mean, I don't know him very well, but I'm fairly certain he isn't a creeper or a perv and all I could do was wonder if there was something hanging out of my nose or was I wearing my underwear on the outside of my pants or something.
It only dawned on me after I got home that I was standing in front of the bulletin board. My guess was that he was reading flyers posted behind or beside me from across the room. Because of this, now I'm wondering if he thought I was surreptitiously staring at him across the room, because I kept looking at him while trying to figure out why he was looking at me. For all I know, he went home and told his family about how that one lady, you know...the one who sings sometimes and works in the kitchen, kept staring at him and how it was weirding him out.
I think from now on, every time I go somewhere public, I'm just going to wear a shirt saying "I have few social skills and am easily rendered self-conscious. Please don't look in my direction or I'll get awkward. Thank you for your compliance."
However, I will say this much: If that was his "reading-a-flyer-from-across-the-room" expression, I wish it conveyed a little more "reading-a-flyer" and a little less "I-wonder-what-her-spleen-tastes-like."
2) You know, I usually really appreciate the anonymity of the Internet. It's nice to be able to interact with people from all over the world without your entire life being on display. However, one thing I hate about it is that a great deal of people tend to think that because we don't know their names or faces, they can behave like complete jerks.
I usually like to read the comment sections of web articles that I find interesting, but lately I've noticed that more and more often the comments can become downright nasty for seemingly no other reason than that the commenter wants to be hateful. Are we as a society so repressed that it becomes necessary for us to viciously, verbally attack perfect strangers because they have different opinions or ideals than we do? It isn't that I think people shouldn't be able to express their opinions, because...well, that wouldn't be fair either, but is it too much to ask that people show a little bit of respect for others, even when we really don't HAVE to?
I know this sort of thing has gone on as long as the Internet has been around. Honestly, I'm sure that I've probably typed a few things that came across as overly ugly if I wasn't thinking about how it sounded. But ever since I actually sat back and started really noticing the genuine contempt people show one another when they disagree on religion, grammar, sports, or...I dunno...anything really, I've begun to worry about how this affects our lives off of the internet. Is that crazy? I know that the forums online don't exactly represent the whole of society and that usually the squeakiest wheels are the loudest and most noticeable, but in an increasingly digital world, how long before the comfort some people feel about attacking perfect, faceless strangers spills over into their real lives? I'm not talking about, you know, physically attacking someone necessarily, but it isn't a complete stretch of the imagination to think that someone who gets comfortable attacking another person's beliefs and ideals on such an impersonal level as the internet, could eventually let that happen in everyday life.
One of my high school teachers once gave us a quote by a man named Dwight Moody that says "Character is who we are in the dark" and that's what I think of when I read the kind of hateful things that people say online. It doesn't get much darker than complete anonymity, does it?
Aaaaaaand if we all join hands and sang Kumbaya, the world would be a better place. :) Sorry, didn't mean to preach.
Just...be nice. To everyone. Even when you don't want to.
3) Speaking of high school...my 15 year reunion is coming up this Saturday! I'm not sure how excited I am about it because there seems to be a great deal of disinterest by the majority of the members of our senior class. It'll be great to see people again, to be sure, but I wonder how many people will actually be there?
I was given the job of making a "memory table" for the reunion, which is going to consist of my yearbook, whatever mementos I can scrape together, and a big fold out foam board thing that I'll attach pictures to, but I know for a fact that I can't fill that thing. I had to send a Facebook message out to beg other people to bring pictures to use because in the process of trying to think of what I could add, I realized that I had a less than typical experience. I literally never knew I was missing anything until someone started one of those "You Know You Went To (Insert High School Name Here) If..." pages on Facebook. I don't know what I was doing, but whatever it was, it wasn't what almost everyone else was doing! I was never invited to any parties, I had no idea where the cool kids hung out, and I didn't date much, so I don't have many pictures that don't revolve around being in the band or FFA. Don't worry, I'm not feeling sorry for myself about it, because I remember high school being just fine. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't bullied. Most people just thought I was weird, and I was OK with that, I guess! I had friends, and I don't remember any real enemies. I have always kind of been a flake about that sort of thing, though. I wouldn't have realized someone didn't like me unless they told me to my face, which didn't happen, so there very well could have been a whole section of my class that wished I'd die in a wood chipper accident. Who knows? I'm not worried about it, though. It was a long time ago. Oh, well. I just hope someone else brings pictures!
Oh, and as for that project board... Oy, vey. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some things to decorate it with, and I wandered into the scrap booking section to see if I could find some pre-made do-hickies that I could add to it. I found music notes, sports stuff, and even a really cute cheerleader uniform thing in the correct colors. Scrap book companies sell almost any kind of thing you could ever imagine, every theme, every sport, every hobby...whatever. You can find something to fit your scrap booking needs. I, of course, couldn't find the one thing I was looking for. I needed something that would go along with our school mascot, but it is next to impossible to get my hands on anything appropriate because of my school's completely un-PC mascot, the Indian. We weren't a specific tribe of Indian, or the Chiefs or the Braves...just The Indians. I was boned. Seriously, there were no feathers, no tee-pees, not even one Native American anything. In fact, the closest thing I could find was in the Thanksgiving section, and it was a package of those weird, foam, bug-eyed kid cut outs that were not only ugly, but completely the wrong kind of thing. I mean, I get that Indians aren't PC, but it isn't as if we were the "Fighting Gay-Jewish-Black-Crippled Guys" or something! Of course, had we been that, it would have been easier to find themed stickers. *shakes head*
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) Sara and I went to see "The Help" yesterday. It was a great movie, but it made me totally sick to my stomach. I sort of knew what the movie would be about, but since I'd never read the book and really only had two movie reviews to guide me (one that said the movie was wonderful and uplifting, and one that said it was trite and manipulative), I wasn't prepared for how the movie would make me feel.
Look, I've lived in Alabama all of my life and I'm certainly no stranger to racism. I've seen people say and do the most ignorant things imaginable because they were just simply, blindly, bigoted. People who hate because their families say it's OK to hate others because of their color. It's frigging TRADITION to some of these people, and it seriously makes me wonder if any of them even know why they hate. It's awful. I've seen and heard bad things, but if what went on in that movie was even close to what happened in real life...I haven't even scratched the surface.
Even though my family is descended from a mishmash of sharecroppers and Indians, and I'm fairly certain none of them ever owned slaves or had "Help" like the Junya-League Ladies in that movie, I still feel as if I should apologize to everyone for being white, southern and a woman.
I'm just relieved that the movie wasn't set in Alabama. Oy vey.
Great movie, though.
2) I started a new blog the other day! It's called "We Review All the Things!" and it's basically what it sounds like.
Hey, you people know how much I like to review stuff, and I do it on here whenever I think about it, but I thought it would be fun to have a separate blog dedicated to it. I don't know why, really. I'm not really contributing anything else to the world these days, so why not?
I may have a friend writing it with me, but since she's off learning how to save lives, she may not get much of a chance to do it. Hopefully I won't forget about it and leave it mostly blank forever. We'll see! :)
3) Oh, and since I haven't mentioned the job situation lately, let me give you an update. I was offered a job in June. I accepted said job. I never heard back from the guy who offered me the job. Well, I've talked to him, and even sent him a note asking about the job, but nada. Oh well, I'm not bovvered. He has his reasons, and I'm not going to bug him about it. Apparently, it just isn't where I need to be. I've gone zen about it all. I'll just make hats.
4) I mowed the lawn today and had a minor freak out. We have a large weeping willow next to the fence, and I hate mowing under it because there is just no way to avoid driving through the branches. It's like being in a drive-through car wash, when the long, flappy things that slobber soap suds all over the car slide over you. Only there are leaves. Anyway, I finally just decided to go for it and get that one patch I always avoid when I'm mowing, and when I did, the branches slid over me and a whole lot of things fell on me, including something that looked like the empty shell of Cthulu. I screamed and started swinging my arms around and brushing myself off and I can within an ace of running to a bush. It took me a minute to realize it was a cicada shell, and I don't know why it bothered me so much, because I used to play with those when I was little. It heebed me out badly, though. I wasn't expecting it, and had I not realized what it was in time, my neighbors would have had the treat of seeing me strip naked in the front yard and run screaming into the house. I think we're all glad that didn't happen.
5) I went to the gym this morning and decided to change up the routine a little. Usually, I just spend a lot of time on the elliptical, doing whatever it is that ellipticals simulate. I knew that I'd eventually have to change that up, so I added in some of the weight training machines. I have no idea what it was that I did to myself on one of them, but it must have pushed me just a teeny bit past my current stamina level, because right in the middle of doing one of them, I almost puked on the machine. I still have no idea what I did, but I hope that doesn't happen again. Somehow, I don't think the nice Latina custodian will be as nice to me if she has to clean that up. Oof.
1) Sara and I went to see "The Help" yesterday. It was a great movie, but it made me totally sick to my stomach. I sort of knew what the movie would be about, but since I'd never read the book and really only had two movie reviews to guide me (one that said the movie was wonderful and uplifting, and one that said it was trite and manipulative), I wasn't prepared for how the movie would make me feel.
Look, I've lived in Alabama all of my life and I'm certainly no stranger to racism. I've seen people say and do the most ignorant things imaginable because they were just simply, blindly, bigoted. People who hate because their families say it's OK to hate others because of their color. It's frigging TRADITION to some of these people, and it seriously makes me wonder if any of them even know why they hate. It's awful. I've seen and heard bad things, but if what went on in that movie was even close to what happened in real life...I haven't even scratched the surface.
Even though my family is descended from a mishmash of sharecroppers and Indians, and I'm fairly certain none of them ever owned slaves or had "Help" like the Junya-League Ladies in that movie, I still feel as if I should apologize to everyone for being white, southern and a woman.
I'm just relieved that the movie wasn't set in Alabama. Oy vey.
Great movie, though.
2) I started a new blog the other day! It's called "We Review All the Things!" and it's basically what it sounds like.
Hey, you people know how much I like to review stuff, and I do it on here whenever I think about it, but I thought it would be fun to have a separate blog dedicated to it. I don't know why, really. I'm not really contributing anything else to the world these days, so why not?
I may have a friend writing it with me, but since she's off learning how to save lives, she may not get much of a chance to do it. Hopefully I won't forget about it and leave it mostly blank forever. We'll see! :)
3) Oh, and since I haven't mentioned the job situation lately, let me give you an update. I was offered a job in June. I accepted said job. I never heard back from the guy who offered me the job. Well, I've talked to him, and even sent him a note asking about the job, but nada. Oh well, I'm not bovvered. He has his reasons, and I'm not going to bug him about it. Apparently, it just isn't where I need to be. I've gone zen about it all. I'll just make hats.
4) I mowed the lawn today and had a minor freak out. We have a large weeping willow next to the fence, and I hate mowing under it because there is just no way to avoid driving through the branches. It's like being in a drive-through car wash, when the long, flappy things that slobber soap suds all over the car slide over you. Only there are leaves. Anyway, I finally just decided to go for it and get that one patch I always avoid when I'm mowing, and when I did, the branches slid over me and a whole lot of things fell on me, including something that looked like the empty shell of Cthulu. I screamed and started swinging my arms around and brushing myself off and I can within an ace of running to a bush. It took me a minute to realize it was a cicada shell, and I don't know why it bothered me so much, because I used to play with those when I was little. It heebed me out badly, though. I wasn't expecting it, and had I not realized what it was in time, my neighbors would have had the treat of seeing me strip naked in the front yard and run screaming into the house. I think we're all glad that didn't happen.
5) I went to the gym this morning and decided to change up the routine a little. Usually, I just spend a lot of time on the elliptical, doing whatever it is that ellipticals simulate. I knew that I'd eventually have to change that up, so I added in some of the weight training machines. I have no idea what it was that I did to myself on one of them, but it must have pushed me just a teeny bit past my current stamina level, because right in the middle of doing one of them, I almost puked on the machine. I still have no idea what I did, but I hope that doesn't happen again. Somehow, I don't think the nice Latina custodian will be as nice to me if she has to clean that up. Oof.
Friday, August 12, 2011
GAME OVER, MAN... GAME OVER
This morning I sat down at my computer, as I do everyday, to check my email and see what's going on in the world.
I had gotten a message from a friend on Facebook, and I had just clicked the link in my email to answer it when my computer said in the default robot voice:
My initial thought was, "Oh, great, I've opened up a website with a talking ad. I hate those."
Seriously, whoever decided that an ad that plays loudly and suddenly without your consent was a good idea, was an idiot. I continued my typing, ignoring the sound when the computer then said:
"Hello, Kelly."
OK, hold up. Talking ads exist, but I don't know of any that know my name. I then thought that I had somehow accidentally enabled the program for visually impaired that reads off what I had typed. However, I haven't even been to that section of my computer preferences since I've had this computer, so I knew that wasn't it. Then it occurred to me that the guy who sent me the email message (one of my computer savvy friends) could have somehow somehow rigged the message to read what I was writing, but it dawned on me that it wasn't reading what I was writing. All of those thoughts flashed through my head in a second or so, and I don't mind telling you it kind of freaked me out. Ok, it didn't just "kind of" freak me out, it scared me very badly. I was staring, unblinking at the screen with my fingers frozen over the keyboard, trying to understand what was going on. So I did the only thing I could think of. I said...
"What? Are you...are you talking to me?"
The computer said "Yes."
My stomach did a weird kind of flip inside and I went cold all over. I began looking up at the web chat camera embedded in the monitor and I thought that maybe someone had hacked into my computer and was messing with me. My initial thought after that was "Thank God I'm not naked or something..."
I don't mind telling you that at this point my mind kind of went blank and I don't remember exactly what the computer began saying to me, but I do remember that the computer was talking to me. Not just saying words, but answering my questions. The blank, soulless, robot voice was comping through the speakers, saying things that were clearly aimed at me and not just randomly being picked out of on-screen text. The only thing I remember clearly is me being on the edge of my chair, ready to jump up and run out of the house, and saying,
"What? Why? Why are you talking to me?"
Then I jumped up and ran into the kitchen. That's where I saw Steve, doubled up at his laptop, laughing hysterically. Apparently someone he works with told him about a great joke to play on someone who has a Mac. I don't pretend to understand what he did, but he made the computer talk. He connected to my iMac through his laptop, and he could hear me talking to the computer, so he was answering my questions. He thought it was quite clever. I, however, thought that the machines were about to rise up and kill us all.
I used to think that it was good to have a technoweenie in the house. Now...I'm not so sure.
This morning I sat down at my computer, as I do everyday, to check my email and see what's going on in the world.
I had gotten a message from a friend on Facebook, and I had just clicked the link in my email to answer it when my computer said in the default robot voice:
"Hello."
My initial thought was, "Oh, great, I've opened up a website with a talking ad. I hate those."
Seriously, whoever decided that an ad that plays loudly and suddenly without your consent was a good idea, was an idiot. I continued my typing, ignoring the sound when the computer then said:
"Hello, Kelly."
OK, hold up. Talking ads exist, but I don't know of any that know my name. I then thought that I had somehow accidentally enabled the program for visually impaired that reads off what I had typed. However, I haven't even been to that section of my computer preferences since I've had this computer, so I knew that wasn't it. Then it occurred to me that the guy who sent me the email message (one of my computer savvy friends) could have somehow somehow rigged the message to read what I was writing, but it dawned on me that it wasn't reading what I was writing. All of those thoughts flashed through my head in a second or so, and I don't mind telling you it kind of freaked me out. Ok, it didn't just "kind of" freak me out, it scared me very badly. I was staring, unblinking at the screen with my fingers frozen over the keyboard, trying to understand what was going on. So I did the only thing I could think of. I said...
"What? Are you...are you talking to me?"
The computer said "Yes."
My stomach did a weird kind of flip inside and I went cold all over. I began looking up at the web chat camera embedded in the monitor and I thought that maybe someone had hacked into my computer and was messing with me. My initial thought after that was "Thank God I'm not naked or something..."
I don't mind telling you that at this point my mind kind of went blank and I don't remember exactly what the computer began saying to me, but I do remember that the computer was talking to me. Not just saying words, but answering my questions. The blank, soulless, robot voice was comping through the speakers, saying things that were clearly aimed at me and not just randomly being picked out of on-screen text. The only thing I remember clearly is me being on the edge of my chair, ready to jump up and run out of the house, and saying,
"What? Why? Why are you talking to me?"
Then I jumped up and ran into the kitchen. That's where I saw Steve, doubled up at his laptop, laughing hysterically. Apparently someone he works with told him about a great joke to play on someone who has a Mac. I don't pretend to understand what he did, but he made the computer talk. He connected to my iMac through his laptop, and he could hear me talking to the computer, so he was answering my questions. He thought it was quite clever. I, however, thought that the machines were about to rise up and kill us all.
I used to think that it was good to have a technoweenie in the house. Now...I'm not so sure.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
UPDATE
Mr. Lee's surgery went fine and he's at home and resting at the moment. He's a little sore and stiff, but that's to be expected when someone takes a Drimmel bit to one of your most bendy joints, right? :)
We sat in the pre-op area with him for 4 hours before they took him back. FOUR HOURS. It wasn't terrible or anything, but he was supposed to be taken back way sooner than he was and since his leg tends to hurt more while he was lying down, he wasn't too happy with the wait. Luckily, one of his deacon friends was there and we all sat and talked until they took him back.
When they finally came and got him, Steve and I walked out into the post-op waiting room and attacked the vending machine. We were starving by this point, because we hadn't thought we would be there that long and hadn't had lunch. We only had enough time to have a bag of chips and a soda before the nurse came out and said he was all done and was waking up from sedation. We were away from him for about 45 minutes total, and that encompassed him being wheeled back, being sedated, having the surgery, and waking up from his sedation. The doc came out and showed us the pictures from the laproscopic camera (ew) and explained what they had done, and about 15 minutes later we were out the door. Wow. They should just install a drive through over at the surgery center!
Steve took Mr. Lee home while I stopped to get his pain meds and then got everyone something to eat. Mr. Lee hadn't eaten since the night before, so he was quite hungry by the time I got over to his place. We all sat for a while, and after making sure he was OK and didn't need us to stay the night, we left.
I called to check on him today and he's doing fine! Thanks for the prayers!
Mr. Lee's surgery went fine and he's at home and resting at the moment. He's a little sore and stiff, but that's to be expected when someone takes a Drimmel bit to one of your most bendy joints, right? :)
We sat in the pre-op area with him for 4 hours before they took him back. FOUR HOURS. It wasn't terrible or anything, but he was supposed to be taken back way sooner than he was and since his leg tends to hurt more while he was lying down, he wasn't too happy with the wait. Luckily, one of his deacon friends was there and we all sat and talked until they took him back.
When they finally came and got him, Steve and I walked out into the post-op waiting room and attacked the vending machine. We were starving by this point, because we hadn't thought we would be there that long and hadn't had lunch. We only had enough time to have a bag of chips and a soda before the nurse came out and said he was all done and was waking up from sedation. We were away from him for about 45 minutes total, and that encompassed him being wheeled back, being sedated, having the surgery, and waking up from his sedation. The doc came out and showed us the pictures from the laproscopic camera (ew) and explained what they had done, and about 15 minutes later we were out the door. Wow. They should just install a drive through over at the surgery center!
Steve took Mr. Lee home while I stopped to get his pain meds and then got everyone something to eat. Mr. Lee hadn't eaten since the night before, so he was quite hungry by the time I got over to his place. We all sat for a while, and after making sure he was OK and didn't need us to stay the night, we left.
I called to check on him today and he's doing fine! Thanks for the prayers!
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
A QUICKIE
If you have a moment, please say a prayer for Mr. Lee tomorrow. He's going to have knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. It shouldn't be a terribly serious surgery, but I'm sure he would appreciate the prayers while the doctors are poking holes in his knee and rooting around in there.
Also, just so you know, I like saying the word "meniscus."
Meniscus.
Meniscus.
Meniscus.
If you have a moment, please say a prayer for Mr. Lee tomorrow. He's going to have knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. It shouldn't be a terribly serious surgery, but I'm sure he would appreciate the prayers while the doctors are poking holes in his knee and rooting around in there.
Also, just so you know, I like saying the word "meniscus."
Meniscus.
Meniscus.
Meniscus.
Monday, August 08, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) I think something is wrong with me. Not health-wise or anything, but I think I have the mentality of a super-villain. Yesterday I was sitting in church, of all places, and I caught myself giggling at the thought of having super powers and using them against one of my fellow church members. I wasn't imagining causing them pain or anything like that, so don't get scared, but I was having a grand old time thinking about causing him psychological distress. This isn't even a person I dislike, so I'm not sure why the thought of screwing with his mind was so funny to me. When I say I caught myself doing it, that is the truth. I was just sitting there, smirking about it, when I realized what I was thinking in the back of my head. Geez. It would be bad enough that I could become a super villain, but I certainly wouldn't want my origin story to begin by me causing one of my church family to have a nervous breakdown.
2) A cable representative (heh) will be coming by our house today to work on our modem. We've been having periodic slow-ass connectivity for the past week, and it was driving Steve insane. We got a recorded message yesterday reminding us of the "appointment," and I use that term loosely. The message said something to the effect of "Please remember you have an appointment. The cable representative will be arriving sometime between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm so please be available." Huh...really? I'm glad they were able to narrow down the times I could expect them. Otherwise, I might be able to have a productive day or something. Fun.
3) Speaking of appointments...oy, vey. Last Thursday, I was expecting the bug man to come by. I NEEDED him to come by, after finding the giant roaches in the house. Usually, our bug man comes in the afternoon, so I was thinking it wasn't out of the question for me to have a shower and change before he got there. The exterminator usually stays outdoors and sprays all the way around the house, so I don't have to move anything inside or clean up the house specially for him. Usually. I happened to walk out of the back of the house fairly early on Thursday, in my pajamas, mad hair, and pillow creases still on my face, to see the exterminator walking to the door. I didn't know what to do, but I figured that if he was going to be outdoors, it wasn't too big of a deal. Of course, when I opened the door, I found out that he was the termite guy and not the bug sprayer! He started going over the interior of the house with a flashlight! I was so embarrassed! I've been in the process of organizing my office and planning a massive Goodwill dump, so I've got boxes and clothes everywhere. We already have a clutter problem, so that was already an issue, but it was worse that day. Plus the bed hadn't been made and since we have a weird shoe migration issue in our bedroom, shoes were everywhere. I had laundry piled up in the hallway waiting to be washed and laundry in our bedroom waiting to be folded. I was horrified. The termite guy didn't say anything, but I was still embarrassed. I just hope he's seen worse.
4) I've been helping Sara with her wedding plans and we went to look at a lot of different venues in Huntsville last Wednesday! It was so much fun! We only got lost two or three times. Sara blames me, but I'm firmly convinced that her GPS is evil and possessed by a demon with no directional sense. We saw the event halls at two different museums, a giant house that was especially built for weddings, and my personal favorite place, the Weeden House. I'm beginning to think that wedding stuff is much cuter than it used to be when I got married. I mean, dresses are dresses and flowers are flowers, but I like the aesthetic of the more casual, DIY style that a lot of wedding websites show these days. Even wedding photography is more interesting. My wedding was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I really enjoy looking at the things that are currently in vogue these days. I like weddings, I can't help it. I can't bring myself to watch any of the TV shows about wedding planning, dress shopping, or bridezillas (I've already promised Sara a beat down if she wanders into that territory, because I love her, of course) but I love to help plan them! The only thing I will not tolerate that I've seen these days are mustaches on sticks. I don't care how hipster-trendy they are, they make me want to punch people. KNOW THIS!
5) I used a chainsaw this past weekend! That probably doesn't sound very exciting to you, but I've never used one before! I didn't cut myself or maim Steve, so I consider the experiment to be a success! We were trying to cut down that blasted holly tree that we can't seem to ever get rid of. I hate that tree with a vengeance that is only equal to the hatred I feel for the Zombie Crape Myrtle. We've tried cutting it down and other people have tried cutting it down, but it WILL. NOT. DIE. To make matters worse, a giant honeysuckle bush grew up through it and it all got tangled up in a big, leafy mess. The result looks terrible, and I have no doubt that it's only going to come back stronger and more powerful than before, but at least right now you can see out of the guest room window. Part of me wants to find one of the straighter branches and make a Harry Potter wand out of it. 11 inches long, made of holly...all I need after that is a Phoenix feather. You can get those online, right? :)
Have a great week, folks!
1) I think something is wrong with me. Not health-wise or anything, but I think I have the mentality of a super-villain. Yesterday I was sitting in church, of all places, and I caught myself giggling at the thought of having super powers and using them against one of my fellow church members. I wasn't imagining causing them pain or anything like that, so don't get scared, but I was having a grand old time thinking about causing him psychological distress. This isn't even a person I dislike, so I'm not sure why the thought of screwing with his mind was so funny to me. When I say I caught myself doing it, that is the truth. I was just sitting there, smirking about it, when I realized what I was thinking in the back of my head. Geez. It would be bad enough that I could become a super villain, but I certainly wouldn't want my origin story to begin by me causing one of my church family to have a nervous breakdown.
2) A cable representative (heh) will be coming by our house today to work on our modem. We've been having periodic slow-ass connectivity for the past week, and it was driving Steve insane. We got a recorded message yesterday reminding us of the "appointment," and I use that term loosely. The message said something to the effect of "Please remember you have an appointment. The cable representative will be arriving sometime between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm so please be available." Huh...really? I'm glad they were able to narrow down the times I could expect them. Otherwise, I might be able to have a productive day or something. Fun.
3) Speaking of appointments...oy, vey. Last Thursday, I was expecting the bug man to come by. I NEEDED him to come by, after finding the giant roaches in the house. Usually, our bug man comes in the afternoon, so I was thinking it wasn't out of the question for me to have a shower and change before he got there. The exterminator usually stays outdoors and sprays all the way around the house, so I don't have to move anything inside or clean up the house specially for him. Usually. I happened to walk out of the back of the house fairly early on Thursday, in my pajamas, mad hair, and pillow creases still on my face, to see the exterminator walking to the door. I didn't know what to do, but I figured that if he was going to be outdoors, it wasn't too big of a deal. Of course, when I opened the door, I found out that he was the termite guy and not the bug sprayer! He started going over the interior of the house with a flashlight! I was so embarrassed! I've been in the process of organizing my office and planning a massive Goodwill dump, so I've got boxes and clothes everywhere. We already have a clutter problem, so that was already an issue, but it was worse that day. Plus the bed hadn't been made and since we have a weird shoe migration issue in our bedroom, shoes were everywhere. I had laundry piled up in the hallway waiting to be washed and laundry in our bedroom waiting to be folded. I was horrified. The termite guy didn't say anything, but I was still embarrassed. I just hope he's seen worse.
4) I've been helping Sara with her wedding plans and we went to look at a lot of different venues in Huntsville last Wednesday! It was so much fun! We only got lost two or three times. Sara blames me, but I'm firmly convinced that her GPS is evil and possessed by a demon with no directional sense. We saw the event halls at two different museums, a giant house that was especially built for weddings, and my personal favorite place, the Weeden House. I'm beginning to think that wedding stuff is much cuter than it used to be when I got married. I mean, dresses are dresses and flowers are flowers, but I like the aesthetic of the more casual, DIY style that a lot of wedding websites show these days. Even wedding photography is more interesting. My wedding was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I really enjoy looking at the things that are currently in vogue these days. I like weddings, I can't help it. I can't bring myself to watch any of the TV shows about wedding planning, dress shopping, or bridezillas (I've already promised Sara a beat down if she wanders into that territory, because I love her, of course) but I love to help plan them! The only thing I will not tolerate that I've seen these days are mustaches on sticks. I don't care how hipster-trendy they are, they make me want to punch people. KNOW THIS!
5) I used a chainsaw this past weekend! That probably doesn't sound very exciting to you, but I've never used one before! I didn't cut myself or maim Steve, so I consider the experiment to be a success! We were trying to cut down that blasted holly tree that we can't seem to ever get rid of. I hate that tree with a vengeance that is only equal to the hatred I feel for the Zombie Crape Myrtle. We've tried cutting it down and other people have tried cutting it down, but it WILL. NOT. DIE. To make matters worse, a giant honeysuckle bush grew up through it and it all got tangled up in a big, leafy mess. The result looks terrible, and I have no doubt that it's only going to come back stronger and more powerful than before, but at least right now you can see out of the guest room window. Part of me wants to find one of the straighter branches and make a Harry Potter wand out of it. 11 inches long, made of holly...all I need after that is a Phoenix feather. You can get those online, right? :)
Have a great week, folks!
Friday, August 05, 2011
*SIGH*
Well, this is lovely.
As some of you already know, I have a Twitter account. I don't use my real name, and since I had an old account under the name I'm most well known as on the internets, that I cancelled years ago, I couldn't get that name back. When I started my Twitter account back up again, I decided to use a nickname a friend of mine from the Sprocket (ptooey) gave me. I'd tell you what the name is, but it might only exacerbate my current problem.
Basically, it's an abbreviated version of the French word for grapefruit. That's all I'm saying.
If you aren't familiar with the way Twitter works, when you want to refer to someone else who might have a Twitter account (or anyone, really) you put an @ sign before their name or handle. That creates an automatic link to the account with that name, apparently whether or not the person they are talking about has a Twitter account of their own or not.
Anyway, after I opened this particular account, at first I noticed that my Twitter feed was being linked to by people who are referring to friends who actually had this name, or a variation of it. At first, it was all in Portuguese, and whoever this person I shared a name with was a party animal because when I finally figured out what language it was, I translated it online and the tweets were always talking about going to clubs and parties. It was a little annoying to get an email every time this person referred to my account, but I was OK with that, because it was harmless. Plus, it wasn't happening very often. I just sort of wished that whoever kept linking to my feed would figure out that they were linking to the wrong person.
Next, I started getting a lot (and I mean a lot) of emails mentioning that I was being referred to by a professional organization that just happened to have an acronym that was the same as my Twitter name. This was a bit more annoying because whoever was in charge of the "professional" social networking for this company wasn't smart enough to realize that if they wanted to refer to something going on within their organization, and since they didn't own that particular Twitter account name, they needed to refer to themselves with a # instead of an @. If nothing else, anyone interested in joining their organization would be linked to my Twitter account, which is about as banal and non professional as one can be, instead of being directed to anything that had to do with them. That's just bad business, and it was probably frustrating to anyone trying to follow the organization on Twitter. Eventually, though, the references to me by that company stopped, hopefully because they got someone who figured out how the site worked.
Now, however, I've got a whole new problem. I'd been getting notifications that my account was being linked to a lot, and I couldn't figure out why. The entries were all in a language I didn't know, or even recognize, and while they did reference my name (therefore linking to my account) whoever posted it also has a link to a picture of a mostly naked woman in an...uh...well, porny pose. Since you can't see the woman's face, anyone who clicks on the name link is redirected to my page and that makes it look like it's me posting naked pictures of myself online. I most certainly am not doing this! I'm also getting questions in languages I don't understand, so I can't clear up the confusion with these international pervs. I did a little digging and finally figured out that the link was written in Turkish, and once I got that far, I was able to find the webpage where the picture came from. Apparently, there is a Turkish model or celebrity of some kind who takes mostly naked pictures of herself and posts them on her website. Honestly, if I had a body like hers I'd probably be posting naked pictures of myself online too...but since it isn't me, I'd rather not be associated. I also realized that her name is one stinking letter off from my Twitter account name, and the dumb ass who originally posted the link to the picture misspelled her name and that is why all of these Turkish horn-dogs won't leave me alone. Until this dies out, or until this lady gets her own Twitter account, there isn't anything I can do but occasionally put up my own tweets in English (a lot of good that does) that I am not the naked Turkish model.
Granted, I could change my name on the Twitter account. I know this. I shouldn't have to, though. I like having something I can use that doesn't automatically link me to everything else I do online. The only people who know who I am are the friends I have who personally know me, and anyone else following me just knows me as my screen name.
Oh, well. This too shall pass, I guess. Now, if I could just figure out how to start charging these idiots who can't seem to understand I'm not this woman every time the link is posted, I wouldn't mind. Heck, I'd learn Turkish and pretend to be her. It's not my goodies being flashed all over the internet, after all. It'd be a win-win for everyone. :)
Well, this is lovely.
As some of you already know, I have a Twitter account. I don't use my real name, and since I had an old account under the name I'm most well known as on the internets, that I cancelled years ago, I couldn't get that name back. When I started my Twitter account back up again, I decided to use a nickname a friend of mine from the Sprocket (ptooey) gave me. I'd tell you what the name is, but it might only exacerbate my current problem.
Basically, it's an abbreviated version of the French word for grapefruit. That's all I'm saying.
If you aren't familiar with the way Twitter works, when you want to refer to someone else who might have a Twitter account (or anyone, really) you put an @ sign before their name or handle. That creates an automatic link to the account with that name, apparently whether or not the person they are talking about has a Twitter account of their own or not.
Anyway, after I opened this particular account, at first I noticed that my Twitter feed was being linked to by people who are referring to friends who actually had this name, or a variation of it. At first, it was all in Portuguese, and whoever this person I shared a name with was a party animal because when I finally figured out what language it was, I translated it online and the tweets were always talking about going to clubs and parties. It was a little annoying to get an email every time this person referred to my account, but I was OK with that, because it was harmless. Plus, it wasn't happening very often. I just sort of wished that whoever kept linking to my feed would figure out that they were linking to the wrong person.
Next, I started getting a lot (and I mean a lot) of emails mentioning that I was being referred to by a professional organization that just happened to have an acronym that was the same as my Twitter name. This was a bit more annoying because whoever was in charge of the "professional" social networking for this company wasn't smart enough to realize that if they wanted to refer to something going on within their organization, and since they didn't own that particular Twitter account name, they needed to refer to themselves with a # instead of an @. If nothing else, anyone interested in joining their organization would be linked to my Twitter account, which is about as banal and non professional as one can be, instead of being directed to anything that had to do with them. That's just bad business, and it was probably frustrating to anyone trying to follow the organization on Twitter. Eventually, though, the references to me by that company stopped, hopefully because they got someone who figured out how the site worked.
Now, however, I've got a whole new problem. I'd been getting notifications that my account was being linked to a lot, and I couldn't figure out why. The entries were all in a language I didn't know, or even recognize, and while they did reference my name (therefore linking to my account) whoever posted it also has a link to a picture of a mostly naked woman in an...uh...well, porny pose. Since you can't see the woman's face, anyone who clicks on the name link is redirected to my page and that makes it look like it's me posting naked pictures of myself online. I most certainly am not doing this! I'm also getting questions in languages I don't understand, so I can't clear up the confusion with these international pervs. I did a little digging and finally figured out that the link was written in Turkish, and once I got that far, I was able to find the webpage where the picture came from. Apparently, there is a Turkish model or celebrity of some kind who takes mostly naked pictures of herself and posts them on her website. Honestly, if I had a body like hers I'd probably be posting naked pictures of myself online too...but since it isn't me, I'd rather not be associated. I also realized that her name is one stinking letter off from my Twitter account name, and the dumb ass who originally posted the link to the picture misspelled her name and that is why all of these Turkish horn-dogs won't leave me alone. Until this dies out, or until this lady gets her own Twitter account, there isn't anything I can do but occasionally put up my own tweets in English (a lot of good that does) that I am not the naked Turkish model.
Granted, I could change my name on the Twitter account. I know this. I shouldn't have to, though. I like having something I can use that doesn't automatically link me to everything else I do online. The only people who know who I am are the friends I have who personally know me, and anyone else following me just knows me as my screen name.
Oh, well. This too shall pass, I guess. Now, if I could just figure out how to start charging these idiots who can't seem to understand I'm not this woman every time the link is posted, I wouldn't mind. Heck, I'd learn Turkish and pretend to be her. It's not my goodies being flashed all over the internet, after all. It'd be a win-win for everyone. :)
Monday, August 01, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) Bear had a vet appointment on Saturday with a new doctor. When Steve called to make the appointment, he was asked if he had a doctor preference and he said yes. When they asked if it was our regular vet, he said no and asked for the nice, blonde lady we had once. I didn't know this, of course, so I was in a state of pre-rage over having to face that condescending heifer we normally go to. I know, I know, I shouldn't say things like that, but seriously, whenever we go to the vet I get that "First-Day-of-School" feeling in my stomach because I don't want to go and have to sit there while the vet talks to us like we're children. But I digress. When Steve told me we were going to see the blonde vet, I was glad, because even though we've only seen her one time, we really liked her a lot and she genuinely seems to enjoy working with the dogs (even when they act like butt-heads). I felt kind of sneaky, coming in to see a different vet, but I figured since it was Saturday, the regular vet would never know! Bear's visit went fine, except that he's fat, but we made it through the entire visit without being talked down to or me flying into a rage and wanting to yank off the vet's arms, wookie-style. I thought we were home free, until we stepped out of the examining room and the vet we don't like was sitting there. I felt like I'd been caught cheating on her or something. I wanted to step up to her and yell "YOU NEVER GAVE ME WHAT I NEEDED! YOU NEVER TREATED ME RIGHT! I HAD TO GO TO GO ELSEWHERE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Of course, I didn't. Coward that I am, I took the dog to the car while Steve payed and filled out paperwork so I wouldn't have to stand there in the cone of shame. Oh, well. It was definitely her, not me.
2) I think I linked to this a couple of years ago, but I'm going to do it again, just in case I didn't. I realize that most people won't enjoy looking at these like I do, but the Tennessee Sampler Survey has been taking up my internet time recently. It's a site dedicated to documenting and preserving needlework heritage from Tennessee. The samplers (or cross stitch/embroidery pictures for those who aren't down with the lingo, heh) are almost all by young women who were in Female Academies in Tennessee in the early 19th Century. Those are schools for women where they learned to be ladies, and to learn things ladies needed to know how to do! I imagine they were like high schools where almost every class is home ec. Most of the samplers can be proven to be from Tennessee, and since the names and dates were on most of them, the people who made them can be traced and a bit of information about the person is included with each sampler. I like these because they weren't meant to be put in a museum or anything, and they are very personal to each girl who made them. Basically, it was just a piece of homework they had, so they show different quirks and tastes from different parts of Tennessee. I wish there were something like this from the female academies of Alabama. It's funny to me that stuff like this was once taught in schools for girls, but then again, I guess young southern women in the early 1800s weren't exactly looking to become doctors and engineers. They were most probableh tryin' to catch a husband, and you had to know how to do these things to be a propaaah lady. Heeheehee.
3) Over the past two days, I have found two giant roaches in our house. I hate roaches. I hate them. When I see them, my skin crawls and all I want to do is sit in a very clean, empty room where I can see every inch of the floor around me. I had to dispose of them myself, because both times Steve hasn't been available to get them for me. I think they're only inside because it's been so hot outside, and because of the deluge of rain we got on Saturday, and because it's almost time for the exterminator to come, so I'm hoping that they go away after the bug man cometh on Thursday, but I've got to live here until then. I've now been inspired to go into every room and box up anything that is on the floor, sterilize the house, spray poison on every inch of baseboard, and set fire to the whole thing. Seriously, and I don't care how sissy this sounds to you, but after the one I found this morning, Steve was late for work because he had to calm me down. I went fetal. If I'm ever in a place where the cockroaches fly or hiss, I will not survive.
4) Steve and I went to see Cowboys and Aliens this weekend, and I liked it a lot! It wasn't the greatest movie ever, but it was fun and Harrison Ford was in it! Also, that last British dude who played James Bond. I can't remember his name and I don't care enough to look it up. Anyway, the movie was good, but a little weird. I think it's just difficult to blend any kind of different genre with a western and have it mesh seamlessly. Firefly is the only instance of sci-fi and western being completely successfully mixed that I know of! This wasn't bad at all, though. I mean, who knows, maybe aliens did visit earth in Wild West days. Think of all the cattle they could mutilate! :)
1) Bear had a vet appointment on Saturday with a new doctor. When Steve called to make the appointment, he was asked if he had a doctor preference and he said yes. When they asked if it was our regular vet, he said no and asked for the nice, blonde lady we had once. I didn't know this, of course, so I was in a state of pre-rage over having to face that condescending heifer we normally go to. I know, I know, I shouldn't say things like that, but seriously, whenever we go to the vet I get that "First-Day-of-School" feeling in my stomach because I don't want to go and have to sit there while the vet talks to us like we're children. But I digress. When Steve told me we were going to see the blonde vet, I was glad, because even though we've only seen her one time, we really liked her a lot and she genuinely seems to enjoy working with the dogs (even when they act like butt-heads). I felt kind of sneaky, coming in to see a different vet, but I figured since it was Saturday, the regular vet would never know! Bear's visit went fine, except that he's fat, but we made it through the entire visit without being talked down to or me flying into a rage and wanting to yank off the vet's arms, wookie-style. I thought we were home free, until we stepped out of the examining room and the vet we don't like was sitting there. I felt like I'd been caught cheating on her or something. I wanted to step up to her and yell "YOU NEVER GAVE ME WHAT I NEEDED! YOU NEVER TREATED ME RIGHT! I HAD TO GO TO GO ELSEWHERE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Of course, I didn't. Coward that I am, I took the dog to the car while Steve payed and filled out paperwork so I wouldn't have to stand there in the cone of shame. Oh, well. It was definitely her, not me.
2) I think I linked to this a couple of years ago, but I'm going to do it again, just in case I didn't. I realize that most people won't enjoy looking at these like I do, but the Tennessee Sampler Survey has been taking up my internet time recently. It's a site dedicated to documenting and preserving needlework heritage from Tennessee. The samplers (or cross stitch/embroidery pictures for those who aren't down with the lingo, heh) are almost all by young women who were in Female Academies in Tennessee in the early 19th Century. Those are schools for women where they learned to be ladies, and to learn things ladies needed to know how to do! I imagine they were like high schools where almost every class is home ec. Most of the samplers can be proven to be from Tennessee, and since the names and dates were on most of them, the people who made them can be traced and a bit of information about the person is included with each sampler. I like these because they weren't meant to be put in a museum or anything, and they are very personal to each girl who made them. Basically, it was just a piece of homework they had, so they show different quirks and tastes from different parts of Tennessee. I wish there were something like this from the female academies of Alabama. It's funny to me that stuff like this was once taught in schools for girls, but then again, I guess young southern women in the early 1800s weren't exactly looking to become doctors and engineers. They were most probableh tryin' to catch a husband, and you had to know how to do these things to be a propaaah lady. Heeheehee.
3) Over the past two days, I have found two giant roaches in our house. I hate roaches. I hate them. When I see them, my skin crawls and all I want to do is sit in a very clean, empty room where I can see every inch of the floor around me. I had to dispose of them myself, because both times Steve hasn't been available to get them for me. I think they're only inside because it's been so hot outside, and because of the deluge of rain we got on Saturday, and because it's almost time for the exterminator to come, so I'm hoping that they go away after the bug man cometh on Thursday, but I've got to live here until then. I've now been inspired to go into every room and box up anything that is on the floor, sterilize the house, spray poison on every inch of baseboard, and set fire to the whole thing. Seriously, and I don't care how sissy this sounds to you, but after the one I found this morning, Steve was late for work because he had to calm me down. I went fetal. If I'm ever in a place where the cockroaches fly or hiss, I will not survive.
4) Steve and I went to see Cowboys and Aliens this weekend, and I liked it a lot! It wasn't the greatest movie ever, but it was fun and Harrison Ford was in it! Also, that last British dude who played James Bond. I can't remember his name and I don't care enough to look it up. Anyway, the movie was good, but a little weird. I think it's just difficult to blend any kind of different genre with a western and have it mesh seamlessly. Firefly is the only instance of sci-fi and western being completely successfully mixed that I know of! This wasn't bad at all, though. I mean, who knows, maybe aliens did visit earth in Wild West days. Think of all the cattle they could mutilate! :)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) I'm currently sitting at my desk trying very hard to put off going to the gym. I don't enjoy going to the gym, as I'm sure I've said here before, but today the angel on my right shoulder has triumphed over the devil on my left. Now I'm dressed in all of my gloriously geeky gym clothes and my Dumbledore's Army hat (Shut up. My hair is too short to pin back.) and I'm trying to make myself actually GO. I'm actually just in the middle of my Before-I-Go-To-The-Gym routine. I have to brush my teeth and hair, take all of my various medicines and vitamins, and then sit down to drink a bottle of water and think about important things like: why I should be going to the gym, why I don't want to go at all, why I want to eat all of the coffee cakes...stuff like that. Sigh. OK, I finished my water and it's time for me to go before I change my mind. Boo.
2) I'm back. Gleh.
3) Not long ago, we had to replace the old laser printer because it was eating documents and causing general mayhem. The new one scares me! It occasionally gets these weird electronic hiccups, usually when I'm home alone and not expecting them! It will also suddenly turn on with no warning and cycle up like it's going to print something, but nothing comes out. Of course, one day I expect a piece of paper to come out with something like "I'm Watching You" printed on it, but when that happens, I'm going to get a young priest, an old priest and a rifle and put it out of it's misery.
4) Today I tried my hand at making homemade tapioca pudding. It sounded easy enough, and I had all of the ingredients on hand, which is rare. Unfortunately, what the recipe said would happen didn't happen, and so I kept adding tapioca pearls into it thinking that it would even out. It didn't. Also, I spilled a very large amount of salt into it, but I'm going to eat it anyways because if I'm going to stand and stir it for an hour, I refuse to throw it away until I at least attempt eating it. I tried adding chocolate and vanilla bean to it as well, which kind of helped. It still doesn't look like the recipe says it would, but I think I know what I did wrong. I mean, other than the large amount of salt thing. I'll try again when I get more milk.
5) If you have a spare prayer, do you mind saying it for Grandma? As some of you know, she had a stroke a month or two ago and up until the other day, she had been doing much better. Unfortunately, she had a couple of seizures and is back in the hospital. Although Mr. Lee said she sounds OK, he also said she isn't making sense. She seems to think she's going to be going home, and possibly traveling out here soon. We aren't sure if she's just being optimistic, or if she really has no idea what's going on. I'm sure she'd appreciate the prayers. :)
6) You know, I just don't understand people sometimes. A few weeks ago, I got an email survey from a website where I am a member. The website happens to be for a jewelry company that I admire, although I'd be hard pressed to actually afford much of what they sell, and the email said the first 75,000 (I think) people to fill out and return the survey would get a free bracelet. Normally I wouldn't bother filling it out because I know that mailing lists for these companies are huge, but I figured I'd at least try. I filled it out, but when I submitted it, I got a message saying that they'd already run out of promotional items, but thanks for my input. I wasn't too bothered about it, since I knew it would be a long shot anyway, and I didn't mind filling out the survey. After a couple of hours, I completely forgot about it. Fast forward a few weeks and I got a package in the mail which happened to be one of the bracelets! I was very surprised and pleased, because it wasn't a cheap knockoff, it was actually one of the bracelets that the company sold! Granted, it wasn't one of the expensive ones, but it was genuine, and actually not the cheapest item they have. Now, having worked in marketing (albeit, marginally) I know how these things usually work. They were probably going to discontinue the product because they weren't selling and they had a huge surplus to get rid of (EDIT: which turned out to be the case after I checked the product line) or they just really needed the info and were willing to lose the money. Also, I'm fairly certain the company marks up the stuff substantially, so they probably weren't losing as much as I think. At any rate, I was glad to have the bracelet. It was nice, I wasn't expecting it and I didn't have to pay for it!
A couple of days later, I got an email from the same company saying they had a Facebook page, so I went to it to see what there was to see. I began reading the page updates, and noticed that a lot of other people had gotten the free bracelets, too. Neato, right? Most of the posts were nice and the people were saying their thanks, but I noticed a few who were kind of nasty. There were a lot of whiny people saying things like "I wish I could have gotten a chance to take that survey. I guess you don't want to keep all of your customers happy." and "I just spent $1,200 in your store and I didn't get anything for free, I don't think that's fair!" And there were those who said things like "Don't worry about not getting the bracelet, it was cheap and ugly." Then there were a lot, and I mean a lot, of people who said things like "I finished the survey, but still haven't got my bracelet! :( Maybe I'm not getting it after all." Hmm.
Look, I like free stuff as much as anyone, but I've never felt "entitled" to them like a lot of these people seem to. I've actually noticed that kind of thing on a lot of websites and Facebook pages. People get their panties all in a bunch about missing out on free offers, or wondering where their free items are. I've seen people get hateful over something as stupid as drink powder samples. Seriously, these are the same people who made me hate working customer service jobs. If they are going to riot over free things that weren't even promised to them, I'd hate to think about how they are about things they actually pay for. Obviously, these people have a serious case of "First World Problems." Sheesh.
1) I'm currently sitting at my desk trying very hard to put off going to the gym. I don't enjoy going to the gym, as I'm sure I've said here before, but today the angel on my right shoulder has triumphed over the devil on my left. Now I'm dressed in all of my gloriously geeky gym clothes and my Dumbledore's Army hat (Shut up. My hair is too short to pin back.) and I'm trying to make myself actually GO. I'm actually just in the middle of my Before-I-Go-To-The-Gym routine. I have to brush my teeth and hair, take all of my various medicines and vitamins, and then sit down to drink a bottle of water and think about important things like: why I should be going to the gym, why I don't want to go at all, why I want to eat all of the coffee cakes...stuff like that. Sigh. OK, I finished my water and it's time for me to go before I change my mind. Boo.
2) I'm back. Gleh.
3) Not long ago, we had to replace the old laser printer because it was eating documents and causing general mayhem. The new one scares me! It occasionally gets these weird electronic hiccups, usually when I'm home alone and not expecting them! It will also suddenly turn on with no warning and cycle up like it's going to print something, but nothing comes out. Of course, one day I expect a piece of paper to come out with something like "I'm Watching You" printed on it, but when that happens, I'm going to get a young priest, an old priest and a rifle and put it out of it's misery.
4) Today I tried my hand at making homemade tapioca pudding. It sounded easy enough, and I had all of the ingredients on hand, which is rare. Unfortunately, what the recipe said would happen didn't happen, and so I kept adding tapioca pearls into it thinking that it would even out. It didn't. Also, I spilled a very large amount of salt into it, but I'm going to eat it anyways because if I'm going to stand and stir it for an hour, I refuse to throw it away until I at least attempt eating it. I tried adding chocolate and vanilla bean to it as well, which kind of helped. It still doesn't look like the recipe says it would, but I think I know what I did wrong. I mean, other than the large amount of salt thing. I'll try again when I get more milk.
5) If you have a spare prayer, do you mind saying it for Grandma? As some of you know, she had a stroke a month or two ago and up until the other day, she had been doing much better. Unfortunately, she had a couple of seizures and is back in the hospital. Although Mr. Lee said she sounds OK, he also said she isn't making sense. She seems to think she's going to be going home, and possibly traveling out here soon. We aren't sure if she's just being optimistic, or if she really has no idea what's going on. I'm sure she'd appreciate the prayers. :)
6) You know, I just don't understand people sometimes. A few weeks ago, I got an email survey from a website where I am a member. The website happens to be for a jewelry company that I admire, although I'd be hard pressed to actually afford much of what they sell, and the email said the first 75,000 (I think) people to fill out and return the survey would get a free bracelet. Normally I wouldn't bother filling it out because I know that mailing lists for these companies are huge, but I figured I'd at least try. I filled it out, but when I submitted it, I got a message saying that they'd already run out of promotional items, but thanks for my input. I wasn't too bothered about it, since I knew it would be a long shot anyway, and I didn't mind filling out the survey. After a couple of hours, I completely forgot about it. Fast forward a few weeks and I got a package in the mail which happened to be one of the bracelets! I was very surprised and pleased, because it wasn't a cheap knockoff, it was actually one of the bracelets that the company sold! Granted, it wasn't one of the expensive ones, but it was genuine, and actually not the cheapest item they have. Now, having worked in marketing (albeit, marginally) I know how these things usually work. They were probably going to discontinue the product because they weren't selling and they had a huge surplus to get rid of (EDIT: which turned out to be the case after I checked the product line) or they just really needed the info and were willing to lose the money. Also, I'm fairly certain the company marks up the stuff substantially, so they probably weren't losing as much as I think. At any rate, I was glad to have the bracelet. It was nice, I wasn't expecting it and I didn't have to pay for it!
A couple of days later, I got an email from the same company saying they had a Facebook page, so I went to it to see what there was to see. I began reading the page updates, and noticed that a lot of other people had gotten the free bracelets, too. Neato, right? Most of the posts were nice and the people were saying their thanks, but I noticed a few who were kind of nasty. There were a lot of whiny people saying things like "I wish I could have gotten a chance to take that survey. I guess you don't want to keep all of your customers happy." and "I just spent $1,200 in your store and I didn't get anything for free, I don't think that's fair!" And there were those who said things like "Don't worry about not getting the bracelet, it was cheap and ugly." Then there were a lot, and I mean a lot, of people who said things like "I finished the survey, but still haven't got my bracelet! :( Maybe I'm not getting it after all." Hmm.
Look, I like free stuff as much as anyone, but I've never felt "entitled" to them like a lot of these people seem to. I've actually noticed that kind of thing on a lot of websites and Facebook pages. People get their panties all in a bunch about missing out on free offers, or wondering where their free items are. I've seen people get hateful over something as stupid as drink powder samples. Seriously, these are the same people who made me hate working customer service jobs. If they are going to riot over free things that weren't even promised to them, I'd hate to think about how they are about things they actually pay for. Obviously, these people have a serious case of "First World Problems." Sheesh.
Monday, July 18, 2011
A QUICKIE
Steve and I got to go see Deathly Hallows Part 2 last night!
It was an awesome end to the series, even if some of the scenes were out of order and sort of smushed together. It had to be done that way, though, or the movie would have been 10 hours long.
Before going, I was reading about it online, and the writer said something about making sure you took along your hanky. I was all *snort* "He cried? Good Lord. It's Harry Potter for Pete's sake! It isn't like he didn't know what was going to happen." */snort*
Of course, (Spoilers if you've never read the book. Why haven't you read the book?) By the time the scene with Snape and Lily was even halfway over, pretty much onward into the whole Forbidden Forest scene, I was a snotty, teary mess. I totally spotted up my 3D glasses and almost missed THE pivotal scene in the movie because I was madly trying to clean them off. Oh, Alan Rickman... you creepy, beautiful bastard.
Before we left for the theater, I jokingly posted a question on Facebook asking if I should wear my cloak, or just take my wand. It didn't dawn on my until I was at the theater that most of my Facebook friends probably thought I was serious. Please, I'd never take a wand to a movie!
As for the cloak, it's made of velvet and much to hot for summer wear. :)
Great Movie.
Steve and I got to go see Deathly Hallows Part 2 last night!
It was an awesome end to the series, even if some of the scenes were out of order and sort of smushed together. It had to be done that way, though, or the movie would have been 10 hours long.
Before going, I was reading about it online, and the writer said something about making sure you took along your hanky. I was all *snort* "He cried? Good Lord. It's Harry Potter for Pete's sake! It isn't like he didn't know what was going to happen." */snort*
Of course, (Spoilers if you've never read the book. Why haven't you read the book?) By the time the scene with Snape and Lily was even halfway over, pretty much onward into the whole Forbidden Forest scene, I was a snotty, teary mess. I totally spotted up my 3D glasses and almost missed THE pivotal scene in the movie because I was madly trying to clean them off. Oh, Alan Rickman... you creepy, beautiful bastard.
Before we left for the theater, I jokingly posted a question on Facebook asking if I should wear my cloak, or just take my wand. It didn't dawn on my until I was at the theater that most of my Facebook friends probably thought I was serious. Please, I'd never take a wand to a movie!
As for the cloak, it's made of velvet and much to hot for summer wear. :)
Great Movie.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) Hola, y'all! I'm writing today from the den in my mother's house. My sister and I spent the weekend staying with my brother while mom and her husband went on a romantical vacation to Atlanta to watch baseball. Yeah...baseball. To each their own, I suppose. :) Angie stayed Friday night and I stayed on Saturday, and so far, Tommy is still alive. Yay! Steve had to come and help me lift him into bed last night, because I have little to no upper body strength, and Tommy is a big dude. I mean, I could still take him in a fight if I had to...but only if I got in a few punches before he pulled me down and hugged conscious thought out of me. Heh. I've learned over the years to avoid the "hug o' death" but sometimes he can get me when I'm not looking. :)
I hope he's not traumatized after spending the weekend with us. I think we make more noise than he's used to, because he seems really jumpy when we're around. He's probably still suffering from PTSD from when we were kids. Angie and I showed him no mercy as children, and I think he has 'Nam-like flashbacks. Oops.
The thing I worry about when I'm here is that I'm going to hurt him somehow. I know little to nothing about taking care of him, and what I do know how to do, I'm awfully clumsy. The last thing I'd want is to do him any harm, but since he can't say anything, I never know if what I'm doing is right. I'm sure he's just used to my mom, who is truly a superwoman for taking such good care of him all the time. If I can learn to be half as good as her at taking care of him, I'll be lucky. She's awesome! Don't tell her I said so, though, or she'll get cocky. Heehee! Hopefully, he won't get too mangled before she gets back.
2) Speaking of staying at mom's house: It's spooky! I know most of it is because I'm not used to being here at night, but there are so many weird sounds I'm not used to. Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, everything was quiet. Suddenly, I heard a sharp hissing noise! I almost swallowed my tongue. I had no idea where a suitable weapon could be located, and I didn't know if the ceiling fan could hold my weight, if - in fact- I had to jump up and cling to it Scooby-Doo-Style to get away from what could only have been a large, angry snake, or a Comodo dragon that mom and Grant keep stashed under the bed and had forgotten to tell me about. I came within an ace of fleeing into the street before I realized it was the infernal automatic air fresheners that she has in almost every room. Apparently, they are motion triggered, and when I flipped on the light, the sensor went off. I hate those things. Worse, they blend in with the decor, so I had to look for them, and even when I found them, I couldn't figure out how to turn them off. Stupid, hissing air fresheners. Also, I've been listening to a true crime audio novel about the Zodiac killer, and that might have been a teensy part of why I was so jumpy. My mom will never know how close she came to getting a Kelly-shaped hole in the wall of that bedroom.
3) I was hoping to see the final Harry Potter movie either tonight, or tomorrow, but apparently the movie is sold out everywhere up here for the next two weeks! Well, at least that's what Steve told me when I asked. Boo. I mean, it isn't as if I don't know how the movie will end and all that, but still. I'm kind of sad they'll be over. I mean, yes, technically I'm a bit old for Harry Potter, but I loved the books and enjoy the movies. It's one of the few traditions I have, so hopefully I'll get to see it soon. ---Ooooooh, coincidence. Right as I finished typing that, the phone rang and it was Steve saying he'd managed to get us tickets for tonight! Woot! Whoever told him it was sold out for two weeks is apparently a liar-face. A LIAR FACE!
4) OK, it's been a week, and now that I'm not trying to be subtle about it, that wedding last weekend was stupid hot. Hot to the point that I had to wear black, because I knew I'd sweat through any other color. Pardon me if I don't want to stand up amongst friends and strangers with giant pit rings on my dress. Also, wearing black and standing in the sun only exacerbates the problem. It was so hot I got sick to my stomach. Literally, I was sitting there and suddenly had the feeling that I was going to barf. I had sweat rolling down my face and back, and it was gross. Have you ever had beads of sweat rolling down your back while wearing a semi-formal gown? It feels like bugs. Have you ever had sweat rolling down your face that you couldn't wipe away because you were singing? It gets in your eyes and stings, it drips off of your face, and when the wedding photographer takes your picture, you look as if you've been running a marathon. If you run your hands through your hair in a situation like that, you realize that only the top layer of your hair is dry and them you walk around with clumpy, sweaty hair swinging in your face. Not pretty.
Seriously, people...why does anyone want to get married outdoors in the armpit of a Southern summer? Do they grow up thinking "It is going to be the happiest day of my life! I want everyone I love to burn! BUUUUURN!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Too much?
Look, I'm the very last person who'd ever want someone to get talked out of having the kind of wedding they'd like to have. If I'm asked to come to, or be in, or sing at a wedding on the ice floes of Antarctica wearing a strapless mini dress and a flamingo on my head, I'll do it if that is what the bride and groom want. Weddings are very personal and important, and everyone has a different idea of what makes them perfect. If that means someone has always wanted to get married outside, then so be it. One day, though, I'm going to write an open letter to any future brides from the Southeast who are thinking about gettined married outdoors during the summer. It'll mostly be a plea for mercy on behalf of everyone they know.
1) Hola, y'all! I'm writing today from the den in my mother's house. My sister and I spent the weekend staying with my brother while mom and her husband went on a romantical vacation to Atlanta to watch baseball. Yeah...baseball. To each their own, I suppose. :) Angie stayed Friday night and I stayed on Saturday, and so far, Tommy is still alive. Yay! Steve had to come and help me lift him into bed last night, because I have little to no upper body strength, and Tommy is a big dude. I mean, I could still take him in a fight if I had to...but only if I got in a few punches before he pulled me down and hugged conscious thought out of me. Heh. I've learned over the years to avoid the "hug o' death" but sometimes he can get me when I'm not looking. :)
I hope he's not traumatized after spending the weekend with us. I think we make more noise than he's used to, because he seems really jumpy when we're around. He's probably still suffering from PTSD from when we were kids. Angie and I showed him no mercy as children, and I think he has 'Nam-like flashbacks. Oops.
The thing I worry about when I'm here is that I'm going to hurt him somehow. I know little to nothing about taking care of him, and what I do know how to do, I'm awfully clumsy. The last thing I'd want is to do him any harm, but since he can't say anything, I never know if what I'm doing is right. I'm sure he's just used to my mom, who is truly a superwoman for taking such good care of him all the time. If I can learn to be half as good as her at taking care of him, I'll be lucky. She's awesome! Don't tell her I said so, though, or she'll get cocky. Heehee! Hopefully, he won't get too mangled before she gets back.
2) Speaking of staying at mom's house: It's spooky! I know most of it is because I'm not used to being here at night, but there are so many weird sounds I'm not used to. Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, everything was quiet. Suddenly, I heard a sharp hissing noise! I almost swallowed my tongue. I had no idea where a suitable weapon could be located, and I didn't know if the ceiling fan could hold my weight, if - in fact- I had to jump up and cling to it Scooby-Doo-Style to get away from what could only have been a large, angry snake, or a Comodo dragon that mom and Grant keep stashed under the bed and had forgotten to tell me about. I came within an ace of fleeing into the street before I realized it was the infernal automatic air fresheners that she has in almost every room. Apparently, they are motion triggered, and when I flipped on the light, the sensor went off. I hate those things. Worse, they blend in with the decor, so I had to look for them, and even when I found them, I couldn't figure out how to turn them off. Stupid, hissing air fresheners. Also, I've been listening to a true crime audio novel about the Zodiac killer, and that might have been a teensy part of why I was so jumpy. My mom will never know how close she came to getting a Kelly-shaped hole in the wall of that bedroom.
3) I was hoping to see the final Harry Potter movie either tonight, or tomorrow, but apparently the movie is sold out everywhere up here for the next two weeks! Well, at least that's what Steve told me when I asked. Boo. I mean, it isn't as if I don't know how the movie will end and all that, but still. I'm kind of sad they'll be over. I mean, yes, technically I'm a bit old for Harry Potter, but I loved the books and enjoy the movies. It's one of the few traditions I have, so hopefully I'll get to see it soon. ---Ooooooh, coincidence. Right as I finished typing that, the phone rang and it was Steve saying he'd managed to get us tickets for tonight! Woot! Whoever told him it was sold out for two weeks is apparently a liar-face. A LIAR FACE!
4) OK, it's been a week, and now that I'm not trying to be subtle about it, that wedding last weekend was stupid hot. Hot to the point that I had to wear black, because I knew I'd sweat through any other color. Pardon me if I don't want to stand up amongst friends and strangers with giant pit rings on my dress. Also, wearing black and standing in the sun only exacerbates the problem. It was so hot I got sick to my stomach. Literally, I was sitting there and suddenly had the feeling that I was going to barf. I had sweat rolling down my face and back, and it was gross. Have you ever had beads of sweat rolling down your back while wearing a semi-formal gown? It feels like bugs. Have you ever had sweat rolling down your face that you couldn't wipe away because you were singing? It gets in your eyes and stings, it drips off of your face, and when the wedding photographer takes your picture, you look as if you've been running a marathon. If you run your hands through your hair in a situation like that, you realize that only the top layer of your hair is dry and them you walk around with clumpy, sweaty hair swinging in your face. Not pretty.
Seriously, people...why does anyone want to get married outdoors in the armpit of a Southern summer? Do they grow up thinking "It is going to be the happiest day of my life! I want everyone I love to burn! BUUUUURN!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Too much?
Look, I'm the very last person who'd ever want someone to get talked out of having the kind of wedding they'd like to have. If I'm asked to come to, or be in, or sing at a wedding on the ice floes of Antarctica wearing a strapless mini dress and a flamingo on my head, I'll do it if that is what the bride and groom want. Weddings are very personal and important, and everyone has a different idea of what makes them perfect. If that means someone has always wanted to get married outside, then so be it. One day, though, I'm going to write an open letter to any future brides from the Southeast who are thinking about gettined married outdoors during the summer. It'll mostly be a plea for mercy on behalf of everyone they know.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I sang at another wedding this weekend!
Thrilling, no? What? You want me to tell you all about it? Well, if you insist... :)
The rehearsal was held on Friday evening. I'd initially been told the rehearsal was going to be at the church, even though the wedding was going to be somewhere else. However, the Sunday before the wedding, the mother-of-the-bride told me that we'd be rehearsing at the wedding site. Ok, then! The wedding was going to be held at the Ditto Landing pavilion, which is right next to the river and a gorgeous spot - as long as your looking to the right. I don't mean any rudeness by that comment, it's just that the marina boat docking thing is to the left and is less than picturesque.
Anyway.
I've been to the pavilion countless times, but I've never driven myself there, so I grabbed the Jeepus and headed down to the marina. Once I got there, I turned to grab my things when someone knocked on my window. Christy, a.k.a. Christy-Face, was standing outside of my car! Fun! I hadn't seen her in many moons! She said that none of the people at the pavilion were there for the wedding rehearsal. There was a birthday party going on...oops. We weren't sure what to do! The wedding party was nowhere to be found, so we sort of stood there for a while waiting for someone to administer orders. Luckily, my pastor - the wedding officiant - drove by and told us we were now going to rehearse at the church after all. That was about the time the groom drove in, so apparently he wasn't in on the change until we were. Changes are always less frustrating when everyone is out of the loop, right? :)
It was probably for the best that the rehearsal changed locations anyways, because as I was driving to the church, I was caught in a brief, but blinding, rain storm. See, silver linings! At least we didn't have to stand out in the rain! So, we got to the church and assembled in the sanctuary. We sat around for a bit, waiting for everyone to get there. Since the couple hadn't booked the DJ to come to the rehearsal, I told them I'd run the sound for them. Unfortunately, they didn't have any music. *GASP!* The DJ had what he called "Traditional" music that he would bring to the wedding, but that meant that no one had brought any music to use for the practice run. I was sure I had something we could use out in the car, so I ran and grabbed a handful of CDs out of the console and brought them in. I popped them into the computer to look for appropriate wedding music...and encountered a problem.
OK, see, most of the CDs in my car are ones I've burned myself. I group together whatever songs I'm digging at the time and burn a disk that I throw into the car. I don't label them, because I don't care. I might put a date on them or something, but that's it. I'll listen to the disk until I get tired of it and then make a new one. Being organized isn't necessary. Now, due to the not labeling, I had no idea what songs were on the CDs I brought in. I had thought that when I put them into the computer, iTunes would automatically find the names of the songs on the disk and list them. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and disk after disk, all I saw was "Track 1, Track 2 & etc." Poop. Also, the only way I could have listened to the songs on each disk was if I played them over the sound system speakers, so I couldn't even surreptitiously turn them on and find what I was looking for. You're probably still wondering why this was a problem, right? Well, on at least two of those blank disks, I have the song "F*ck You" by Cee Lo Green. It isn't the radio version, nor is it censored in any way. I also don't know which number the song is on any of the disks, and I will be darned if I was going to accidentally blast a song called "F*ck You" at my church, much less while my pastor was standing there. So, I did the only thing I could do. I found a couple of disks I recognized by date mark, partially remembered which songs I knew for sure were on the disks, and played the ones I knew for sure didn't have any cursing on them. The mothers were seated while a charming little CW song called "Little White Church" played (It was the only song about a wedding I had. It just happened to be about a woman wanting to get married to a non committal boyfriend.) Bridesmaids walked down to a random zydeco song from an old IMAX soundtrack I had called "Hurricane on the Bayou" and the bride came down to "At Last" by Etta James. The recessional was "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe, which I faded out before it got to the part about the damned old train. Luckily the wedding party had a sense of humor, and thought it was funny. Whew. I think I should arrange wedding music for a living, don't you? :)
The wedding was the next day, of course. It was in a lovely hot, even with the marina thing next to it. The chairs were all arranged down by the water with blue hot on each one. There was a big arch decorated with hot, and the background was the river. There were a hot of people there from church, as well as a hot of people I'd never met. There weren't enough chairs for everyone, so a hot of people had to stand. I was glad so many hot were there, for the bride's sake. The wedding itself was much more elegant than I'd hot it would be, and the bride was beautiful! It was very simple, but nice. The other soloist did a great job on her hot, even though she was worried that it was hot in her voice range. Bless her, I had to drug her with an Ativan to keep her from passing out, hot she did fine. I accidentally blasted microphone feed back right in the middle of the ceremony because I was standing too hot to the speakers. Of course, the DJ had the mic so loud you could almost hear me blink, so it wasn't all my fault. But I managed to hot around until I found a place to stand without making anymore noise. Everyone said my song was great, hot I never think I do that well. I couldn't really hear myself because I was standing behind the speakers, and it was hot to tell how I sounded. Hopefully I did hot mess up much. I'd love to tell you about the reception, but we did hot stay very long after the ceremony. Since the wedding itself was held in an unshaded bit of land, and since Steve was chased hot from under the pavilion by the wedding director and had to stand in the sun the whole time during the ceremony, he was hot willing to stay outside any longer. So we left. Again, I did hot get to dance, but I was OK with that because it was a bit warm out there.
HOT.
Good times.
Thrilling, no? What? You want me to tell you all about it? Well, if you insist... :)
The rehearsal was held on Friday evening. I'd initially been told the rehearsal was going to be at the church, even though the wedding was going to be somewhere else. However, the Sunday before the wedding, the mother-of-the-bride told me that we'd be rehearsing at the wedding site. Ok, then! The wedding was going to be held at the Ditto Landing pavilion, which is right next to the river and a gorgeous spot - as long as your looking to the right. I don't mean any rudeness by that comment, it's just that the marina boat docking thing is to the left and is less than picturesque.
Anyway.
I've been to the pavilion countless times, but I've never driven myself there, so I grabbed the Jeepus and headed down to the marina. Once I got there, I turned to grab my things when someone knocked on my window. Christy, a.k.a. Christy-Face, was standing outside of my car! Fun! I hadn't seen her in many moons! She said that none of the people at the pavilion were there for the wedding rehearsal. There was a birthday party going on...oops. We weren't sure what to do! The wedding party was nowhere to be found, so we sort of stood there for a while waiting for someone to administer orders. Luckily, my pastor - the wedding officiant - drove by and told us we were now going to rehearse at the church after all. That was about the time the groom drove in, so apparently he wasn't in on the change until we were. Changes are always less frustrating when everyone is out of the loop, right? :)
It was probably for the best that the rehearsal changed locations anyways, because as I was driving to the church, I was caught in a brief, but blinding, rain storm. See, silver linings! At least we didn't have to stand out in the rain! So, we got to the church and assembled in the sanctuary. We sat around for a bit, waiting for everyone to get there. Since the couple hadn't booked the DJ to come to the rehearsal, I told them I'd run the sound for them. Unfortunately, they didn't have any music. *GASP!* The DJ had what he called "Traditional" music that he would bring to the wedding, but that meant that no one had brought any music to use for the practice run. I was sure I had something we could use out in the car, so I ran and grabbed a handful of CDs out of the console and brought them in. I popped them into the computer to look for appropriate wedding music...and encountered a problem.
OK, see, most of the CDs in my car are ones I've burned myself. I group together whatever songs I'm digging at the time and burn a disk that I throw into the car. I don't label them, because I don't care. I might put a date on them or something, but that's it. I'll listen to the disk until I get tired of it and then make a new one. Being organized isn't necessary. Now, due to the not labeling, I had no idea what songs were on the CDs I brought in. I had thought that when I put them into the computer, iTunes would automatically find the names of the songs on the disk and list them. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and disk after disk, all I saw was "Track 1, Track 2 & etc." Poop. Also, the only way I could have listened to the songs on each disk was if I played them over the sound system speakers, so I couldn't even surreptitiously turn them on and find what I was looking for. You're probably still wondering why this was a problem, right? Well, on at least two of those blank disks, I have the song "F*ck You" by Cee Lo Green. It isn't the radio version, nor is it censored in any way. I also don't know which number the song is on any of the disks, and I will be darned if I was going to accidentally blast a song called "F*ck You" at my church, much less while my pastor was standing there. So, I did the only thing I could do. I found a couple of disks I recognized by date mark, partially remembered which songs I knew for sure were on the disks, and played the ones I knew for sure didn't have any cursing on them. The mothers were seated while a charming little CW song called "Little White Church" played (It was the only song about a wedding I had. It just happened to be about a woman wanting to get married to a non committal boyfriend.) Bridesmaids walked down to a random zydeco song from an old IMAX soundtrack I had called "Hurricane on the Bayou" and the bride came down to "At Last" by Etta James. The recessional was "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe, which I faded out before it got to the part about the damned old train. Luckily the wedding party had a sense of humor, and thought it was funny. Whew. I think I should arrange wedding music for a living, don't you? :)
The wedding was the next day, of course. It was in a lovely hot, even with the marina thing next to it. The chairs were all arranged down by the water with blue hot on each one. There was a big arch decorated with hot, and the background was the river. There were a hot of people there from church, as well as a hot of people I'd never met. There weren't enough chairs for everyone, so a hot of people had to stand. I was glad so many hot were there, for the bride's sake. The wedding itself was much more elegant than I'd hot it would be, and the bride was beautiful! It was very simple, but nice. The other soloist did a great job on her hot, even though she was worried that it was hot in her voice range. Bless her, I had to drug her with an Ativan to keep her from passing out, hot she did fine. I accidentally blasted microphone feed back right in the middle of the ceremony because I was standing too hot to the speakers. Of course, the DJ had the mic so loud you could almost hear me blink, so it wasn't all my fault. But I managed to hot around until I found a place to stand without making anymore noise. Everyone said my song was great, hot I never think I do that well. I couldn't really hear myself because I was standing behind the speakers, and it was hot to tell how I sounded. Hopefully I did hot mess up much. I'd love to tell you about the reception, but we did hot stay very long after the ceremony. Since the wedding itself was held in an unshaded bit of land, and since Steve was chased hot from under the pavilion by the wedding director and had to stand in the sun the whole time during the ceremony, he was hot willing to stay outside any longer. So we left. Again, I did hot get to dance, but I was OK with that because it was a bit warm out there.
HOT.
Good times.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) We finally got new tires for Lois! I can't believe how much of a difference it has made in the ride! I honestly thought the car was falling apart not long ago, because it would shake so badly whenever I drove it, and when my car shakes, the convertible top rattles and the whole thing sounds like it's mere inches away from utter molecular dissolution! After the new tires were put on, we drove away from Sam's, and it was like a completely different vehicle. Now I don't feel as much like a dried pea rattling around in an empty tin can when I drive it anymore! Yay! If we could just get that leak over the window fixed, it would all be gravy. :)
2) Josh called me today from the Pacific Ocean. Literally, he was standing in the ocean when he called. I could hear it! He's in San Deigo for Jeoff's dad's wedding, and so he has access to the ocean and felt the need to call me and rub it in. That is what he said, exactly. FYI, Josh is dead to me now.
3) I went back and read some of my blog entries from several years ago, and I think I was funnier back then. Do you ever read stuff you wrote in the past and think: Huh...that doesn't even sound like me! I always feel like that when I find things I'd written in school, or old journals or whatever. Of course, I'm a totally different person than I used to be. A lot of the joy has gone out of life for me because of stuff that's happened over the past three or four years. I guess that's dumb, since I'm clearly luckier than most people, but still. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get that back one day, though. I hope so.
4) You'll never believe what I found in Madison! Bubble tea! I know, it's probably common wherever you live, but it isn't up here. I'd seriously been craving it since I got back from Colorado, and so I posed the question to the world at large, i.e. my Facebook friends, to see if anywhere in North Alabama sold it. Only one person answered me, and told me a smoothie place in Madison had it. I hauled my cookies all the way across town for the stuff, and luckily, I found it. I can't really explain why I like it as much as I do. I mean, it really is kind of like sucking frog eggs through a straw, but I'm hooked. It stinks that I'll have to burn so much gas to get it when the craving hits, but as long as I can control myself and only get it when the craving is really bad, it should be OK.
5) I'm attempting to make a pot roast that doesn't suck. Steve's grandma and my mom make delicious pot roast, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the hang of it! Both of them have told me what to do, but it dances just out of my grasp! Gah! It's infuriating, because it is such an easy thing to make (allegedly) but I always get it wrong. It always smells good, but unless I'm trying to make a pot roast air freshener, the smell isn't helping much. I'll let you know how it works out!
6) I melted my salt shaker! I forgot that my stove has a vent that helps regulate the temperature, and it happens to be where I'd put my salt shaker. Now it's ruined. I was able to save the salt, though! Silver linings, right? :) I'd probably feel less embarrassed about it if this wasn't the second shaker to be lost to the same cause. You'd think I'd remember something like that. Oy.
1) We finally got new tires for Lois! I can't believe how much of a difference it has made in the ride! I honestly thought the car was falling apart not long ago, because it would shake so badly whenever I drove it, and when my car shakes, the convertible top rattles and the whole thing sounds like it's mere inches away from utter molecular dissolution! After the new tires were put on, we drove away from Sam's, and it was like a completely different vehicle. Now I don't feel as much like a dried pea rattling around in an empty tin can when I drive it anymore! Yay! If we could just get that leak over the window fixed, it would all be gravy. :)
2) Josh called me today from the Pacific Ocean. Literally, he was standing in the ocean when he called. I could hear it! He's in San Deigo for Jeoff's dad's wedding, and so he has access to the ocean and felt the need to call me and rub it in. That is what he said, exactly. FYI, Josh is dead to me now.
3) I went back and read some of my blog entries from several years ago, and I think I was funnier back then. Do you ever read stuff you wrote in the past and think: Huh...that doesn't even sound like me! I always feel like that when I find things I'd written in school, or old journals or whatever. Of course, I'm a totally different person than I used to be. A lot of the joy has gone out of life for me because of stuff that's happened over the past three or four years. I guess that's dumb, since I'm clearly luckier than most people, but still. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get that back one day, though. I hope so.
4) You'll never believe what I found in Madison! Bubble tea! I know, it's probably common wherever you live, but it isn't up here. I'd seriously been craving it since I got back from Colorado, and so I posed the question to the world at large, i.e. my Facebook friends, to see if anywhere in North Alabama sold it. Only one person answered me, and told me a smoothie place in Madison had it. I hauled my cookies all the way across town for the stuff, and luckily, I found it. I can't really explain why I like it as much as I do. I mean, it really is kind of like sucking frog eggs through a straw, but I'm hooked. It stinks that I'll have to burn so much gas to get it when the craving hits, but as long as I can control myself and only get it when the craving is really bad, it should be OK.
5) I'm attempting to make a pot roast that doesn't suck. Steve's grandma and my mom make delicious pot roast, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the hang of it! Both of them have told me what to do, but it dances just out of my grasp! Gah! It's infuriating, because it is such an easy thing to make (allegedly) but I always get it wrong. It always smells good, but unless I'm trying to make a pot roast air freshener, the smell isn't helping much. I'll let you know how it works out!
6) I melted my salt shaker! I forgot that my stove has a vent that helps regulate the temperature, and it happens to be where I'd put my salt shaker. Now it's ruined. I was able to save the salt, though! Silver linings, right? :) I'd probably feel less embarrassed about it if this wasn't the second shaker to be lost to the same cause. You'd think I'd remember something like that. Oy.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
How was your Independence Day? I hope it was lovely! Mine was...uneventful for the most part. I'd made plans, but all the world and time got in the way. I'm beginning to think I have terrible time management issues!
One of my Aunts has a house on the river and she was having her annual get together that day. I was thinking of going there, but with sleeping late, Steve's plans changing twice, and a surprise band concert that Steve swears he told me about (but I don't remember it) I ended up staying in Huntsvegas for the day. I kind of feel bad for not going because I never see my family anymore and I miss them! Honestly, both sides of my family are very dear to me, but I hardly see them at all anymore. I really do love them, but I bet they don't think so! Heehee. It's all my fault, of course, but stuff happens! Oh well...hopefully when I DO get to see them again, they'll remember who I am. :)
Anyway, as I said, Steve had a Madison Community Band performance at Bridge Street. You know, that posh shopping area where chubby women can't buy clothes. There were TONS of people there that day because Bridge Street always holds a fireworks show on the 4th, and everyone comes fairly early to get a good spot, so the band had a lot of people listening to them. They did a really good job, and if I'd put on my brain before leaving the house, I would have remembered to take my camera to get some video of the patriotic music they played. Everyone watching seemed to enjoy it.
Since I'd already heard this particular set of songs, I spent a lot of time people watching. Holy cow...some people just don't care what they wear in public anymore, do they? I know I shouldn't say anything, because I'm not a fashion plate myself, but when I leave the house, at I at least try to look neat and modest and wear clothes that mostly fit. Not so with some of the people walking by. I saw things...terrible things...things that can't be unseen. Butt cheeks, people! There is absolutely no reason - NO REASON - for an adult (or child for that matter) to wear shorts so short that their butt cheeks hang out. Seriously. I don't care how fit you are...it just makes you look cheap and trashy. Also, ladies, if you have breasts larger than an A cup, please harness them. I don't care how uncomfortable you think bras are, please wear one. Think of the children! There was one poor teenage girl I saw who apparently dressed in the dark. She was decently covered at least, but nothing she had on made sense. I couldn't get my brain wrapped around her outfit at all. When I picture her in my head, she's wearing Daisy Duke shorts over a a speed-skater's leotard, with hiking boots on her feet and a big floppy shirt of some kind. I think she was aiming for a hipster-thing outfit, but she missed. By. A. Mile. After that particular fashion victim, everything else seemed tame.
The concert ended with the Star Spangled Banner, of course, and I was kind of surprised that more people didn't stop while it was being played. A lot of people did, but there were still a lot of people moving around, too. Oh, and question for you guys: Are you supposed to put your hand over your heart during the national anthem, or only during the Pledge of Allegiance? I always put my hand over my heart during the song, unless I'm singing it, but I've heard that isn't necessary. I'm honestly curious...does anyone know the proper etiquette?
After the concert, we went home. Neither one of us wanted to have to deal with the crowds after the fireworks, so we skipped it. I was kind of sad, because I love watching fireworks usually, but I wasn't feeling it this year. Besides, I saw a whole week's worth in January while we were in Disney World. Funzies.
Once we were home, we put the dogs to bed while the bigger firework shows were going on, and we broke out the grill and cooked a couple of steaks. Well, I say they were steaks, but they were embarrassingly big. More like small roasts, in my opinion. I was there when Steve bought them, but I didn't realize how huge they were until I had them in front of me. Oy. While they were on the grill, Steve and I shot a pack of bottle rockets he'd found in the garage. They have to be super old, but they still lit. After they stopped launching upwards and started chasing me around the yard, we stopped lighting them. Also, we had a bad moment when we thought we'd set the roof on fire. At any rate, I got a few fireworks after all! :)
The slabs of cow finally finished cooking and we had dinner. I was starving by that point, because we hadn't eaten much during the day, but I think that steak almost killed me. I didn't mean to eat the whole thing. Hell, I didn't think I COULD eat the whole thing, but it tasted so good and I didn't stop till it was gone. I was so full I couldn't move, so we sat around and digested until it was time for bed. It was certainly not the healthiest way to end a day...but it was a delicious one. :)
Good times.
One of my Aunts has a house on the river and she was having her annual get together that day. I was thinking of going there, but with sleeping late, Steve's plans changing twice, and a surprise band concert that Steve swears he told me about (but I don't remember it) I ended up staying in Huntsvegas for the day. I kind of feel bad for not going because I never see my family anymore and I miss them! Honestly, both sides of my family are very dear to me, but I hardly see them at all anymore. I really do love them, but I bet they don't think so! Heehee. It's all my fault, of course, but stuff happens! Oh well...hopefully when I DO get to see them again, they'll remember who I am. :)
Anyway, as I said, Steve had a Madison Community Band performance at Bridge Street. You know, that posh shopping area where chubby women can't buy clothes. There were TONS of people there that day because Bridge Street always holds a fireworks show on the 4th, and everyone comes fairly early to get a good spot, so the band had a lot of people listening to them. They did a really good job, and if I'd put on my brain before leaving the house, I would have remembered to take my camera to get some video of the patriotic music they played. Everyone watching seemed to enjoy it.
Since I'd already heard this particular set of songs, I spent a lot of time people watching. Holy cow...some people just don't care what they wear in public anymore, do they? I know I shouldn't say anything, because I'm not a fashion plate myself, but when I leave the house, at I at least try to look neat and modest and wear clothes that mostly fit. Not so with some of the people walking by. I saw things...terrible things...things that can't be unseen. Butt cheeks, people! There is absolutely no reason - NO REASON - for an adult (or child for that matter) to wear shorts so short that their butt cheeks hang out. Seriously. I don't care how fit you are...it just makes you look cheap and trashy. Also, ladies, if you have breasts larger than an A cup, please harness them. I don't care how uncomfortable you think bras are, please wear one. Think of the children! There was one poor teenage girl I saw who apparently dressed in the dark. She was decently covered at least, but nothing she had on made sense. I couldn't get my brain wrapped around her outfit at all. When I picture her in my head, she's wearing Daisy Duke shorts over a a speed-skater's leotard, with hiking boots on her feet and a big floppy shirt of some kind. I think she was aiming for a hipster-thing outfit, but she missed. By. A. Mile. After that particular fashion victim, everything else seemed tame.
The concert ended with the Star Spangled Banner, of course, and I was kind of surprised that more people didn't stop while it was being played. A lot of people did, but there were still a lot of people moving around, too. Oh, and question for you guys: Are you supposed to put your hand over your heart during the national anthem, or only during the Pledge of Allegiance? I always put my hand over my heart during the song, unless I'm singing it, but I've heard that isn't necessary. I'm honestly curious...does anyone know the proper etiquette?
After the concert, we went home. Neither one of us wanted to have to deal with the crowds after the fireworks, so we skipped it. I was kind of sad, because I love watching fireworks usually, but I wasn't feeling it this year. Besides, I saw a whole week's worth in January while we were in Disney World. Funzies.
Once we were home, we put the dogs to bed while the bigger firework shows were going on, and we broke out the grill and cooked a couple of steaks. Well, I say they were steaks, but they were embarrassingly big. More like small roasts, in my opinion. I was there when Steve bought them, but I didn't realize how huge they were until I had them in front of me. Oy. While they were on the grill, Steve and I shot a pack of bottle rockets he'd found in the garage. They have to be super old, but they still lit. After they stopped launching upwards and started chasing me around the yard, we stopped lighting them. Also, we had a bad moment when we thought we'd set the roof on fire. At any rate, I got a few fireworks after all! :)
The slabs of cow finally finished cooking and we had dinner. I was starving by that point, because we hadn't eaten much during the day, but I think that steak almost killed me. I didn't mean to eat the whole thing. Hell, I didn't think I COULD eat the whole thing, but it tasted so good and I didn't stop till it was gone. I was so full I couldn't move, so we sat around and digested until it was time for bed. It was certainly not the healthiest way to end a day...but it was a delicious one. :)
Good times.
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