Tuesday, March 30, 2010

*CUE PSYCHO MUSIC*

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to change some wording on one of the large signs that we have posted along the street that runs in front of the Sprocket. It took me quite a while, the sign being quite large, so I was out there long enough for several people to stop their cars and ask me questions while I was working.

I didn't mind, of course. I was in a good mood that morning. Also, dealing with the public is perfectly acceptable in small doses, so I answered all questions as well as I could and told them to enjoy their day. After a while, I noticed that a man was actually walking across the street to come and talk to me. I wasn't too alarmed, because we were by a street and in full view of the interstate, but I'd much rather not be one on one with a large dude when there aren't any other people close by. He seemed to be a nice man. He told me all about his vacation and that he was from Canada. We chatted for a while, and he didn't seem to be in any hurry to start his visit to the museum. I really needed to get back to work, but I couldn't tell him to go away, so he just stood there and talked to me. He stood there and talked for so long, in fact, that I started to kind of drift away in my mind. I know how rude that is, but I couldn't help myself. It wasn't that he was boring, exactly, but I was starting to get kind of uncomfortable.

While in Kelly-Land (the place in my mind where I go when I'm not listening), I thought to myself "You know, this guy could be a weirdo. We're standing right next to the street, but he could beat you to death with his tripod and drag you to his van without much trouble. There aren't that many people driving by. What would you do?"

I reached into the pocket of my lab coat and made sure my scissors was still there. It was purely instinctive. I suppose I just wanted to make sure I had them in case I needed to stab this guy in the face. I thought I was being covert, but when I happened to look down at some point, I realized I was totally clutching the scissors like a weapon. I had taken them out of my pocket and was holding them in such a white-knuckled way that it probably looked as if I were about to run the guy through. He left fairly quickly after that. I tried to look as if I needed the scissors to finish working on the sign, but it was kind of obvious I didn't need them for what I was doing.

This place has made me paranoid.

Saturday, March 27, 2010


Friday afternoon, I got a message from my sister telling me that they finally sold the old house. I'm not too proud to tell you that once that sunk in, I sat back at my desk and cried.

Don't get me wrong, I know that being sentimental is a supreme waste of time. I know that there wasn't any good or practical purpose for keeping the house, but it still makes me sad. I mean, the house is just a building, but it stood for so much more than just being a house. It was where I grew up. It was where I had friends over and had the last real birthday parties I'd ever have. It was where I brought my dates to meet my parents and where we ended up on the porch swing after they were over. It was supposed to be the place where my parents grew old together and where I'd take my children to visit (if I ever had them.) It was the last place that my family was whole. It was the the only place left where every inch didn't remind me of something bad. It was my last safe place, and now I can't go back.

I know how stupid that sounds to a couple of you, trust me. I wish I could explain it better, but I don't know how.

I'm not against the sale of the house. I know that you can't hang on to things forever. People and places go out of your life all of the time, and usually you don't get much of a say about when they disappear. I know that lesson better than I wish I did. Intellectually knowing that doesn't make it any easier.

Anyways, sorry for harshing your buzz. I'm just very, very sorry to see the place go.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

HELP ME, ANSEL ADAMS, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE

I need opinions from people who know about cameras.

I decided that I wanted to save up and buy a new camera this year. I don't need anything big and fancy with a bunch of filters and detachable lenses. This is partly because I'm just a casual photographer and partly because I have to deal with the issue of carrying it around with me when I travel. I don't want to have a separate camera bag to lug along with me. I always carry my camera in my purse for easy access and to keep it from getting liberated from my luggage by the overly excitable Homeland Security hastareds who paw through my clothes when I fly. My Kodak Easy Share is fine and useful, but it's getting a little long in the tooth and I've been having issues importing files from it onto my iMac. That may have more to do with the fact that my Mac is from 2005, though.

However, I digress.

I've picked out two separate cameras that I'm interested in. Thus far, I've saved enough money to buy either of them, so that part isn't an issue. I need advice from those of you who know enough about cameras to tell me which one would be a better purchase. I know it depends a lot on the kind of photography that a person does, but I do all different kinds. If it helps, I do a lot of landscape stuff when I travel, lots of macros for fun, and pictures of my feet.

Canon PowerShot S90

or

Canon PowerShot SX210IS

Discuss.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) Josh came for a visit last weekend! Yay! I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with him, though, but I did have to share him with his family. BOO! He and Jeoff brought two of Josh's nieces to the SpRocket for a visit and so I got to meet Jeoff Friday afternoon. He's really a sweetheart and I liked him a lot! :) We also made plans to meet at Rosie's for dinner. Since Steve was out of town it was just Josh, Jeoff, Shannon, Anthony and me. We had a lot of fun, once we found each other at least. I got there first and got a table, but the only phone number I had in my phone was Shannon's. I called to let her know where I was, so she found me. Unfortunately, Anthony must have got there right as I was seated, because he also got a table. We spent 30 minutes waiting for each other to get to the restaurant before we managed to hook up. Anthony apparently called me, but I never heard my phone ring. Oh well, it worked out fine. Luckily, the servers were very cool about it all and Shannon and I moved with no problem. We managed to offend at least two different tables around us as we ate, but we always do that. We are loud.

2) I got my hair cut last week and it has taken me a while, but I think I've finally come to terms with it. I just wanted something different and I took a picture I found on the Internet to the stylist. She did her best, but it doesn't look exactly the same. Oh well, it'll work. It's quite short and choppy, and I look more like Velma than I used to. I didn't realize it until I got home though. I didn't have time to let the lady style my hair (I waited two freaking hours before they could get to me) so I just jumped up and ran out of the salon so I could finish my errands. It looked fine with it was still damp, so I didn't think anything of it. When I got home, I was washing my hands and happened to look in the mirror. The first thing that came out of my mouth was "jinkies." With my glasses on, it's almost eerie how alike we look. It has styled correctly a total of once since last Wednesday, but I'm getting used to it. When Josh saw it he started picking at it and said "Oh, are we trying bangs again?" The harpy. I haven't been able to take a picture of my hair that I'm comfortable sharing yet, but I'll get one soon.

3) I learned to make pizza crust from scratch over the weekend and it is good! I don't really care for pizza normally, so I'm not sure why I made it. I was probably bored. At any rate, I like making pizza myself, so I am going to figure out how to make a pizza I like and leave Papa John's to Steve!

4) Steve was visiting some of our Georgia family last weekend, so I was on my own. I didn't do a whole lot, but I did manage to do most of the laundry! Dear Lord, I hate doing laundry. Specifically, I hate folding and putting away laundry. I'm not sure why it piles up the way it does, either. It's just the two of us here, and it isn't as if we have costume changes in between television shows we watch. I still have some I didn't get done, and a whole lot I still have to fold and put away. I need to go on a rampage and donate half of what I have in the house just so I don't have to wash it anymore. Ugh. It would be worth it.

5) I've been crocheting like a mad woman lately. I actually bought (hack, hack) a pattern online the other day. I usually just look for the ones that are free since there are so many out there, but I wanted this particular hat for Easter. I have tried and tried to make it, but something about the instructions doesn't make sense. I've laid that pattern aside for now and tried another one. However, somehow I don't have the right size hook for this pattern, so the two versions of the hat I've made have either been very small or very large. I'm getting frustrated!

6) Yeah, yeah, I haven't been posting much. However, honestly, nothing has really been going on. Well at least not much I think would be interesting to other people. My life is just kind bland right now, I guess. Once it is perfect, I'll post more often! I promise! :)

Monday, March 15, 2010

RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) Wow, I'm tired today. I hate the "Spring Forward" part of daylight savings time. I'm much more fond of the "Fall Back" part of the whole deal. I made myself get up and go to the gym this morning and although it shouldn't be any different than any other morning that I go, I could FEEL that hour that I should have been asleep taunting me from the weight section of the room. Well, it was either that extra hour or the guy who looks like an Oompa Loompa. Either way, I was being taunted! TAUNTED!

2) Josh is coming home this weekend! Yay! I've missed him terribly. I finally get to meet Jeoff, and I hope we get along in person as well as we did over the phone. Josh keeps telling me that any gay guy would love me. I mean, I'm fairly gay friendly, right? At least everyone I know in Huntsville thinks I am. Oh well, if he can't love me, he obviously has problems. :)

3) Last night I had a wardrobe malfunction at church while talking to one of the ushers before services began. Luckily it wasn't very obvious to anyone else. In the middle of our conversation, my bra just kind of fell apart. Apparently I didn't realize that the straps on my bra were detachable and I have no idea how they detached while I was sitting still, but everything...uh...lost structural integrity. I mean, I didn't go full Janet Jackson on the guy or anything, thank goodness. However, it was still embarrassing and it wasn't something I could pretend didn't happen. He saw the look on my face and I had to explain what happened. Luckily this guy isn't one of the elders in our church and he isn't the kind of person who gets embarrassed, but he did turn red in the face. A trip to the ladies room and everything was fine after that. Well, except for my dignity. It was in shreds.

4) I watched Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus over the weekend! If you haven't seen it, go and find it immediately. It was so awful it was funny. The acting was beyond terrible and the story was just dumb, but the fact that Mega Shark was big enough to breach out of San Fransisco Bay and take a bite out of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as jump into the air and eat a plane THAT WAS IN MID AIR is too awesome to miss. Also, Lorenzo Lamas was in it. I can't even imagine what kind of process the writers of the SyFy movies go through to think these things up. They take an animal or insect, make it huge and send it on a rampage. That seems to be the whole idea. It was glorious. :)

5) The other day a girl on Facebook had a status that asked people to share one memory that they had about her. Usually, I love these and will answer if I can, but all I could think of when I saw that was "Well, two of the boyfriends I had in high school (in a row) cheated on me with you!" I ended up not writing anything. It didn't seem appropriate.

Friday, March 12, 2010

QUICKIES

1) There is a store in Huntsville that sells nothing but yarn and knitting/crochet supplies. It's like the black hole of arts and crafts. I walked in yesterday to buy a specific type if yarn that I couldn't find at Hobby Lobby and I think I blacked out because when I walked out with a whole bag full of stuff I hadn't intended to buy. Oooh, and there is so much more I want in there. It's a dangerous, dangerous place.

2) Things have been kind of crazy here at work. It's like everyone is making up for December, when I had absolutely nothing to do while I was here. Now, of course, everyone needs everything done immediately. Currently I'm working on the new menu panels for the food court. We have a new executive chef and he redecorated the place and changed the menu. If the food tastes half as good as it sounds, it will definitely be a step up from the burgers and fries we have had for the past few years.

3) It's such a gloomy day outside, but I like the thunder. Except for the instances where it sounds like a missile has been dropped outside of the house, I find thunder soothing. Of course, this means there is a chance I'm going to fall asleep while I'm working.

4) I fell out of my chair yesterday while I was stretching and I hid beneath my desk for 10 minutes in case anyone saw me. Then it was brought to my attention that if I didn't get back in my chair for 10 minutes, someone should have come to check on me. I'm telling you, I could be murdered back here and no one would notice!

5) I will probably have to work nights this summer while the Star Wars exhibit will be open because we don't have enough museum workers to run it the whole time. I'm still not going to wear a flight suit. :P

Thursday, March 04, 2010

OK, so maybe I AM a leeeeeetle evil.

But only a little.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

THIS SUCKS

It is currently 2:13 in the morning and I think I'm dying.

OK, I don't really think that I am dying. I'm just whining. I can't help it! Shut up! :P

My back got worse again during the night. I apparently tried to roll over in my sleep and I woke up literally screaming because it felt like someone had just stabbed me. I probably scared Steve to death. I had to finally get up and scramble around to find the bottle of Lortab I got when I had my root canal done. Yes, it hurt that much. I hate taking those pills because A) they make me hot, hyper and mean. B) They make me sick to my stomach C) They make me kinda floopy D) I get an urge to write emails that usually make very little since and E) the last time I took one of them some reeeeeeeeeally bad stuff happened. We all know what. Bad connitations, man.

Anyways, now I'm up, the pill's pain killing has worn off and I'll be damned if I take another one. The only way I can get comfortable is if I sit in my office chair either leaned back as far as possible or hunched up sideways. I'm so tired, but the pill side effect of keeping me awake has not worn off. I'm irritated and there is no one for me to beat with a Nerf bat. BOO!

On a funnier note, just so you won't think I'm completely evil:

On the way back from work, we stopped to get the mail before turning into the driveway. I saw that a small spider was hanging from a strand of webbing from one of the letters, and I didn't want Steve to freak out. I had enough time to think to myself "If you sound panicked, Steve will panic. Talk calmly and maybe he'll stay calm too." I said, calmly - I promise - "Steve, hon, you need to put the mail back out the win..." and that is as far as I got. I guess Steve's Spidey sense went off because the mail went flying out of the window. It went everywhere, and of course, since the spider was dangling from a piece of web, I'm fairly certain that he stayed in the car with us. Steve was frozen, and all I could say was "You idiot...you didn't get the spider out!" He just kept repeating "Got to get out! Got to get out!" and he sped up the driveway and jumped out of the car.

I promise I'm not evil. I honestly sympathize with Steve's phobia, I really do. I hate bugs of all kinds and I'm not sure I wouldn't have acted the same way...but I cracked up. I laughed until sound wasn't even coming out of me anymore. I laughed until I was practically laying in the driveway gasping for breath with tears running out of my eyes. I laughed until I wheezed. I can't even decide what was funnier, Steve knowing that there was a spider on the mail just because I told him to put the mail back out of the window, him throwing the mail and it just flying in all directions, or him jumping out of the car. I don't know, but it was funny!!!!!!!

PS: I'm not evil! I'm not!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

QUICKIES

1) I hurt my back and I have no idea how I did it. I'm all hunched over right now and I look as if I should be ringing a bell and yelling "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!" It hurts to sit up or lean over. About the only way it doesn't hurt is if I'm lying down. I'd lay down on the floor at work if I didn't think whatever living in the carpet would eat me. I'm probably going to have to lie on my drafting table in a bit to see if that helps, but God help me if my boss comes in. He won't stick around long enough for me to explain.

2) I tried clearing the heavy, wet snow off of the window on my side of the car this morning by rolling the window down. I realized before it was down very far that it was a bad idea, and I let go of the button, but apparently it went into automatic mode and rolled all the way down. Gravity took over and a wall of slush fell over on me. I was both wet and cold when I got to work.

3) Got two great crochet pattern books and one book on Steam Punk style jewelry last night! I'm excited to start making some of the stuff in them!

4) I almost blinded myself while taking a watch apart. Apparently there is a spring hidden down in there I wasn't aware of. I lifted the top off of a small drum shaped area and something flew past my eyes. Stupid booby-trapped watch.

Monday, March 01, 2010

RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) This weekend I wanted an adventure. I didn't care what kind, but I didn't want to spend my whole Saturday doing laundry and watching TV. Since I didn't have any ideas in mind, and still needed to be back home by evening, I settled for going to get groceries with Steve! Whee! :) Actually, it was intended as more than that, but we left the house kind of early and nothing else was open yet. We wound up going to Target and my first adventure was teaching Steve the art of browsing. He's a typical male kind of shopper, usually: Search & Destroy. However, since we got to the Targe Mahal early enough to avoid the pushy mommy-shoppers and old ladies, we had the leisure to poke around a bit. Steve also learned that browsing can become dangerous, because you tend to pick up things you've never noticed before, justify buying them, and end up spending more money than you intended. Oops. We also went to Fresh Market and got some good stuff. That place is going to be the death of me. On the way home, I had my second adventure: using the Bernouli Principle, my hair was pulled through the sun roof of Steve's car (which he didn't notice) and he closed it. Ouch a LOT. That wasn't so much an adventure, but a lesson learned, I suppose! :)

2) While driving up to Target, I saw a guy eye-humping Steve's car. It was so blatant that I felt that we needed to give the two of them some time alone.

3) I got up early to go to the gym this morning, got ready to go, but didn't. I just didn't want to. I know that means I'll have to make myself go after work, which I hate, but I am feeling belligerent and difficult today. I may need to be punished.

4) Yesterday was a weird, weird day. I thought it was just me, but it turned out that a lot of things were just a half a beat out of step. We had a potluck meal after the morning services, but I'd over slept and had to make my food at the church. That isn't too big of a deal since I work in the kitchen, but it isn't a usual thing for me to do. People started bringing in things and I would take them, as usual, but for some reason none of us could get in the groove that we normally do. The music minister asked me if I could run the sound system during the service since the regular guy was sick, and I managed to screw up something that is as simple as a power point presentation before I straightened it all out. I had to run downstairs after service so that I could help in the kitchen, and they weren't done setting out the food (a rarity for our kitchen staff). Everything got kind of rushed after that. We also found out later that the plumbing in the church had somehow gotten screwed up, so no one could go to the bathroom, wash their hands, and we couldn't wash the dishes! We cleaned up as best as we could without using the sinks and one of the other ladies had to take home a pile of dirty dishes to wash (gross). Evening services were shortened because of the plumbing thing, which was just weird in an OCD way, and it just seemed like everything was off kilter. Maybe it was the full moon? Could be!

5) I've been thinking about the movie Independence Day. Probably too much, as it is, but I have a theory about it. It is common for people to make fun of the end where Jeff Goldblume uploads a virus into the alien mothership. I mean, you'd think that alien tech would be more secure than Mac software, right? While watching the movie this weekend, I realized that the US Army had kept the Area 51 ship on the secret base for a lot of years and had been studying it. That means someone would have had to have information about the computer technology, right? So if Jeff Goldblume was smart enough with computers to have figured out the original countdown that the aliens were using to synchronize their attack, it stands to reason (to me) that he would be able to look at the information that the army had gathered concerning the smaller ship it had in storage and figure out how to interface with it! So either the tech was simplistic enough for an earthling to figure out how to hack into it, or Microsoft has expanded even further throughout the universe than we thought. Also, this is the only movie Randy Quaid has ever done where he doesn't gross me out completely. That last part is just FYI.

6) Something smells weird in my office and I can't find anything that can explain it. I'm scared.

7) I've developed a dangerous obsession with Gummi Bears lately. I can't stop eating them. No, I'm not pregnant.

8) My dreams have been super boring, yet completely linear lately. I hate having boring dreams. It's like being stuck in a theater watching a bad movie, but not being able to get out of your seat. Last night, though, I had a scary dream about zombies. Zombies don't usually scare me. I mean, why would they? Sure, they want to eat my brain, but they are easily outrunable, fairly stupid, and they have a specific and well defined mode of dispatch - removing the head or destroying the brain. However, I will occasionally have dreams about them that creep me out. Last night was even worse because the dream made sense and had a plausible story line. I would imagine that, if a zombie apocalypse were to occur, it would be much like my dream. The worst part of the dream itself wasn't the zombies, though. It was that I had to steal a weapon to defend myself with. I put it in my purse and when the zombies came around I could never find it in all of the junk I was carrying around. Hmmmm, maybe it wasn't a zombie nightmare after all. Maybe it was a messy purse nightmare.