The Two-Day Blog lol

I have come to the conclusion that we are all artists in one way or another. Now I'm not saying we all have the talent of Mozart, Picasso, or Emeril within us. By no means am I saying that (though I dare to say you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who can cook better than the clan around here lol)! This comes from my observations of my own little "community" - a collection of 16 apartments, each rented by a very unique individual, thus at least somewhat adequately reflecting society as a whole. We have young and old alike, geeks and "normal" people, you name it and someone here fits that description. We even have our own neighborhood snoop! LOL... But if you look around, there is a lot of talent lurking in the shadows. We have aspiring artists, musicians, chefs, decorators, gardeners, mechanics, you name it, SOMEONE here can probably do it. As a matter of fact, while I'm sitting here (outside) writing this, one of the neighbor's daughter is outside drawing something that a friend of hers asked her to draw. What she's drawing, I don't know, but knowing her work, it probably will turn out pretty well!
So where does your talent lie? Or are you allowing it to sit idle, wasting time you could spend cultivating a talent into an artform?
And a subthought for you thinkers out there. Why is it when we go to make notes for a future blog, we always abbreviate and scribble so fast we can't make sense of our notes, and even if we could, we couldn't decipher what we meant in the first place? Or am I the only one guilty of such?
This week at work has been better for the most part, surprisingly considering the early, EARLY start of my day. Perhaps my sleep depth is improving, but I doubt that, especially with my allergies acting up now. I venture to say that it hasn't been this bad in a while. But yesterday on the way home, I stopped to try to find SOMETHING to alleviate this misery, knowing I might not have any luck as allergy medicine doesn't seem to affect me much. I decided to give the newly-released OTC Zyrtec a try (it had been a prescription for a long time), and I only made it another couple blocks before I relented to the sneezing and stopped to take one, though I had planned to wait until I got home. To my amazement, IT WORKED! And not only did it work, it worked faster than I've had ANYTHING work on me, and at least 25 hours later, I'm STILL feeling better than I have been lately! I am half-tempted to call it a miracle drug, but seeing as I just tried it yesterday, I will not call it my wonder drug until I know it will work consistently, because hey, the Claritin worked the first time too, but it quit shortly after the first couple doses!
The last time I went to the bathroom, I seen a headline at the bottom of the front page of the business section of a recent newspaper (I didn't look at which day) that said that the farmers are seeing record profits off of the high food prices. I would like to know which farmers they talked to - the big corporate farms for sure. The little guys may be making a little more on the food they're selling, but it doesn't make up for the dramatic increase in fuel prices. The only ones getting rich off this economy are the corporate farmers who can get discounts on the fuel by buying in (massive) bulk, the oil tycoons and the speculators on Wall Street driving the prices up, and the @ssholes in the Middle East who control so much of the oil itself. We MUST cut the cord. I honestly believe the smartest, most logical, and also environmentally friendly way to do this is either wind energy (to charge a battery cell) or hydrogen. I am starting to think hydrogen holds promise, but with the current infatuation with ethanol, I'm too hopeful that hydrogen will catch on. SOMETHING has to give. Drilling in the arctic as some have proposed only POSTPONES the inevitable. It does not solve the problem, nor does it address the damage to our environment. While I do not believe that we are the primary cause of global warming, I also do not believe we should cause this planet any harm that isn't necessary. We need a government that understands this, and is willing to work WITH the private sector to spur research and development.
Now as my blog has gone into Day 2 of writing, I'm sitting at the dining room table just after a storm has passed. It wasn't enough to satisfy the guys' desire for a good thunderstorm, as the few rumbles were quiet and there wasn't any lightning to be seen (at least that I saw). But it was quite enough to rinse the Earth of some of the grime that's been floating around making many people like me sneeze lately, and hopefully stabilize the atmosphere a little. There is a tornado watch up, so right now my focus is on the sky and the conditions outside. My weather brain might not be as in-tune as it was years ago, but I still remember enough to know when the threat for "spinners" to drop. Unfortunately, the rain also means a new round of bugs will be out in full force, and they're already starting the seasonal draining festival on my blood! LOL, but as in the last few years, I am prepared better than I once was and they are finding me less attractive!
As I speak, the DNC is holding its meeting to decide what to do with the FL and MI delegates. Obama's camp has conceded at least in FL's case to seat the delegation so long as they only have a half vote, as punishment for their moving their primary up. I have to concede this is probably the only way to shut Clinton up, which is probably what Obama is thinking. I don't see her being able to make much of a dent in his lead anyway, and I do think that everyone knows he's probably going to be the nominee. We really need to get this resolved and soon - sooner the better.
Now the question in my mind returns to the other "parties" that think that they can demolish the two-party system currently informally in place. Unfortunately, too much of America is only focused on the two parties, and so any other candidate is only going to draw votes away from one of the two primary-party candidates. I hate to say it, but our society and current political system isn't built for more than two parties. Our media focuses on them, our citizens focus on them, and in some states, some of the other parties aren't even recognized. So to try to sneak in won't work. There must be a much deeper change if we are going to see this country evolve out of the two-party system that has been known for most of our history.
So now we come to what we're going to grill out today, as Saturday is our normal grilling-out day. But considering it's after noon and we still haven't done the grocery trip, I can't say that I think it's going to happen this time. I would be just as happy to put it off until tomorrow as I'm not really feeling very social. But as I wrote that, Jadzia jumped up on my lap, so I guess I have to be - at least to her! Hehe... Cats, gotta love them!
Speaking of cats, I took some good pictures the other day of them, and have been meaning to get them up on the blog but haven't gotten around to it yet. I shall though as soon as I'm back on my desktop and remember to do so. I can't say it's been on the mind too much though as too much other **** is going on right now!
Anyway, it is best I wrap this up now while I can!!

OMFGG

OMFGG Mr. Cat just made the most incredible pot roast EVER. It was so good it fell apart - like m&m's - melting in the mouth. WOWSERS. I'm not a big pot roast fan - or of anything that requires a lot of chewing. I want to eat, not chew chew chew. And the flavor.... OMGG. I sure hope this wasn't a one-time freak wonder!

And on a side note, I very VERY rarely post anything I get in email on the blog, but this one was so funny I had to. Thanks Walter!

According to a news report, Golden Grove high school was recently faced with a unique problem.
A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.
Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back.
Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Priceless!
Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.
There are teachers....and then there are educators!

Reminiscing and update

See, the nice warm weather and sunshine just couldn't last. It's FINALLY beautiful outside - by my standards of course. It's 80 outside, and I'm indoors... but not for long. I do think I need to stretch out OUTSIDE and enjoy this weather, though I might see if I can hunt down last year's bug spray and see if its still good. But they're already calling for nasty weather by this evening, though not much is showing up on radar - yet. My heart sank when I saw the devastation in MN and IA over the weekend from the latest round of devastating tornados. Every time I see it, I just want to run and hide, though my actual hiding my face has decreased some. But 9 years after the massive tornado that very well could've killed me AND my Mom (she was with me at work at that time - she had errands to run and didn't drive so she'd wait for me to get off of work afterwards) that early May evening. Nevermind the fact that I had no idea my favorite cousin was able to make it out of the house in time, and while their house wasn't destroyed, it took a lot of structural and cosmetic damage which took them a long time to repair. For years afterwards, the mere slightest rumble of thunder would have me under blankets afraid for my very life. Yet I was the last one in shelter that night, making sure everyone left the store and got home before it hit, warning some of them it was coming long before the meteorologists said it was. But it was a horrific day, and anything that started in OK and made it to the KS border was bound to hit at least close by, and so as I tracked it from the radio descriptions on my map of KS and N OK, I saw the path it was taking and knew it was making a bulls-eye mark on my small community. The meteorologist I had come to trust after he'd taken over the reigns of my trusted friend and chief meteorologist confirmed my fears, told me where it was going exactly (and he was right) and gave me an estimate on how long I had to get everyone out and get into the cooler. He still doesn't believe he saved any lives - but it was his advice to me and everyone who was watching him that evening that made most of us take shelter. Just searching for the links to some of the devastation makes me nauseous but I must. Here is the wikipedia link to the outbreak info. If you scroll down on this page, you will see the May 3 Kansas tornado - 4 dark but ominous photos of the main tornado - an F4 (they don't get TOO much stronger folks) - against the sunset-lit sky. Unfortunately, the pictures from my hometown seem to have been taken down off the 'net, but I think just googling that day's outbreak should suffice unfortunately. The system had produced an F5 down in OK just a few hours prior, and NO other storm fueled a tornado that strong until Greensburg got hit. So yes, bad weather outbreaks like the ones we've seen this year make me relive it to a point. The smaller ones don't affect me that much - it's when there's nothing left but foundations do I well up inside and out.
Now with that out of me, let's continue.
I have good news. With me being required to be to work an hour EARLIER than normal this week, I was 'fraid that I'd have to be up so much earlier, but a coworker nearby has volunteered to pick me up on her way to work. So I will be a little early to work but it's better than having to be up even earlier and walking. And I won't have to haul my winter coat home! LMAO so I guess it's all good. I also told her I'd donate to her gas fund - though she lives right on the way - but I figure even $5-10 is fair for her providing a valuable service, especially in this current economic state. So now I will only have to be up an extra half-hour earlier, and last night I set the alarm clock 15 minutes back to get accustomed to getting up earlier.
I still haven't gotten my review that I was supposed to have gotten last week - and the boss wasn't even in today. So I'm ok, but I'm not rushing it either lol.
I'm off for now though, as I have to be in bed soon! Goodnight folks!

Finally - A Blog! LOL

I am so upset right now about the news from the polygamist camp I could strangle someone, but I can only hope that it all comes out for the best in the end. The truth remains, whether or not the initial call was a fake. The truth is out there... It needs to be heard, for the kids' sake.
And WTF is up with Hillary? It's time to drop out woman, you're done - finished. You're disgracing yourself, your husband, and your party by continuing on, especially when you open your trap and say something totally rediculous like you're getting infamous for. It was bad enough when your husband - one of the most respected presidents in recent history - would make a fool out of himself. But you're the first viable female candidate we've ever had, and you're ruining it for the next one. Everyone knows this, and you're just hurting us down the road. We know you're in bed with McCain, let's just move on. If you're so tight with him, switch parties. I'm sure most of us won't be too sad to see you go anymore. It's time - for your husband's legacy even more than yours - to concede that this time wasn't your time. Get your act together and prepare for the next fight for the White House when we have to fight off the "pugs" and oil tycoons.
And on to big oil.
A lot has been said about the CEO's make so much money because they run the biggest corporations in the USA. I don't give a rat's @ss. I don't make any more if I work for a bigger company! Why should they? How bout taking all that money they're making that is in excess of what they should be and putting it towards funding alternate fuel source research which could make them and their corporations even richer? Wouldn't that make more sense? The point is, we need to cut ourselves off from the Saudi dictatorship's oil grip and fuel ourselves! I seen in the paper recently (print or online, not sure) that the price-per-gallon cost the Saudis pay is only 50 cents a gallon!! Meanwhile, we're paying $4, and our friends in Britain are paying DOUBLE that. WHAT THE FK?!? I understand that they're sitting on it, but that doesn't explain THAT much of a difference! Let's be real here! It makes me tempted to suggest our government should consider drastic measures against the Saudis, but right now we need every ally we can get, even if they're not really much of an ally. The truth is we have to deal with fixing Iraq and Afghanistan first, then deal with Iran.
And what the hell is up with this debate over what is pure and simple diplomacy? We need to talk to our enemies once in a while. If we hadn't, Reagan would've never brought down the Cold War, Korea would still be fighting, and Gadafi probably would've bombed us by now, if not someone else. No negotiations start from the top. All diplomacy starts with the lower levels, regardless of party or enemy. Bush has done it just as much as anyone else has, so for the "pugs" to be beating a drum against the dems over negotiation policy is hypocritical at minimum. If talking gets the nukes gone, than talking we should. The fewer American lives sacrificed for freedom without any loss of said freedom, the better. I'm sure our allies would say the same, many of which are as war-wary as we Americans are at this point!
I wish I could say that I've kept up more on the news but I haven't. I'm literally working, eating, trying to relax a little, and then sleeping just to do it all over again. I do read a little of the newspaper at work on lunch usually, and a tad on the tv sometimes after I get home, but it's not like I once did, so I'm liable to miss significant chunks of news. Right now I believe our domestic focus should be on rebuilding our economy - which I think a lot of that could be done if we'd just start the process of fixing our bridges. Think of how many people we could get off of unemployment rolls and low-paying jobs that way. Yes I know it wouldn't last forever, but the money they'd pump into the economy and the government through taxes would help us rebuild the country and the economy at the same time. WWII brought us out of the Depression because suddenly NO ONE was unemployed. Everyone paid taxes, which pumped money into the government AND the economy. Yes there'd be a small slump afterwards, as there was after the war, but do you really think that we'll ever be DONE fixing and building bridges and other infrastructure? I doubt it. We could make a lot of progress that way. But we can't fix it until we fix our borders and deal with the illegals that are already here. They should be given a chance to become citizens IF they assimilate into our way of life that has existed for well over 200 years. We evolve, yes. But EVERYONE learned English at least. Every emigrant went through the process to become a naturalized citizen. Latinos, YOU ARE NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE. If you want to live and work here, do it the right way. You might find out that you aren't treated as harshly either! As Carlos Mencia would probably say, we don't mind beaners. Most of them SPEAK ENGLISH. I know a Cuban who fled his home just before Castro took power... He learned English by watching tv and absorbing himself in our culture, and many of his latino brothers and sisters did the same thing. So why can't you?
The cats are doing well, and a neighbor that is moving out and hasn't seen the cats in a while got to see the boys yesterday - and just how big they've gotten. They were good cats outside, even though Nimbus isn't fond of the outdoors to say the least. But considering he's been an indoor cat from birth, one can't expect he'd take to the outdoors very well! I've been tempted to let Curzon hang out outside for a while on a leash like a dog to see if he'd get accustomed to it (of course I'd be right inside watching from the window), but without the flea medication, I'm not doing that. I think next time I go to the grocery store I might buy some of that stuff and some flea collars - something has to be better than nothing right? If I had the balls (and I don't), I'd give them baths with the shampoo that kills and repels fleas and ticks. But I have no energy or desire to bathe these monsters, especially not Jadzia. She may be the smallest of the cats, but she is the meanest, baddest, toughest, slipperiest one of them! So no, I'm not going that route. Not unless I find someone cheap to come by in a van and bathe them. But right now I'm not willing to spend money to clean them up either. They're quite fine on their own. They need a powder bath, but that's it. They don't need to get wet. And I don't feel like having wet carpet and bedding all day while they dry off!
So what's on your mind today? What is taking up space in your brain that could be better used elsewhere but you won't dump it out, either on paper or otherwise, so you're one step closer to brain overload?
And a few notes:
Walter: how's that ear coming?
Enola: stay strong and I'm proud of you! Also, check your email.
Cheryl: I want your schedule! 9-2?!? Brat! Lol
Kahless: You sure you're making the right decision? I'm not trying to second-guess you, I just want to make sure you know you're doing what's right for you and what you can expect down the road. That being said, I support you 100% no matter what, and if you ever need to talk, I'm never far away!
Tom: I miss ya pal, as I'm sure others do too. Get back to us soon!
Andrew: You're smart for keeping track of every penny. I should do it more often, but eeks I would hate to see all the money I make at work go right back into their wallet! I've also been thinking. I'm not sure if you've thought about this, but maybe you should save up the coins that are left over from your purchases and put them in a savings account... I know the interest wouldn't be much, but every little bit helps, right? Just a thought!
So off I go for now, as I have to send this and then take care of some "business" and actually do something today - well, maybe. I'm putting off laundry as I've still got a tshirt at work so it's not collecting cat hair, and an apron clean here, and my work jeans are folded up so that they don't get any more wrinkly. So with any luck, I'll be able to put off laundry until this next weekend. It'd be nice to have a 3 day weekend next week - and with work weeks starting on Monday, I wouldn't have to worry about any loss of hours, wages, or benefits! A mini-vacation!

An Oops Isn't ALWAYS an OOPS!

... ok sometimes it is, like when you don't tell someone that can't cook to let the water boil first BEFORE adding the spaghetti noodles!
But sometimes an oops is a good thing. Take me and my klutzy pda for example.
A couple days ago I was hangin' out with the guys and our neighbor at our dining room table (if you can call it a 'room'), and I accidentally reformatted my pda (don't worry I have that thing meticulously backed up lmao), which isn't hard to do on that thing. So I promptly restored it and let it charge (it seems that 'oops' stole 2/3 of my battery's charge). Well, since the LAST time I had to restore it, my VGA program (which makes things smaller, so that you get 4x as much on the same screen) didn't work because it has to be installed a certain way and I tried to start from scratch and did it all wrong. Well, I guess that didn't stick to the backup file because it works now! WOOHOO! Why you ask would someone half blind like me want something to be smaller? Pictures are better, in better detail (more high resolution). Emails fit better on the screen. You get the picture. So I'm happy. Now I just have to go through and re-add all my desktop themes to the cf card for the pda's "dekstop" (today screen for those geeks out there, ie wingman, so :P).
Anyways, off I go to eat my SECOND plate of spaghetti. Yes, I'm hungry, well, ok starving! LOL

BTW

Ya'll should keep up with my shared articles list from my Google Reader. It'll give you an insight into what's caught my eye, what's got me thinking, and what's got me laughing - especially considering I don't have the time I used to have to write!

And my best wishes to the Kennedy family right now. Like him or not, brain cancer is no joke, no matter how light or severe.

Stuff

Just a few rambling notes...
I'm tired of being treated like I don't know what I'm doing. I know DAMN well what I'm doing, it's not like my job requires a lot of brains. So some people just need to BUTT OUT OF MY BUSINESS. If you got issues, discuss it with the boss instead of just coming over and taking over my job right in front of me. That is BS, rude, inconsiderate, impolite, and just improper. But can't expect too much from a kid barely out of school.
The other job prospect called today while I was waiting for the bus home (if it wasn't raining, I would've walked home and caught the call myself). It's not the one I've already interviewed for twice, and I'm hopeful more than ever about this one. It would require a lot later start time (woohoo), and I don't think they will stay open much past 9pm (new store - not open yet). I interview tomorrow after work... wish me luck!!!
Everything else is working fine, except my big battery's not working AT ALL, it's not wanting to take a charge at all. We shall see what's going on later... it needs some time right now after my fussing lol.
I'll write more later perhaps, I'm just not in a good mood... STILL, even though I should be. I shouldn't be tempted to quit every gddmn morning I work!

Update Again...

I FIXED MY COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never been able to get System Restore to work on my desktop... turns out that it only works in Safe Mode. And I'm no good on getting into safe mode. Give me the old Win98 one and I can get you there in a heartbeat. XP hates me lol. But I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to my pal J who doesn't have the link yet even to this blog as his pc is acting up too, it was a convo with him a day or two about his computer that got me thinking... I wuv ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

Well, I can run my desktop in safe mode, but not safe mode with networking, so it's still down. The "1800905Geek" people want upwards of $200 so that's out, and all the geeks I know around here are linux geeks, not very useful for winXP. It has to be in the network settings but I can't access them in regular safe mode. I may be resorted to reformatting altogether, but at least with safe mode operational, I'll be able to save everything first. Sorry for the lag in posting but the desktop has me frustrated. I'd hate to have to choose between which one to have online, as I'd be liable to choose the pda. I will get that desktop back online - one way or another!

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Good News, Bad News

Alrighty, let's start at the top.
Got a pay raise... but only 35 cents. Ain't complaining though.
PDA is back online... but now desktop is ALL fkd up. Trying to save myself from a reformat. What happened, I don't know. All we were trying to do was switch network security settings back to what we originally had. Now it won't boot up, keeps rebooting itself. But I think some things got in there and fkd it up, so I'm in safe mode right now running my scans trying to fix everything I can. We'll see.
Of course this fks up my plan to apply for another job today that would really be a great snag of a job if I can get it. Worst case scenario, this doesn't work and I wait until tomorrow and do it at the library instead. I'd rather not go to that point though. Of course I'd love to be able to do it on the pda but very few pages with extensive forms even work right on pda's so I'm not holding out too much hope on it.
So as you can see, that's been my last few hours' crap. I've had some rl crap going on here this week too that just about made my evil angry side come out... stupid ****ing hoodlums. They best hope I don't catch 'em.

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OMFGG Engineers' Lecture on CATS

ROFLMAO!!

A Message

To whoever tried to leave that long rambling comment on one of my last posts, next time you want to say so much hateful stuff, don't be such a coward and identify yourself. I will decide later if I should even allow your comment, especially considering that young eyes may read your filth.

So much for 3... or 4

...try 5 loads of laundry. It's just after 7pm and I just hauled up the last load of laundry and got myself some dinner. I can't say I cooked anything fancy cause I didn't. I just warmed up a few things we had stashed and called it a meal lol.

thought for the day... what if, at any time during a president or congressperson's term, if you contributed to their campaign and became dissatisfied with their job, you could get your money back? think that'd make them work harder? LOL

Day Off... Spent Working

Today is my "day off" but in reality it's my day to catch up. I have 3 loads of laundry to do today, and this week I'll have to get another roll of quarters to do two more loads. I had no idea I had so much laundry, but with all my sweaters being dirty (and I still need them) and all our towels being dirty it seems, it's no doubt that I have so much laundry to do!! But load 1 has my work clothes and some towels in it, load 2 has the rest of my work clothes and some sweaters and towels, and load 3 has the rest of my sweaters and a couple towels - I think. I still have a whole load of tshirts at least and probably another load of tshirts and towels. But once I get the quarters, I can do them when I get home from work - one at a time - if I have the energy.
Today is one of those God-awful is-it-really-spring days. It's in the mid 40s, cloudy, rainy, and windy outside. The wind chill is 38, winds are straight out of the east 15-20mph with gusts approaching 40mph, and the lack of sunlight the last few days is draining. I want to have some sunshine, and turning on all the lights is going to do absolutely nothing but remind me its cloudy outside - and drain the already-outrageous electric bill. The heater even came on for the first time in a week or two today - and more than once! That's been our saving grace, I think. It's been nice enough outside that, as long as we shut the windows in time, it's nice in here, even at night. Of course I'm still cold, but not like I was this winter. But that's what they make blankets for, right?
So I am off for now, to browse the net for the next 45 min or so until the dryer's (should be) done. We will see where we go from there. Maybe load 3 will wait... or maybe not... I should know better than to procrastinate!!

245pm note - so much for 3, try 4 loads!!! 4 just went into the washer, thanks to Mr. Cat *sigh* it's quite ok though, the more I do now the less I have to do later.
Rain rain go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apologies

I apologize for being so silent. It's not even so much about me being off today, my PDA being offline, or even me being tired. It's more about me having no desire to emerge from bed (I'm STILL in my pj's, just slipped on a pair of jeans over em and put my coat on to take out the trash) and I've had a queasy stomach all day literally. I'm not so much depressed as just gloomy - I think it's the lack of sun! Well, that and the 70s LOL. The cooler it gets outside, the cooler my mood goes. I am having to force myself to blog any as it is, thus it doesn't seem that I'm as quiet as I am. But as usually I can spend half an hour or more blogging, and I've spent a total of maybe 5 minutes lately, and I've not really caught up on my blog reading (GReader is getting loaded too lol), I really feel like I've been ignoring all of you, but I'm not trying to.
So until I'm back to me, mobile and feeling better, I'll be quiet. I'm off back to bed to play my game (as I can from bed and don't have to move from my blankets) and eat some crackers so hopefully I can eat more later. I just can't eat much with this daggum queasy stomach!
I hope all of you mothers out there had a great Mother's Day, and to mine, RIP Mom, I miss you dearly. And to the guy I met at work yesterday heading off to his Mom's funeral, I hope he finds the peace that still eludes me. And I hope he remembers the day he walked in and the one who knew exactly what he was feeling and GOING to feel for the foreseeable future and knows he can come back anytime for advice. It's what we do when we're on that path. We help those behind us just starting out.

Sighs

I have come to the conclusion that work is turning me into a pig. I come home, I empty my backpack, I rarely pick back up unless I need it. For example, when it's chilly in the morning but nice in the afternoon, all of the morning's sweaters get stuffed into my backpack and unloaded when I get home, where they lay unless either I do laundry or I need them again (as they are only worn for 40 minutes usually, laundering them after one "wearing" would be ridiculous). I was doing my part to straighten the living room up a bit (seeing as I could see some was my mess, it was only right), I kept finding sweaters everywhere! Now I know where they all went! LOL Thank goodness I HAVE to do laundry this weekend, all my work clothes are dirty (and some needed to have been washed long ago). So now I'm wondering if one roll of quarters will be enough (usually that's enough for 2 loads of laundry, so long as they both dry on first run). Luckily the bank is only a mile away (easy walking distance for me), and so I guess Monday will be laundry day. This allows me to rest tomorrow, as my body desperately needs it, especially my poor wrists and mid back. The wrists aren't hurting so much right now as I just can't put any weight on them (lifting or pushing) without them hurting. I was doing too much lifting today, both just doing my daily job and doing the stocking that needed to be done. It didn't help I was also having to do things 2nd shift last night should've done, but I'm well aware that they are the lazy crew of the three. Third works their rumps off (they have to, it's a good night when there's 3 of them), and us first shift ones deal with EVERYONE so it's a madhouse, especially in the morning. But I was made aware yesterday by my manager that a couple new machines were coming in soon to replace the two that are down. So as soon as they're in and hooked up, my available productivity will increase dramatically. Of course, this will not put to end the possibility or likelihood of getting backed up, but it will lessen those events and greatly shorten their duration. So hip hip horray!
I just took a picture of Curzon I will definitely have to share as soon as I can get to it... I'm feeling too lazy now. It's him all stretched out in all his glory on his side on the floor. It's as if he was reminding me that Nimbus isn't the only long@rse boy in this crib lol (hey the twins are black, so it's a "crib" right? LOL)... I don't think Nimbus cared, he's much too happy to be under the desk for now, out of sight, out of line of attack!
The PDA is not back online yet, but Mr. Cat is aware of the situation and how to fix it. I'm in no hurry for him to fix it - it's given me one less excuse to keep me up at night - and honestly, the wifi card probably needed the breather lol. He is aware of this, as he asked today when I wanted it fixed, and told him there was no rush. I know you all probably miss me but I haven't had much to say anyways. I haven't even done any writing! Besides, I can still write on it, just save to my CF card and pop it into the PC and transfer the text. I used to blog that way for a LONG time. Then I set up mobile blogging, then I found a good blog sender, after a couple shoddy tries.
So anyways, I am off for now, maybe to do a little more straightening, maybe to nap, maybe to just call it a night. I do need to eat before I do much more though, I haven't eaten enough to call it a night yet. So goodnight my blog friends, and to those of you who have left us, either temporarily or indefinitely, I miss you and I look forward to seeing you soon.
And Walter - sorry I've been quiet lately. I'm still reading, but the "block" has my hands tied up, and so my brain hasn't been able to write very well lol.
Kahless - relax hon, it'll be ok, the doc will figure it out. just keep your chin up.
JIP - do not let ANYONE fk with your head. you are a very sweet kind and strong person. T will tell you this. you have been through WAY too much, but what doesn't break you (eventually) makes you stronger. I'm never far away if you need a shoulder, and don't worry about me, I can take it. I have a punching bag if all else fails LOL... he comes in quite handy when I need to vent, as it's very hard for me to hurt him LOLOL.

Technical Difficulties

PDA is dead in the water for now 'net wise, through no fault of its own. I'll have it back online soon. So expect less blogs (like that's not already happening *sigh*).

Ethanol May Pose Problem For Older Vehicles

just read this online... ANOTHER strike against ethanol!

Ethanol May Pose Problem For Older Vehicles - Orlando News Story - WESH Orlando

Conglomeration of Thoughts

So yesterday I found out my bank was merging with another bank. Great. They'd just merged with ANOTHER bank right before I opened my account there, so now I'm wondering what's going to change this time, other than the name. They say that nothing else will change except maybe the hours (which if they close any earlier I might have to change banks, if they shorten it too much), but isn't that what they ALWAYS say? We will see. I really don't want to have to rush to move my accounts as that would affect my paychecks too. So, I will (try to) be patient, but my levels of patience seem to decrease exponentially in opposite to my back pain LOL :/...
So what's been going through my head the last couple days? Well, let's just sort it out.
1. So Hillary "won" IN... but lost NC. Wasn't NC supposed to be the "game changer" according to her and everyone else in her campaign? So I guess she was right, but not the way she wanted them to. So what does this mean for Hillary and Barack? Now Hillary just looks like she's in it to destroy him and drag it out until the very end and he is starting to look like "Teflon John" as the scandals that he's had to deal with don't seem to affect him as much as they do her.
2. I am so tired of this wacky weather. It was 45 when I left for work this morning (cold enough to see your breath still, but not so cold that I need 4 thick sweaters, just 3 of my thinner ones - my thick ones are dirty, otherwise I'd just had 2 on). But now it's 80! Geez! I can't believe they're not calling for severe weather, but if it's supposed to rain a lot before the storms arrive, that would explain it (I could try to explain it, but I'd sound more like a meteorologist than I'd care to right now). I'm just tired of the cold in the morning but baking while waiting for the bus after work!
3. I'm making good progress on my game, and the book did help a little. I quit after just a couple missions yesterday as I wasn't ready to start the next one and really didn't know what I wanted to do in the interim. So I actually did something I wanted to do more often than play the game - write. But go figure I couldn't get much writing done last night as it was too close to - and then past - my bedtime!
4. I've been working way too much, and around too much of what makes my body irritable. I am realizing this more every day. My wrists hate me, my back hates me, my shoulders are grinding like an old woman (yet I can't seem to remember to take my pills), and my belly fusses over almost everything I eat. I really do need some time off, but to need a vacation after only a couple months is sad. But that is the state I'm in right now, unless they finally move me where I want to be.
5. I have had to laugh at these pundits on tv trying to make sense of what's going on in politics anymore and spinning the facts to whichever side they're leaning towards (and journalists are SUPPOSED to be impartial - HA not nowadays). A lot of pundits are saying that Limbaugh may have been the only reason Hillary won IN last night because it was an open primary... GIVE ME A BREAK. He may have influenced a few of his croonies, but not the numbers that would've been needed to break past 1 or 2%. And besides, if they want to make her look worse, go ahead. Have at her, matter of fact, go ahead and take her. Or maybe they really want Obama thinking they can whip him up easier in the election in November and they're hiding it by voting for Hillary in mass numbers... See where I'm going? Does it REALLY make any sense when you think about it? I think it's another case of much ado about nothing - like a lot of crap has been so far this year.
6. Remember when we were in school, and at least in one class you knew which kid the teacher liked best? It was the one that never got caught cheating but cheated constantly, the one that could screw up an assignment and still get a perfect - or near perfect - score. It was the one that always brought the teacher a present on Valentine's Day and tried to hide it so the rest of the kids didn't see him. Well, you know it's not much different than in the workforce. It seems every boss has one favorite employee that he/she will let get away with almost anything. It's just now we wonder what's going on between the two off the clock. :(
7. Unfortunately with the decreasing value of the dollar making imports more expensive and exports less desirable, and thus the job market dwindling among other reasons, there's not much room for taking a stand, much less quitting in protest. It's times like this that make me wish I'd stayed home and finished college, at least the first half of it. I'd be earning a little more and be in a better job (hopefully at least). But dangit, we can't change the past can we? So off to change the future while we can before it's etched in stone in the past.
8. I want to know what the big stink was about Indiana's voter identification law. They have a process by which the poor can apply for and receive a free photo ID. By law everyone's supposed to have one anyways. So what's the fuss? Would someone explain this to me please?
9. Why do the democrats insist on so many "closed" elections during primary season? Are they that scared of us independents? Talk about disenfranchising voters.
10. I seen this item on the ingredient list on a bottle of "body mist" on the table in the break room today: "hydrogenated castor oil" - what the fk?!? If I wanted that kind of oil on me, wouldn't I just go buy some? Just goes to show you never know what's in your stuff until you read!
11. I was asked in email overnight what I would think if Al Gore was running this year. Would I support him over Bush - yes. Would I support him over the other Democrats - I don't know. Do I like Gore - not anymore, I did before his global warming "crusade" that he started up. So what if they dems throw away all of our votes and nominate Gore? I think that would be a shoe-in for 4 more years of the same BS as I think McCain would handily kill Gore if that was to happen. Would I be one of them driving a nail into him - no. But I could see many democrats abandoning ship and feeling betrayed. I just think we need to wrap this up NOW.

So that's what's been on my mind. What's on YOURS?
And whew, I feel better now that my brain is a little emptier!

On Work, Self, and the News

I am sitting here watching tv, trying to relax my brain before I start back at work tomorrow after a wonderful two days off. Once again, I didn't do ANYTHING I had wanted to do today, including the laundry. But I will get it done soon, it's no worry. My wrist has been acting up again, just like it did a couple weeks ago. It started while I was still at work Saturday and has only gotten worse the last two days, to the point I can't even put any pressure on it today. I am concerned how well it will work tomorrow, but I will manage. Of course with my left one doing more, it's starting to have twinges of pain too. I am starting to consider telling the boss I may have carpultunnel from moving all those pots and going to the mandated doctor for confirmation or refutation of my feared diagnosis. If this is true, since it has only occurred in the last month, the store would be required under worker's compensation laws to pay for my surgery and time off for recovery and therapy. I hate to have to do this, but I cannot continue to work with my wrists getting worse and worse. I so want to go back to the days when my hands didn't hurt so bad, and if I'd known this was going to happen, I might've passed on the job. I've worked in this business before, I wouldn't be this way if I was where I've asked to be from the beginning. But it's clear that it's not going to happen, not anytime soon at least. My hands are getting such a workout, my FINGERS are getting fatter. I went to put a ring on my left pointer finger that used to be slightly snug, now it won't go on unless I fuss for a few moments and then it's difficult to get off unless my finger is at the right angle. The finger it used to be loose on is now the one it's snug on. How the **** does that happen? Only by overworking one's hands to the point that even the smallest of muscles have no choices.
Things are going ok otherwise, though I'm constantly exhausted. I'm making good progress on my xbox game, though there are times you wouldn't know it. I find that I seem to only do well on my days off, probably because I'm so tired after work that my hands and brain don't work so well. Never mind that I can't enjoy it as much as all I can usually think of is sleep - as evident in my falling asleep within a couple hours of getting home Saturday and being hard pressed to disturb anytime afterwards.
The cats are doing well, though I'm not sure Curzon's going to be very willing to let me out the door tomorrow. I am going to really dread that walk tomorrow, though I really should leave earlier so I get to work earlier and start earlier, taking advantage of some OT and differential time, but hating my job as I do, that's hard for me to want to do. Even leaving 10 minutes earlier is more of an effort than I'd care to admit anymore. And without anyone here anymore that leaves at the same time I do, it's hard to get a ride to cut out my walk time and get me there at about the same time if not earlier than I normally would arrive. I am hopeful that soon we'll have transportation in this household again and I won't have to walk as much to work. I wouldn't have to get up as early unless I woke up hungry, could leave 20 minutes later and still arrive 10 minutes earlier than normal.
In the news, the more I hear from the polygamist ranch, the sicker I get. I can more easily dismiss the broken bones issue, as kids tend to fall, but that's even a stretch considering the NUMBER of kids with breaks. But how can you refute abuse when a child gives birth after in custody, when everyone KNOWS she's a minor? Besides, polygamy itself is ILLEGAL. I'm not sure the people themselves should be prosecuted unless they had knowledge of their crimes (and considering the cult tradition of brainwashing, I doubt it), but the leaders should definitely be prosecuted for arranging what amounts to illegal marriages and child rape (as by state law children CANNOT marry even with parental consent and sex with a minor is legally rape even IF they consent). This cult is obviously just a decoy for a bunch of child predators to hide under to lure in vulnerable young women and get babies to continue their predatory ways under the cloak of religion. And everyone wonders why I have such a distrust of religion... Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the sick perverts out!
So, as it's quickly approaching 9pm here, I should wrap this up and prepare for sleep and work tomorrow. Goodnight all my friends and I look forward to hearing from all of you soon. I hope all of you are well.

Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile

Cat Pics

Upgrade?!?

Sometimes an "upgrade" isn't really an upgrade, but sometimes it is.
Take my (insert explecitives here) PDA. Two of my most important
programs are Total Commander (a better version of the File Explorer)
and MortButtons (which allows you to assign a series of programs to
each button on your device, bringing up a menu for you to choose,
instead of having to sort through all of your programs). Both have
recently come out with upgrades. I did the backup of the PDA first
(that way I have something to fall back to, should I screw up and not
be able to fix it), and then upgraded Total Commander, which went
smoothly. I can honestly say it was a great upgrade. But yesterday I
discovered my new version of MortButtons, though I had downgraded from
the "beta" version, was still problematic at best, as I couldn't add
any new programs to it as it wouldn't stay on that screen long enough,
exiting the program altogether for no known reason. So I had to
downgrade further to a version I knew worked as it was the version
I've used since it came out. To say I was disappointed would be an
understatement, but as the new version didn't really do anything the
old one didn't already do, it wasn't that big of a deal.
So, on that thought, sometimes we go through life so eager for the
next "upgrade" that we pass on opportunities in our current "version"
- but at other times we're so stuck in our current spot that we don't
see (or are unwilling to go towards) an "upgrade" to our life or
career.
This was on my mind today at work as I was sorting through my plans
while working. It's quite well-known I am very unhappy in my job. But
I'm wondering if maybe my "upgrade" isn't at another company, or if
I'm instead just resigning myself to my current situation. A part of
me is afraid of losing my job or getting treated even worse (which
would be hard at this point) when they find out I'm trying to get
another job (better isn't even necessarily a requirement right now)
and having to deal with the constant ignoring that I went through to
get THIS job. But, as has been pointed out by several people here and
IRL, sometimes having a job at the time of application will open doors
that were previously closed.
So that leaves me at this thought... What is our next course of
action? Stay the course or a new direction?