Only insane people, (translate that to runners and spouses) will spend 10 hours+ in a car to spend 2 hours running. At least we get to spend the night there, since we have to be at the race start at 6 AM tomorrow morning. Good thing we're not much for gambling or it would be a very disappointing trip.

As I go through various online job posting sites, the one thing I have discovered is that I should have gone into the medical field. I'm beginning to believe 50% of the jobs out there are all related to that field. It appears to be the only thriving field.

Just thought I'd stop by for a bit. Not happy about having the stomach virus, or being unemployed for so long. But other than that, life is good.

Looks like Peter Jackson will be at Comic-Con this year - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/movies/06jackson.html?_r=2

His Belgariad and Malloreon series books were still as good a read the 10th time I read them last last year as they were the 1st time, many years ago.

As my friend who passed this on to me said, "Some of this guy's lines are so right on."

Apologies from California. Wow, did we ever botch the gay marriage thing!

At least it is a single "crap" and not a double one. We are still legally married, but Prop 8 was upheld. Arggghhhhhhh.

I was sitting on my bed when it hit. Now, I'm no longer afraid of earthquakes, not after the Northridge quake. So, when it started I just yelled out something to MG like "it's a quake". You know, one of those duh things. But I kept on doing what I was doing . . .then it got stronger. I jumped out of bed and into the hall, since the bedroom has either windows or mirrors on every wall, all the while thinking that this is lasting too long and that means there's a BIG quake somewhere else. The funny thing was that in the back of my head I was thinking this had to be a 5.0 or greater at the epicenter. (Obviously I learned a lot about judging quake sizes during the 100's of aftershocks after the Northridge quake.)

I'm glad it wasn't any worse than it was, and I'm glad we actually had it. I much prefer getting these 5.0 or less quakes every once in a while to relieve the pressure. It gives me a (probably false) sense of security that this is helping hold off a large damaging quake.

I wanted to give a quilt to the only friend I have left from my high school days. So I asked her what she wanted. "Something Asian" Well, that didn't tell me much so I was pretty much on my own on this one. ( And here is the final result. )

Has anyone seen The Hunt For Gollum video yet? It was released on the internet yesterday. The trailer looks good. I've talked MG into watching it with me this evening.

ETA: for a Fan Film I thought it was well done. I had problem hearing a lot of it, and I know MG got bored after about the first 25 minutes. But, I thought it was good for an LOTR fix. Other than the wigs (yes I have a problem with bad wigs), I thought it a more professional looking film than Twilight.

After the cut are pictures of my attempts at growing vegetables. This year I am experimenting with three different types of containers for the vegetables - Regular pots, Earth Boxes, and Topsy Turvy containers. We'll see which works best, which may mean which ever plant stays alive the longest. :)

( Follow this path to my garden )

Here is a video from National Organization for marriage. In watching this, I am amazed that people actually fall for this bullshit.




And here is Funny or Die's parody.

The American Dream is nothing more than a trap.

TELL -
So, I got up this morning at 4 AM for another one of those ugly 26 mile bike rides while MG runs a half marathon. It started raining just about the time the bike ride started (at 6 AM). So it was cold and dark and wet. I had a million good reasons to just turn the bike around and go back to the car, except that I had to find a port-a-potty first. Well, I found one at mile 4 and I figured it would take another 3 miles to get to a point where I could head towards the car. So I kept going. and going, and going. I did end up cutting some of the hills out after my gears and brakes decided they didn't like being wet and refused to behave. I just didn't think it was a good idea to ride down a steep hill not knowing if the brakes would work or not. So, I figured I did about 22+ miles out of the 26. I never want to ride in the rain again. It was COLD.

SHOW -
On Wednesday, MG and I decided I would take a week or two off before I really start looking for a job. So, on Friday, I put my time to good use and finally completed this quilt. I call it ( Kaleidoscope Sky )

Vacation was wonderful. No problem doing a 2 week cruise. It was actually quite fun, and we got to meet some absolutely fun people. Also, we were in the dance show on the last night!

More to come after I get through my to-do list, and get this poor laptop fixed which should be later in the week. It started having problems the last three days on board. But, my service plan is finally paying off. I'm getting the motherboard and optical drive replaced at no charge. Now, hope it keeps working till Dell get's here.

p.s. About a third of the ship was from Canada, and another third from the British Isle's. The last third was from the rest of the world. It made for some wonderful conversations! Now, can someone explain how those Scottish men sit down in their formal outfits of kilts and jackets with studs (I don't know what else to call them) all over the jackets, including the tails. Don't those studs hurt?

Today is the final day on the job. I have worked way too hard these past 3 months for a company that has outsourced me. But, I am leaving knowing I gave them my best and stayed true to who I am. I have said my good-byes to people I have known,worked with, and become friends with over the last 20 years. Now all that is left is my last staff meeting with those who are left behind to pick up the pieces, and then pack my desk and head out to Fed Ex with what is left of those 20 years of work.

I am so glad it is over. Dragging this on so long was the tough part. I am ready to move on to new adventures. And I am very glad we leave in the morning for two weeks on a cruise ship where they can't get in touch with me. Up until the very last second yesterday they were still coming to me to make decisions. That time ended weeks ago. Good-bye and good luck GC&Co.

We're off to Phoenix to pick up the in-laws and then on to Sedona for an extended weekend. And it couldn't happen at a better time. I think if we both actually had to work today, a few people were going to get hurt, and it wasn't going to be either of us.

Be back on Sunday night, and then only 9 more working days. YAY!

Just stopped by for a few minutes to post my list. Hopefully, tonight I will get some time to read other posts. Too much to do, too little time.

Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter - Book - Fiction - Fantasy ( Read more... )

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Series: Ranger's Apprentice - Book 01 - Audio - Fiction - Fantasy - Juvenile - Read by John Keating ( Read more... )

The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
Series: Ranger's Apprentice - Book 02 - Audio - Fiction - Fantasy - YA - Read by John Keating ( Read more... )

Marked by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast
Series: House of Night - Book 01 - PB - Fiction - Vampire - YA ( Read more... )

Betrayed by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast
Series: House of Night - Book 02 - Trade PB - Fiction - Vampire - YA ( Read more... )

The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks
Series: Genesis of Shannara - Book 02 - Audio - Fiction - Fantasy - Read by Phil Gigante - Re-read( Read more... )

The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Series: Book - Fiction - Fantasy - YA ( Read more... )

I defintely read most of these prior to school starting. As a matter of fact, half of what I read this month was actually read and not listened to. That's certainly not something I'm finding time for since school started. This isn't the complete list. I did listen to two other In Death books by J.D. Robb (need my Eve Dallas fix every once in a while.)

I received an email from Borders this morning with the subject line of “Your coupon expires soon”, and my first reaction was to trash the email. Then I stopped and realized that two months ago I wouldn’t have done that. I would have printed it out and stuck it in my purse. After all, it’s a 25% off coupon to a book store, of course I’ll use it. Not anymore. We have cut our spending back so much, so quickly, since I got my layoff notice.

No more Friday nights walking through the bookstore just for the fun of it. No more meandering through Target. We now just go in for the specific items we need. No more wandering through the fabric stores when I’m bored. (Of course, with school now I haven’t time to be bored or go shopping.) We even cut back tremendously on our dining out. Now, we only eat out about once a week, and then, it’s usually so we can socialize with friends. Whereas before, we ate out when ever I didn’t feel like cooking and this was quite often.

We’re at a point now that even if I do get another job quickly, I doubt we will change our spending habits as this was a wake up call that nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to money in the bank.

With all of this said, I’m afraid we’ve become big contributors to our country’s recession.

I've been listening to The Amber Room by Steve Berry when I'd doing my chores lately. And there is one thing that really really pisses me off in books: smart people doing things so stupid they simply wouldn't do them in real life. You already know people are being killed because of this treasure, why are you telling them everything you know about it and about you. It just makes me crazy and is making it very difficult to just keep reading.

MG said his Cotton Malone books are better. I think I'll just put this one aside and start on The Templar Legacy. My listening time has become so precious, no sense wasting it on something that upsets me.

p.s. Are books titles supposed to be in bold or underlined when writing about them? I think there's some rule but I can't remember. Thanks Prim for the link for this.