Monday, July 29, 2002
In other news, our replacement roommate seems to be a welsher (no offence meant to the Welsh). It is looking like Brian and I are going to be stuck with her part of the July rent and utilities. I may not be able to afford to live by myself, but with my recent track record, it will be cheaper than having roommates.
Moving turns me into a big, whiny crybaby. I've never been good at it. I get hot and hungry and crabby. Plus, I am a klutz, and moving brings thing out. I have a growing collection of painful bruises from swift encounters with sharp objects.
I have a dream that someday I will be able to afford to hire movers. Alternately, I dream of never having to move again.
There is a river that runs past my workplace, and I like to go down and sit by it on my breaks. A few weeks ago, I found a nice fishing lure and some line snagged on a weed. I pulled it out, and since I had no need for it, I tied the line to a stick and left it sitting on a low rock, thinking some kid could find it and use it.
Today I saw that it was still there, and the lure was in the water. I picked it up, thinking to set it somewhere more visible. Just as the lure started to move, there was a flash in the water and a tug...I'd caught a fish! I pulled it out, and there was a medium sized fish, a bit longer than the length of my hand. I chuckled, unooked it, threw it back in, and headed back to work to wash the fish smell off my hands.
Sunday, July 28, 2002
I went to see Goldmember today. It was amusing, though far short of the original. The dance numbers cracked me up, but I could have done without all of the scatalogical humor. Hell, I could have dome without *any* of that. Beyonce Knowles did a good job with the character she was given. I wish they had made more use of Seth Green, but then again, you can *always* use more Seth Green
Just finished off my Dreamery Black Rasberry Avalanche. Now there's a flaver to be reckoned with. Delish. The container art is also pleasantly surreal.
Update: Apparently, my disbelief was justified. I went back to look at it again, and most evidence of its existence has vanished. Check here if you want the scoop.
Update #2: Well, it's back, and funny as ever. I've heard there is a version with music, too. (YMCA.)
Speaking of the blackout, now that I am a little more awake, I can fully describe the events that transpired.
Shortly after blogging about the thunder and lightening, I was finishing up the "sexy voices" post, which I planned to save in Simple Text, and blog on the half hour. I was then going to shut the computer down for a bit, just in case. Just before I'd reached the end of assembling the list, everything died. No radio, no computer, no lights (no motor car, not a single luxury....). The was no warning flicker, just *boom* to black. (OK, not total black...I had my last four votive candles burning.) I waited a bit to see if the lights would come on. (Thank goodness I was out of the shower by that time!) Brian came up from downstairs with a flashlight. He'd been in the middle of packing. He said that everything was off all up and down our block, but that across the street all was well. We live at the border of our power grid, apparently.
I set my timer to 30 minutes, and sat by the window, watching the storm and eating some ice cream. The light show was quite impressive, to be sure. The timer went off, but no lights. I set it again, and again no lights. I was begining to dispair that I would ever finish that Thon, when there was a knock at the door.
There stood Lukifer, Powerbook in hand. He had read my last post about the storm, and when no new posts appeared, he figured something was up. With nothing to see by but a few candles, we got his laptop configured to my connection, dug out a phone cable (no Airport with no electricity), and gotten everything plugged in from behind a pile of boxes and furniture. Fifteen minutes after he'd arrived, I was back online.
Typing on the floor, in the mostly dark was fun, but we muddled through until the lights came back on. The computer gods were kind. Other than the "not properly shut down" error message, everything was just fine on the iMac. Big relief. It certainly was an adventure.
So, am I a masochist? After 24 hours of blogging, I got done at 8AM and went to bed. By noon I was up and out of bed.
I realized that if I slept all day, my sleep schedule would be off, and I wouldn't be able to get to sleep tonight. So, I may be sleepy, but I am still packing boxes and hauling stuff downstairs and to the garage. After all, I have to have *all* of my things down in the garage by Tuesday night so I can clean and be out by noon Wednesday.
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Please contact the server administrator, dev@pyra.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
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I was just thinking of the Cathedral Pines, and how I'd love to be up north right now. The Cathedral Pines is a stand of virgin timber in the Nicolet Forest. The name is so appropriate to the place. So very peaceful.
I'll have to see about getting up there before the summer is over.
There can be something terribly charming about watching the right person sleep peacefully: a lover, a child, a patient. I can see why parents will sometimes stand by the cradle, crib, or bed doing nothing more.
The rest of (this part of) the world is dreaming right now.
I've often wondered about the standard interpretations ofdream symbols. Some of them are so off beat that it seems downright silly. I think a lot of it is bunk. A lawn = blood or circulatory system. Why? Who came up with this stuff and how?
Well, the hours sans power were pretty stressful. However, the make-up for that is that I now have two computers on which to blog. I can blog at my desk on my iMac and then, when my ass gets tired, I can prop myself up on some pillows and use the Powerbook.
I always wanted to be a skater when I was a kid. Most of the boys in my grade school class were, and I wanted to be one, too. My dad, however, would hear none of it. I would break an arm or leg or something, so it wasn't happening.
Last summer, at the age of 25, I finaly realized that I didn't have to ask my dad anymore. I went out and bought my own damn skateboard. I've learned to skate in a straight line, how steer a bit. No tricks. I highly doubt I will ever be doing an ollie like that.
One of the earliest photos I ever took with an SLR. I was quite happy with it. In fact, this was one of the photos that made me decide to take the Intro Photo class at UW. And here I am today.
Another thing I will keep in mind is that running this thing on batteries will run it out in a few hours, unless power comes back. I may have to start putting it to sleep between posts.
The big suck is that I can't access my bookmarks, stored research, or many of the pics I was going to upload, unless and until the power comes back on.
OK, I am currently blogging by candlelight. The power has been out all over the area since about 11:30. It's still out. Lukifer showed up with his Powerbook. God bless the boy.
So, we dug out a phone cable, crawled behind boxes and furniture to plug it in, and now we're back in business.
Saturday, July 27, 2002
Common sense says I should turn off the computer now. I think I'll wait a bit longer and keep my fingers cross. (Dumb kid that I am.)
Quick plug for Comedy Sportz, Madison. Funny stuff, plus pizza and beer. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 and 10 PM. If you are down on State Street and don't know what to do, head on over there.
Yes, I have been making mention of large pledges. However, pledges in any amount are great. $5, $10, $20....whatever you can do. After all, every bit helps.
(If it makes a difference, the standard amount that helps NPO's get matching funds, etc. is $35. That tends to be the magic number for pledges that help bring in other grants.)
A series I did based on a small segment of a photo. As a whole, the photo itself was a bust....too dark and badly composed. However, this one face stood out. The first thing I ever did with it was a pen and ink drawing back in art school. It was small (maybe 6x14?) but one of the most laborious things I have ever undertaken for art, and one of the drawing of which I am most proud. (Unfortunately, I've already packed up the drawing, otherwise I'd scan it and post it here, too.) Now, having learned Photoshop, I decided to see what I could do with the photo itself. Not bad, IMHO. However, I'm not mearly so proud of them as I was of the drawing.
Lesson learned: good things can come from bad photos.
OK, I'm afraid to look. The last bunch of posts seem to have disappeared off the edit page, including the one I just posted. I never actively deleted anything, but just to be on the safe side, I've gone into the page view and copied everything I posted (links and all) from the missing chunk.
I hope when I refresh the page, everything is still there. I'll cry if it isn't.
Yes, I got on the South Park portrait band wagon a while back. Never got around to post mine, though. Somehow, I like the one I did for Lukifer better.
The thing is, I'm not one of those women who thinks that men are scum. Most of the men I know and have ever know have been great guys. However, reading something like that it isn't hard to see why somewomenmightthinkso.
I stumbled across this site and was amused at topics such as "How to Spot a Golddigger" (yes, because ya know all the chicks are just after your Pinto, man). That page led me to a page called Hypnotic Seduction. Ew. (Note the key words hidden behind the title graphic: "hypno,seduction,hypnosis,attract,women,seduce,psychic,mind control,nlpseduction, sexual, subliminal, seduce, mind control, pheromones, sex attractant,m aphrodisiac,adult, xxx, sex, pictures, nudity, hardcore, gif ,jpg, pictures, anal, pussy,pheromone,pher" Need I say more?)
What is it all about?
"Do You Want To Know A Simple,
Two Minute Hypnotic Technique Which
Lets YOU Secretly Put Any Woman Into
An Instant Trance
And Persuades Her To Ask YOU Out???"
Really? Tell me more:
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Robert Jacobs, Certified Hypnotist. I would like to take a moment of your time to tell you about a phenomenal technique I discovered which allowed me to meet, date, and seduce literally hundreds of women by hypnotizing them.
As a hypnotist, I realized that I could use my skills to easily hypnotize and seduce any woman that I chose!
I wanted a fast, easy way to make women surrender to my will, so I could quickly attract and seduce the women I wanted. Finally, through relentless research, I've discovered an absolutely amazing method that allows Anyone to easily Secretly Hypnotize any woman, Instantly, without them even realizing it!"
"Look...simply imagine the incredible feelings You'll have after you possess this absolute, sheer raw power over women! "
Get...a....clue...pathetic...losers. Is it the sex? Or is the power thing?
This is a photo of "Keeper of Memories" by Brain Wilson (no, not the Beach Boy)that I saw at the Eljehjem Museuma little while back. I wanted to link to a photo of it on line, but I couldn't find one, or even info on the sculptor. So, I had to get my film developed and post my own.
Is that not one of the neatest, eeriest things you've ever seen?
Seriously, if I were the sort of person who could drop a huge amount of money on art (I mean someone else's art) I would so want to purchase this piece.
If I had the money, I would buy a hyrbid car. I really like the Toyota Prius. The Honda Insight is ok, but a little too sporty for my taste. Then there is the EV1 by GM (by way of Saturn). However, that is entirely electric and needs to be plugged in. Not teribbly practical yet, especially outside of California.
At the moment, however, I drive a 12 year old Cougar and am happy if I only have to fill up once a week.
Yes, that's right. The entrance to Narnia is in my bedroom closet. You see, instead of ending at about door width like most closets, this one goes back and back and up and up. There are three levels extending back behind the wall, with a crawl space entrance in the ceiling at the far back. A fun place to go sit and hide out, though mostly used for storage. How prosaic, hey? However, the wardrobe was used to store old fur coats, after all.
*Sigh* I've wanted to be a member of Metafilter for a long time, but membership was closed to new users. Now it is open again, but only to the first 20 people to sign up after noon, PST. I keep missing it. It feels like calling in to a radio contest, or standing in line outside of a trendy night club.
As I'm packing, I notice that I own a lot of shoes. I'm not really a clothes horse or anything, but I do own a lot of shoes. There is a bit of a stigma attached to this.
Funny thing, I actually perfer to be barefoot whenever I can. However, living in Wisconsin means you wear shoes a lot. I do believe that if you have to wear shoes, you might as well wear shoes that are appropriate for the occasion, task at hand, and outfit. Combat boots or sandals? Tennis shoes or dress shoes? I also have a number of shoes that go with costumes, and can't be worn with much else. (Like my Sound of Music, Frau Schmidt "bowling shoes".)
I like slow speed films. I'm talking about film with an ISO of under 100. Sure, I frequently shoot in the 100-400 range, but there is something about the way the fine grain films look. So nice. It is getting harder and harder to find, though.
Before they discontinued it (am I sensing a theme?) I was very fond of Agfa Ultra 50, a color print film. I once shot a roll of Kodachrome 25. Again, discontinued. Thank goodness Fuji is still making Velvia 50 slide film.
I guess amatuers tends towards fast films, and professionals are going digital. *sigh* I'm not a Luddite, but man, I'm going to hang on to film as long as I can.
Why should you pledge? Because they need the money and it is the right thing to do. Pro-life? Well, Planned Parenthood provides more than just abortions....in fact that is just a teeny-tiny minority of what they do. Their mission is to provide education and reproductive health care for all people. Ideally, the education and contraception they provide will prevent unplanned pregnancies in the first place, before they even happen. (Hence the name.) No pregancy=no abortion.
For some women, Planned Parenthood actually provides the only health care they ever receive. They charge for services on a need-based sliding scale. Sometimes, they will even provide service for free. Poor people and students, those who are without insurance, can actually afford care that they wouldn't be able to get elsewhere. Breast and pelvic exams and pap shmears can save lives, but only if you can get them.
How about the sex ed? Shouldn't that be left to parents? I think that ideally, parents *would* be able to teach their kids everything there was to know about sex and sexuality. However, that isn't always the case. For one thing, some parents just don't do it. Should their kids be denied basic information? Should a teenager end up pregnant or with an STD because mom and dad were squeamish? Should someone reach adulthood and go out into the world only knowing what they picked up "on the streets" or from TV? It isn't just teens that need this info. Another thing with parents is that they may not have all the facts. When I was taking the volunteer educators class, we were all suprised at how much we didn't know. We were all grown, educated women, yet we had a good deal of misinformation about contraception, biology, and STD's. Planned Parenthood teaches classes for all ages and social groups. Classes can be for teenagers or classes can be for parents looking to talk to their kids.
You might not agree with every single thing that Planned Parenthood does, but I believe that the net outcome is worthwhile. Thanks.
BTW, props to Nathan for taking the original photo from which my title piece came. I couldn't get over to Milwaukee to get one myself, but dude came through. I would like to state for the record that he does indeed rock da house.
I've Photoshopped a number of versions of this thing, so expect the image to change as my mood changes.
Besides 24 hour Blogging, today I plan to get a lot of packing done. I've gotten to the point where it is mostly random stuff that doesn't pack well, or stuff that I think I might be needing. It is time to make the big push.
(I am also going to try to stay in my pajamas as long a possible.)
Tee-hee. While looking for information on Heyday Bars, I came across this page. It did make me giggle with it's tone of almost hysterical paranoia. However the "about us" page did raise a few valid points about freedom of choice.
I don't like smoking. (I also dislike Big, Corporate Tobacco.) Smoke makes me uncomfortable. I'm allergic, so I sneeze. I have asthma, so I cough. The smell of tobacco smoke gets very sour, and clings ot my hair and clothes until they are washed. The smell of someone who has just been smoking is totally obnoxious. Basically, secondhand tobacco smoke makes me ill.
I think people should be allowed to do what they want, so long as they aren't hurting anyone else. Second hand smoke does hurt me. I don't want to deal with it. I'd love to go out dancing or see a show at a bar without having to bring my inhaler and planning to wash my hair immeadiately upon returning home. Unfortunately, I don't have that choice in Wisconsin. Not everybody here smokes, but since it is allowed in bars, the people who do smoke light up constantly. I haven't been in a bar that wasn't hazy with smoke...even fancy expensive bars. (I hear that California doesn't have smokng in bars. I've gotta go see that.) This means that my choices are:
A. Put up with harmful smoke in order to attend and event that I enjoy.
-or-
B. Stay home or go elsewhere.
Smokers get to choose:
A. Go out and smoke.
-or-
B. Go out and don't smoke for a few hours.
-or-
C. Go out and go outside or elsewhere for a cigarette.
-or-
D. Quit smoking.
Does this seem fair? Not really. Someone else's life style choice and addiction is directly effecting what I can do and where I can go. Yes, I am aware that quitting is difficult. Yes, I am aware that having a nicotine fit and not being able to smoke for a few hours is uncomfortable. Boo-hoo. I didn't make you start smoking. You made your choice and I made mine. Quit whining.
Last night I went to the store to pick up some blogging caffeine, and decided to grab some cookies or ice cream for late night snacking. As I wandered down the cookie aisle (which was also the greeting cards aisle and the aisle for diapers. Go figure.) I looked in vain for Nabisco Hayday Bars. I haven't seen them in years. Those and the Nabisco Devil's Food cakes where two of my favorite cookies. In the Nabisco section, there were Marshmallow Pinwheels in the old style of brown package that the Heyday bars came in, but all of the other cookies were SnackWells. Now, SnackWells does make a Devil's Food Cake, but I get supspicious of the low-fat cookies. They taste fine, but they just seem....wrong.
I went home and Googled Heyday bars, wondering if I could order them from somewhere, only to discover the awful truth: they had been discontinued. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! They were the best cookies ever! *sniffle* I'll have to add them to Pudding Pops in my campaign to bring them back.
Hometown.favorites.com provides a long list of food products that are no longer made. Some make me sad (Keebler Grasshopper Chocolate Mint Sandwich) but others make me wonder why it was ever made in the first place (Pepsi Crystal).
Does anyone remember Royal's candy? I miss those, too.
It is grey and raining outside, though pleasantly cool. Today is the day of my company's picnic. I missed it last year (when it was sunny) but made it the first year I worked there. 2000 was the Year of the Rain in Madison, and sure enough, that day was a torrential downpour. The picnic was supposed to be held at Lake Kegonsa State Park but we held it in the company's second (warehouse-y) building.
I was scheduled to work Saturdays, so I put in a half day and then headed across the parking lot to socialize and eat. I didn't mind the rain, as I had a big umbrella. However, I didn't realize how deep the puddles in the parking lot had gotten, and suddenly found myself hip-deep in water. Icky. I slogged around the party for afew minutes in dripping jeans and squishy sneakers, then headed back through the rain for my car, where I was lucky enough to have a pair of shorts and sandals to change into. Not quite warm enough for the day, but it was dry.
It was my first real socialization with co-workers, and I was still pretty nervous around them. Now I hang out with some of them so much that I look back on that day with amazement. What a shy little goof I was.
I can tell you why I'm so cranky right this minute: it Friday night and there is nothing to do besides pack. I'm hot and I'm bored and no one else is home. I'm still on the bloody west side. None of the utility bills have been paid, even though I wrote my checks for them weeks ago. Work sucked for the most part today. I'm so crabby that I'm even annoying myself right now. AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*pant*pant*
I promise I will try to be cheerier and upbeat tomorrow.
Thursday, July 25, 2002
I caught a news story on the radio today about a church that was raising money by way of porta-potties. Unfortunately, I can't find the story online. It must be somewhere! I'll keep Googling.
Got into a strange arguement at work yesterday. It was argued that (for example), "I read that, too," is incorrect, and should instead be, "I read that, also," or "as well". I actually had to go borrow a dictionary to prove to them that "too" and "also" were pretty much interchangeable, and that either was correct in the sentence. Even then they were skeptical. Oy vay!
On a side note, you may have noticed that I sometimes put the comma or period outside the punctuation marks, rather than inside as is customary. I was taught to put it on the inside, but I find that it looks weird on the computer. Then I read somewhere (can't find the link!) that the convention was starting to change, for that very reason. I still do the old way by habit much of the time. I am trying to work out a consistent method, but it will take time.
Ooooooo. The Down from the Mountain tour is going to be in Madison at the Kohl Center. Now way in hell I can afford the ticket, so I'll just listen to my O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and be envious of the yuppies who *can* afford to go. Lucky stiffs.
On the other hand, I did win admission to the upcoming Josh Joplin solo show at Luther's Blues. Not a big Josh Joplin fan or anything, but I do love winning radio contests.
Publishing is going slowly. During the Blogathon this weekend, I really will update every half hour. However, I fear it may not end up looking that way.
This morning on Metafilter I read a link to am awful web page. Whiny, hateful, ill-conceived, ect. I thought about linking to it and making comments, but then it occured to me...why? Why give him more traffic? Besides, it hasn't been updated since 2000, so maybe the dude is feeling better.....maybe?
If you are really morbidly curious, you'll have to go to MeFi yourself and look for it. Neener.
Dear lord, I have less than a week to moving day. So much to do before then. I always start to doubt that I will get erything packed in time, cleaned in time, etc. I also wonder about the security deposit. Brian accidentally dropped a stick of inscence drop on the living room carpet this winter, and there is a three inch burn that formed before anyone noticed it. It was new carpet when we moved in. Wonder how much off that'll be?
On the upside, only a week until I'm done whining about moving. That's always a bonus.
For the moment, I am going to ignore the template problems. The double posts are weird, but livable for the time being. I will be working on a redesign during the Blogathon this weekend anyway, so we shall see what happens. My worry, however, is that during the 24 hours during which I am supposed to update my blog every half hour, that Blooger is going to hiccup or crash completely, rendering publishing impossible. It isn't unheard of after all.
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Roses don't burn well. Just thought you might like to know.
<Huh?>
Ok, some explanation. I save stuff. Sentimental stuff. I have a huge box full of old letters and notes. I save ticket stubs. For years I have saved dried flowers. At first I saved every flower I ever got, as they were a rarity. Most of them were carnations, with one or two roses mixed in. Eventually, I weeded out all the non-rose flowers, and had a large vase full of dried roses.
It sat high up on a shelf. I can no longer remember which came from friends and family, which were from lovers, and which I bought myself. The pinks and reds grew browner and browner in time.
As I am moving in one week, I am sorting through my stuff: packing, tossing, donating. I came across the vase of dried buds and thought, "Oh Cripes, how the hell do I pack this?" The truth be told, I didn't want to. It was starting to look dusty and morbid in a Miss Havisham sort of way. Out they go.
The trash can didn't seem right. Neither did the compost heap. Then it occurred to me that I still have a fireplace, and it is a rather cool night. Dried stuff is flamable, I like burning stuff (with in reason), and roses would smell like inscence, right? Well, a pile of dried roses might look flamable, but getting them to catch is a bit of a trick. Not much of an inscence smell either. Mostly just a general smoke smell. Ah well.
One less bit of stuff to clutter up my life and my space.
Coldplay has a new radio single out, and I am quite enjoying it. I enjoyed their last radio single, too. If I had more of a budget for CD buying, I would pick up their albums. As it is, I will just have to catch them on the radio.
In other news, my camera from sovietcamera.com never did show up. I don't know if it ever got sent, if it got lost in shipping, or if it is just moving sloooooowy through the USPS. However, they never responded to any of my e-mails. In fact, everything bounced back to me from their Yahoo mailbox. I wrote to CCnow.com, the people who took take of the credit card transaction, and they also tried to amke contact about it. When they had no success either, they refunded my credit card. So, the downside is no shiny 120 camera for me. The upside is that I got my money back. Maybe next time....
Currently stuffing my printer back into its box. Yup, I am one of those people who saves the original box to re-pack for moving. Gotta love packing material that is made to fit just right!
I just got a look at myself in the mirror, and I'm still laughing. This is my current packing get-up:
Barefoot, dust-covered khaki shorts, bikini top (too hot for a shirt today), raggedy red bandana, and a doubled-up pony tail. I look like a cross between Aunt Jemima and a beach party refugee.
8. Watched the DVD of Heat, as Lukifer had never seen it, and what better movie to watch in this weather.
I had been thinking of going for a bike ride when I got to a breaking point in my packing this afternoon, but the heat index has put the kibosh on that. I may go swimming instead. Definately time for some lemonade.
Thursday, July 18, 2002
One more try, and then I'm calling it quits for the night. I'd really like to stay with Blogger, and not migrate to Movable Type but.....
By the way, my mouth is starting to hurt. I've taken something to dull the ache, but it only helps a bit. On the (small) up side, we were able to use nitrous this time. They realized that if they greatly increased the oxygen ratio for me, the awful pins-and-needles feeling in my limbs would go away. OK, so apparently they knew that last time, but there was a miscommunication.
Still working on fixing the template. Seems funny, given that I am planning a redesign, but I'd kinda like to make sure what I have now works properly before I change it to something new.
Please, here are the rest of my civil liberties. Take them, please. I am sure that the government can take care of all my interests better than I can. Here are all my medical records. Here is a list of all the library books I've ever checked out. Would you like a copy of my church attendance? Excuse me, I must go iron my burqua.....
Well, two things I had planned on doing this summer where:
1. Go to my mom's family reunion.
2. See Aretha Franklin at the Madison Blues Festival.
However, I can't go to the reunion due to the fact that I have so little time left before I have to move, and so much to do in that time. Leaving ton for two days won't help.
I also found out this morning that Aretha Franklin has canceled her Blues Fest appearance. I guess that will save me some money. Probably couldn't afford a ticket anyway.
Had an awful dream this morning. I dreamt that a sweet older woman I know--a grandmother--was actually a serial killer of little girls. In the dream, she knew that I had discovered this fact, and I was rushing to gather hard evidence to take to the police before she could destroy it and/or kill me. Very disturbing, and I was glad to wake up.
I guess that will teach me not to read the news before going to bed.
Five-year-old girls should not be missing for over a year with no one noticing. Five-year-old girls should not be delibrately driven into the ocean. Five-year-old girls should not be stolen, raped, killed and dumped like a pile of trash.
Five-year-old girls should be given love and attention and space and hugs and finger paints and allowed to grow up to become little old women with blue hair who talk about how safe things were back in their day.
The unmanagable bookmarks are still a pain, but I am totally loving the navigator tabs. It makes it very easy to go back and forth between pages. Mozilla also seems to be a very fast loading browser, and doesn't crash all the time like someprograms I could mention. <cough>
You recently applied for employment at Lands' End........"
Recently? Um, 9 months ago? Yes, they've been calling me this week, trying to set up and interview for a crappy part-time job I applied for during my unemployment last year. Since I never called them back, they sent me a letter as well. All I can say is that I am so glad I *don't* need to get in touch with them anymore.
On the cheerier end of things, I went swimming after work tonight, and had a blast watching all of the families with little kids. I kept thinking, "I remember when that was me!"
Today I got a call from my dentist's receptionist, to remind me that I have an appointment tomorrow for some more fillings....and to let me know that it will be around $1650. Ouch! Um, why didn't you guys tell me that when I made the appointment a month ago? Sure, my insurance will pay half, but half of that is still a lot. It is going to hurt in more ways that one. (Plus, it is close to the nerve, so expect whimpering tomorrow night.)
Needless to say, this came at a time when I was pondering the ability to climb out of the credit debt hole. Nope, not gonna happen. I should accept the fact that while I am a responsible person, while I work hard, full time, while I budget carefull and don't spend extravagantly, I will always be in the hole, barely scraping by. Everything on my credit card bill at this point is from medical bills (what the insurance didn't cover), dental bills (ditto....gotta love the US insurance system), and car repairs. No jet-setting trips to the Bahamas, no Prada bags, no Gucci shoes, no fine wine or four star meals...just big, unavoidable expenses. (Hmmm, should I start aSave Katherine page? Nah, I guess it's been done.)
It got me thinking...I am a responsible, hard worker destined for a life of scraping by. One among the millions. And, as far a scraping by goes, I've got it easy. Then there are hereditary rich-boys with little sense of ethics like George W. Bush,DickCheney,so many others in the current admin, and all those cheating CEO's that have driven company after company into bankruptcy while collecting their huge severance packages. They are scoundrels and thieves, but not only do they thrive, they get to claim the moral high road. (Well, Dubya does.)
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
It is a nice cool night, but my room stays warm. I have to keep shutting the door and those wee white beasties, so the breeze from the fan by the open patio door gets shut out.
This is the time of year when I am reminded of my annual pet peeve....I can't take off my shirt in public, no matter how hot it gets. Oh sure, technically it may be legal in the city of Madison for a woman to remove her shirt any where that a man is permitted to. That doesn't mean she *can* though. A woman (especially a large breasted woman) takes off her shirt in public and all hell breaks loose. Stares, whistles, lewd comments, rude comments, sermons from the (self) righteous. Any harrassment or attacks....well, she was certainly asking for it, wasn't she?
Our culture has over fetishized the female breast. Toddlers are about the only females totally allowed to go shirtless. (Though I do remember being allowed to run about without a shirt in the yard, at least, until I was about 5 or 6.) Men desired them, therefore women must cover them, for the public good. What was the first thing Western missionaries would do when reaching a new tribe in a tropical local? Make the women cover themselves.
Unfortunately, the only way to disarm this stupidity is to for women to start going topless, for the cultural desensitization to occur. Pioneers in this movement won't have it easy. I know I don't have the courage to be one of them. I also won't be opening a car wash any time soon.
Well, I guess that is why my comments, counters, and the Blogger button are gone. I went into the template to fix the code by hand, as bits of it seem to have disappeared or gone screwy. I fixed the blogger button first, as that is part of the user agreement. Got it up and working, tehn went back in to check on the rest of it. When I went into the template, it was back to being screwed up.....none of my fixes to bring back the blogger button remained, even though I'd saved them. I guess I am going to have to wait until they get the problem fixed. I hope it is soon. Till then, patience will have to do.
(Suddenly nervous about Blogathon. By the way, you can still sponsor this blog until July 20th. Please do!)
Monday, July 15, 2002
Argh! I took some rolls of film in to be developed, and opened up my Olympus point and shoot to grad the film out of it. The display said that the roll was finished. The film always rewinds when the roll is finished. Guess what?.....
....Yup, the roll was finished, but hadn't rewound. Fortunately, I don't remember what was on that roll, so I might be okay. (Oh wait, was that my cute little cousin pics from my Uncle's B-day? Ouch.)
Sunday, July 14, 2002
I went grocery shopping tonight. Didn't buy much, as I am moving at the end of the month, and I want to use up as much of my food as I can. However, it got me thinking about the change in my shopping habits.
When I was in college, I went grocery shopping once a week. I only bought what would fill one carry basket (ie one paper sack worth) because I had to carry everything home on foot, several blocks. I also limited my food budget to $15 a week. Ramen noodles were 6/$1. Bananas and baking potatoes were pretty cheap per pound. Canned fruit and veggies were another staple. I bought a lot of generic, and shopped with coupons. Meat was usually put of the question. It wasn't a very exciting diet, or probably very well-rounded, but it kept me going.
Now I have a car, a full time job, and access to an entire city's worth of grocery stores and markets. My grocery budget has gone up to about $25 a week. Still not much, but the extra $10 means that I buy no ramen and have a little more variety in my diet.
The hard part is buying food to make myself real meals. Anyone who has had to shop and cook for one will know this. Smaller portions mean higher cost. Perishables such as produce, meat, and dairy need to be used quickly, to prevent spoilage. Meals cooked for one result in leftovers galore. I refuse to buy much on the way of convenience food. Most microwave meals don't appeal to me. I end up eating a lot of pasta and rice, with calcium enriched orange juice as my main beverage choice.
Even having roommates hasn't helped this dilemma. Try as I might, I can rarely get my apartment mates to the table, or to the fridge for the leftovers. I really miss family dinners. As of August, I won't even have roommates to cajole into eating with me. Anyone wanna come over for dinner?
So far I have but one complaint about Mozilla...it's those damn bookmarks. The heading says "Manage Bookmarks" but the truth is that they are completetly unmanagable. Duplicate entries that refuse to be deleted. Entries that refuse to move. Entries that seem to move on their own. Complete chaos, and it's starting to piss me off...at least, to the extent that I will let something that lame piss me off.
Any Mozilla users out there with suggestions on bookmark management?
I am attempting to de-Microsoft my life. Part of this involves switching my e-mail program from Outlook Express to Eudora Lite. Can anyone out there tell me if it is possible (and how) to transfer my old messages, address book, and signature file from one to the other? (My platform is MacOS9)
Help! On one of the blogs I read, there was recently a link to a great animation of a VW bug at a gas station, turning into a transformer robot. However, I never book marked it and now I can't find the damn thing. Has anyone seen it? I don't remeber where I found the link.
Friday, July 12, 2002
There is very little in the world like the feeling you get when you've been having a bad dream, and someone wakes you up from it, wanting to know if you are ok. Very comforting.
Best wishes and prayers to Daniel and Oreta of Dreaded Purple Master. Daniel had a heart attack on Monday morning, but according to Oreta, he is doing okay.
I was following the Corsetorium webring around for a bit. Many wonderful sites, I'd suggest following the ring about for a while.Here is a nice example site. Truly fascinating. If there was ever a garment that inspired mixed feelings in me, it is the corset. I had to wear a corset once in a costuming class. Not terribly comfortable as lounge-wear, but neither was it painful--just....different. As a garment the corset has been a practical undergarment, a fetish object, and/or a torture chamber, depending on who was involved.
This article sums up the dangers of tight-laced corsetry. Some of them bring to mind the consequences of footbinding. Moderation in everything, people! Moderation!
Are love letters a lost art? Can e-mail do the same thing? I have a huge collection of notes and letters from high school, some of them lingering on the edges of love-letterhood, but no little bundles wrapped in ribbons. My parents' love letters used to be kept in a pretty pink paper cigar box, until a flooded basement storage area reduced them to muck.
Will I ever write a love letter? (Especially now that postage has gone up again?) E-mail is something of a different medium, though it seems close on the surface. It seems more casual, and harder to preserve. Part of love letters' mystique is the fact that they are an object, a token.
C'mon people. 24 hours of blogging for a good cause. I'd think a few more of you could pony up. There will be a bit of a site redesign, and if I get at least $200, I will make that annoying ad at the top of the page go away.
BTW, last night I registered irvingplace.net. Nothing there at the moment, but eventually all this will be moving there. Less packing than my current move. (15 boxes and counting so far, and that's just the books!)
Monday, July 08, 2002
Ah, the evils of PowerPoint abuse. Click to add title is brilliant.
In that note, I subbed with a fourth grade class who were learning to use...and abuse PowerPoint in their computer class. Sound effects, animations, the whole shebang....it really appeals to young kids. *sigh* Setting them on the road to bad design habits early.
I am pleased that people I don't always agree with (ie. conservatives) are with me on the pledge issue. Of course, these are conservatives who think with their intellect, not their automatic nervous systems.
I am working on a redesign for Irving Place. Should be done by the Blogathon. I currently have been pledged $130 from four people. If and when we make it to $200, I will have the ad removed from this site. C'mon people, it's for a good cause.
Hung out with the sis tonight. Dinner at Wasabi for ethnic food adventure. Besides having my favorite sushi roll, a Boston roll with cucumber, I had gyoza. Nummy pan fried dumplings with sauce. I also sampled some of the shrimp that Gretchy-gretch couldn't finish. Great food, excellent service and beautiful surroundings. It is easy to see why Wasabi is Madison's favorite Japanese restaurant.
After eating we hit the Memorial Union for ice cream and the Natty Nation show. The band was in fine form, stirrin' it up on a pleasantly sultry Madison night. As usual, the Terrace was jumpin' with a mix of everybody you could think of. We ran into a friend of my dad's, who we hadn't seen in years (until the other week at my uncle's birthday party, that is....). He sat with us for a while, and tried to convince us to work for the Barrett for Governor campaign.
We followed the show with a walk down State Street, listening to street buskers and running into more people we knew.
Friday, July 05, 2002
I am full of questions today. Here is another one. What happened to Jello Pudding Pops? Why don't they make them anymore? I want some. They were the best.
What is the flavor of Mt. Dew? Is it merely sweet and vaguely citrusy or does it have a particular taste that it is going for. 7UP and Sprite are lemon-lime. Coke and Pepsi are cola. What is Mt. Dew? Is it suppose to just taste dewy?
I remember reading a story in a grade school reading textbook (Shoulder High possibly?). It was Chinese or Japanese, and involved a man who swallowed a cherry seed and ended up with a cherry tree growing out of the top of his head. Someone eventually pulled out the tree, and he was left with a hollw bowl that filled with water when it rained. I recall that the accompanying illustrations were very cool. I really would like to see this story again. Does it ring a bell with anyone out there? Maybe I should get in touch with someone from my grade school. If anyone out there knows of this story, let me know.
It occurred to me today, while listening to the Oldies station....not only are the Beatles the best rock band ever, they are also the best cover band ever.
"DES MOINES, Iowa -- Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa is fighting a judge's order to hand over the names of women who took pregnancy tests in Buena Vista County.
Storm Lake, Iowa, investigators are searching for the mother of a newborn baby whose body was found at a recycling center in May.
The legal battle is the first of its kind for Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. The case questions where to draw the line between patient privacy and investigating crimes."
This begs the question of whether the woman who dumped her infant even necessarily *took* a pregancy test, at Planned Parenthood or anywhere. If she did take a test, it was most likely over the counter. Women who dump their newborns have usually hidden their pregnancy. Taking a pregnancy test at a clinic would not seem like the action of someone who is going to put her newborn with the recycling.
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
Criminy. I just realized that I've been spelling "rehearsal" wrong several times in this thing. I don't feel like going back and fixing them right now. I will just hang my head in spelling shame.
Cautiously hopeful. That is how I am currently facing the future. I feel like I am tiptoeing towards whatever comes next, but at least I am moving forward. So much to do!
Here is a story that has been both Limbo'd and Blowtorched but I feel the need to point to it as well.
Tired of hearing about the 2000 election? Well, you should still be outraged. Seriously, the next time I hear someone blame the Nader voters, I might just start screaming. The Republicans were out to steal the thing, no matter what it took.
Ugh. There was a power outage sometime last night on my side of town. I think I need to set a back-up alarm with my old annoying battery powered clock.
Copyright for all images and text belongs to Katherine Olson, except whether otherwise noted.
(If I've cited something of yours and somehow missed the credit and/or link, let me know and I'll fix it.)
Irving Place
One of the earliest photos I ever took with an SLR. I was quite happy with it. In fact, this was one of the photos that made me decide to take the Intro Photo class at UW. And here I am today.
This is a photo of "Keeper of Memories" by Brain Wilson (no, not the 
