Blowin' in the Wind

I have a new home officially! A new townhome that is! I get the key tonight; closing on the 10th of October. Huzzah!!



I am beyond excited! There is, of course, work to be done. A minimal amount though, and that's good enough for me! Yay homeowner! Sad is the fact that I am really mostly curious to see how Yoshimi adjusts. It's a good thing I don't ever plan to have children I think; I would end up ignoring them for my baby! But look at how pretty she is!

Did I ever tell you the story about my boss's dog? If so, I apologize for repeating myself! Shortly after I started working here, when I got my 2nd boss (on number 3 now since June), I was in his office and saw that he had 2 framed pictures of dogs. One of them looked like Yoshimi. We've never been sure what breed she is, but from books and the such the closest we can tell is she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Here is a Rhodesian Ridgeback:
...So I ask my boss what type of dog it is, and he says he doesn't know. She was a rescue dog and they THINK she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. I just thought that was really strange - since Shimi was also a rescue dog, etc. That's all.

Tonight E Dat is coming into town! Very shortly actually! YAY! And we are going to go eat Japanese Steakhouse (Yum!) and go look at my house (!!!!) and then probably watch a movie with Rasta (:D). Tomorrow we will go to Knuckleheads, and I am making MC come with because he needs to start socializing. It's something I've decided.

Yesterday my horoscope said I might be wasting time on my latest crush, and that I should ask them. So I did. He said I wasn't. :)

I got my T-Mobile Wing Monday night. It is both wonderful and intimidating. I've had only a few problems so far and I have quickly figured out how to overcome them. Luckily I am somewhat technically inclined so I am tackling this beast. There are a few modifications I want to make to it - install TouchFlo, fix the page pool, etc... But even before that I would say I am pretty satisfied. I just bought the red casing for it, because this one is beat up. So right now it looks like this:
Engadget.com


Soon it will look like this:
...Well actually I can't find a picture to show you. I will take one when it happens. Anyway, it will be tasty. :)

So this week has been pretty good. Monday was a completely insignificant day. There is not one single thing worth mentioning that happened on Monday. So I'll spare you.

Yesterday I was Miss Hyperproductive and got quite a bit accomplished at work. I have now started time studies on the Ship-alone low velocity pickers. Which means I will be following Raisin. I know how you all love him. An aside, I followed him on Monday and he randomly stops and turns around and asks if I want anything. I have no idea what this means, so I mostly just stare blankly. "What do you mean?" He replies, "Do you want a pop? A candy bar? I'll buy it for you." Me: "No thanks, I'm okay." Him: "You're not supposed to turn down offers!" He's really very nice, but SO random. I don't get it at all. I also have a hunch that his supervisor either has a strange crush on me or desperately wants to be my friend.

The plot continues to thicken with Rasta. I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but I've a feeling I'm already too far gone to go back now. I'll let it play out and see what happens! I am enjoying it though, and am pretty sure he is also, so there's no harm done.

Last night I helped MC move. It was actually kind of fun! Mostly because I feel like we're more friends than coworkers now, and prior I would have still called him a friend, but more a coworker. I didn't get home till midnight, but the actual moving part we did pretty fast. It was the long drive from new to old to new apartments, and the hunting down of somewhere to eat after 10 that took a long time. Anyway, I enjoyed it. Now I must get him to start being social so he can see that a) KC is not a bad place, and b) There is life after P.

A while ago I wrote an entry about "King Corn" & high-fructose corn syrup. It was not very detailed, and chances are this won't be either. BUT I am wondering how many of you have seen the recent ads that are pro-HFCS. They drive me INSANE. There is also a website as part of this campaign, which includes the ads if you haven't seen them. It is completely frustrating.

If you're going to drink pop, drink Jones or Goose Island (they make good beer also, and it's in Chicago so it's relatively nearby). They are sweetened with pure cane sugar, and why shouldn't they be?! Americans value cheap more than healthy, and that's just weird to me. Although there might not be enough evidence to make the FDA change their mind about HFCS, there is still a staggering amount of evidence against it. I am going to recommend King Corn yet again...Watch it. Even if you don't believe the hype about it making people fatter, there is no way to deny that it is harmful to the environment.

On a related note, I caught a documentary ("Sweet Misery") last night on 'excitotoxins' such as MSG and aspartame. They caused holes in the brains of lab mice, and these studies were hidden from the FDA when aspartame was in the process of approval. Excitotoxicity is the damaging and/or of nerve cells from said toxins. While the documentary wasn't presenting in the most interesting way possible, the facts presented were interesting and you should definitely consider them.

I am starting to love my job again, which is nice, now that we have a new IE. We'll call him Ralph, since that's how I introduced him to everyone. At first I was not a fan - he is one of those overly happy people, and he always uses 2 greetings when I see him (e.g. "Hi! Good morning!"). While I am all for people being happy and polite and friendly, this was just too much. Now that he's been here for a couple weeks surrounded by a normal level of happiness, his has started to turn into something far more tolerable. Now I just need to get him to walk a tad slower, and life is good.

This weekend was a pretty good one. We went to the wedding on Saturday, where my mother proceeded to get extremely drunk. It was amusing at first, and then a tad stressful, but I got enough pictures and videos to make it worth it. :) To be fair, it was the most amazing open bar I had ever seen. We were drinking liquor that isn't even out on the market yet (Captain Morgan 100 proof = wonderful), there was Los Cazadores tequila, a Jagerator and a bunch of Monster (I hate Jager bombs), and a bunch of premixed shots & drinks (margaritas - lime & strawberry, Rum Runner, Cosmos, the list goes on). The wedding was very nice, and the reception was a lot of fun. I suppose it was everything a wedding should be.

Sunday we spent the day working on the grandparents' house. What I refer to as 'Estate Sale Vol. 1' is this weekend. It amazes me the amount of stuff we are selling; I'm not entirely sure how it all fit in the house. Perhaps my grandparents were magicians. They were pretty damn amazing, I wouldn't put it past them. My uncle decided he wants to sell hot dogs & the such so that he is out of our way but still helping - good call. :) I am in charge of making signs - so many signs - 'Keep children attended at all times', 'Not responsible for personal loss or injury', 'All prices negotiable', 'Mobility equipment available - inquire if interested', 'Please buy everything', 'Hot dogs & blow jobs available in back'. Sigh.

While in theory this is all a great idea, I am afraid to see how we will react when people start carrying our beloved family's belongings out with them after giving us a measly dollar. I imagine it will go something like this: "You take care of that ashtray. My grandfather spent YEARS getting emphysema with it. You don't know what a good deal you're getting for 10 cents - It's already been broken in for you and everything!" and then crying. I guess we'll see. If that doesn't happen, I'd say the odds of my crazy aunt showing up and causing a scene are pretty high.

My cell phone's internal speaker inexplicably stopped working this weekend. My options were to have all of my conversations on speakerphone, or use a ghetto backup phone I happened to have. I opted for the latter, although I am starting to wish I hadn't. Sometimes when I open the phone the screen is blue, so I have to keep closing it and opening it, or bend the top back to see anything. Anyway I ordered a new phone Monday night and it should be to me hopefully by this weekend, early next week at the latest. It should be the bomb, but I'll let you know when I get it.

In other news, I have poison ivy. Many of you might already know that this happens to me fairly often, like every time I am downwind of it. The strange thing is that when it first started showing up, it was just all over my ass and inside my bellybutton. Not sure about that!

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin told Gibson, "They're our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

(from this article)

Call me a skeptic, but I have serious doubts about that...

Sarah Palin, I hate you.

This site makes me pretty happy - The Sarah Palin Digest

Sorry, MC...

It hurts. Oh my.

How can the entire bottle be gone and why was I woke up at 4:30 in the morning? Furthermore, why was I asleep in the bathtub?! My fingers were still pruny on the way to work this morning. McDonald's breakfast has never tasted so good. Totally worth being 10 minutes late.




I've been wasting a lot of time playing this game today.

Update - 3 pm, and the urge to vomit is overwhelming. I finally decide to succumb to it, right as all the associates go on break. I go in the bathroom, and there is a woman on the phone in there who will not go away. I hate her.

Update - McDonald's breakfast not so tasty on the way out. Is it time to go home yet?!

I'm allowed to say that, because I am one.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN097920080909?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Just because someone bears social or physical resemblance to you does not make them qualified to run the country. This applies also to blacks who are voting for Obama for no other reason. The difference being Obama is not Palin. She is insane. Why anybody supports her is beyond me!

Why Sarah Palin should not be the VP:

1. She is a female. Take that! I said this when Hillary was running, and I'll say it again - women are too unstable to run the country. I am for womens' rights and all that jazz but seriously, estrogen is a less than ideal hormone to possess for someone with that much responsibility and/or pull. Hillary, though, did impress me. Sarah Palin, however...

2. She was recently photographed for Vogue. What better way to show you're serious about politics?! Granted, Obama has been on a lot of magazine covers, Men's Vogue included, but I am not okay with that either. To me it would have been better for her to say she had been offered and turned it down. One-up Obama, in a sense.

3. She loves to talk about domestic oil independence...which is great. But when you consider the fact that her husband is an oil-field production operator, do you think she is a proponent of this for the "right" reasons??

4. Palin has requested (much) more money per capita be earmarked for the state of Alaska than any other state this year. Hmmm... Then she talks about how opposed she is to earmarking dollars.

5. The Iraq war a task from God?!?!

6. Her obsession with unnecessary bridges bothers me.

Also, Meghan McCain is stupid.

It's hard to know what to believe and what not to believe in written form, but when there's video...Dumbass.

Sass: I wish I was an elf
Sass's new status message - i wish i was an elf 9:16 AM
me: i am just as confused by that one...
Sent at 9:16 AM on Friday
Sass: haha keeping you on your toes
me: lol why do you wish you were an elf?
Sass: elfs have senses much greater than that of humans
they are also much better swordsmen
me: that is true.
Sass: even the adolescents could battle with the strongest humans
They all can also use magic
me: although i am a formidable opponent when it comes to the art of swordfighting
Sass: or at least the ancient language
me: you're weird. and i love it.
Sass: And they live for much longer than humans
me: that part i'm not sure i would dig although if i lived in an elven land it would be alright i suppose
Sass: Yeah, you would have lots of elf friends to live long time with you and the humans wouldn't understand you and if they did they would just be in awe of you becuase elves > Humans
However in between that is a dwarf
dwarfs are like rocks
me: It would suck to be a dwarf I think
Sass: they are short and stocky and live around the same amount of time as elves
me: they don't have any magical powers, though.
and are they even good swordsmen?
i think they got nothin' basically
Sass: They have the power in numbers and just toughness
They are bad asses that no one wants to fuck withand plus some dwarfs can have dragons and dragons bring in a whole new element
me: how can a dwarf have a dragon? that doesn't make any sense!
Sass: the same way an elf can or a human
me: but dragons are huge how could a dwarf utilize that?!
Sass: Yeah, the dwarf would walk/run up it's tail to ride it and kick ass from the sky
me: I don't like it.
Sass: haha
me: I am opposed to dwarves. And not just because they are portly.
Sass: Well they are just as much a part of my "kingdom" as elves and humans
The dragon chooses it's rider from inside it's egg so it could choose an elf or a dwarf or a human but elves > all imo so
I wish I was an elf
me: Well that's dumb. They suck. I mean, having a dog that can kick someone's ass is way less cool than being able to kick someone's ass yourself
me: that's fair.
i think you maybe ought to wish you were a dragon when it comes down to it
Sass: Well if dragons are smart and can act on there own
me: can't they? they obviously have the ability to rationalize if they pick their own rider
Sass: I think I would still prefer an elf
Yeah, this is true....they are pretty inteligent creatures
and I've always wanted to be an eagle
me: an eagle? what kind?
Sass: in real life
a bald eagle
like when i was little
me: aren't they endangered? that seems risky
Sass: i imagined being a bald eagle
Yeah, but I was like 8
me: and how did it go? did you just fly around? do they do much else?
Sass: I would fly around and sit on branches looking very stoic
then I would swoop down and catch a fish out of a lake
me: Hmmm.... that does sound fun.
Sass: just to prove that I could
me: much more leisurely than being an elf
Sass: I would fly around and get my picture taken by tourist and maybe even catch a rabbit
Yeah, but not as intellegent
which is why my dream of becoming an eagle died and in its place an elf was born

Disclaimer: I don't understand Republicans. I in no way mean for this to be offensive. If you are a Republican, explain to me how you all make any sense. Also, I don't consider myself a Democrat so it's not necessarily all based on bias.

So I was watching TV last night, and during commericals I decide to flip over to the Republican National Convention, if for no other reason than to be informed. In the end, "informed" would not be a word I could even possibly apply to what I got from watching this. The first thing I see when I turn it on is a bunch of cowboys waving their hats while the entire crowd sings along to the Sara Evans song "Born to Fly"... Seriously!? Is this what Republicans do?! I can't help but think back to every stereotype I have ever heard about Republicans and note that each and every one is basically being fulfilled in this one camera shot.

Then, here comes Rudy Giuliani. Not to discredit him entirely, but... When you get down to it, all he ever really did was his job. He was basically to New York City what Bush should have been to the United States - a good leader in a time of crisis. Now does that warrant him honorary knighthood or Time magazine's Person of the Year status? Not necessarily, in my opinion, but I don't make these decisions. I will say, however, that he gave a hell of speech for the most part. His relentless bashing of Barack Obama was welcomed by the thousands of people in the crowd who already hated Obama. His lisp was more noticeable than ever, but perhaps that is only because he was getting on my nerves already. As a person, I do not like Giuliani. He deferred his draft over and over, he is on his third wife, almost certainly had some extramarital affairs in there...Just traits that seem odd to me in a Republican figurehead such as he. Anyway, good speech as long as all you were looking for was a good old fashioned Dem ribbing.

Now Palin, she genuinely impressed me. She was pretty harsh at times, but for the most part even then she was spot-on. A few things (e.g. Iraq War commentary) I did not agree with at all, but that is to be expected when Angie watches the RNC. Anyway, she basically knocked it out of the park, and I would say her speech probably did more for the GOP than anything has thus far. I still don't like her. I guess we'll have to see what happens tonight...

As a sidenote, I will say on this public forum that the hype about Bristol Palin is ignorant. 17 year old girl gets knocked up, plans to wed high school boyfriend - this happens all the time. BFD. It's unfortunate that kids are having kids but that doesn't mean it is going to stop. Y'know, though, if people would just jump on the pro-choice wagon, this problem could be next to eliminated. It doesn't make sense to condemn babies with babies and also condemn abortions. Not to me, at least. Also, I find it strange that Palin's husband works as an oil field operator and their children have such hippie names - Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, & Piper. I know this is wrong of me, but does anyone else see the irony in Trig's name?

Okay, that's all I got for now. The moral of this post is - I watched the RNC and the speeches were more than I expected, but the Sara Evans and waving of cowboy hats completely negated any amount of respect I might have gained for the GOP otherwise by watching it.

Our work picnic is this Saturday, and it will be happening before/during/at a Royals game. In theory, what a great idea. Baseball, America's pastime. The thing about Kansas City sports is...They suck. I am a diehard Chiefs fan, as many of you already know, but...they suck. And will especially so this year, I'm afraid. I believe that the people who support Kansas City sports are the same people who support Kansas City's liquor economy.

Let's see...We have the Chiefs - We played Super Bowl I & Super Bowl IV, and won Super Bowl IV...since then, nothing. That was 1970.
Then there's the Royals, proud winners of the 1985 World Series...since then, nothing.
The T-Bones, our minor league baseball team for 5 years now - best thing they have done is lose in the semi-finals. Although to be fair to them, their drinks are reasonably priced thus making their games worth attending. Plus they had a pretty hilarious promotion when Michael Vick was sent to Leavenworth.
We used to have the Blades - winners of the Turner Cup finals in...When was it? '92, I think...Then in 2001, they ceased to exist.
The Wizards! Hey, they won the MLS Cup in 2000! And the US Open Cup in '04!
So we have exactly one team who has done anything in this decade, and it's soccer. Nobody even watches soccer.

Be that as it may, I expect this game to be relatively fun. Food & giveaways from 4-6, gametime at 6:10. RocMan is bringing "3 hot chicks", and together the 4 of them are going to paint their faces like KISS. I am not sure if it is just a face thing, or full-on KISS garb, but I look forward to finding out. I think. My going, however, is completely dependent on Rasta Man going and that is, at best, up in the air. Cross your fingers! This could be a potentially big night for me! ;)

On an unrelated note, last week I was time studying someone in the ship alone mod, and as I walked by one of his peers, he turned to me and said "You smell like raisins", only he said in this tone of voice like he was paying me the greatest compliment... I respond with "Uhh...ok. I don't even like raisins...", and he says "I think dey smell gooooood." What the hell?!

That's right - Hues Corporation.

Mucho has happened since I last updated. My favorite IT guy was fired, for allegedly tampering with his timeclock records. Huge bummer. I now have no neighbor to throw food over the partition at me, or chat with about nerdy things. I am saddened by this. I hope he finds another job soon!

I have a second part time job online, but I will explain that in more detail some other day...

Last Thursday, Debbie & I got silly drunk with a group of Mexicans who were Bob's students. They were pretty fun, but I don't know that they much cared for me. Since I will never see them again, I don't particularly care. It was a good drunken time either way. Maple vodka is quite possibly the best invention ever. Although to be sure you will hear me refer to many 'best inventions ever'.

Friday I hung out with Mike & Jeremy, which was quite pleasant. Played some Madden XX for the first time, and it is possible that I now need an XBox 360. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen. I bought the first season of In Living Color, and also Requiem for a Dream and Pi. That should keep me busy long enough to find a good new book to read. Anybody read a good book lately?

The fam & I went to Indy for Labor Day weekend, to spend the weekend on Heritage Lake with my aunt (Err..2nd cousin, or whatever she really is) and her fam. It was...interesting. Saturday I stayed back at the house with my...I guess 3rd cousin (this all gets confusing), and his wife. It was fun - we drank some beers, drunk dialed some people, "bonded", and all was good. Adrady ended up hanging out with us because the cousin that was her age was being a bit of a jackass. Which unfortunately continued throughout the weekend. Sunday & Monday during the day we just tooled around on the boat, resulting in me actually having a TANline! Holy crap! Sunday night we went to a bonfire. That was pretty much it. I got the impression we were cramping their style, which I find odd since a) they invited us, and b) we're pretty much awesome. What can you do, though, but live and learn?!


OMG, We're sooo excited!


Missouri River from the plane


Adrady & Capt. Bob


Cousin M & wifey J


A VERY drunk 1st grade teacher



...So as it turns out, not many people outside of Rolla seem to be familiar with the 'half your age plus seven' rule. I find this distressing since my current crush is 32, and people unaware of said rule seem to be uncomfortable by this age difference. It is completely legitimate for the time being, people! Hmmmph...

And I will leave you with this - a Freakshow we have been obsessed with for probably 6 or so months now, but has recently resurfaced in my life... Unfortunately I can not get it to embed correctly...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc