Wank*

I need to remember this, even after all my years online:

                   DO   NOT   FEED THE TROLLS!

But really: who'd think there'd be trolls in the comments on Fb? Not I, that's for sure.

_________
* Used in the second sense, here.

Thought bubbles

Mood: meh
Hair: meh
Eyes: ok
Listening to: some show on car safety that Beast just started watching

Got up this morning with plugged-up sinuses. Spent 90 minutes updating my book blog for the entire month, and then transferring the list to the sidebar here.

Now I can play.

Except, my head hurts. And I have to pull myself together and go to Sparky's band concert today. I hope he's right that it's only four songs, though at least it won't be bleacher seats for us. High school bands play in auditoriums, not "all-purpose rooms."

Beast looked at 'my' laptop yesterday and he thinks he can fix it; it may 'only' be a Windows update that didn't quite take. He'll have to work on it further sometime this weekend, if there is time. Today he's taking his dad to the doctor and then we have this band concert. Tomorrow is church and the visitation for our neighbor, which is in a suburb about an hour from us. I didn't realize it was an hour away--hmmmm. Maybe we will send some flowers instead....

It was -5 out this morning when Beast got up, just 0 when I first looked after I got up an hour or so later, and 4 now. But the sun is shining and there doesn't appear to be a lot of wind. I am grateful for small favors. Just went out to wave goodbye to Beast and it's not bad in spite of bare feet. I'm stupid, yes. Sick + bare feet + outside in cold weather = not too smart.

I'm wondering when I'll be able to take down the "Cost of the War" widget on my sidebar. It's been there for almost as long as I've been blogging. Which, by the way, is about 5 years. And my template is boring the shit outta me today. sigh

I'm also boring myself with this post, so I'm gonna go see what's happening on Facebook, and then think about getting properly dressed in something besides sweats and fleecey hoodies.

---

Urban Word:

pedexterity: v. [sic-actually a noun] Describing someone with the ability to use their feet to pick things up. Also, pedextrous [adj.]

There is actually NOTHING weird about pedexterity, in spite of the ooky face I get from Beast when I pick things up with my toes.

Technology issues

Mood: not pleased
Hair: combed
Eyes: the less discussed, the better
Listening to: the air vent blowing warmth at me

My laptop monitor went kerflooey yesterday.

I am sad.

The silver lining that Beast keeps pointing out is that I can use the TV as a monitor. Of course, that means we can't watch TV--and Beast and Sparky can watch me blogging and emailing and whatever.

Technology sux.

---

Urban Word:

OPM: other people's money

I need to find some OPM to buy a New and Improved laptop.

Bulleted

Mood: sleepy
Hair: probably a mess due to the two-hour nap in the recliner
Eyes: tried, dry and not fun
Listening to: Football (Eagles @ Vikings)

Since I have few coherent, lengthy thoughts, I'm throwing what I do have at the blog. Cuz I can. Y'know?

• Beast ran the sound and light at church today, so he had to be present at both services. He called after he arrived for first service to warn us (me) that the roads were dangerously icy, especially in our subdivision. They were insanely bad, but we all made it there and back safe and sound. About half an hour ago--5 p.m. or thereabouts--the road crew came around and salted our streets for the first time today. Nice. Thanks, guys, for being right on top of that.



• Worship this morning was the first time I've been 'at church' on Sunday since...uh...Thanksgiving? And I would manage to pick today: the first week of every month is Communion Sunday, so that lengthens the service, plus today was a baptism, which means more time. I don't begrudge the time usually, but I was awfully antsy today. And then, suddenly, as the pastor held the baby and swept water onto her head, I couldn't stop crying. I didn't leave, but I really wanted to for a minute or two. Nathanael would be two now. (And no, the mom did not breastfeed in public this morning: the baby slept through the entire service.)



• None of the teams I want to see in the Super Bowl are winning this year. Our big three main teams--Packers, Browns, Broncos--are out of the running already because they didn't make the playoffs. (Denver fired Mike Shanahan--WTF?) This weekend's games were either two teams we cared nothing about or the 'wrong' team won, not that we care that much. The one that is going on now isn't boding well for the team we sort of want to win. Next week doesn't look a lot better. The Super Bowl could be a giant Who Cares? on February 1. I may end up cheering like a girl: for the best-looking team/quarterback/coach. Oh, well, thank God for the ads!!



• I haven't decided what my 2009 Word of the Year should be. That's why it hasn't been changed in the sidebar. Maybe I'll pick one tomorrow, once the holidays are really over and school has restarted. Stay tuned.



• BIG HUGE THANKS to Betsy for passing the word on Jango!!!! I frickin' LOVE it!! And it's free. Why was I spending money on Launchcast?? 'Course, now that LC is going, Jango will probably start charging too.



• Speaking of technology, Meebo--the IM consolidator I use--recently added Facebook to the IM sites it supports. MySpace, too, if anyone cares. I can now log in to Meebo and chat with anyone who is logged into Yahoo!, Gmail, or Facebook, or looking at any of my blogs. It's not perfect, but when it works, Meebo is one of my favorite things evah.



• We had Greek burgers last night, courtesy of DinnerByDesign. They were excellent. I need to start eating better, and less, and get back on a regular scheduled meal schedule instead of snacking on junk all day every day. Then there is the whole exercise thing. Ugh. I can't tell you how much I hate pointless tasks with no immediate payoff.... Apparently, there are no WiiFit games to be had, so I'm stuck with Sports for now.



• Anybody got a good lead on a job for Sparky? Yeah, this is the perfect time of year to be looking, right? And the perfect time in the economic cycle, too.



• Speaking of which, I'm already 100% ready to eliminate the word "economy" from the language. I'm tired of hearing it, saying it, discussing it, blaming it, worrying about it, prognosticating about it. It's only going to become more omnipresent, I know, so it's not a good sign that I'm so fed up with the subject.



• We were going to take the tree down today and put away all of our Christmas stuff...but changed our (my) mind when we remembered that it's still 'officially' Christmas until January 6, Warren's birthday. So I'm not sure when we'll pack it up. Sometime this week, I guess, maybe in pieces.



• Everyone gets back to our regular schedules tomorrow: it's a full work and school week for all of us. Yuck.

I think that's enough. I should probably get myself sorted out for dinner and maybe work on the Christmas card filing.

---

Urban Word:

Presponse: To respond to a question before it is finished, often confusing the asker.

The whole concept of presponses confuses Beast. He'd rather finish one thought and spoken sentence before moving on to the next thought and speaker.

Music news

Mood: Good
Hair: Keeping my neck very warm tonight
Eyes: Sore
Listening to: Wisconsin getting annihilated by FSU...sigh

I got an email about a week ago informing me that Yahoo! is selling Launchcast to CBS--or has sold already--and my subscription access will be cancelled in January. I use Launchcast virtually everyday at work, and I've rated over 10,000 songs, not to mention the albums (hundreds) and artists (thousands) I've rated. And they're taking it all away.

This should not be unexpected, really, but it means that I need to find a backup plan. I use Pandora on occasion when Yahoo! is acting up. However, I'm hoping to use this as a springboard for Beast and me to start using our MP3s. A lot of the stuff I've rated in Launchcast we own, but I will have to have access to Napster or something too. We don't have iPods--I am in permanent boycott stance there, for some reason--but I've had a Zen for two years, and Beast got one from me on his birthday. Time to join the 21st century.

I write that dripping with irony as all three members of my family are currently sitting with laptops on their laps, watching TV and surfing the net. When we get tired of that, we'll Wii.

Downloading songs onto our MP3s shouldn't really be that much of a challenge, right?

---

Urban Word:

The Spousal We: The opposite of the royal we, meaning "you". Used by your significant other to get you to do something.

I've suggested to Beast that The Spousal We will be using a downloading service when Launchcast goes away.

Cheer

Mood: Good
Hair: Flatter than flat, and dry
Eyes: Itchy. here we go again....
Listening to: The house. It's VERY quiet.

I opened Borders today. Hee.

I also grocery-shopped in anticipation of what they've been saying is going to be a GIANT STORM. I always use the self-check lanes at Meijer's because it's faster. They have hired some people do help bag on those lanes, which is nice. The guy working mine didn't do a great job, but it did save me some time. On the way out the door, a voice behind me said, "Uh-oh. You dropped your cheese."

People are nice.

---

WordSpy Word:

murketing: n. A form or marketing where the product or service is not mentioned or shown.

Obviously, I'm not murketing Meijer's. They have their issues, but I do like the store near us.

Things teenagers say

Mood: tired and verging on cranky, but not quite there...yet
Hair: I think it looks good, but I haven't checked since this morning, 12 hours ago. The front is pulled up in a barrette at the crown.
Eyes: tired
Listening to: commercials (we're waiting for Survivor to start)

[FYI: if you don't use Facebook, much of the first paragraph will sound rather bizarre...hang in there.]
So, I was at church yesterday doing the usual homework thing with the youth group. I finished what I was doing on the Mac there and decided to check Facebook for any updates. I was visiting a friend's page and leaving a note on his wall, right next to his profile picture. A couple of the kids happened to glance over just then and the following discussion took place:

"Whoooo's THAT!?" says Ika. Braids chimes in, "Yeah, who's he??" They both hop off their chairs and walk over behind me.

"He's a guy who used to work at the library [very part time, as a consultant]," I reply, looking at his photo a little more closely than I had up to that point.

"Ohhhh, so he's OLD?" Braids says, and Ika starts to move back to the table.

"He's...uh, birthday is...." I realize that he was born at the end of my junior year of high school. Holy crap! "I could be his mom! Never realized that till now!"

"Wow!!! OOOOLLLDDDDD!!" Ika says, as she turns back to her calculus book. Braids just crosses the room, nodding.

He's 11 or 12 years older than they are. And I always had him in the Very Young category of people I know.

I guess it totally depends on perspective.

[Yes, I shared this story with him. Hey, it's a compliment, even if it was followed by 100% smackdown. And they are pretty discriminating girls in the Boys + Looks area.]

Otherwise, today = deadly boring.

---

WordSpy Word:

adorkable : adj.Delightful and charming in a socially awkward way. [Blend of adorable and dork.]

I have adorkable friends.

Checking in

Mood: Blergh
Hair: Cleanish
Eyes: Tired
Listening to: The Broncos/Jets game

It's snowing. All kinds of weather warnings today. But, really, not all that awful. Not enough for a snow day tomorrow for Sparky (and the rest of the district), unfortunately.

It is sort of unfortunate since he spent yesterday feeling totally lousy--throwing up and sleeping with the "just in case" bowl a foot or less from his face. Today he seems almost normal, except for the coughing. Meanwhile, both Beast and I are still feeling the lingering effects of this bug: we are drop-dead tired.

The Packers lost (and they did deserve to lose, despite a kick-ass 3rd quarter), the Browns lost, and the Broncos are currently ahead of Brett Far ..., er, the Jets, but I'm not holding my breath.

The highlight of today, it seems, will be The Amazing Race tonight, directly after which I think I'm going to bed. I really have to be at least functional enough tomorrow to go to the grocery store and run a couple of other errands, and call the supplier from whom we order our greens for youth group. They messed up our order in a big way, which we didn't realize until we started delivering things yesterday. Along with that, one person called to ask why she got a cross instead of the tree she ordered. ...Uh, cuz you ordered a cross not a tree--wow, duh, fill out forms much?

So, no one here is in a very good mood, and I can't actually wait for the end of winter in spite of the fact that it just started today got sll intents. And purposes.

---

Urban Word:

goat rope: A situation or activity that has become completely fucked up, or, an exercise in futility. The phrase comes from the image of a goat, tied down with a rope, humping the rope but not getting anywhere. Similar to goat fuck.

The health in this household is currently nothing but goat rope.

That's all

Mood: good
Hair: looking really good
Eyes: very good
Listening to: Dr. G explaining about why [mostly young] men die from accidents more often than women

One has to wonder...at what point does one just throw up one's arms and say, ok--I'm done. I have been struggling with a friendship that has been dying in slow stages all year. At least from my perspective, it's dying. At least, from my perspective, it is/was a friendship. The problems I have been struggling with the most are whether she a) thinks/thought it was a friendship, and b) whether she knows it's dying. Or cares.

No, I know she doesn't give a shit. She seems incapable of stepping outside her own very large ego long enough to respond to favors, answer questions, or think about how her words can be hurtful, even if wasn't intentional. I've obliquely called her on it, and I think she got that, to a degree but she didn't apologize. Oh, no, far from it: she used my time and space to further her own agenda.

So I've mostly cut off contact with her and don't check in on her life for the most part anymore. However, she still pops up periodically in one place, and tonight yet another comment from her set me off. I mean, really, do ANY of my friends not know where Beast's family is from, where his parents lived? And then to egregiously, with no explanation, insult that place...I dunno.

I rilly do understand that it's not all about me, and that sometimes things just piss you off and you need to vent. I also understand that I'm completely thin-skinned about anything she says at this point, and I've been trying to just allow time and space to do their (usually healing) work. Indeed, I think the healing is happening, but rather that scarring over a cut it's actually rejecting a splinter. So. That sucks.

I guess it's right back to the saying about friends coming into your life for a reason or a season. The reason has been over for a long time, and now the season is changing too. Kinda sad. Lots of good has come out of it, and that will go on and I'll treasure it. But I'm calling this one. Time of death: now.

May Wisdom and Happiness compete to see which can do you the greatest favor,
and all of your relationships be blessed with balance and harmony.
Speak only what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. Silence engenders contemplation.
Love and evolve.

Blessing Generator

---

Urban Word:

deja moo: The feeling that you have heard this bull before.

Sometimes, life just seems like a whole lotta deja moo all at once..

Day off

Mood: OK
Hair: Who knows? I haven't looked yet
Eyes: Fine
Listening to: Sparky getting out of bed noise

I took today off work. It's Beast's birthday. I asked for it off last month some time. The only problem is that something came up at work for Beast and he's at the airport right now on his way to ... MEXICO! Yeah, the high here today is supposed to be 34F; where he's headed the temperature will be in the low 80s by the time he arrives. Next time, I'm dropping everything and going with him! Jeez, I even speak the language!

Instead, I'm having last week's birthday cake for breakfast and spending the day reading, blogging and catching up on selfish interests. Maybe I'll even do some online Xmas shopping and shipping. After all, we got Christmas presents from my sister over the weekend (extenuating circs--don't scream).

Don't feel too sorry for me: I got a wonderful massage yesterday, along with accomplishing everything on my to-do list. Things are going well, in spite of several occasional speed bumps that keep me honest. I'll miss Beast this week, but he'll be home soon, hopefully without any intestinal virus, and we can start planning for Thanksgiving weekend in earnest.

---

Urban Word:

Song Binging: To binge on a song or artist.
The act of repeatedly and obsessively listening to a particular song or artist over a relatively short period of time. Periods of song binging are followed by extended periods of skipping the certain track or artist, leaving them unplayed.

One thing I won't be doing today is song-binging. I think I've outgrown that, though I may 'music binge' for part of the day.

Day off

Mood: OK, sugar high helps
Hair: Braided
Eyes: OK
Listening to: Last night's CSI

What I did today:

• Got up (ta-dah!)
• Sent Sparky off to school--he wanted to go, I wanted him to stay home one more day...
• Checked Bloglines
• Memed
• Opened candy bags and arranged them for Trick of Treat tonight
• Washed assorted non-dishwasher-safe kitchenware
• Cleaned off and wiped down counters, stovetop, etc.
• Logged on to work computer: downloaded orders from yesterday and finished them
• Did October stats and emailed them to my boss
• Tried on new shoes....

• Cleared the pokey dead stuff from the bushes near the porch to make us look less like an abandoned house
• Dug up enough iris rhizomes to fill a plastic Target bag--that's about half of what needed to come out. Guess I should do this a little more often.
• Swept off the front sidewalk
• Helped Beast tie down Charlotte. The spider. On the porch. Get your mind out of the gutter!
• Scrubbed my hands clean, pulled out several splinters. Guess I should wear gardening gloves
• Ate lunch
• Played Bejeweled
• Updated my work blog
• Updated my book blog
• Started handing out candy, and started a list of costumes

---

WordSpy Word:

burqini: n. A swimsuit that conforms to Islamic dress code, particularly one that covers the entire body, except the face, hands, and feet. Also: burkini. [Blend of burqa and bikini.]

Well, so far this Halloween, I haven't seen a burqini on anyone, though there was a little girl in a 'genie' costume that was pretty close.

Word association

Mood: OK
Hair: Smoky-smelling
Eyes: Surprisingly ok
Listening to: Sparky trying to makes sense

On the sites that I have bookmarked for my "word of the day" there are certain trends and eddies where themes pop up over and over. For instance, Facebook has obviously hit the bigtime because there are dozens of newly-coined words relating to it. For instance:

Urban Word:

fakebook: Adding friends to facebook who you don't particularly like, socialize with or think you are friends with.

I want to meet some of these Fb people who have 300 friends because I want them to look me straight in the face and tell me they aren't fakebooking.

Urban Word:

deface: To remove a 'friendship' from facebook due to having either accidentily adding him/her as a friend or actually adding them and reconsidering later.

There is an etiquette here that I'm not sure about: how does one quietly deface a friend who is no longer?

Word Spy:

defriend: v. To remove a person from one's list of friends on a social networking site. Also: de-friend.

OK, guys, which is it going to be: deface or defriend? I think defriend may end up being the pc version of the unfriendly-sounding bar-only usage of deface.

Another area that gets a LOT of attention, naturally, is the whole relationship thing:

Urban Word:

kickback: a get-together consisting of close friends, partying and drinking.

I'm in dire need of a major kickback.

Urban Word:

flirtationship: When you regularly flirt with an acquaintance or friend but do no more.

There's nothing wrong with a flirtationship as long as everyone knows that that's all it is.

Urban Word:

ask me out boots: Much tamer than "Fuck me boots" because the heel is shorter and less spikey. It is merely an invitation to ask me out and see how it goes. While less sexy than FMB they are much sexier than "Ignore me boots".

I have always stood quite firmly in "ask me out boots", even before I knew what my footwear was telling other people..

Word Spy:

relationshippy: adj. Relating to something that is associated with or strongly reminiscent of a romantic relationship. Also: relationshipy.

I really hate it when people get all relationshippy in the wrong context.

And then there are the "green" words:

Word Spy:

precycling: pp. Purchasing products based on how recyclable they are.
I wish I really could get my head around the concept of precycling, but since I can't seem to remember to take the cloth bags into the store with me, I think I may, officially, be ecologically retarded.

Word Spy:

foodshed: n. The area from which a person or family can obtain locally grown food; the area from which a city or town gets its food supply.

I noticed a restaurant in a nearby town last weekend advertising meals created with ingredients only within our foodshed. Cool idea.

Word Spy:

eco-driving: pp. Driving in a way that minimizes fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

The best thing about eco-driving is that it also makes your car last longer (in most cases) which means a lot more income to spend on things besides replacing dead vehicles.

---

All of which is to say, there's nothing in my life that is worth discussing right now.

Tip

Mood: ...next question please
Hair: Pulled up with a barette
Eyes: Fine
Listening to: "Mercy" Duffy

If you keep your desktop CPU on its side, be careful using CDs in it. We now have a 'floating' CD inside the guts of one of our Reference computers.

"What do you mean, the CD isn't in the slot??"

hee

---

Urban Word:

Desk Rage: The peak of office employee stress levels which ultimately starts with the screaming of vulgar language within the workplace. It can often times lead to assaulting fellow employees, abusing office equipment and/or stealing of company property, abusing sick days and ultimately poor production at work. A possible side effect is that the employee continues to take out his or her rage at their residence in the form of kicking small animals and drinking heavily.

With any luck, today's hour scheduled at Reference won't cause a terminal case of Desk Rage. However, with an accumulation of hours over the years, it could erupt at some point.

(blank)

Mood: The usual
Hair: Funky pony
Eyes: Fine
Listening to: Beast typing on the other laptop, and MNF

That's me: blank. I sat here for two minutes staring at the screen trying to come up with a title for this post.

I woke up this morning about 3:30 with a scratchy throat. Time for the autumn cold, I guess. Whee. Never did get back to sleep all the way.

The best I can do for content is to say that it's Spirit Week (i.e. Homecoming) for Sparky. We drove 40 minutes in rush hour traffic looking for colored, washable hairspray for Wednesday. Yep. I spent about as much on gas driving to the nearest pop-up costume store as I did for the two cans of silver-colored dust.

FIL is more-or-less situated in his apartment, and seems to be loving it so far.

Beast has been wandering around for half an hour saying he's lost his mind. It's just never good when the reliable person is doing that!

Summation: I'm tired. Too tired to get excited about some of the Stupid People Tricks on display today (excluding family, although Sparky's on kind of a roll tonight).

---

WordSpy Word:

stay-at-work mom: n. A mother who returns to work soon after giving birth. Also: stay-at-work mother.

I am proud to say that, with the exception of about 18 months, I have always been a stay-at-work mom, following in my own mother's footsteps--though, granted, she was not able to go back to work till I was four, in 1967. Times change.

Wut Aih ded yisst'rdee (in diəlec)

[How it would sound if you could hear me--and DO NOT go Southern--this is done with a fairly generic Middle America pronunciation and rhythm. Stuff in () is barely pronounced/heard, but sometimes serves a syllabic need. A lot of words are run together in normal speech, so I incorporated that: "for instance" is usually said as 'forinstance', for instance. ;-)]

Mood: Ohkeyy, bud'nutherr frickən' synəs-hedək!
Hayər: RIIILLY niyds wa(r)shin
Is: Fyən. Aih nodəssed thət this morrnən--the' fill ə hun(d)erd pursen(d) fyən. Ignor'bl, eeivən.
Lisnin tə: Si(a)lenss. W'll, ohkeyy: small arrms poppin in thə distənce (hut həntin seasən 'r we-iyən?), ə lonmorr əcross-ə strit...

Wee unpackt boxes yestərrdaee, lahtsə boxəs. Dəz ennywun ou-thayrr nee(y)d enny boxəs? Wee hafv ə fee(y)oo. Wee yalso foun lotsə piəls. Lots n lotsə piəls. Thə ray-show luks lyəck sixdee pursen(d) pazd they-ərr yooz-bi(y) dayts, fordee pursen(d) rel'tivelih sayf. Dəz ennnywun ou(d)-thayrr nid enny Advəl ərr arrthrahtəs paən med'cayshun?

Weeyalso unpackt buks. Wee unpackt k'mpyoodərr c'mpon(ə)nts n hukt'əmall d'ga(i)therr. Weeyunloaded əfee(y)oo m'rr grroshrees intə thə minnaskyool kiətchən cubbərd spayss, stackt thə han'towls (they-ərracshullee goff towls--grayt repurrpəssin, Da(ə)d!) morr neetlih, n sedaside ade ər niyn fər wa(r)shin. Sig'ret smoke leevins ər grrohs, bah thə waəy.

Weeyate ad MəcDonals fə(r)lunch (əgən, ashooshooəl, ətsetrə) ən aih mayd Med(i)traneeən chick'n fə(r)dinnərr--awliyvs, caypərrs, pepperrs n 'green errbee stuff' wi chick'n bress.

Weeyərr sleepən in n dooən nuthən t'day. Yayy. Well, 'ntil tənite wen wee ha(i)v ə yooth groop meetin.

This is what it looks like in standard English:

Mood: OK, but another freaking sinus headache!
Hair: REALLY needs washing
Eyes: Fine. I noticed that this morning--they feel...100% fine. Ignorable, even.
Listening to: Silence. Well, ok: small arms popping in the distance (what hunting season are we in?), a lawnmower across the street...

We unpacked boxes yesterday, lots of boxes. Does anyone out there need any boxes? We have a few. We also found lots of pills. Lots and lots of pills. The ratio looks like 60% past their use-by dates, 40% relatively safe. Does anyone out there need any Advil or arthritis pain medication?

We also unpacked books. We unpacked computer components and hooked them all together. We unloaded a few more groceries into the minuscule kitchen cupboard space, stacked the hand towels (they are actually golf towels--great repurposing, Dad!) more neatly and set aside 8 or 9 for washing. Cigarette smoke leavings are gross, by the way.

We ate at McDonalds for lunch (again, as usual, etc.) and I made Mediterranean chicken for dinner--olives, capers, peppers and 'green herby stuff' with chicken breasts.

We are sleeping in and doing nothing today. Yay. Well, until tonight when we have a youth group meeting.

(By the way, when I said goodbye yesterday to Dad, he said thank you; my knee-jerk, thought-free response was “You betcha.” Then I realized what I’d said and started giggling...and mentally composing this post.)

This took awhile to do, but I would recommend doing a transcription from a recording of yourself speaking 'normally' (for you).

For those of you who have heard me speak IRL, this is an attempt at writing the way I sound when I "go home" to Colorado, or if you prefer an attempt at how we talked when I was growing up. You may not think I actually (acshullee) sound like this at all, but it's how I sound in my head to a certain extent.

If I had done this with something my mom taped (when she could speak at all), it would have been killer funny. I think I have something with both my parents on it--maybe I'll transcribe a bit....in my free time.

---

Urban Word:

FNG: Military term. 'Fucking New Guy' [is] usually someone just out of training or just transfered into the unit/AO, who either hasn't proved his worth or doesn't know how to operate properly due to lack of experiance.

Nobody seems to like FNGs (male or female), but we've all been one. Suck it up.

Two things

1. To my East Coast-born or -located friends: I was not talking to you. By definition, if you are my friend (on- or off-line), you aren't a fucktard.


2. Pyongyang is a fun word to say. I wonder if it is fun to say in Korean....

PLUS: if someone sees my brain scooting around somewhere, please nudge it my direction. Better yet, replace it with one that doesn't keep falling out, please.

Belated

Mood: Awake (-ish)
Hair: Yanked back in a braid
Eyes: So far, so good
Listening to: Beast, in the fridge, making noise...dropping things, etc.

I meant to post last night, but my brain was just not up to cruising through the highs and lows of the day. The short version:

The place where Beast's dad was going to be moving--next Friday--pulled the plug on his acceptance. Apparently he's too sick, or not sick enough, for them to manage. It makes no sense; dialysis is not that uncommon among the elderly and he'd be doing it at a center, not at home...whatever. It's just weird that an elder-care facility would refuse someone for needing elder care--and then tell us that the nearest place who can accommodate us is an hour a way.

Beast spent the early afternoon calling back some places that were on the B team, and found a spot for FIL at a place that's further away (by 10 minutes, not an hour!), has medical staff on site more often, and has no issues with dialysis, and which has space available for him to move in next Friday. The timing is still the same, but the location and amenities are different. Thank goodness I hadn't bought anything yet for FIL's windows or kitchen cupboards!

Beast's blood pressure may never return to normal however, and the original location has shot themselves in the foot bigtime over this. So much for me volunteering there, or feeling generally charitable when they do something that makes the news. They should go hang for all I care now.

Last night was pretty quiet. We watched the debate...and it was, for the first time in a long time, an actual debate, not a one-sided duck-and-dive. I think they were actually thinking for themselves. Both of them. Shocking.

And here's a bit from Buddy, whom I was holding while Sparky cleaned his cage:

y5t hfrtl;v.tt;;;;;;;;;;;c l.8ewlceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, e88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 888888888
8888888888888888888888888 888888888r
[[[[[[[;[;p;pppppppppppppu ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hhhy gm

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Urban Word:

SEP: Someone Else's Problem

It is rare for me to think this way, but I'm learning to let go of what I can't control and allow it to be SEP.

It's not a science...

Mood: slowly waking up
Hair: clean and still damp
Eyes: gunky (TMI?)
Listening to: the guinea pigs drinking water

Beast told Sparky last night that, based on trips abroad alone, Sparky is 4 times more qualified to be VP.

Having said that, I just spent a week discussing Palin in a back-and-forth Facebook conversation with a rabid supporter of Obama and a Republican.

My plea: can we have a discussion that involves substance and not follow our leaders' paths down the road of calling each other "crazy." Also, calling Palin a bitch is sexist, unless you call EVERY politician a bitch; I realize that's a pretty radical thought for all you post-feminist women out there. It does NOT make 'our side' look good to sink to that level, especially when the other side is making a semi-rational, conciliatory comment. I don't care that the general concept of debate (or rather "debate") in this country has turned into screaming matches on TV; we don't have to do that among ourselves.

Have some self-respect.

But, really, why are we even considering a high-rent version of Lynne Spears anywhere near the White House? :-)

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Urban Word:

politiclone: A political pundit or commentator who is unable to think for her/himself.

No matter how much you say you hate FOXNews, if you turn around and use their uncivil tactics, you are no less a politiclone that the FOXNews screaming heads.

We are officially DORKS

Mood: OK, tired
Hair: very warm on my neck
Eyes: they are behaving today
Listening to: see remainder of entry.

Dorks, because Beast is clicking on animals (etc.) on Bzzzpeek and we are making fun of everyone. I recommend the horse, but you probably should work up to it. Start with cats, chickens, and ambulances.

OMG--some of them are just...weird. Apparently, owls are terrifying in India, and the person doing the Chinese horse was actually doing sheep through a mechanical duck call and adding a touch of frog. No horse in earshot.

Donkeys are funny wherever you go.

And Croatian toads have lengthy conversation!

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Urban Word:

Early Nerd Special: Midnight showing on the day of release of a highly-anticipated film [or book], typically of the science-fiction/fantasy genre.

Sparky was anxious to get his copy of Brisingr, but not anxious enough to pull an Early Nerd Special.

me me me

Mood: Good
Hair: I love barrettes! I also wonder just exactly how I'm not bald considering the amount of hair I dusted and vacuumed up in the bathroom today!
Eyes: Going south again
Listening to: A/C. Yes. It's THAT WARM!

I made jambalaya tonight. Technically, I made it in July, but I cooked it tonight for Sparky and me. And for dessert, we had yummy home-cooked cinnamon rolls.

I found something out about just how out of shape I am: while shelving yesterday (i.e., crawling around and bending and twisting) I managed to annoy my inner thigh muscles so much that I can't walk today. I literally have had to back down the stairs this evening because walking forward hurts that much! My old lady walk is on the way to perfection! Of course, today is laundry day...the washer & dryer are in the basement. The bedrooms are on the second floor. LOTS of stairs in between.

I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow with the youth group after highway cleanup. I also can't find the file with contact info & permission slips that we collected two weeks ago. Organization is somehow only my strong suit at work!

It dawned on me today that I have pretty much thrown in the towel on updating family medical info. I need a chart.

Sparky picked up Brisingr today, his copy which he ordered in July or something from the local bookstore. It was released at midnight today. I'm reading a kids book too, among other things I'm reading. In fact, I think I'm going to go read now. That doesn't hurt my legs!

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Urban Word:

Destinesia: When you get to where you were intending to go, you forget why you were going there in the first place. Not to be confused with being stoned, destinesia often occurs during working hours, and is the cause of much frustration.
Today was definitely Destinesia Day for me: I was so focused on the getting somewhere that once I arrived, if I didn't have a list of what I came for, I might as well not have bothered.