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[17 Jul 2009|09:19am] |
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It's always better to give too much, pay too much, and love too much, than not enough.
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| Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. |
[17 Jul 2009|07:17am] |
Ahoy, dear Brethren! It was my birthday, so I am later in posting than I planned, but alas, the All-Seeing, All-Knowing, Almighty ICONOMICON! has delivered a fresh batch of arcane and esoteric iconography! BEHOLD!
TEASERS:
  
( The people of Paris, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military, and seeking to gain ammunition and gunpowder for the general populace, stormed the Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris which had often held people jailed on the basis of lettres de cachet, arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed. Besides holding a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, the Bastille had been known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. )
REMINDER: There is a sale at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jackart on 8"x10" photography prints! Check it out! An excellent way to gift me for my birthday would be to gift yourself with art from JACKART!
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| I <3 Glitter Glue |
[17 Jul 2009|08:58am] |
I am seriously enchanted. My love of life restored and the wrongness/rightness of the world upheld.
Why?
Because I have read that "a blob of glue with multi-coloured glitter inside" is used / planned to be used as a seal as part of Nuclear disarmament :)
How to dismantle a nuclear bomb (while preserving national security & secrecy)
Yes, glitter glue!
*sigh*
I love knowing the world has such quirks in it. It is like believing in fairies and unicorns. There is wonder in the mundane, absurdity in the serious, the white dots in the yin-yang :)
And I have also realised that I love having Livejournal, and people who get why I should love the idea glitter glue may be used in nucelar disarmament as I have also realised that there is no one really at work who would get this.
I believe!
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| Is this thing on? Help with LJ |
[16 Jul 2009|01:14pm] |
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None of the syndicated feeds I subscribe to have been updated today. Anyone else having that problem?
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| JACKART SALE! |
[16 Jul 2009|11:44am] |
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For a limited time, 8"x10" prints from jackart are on sale for only $10! Head over, pick your favorite and press the Buy Now button here or at jackart . Enjoy!
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| Fragrance |
[16 Jul 2009|02:14pm] |
I have not properly checked this out but apparently http://demeterfragrance.com/ has a perfume that is Gin & Tonic...
*stares at the front page*
~ Happy Hour collection
~ Jelly Belly collection
Um... The things you find reacing ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) customers_suck at lunch time!
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| I'm back - did you miss me? |
[15 Jul 2009|06:50pm] |
I have piccies to post.
It was a great trip.
I am now in the spontaneous process of redoing my kitchen.
meep.
the panneling is going to come down, even if it means I have to rewallboard.
anyone have suggestions for taking down panneling?
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| Chuck Norris Fact: If you are gay, Chuck Norris hates you. |
[15 Jul 2009|09:24pm] |
Behind Chuck Norris' beard is another fist. And behind that fist is an angry homophobe - It's a fact
William K. Wolfrum wrote the above linked article, linking onwards to Guns, God and gays ~ note that the first 2 are capitalised (and he approves of) while the last is quite definitely NOT.
"I do believe that we should equally and adamantly oppose such aberrant sexual behavior from being condoned or commemorated in our public schools through textbooks or a so-called "Day of Silence." ~ Chuck Norris
Sorry guys. Chuck Norris facts are fun, but I am no longer amused.
Chuck Norris thinks the American Family Alliance are the Good Guys.
The AFA's take on the Day of Silence? "DOS is a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools."
or if you are PRO-lifestyle choice then the Day of Silence (Wikipedia) "is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students and their supporters. Students take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBT students and their supporters."
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| I think I need to accept |
[14 Jul 2009|04:12pm] |
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my house will not be neat, clean, and organized to a level I find acceptable unless and/or until my kids are in daycare/school full time.
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| A very serious post |
[13 Jul 2009|06:41pm] |
this sounds like I'm venting/being rhetorical... but I'm not. I really want an answer.
Why do so many early 20 something males (they usually figure this out by close to 30) think personal hygeine, including daily showers, daily (at least) dental care, fresh clean clothing including (especially) socks each day, and deodorant are OPTIONAL? Girls usually figure this out around age 10.
Why do so many women continue to sleep with these (literally, not the fun way) dirty, dirty, icky boys?
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| Findings from Helsinki |
[13 Jul 2009|03:35pm] |
Hello you all:)
I'm back from Helsinki. If you are travelling there I recommend visiting toymuseum. There wasn't that many moomins. Sadly I couldn't take photos there.
But I did found something else:) Those who know something about Tove Jansson's life might know that his father, Viktor Jansson was a sculpturer.
We were walking in Esplanadipark in Helsinki and came across with one of his statues. It shows mermaid and a merboy playing.. guess who was the model for the mermaid our very own Tove Jansson. Without even knowing this all I think this statue is really pretty and playful:)
Sun was shining today so I took my moomins to picnic. All those food I've got from different swaps:)
I hope you enjoy my pics and stories
Niina
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| Yeah, the hubby got to it first but what the hey |
[12 Jul 2009|07:45pm] |
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This obviously miserable creature is Kimi.
She's our new puppy! Well, ok, she's two years old, but they're all puppies to me.
Kimi is a retired racing greyhound. According to her pedigree online (how cool is that?) she ran in 21 races and won one of them, on April Fool's day this year. Heh. Her last race was May 16th, and judging from her record they decided that she just didn't have the uber-drive to be the champion that her maternal grandfather was, so she got retired. (Maternal grandfather? 74 wins out of 115 races. 0_o)
Going back a bit: yesterday we knew there was going to be a greyhound adoption event in town, and we wanted to bring our application by and maybe see if we could get our "home visit" in while the people were in town. We figured that matching-up of dogs would be required and paperwork gone over and all that. We were planning on welcoming a new dog in September-ish.
Kimi said hello to both of us right off the bat. She was less timid than some of the other females, not as nervous about the noise and traffic, but still very gentle and sweet. We found out that she'd come from a foster home with cats and was fine with them.
Aside: oh glory she's dreaming. You thought normal pups paddled their feet when they dreamed of chasing rabbits, they have nothing on this girl...
Anyhow, the hubby had to get to work but i hung out at the event for a bit so that the greyhound folks could follow me to the house for the home visit and see if there was anything we'd need to fix/change/make safe for a hound. And when they left, Kimi stayed. ^_^ She does great with the cat; he's got no clue that dogs are something to be afraid of so he doesn't run. Nothing running, nothing to chase. :) Kimi's interested in him, but just to sniff and say hi. Really she's more interested in stealing his food one piece of kibble at a time and trying her best to get to his litterbox. Blegh. She ADORES going downstairs into the Kingdom of the Cat, so we've set up a roadblock at the top of the stairs that the cat can get through but she can't. Well, she could get through it if she was less well-behaved and pushed the piece of cardboard over. But she's a real sweetie and seems to come to grips with new things and new boundaries well. When she first came in the house she refused to step on the hardwood floors without being pushed. Now (one day later) she's not even phased by them. Same thing with the stairs - originally she practically had to be carried up them because she couldn't seem to figure out her back feet. Now all she needs is a bit of coaxing, and i think that's more because she wants to stay downstairs where the litterbox is and not because she's afraid of the stairs. :)
She's a real people-dog, and likes going up to folks to say hi and get her head scratched. When long conversations ensue (which has been the case every time we've run into neighbors while walking her) she stands patiently and waits for the big monkeys to stop talking so we can get on with the walk. She doesn't know how to heel yet but she's very polite on leash, not the kind to strain at the end of the line choking herself. We'll have to work on the basics - sit, come, stay, lie down. She had no clue what i was asking her to do when i tried "sit" and when i pushed on her backside to encourage her i just got a confused look. Heh.
Anyhow, we weren't really anticipating having a dog this soon, but Kimi's such a dear and such a wonderful fit that it must have just been meant to be. But glory, she's a tall one - the kitchen counters are at nose-height even with all four paws on the ground! The boy-dogs were even taller if you can believe it. When she shakes herself her legs just kind of go every which-a-way...
Ok, i could ramble about the girl forever. Hee!
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| Nothing Stays This Courier From the Swift Completion... |
[12 Jul 2009|06:41pm] |
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"Shadow Captain," by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young |
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"You must really love us to sink this low."
--LISA SIMPSON
I think I'm going to be making up the 3.3 hours that is being subtracted from every paycheck over the life of the current contract on for State workers. Ever since moving to Clintonville, The Bag appears on our porch, doorknob, mailbox, or yard during the weekend. One afternoon, I was able to see the carrier in person, and I asked him how one got a job delivering The Bag.
The Bag is just that--a bag. It contains flyers for supermarkets and businesses, coupons, etc. I called the number on The Bag, and the woman who answered the phone said there weren't any routes available at present, but she would keep my number handy just in case one came available. (Don't call us, we'll call you, I was thinking.)
About two weeks later, there was a message on my cell phone. The same woman, The Bag's route coordinator, told me that yes, there was a route available, and did I want it?
I knew the pay wouldn't be as good as at other part-time job--such as at The Laundro or bagging groceries at Giant Eagle. Delivering The Bag, I would have a free hand and would be able to work without someone standing over me non-stop. That made it worth it. Also, I have been wanting to lose weight (I'm not obese or anything, but I am a little more convex than I would like to be), so the extra walking would be a blessing.
So, starting on the Independence Day weekend, I became a delivery person for The Bag. Delivering it is actually the easy part. Lots of walking, going up and down porches and steps, make sure everything is delivered by Sunday at noon, page the route coordinator to let her know when I'm done.
It's the pre-delivery part that's a nightmare. On Thursday afternoon, I come home from work there sits on my back porch step six or seven bundles of ads. All the Kroger ads are bundled together, all the Meijer ads bundled together, all the Marc's, etc. There's also a supply of bags, a manifest, and a list of the addresses where I deliver.
Steph stepped up to the plate and offered to always help bundle all the ads together, with Susie helping to tear off the bags and hand them to her. That was indeed a blessing, because doing it solo would have taken at least six hours. To make it more fun, there is one type of bundle for Columbus Dispatch subscribers, and one for non-subscribers. So, once Steph's last Thursday piano lesson is finished, we go to work. Once you get a rhythm going, the work goes faster than I thought it would (Steph put a quick stop to my "Kroger two-three-four, Meijer two-three-four"). It still takes more than two hours, and the living room is full of bundles.
Then comes preparing them for delivery. On my list, non-Dispatch subscriber addresses are represented in blue, so Steph loaded them into a blue canvas shopping bag, and the non-subscribers in some other color bag. These bags I load into the two-wheel grocery cart (I dread what I'll do this winter when there's snow on the ground)--although I can't carry the entire load in one trip.
On paper, my route doesn't look that strenuous. If I was just walking those streets, it'd take me no time at all. But I have to go up to the porch or the front door and hang The Bag on the doorknob, or on the hooks under the mailbox where the carrier leaves packages--the only absolute no-no is leaving them between the storm door and the front door. (There are some people who have asked not to receive The Bag--their addresses are in red on my list.)
The work is pleasant, once I actually hit the bricks and start delivering. There is a cul-de-sac that has had me climbing the walls, a horseshoe-shaped street divided into east and west. That's hard enough, but the people living at the place where east and west split have an amazing green thumb. They have many vines and other plants overrunning their yard and fence, and it doesn't stop there. The vine has begun climbing up the telephone pole next to their house, and the foliage is so thick that it completely covers the street signs. That's not helpful when I have a hard time getting my bearings and have trouble keeping east and west straight. I got on the City of Columbus' Website this afternoon when I got home from church and logged an official complaint. I respect anyone who is talented enough to maintain a garden, since I definitely am not--I could probably kill kudzu. Nonetheless, I'm appalled that no one has spoken to them about how their runaway plants are blocking the street signs. That entire neighborhood is already a nightmare for pizza delivery people and letter carriers, and their blocking the signs only makes it worse.
This weekend's delivery was done in installments. I did some of it Friday night, and the instant I stepped out the door I heard thunder. I delivered everything on one street (three blocks, both sides) before the rain started to fall. Yesterday, I set the alarm for 5:30 (which is my wake-up time for my "real" job serving the good people of the State of Ohio), and was out the door a little after 6. I aborted mission around 9, because the rain was starting again. Additionally, Susie was having a friend over and Steph was leaving to knit with friends. So, I watched "Your Local Forecast on the 8s" on The Weather Channel on and off all day to see when the deluge would be over. It was over late in the afternoon, so I finished in the early evening.
During my time at the post office in Cincinnati, I was never a letter carrier, because of my lack of a driver's license. So maybe delivering The Bag is my way of doing the same task.
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| Fuck. Cancer. |
[11 Jul 2009|10:12pm] |
I have just gotten news that a good friend of my parent's has cancer, and it's serious and inoperable. This man is amazing: kind, generous, strong, inspiring, wonderful. i am surprisingly hard hit by this news - I don't want him to die! I want more time to get to know him! Stupid cancer.
And yet I feel a bit silly to feel so sad about this: I think and talk about death quite a lot, really. I've just spent 3 months in a hospital. In the past twelve months I've attended more than a handful of funerals. Part of me feels like death shouldn't be something that seems so unreasonable, surprising, and frankly unpleasant and upsetting. Of course, another part of me realizes that it's silly to think this way - just because I'm used to encountering death doesn't mean I'm not allowed to grieve the death of someone I care about, or to be upset that someone is dying.
Cancer's been lurking around the edges in other places in my world - a relative who's had a cancer scare, a friend who's managed to fight it off yet again, and so on.
To add to the fun, I am sure that someone will tell me that this is "a great learning opportunity!" which seems to be the line people give seminarians encountering big, unpleasant realities of life. True as it may be, it's not really comforting. ("Woohoo! This sucks, but I'm learning!")
A pity conclusion belongs here. I got nothin'. (c.f. the title of this post...)
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| Cyclists |
[11 Jul 2009|08:14pm] |
I am not brave enough to X-post this to montreal although I might later... so let's hear from y'all.
1) Is it legal to cycle on the autoroutes? I was under the impression the answer is NO, but today I saw two rather professional looking cyclists, in full gear, on the Decarie. Not the service lanes. In the actual trough. And they were not in any way, shape, or form keeping up with traffic. In fact they were causing quite a potential hazard.
2) I have often heard (and supported) the concept that "we are not blocking traffic, we ARE traffic" in response to automobile complaints that cyclists are too slow on city streets. Yet somehow these same cyclists are livid being slowed down by walkers, joggers, rollerbladers on multi-use (as in NOT for bikes only) trails. I'm not talking about people spreading all across the whole path either, I mean people being courteous. What is with the entitlement complex? And try not to sound like a car driver talking about a cyclist when you respond.
3) Who is supposed to be patrolling the paths and footbridges along the Lachine Canal path? The amount of cyclists refusing to disembark and hence causing danger to themselves and others on the Atwater Market bridge is absolutely out of control. I'm not a fascist about this. I don't care if it's slow and no one is there and you go past. But when one cyclist is behind me and irritatingly barking "excuse me!" and two others are passing one another on my side, this is ridiculous. Please note there are signs on both sides of the bridge indicating one is to disembark before crossing. I am thinking the cyclists think it is a pogo stick on the sign and not a bike.
I cannot personally ride a bike in traffic due to vision issues but I can (and enjoy doing so) on bike paths. I am very supportive of the idea that cyclists should be provided for in city transit plans. But my recent experiences with cyclists are leading me to think they may rank second only to dog owners (of which I am one) in terms of entitlement complexes. It seems to not be about equality and sharing but about ME ME ME. Please help restore my faith by telling me what a nice cyclist you are.
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| Police are 'it,' assist in Pa. hide-and-seek game |
[11 Jul 2009|10:21pm] |
aw! such a cute story ~
A 2 year old girl playing hide & seek with her family did such a good job of hiding, then falling asleep, that police & fire fighters were called to help find her!
It was the family dog who sniffed her out an hour later ~ asleep in a drawer underneath the family's washing machine.
Hardly surprising that the family won't be playing THAT game again :D
Full story at AP
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| Hot |
[10 Jul 2009|03:06pm] |
Or I will be soon enough...
Off to Orlando the 16th! WOOT! Everyone cheer. This is going to bring my mood up considerably! Tix purchased and ready to go. Husband even let us take direct flight so we wouldn't have to deal with switching, costing about $80 extra but so worth it! Now to decide on what to pack :-)
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[10 Jul 2009|02:36pm] |
Have been away for a full week traveling. I'm terrified to look at the f-page. If I've missed anything important, life changing, or that you want me to know about, comment please.
We had a wonderful time and I'm far too exhausted to even sum up. Some photos are on FB, there will be more soon. Maybe after some rest I'll get a real update written. I've been neglecting LJ for FB and Twitter and let's not even talk about the "real" blog. Need to rectify that.
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