Thrilling Thursday: Two! In A ROW Even!

So I got this new computer at work yesterday.

It's super spiffy, even if it *is* a Dell!

It uses the Windows 7 interface, versus Vista which we bypassed entirely (thank goodness). Have you used Windows 7 yet? If not, there's one word that sums it up nicely...

Macbooky. (Yes I made that up, SHOCK!)

There's a toolbar on the bottom on which to stick icons (so your desktop is less cluttered), and the old windows themselves even look like what pop up in File Finder. It made learning the new setup a *lot* easier.

Of course there were problems... no printer recognition, which meant the whole afternoon was filled with IT guys trying to figure that out. They did, but deleted my bookmarks in the process!!

I had no idea how important that listing really was, but thankfully they still had my old one sitting around and were able to fix it, but not before I spent a good half hour or so trying to figure out how to rebuild! We're talking all my client files, all my bill websites...

Not to mention all my saved passwords. I know you're not supposed to do that, and I don't for really important, secret stuff, but for all my many vendor sites?! Oh it's a must!!

Restoring all those was a joy, let me tell you.

But it's all better now.

The only thing permanently gone seems to be my Webshots desktop, which sucks because I had a lot of cool pictures saved, but it isn't a tragedy. I felt it would be pushing it to ask for it back...

Especially since they installed Flash without batting an eye, even though you know they know it was not in any way going to be used for any business purpose...

Pretty much just I Can Has Cheezburger and The Daily Show reruns.

It pays to be nice to your IT dudes!

Anyway, as I was picking through what we at first thought was a restoration of my links, I discovered it was actually one from 2007! This means it included Live Journal.

Live Journal!!

Does anyone use that anymore?

I used to, I started my account in 2002, and kept it up pretty well for a long time, but eventually I just kind of slacked off. Posting daily became posting weekly became posting monthly became once a year...

And I don't want that to happen here. It's been a really long month or so, and I fallen out of the habit, but (long story longer, as someone cute and clever is fond of saying) I am going to be working hard to get back on a daily update, even if I have to resort to lazy posts...

Like tomorrow's, where I'll regale you with old posts from LJ that amused me.

(I'm still retiring F-Word Friday though. It was fated to fail. Hey! Double F-word!)

Looking through all that old LJ stuff, I relived a few unfortunate incidents, but also remembered some great things I'd forgotten.

My writing style, surprisingly (or not), is about the same now as it was then, which makes me extra glad to be starting up this English (maybe Art maybe Business who the hell knows) degree...

Maybe I'll learn some proper writing!

Or not.

Last but not least, I was looking back over the blog and saw that it has been really ugly and boring of late... no photos (I haven't been taking any), no video, nothing!

So here's something to break up all that dull.

'The Florist' from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo.

According to the website...

" Decorator crabs demonstrate a remarkably prescient instinct to be able process the information required to successfully camouflage themselves to match their preferred habitat. Unlike the typically fast-scuttling crabs of the mainstream, decorator crabs move at a deliberately slow pace to reduce being noticed.

This particular decorator crab species boasts a brilliant red exoskeleton that it has disguised with the zoanthids. The crab has carefully nipped individual zoanthid polyps from a larger colony and placed them upon its carapace (back) where they attach down on their own and continue growing. My experience suggests that it takes at least two days for a polyp to begin attaching down to new substrate. I have yet to observe the crab going through the whole process of zoanthid 'decoration', but clearly it is a very patient animal."

Crabs that decorate themselves! It's probably mostly for camouflage, but I'd like to think there's a little bit of flair to the process. You just know there's a percentage of these crabs that just pick any old zoanthid, just one maybe, and a whole bigger section that just tries to outdo each other with their displays.

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: An Actual Real Live Post!

Quick, before I forget (as I sit eating a cold-chicken sandwich directly from my Disney Princess Fairy sandwich bag - oh but I do love the dollar store!), are some things that have just lately gone through my head.

• Fields full of green grass and prairie dogs make them look like they're a bunch of farmers out in a field of tiny corn stalks. Very small, furry, plague-ridden farmers.
• I'm having Trivia withdrawal. I have been finding myself looking for any opening to share random knowledge with others.
• Making customer service people laugh is absolutely the key to getting stuff done quickly and well.
• Olive-oil based low-fat mayonnaise is, I'm sorry, no substitute.
• This is my new best friend:

My physical therapy doctor gave it to me today, and it is FANTASTICALLY FANTASTIC. If you've ever had a sore muscle ever, you need one of these. Trust me.

Well besides the hectic nature of year-end work crap, this week has been really full!

The Kid started volunteering at the library on Tuesday (after a brief interview Monday night - naturally, the librarian in charge of Teen Services loved her and wanted her there immediately, which only sounds like bragging if you don't know my Kid), and participated in Duck Tape Day, her very favorite activity every summer! She made another tie, but her creativity has really amped up. Whereas prior year's ties have been simply stripey, this year's involved a rainbow of carefully cut-out squares in a gradual rainbow pattern along a backdrop of standard grey.

Pictures, you say? What are these "pictures" you speak of? (I'm working on it.)

I gave her some cash so she could go get herself some lunch today. Try as I might to think of her as a young adult, I still can't help but hold on to this mental image of her having to reach up to the counter at the pizza place, although I know the reality is that she's old enough (and tall enough) that wait staff don't even give her a second glance. She's just another patron, a teen certainly, but no little girl. It makes me proud and a little verklempt all at the same time.

So after Duck Tape Rapture on Tuesday (she got to take home the leftover tape even!), she and her friend Maddie (of the November Friendiversary) went back to our house to veg out until I got home to cook a quick dinner before heading off to the Rhythm on the River volunteer training (this will be our 4th year!) and then back home for a disco nap before I, sucker that I am, took them to a midnight screening of Eclipse.

Me, who can't stay up past 10:30 without serious stimulus.

I made it though, and I have to say it was a pretty enjoyable flick! The actors seem to have relaxed a bit in their roles, the action was exciting, and there were quite a few tongue-in-cheek jokes thrown in for laughs. It is definitely my favorite so far.

It was, of course, as amusing as the first movie for sheer squealing; there's nothing quite like a roomful of teen girls amped up on excitement and hormones, although nothing quite matched the pitch-level of the group squee emitted when the first Big Kiss occured in the first movie. That was nearly deafening.

Oh, and double bonus! Previews included the new Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia movies (they're doing my favorite book of the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Both look fantastic!!

Wednesday, naturally, I was pretty wiped so I took the bus rather than drive half-awake. Despite my stupor, though, I managed to get lots of work done AND finally register for my first 2 online classes. I ended up deciding on a Math course (the only one I *have* to take if I'm going towards English as a major) and English 121, a beginner-level writing class. I figure those are good starter classes, especially since for now I'm going to be strictly online, and trying to learn that new method, amping up my schedule, *and* attempting to learn something I know almost nothing about is probably a bad combo.

I even managed to finish a sewing project, the bibs I had started for friends of TR who love them some Scottish Pride. I attempted to find a tartan or two from their actual clan, but that was tough to pull off despite the many options (that clan is a busy bunch it seems) though I did work the colors in at least. These are just more "inspired by" than the real thing. Like those horrible colognes at Walgreens!

Love "Diamonds"? Try "Cubic Zirconia!" It's the same, only different!

The colors don't really come through in the photo (since no matter what I do, everything in my house has a yellow hue in photos), but from left to right are a larger green/red plaid with a forest green back, a purple/green plaid with a pear-green back, and a green/blue/red plaid with a navy blue back. They're very cute, very soft and I hopefully not too small! I think the pattern was intended for infants, and I haven't held one in many a moon, so my judgment is off.

Things seem to be going back to normal, at least I hope so, so I hope to get back to a *really* normal writing schedule; I miss the daily challenge!

I can't promise it'll keep up once school starts (!!!!OMGWTFBBQ!!!!) but I'll do my best. Hey if nothing else, you'll all get to be my term-paper (or whatever they call them now) guinea pigs. LUCKY YOU.

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: ZOMBIES

I have no brains left.

I have so little brains at the moment, in fact, that at first I typed "I have no brians" which is a big fat lie. I have several in fact, although none of them live here.

Wait, what?

Anyway.

It's been a VERY long week; The Kid is currently doing week 1 of her Girl Scout camp counselor action, which means I leave at 2:45 every day.

That would be all awesome and stuff, except that I also had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning, and one tomorrow too, and between all that I am SO BUSY I CAN'T SEE.

I need a vacation.

Yes, yes, technically I just had one but you know what I mean!

Here's a nice catchup for you!

Monday night...

Ales For Females! This week Robyn & I learned all about hops, although the one thing that sticks in my mind is that it's the only other plant in the family cannabinaceae other than the other one (you can probably guess). That explains a LOT!

Tuesday night...

Cheap Mexican and girl talk with Melissa. Poor Kiddo was exhausted and home eating mac n cheese.

Wednesday night...

Yet more Mexican, this time with Colorado Alternadad, only this time it came with an extra bonus...

A Southern Gentleman Waiter.

All that Yes Ma'aming and No Ma'aming and Right Away Ma'aming had me feeling a bit spoiled, but I think that's ok! I rarely like getting "ma'am"ed and this was a definite exception.

After picking up The Kid today, I managed to get my butt to Front Range to meet with an advisor.

We decided it's probably best I don't kill myself right off, and so I'm going to go with 2 classes and not 4. I was on the fence until I found out that I have quite a bit of financial aid to work with and won't really incur much expense! What little I will have to pay out will be covered by some very cheap government student loans.

Lookit me, bein' a college student!

Well...

I'm taking a couple of classes anyway. I have a hard time thinking of a couple of classes as really working very hard, but it's the best I can do, and it's something, right? Baby steps.

Finally, right this minute I'm sitting, exhausted, ignoring my sandwich and watching Giant Squid vs. Megalodon (starring Debbie - excuse me, Deborah - Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas!) on Netflix. It's all I have left.

Happy Thursday!!

F-Word Friday: Back On Track, or Finally Posting Again

Okay! Back to regular posting, which means posting more than once a week. Lucky you.

Well, it's Friday morning, rather early, and I managed to find an unsecured wireless connection in my mom's neighborhood. I feel a little bad, but I'm not a hacker and have no motives other than getting online for awhile, and I have to lay on the bed in the guest room with my head on the window sill to use it or the signal goes dead, so there ya go. Karma has been served!

So I didn't get into Tucson until about 9:30 Wednesday night, which was rough on me but also my poor mother, who's used to being asleep by 8:30 or so! (Thanks mom.) I've been away too long it seems, because only one of her dogs was happy to see me, and it wasn't my Max. I was strangely upset by this, though it's silly to be. Buster (the boxer) was deeply disturbed by my presence, though he always is so no shock there. Greta was her usual sweet self - toss (well, roll) her ball for her, and she'll be your buddy!

Buster eventually warmed up a bit, though I'm still a bit wary of going into the hallway at night. None of them would ever hurt a fly, of course, but there's nothing quite as startling (and humiliating - nothing like waking the whole house up because you need to pee at 1AM) as a very large dog barking deeply directly at YOU!

Veeeeery early Thursday morning, I was up and eating cereal with my mom. I figured since I was already up I'd walk her to work and see her new digs! It's a pretty fast walk, and truly Tucson's weather is gorgeous at that hour. It's just later that it heats up to...

Well the news folks said it hit 105, but the car thought it was 117 in the sun.

BRUTAL.

The morning, though, was truly lovely. Though it is a desert environment, Tucson is full of color and life - it just hides out in the hotter hours. First thing in the morning, however, I saw deep red flowers, delicately green mesquite and my favorite purple Prickly Pear cactus, not to mention tiny green lizards, birds everywhere and, of course, saguaros in every other yard.

Not sure what they are, besides hardy

Much purpler in real life

I ran for coffee next door to her office while my mom was getting her day started, a cute place called Rock N Java (they feature live music, thus the clever name). The nice lady who runs it in the morning, Heather, made me an iced coffee the way she likes it, and it's my new favorite. I'll be sorry to not be able to get it until next time I'm out here!

I hadn't had much caffeine (besides iced tea at J Alexanders last Sunday) in awhile, so I was extremely perky by the time I walked back to the house to get The Kid up and moving.

We both got dressed, and then it was off to the Pima Air Museum! I first went there a couple of years ago on a whim, since it wasn't far from my mom's work at the time (the acursed JB Steel, who can suck it).

I was amazed by their collection, but I only saw a fraction at the time! We saw a whole lot more this round.

Since it's cooler earlier in the day, one of the volunteers (a group of ex-Air Force fellas with a ridiculous amount of knowledge between them) suggested the tram tour that takes you around most of the 80 acres or so (!) of land to see almost all of what is outside. There's another tour that goes to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance Regeneration Group (the "Boneyard") on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base next door, but we didn't make that one since it didn't leave until 2. It was really hot and we knew we wouldn't make it until then. In the fall or winter I could definitely see spending a day or two really getting into the exhibits and walking around the property, but mid-June?

Not so much.

I've always had a fascination with WWII history. I'm guessing it started with early viewings of South Pacific and period movies and stars my mom loved (Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and the like), but later there was Empire of the Sun, Hope and Glory, and of course a deep fascination with aircraft - and the WWII planes were no doubt the prettiest. There's something so lush about their wide lines, riveted hulls, big props and straightforward machinery. There were computers after a fashion, but nothing so hands-off as we have now. Not that there isn't highly evolved skill required to fly today's planes, of course, but there seemed to be more of a partnership between man and machine then. They named their planes, gave them tattoos even!

The planes then weren't just tools, they were deeply loved, and that love lingers on in how they are still revered, restored and cared for.

Of course I've romanticized it. It's all about that first scene in South Pacific, and one of the best in Empire of the Sun.

Walking around the museums indoor exhibits, I was particularly fascinated by their newly restored P51 Mustang, and the B29 bomber taking up vast amounts of space in Hangar 4 (the Pacific Theatre display - shocking that I would aim there). That one ended up being The Kid's & my favorite, since one of the volunteers saw us drooling all over it (it really is glorious) and came over to give us a visual tour of the guts of the Sentimental Journey, as this one was dubbed.

So gorgeous!

Back home, we rested a little while, then got suited up and headed for the pool. It was the hottest point of the day, but we knew the cold water would feel fantastic! Of course the bonus of such a dry climate is that science works... when water evaporates from your skin that quickly, getting out of the pool means the sun and heat feel *good* rather than like punishment.

For a minute anyway.

I did sunblock the bejesus out of myself, I'll have you know, yet I still managed to get a bit pink around the edges.

And this is only June! I can't imagine August here. My mother is either very adaptable or totally bonkers. Probably both.

(Love you mom!)

The Kid and I headed back after a couple of hours and then it was Hungry Howie's for dinner than off to bed for us! It had been a long day.

Today's Friday, and on tap today is probably a little more time in the pool, and miniatures museum which promises to be amazing, plus sushi for dinner! Yum.

Happy Friday!

F-Word Friday: Fast and Furious

It's Friday already?!

These short weeks mess me up.

Posting has been difficult this week obviously; it's been unbelievably busy at work, which means by the time I get home I'm beyond beat.

So you get TWO update posts this week! See how everyone wins?

First up...

WTF WEDNESDAY

Or, as these folks might prefer it, WTF Wensday.

The Spelling Society, a group out of the U.K., feels that the English language is too complex, too outdated, and that it should be modernized. Or "modernised" if you're from there.

They like to protest at spelling bees with signs that say "Enuf is enuf. Enough is too much."

I'm of two minds on this.

On the one hand, yes English is hard to learn.

There are bits of verse out there that illustrate this fact, like...

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through.

Etc. etc. It's a weird, involved language. Point taken.

But you have to admit... it's interesting!

Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment when you can look back over your work and see you've used "your" and "you're" correctly? Or "yore" for that matter? That you've aced the whole "there, they're, their" thing?

I do! But I'm a nerd, so...

Their day may have come, though... one of The Kid's teachers actually told her spelling doesn't matter as long as she gets the answers right. Call me old fashioned, but...

No.

And of course there's the dreaded spellcheck. I use it now and again, certainly, but I don't rely on it even a little bit.

Also falling under WTF Wednesday... Macy's. As with Old Navy, they have now decided that we large people only get to order our clothes online, and aren't allowed to shop in their stores. Are they afraid we'll ruin their reps? Or maybe they're concerned we'll roll around like a bunch of Weebles and ruin all their carefully crafted displays.

Who knows.

Point is, I went in to look for a pair of capris to cover my large, non-corporate-friendly butt, and when I couldn't locate the Women's section was informed by the tiny 18-year-old sales girl that they "only carry normal sizes".

I'm surprised I wasn't more offended... actually I just laughed. What else can you do? I'll stick with being "abnormal", thanks... at least I know my curves are appreciated.

(Yardsticks. They're important.)

THRILLING THURSDAY

I did manage to find time for Trivia Wednesday night, and we took first place!

I didn't get to enjoy our win, though, as I was busy discussing the gift certificate from our *last* win with the manager.

It seems they've changed their policies, and the Trivia winnings aren't for use on Trivia night. Instead you have to bring them back and use them at a different time.

Whaaaa?

According to the managing partner (to whom I was directed to voice my complaint), this is so that their expenses to run GWD - the host's tab (she had two beers), the fee to run it (I can't imagine it's thousands of dollars) and the gift certificates (which they "don't have to do" according to him) - can be offset by further income and butts in seats.

This makes no sense to me, and it feels very unwelcoming. We go in there, we spend money regardless. As I told him, what makes more sense - that I use my $25 winnings for a couple of beers and appetizers, or that I come back on Ladies Night for $2 beers and really maximize the potential of those Trivia Bucks?!

He was unm0ved.

That's fine, though. There's no restriction on the gift certificates regarding hoarding. I'll just keep going back, not ordering anything at *all* when I do, winning as much as possible, and in a few months it's Party of 10. $25 a week adds up fast. (My but we are overconfident.)

Vindictive?

Maybe.

FINALLY FRIDAY

So yeah, it's been a long week. My alternate at work is on vacation, which means I'm doing both our jobs.

Naturally, this means that many many emergencies and weird situations have cropped up to be handled.

This weekends should be lovely though! Tomorrow morning I'm finally going to go do that testing for Front Range Community College (time hasn't been cooperating), and in the evening we're joining TR for a Rocky Mountain Rollergirls bout against Maryland's Charm City Roller Girls.

Sunday of course is Rollerpunks practice. The new skates are helping truckloads.

It's also another 3-day weekend for me... The Kid is leaving for Tucson mid-day Monday, and it's a bit of hike to the airport, so I'm just taking the day off. It'll give us a chance to sleep in and have breakfast before she takes off on her adventures! This also means lots of laundry Sunday night, and hopefully I'll be able to shoehorn in another visit with her Great-Gramma, who's currenty visiting.

And people wonder why I'm exhausted!

Sheesh.

Happy Friday, and have a wonderful weekend!

Thrilling Thursday: Me Me Me

First off, a couple of things.

One, we got 2nd place in Trivia last night, by one point which wasn't bad at all! The important thing, though, is that I won the internet trivia question bonus prize. I gave it to Melissa because she's had a bad month, but not before getting my photo taken with... well, you know.

Second, look what TR found!

I love fiber graffiti, and this is my favorite yet. It's extra funny because The Kid just saw Little Shop of Horrors for the first time. She's been singing about being a dentist for a week now!

Okay now on to the subject of the day.

ME!

So one of my favorite bloggers, Mimi Smartypants (no relation), linked this person in her most recent post.

That person, LCAmazing, wrote a piece about herself and how amazing she really is. She did so with zero apologies, in response to this *other* blogger (I do love the surfing, don't you?) who realized after a talk with a friend that...

"Two women had just had a conversation in which they admitted out loud that they were good at something, without feeling the need to qualify it with a bunch of stuff about how they’re not as good as they could be, or how other people are so much better, or how the things they’re good at aren’t really important in the scheme of things."

Why is that so hard for us? Why can't we say without apology that we're good at something? (This doesn't just apply to women, either. I don't believe for one minute that men don't second-guess themselves, or that they don't downplay their abilities.)

Kids do it all the time - they will show you their scribbles with more pride than you think can fit in a little body.

When do we grow out of that?

So here it is, my very own love letter to myself. I'm not going to edit, I'm not going to go back and re-construct (except to correct my grammar), and I'm not going to apologize for being proud of myself. I'm just going to start with one thing, and see where my mind takes me.

I'm not quite going with her theme, only because I don't like to toss around the f-bomb. I don't think this makes me less assertive, or that I'm giving in to a preconceived notion of femininity. I think this means that I am able to do things the way I want to.

See? One down already!

Why I'm Fantastic, By Mimi Rickets

I can write well. I am really smart even though I never went to college - and I know I'll kick ass when I do finally go because I'm like that. I kill at trivia. I raised my kid well - I had help but ultimately I shaped her - this is the thing of which I am most proud. I have excellent grammar. I remember everything good - dates, birthdays, apartments, instances of joy - and can forget almost everything bad because I know that holding on to that stuff only hurts me. I have lovely hair and am actually proud of the silver in it because it's just like my grandmothers was. I can give a fantastic back rub. I hug tightly. I have never cheated on anyone. I never reveal confidences and secrets. I mean what I say. I can read a book in a weekend. I can draw well though I don't do it enough. I really like my singing voice. I like movies that make me laugh, even if they're juvenile. I tear up at events of every description whether or not they have anything to do with me. I take risks if it seems that taking the risk makes sense. I am intuitive - I can see pictures in my head of things people are describing, as if I was there. I have common sense. I give good advice, but I've also learned when to keep my lip zipped. I can admit when I make a mistake. I have a big heart with room for everyone. I understand - I believe the best in everyone and try my best to see their side before passing judgment. I embrace the kind of woman I've chosen to be even though others may not agree with it or think it's old fashioned. I can defend my choices.

Whew! That was refreshing.

So tell me... what makes YOU amazingly fantastic? Let it all hang out. Don't tell yourself someone else is better at it, or that it's not really a thing to have pride in... Just say it right out loud - what makes you awesome?!

Thrilling Thursday: SQUEE

So my mom works at a vet's office.

Last week, she was sitting there, running things and minding her business, when someone showed up with this:

OMGCUTE

That, friends, is a baby coyote. Is it not the cutest thing you've seen all day?!

She took the initiative and drove it out to the Tucson Wildlife Center, where he'll be carefully raised and then released back into the wild.

This place is amazing! They rescue all sorts of critters. From their website:

"We specialize in the capture and treatment of the dangerous variety of animals such as javelina, bobcat, eagles or mountain lion. Hopefully, they are nursed back to health for eventual release back into the wild. We have a crackerjack staff of volunteer veterinarians."

How can you not love a place that uses "crackerjack" to describe their staff?

You can't, that's how.

Go mom!

Thrilling Thursday: Sopa de Pollo

No post yesterday because...

Well, I don't know why actually, it just never happened I guess!

My usual take-a-break-and-write time was replaced with sit-in-the-stockroom-and-don't-look-too-closely-at-that-moving-thing-in-the-corner time.

It happens.

ANYWAY.

So last night The Kid had to finish her third and final cooking assignment. She had already made the entree (Thai Beef Wraps which were AWESOME) and dessert (the Easter cupcakes which were equally delish), and so had to make either soup (from scratch) or salad (with many ingredients and dressing from scratch).

We had been kicking around salads, but you know something? Dressings are frackin' complex. You can't just take sour cream and stuff and make ranch, there are HERBS and SPICES and if you do it wrong a bear will eat you (or so I'm told). Italian dressing requires vinegars of every name and description, and they all cost many dollars that I'm too proud to sell myself for.

(Excuse me... "for which I am too proud to sell myself." Better living through proper grammar!)

Instead she decided she's make some chicken soup. We started riffing on this idea.

Since (in anticipation of tacos) I had already purchased an avocado, and we had leftover taco chicken from an I-need-to-cook-that-before-it-rots experiment the other day, we came up with a Cinco De Mayo soup (it being Cinco De Mayo and all yesterday), which closely mimics the Azteca soup which I LOVE from Ajuua.

It was definitely a kitchen-sink, use-the-leftovers soup, and it ROCKED.

(And why all the hyphenation today?! I-DON'T-KNOW.)

She put the chicken in the broth, let it simmer, cut up some leftover corn tortillas we had sitting in the fridge, added the chunky-chopped avocado and some leftover shredded quesadilla cheese, some dashes of chili powder and cayenne, some salt and pepper and hot sauce and...

It was so good we ate it ALL.

I love that she cooks. Here's the video!

I have mentioned how much I love my Mac, right? Thank you iPhoto!

In other thrilling news, I'm happy to report that I found roller skates for The Kid that will be much better than the ones she has now, and they were only $100, plus a swap-out of the bearings and maybe new wheels, we'll see.

The Rollergirls tried to convince me to get her the $500 ones, and they're totally right because those ones are the BEST, but until her feet stop growing/she really settles in to the sport, that just seems like a lot of bucks to scrape up.

I can't even afford salad vinegar, much less the Riedell Minx Superbootie!

Maybe in a couple of years. USED.

And I'm sorry I just don't think I'll ever see the need for the $1000 ones. Call me crazy. If she wants those, she'll have to start selling her organs or something.

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: Pay It Forward

I really like my dentist office.

No really!

I still don't particularly like going to the dentist, mostly because I fear pain like any normal human, but if I have to go...

I started taking The Kid there when we first moved out here, since that's where her grampa goes and he liked them. They won me over by being friendly and not at all mill-ish despite having several locations, and they always remember us despite only going in twice a year. It says a lot about the employers when a medical/dental office keeps the same staff for years and years.

I chose to go with a different dentist at the time, just because their hours worked better with my then work schedule, but in the end I found that every time I went there was different staff, and never a smile or feeling of "we are here to care for you" - which really, isn't that why we go to doctors and dentists? That kind of "we don't care if you come in or not" makes it hard to trust their expertise, so a year ago I switched over to The Kid's place, and happily so! They're very comprehensive and do things like testing your taste-buds to see if your diet needs attention, a litmus test to see how acidic your saliva is, and a blood pressure check before anything to see if you're nervous, and if you are, a little Rescue Remedy to help calm your nerves.

They also set out organic truffles and cheese, keep Vitamin Water stocked and cold, offer a treasure chest for the littler kids to grab something fun after thier visit, and have *awesome* posters for old spaghetti westerns on the walls. I appreciate the little things.

This brings us around to yesterday, when I went in to have my bi-annual cleaning and "why aren't you flossing more" chat.

I have a few fillings that have been needed for awhile, but haven't been able to afford to get them done - it's hard to shove a few hundred dollars into the budget all at once, and though I had tax refund money awhile back, it was fix the car or fix my molars. The car won.

After a cleaning, the dentist that's in the office that day always comes in to see what needs doing and to chat awhile. Yesterday it was Dr. Perry, who proved himself to be not only a pleasant dentist but also a model human.

I had been discussing my lack of ability to do a payment plan with the hygienist (they require up-front payment, and rightly so, I don't blame them at all), just figuring I'd do it when I could. When Dr. Perry came in, she asked him what he thought about putting one together anyway.

"Well," he said, "why don't we just make it easy. Don't worry about paying, just come in and get it done. You do something nice for 3 people at some point in the future."

I didn't quite know what to say other than "Seriously?!", to which he replied...

"Yes. In these economic times, we all have to pull together, or we're all going to sink."

It sounds hokey, what was truly thrilling wasn't the free dental work, but the optimism, and the faith in humanity. I've always believed that people are generally good (it's just that the bad ones make better news stories), but it's lovely and inspiriing to see it in action.

I'm getting my teeth fixed, but more than that I suddenly find myself looking around a little more.

I know that I will keep that promise to "pay it forward". I don't know how, but I know it will happen.

And you know, it's the least I can do...

If you need a dentist, and live in the Longmont area, give them a try! And actually their practice is in 8 locations in northern Colorado, so even if you're not in Longmont, their methods extend to all their locations, so if you're looking for a dentist you can find their practice in Denver (3 locations), Arvada, Aurora, Greeley and Boulder.

Thrilling Thursday: "She Is REALLY Big!"

Wow.

Remember how we won first place the last 2 weeks at Trivia?

Last night... 4th place. Ouch!

But you know it's just one of those things. You never know what categories will find their niche with this team or that, and last night's questions about video games and Auto-tuned music were perfectly suited for the young geeks behind us. Good for them! It's no fun if the same folks win every time, after all.

I don't know if I'll be going back to Pumphouse very often anymore, though, because they've moved where they do the trivia from the sports bar section with booths and tables to the other side of the bar, where it's just tables. It would be fine except they're those tall tables with stools, and I can't sit on those for 2 hours. I ended up having to take ibuprofen last night to take the swelling in my back down so my legs would stop hurting and I could sleep!

That's okay, though, because driving to work this morning, I received the following images via cell phone from my darling daughter:

Gorgeous, huh? And not bad for a cell phone! I like that the clouds changed so quickly. Must be a windy day today.

I responded back with "Wow!" and she replied...

"Yeah... she's REALLY big!"

I'm glad to hear it, actually. I remember seeing Mount Rushmore and wondering "Is that it?!".

Seriously, it looks so tiny! I'm sure it's huge up close but you can't get near enough to tell. Standing right at the base of Lady Liberty though?

It must be amazing.

She sent these Tuesday night:

She didn't want to carry her camera in New York, for fear of losing stuff, but I think it was just as well since she was able to be hands free.

And oh, the shopping.

So educational.

Well at least she's having fun! She's home late tonight, about 11PM at the school (thank goodness, I really didn't want to have to go to the airport, and frankly for the price of this trip they can schlep them back up).

I can't wait to see all her pictures and goodies!

I know, however, that if I go home first I will fall asleep on the couch and awake with a jerk to realize it's 5 to 11. So instead I'm trying my luck down with Trivia at D Note after dinner with TR at Furr's (mmmm, hope they have mac and cheese!). That should keep me out late enough that I'll be back in time to pick her up!

Let's hope I do better than last night!

It seems I probably won't attend the Harry Potter quiz next weekend, though... the 2PM slot has already sold out (I didn't even think to reserve a table), and they added a 5PM slot but we have to go to Denver the next afternoon, and I'm sitting The Kid's grampa's dogs, so it's probably just as well.

They'll probably do one of those again, so we'll just shoot for next time.

Why are we going to Denver the next afternoon, you ask?

Rocky Mountain Rollerpunks practice, that's why. My girl's a Derby girl. I'm so proud!!

The overhead was pretty low for this, thank goodness. I shelled out for new skates (if she gets serious they will get replaced with better ones, but these are a good start) and a helmet, and pads and a mouth guard of course.

I'm trying very hard not to get volunteeritis with this adventure.

I'm offering some Girl Scout Leader advice as far as what I've seen, and only because the ladies running this asked for input, but I'm really going to try to just consult on this one, and let the grunt work stay with the parents who don't live an hour away from the practice space.

Maybe.

I just know I'm going to get pulled in. I just KNOW it!!!

Lord help me to not say "I'll do it".

Besides, I already volunteered to run a carpool group if there are other kids from my neck of the woods.

See how it starts?

*sigh*

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: Winnah!

I went to GWD trivia last night with Melissa, and we kicked ass!

My cheap little heart is tickled that we got first place again.

It means that even though we blew our 25 dollar gift certificate and a beer token from last week, I walked *out* with another 25 dollar certificate and a spare beer token.

I broke even! This is so the way to go.

Finally, all the random crap in my head is paying off!!

The girls in the next booth were a bunch of whiners, though.

At the end of a few of the rounds, there's a bonus question, and the way I learned down at the D Note is that you run up to the podium (or booth, in this case) and stand, pen and paper in hand, ready to pounce with your answer, since the first person with the right answer gets a free drink.

Naturally, sitting at your table and writing it down with the idea of then going up to the podium/booth isn't going to win you anything!

But boy did I get dirty looks.

"Geez, way to be overeager," one girl said, to which I replied...

"Well, get up then!"

I mean what do they want, a silver platter?! Yeesh.

I won one of the bonus rounds by knowing that the term for the glow that some creatures naturally emit is called bioluminescence (fascinating stuff... click it!), and one more for knowing that it's the leaves of the dill weed that are used as a foodstuff.

Go me!

I really need to get one of these though, if I'm going to continue frequenting Pumphouse for this.

There are maybe 8 big-screen TVs all over the place, all showing one of 4 channels. It's irritating as hell, and I take no small amount of pleasure in the fact that during our 2 hours of fun, you can't hear even one of them over our Quizmaster's DJ skills.

Oh and I'm petitioning for new team names, by the way... I know some teams stick with the same name every week, but there's national championship or anything, no Big 10 bracket that requires name recognition, so why not have fun with it!?

Last night we were "Two Days Two Late", in honor of a smutty story Melissa told me, and next time I think we'll go with "That Sounds Dirty". My cleverness knows many, many bounds, however, so any fun monikers would be appreciated!!

Thrilling Thursday: Get It Right, Quizmaster

You may have heard I enjoy trivia, in particular Geeks Who Drink trivia because it's fun and often sorta salty.

So you can bet I was totally excited when I heard that GWD was coming to a bar not 5 minutes from my house!

The Pumphouse is a nice place, good food (if a little pricey), a bar that's attached but with a separate entrance (nice when you bring your family), and a brewery on-site so they often have some really delicious microbrews, like last night's Blackberry Blonde which was lovely, unlike our crappy server.

Anyway.

So this was week 2 of GWD being held there, and I went with Melissa and her friend Lou. I also brought the Kid since a quick look at last week's blog for this event showed a tamer crowd than tends to frequent the D Note where I usually go, at least so far. (The most risque name last week was "Dang".) Not that their deeply filthy or anything, but they definitely name themselves like a bunch of 12 year old boys down there!

Honestly I probably could bring the Kid to D Note, I mean she's 14 and lives with me. She doesn't exactly have tender ears. And she totally helped last night... I would never have remembered that Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are the ones playing the dueling pianos in Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

Melissa & I came up with a deliciously spicy name for our team ("Quit Saying 'F***' You Guys, I Brought My Kid!"), but decided that we didn't want to be the ones to get GWD banned from the Pumphouse their second week in, so instead we went with "Bilbo... wait, what?!", which the quizmaster totally didn't get. It was meant to be mildly dirty, you know like somebody might mis-hear "Bilbo" and say "wait....what?!".

Get it?

Anyone?

Well, WE thought it was funny.

Of course I thought "Bastard Children of Apollo OH NOOOOO!" was funny too, but I think Chris & Robyn were just humoring me, bless their hearts.

ANYWAY...

Although we tanked a couple of rounds, after all was said and done, we got first place!



Fun facts learned:

* There are an unbelievable amount of covers of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, and some of them are awful, but not Justin Timberlake's, and no I'm not kidding. Go listen!

* Rambo was a book first. (Who knew this?!)

* Perching on a stool for 2 hours make your feet hurt.

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: Guest Speaker

It's been a long week.

Thankfully, today was my Friday, since the University thoughtfully gives the staff the last day of Spring Break off.

It's also the third week of the month, which means it's been all Expense System all the time, and between that and my raging allergies (ah, Spring), I'm soooo ready for a 3 day weekend.

I'm also, I must admit, quite brainless this evening... what to write for Thrilling Thursday?!

I could write about the Healthcare Reform bill being signed into law, because that's pretty frickin' thrilling (even though it's really only a start... when we catch up with, ya know, the rest of the civilized world when it comes to caring for our citizens, then I'll be happy), but unless you're living in a cave then you're probably well versed on the issue.

So what to do? Well, thankfully I have lovely fast internet at home now (I may have mentioned this) and so I was able to bring in a guest blogger.

Ladies & Gentleman, I give you...

THE KID.

So kid, what's thrilling you today?

"We're eating pot roast for dinner. But I'm *not* thrilled that we had 3 CSAP tests today!"

What were they?

"Writing (session 5), Math (session 3), and Reading (session 6). Reading and writing are in the same book, they alternate."

Mom note: good word!

So which test was easiest?

"Both writing and math, but mostly math. I'm really good at math, and I flew through it. We have 65 minutes for it but I finished with a half an hour left! And writing was easy because it was just correcting and stuff."

What did you do with the rest of your time in Math?

"Read my Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark book... it is just FULL of scary stories, let me tell ya."

And what was for lunch today?

"Some weird boneless rib... okay you know those things they sell at McDonalds, McRib or something, where it's boneless but all connected? We had that but on a hamburger bun. I had water, I'm not drinking the milk there anymore."

Mom note - I told her a little about why I now buy organic milk this morning, thoroughly grossing her out. Just as well, she should drink more water anyway.

So what else happened today?

"Since we did really good on our last test, which was session 6 reading, we didn't have to do the 6 sessions of 'The Growth of the Human Body' in health, and instead we watched an old Donald Duck cartoon."

Awesome! Which one?

"He was trying to go to bed, but first his alarm clock was bothering him and he couldn't go to sleep, so he slammed it into the wall with bungee cords or something, then his face was in the Mona Lisa, and then he was in bed but it was starting to fold in half and stuff, and he was fighting with it for awhile, and he finally got it taken down and stuff, and then he laid down and was just about to go to sleep, and the alarm clock was coming back together and the alarm went off, and then it was over. Weird cartoon."

Hm. And what's on deck for tomorrow?

"Tomorrow's a half day, it's the Rattler Cup! The 8th graders are trying to win our 3rd in a row; our class won in 6th grade, and last year in 7th, and we're trying to do it again! In the morning I have session 3 Science for CSAPs for 65 minutes, and then we have to play our Rattler Cup events. Four-square volleyball, that kind of thing."

What are you playing?

"Air hockey."

Nice!

"We have to do that to earn Rattler points. Right now we're in 3rd place but not by much! After that I'm walking home to Maddie's and sleeping over there."

What are you going to do?

"We're going to share our weird dreams, play truth or dare, watch horror movies, stay up late, pig out. You know, the usual!"

Sounds like a blast!

Well, there ya have it folks. I left out all the "ums" and "likes" but that's pretty much my kid.

Cool, isn't she!

Happy Thursday!

Thrilling Thursday: Ballsy

Some of you know this, but lots may not...

I always wanted to fly planes.

I'll admit (because I can't hear you laughing) that it started with Top Gun, as cheesy as that sounds - my favorite parts weren't the volleyball scene or the locker room scene or that whole "Take My Breath Away" montage...

It was the flying, and I decided right then that I was going to join the Air Force when I finished high school just so I could fly an F-14.

My dreams were dashed, though, when (while flipping through the many patches to be had) I lamely struck up a conversation with somebody vaguely military-recruitery (is that a word? IT IS IN MY WORLD) about how someday I wanted to join up. He informed me that, due to my - well, my assets - I'd never fly a plane in the Air Force. (Even at 12 I was sporting more than your average cup size... and I looked older than I was, so it was only vaguely creepy that he took note of my boobs rather than out and out pervy.)

I was pretty embarrassed, and never thought of joining up again. I had gotten the distinct impression that women weren't exactly encouraged to join that particular branch of the military, which seemed horribly unfair but (being 12) didn't seem like something I could fix.

So I was pretty thrilled the other day when I heard that the surviving members of the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were finally being honored!

Here's the Morning Edition bit... you'll love it. Give it a listen!



I really loved the coverage given to it, in particular all the photos!

I wish I'd known about these amazing women back then...

I would have fought harder.

Thrilling Thursday: Underground Kansas

So there's this place called the Kansas Underground Salt Museum.

No wait, don't leave yet! It gets better, I promise.

TR told me about it, and really it's pretty thrilling! There's the science-nerd attraction of being someplace that contains bacteria that are alive and older than dinosaurs, and the thrill-seeker joy of going someplace deep underground, but there's also the conspiracy-theorist thrill of knowing that there could be *anything* stashed down there. Because of its constant temperature and low humidity, a company called Underground Vaults and Storage has been keeping things down there since the 1940s. You can't see what's in there but they have a small exhibit you can tour. There are thousands of original prints of movies down there, apparently, including Gone With the Wind and The Wizard Of Oz, but what goes into the mine has to stay in the mine if it's for any extended length of time... if it was brought back up top, it would instantly corrode.

Scary! But cool! I want to go.

But wait, there's more! Also out there in middle of nowhere is the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. No mere scattering of moon landing and solar system models, this museum has some amazing pieces of Space Age artifact. Gus Grissom's capsule, lost at sea for 38 years and restored by the museum folks, the Apollo 13 command capsule, and the full-size lunar lander that was used as a TV backup while the 1969 landing was going on (for when the feed got too fuzzy) are all on display.

There's even a full-size Space Shuttle model! Awesome.

Who knew Hutchinson, Kansas was such a vacation spot?! It's definitely on the list now.

PS... I have to share this with you. You know my brain takes weird paths, right? Like I'll start thinking about, oh I don't know, that I need a new pair of jeans. This will end up a minute or so later with me thinking about my first date, and the jeans I wore which were so very stylish (for 1989) with their pegged legs and awesome pre-ripped-and-patched holes. My date brought a friend, we went to a metal club (the old Exit in Chicago), and I ended up sitting in the back while he moshed with said friend, watching Evil Dead with a really sweet biker guy. I don't even know how we got in, it must have been all ages night. All I really remember is feeling WAY out of place with my carefully french-braided hair, white collared shirt, and trendy jeans.

See? My mind wanders.

So when I typed the title of today's post, it might amuse to know that I immediately thought of this song by Digital Underground which was super popular in my Freshman year of high school. Scary to think that my Kid is about to start high school herself (well, in several months, but it seems so IMMINENT), and that the songs they love now are just as vaguely naughty (okay, well, sometimes right out loud dirty) as the ones we listened to then were.

It makes it hard to frown at her music tastes, especially when I realize today that if *I* wasn't really paying attention to the lyrics to those Salt-n-Pepa and Def Leppard songs (or if I was, I wasn't being influenced by them - I didn't run right out and push anything, nor did I attempt to pour sugar on anyone), then The Kid probably isn't either.

It doesn't mean I have to like that Ke$ha though. She's just whorey.

Thrilling Thursday: Alternatively Connected

So...

I'm getting rid of cable and getting the interwebs instead.

And it's sort of scary, in a vague sort of way... like I'm cutting myself off from something.

Is it just that I fear change? Maybe. But really, what's the big deal? What will I be missing, anyway? I mean it's the modern age; most anything I want to see is right there online somewhere.

And no commercials! (Mostly.)

It's become such a habit, I guess...

You move in to a new house, and what do you schedule? Phone. Electricity. Gas. Cable.

It's even on those pre-printed lists you get from the moving companies of local providers of things you need. It's in the top 5.

But...

Why?

If I really want to know what happened on Desperate Housewives (DON'T JUDGE ME) I'll just look it up on Television Without Pity. I've done that before, after all...I could never commit to Lost, so I just read about it. It's like TV in book format.

But I digress... the important thing to note here is that I'm getting internet at HOME. Just think of all the mind-numbing blog posts I'll be able to do! (Try to contain your excitement.)

And The Kid is beside herself. Oh, the Facebooking she'll do...

I've never really worried about time limits on TV before (because she doesn't watch much), but Facebook?

There may be a timer in our future.

Trivia tonight... wish us luck! (That would be the royal us, and the Bastard Children of Fill In The Blank us.)

Happy Thursday!

(PS... I've been trying to stick to the not-relying-on-Wimp.com for content format... opinions? Are you tired of my blathering?)

(PPS... Okay, now I feel bad. Here... but only because it's Carl.)



Makes me feel tiny, but connected... and it reminds me that life is short, so why waste time on anger and negativity?

Work is just work. Thanks, Carl.

Thrilling Thursday: Crabby

I am decidedly unthrilled this morning, despite my tax refund and ability to go grocery shopping last night and get the *good* milk.

I'm not sure why, either... a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unease.

*shakes it off*

Sorry, kids, I am just a bag of sunshine today!! I think I need a hug.

Good news things today:

• The Kid is officially registered for High School. Courses picked and everything. That's pretty thrilling, right?!
• The sun is shining, and it won't snow until later.
• There's a new Mediterranean restaurant in town, and we're going to try it!
• I'm finally getting rid of network TV in my house and getting internet! (I hope.)

I know I said I was going to try not to use videos as a fallback, but you *really* don't want to hear me whine today, so here!



TR found that, and it made me smile for a good 4 minutes or so.

I hope you're all having a lovely day!

Mine will improve dramatically in approximately 6 hours.

Thrilling Thursday: Not Dead

Oh hi!

I bet you were wondering where I was.

Well, remember that expense system I mentioned?

Making me crazy, currently. The short version...

People are dumb. (Present company excluded, of course.)

So I promise new and better posts next week, but this week...

Bupkiss. (Forgive me? I knew you would!)

In place of an actual post of substance, I give you...

Cineflex - Norwegian sunset

Thanks, Vimeo. I can always count on you!

Thrilling Thursday: Musicale Redux

Just a quick post today... videos from the concert!

These are, again, just practices they were doing since we weren't allowed to video the actual performance. I managed to get some good chunks.

Enjoy, and sorry for the quality, but if you close your eyes you get the idea!

They sounded amazing.

Thrilling Thursday: Musical Genius

So remember when I told you all about how The Kid was in Advanced Orchestra now?

Well.

They just *happen* to have been invited to perform at the CMEA (Colorado Music Educators Association) Conference this Saturday in Colorado Springs. Woohoo!

I'm chaperoning, which means I get to listen to a lot of different music groups while we wait for their turn to go on, and see any exhibits at the conference I choose.

They are playing some amazing stuff too, Vivaldi and Liszt and Mozart (oh my!).

I went to their dress rehearsal Tuesday night and let me tell you...

They are going to kick everyone's ass, and it's not even a competition!

If you didn't know these were 6-8th graders, you'd swear you were listening to a group of seasoned, adult professional musicians.

My favorite piece is definitely Hungarian Rapsody (the Liszt piece)...the kids seem to have a lot of fun playing that one.



It should be a fun day, if tiring... we have to be at the school at 6AM to catch the bus, but at least I don't have to drive!

Also thrilling...

Obama's speech last night. I thought it was great, and I hope the GOP sits up and listens. It's time for them to start doing their jobs and to stop being "The Party of No".

I won't bore you with a long analysis, but suffice it to say that although I never lost hope...

I have more of it now.

Happy Thursday!