November 2005 Archives

I'm completely obsessed/involved/submerged in making a wedding scrapbook for my cuz RT and his lovely new bride Miss Cinday War and I'm having such a good time it should be illegal. Tomorrow is a break, though, for the first meeting of the Book Arts Group at the Houston Museum of Printing History. (One of my all-time favorite places in town, and soooo conveniently located!)

Completely unrelated, there is some kind of boat thing in the air. I'm reading a book about boats (see below) and tonight all the shows on the Discovery and History Channels have been about boats (Discovery) or wood (History--and thus inescapably (if indirectly) about boats (at some point)), including a story about a modern version of a 5-masted barque which seems about as far off from the experience I'm reading about as you could possibly imagine.... Wow. How was that for use of parentheses? (Programmers are quite comfy with (nested (especially)) parentheses, ya know.)

Oh, and Mr. Jurevicius, last week better not have been a fluke or I will be really ticked off, seeing as how I lost because I sat you on the bench and you decided to catch eight receptions for one hundred thirty-seven yards and two, count-'em two, touchdowns. (That would be just over twenty-nine points in the Texas Deathmatch IV league, JJ, in case you weren't counting.) Next time you're gonna break out like that for pete's sake let your ever-lovin' blue-eyed¹ managers know!!

¹Random Pogo reference. Don't know where that came from. Waiter! More wine!

Click here and confuse Amazon:

(Dad, don't buy it, I'll send it home with you at Xmas. Although a dime (currently the "best price" in the Amazon hickey) seems like a pretty good deal for a real-live book....)

The Shape of Days: A glimpse into a pondering on social equity

Trying to be an entrepreneur is like playing single-zero roulette on a rigged table with, like, no ball. And betting on 40. Sure, the payoff will be astronomical if you win, but you're not gonna win, so what the hell?

(Yep, some days I am pretty sure that's true....)

I bought a different moisturizer the other day and today is the first time I've used it. I smell like a giant sugar cookie. It's just a bit distracting.

Generally speaking, I really like the Aveeno moisturizers--they work (go oatmeal!) and they're not goopy or greasy at all. I thought this Creamy Moisturizing Oil might be good for the winter months, and although I noticed the "lightly fragranced" line on the bottle, I figured it probably wouldn't be too bad. And really, it's not that it smells bad. It's more that it smells too good....

I've finished up the thank you cards for my Birmingham chickee--they're going to be double-sided 4x6 inserts for notecards she had already purchased. She had some pictures she wanted to use, so I incorporated those (in her words, she started out glam and ended up with Ben-Gay!) and I think they're great. I'm taking them to the printer tomorrow :-)

I still can't believe she walked 60 miles. That's just nuts.... She rocks!! (And is still the most gorgeous woman I know.)

Here is the front:

and the back:

Pix from Saturday's Bead Party are on TMI: http://themagpieinstinct.com/2005/11/bead_party.html

I knew it could be done--just saw an ad for this on tv. It's probably not as good as MetalTM but hey, they're the ones making money off of it, not us ;-)

I left a beading magazine on the sofa yesterday after the bead party, and this afternoon I found Melvin sitting next to it, looking for all the world as if she were studying the directions very carefully. Maybe she thinks that bracelet would make a nice kitty collar?

I took a little road trip today and rediscovered how much I loooooove my BabyCar. The mission: Jerky. The destination: Prasek's. There simply is no better jerky anywhere, and for my husband's birthday, nothing but the best will do. So it takes a couple of hours to get there--that's why I took the day off from work ;-)

You don't have to get too far outside of Houston to realize how much of Texas is not cities. The route to Hillje couldn't be simpler. Get on 59 south and go 'til you get there. There's one billboard conveniently place 28 miles out, so you can check your odometer, although it's not like you're going to miss it. Basically, it's a gas station and a meat counter. A really big meat counter. I got there just after noon, so it was pretty crowded, but that doesn't keep everyone from being incredibly nice. The old-timer next to me in line was doing the same thing I was--a pound of turkey jerkey, a pound of beef jerkey, a pound of peppered turkey jerkey, etc. As we gathered our paper-wrapped packages of goodness, naturally we got to talking. He said the best part about working around there was that the lunch wagons brought Prasek's food. Then he patted his ample belly and said, "That's how you get this!"

On the way out, I was a bit ahead of a gentleman who was quite distraught that he hadn't reached the door in time to hold it open for me. I apologized profusely, and marvelled at how long it had been since I'd heard a similar sentiment.

Since the MO's birthday presents were all nice-and-neatly wrapped by the professional meat-dudes, I got myself a little travelling snack as well (they very cleverly place these items by the cash register). So the trip home looked like this:

Yeah, I know, I'm not breaking any land-speed records, but I'm too old to bat my eyelashes out of a ticket and too young for the "Sonny, in my day" schtick to work, so it wasn't a real "Italian tune-up" but it sure was fun. It was exhilarating to rediscover how much fun it is to really drive. My little car is the best.

Unable to turn up my spare car key, today I had to find out who to call to get my car unlocked. I started with RMS, because I figured they could at least give me a hint about whether to call a wrecker or a locksmith or somebody else entirely, and I hoped they might even have a referral. Once again I was reminded why I always take my car to these guys.... Not only did Blake remember me (he always does--how do people do that? it's a terrific trait for someone in a service business to have) but he took care of tracking down a wrecker in the appropriate area, who called me to arrange the extrication of my keys.

So, for any local readers, if you need work done on your car, consider RMS Auto Care (713-529-5855, corner of Westheimer and Woodhead). And if you need a wrecker, call Walter at Aaladin Wrecker Service (713-849-1333).

Thus endeth the Public Service Announcement for the day.

I locked my keys in my car in the parking garage at work this morning. What a maroon!¹ I was busy reading a document on the way out of the office, so it took me a while to become concerned about not finding my keys in purse. After standing at the back of my car and pulling everything out and looking at the empty interior of my bag, it occurred to me to look in the car. Doh!² Luckily, the MO was on the way home and mere minutes from my office, so he picked me up and I took him out to dinner. So tomorrow I get to find out who to call to get into one's locked car....

¹Bugs Bunny. (2005). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved November 16, 2005, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9095426
²Homer Simpson. (2005). The Simpsons. Retrieved November 16, 2005, from The Simpsons http://www.thesimpsons.com/characters/home.htm

(Footnotes inspired by the EB site offering three, count 'em THREE, reference formats.)

But the only ink I brought home is the positioning marks they put on my earlobes. I finally decided it was time to try earrings again. I had terrible problems with knots no matter what kind of metal posts or wires I used and I gave up and let the holes close years ago. The knots went away, and so did all my earrings :-(

Well, according to the nice folks at Sacred Heart Studio, some or all of my problems could have been a result of having the holes made with a piercing gun. (Over 20 years ago, I certainly had no idea there was any alternative to going to the mall store and getting that horrid pointy stud thing blammed into my earlobe.) The stud isn't sharp enough to cut the skin--it just rips through. This hurts (why yes, it certainly did), causes swelling (oh yes, that too) and also leaves a wound that is going to take longer to heal (now I suspect that it never did really heal inside the hole, because sometimes even years later the holes would get weepy, and of course there were those knots).

The needle they use at a piercing studio, however, is super sharp and although they promised me it really wasn't going to hurt much, I didn't believe it. Happily, they were right! I mean, it's not completely painless, but it hurt way less than getting a shot (probably an overused comparison--something about the needle just brings that to mind). There was just a sort of twinge and it was all over. No residual pain and no swelling at all!

Also, now you can get a hoop instead of a stud, which is better in so many ways. I won't wake up with dents in the side of my neck from sleeping on the earring, and it's supposed to be much better for cleaning the wound while it's healing. And I got to pick out a little bead to put on the hoop, so how cool is that?

The third big difference was the aftercare instructions. No alcohol! No peroxide! Wow.... Times they have changed.... Instead, they gave me a bottle of some hippy-dippy soap, and all you do is wash your earlobe, turn the hoop a few times to get the soap through the hole, then rinse and use the hoop again to clean out the hole. Totally different. So I have high hopes that I'll be wearing fun earrings by Christmas-time without the frustration that I experienced before!

Confessions of the Overdressed: There ARE worse things than wearing flats, like say...being covered in cow shit.

So anyhoo, this real live beef cow - which hello? Have you ever seen a real live beef cow? Two words: GI. NORMOUS.

(REAL! LIVE! BEEF! COW! There has to be a use for that phrase in everyday conversation....)

ARMY is in the lead! Only a few more days to go--the fundraiser ends on Veteran's Day (November 11). It looks like we're about half-way there if you add up the totals for the four teams.

All the info is at the Project Valour IT home page. Make sure to read to the history of this particular project. BlackFive has a link to flyers to post around town.

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: Papers and Books Dating Back to 1789 on Sale at Georgia Archives

More than 15,000 collected papers and books, some dating as far back as 1789, go on sale Friday at the Georgia State Archives. This is the first used and rare books sale for the archives, which hold official Georgia historical documents. Most of the items are being sold for $4.00 or less.

(Right now every pack-rat bone in my body is wishing I still lived in Atlanta....)

But seriously, no matter what your connections are, consider this fundraiser:

Project Valour IT

I can't even imagine being unable to type. I make my living typing--arranging all those stupid 1s and 0s so that Company X can talk to Company Y. And any of my family would quickly tell you I'm much more likely to answer an email than my cell phone. I don't even have a land line....

For Grandfather Deam, Uncle Sonny and Mr. Manning, GO ARMY!

Donate here:





via the Black Five link above or through the (slightly-malformed) button on the right sidebar of my home page labeled "Valour IT Army Team".

Update:

W00t!! The Army Team contribution has increased by $1000 since I started composing this post!

Update 2:
The Army Team met (and exceeded!) its goal. Thank you everybody!!

It hardly seems worth it....

Bring on the pixels!

but I kind of like the results:

King Edward I You scored 68 Wisdom, 73 Tactics, 53 Guts, and 51 Ruthlessness!

Or rather, King Edward the Longshanks if you've seen Braveheart. You, like Edward, are incredibly smart and shrewd, but you win at any costs.... William Wallace died at his hands after a fierce Scottish rebellion against his reign. Despite his reputation though, Longshanks had the best interests of his people at heart. But God help you if you got on his bad side.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 71% on Unorthodox You scored higher than 57% on Tactics You scored higher than 42% on Guts You scored higher than 66% on Ruthlessness

Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

So apparently 58% of the chix out there have more guts than me, but only 29% are more unorthodox! HA! For once it pays to not know your history....

Catbloggers on Frappr

Whee! Lorax and Melvin are #28....

How cool is this: ScanR.com?? Apparently you take a picture of a document (I got this from EOGN, so let's say you're in DC at the National Archives looking at, I dunno, one of the gazillions of records they have available) and email to this site, and they fix it up (!), make a pdf and send it back to you. Way better than a copy machine! Now if I just had a camera in my phone....

Queenie (guest posting on Gut Rumbles): (note: linked post is rated R) Gator Pride

A veritable sea of orange and green [sic], and our whole Holiday Inn filled with rabid, drunken Gator fans. They roamed the halls, heavily medicated, shouting "GATORS!" at everyone they passed.... Our first night in the hotel, all night long. "GAAAAYDURRRRRS!". I'd try to sleep. "GAAAAAYDURRRRS!". At breakfast, "GAAAYDURRRRS!".

(Explicit language aside, at least this is actually a reason--however bizarre--for disliking a team! I suppose she was too distracted to get the colors right....)