It's all a Myth

NaNoWriMo 2008 End

2008-11-30T23:37:00.002-06:00

Word Count: 50,323/50,000
Time Left: 00 hours, 24 minutes, 22 seconds

I did not post at the week two end point, or week three, or week four. I considered doing so multiple times, but despite my excellent start and good intentions, I wound up just a little bit behind. And by a little bit, I mean that I wrote over 15,000 words today. That's not quite so bad when you consider that I can do about 3,000 in an hour of steady writing (I could probably type faster, but when you're making the stuff up, at least a tiny bit of time is needed to think), but is a little bit more than I would aim for in the future, and I'm lucky today was a Sunday.

Still - I WIN!

And you all called me crazy.

NaNoWriMo Week 1 End

2008-11-08T00:53:00.002-06:00

Word Count: 6,076/50,000
Time Remaining: 22 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes

I'm off to a good start; I'm ahead of my word count at this point in time for either of the last two years, and that's even with the fact that I had something keeping me away from home every night this week. And I've settled into a pretty decent habit of writing every night, helped, I'm sure, by the fact that I had already picked up work on last year's novel. This one is turning out to be a bit more difficult to write due to the different genre. I've had to go back and seperately introduce each of the characters just to get into their heads and get to know them enough for me to actually write them, and I think I've changed who the main character is, or at least added a second one. However, it is coming along.

Now I'm off to bed, so that I can wake up in time to write a lot tomorrow - or at least get a number of other useful things done around the house.

On Routines; NaNoWriMo 2008

2008-11-01T10:41:00.003-05:00

Having recently moved, I've noticed in a particularly strong way the fact that different places seem to lend themselves to different routines, and how much easier it is to change a routine if something bigger in your life is also changing. Without even planning it, I find myself going to bed earlier, spending less time on computer games and more on useful things, finding time to read a lot more again. Suddenly I've started actually cooking, and cleaning, and decorating. Sure, I tried to do my fair share in keeping up with cleaning before... but all of this, with one change of address, has become almost natural to me.

I've lived other places that naturally lent themselves to different activities. One that even encouraged me to get up in time for a leisurely breakfast every day - an activity I have never, at any other place or time in my life, been inclined to participate in. I've lived more places - though not all - that lent themselves to staying up very late at night every night. One place I can think of actually encouraged me to eat healthier, and I went through relatively few of my candy supplies.

A lot of the changes here could just be "growing up," but I find it interesting that these things become so much easier when there are new surroundings to match.

Another change I've found myself making, one I'm particularly pleased with, is the fact that I've started writing again. Somehow during the move I found the time I had misplaced before and renewed my work on last year's novel. I find I still like it every bit as much as I did when I misplaced my time and stopped working over the summer, and in the past couple weeks I've done some editing and written a couple thousand words.

Since I've found that extra time, I've decided to take the change again, and pause this novel for a month while I start something new... and participate in NaNoWriMo 2008. My user name is Myth. As always, I invite you to join the challenge and participate with me! Or just follow along with my weekly updates here and cheer me on.

It's Ender Again!

2008-07-27T01:02:00.003-05:00

I've been horrible lately, allowing myself to become so busy that I neglected to check Hatrack River daily for updates. I just don't know what came over me. Had I not been so neglectful, I would have realized a lot sooner that I have not one but TWO new Ender's Game related works to look forward to.

Marvel will be putting out a comic adaptation of Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow at a yet to be determined date, and a new Ender's Game novel (!!!!!) will be available in November. I know exactly where I'll be when Ender's Exile comes out on November 1st, and it doesn't involve leaving home for any longer than it takes to purchase the book and return to curl up and read.

On Proving Your Point With The Bible....

2008-07-22T21:27:00.003-05:00

I just had someone say to me something along the lines of "every person you love is going to leave you, it says so on page 4 in the Bible." It was a complete joke, but I had to be smart and prove this wrong by pulling out my Bible to look. I figured I'd end up with some random story about creation that would never apply.

So guess what I opened to?

The fall of man.

Perhaps one of these days, I'll learn....

A Narcissistic Post....

2008-07-11T20:04:00.006-05:00

....of my "modeling" way back over spring break.

In Holland, Michigan.....

No, the dress didn't fit. I think it was meant for a child. The back wouldn't zip, and though it's hard to tell, I'm holding the apron on with my hands. It ends where my hands are. And those wooden shoes? Not half comfortable.

The Dutch Village had all sorts of fun statues and... statue-like things. We took a million silly pictures. I could have easily spent a whole day there.

The rest of Holland had some pretty interesting statues too.

In Marquette, Michigan.....

The most freezing water I've ever stepped into in my life. There was snow on the banks. Real, white snow. Way up in northern Michigan near Canada. Did I mention it was cold?

In and around Austin, Texas.....

Because everyone should ride a frog at some point in their life.

Some Gave All

2008-05-26T14:56:00.003-05:00

I knew a man called him Sandy Kane
Few folks even knew his name
But a hero was he
Left a boy, came back a man
Still many just don't understand
About the reasons we are free

I can't forget the look in his eyes
Or the tears he cries
As he said these words to me

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all

Now Sandy Kane is no longer here
But his words are oh so clear
As they echo through out our land
For all his friends who gave us all
Who stood the ground and took the fall
To help their fellow man

Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died America can't you see

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all

And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall, yes recall
Some gave all

--- Billy Ray Cyrus - Some Gave All

Two Became One

2008-05-11T18:46:00.006-05:00

Yesterday afternoon my kid brother became a married man, and I gained a sister. Congrats to you both!

And a couple of the best pictures I could get my hands on right now....

5th of....

2008-05-06T00:21:00.002-05:00

I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a day long trip to Holland. Michigan, that is. I have half a million pictures of tulips, another half million of the Dutch Village, and plenty of silly pictures of statues, all of which will have to follow much later, sometime after I do the last set of TX pictures and sort through all those from Marquette. I played a life-sized game of checkers, chatted with a few random strangers, and ended the day with the most Dutch Subway sandwich I've ever had. By which I mean it really wasn't Dutch at all, but neither is any other Subway sandwich I've ever eaten.

Aside from all that, life in MI has been very quiet. I spent a week in Marquette hanging out with my brother and soon-to-be sister, sleeping in late, discussing wedding details, watching T.V., and now and then going out exploring. Since then, I've spent my time in Ann Arbor doing extremely mundane things such as cleaning my room and editing three years' worth of pictures. More recently I've also started fussing with hair styles and make-up to prepare for my brother's wedding, mostly unsuccessfully so far. As much as I miss the noise and bustle of every day life, and I really do miss it all, it's also been nice to take things slowly and have so little to worry about. It also leaves me with very little to talk about on a day to day basis.

The main point, though, is that I'm enjoying myself. And that there are plenty of pictures to come (yes, I will limit myself). And things will soon start getting busy again, as I cram in last chances to see people, a Tigers game, and then wedding events every day this weekend, culminating with a long drive home Monday and Tuesday. I wouldn't mind another week first, but no one's asking me, so... bring it on!

Austin and Beyond

2008-04-19T00:04:00.009-05:00

Wandering around Austin....

(Yes, I know two of them are sideways, I'll fix it later.)

....And the hill country. Specifically, Inks Lake State Park, which was not what I was looking for, but turned out fun regardless.

So it's a bit after Easter, but...

2008-04-11T15:58:00.002-05:00

I have to show it off anyway.

April...Fools...

2008-04-06T03:49:00.003-05:00

So I just realized that I missed removing one of my April Fool's posts...now that it's the end of the day on the 5th. Oops. My apologies. My apologies especially to anyone who did not see this blog on the 1st and was therefor utterly confused about what I was writing and thought I'd simply lost my mind. Not that I actually have an audience of more than, say, 3 people (whoever you are, you're all wonderful!), so it's not that much of a problem.

It's spring here! There are finally wildflowers all over the place. Of course, when I go back to MI in a couple weeks, I'll probably have snow, and may for once actually be disappointed about it (it's finally.. spring!), but for now I'm happy. The fields and roadsides are beautiful, and I finally am beginning to understand why other people can miss the flowers so very much when out of state....

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T00:09:00.004-05:00

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Dayenu

2008-03-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

If the Lord had merely rescued us, but had not punished the Egyptians, it would have been enough.
If He had only destroyed their gods, but had not parted the Red Sea, it would have been enough.
If He had only destroyed our enemies, but had not fed us His food in the desert, it would have been enough.
If He had only led us through the desert, but had not given us his holy day of rest, it would have been enough.
If He had only given us His Words and Commandments, but not a Promised Land forever, it would have been enough.

It would have been enough - these words are probably my favorite part of the Seder meal. Those words hold the memory of all God has done for us and the promise of all that He will do. God owes us nothing; had He done no more than create us, it would have been more than we could ask, and certainly enough. This recitation begins with the reason for the meal, the night when the Isrealites were rescued from Egypt. God did not need to do more than that, yet on their journey He continued to give to them so many other blessings. Today we remember how He suffered and died for our sins; let us also remember how often He has blessed each of us since.

It would have been enough. For each of the blessings we have received in our own lives, we should be able to be grateful, to be content with what we have. Any one of them would have been enough; even the first was more than God was required to give, and each blessing, whatever it may be, is such a huge and amazing gift. Each one would have been enough; how much more wonderful, then, that God has blessed us not just once but a multitude of times.

It would have been enough. As we recognize how many times God has gone beyond "enough," these words remind us that God will not abandon us. His blessings will not stop. Each time we proclaim that it would have been enough, we are reminded that His love for us did not end, and will not end now. We can look forward to each future blessing we will recieve and trust that He will not abandon us, for just as He did not stop after the first gift, so He will not stop now, though everything we have recieved so far would have been enough.

This Night

2008-03-21T01:25:00.003-05:00

*Why is this night different from all other nights?

I wanted last year to do a series of posts on the Seder meal. I'm starting late this year too, but hopefully I'll get a couple in. This particular start is one of the questions asked by the youngest child during a Seder meal, the meal that would have been happening on Holy Thursday, which is now replaced by the Eucharist.

On this night we wait in the Garden of Gethsemane. Before the sun sets again, God will have died. He will have been through more trials than most people can imagine, solely for our benefit. The sins of the whole world, past, present, and future, will be wiped away by the blood that is shed before the next night comes.

Before, there was a less complete salvation given to the Israelites, through the blood of a lamb spread on doorposts this night. Now there is the Lamb who dies for our guilt, our sins. This night is different because the price of our transgressions is paid. No other night will ever match the gift we have been given in this nor the love that has been shown. That is why this night is different. This night, unlike all other nights, we will be saved.

*I meant to post this much earlier in the day. When I realised I couldn't do that after work, I meant to post it immediately after Mass. I had this brilliant plan how I was going to write the post, do some grocery shopping, take groceries back to the house, get back to the chapel for the last half hour before Jesus dissapeared. Amazing how easily all that changes with just a phone call. Particularly from someone important. Particularly if that someone important wants to hang out.

The Donkey

2008-03-16T21:02:00.000-05:00

I posted this same thing last year, but I love the poem.

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

-- G. K. Chesterton

A Desperate Plea For Help

2008-03-03T22:29:00.004-06:00

I've had my eye on a treasure chest for a long time. There's a particular store nearby where I once spotted an entire shelf full of them, and have periodically gone back just to stare at them since. (There was a suit of armor as well, but that doesn't fit into this story.)

In the past week I finally decided that it was time to purchase my treasure chest. I refrained from doing so in the past due to the cost and the lack of actual necessity. However, I've been adding to my abilities and therefor material "needs" as I grow older, while not significantly increasing the space I have available to me. By which I mean that I'm trying to live entirely out of one single room in a house.

This room started out as a bedroom. Then it was turned into a movie theatre as well. Sometime afterward, I added an office. It now sports a kitchen crammed entirely onto the top and one shelf of a desk, a music room stuffed behind the door, a gift shop hidden mostly in a dresser, an at-home school spread across the floor, and a book store neatly jammed into the closet. My bookshelves for my own non-sale books are quickly overflowing such that piles are stacked around it, I have pictures and papers and uncounted important documents practically floating through the air, and my collection of school supplies grows almost daily (I'm afraid it's breeding).

I decided that an additional means of organizing was now a need rather than a want, unless losing my mind fell under a different list of wants. And a treasure chest might as well be part of that means, a much better option than spending my money on stacks of Rubbermaid containers that I would get rid of again at the first possible chance. The chest would be large enough to stick either books or school supplies in; with one taken care of, I could later deal with the other, and adding a couple smaller containers I'd be all set.

Wouldn't you know it? I've been watching for months, just waiting for my chance. And today, the chests are ALL GONE. Every last one of them. I found a few smaller boxes, and things that vaguely resembled treasure chests but without the proper lid and (lack of) decoration, but not a single large and perfect treasure chest. I'm heartbroken. I got some very neat smaller boxes to get me started, but there's an empty hole on the wall of my room where my pride and joy should be. (The suits of armor are gone as well, though I was not expecting to buy one today.)

So if anyone knows of a location currently selling large containers resembling a pirate's treasure chest, let me know. It seems I'm in the market.

More Card Coolness

2008-02-23T11:34:00.002-06:00

In the form of a Battle Room game! Particularly exciting as I spent many of my younger years trying to find the computer game that most closely resembled either the battle room or the command school games from Ender's Game. (I think the final result was Homeworld). Naturally a real life game would be even more exciting, but I'm afraid the best we're ever going to have in my lifetime is laser tag. Which is still pretty darn cool.

Also, the InterGalactic Medicine Show is now offering four stories, one from each of the first four issues, for free. One of these is written by Orson Scott Card, and falls into the Alvin Maker series. I've bought all seven issues so far, and after re-reading these four, I'm delighted to see one by Card available, and I think the first story in particular (Trill and the Beanstalk) is a great selection. Go read.

Plenty Out of Poverty

2008-02-11T00:12:00.000-06:00

I recently had occassion to be reminded of the story of the lady who gave her last alm, and in doing so gave more than all the rich who gave only a small percent of what they had. Throughout the course of the conversation, something was pointed out - something that, really, should have been obvious to a theology major, had I ever bothered to think about it - that passage can mean more than money.

The point is that the woman refered to gave all that she had to God, not just that she gave Him money. It might not be our calling to put every last cent we make into a collection basket, but that doesn't mean there aren't many other ways in which we can give Him everything. Nothing we do in God's name should be done half-heartedly. However it is that we are serving God, in our vocation, at Mass, in the love we give the people around us and the services we do for them - if we don't put our best effort into those services, we are not giving all we have to God. We're only giving half, or a quarter, or whatever percentage of our efforts we bother to put to use at that moment in time. If we look at our neighbor and say, "I'll do only this much for you," we're a rich man giving only a portion of what we have in abundance. But when we can look at our neighbor, or look to whatever service it is we're performing, and say, "Here is everything I can give to you or do for you," we're like the poor woman who out of love gave all she could. However little that service might be, it's always a great service because we gave the most and best we had, and worth much more in God's eyes than the larger services we put no care or effort into.

From One Season to Another

2008-02-05T22:56:00.000-06:00

Happy fat Tuesday! And blessings for the beginning of Lent.

I've now been a Catholic for a number of years, but this is the first in which I truly used today - Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, whatever you wish to call it - to prepare for Lent instead of just indulge. I've always been happy to celebrate the day as a big party and a reason to consume whatever sweets and drinks I wanted in the largest amounts possible.

This year, the preparation made sense. I ate donuts and sweet bread - with plans to leave all that I didn't finish on a table in the staff lounge at school. I sorted out the Christmas candy that would not keep from what will, and spent the night lounging in bed eating cookies because any I don't finish get thrown away tomorrow morning. It isn't the same as trying to use up cooking ingredients and avoid wasting money, but it's the closest experience I've had, ridding the house of the things I won't be eating during Lent to avoid just letting them spoil. I've been cleaning my room, if not fully wiping down every surface and dusting every corner. Putting away clothes that won't be worn, items that won't be used, ridding my room of clutter the same as I hope to do with my heart.

It's time, for whatever hours remain of today, to make those preparations. Clean and empty the house, put away worldly things, and get ready to meet God out in the desert. As the clock strikes midnight tonight we enter a season of repentance. It's time to abstain from lesser goods in search of higher, to turn our thoughts to who we are before God rather than what we want before men, and to do so cheerfully, knowing what awaits us at the end. For what awaits us is Easter, is life, is heaven, if only we have the courage to pass through the desert first.

For Love, Not Money

2008-01-27T23:30:00.000-06:00

There's a large difference, I have very recently discovered, between babysitting for a few hours and actually taking care of a child.

I also, for the space of four days, filled a hole in my life that I hadn't yet realized the extent of until it was emptied again. I know it must still be so much different to be a parent, with a child or more in your care one way or another for the rest of your life, but having had even the tiniest miniscule little glimpse of what it might possibly be like, I can't imagine anyone willingly giving it up.

For a weekend I got to pretend. In one day I prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner; I got two loads of laundry washed and three folded; two loads of dishes done; a shopping trip including four stops at various stores; kitchen wiped down and swept, as well as bathroom counters; I entertained three extra kids, for a total of five, up to and including putting away all toys at the end of the day, brushing teeth, reading a bedtime story with all but the baby clustered as close to me as they could get, a litany of children's voices reciting familiar and beautiful prayers, and finally, sleep. I still had time to do some of my own work, things I needed for school. I still had time to read a bit, to check email, to play a couple computer games, though I would willingly give up that extra time.

And at the end of the day, I knew it was growning on me - I knew it when I walked through the house one final time to make sure all lights were off and the door was locked, all toys and messes had been cleaned, all was safe and quiet. I knew it when I walked into the bathroom and noticed the floor needed to be swept, and had to talk myself out of going downstairs to get the broom. I knew it as I peeked in quietly at the five children asleep in their bedroom, and felt both peace at the closure of the day and fear at the enormity of the job I had been given where, for just one single night, five precious children were dependant on me and my ability to care for them.

(All five were up and had baths by 8:30am the next morning, too - an accomplishment I am most proud of. This random fact didn't fit in either of the previous paragraphs.)

I can't imagine what it must be like to be a parent, to live this every day, to a much greater extent than I can ever reach just by watching a handful of kids for a weekend. But I've had the barest glimpse of what a gift it must be, and am left amazed and awed by even that one glimpse.

Behind and Ahead

2008-01-01T01:17:00.000-06:00

The year 2007 marked many firsts for me, and many defining events. I've finally reached an age - not an old age, just old enough - where I can look back at the past year and realize what steps have been made, or look back farther than the past year and truly marvel at the passing of time. Is it really 2008? Was I really only 16 when I reset my dad's computer so it wouldn't be affected by Y2K? Has it really been 7 years since we had our first Christmas in my mom's new house? I can only wonder how it must feel for people older than I to look back and wonder... because already the years seem to have passed so terribly fast. None of which says anything about the past year. I attempted a job that I disliked so much I made myself sick, and found the best job I ever imagined being able to have and most likely my life's profession. I overcame more fears than I'm willing to name, encountered so many ups and downs, spent more time with good friends than even I can remember, even successfully cooked a few things. I found I could not successfully curl or even put barrettes into my hair - but then, I've never claimed to be a wiz at this "being female" business. Perhaps it will come with time.

As part of my endeavor to grow up, I weighed my options and ended up spending Christmas day in TX instead of back with my real family in MI, the one holiday I always thought I would have a hard time dealing with being away for. Despite such worries, I had a fabulous Christmas, and I've rarely felt quite so much like I belong anywhere in this world as I belonged right where I was and with who I was with on Christmas day. I did eventually make it back to my parents' and I am back in MI now, enjoying time with my family, and with a funny thing called snow.

I need to talk about the snow for a moment. There are many things on this Earth, many natural things, that I experience no end of enjoyment whenever I have the opportunity to partake of their sights, sounds, or smells. But with everything else out there, I have always found snow to be the most calming, peaceful, and beautiful. At a time when the world seems to be in its darkest depths, filled with death in the failing plants, the already fallen leaves, the brown grass, lacking light in the short days, cold with the most chill winds, secluded and lonely as people remain hidden in their heated houses, as hopeless and despairing as the world can ever become.... Then, the snow starts to drift down from the sky, pure and white and beautiful, covering up the flaws in the world with its forgiving blanket, giving grace to the wind as the flakes dance in the air, adding light as every beam shines brightly off the unscathed surface covering the ground, bringing company as people emerge from their houses to enjoy all the delights that snow can bring from simple looking to snow angels, snowmen, and sledding. And with the snow, the world is no longer hopeless, despairing, and lonely. It's a place filled with love, with grace, with forgiveness. I never could have explained this before I became Catholic, but I've felt it all my life, and still feel it now. I've always viewed the snow as something not only beautiful but hopeful, and, when needed, forgiving. Now I simply know how to say it; I know what it means to have grace that falls down and covers my flaws, my sins, erases them to offer a new start every time.

I think what I miss most about MI is just this: the snow. It started snowing as I boarded the second leg of my journey in Chicago, and it is snowing now, promising a good and deep covering when I wake tomorrow, and I could not be more excited. I am disappointed in only being able to see a week of it; I'm homesick mainly because this has been missing from my life this past couple years, never the grace itself, but this particular representation of it which has always been so potent and so easily understood to me. When I adopt my kids* I will make a trip north every winter to ensure that, whether or not they get this same understanding of the snow that I have, they will at least grow up with the opportunity to enjoy the games snow always suggests to the young (and the young at heart). It need not be a long nor far trip, but, always, if I have any possible way of doing so, at least far enough north to see snow and have that chance to admire it and play in it.

Getting off the topic of snow, and on to the part where the new year known as 2008 is beginning, it's time to look ahead to what this new year might bring. I don't put much weight behind traditional resolutions, but I've learned the value of measurable and accomplish-able goals, and also of mentioning those goals to others beside oneself, and rather than give a list of resolutions such as far too many others might (or, for all I know, might not) do - I wouldn't dare be normal - I'm going to publicize here a list of my calculable goals. This has the added benefit of allowing others to laugh at me, egg me on, offer assistance, or assure me of just how insane I am, according to your liking.

Sew a skirt for myself. (This requires learning some basics about how to sew.)
Finish writing my 2007 NaNoWriMo novel - or reach 300,000 words, whichever comes first. (Easily doable as long as I keep setting aside time to write.)
Save another $500 to put toward travel in Europe. (I have a separate bank account specifically for this purpose; I just need the money put into it.)
Bake a pie. (Easily done, but previously attempted only once, with two pie crusts that both failed for extremely silly reasons.)
Learn to sight read notes on the bass clef when playing piano. (As in, not having to figure them out one by one before playing anything.)
Win NaNoWriMo 2008. (More than anything else, this one requires organization.)
Take at least one class - either teaching certification, or something related, or something fun. (I'm hoping to begin certification classes; but failing that, I will get myself into something else useful or enjoyable.)
Gain the needed confidence to carry a melody by myself, without an instrument or another person doing the melody, while singing with a group. (I thought this would be the hardest by far; then I went to choir yesterday, and found myself attempting to sight read the alto harmony for almost every song. More unusual, I found myself attempting to do this without anyone to listen to, except when I asked to hear the piano after sightreading certain pieces to pick up the bits I missed. And.. 'lo and behold.. I actually got a lot of it. And let people hear me singing it. I now have confidence in my ability to complete this by far simpler goal.)
List 200 books for sale. (A matter of making the time. I've got maybe 20 so far, that I found time to price and list before Christmas.)
Learn to play one song on guitar. (I've had my guitar for a couple years now. I had one person attempt to teach me to play. This attempt failed due to my inability to comprehend half of what he was talking about, and my further inability to recognize a song when playing anything but the melody. Due to my growing range of musical experience, and my continued desire to be capable of playing, I think it's time to try again. A year should be sufficient to learn one song, right?)

And this concludes my post this evening; it's long past my bedtime, even for this particular night, for here in MI the party ended hours ago. Goodnight my friends; and happy new year!

* This does not suggest any immediate plans on my part, only a future hope that when I am sufficiently settled I will be able to provide a home for a family of children, or whatever home can be offered by a single mother to a group of hard to place children. I will not, for example, have any need to begin this tradition next winter.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T02:58:00.001-06:00

Heaven is not beyond the clouds, it's just beyond the fear.

I have no idea what song that's from, but I heard it on my way home tonight. I haven't decided whether I like the song at all. I know it's not theologically correct. But this particular line stood out to me.

It's true, in a way. In this life, we get closest to heaven through our love, through the trust we place in God, through not letting fears and worries hold us back. We need to trust that His plan for us is good and that He is taking care of us, no matter what we see with our own limited vision. We need to trust His unfailing love for us; trust the tiny baby lying in a manger as a real example, one of the most real, of God's unfailing love for every single one of us.

Gaudete! Christ is born!

A Combination of Christmas Music

2007-12-17T20:27:00.000-06:00

Light to the World

2007-12-17T19:48:00.000-06:00

Or light up the world. I went to the Trail of Lights in Austin a few nights ago. It wasn't quite Domino Farms (of course, there isn't quite a Domino Farms anymore, not as far as lights go), but quite a few lights and a larger variety of displays than I've seen elsewhere. Except in a Thanksgiving parade. Following are the pictures that turned out best, as, despite having a camera that takes good night picture, I lack a steady hand to effectively use the ability.

The pictures are out of order, as blogger loads them in a strange way, which is none of my doing whatsoever. There are very few pictures of people, which is partially my doing, as I successfully (though completely unintentionally) managed to lose the rest of the group, and was stuck walking around by myself for most of the night. Somehow taking pictures of random stranger just isn't quite the same. In my rush to keep up I failed to take a good picture of my favorite display, one which I think was modeled after the Jetsons, and either way was a wonderful setup of futuristic buildings and Santa in a flying car.

The whole thing was enjoyable and worth seeing. And that's not even counting the adventure afterwards, for which my first thought was, "Cool, it's like we're camping! Only without the sleeping part." I wisely (or so I assume) refrained from actually voicing this thought. But I'm becoming very used to the sort of adventures that other people find unpleasant, which is possibly good, as they no longer phase me in the least. Granted I'd rather go have adventures in Europe. Happily be stranded there any time!

NaNoWriMo Continued

2007-11-27T00:10:00.000-06:00

I did not do a week 3 end post, partly because Thanksgiving and getting sick and picking up a car and helping out family and enjoying people's company all got in the way, and partly because I had written so little that it was complete embarrassment to think about posting. Mainly, also, because even by the point I was starting to realize that I would not finish this year. I'm happy with the decisions I made, but posting my wordcount still would be a bit too much for me.

Now that we're in the final week, I've gotten somewhat of a second wind. I have to write slightly over 7,000 words per day to make it, and that's given that I have a house to clean, people to pick up from the airport, sleep to get to make sure I don't get sick, and rehearsals during what I had originally hoped would be my final hours on Friday. It's doable, but it'll be tough, and I'm not going to cry if I don't make it. (Of course, if I'm close enough, and feel well enough, I may very well stay up a bit...later...on Thursday, trusting that I can go to bed earlier Friday and sleep random hours throughout the day Saturday).

So that's where I stand right now. As far as the story goes, I'm on chapter 4, page 38 (single spaced), my heroine just became kidnapped by a large well-worn dragon ala the Velveteen Rabbit, and my hero just met his narrator who's job it is to help him along into having the best story possible...beginning with the one where everyone stays at home and is happy, which, however, he has now lost all possibility of doing. Both the dragon and the narrator already have more life than my characters, though I think I've realized the main personality and flaws of my heroine.... one obvious place where I'll have to go back and rewrite later in order to give the main characters more life in the beginning as well. I'm still not posting a word count.... if I wind up by some miracle making it, perhaps I'll boast by posting how much I wrote each of the last five days.

Wish me luck!

Week 2

2007-11-15T23:45:00.000-06:00

Word Count: 11,228/50,000
Time Left: 15 days, 0 hours, 12 minutes

I'm still not quite where I was last year, which means still very, very behind. However.. this is the product of about three actual days of writing. I've discovered (through "I'm desperate, and being given incentive through having been mentioned in other blogs, and can't dare back down now" type desperation) that I can write about 1,000 words in around half an hour. Which includes a limited amount of time to think about what's happening and make decisions about the story.. about half of every minute can be spent doing that to get the 1,000/30min speed. So even spending 15 minutes thinking about each 1,000 word section, I need only 20 hours to successfully reach my goal. Entirely do-able! And this story is going so well (when I make time for it) that it's practically writing itself.

As of now, the "uh-oh, things are starting to go funny..." scene is written, as well as all the scenes surrounding it, my two main characters have gotten themselves into an entirely unexpected disagreement, and I've found out that I actually am capable of writing conversation, at least moreso than I ever was before, which might not be saying much. I've already found myself foreshadowing things I never intended to include in the story but now, naturally, am going to because it fits so well; and even I don't know who the mysterious note-writer is, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

In the real world, I've discovered that dinner isn't actually important unless eaten at someone else's house, and there's no such thing as too much Halloween candy or too many cookies. Laundry, however, still needs to get done, no matter how few people are in this house. And having someone else to talk to sometimes is good.

Shocking Saturday

2007-11-11T00:03:00.000-06:00

I had to fit in a post of celebration at some point - especially as I've had no one to jump up and down and excitedly scream in front of.

This morning I went to Mass with the goal in mind that, afterward, I would be singing with someone for the specific purpose of being told exactly where I was failing and what I needed to work on, a bit of criticism I figured was coming one way or another, and ought to be taken care of on my own terms and in a way that would also be beneficial to me. It has, after all, been two and a half years since I've had anyone give me any real suggestions or helpfully tell me what to work on after hearing me sing, and I'm not the best person to be doing that for myself.

I walked away from this meeting with plenty of suggestions - and an invitation to join the Schola at my church, at least for long enough to see whether I can fit in.

And I now have one more reason to be very grateful to my old choir director; I half considered emailing her just to mention this opportunity and express my overwhelming thanks. Instead, I'm placing those thanks in an area I'm fairly sure she'll never actually see, but what's a girl to do. Thank you Ms. Silva!!!

Just a Bit Late for Halloween

2007-11-10T22:45:00.000-06:00

I watched Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow last night. I have to say, it was a bit creepy. I was okay with creepy once upon a time, even went out of my way to watch creepy/suspenseful movies. (Not usually gory, mind you, but plain old frightening was fine.) I'm one of those odd people who started watching horror movies at eight, who watched the Ring and wasn't fazed at all, who would watch (or read) whatever scary movie (or story) I could get my hands on in the dark alone late at night.

Anyway, back to Sleepy Hollow. It was a creepy movie. It was a very well done movie; but it was a creepy movie. I was joking when I refused to go back to my own empty house, but the fact remains that I don't handle these movies anywhere near as well as I used to. So while trying to give this movie what should be a glowing review, I'm fighting my own "yeah, it was good, why would I ever watch this again?" sort of thinking.

I think it would have been more frightening had it not been quite as surreal. There was so much in the way of imagery (use/lack of colors, appearance of certain characters, recurring significant moments, etc.) that it detracted from the reality of the movie enough to keep it from being quite as frightening as it could otherwise have been. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and the imagery was certainly well done - there was one particular place where color was not drained that struck me immediately as perfect contrast and showed before the actual events did just what was going on in the area.

This has got to be one of the strangest movie reviews I've ever done. Anyway, I do recommend the movie, fairly highly recommend it, on the condition that you don't mind creepy.

Week 1

2007-11-08T23:15:00.000-06:00

Word Count: 5,013/50,000
Time Remaining: 22 days, 00 hours, 44 minutes

Well, I'm behind even where I was last year at this point, which was still behind, but not so behind as to have lost hope yet or be embarressed about posting it. Scratch that.. maybe a little embarressed, but that will only encourage me to speed up. And given the point at which I finally got around to starting this I'm improving at a decent rate. AND, maybe I will even write some more tonight.

So far, we have a main guy introduced, and main girl introduced, one living constellation introduced but not yet involved, and the lead up to the big scene that will lead into the true fantasy/fairy tale part of the story rather than just the modern world. Oh, and we have one major epic battle with a courageous wizard. I'm very pleased.

My only losses so far are a large portion of a bag of candy (consumed while writing), and the odd occurance of actually forgetting to eat dinner three nights in a row. Tonight might be four, but then again, I actually feel a little bit hungry... and I will be spending all day tomorrow in an active wrestling - oops, I mean restraint - class. No extra sleep loss at all! At least, not beyond what I would have had anyway, as I'm trying very hard to stay healthy.

Completely unrelated to this particular post, or maybe not as it did give me a bit of extra time tonight, I've been given a chanting reprieve due to an overbooking. I'm scheduled to be tortured Saturday morning instead. And, strangly enough, I'm neither hopeful nor nervous. But all the better to relax and write! (Unless you want angsty scenes. And let me tell you, I am good at those.... there should be some type of prize for that).

Aging Backwards

2007-11-08T19:05:00.000-06:00

As if telemarketers weren't bad enough... I just had someone come to the door and ask if my parents were home. I don't think I look that young. Even if half the people I talk to asume I'm still in (high)school.

And yes, I did point out to him that my parents live in Michigan. Now that I'm in my second 23rd year, I think I have that right.

enChanting

2007-11-04T23:43:00.000-06:00

I find myself in need of a bit of help. In particular, I'm looking for internet resources for Gregorian chant - something with sheet music and (preferably) easy to hear recordings. I'm sure I'll get somewhere by continuing to look myself, but my luck so far seems to consist of recordings without accompanying sheet music, and, to make it worse, recordings which seem to all have been recorded on a cell phone from the cry room of a packed church. I would still trust my luck and not ask for help, but - I need this by Wednesday night. As in this Wednesday. As in... I'm doomed.

Anyone know of a good internet site for obtaining written chant music?

NaNoWriMo!

2007-11-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Despite how skeptical I am of my chances this year, it is now currently November, and National Novel Writing Month. My goal once again is to write 50,000 words by 11:59:59pm Nov. 30th. This year, I have a full time job that is really full time, as in life-time, and didn't even find time to do a blog post about the event until tonight.

On the other hand, I am also insane, and so I invite anyone and everyone to join me in this endeavor to create. (I already have one little brother joining me again; yay!) Go to the website, read about the event, sign up, add Myth as a writing buddy, and most of all, start writing! Or at least do me the favor of cheering me on - since unless I decide I will be embarrassing myself way too horribly by posting, I will have my word count right here on this blog at least once a week. The embarrassing myself thing could happen. Again, that job thing. But if it goes well, I hope to have another (and a better) book in editing by December.

And there are two things in my favor. I finally saw Orion for the first time this fall a week ago Friday night (I've been looking for a while, but always had bad conditions one way or another), and he is the ending and therefore an important part of the rest of the story; and I'm in generally the same mindset I was when I did all my best writing back in my later 'teens, though in a bit more matured form. All of which leads me to pretend confidence that it will come out well. Wish me luck!

(The link remains on my sidebar as well, where it has been for the past year; only and always for your convenience, and because I like to recruit.)

Hehehe.

2007-10-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOMENIC!

Leaves

2007-10-25T00:21:00.000-05:00

This is what fall should look like.

Not that, y'know, I have any problem with Texas.

Jus' sayin'.

October Again, Isn't It?

2007-10-15T00:32:00.000-05:00

I have two friends who are both turning (*gasp*) 25 today. Sadly, I am scarce on pictures.. but as the one I don't have a picture of doesn't read this anyway, I don't feel quite as bad as I might. Either way, a very happy birthday and many blessings to both!

And I'm still one year short of ancient.

Three Things My Parents Did Right

2007-10-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

This is from a group writing project over at Et Tu?. I don't often do this, but the topic struck me.. and I certainly didn't seem to be getting around to doing a post of my own topic any time soon. I did not pick out what I think are the three best things, or three most important things, or even three things that had a big impact on me personally. This is simply the first three things I thought of that, in my opinion, they did right. (If you want to join in, the deadline is coming up on Thursday.. that's this Thurs., the 11th).

My dad played games with us. We played the ABC game and word games constantly in the car whether on trips or the way home from school, we played board games while sitting around at home, we played card games wherever we happened to have a pack of cards, we played computer games (and learned how to program on his old computers) that were usually educational but always enjoyable, we played sports multiple times a week (he was always at our team practices and games, encouraged us to join in any and every sport, and spent hours of his time practicing and playing with us on his own), and even, eventually, joined in our games when my brother got an xbox and proved to be fairly decent competition. He gave me a love for every sort of game imaginable, a love that I have never lost, and that has been the source of much enjoyment on my own and of much use when dealing with all the children around me now. I learned how to win and lose gracefully, I learned to think in ways I never would have been taught in school, and I learned the value of just sitting around (or running around) enjoying the company during whatever activity we happen to settle upon. Through his games, he also showed me an enjoyment of life that, however childish, I have managed to carry on. And that is a wonderful thing.

My mom found time, despite working full time and caring for two increasingly difficult kids, to make whatever she could with her own hands. She gave us excellent homemade food year-round, and I find myself going back to her over and over now for her recipes, whether for the Christmas candies we made in abundance every winter, the pies she made all summer, or the baked goods we had filling our home all year. Someday I know I will also be going to her for her regular meals and dishes, when I have to provide food at my own house; and I hope I will also be turning to her for her breads and jam recipes. She always patched our clothes, sewed and resewed the arms and legs and noses of our stuffed animals (and made many herself to give to us), made us clothes and costumes in whatever pattern our hearts desired, and passed on the extra materials so we could make capes and bags out of the scraps. Most of our clothes were store-bought, but she kept our favorites in good repair, and I was always proud to have a mother who not only knew how but actually made matching clothes for my closest friends and I. Having entered into the Catholic world now, or at least the circles I've come into, this doesn't seem like such an odd thing, but it was strange and wonderful at the time. If these were not enough, she spent her free time outside, planting flowers on our balcony and later all around our house to make the outside look as nice and welcoming as possible, and kept up as much of a vegetable garden as space would allow. I never did catch her love of cooking/sewing/growing, but I can look back and see how wonderful it was to be around that, and I have something to aim for - if not to do it and love it as well as she did, then to know which parts I think are most important, and to try and instill at least those few into my own life away from home.

Both of my parents tried their best, in whatever way each knew how, to show their unconditional love for us and to let us find our own path in life. We were never pressed into any particular job or career, or even particular classes at school; whether we wanted to do AP classes or take only art electives, it was our choice. No change of future career goal was met with anything other than advice on what would skills and types of classes would be needed to get into it and how to start. If we became interested in a particular subject, we were given books and materials in order to continue with it. After years of continued interest in astronomy, I was given a telescope; when my brother and I, each at different times, became interested in music, we were given books and instruments and space and offered lessons. I was always encouraged to persue my love of theater, and of singing, and of writing and reading. When I wanted to draw, I was given sketch books and pencils. My dad helped my brother open a bookstore when he thought he might like to try running one - not by any means a small thing, even for such a small store. When I first showed a vague interest in what I thought was a necklace, my mom bought me a rosary for Christmas, despite not being Catholic herself. They wanted us to always be free to learn about anything and everything and to make our own decisions. They believed that we could do anything we set our minds to, and tried in every way they knew to make us believe it as well.

Ready for a Home

2007-09-27T23:37:00.000-05:00

I found my future residence this evening. It is a gorgeous mixed use neighborhood with a bookstore and cute little grocery in easy walking distance, seafood and Italian restaurants also in walking distance, fountains and statues, and the coolest outdoor fireplace with chimney and actual fire. And the apartments start at only $900 a month.

Hmm. So maybe I won't be moving in any time soon. Either way, I was stuck waiting around in Austin after school let out because it was the preferable alternative to driving an extra hour and a half to spend an entire one hour at home. And I discovered what is possibly my favorite area in all of Austin, as it was more similar to some places in Europe than anything else I've encountered since.. well.. Europe. I wandered around in awe for forty minutes, and didn't even have time to enter the bookstore. I did make my way through the cool (and unfortunately expensive) grocery, examining all the shelves and eating my way through their samples (all of which sufficiently impressed me so that I'd consider buying something if I was rich.... and oh my gosh do they have a nice selection of cheese!), and admiring their wines and desserts (I tried a small coconut pineapple rum cake; mmmmm).

I also discovered that it is, despite my general strong opinions to the contrary, possible to eat by yourself in a restaurant and actually enjoy it. The key is bringing a good book along so that you have somewhere to look while eating and some enjoyable alternative to conversation. It helps if you go to a very fancy seafood restaurant where all you can afford is an appetizer and soup, and proceed to enjoy the best coconut shrimp you've ever tasted with an amazing relish to dip them in and a surprisingly tasty seafood corn chowder. (It also helps if the book is Orson Scott Card's newest book. However, it doesn't help if you're squeamish and trying to read a particularly squeamy medical chapter while eating.) I also now, after a year, have discovered my first favorite restaurant in Texas. All my others are back in MI.

So, I probably really can't move here any time soon, but I may go back and explore again, even just to sit down on their fun benches, admire the fountains, or find a spot near the fireplace when it gets cooler, and read or write. I mean, all that was really missing from the near-Europe picture were travel companions.. (Hey, Domenic, if you read this post, come back to Austin! Our birthday is on a Friday, we've got the weekend to celebrate... ;-) ).

The place, by the way, is The Domain in Austin, and the restaurant therein is called McCormicks.

Apples and Eggs

2007-09-12T20:20:00.001-05:00

So, I would have posted the Pledge or something yesterday, but my computer refused to connect to the internet.

I would have posted about the Sunday Gospel reading on Monday, but my computer refused to connect to the internet, and I didn't want to keep the computer I stole for any longer than necessary.

I just realized there is a Texas pledge. I'm not sure how I feel about having to pledge allegiance to TX. I mean, I've come to like the place, and I assume I'm staying (God rarely lets me know what I'm doing more than a few months in advance; generally it's more on the level of number of days), but I haven't been here long enough to consider myself a Texan. Of course, at the moment it looks likely that I won't actually be in the classroom long enough to have to worry about it. Such is the life of a TA.

We received students today. Hand delivered, at that. I think fifth grade will be fun, and I'm somewhat disappointed that I won't be able to do any actual teaching or working with most of the students. I'm not disappointed that we won't have to wear the school shirt to work every day.

Actually, that's a funny story. So, see, the school got us shirts. They have our school name on them, and a little picture, and everything. I got a medium. Most people got mediums. Most people working at the school are women. The shirts don't seem to understand this, and presented themselves to us in the form of overly large men's shirts. By overly large, I mean that the men's medium, which normally should be somewhere in the vicinity of a useful length if a bit wide, came almost down to my knees. Luckily the shirt was 100% cotton, so I decided I could successfully shrink it and set about this endeavour. Unluckily (okay, so there might have been something more than just luck involved), I did not get home until around 10pm. Now keep in mind that I had to get up at 6am today.. 6:30 at the latest. Sometime after 10pm, I throw the shirt into the hottest wash possible and let it run. Sometime around 11pm, I empty out the dryer and throw the shirt into the hottest drying cycle possible, then see that the dryer thinks this cycle will take over an hour. Being used to washing shirts that don't wrinkle badly, and wanting to give this particular shirt every possible second in which to shrink, I leave it in the dryer and head off to bed.

Then morning arrives. A very early morning. Yes, I slept in until 6:30am. The drive to school, in little traffic, takes half an hour, and I have to be at work by 7:30am. Somewhere after 6:30 I wander downstairs in a sleepy haze to find my shirt sitting faithfully in the dryer, a completely solid ball of mushed up wrinkles. After untangling it, I discover that it is, however, successfully shrunken; it only comes about halfway down to my knees now. I spend five minutes wandering through the house in order to discover an ironing board and no iron, which is probably a good thing, as the most likely outcome would have been a beautiful unwrinkled shirt with an equally beautiful blackened burn in the middle. Naturally, my burn would have been beautiful, but probably not in the acceptable-business-wear sense of the word. (I didn't realize until too late that I do have access to a hair dryer, which does get hot, and which had I strategically wrapped a cloth around it... It's probably a good thing I didn't realize this, as it either wouldn't have worked, or still would have burnt the shirt.) The running-hot-water-in-a-shower thing has never worked real well for me, and takes way too long anyway. Option number three? Soak the thing and dry it again. At this point, it's somewhere between 6:40 and 6:45, about the time I ought to be leaving in case there are other people awake (and therefore traffic) at such an insane hour of the day. Ten minutes later, the shirt is warm and still undeniably wet - but wrinkle-free! I've got at least a half hour drive and TX isn't exactly cold, so I figure the remaining water will evaporate by the time I get to school. In another minute I discover that I may have too successfully shrunk the shirt, as I can't get one of the buttons undone, and others are also proving difficult. By the time I get the shirt on, it's wet and cold, which may be nice later on in the day but isn't at not-yet-7am. Given that it's overly large, I can't feel most of the shirt anyway and this doesn't make too big a difference.

Naturally, there is traffic, but only a little bit. During the drive I turn the heat on full blast to help the evaporation process. This lasts until I get off the highway and am almost at the school, at which point the heat is making me too sick to continue and I'm forced to turn it completely off. Around 3/4 of the shirt has dried at this point, I'm at the school only ten minutes late, and since we have extra staff on hand for the first day, all is well. Later on, I discover that somehow the washing/drying process left yellow stains on the front of the shirt, which no one else seems to notice or care about. I also discover that some people were much smarter than I, and wore the shirt over another, better fitting one, so they wouldn't have to worry about buttoning it and trying to make it look normal. Also, that one of my teachers didn't even wear the shirt.. and no one seemed to care.

And I think that's the only "first day" story I'm willing to share online. But a brilliant illustration of just how insane...err, resourceful... I can regularly be.

Author Madeleine L'Engle Dies at 88

2007-09-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

A brief article about her and her books.

Not my favorite author, but there are elements of her work that I like. I read A Wrinkle in Time and some of the following books, and I'm thinking I should at least try out one or two books aside from that series. She had some good ideas.

Finished Product

2007-09-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

I Found the Cliffs of Insanity...

2007-09-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

...while driving in stop and go traffic in a stick shift while only half awake.

I fell over the edge on the way back, when it started raining so hard I could barely see.

Anyone know how to do lesson plans for P.E. class?

NaNoWriMo 2007

2007-09-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

No, it doesn't start for two months, but since I've mentioned it already: here are the two main characters, both pictures "drawn" about a week ago. They both look rather serious and/or depressed, but that's not a constant factor.. just the particular scenes I happened to be thinking of when creating them.

As usual, both were created using Candybar Doll Maker 3 at eLouai.com (the link is also on my sidebar; and they've added some new things, including an RPG room maker, in case that catches anyone's interest. I use the site too often.)

August, in Conclusion

2007-08-31T23:09:00.000-05:00

August has always been sort of an odd month. It's the month when, as a kid, I had to give up my summer and softball games and head back to school. The month when, as an older kid (some might say adult), I typically found myself moving out of the house; to college in one state or another, then to TX. When the family would cram in the last minute vacation, have a reunion or two, head out to the lake... An eventful month, ending with the start of a new year, especially when so much more was begun anew at the end of August than ever at the start of January. I haven't bothered saying much about what I've been doing recently, and despite being out of school, the tradition of new things has held, so in summary:

I have created the most difficult and the least difficult desserts of my life (cream puffs and a mock "french silk pie," respectively) and found success with both.

I managed to get a promotion (including a small raise.. and benefits!) before actually even starting my job.

I have finally given in and officially retired my car of three years. I'm trying to sell it. I've also found a new car. It's a lighter blue, it's also old, and I'm paying for it with oatmeal raisin cookies.

I've accidentally (unintentionally?) accepted a dinner date, for whatever point in time the guy actually visits TX. I think I've got at least a month.

I have decided on the general story idea I will use this November. It includes a story ending I've been sitting on for maybe a year and a half now, trying to find the right rest of the story. It fits this one perfectly, and I've got two months to come up with a detailed outline before I have to start writing.

I managed the most horrible singing I've ever done in front of people in my life. This is new in that I did not run screaming from the building. I did, however, verify with the choir director that I could practice further ahead of time in the future.

My brother turned 21. This isn't something I personally did. Actually, I had no hand in this at all. But it does emphasize my age.

I'm about to build the coolest cake in the world. But I'm sure I'll get a post and pictures later (and that won't actually happen in August).

And, in case it ends up mattering to anyone, I have designed my kitchen, and come up with themes for most of my house. I don't actually have it yet. But I've so far been successful with foundations made of dreams.

Not for Arachnophobes.

2007-08-31T00:29:00.000-05:00

Experts debate origins of giant spider web. Right here in TX!

And all I can think of is The Hobbit. I wonder how carefully they've looked at the web.....

Friendship Posts

2007-08-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

Look, I've discovered another way to avoid a post where I actually have to say something! However, there is a post over at Words, Words, and another over at Heart Speaks to Heart (that pointed me to the first), that ask and explore a lot about the idea of friendship and particularly Catholic friendship.

I'm not offering my own thoughts because a lot of what these two ladies have written are questions or thoughts I've wondered about myself, and I certainly don't have any more or better answers. But they're good posts (especially for anyone who grew up outside of Catholic circles; I can't vouch for what answers/knowledge someone used to those circles may already have) and worth heading over to read.

At Least I've Read It...

2007-08-27T01:30:00.000-05:00

I've feeling far too (un)intellectual to do any sort of post with actual content lately. Or maybe just too introverted. Anyway, I generally try to avoid too many quizzes on this blog, but I have a weak spot for books, as in reading books, writing books, collecting books, going into used bookstores and staring at books, and knowing what particular book I personally am.

This quiz (stolen, though I wasn't tagged or anything, from DarwinCatholic) applies to the final in that list of weaknesses. The answer?

You're A Prayer for Owen Meany!

by John Irving

Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire
faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest
this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking
moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT
SOUNDS LIKE THIS!

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I suppose I could be an agent of higher powers. Though I really do try not to be so loud about it. Mysterious, maybe. I can do mysterious.

Older Every Year

2007-08-23T23:43:00.000-05:00

Before the day is completely over, I need point out a very important birthday today. My dearest brother has reached an amazing and happy 21 years. Here's to many, many more.

Happy birthday, kid!

New Toys

2007-08-12T02:20:00.000-05:00

I've added a beautiful selection of music to my sidebar. If it causes problems, leave a comment and I'll switch it so it doesn't start automatically.

Also, perhaps I'll get around to fixing settings to show the scroll bar. Because everyone wants to see all my music. Anyway, I had fun putting it together and playing with my new toy.

Domesticities

2007-08-06T13:50:00.000-05:00

I've finally hit a road block in my cooking endeavors here in TX. I have utterly failed in the realm of pies. See, for the first time, I attempted to make a couple the other night. Yes, starting at night. Which might have been my first problem. I set the smoke alarm off twice sometime around 12:30am, turned the oven off without realizing it while attempting to set the timer, forgot to poke holes in the second set of pie crusts until halfway through the cooking time so they nearly exploded, and wound up annoyed enough with the whole process that I opted for playing a game of Age of Empires as a short break between attempts.

Final result: going to bed at...
5 in the morning, and waking up with..
4 failed pie crusts
3 hours of sleep
2 burnt fingers
1 batch of pie filling that I did, in the end, figure out what to do with
0 actual pies

But I can make a wonderful pineapple dessert.

I have high hopes for trying again, but before then, I have other things on my list, such as zucchini bread, cream puffs, and starting my own cooking show (Food Network, 3am; stay tuned! sure to become a favorite of nighttime chefs everywhere). And maybe a couple more games of AoE. Now that I know other people are playing regularly around here, I need to keep my skills up...

Harry Potter #7

2007-07-24T02:51:00.000-05:00

I finally finished reading Deathly Hollows at 2:30am Tuesday morning. I had no plans to stay up that late, but the final hundred or so pages offered nothing even remotely resembling a stopping place, and it's only fitting that I lost sleep at least one night for this book.. as any other time I would have stayed up Friday night/Saturday morning instead and had it finished by Saturday night.

Deathly Hollows is, by far, the best book of the series. It is also not a children's book, whatever the series may have been earlier on. But this one more than any other was worth every minute stolen to hide away and read instead of whatever else I might have done with my time. The others were good, but I was a less critical reader when I initially went through them, and re-reading the first six books in the past two months I discovered parts that didn't live up to my new standards, that dragged or seemed off or missing something, that didn't entirely live up under my criticism, so that I was afraid I would be disappointed with Deathly Hollows. I didn't want to lose the enchantment the books originally had for me.

There were some places where I stopped and said "hey, that was clumsy writing, why didn't the editor fix that?" And there were places and scenes where I do think she led us to expect more than we got. A few, but this is a 700+ page book we're talking about, and despite this and my newly critical style of reading I absolutely loved the book. Rowling plays with and throws away stereotypes, showing plenty of good qualities in some of the bad guys, plenty of bad qualities in the heroes, managing to show how a larger range of characters than I'd ever be willing to deal with all change and grow and react, what their faults and strengths are, building beautifully from the previous books. She told a good story, with twists that completely surprised me, though others I was able to guess from the clues here and there throughout the earlier portions of the book.. and the series. Before this winds up sounding like too much of a love song, I do have criticisms as well, but as they're all more specific and involve spoilers.. oh, what the heck, I'll stop my "non-spoiler" portion here. Everything else below, so if you really don't care what you end up finding out about the book, then highlight to read....

Item one (and my major complaint): Pettigrew's silver hand. It's actions either didn't fit or weren't explained enough. At the very least, Pettigrew should have had a scene in the book where the power showed up earlier, before dealing with Harry, to show the hand's ability to.. I assume.. no, I'm not assuming, I have no idea what it was supposed to do. Help Pettigrew kill? What was included in the power to make it turn on him? Did it just act for his will to hurt/kill people, like it had a life of it's own, it's own desire to kill, and when Pettigrew stopped directing it the hand took action on it's own on the closest person? But he must have been close to plenty of other people and not tried to kill them. Did the hand hate mercy? It seemed.. anti-climatic.. for Pettigrew's debt to Harry to be so randomly paid by the silver hand, without any clue to the readers beyond the knowledge that it's... silver. That was annoying and didn't entirely make sense.

Item two: I want a better redemption for Percy, darn it! He can't just walk back in there and not DO anything! Actually, I thought he should have repented at the last minute, turning around to die to save someone in his family, but I'm sure there would have been other possible ways of showing a decent redemption than.. "oh, oops, I've been a prat, I'm here now, don't hate me, huh?" Then again.. I suppose real life often isn't so dramatic and perfectly arranged, and given that she's done such a good job of making this real in every other way, perhaps it's really much more normal for family members to come back from an argument, no matter what sort, express remorse and say a few things and go on like normal than for one of them to die at the end of every big argument. Still, I wonder if he's the one who got the reprieve..

Item three: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO GEORGE. And I would have liked to hear from McGonagall again, just once. I'm even a bit curious about the Dursleys.. okay, I don't care about Vernon at all, but maybe Petunia and Dudley.

Item four: I was hoping Draco would get a chance to redeem himself. I wanted to see him make a choice. Well, no, more specifically I wanted to see him make the choice Dumbledore would have had him make a book ago, which he could have once more when he accepted Harry's mercy. But then again, I want a spectacular redemption for everyone who isn't already clearly evil. And he works well as a scared little blustery boy.

Item five: Snape. I was right! (Cue dashed hopes for big revelation scene where everyone suddenly realizes..). It was different, but I'm pleased.

Item six: The walking into death scene was absolutely amazing. Rowling managed to hit upon exactly how hard, and how easy, it can be to believe you're walking into your own death. His feelings and the whole setup were perfect. Also, I don't see how Harry could possibly have been more heroic. After all, he's defeated Voldemort plenty of times already, that one's expected and nothing new.. this was new. This was brilliant, and very well written.

Item seven: Why'd Ron have to go crazy for a while? It really isn't bad for the story, it's just that I hoped they would have a truly unbreakable friendship and loyalty to each other, minor bickering allowed but no running off and abandoning anyone. If nothing else, it would prove someone else out there believes this is possible.

Item eight: Except that Harry's feeling toward Kreacher seem to change unnaturally quickly (nothing beyond the first kind sentance seems to be a struggle), Kreacher was cool. Talk about there being more to a character than initially meets the eye... I liked this turn of events.

Item nine: Lupin and Tonks... so not fair. Not that I didn't guess, when Harry became godfather, especially after comparing himself to Sirius, but then I dismissed the thought because it would be too similar. Silly me.

Item ten: All my guesses at deaths, with the exception of Snape, turned out to be wrong. So did my guess on the "Harry is a Horcrux" debate.

Item eleven: Couldn't she have found a slightly better way for them to figure out R.A.B. then "Oh, look at this sign we never noticed before, hanging right on this door of our house!" I'd accept it if it had been mentioned before.. had it? I just reread the series and if so, still don't remember.. but unmentioned, it seemed far too much like, oh, by the way, this is here because I can't write a better search scene for them. I don't mind any other part of that series of events. Just the actual sign.

Item twelve (and final thought for now): Luna rocks. Also, I really liked Neville's part in this. It's nice to see how he's grown up and what a special wizard he's become.

Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics

2007-07-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

In the past couple weeks I came across an offer to review two separate books. Both are offered on R.A.G.E Media. Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics, the first of these two, takes a different approach than many other books by presenting ten different questions for a Catholic to ask instead of answers to the usual questions we're called upon to answer. The book includes a Catholic explanation for each of the questions, and having read through them, they're fairly easy to follow and understand.. none of that "err..what?" language from all my theology books. What clinched it for me as a useful book, though, was the first chapter: Guerrilla Apologetics 101. It does cover the basics, including the fact that only God's grace (not you) can cause someone to convert, and the oft-missed fact - at least in most generic Christian-converting-non-Christian books I've had a chance to read - that being civil is, y'know, nice. And keeping a relationship is more important than arguing so much about beliefs that you end up unable to stand each other's company.

It's also only about sixty pages, not including space at the back for notes. Not quite pocket sized, though..

What's My Author Doing Now?

2007-07-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

I've been a huge fan of Orson Scott Card's science fiction ever since I first read Ender's Game. Neither before or after becoming Catholic did I find much interest in his Mormon works, though I did eventually read Saints, and read all three books in his Women of Genesis series. I'm willing to follow him through fictional works that don't simply spout off full-formed Mormon doctrine, because, first of all, he seems to have a definite respect for Christians (including Catholics), and second of all, when you don't go too deep into the theological issues there isn't quite as much conflict. While I might deeply disagree in any discussion about which baptism is valid, whose prophesies to believe, or whether I can add rum to my coke, the surface issues are similar; there is at least faith that is not shared in any way by many people, similar life-issue standing points and moral values, and though I don't intend to get into a discussion about what is the same and different between Catholicism and Mormonism, I can respect and work with a faithful Mormon - not that I wouldn't still pray for said person's conversion, but that's not exactly the point I'm making. In fact, none of this is.

OSC had a fair number of fiction (science fiction, fantasy, suspense) as well as Mormon works already published by the time I started reading his books. He did not, however, have any strictly political works. Religion came up sometimes in his fiction; politics were present sometimes; but in no book or story I read was it clearly intended as a statement on the political and social issues present today. It was always a "what if," as much SF is, not a "here's where we are" that is common among some other authors.. not generally in the same genre, it's usually the political thrillers. The two newest that have just been announced on his website both seem to be political, or at least social, though only one threatens to be a political thriller.. similar to what Empire was, though I voiced my concerns about that initially as well (a review, finally, will follow, as having missed my "just read it" reason to review, I just discovered another).

One of these two new books is set in the Ender's Game universe. Simply because of this, I can guarantee that I will possess it the very first day it comes out. In fact, it's set during the time period of Ender's Game, while Ender is still at Battle School. It involves Ender. In theory, I couldn't be happier... but the description sets the theme of the book as a battle over religious holidays and gift giving. I avoid political books out of habit (actually, out of deep revulsion, I get so frustrated with them) (except Empire), and tend to avoid certain types of religious discussions - this type - the same way. The religious battle is a common one in the United States today. Common, and, where seen, the religion side of it is either entirely watered down or else so far-fetched that even most faithful Christians call it fanatical and not in a good way. (Yes, there's a good way to be called fanatical; my family thinks I'm fanatical all the time). Most prevalent though is the watered down, look, we can all be happy and love each other and celebrate this together and pretend we really believe the same thing even though I actually totally disagree with you because I really don't believe anything except that God is love and gosh, neighbor, I love you so much, let's all just be friends and embrace our diversity, celebrate our diversity, and, y'know, tolerate each other, because whatever you believe is right for you, and whatever I believe is right for me, and we've both got our own truths even though they're entirely contradictory, and isn't it wonderful because, after all, God is love. Err.. rant over. But I think I've made my point. And I have to wonder why my favorite author decides to write a book, in the Ender universe no less, that includes in the description the words "But Dink Meeker, one of the older students.....thinks that giving gifts isn't exactly a religious observation.....The War over Santa Claus will force everyone to make a choice."

What war? What choices? Why are we even writing this book? And what does this have to do with Ender? In fact, in the Ender universe during the time Ender was at Battle School, religion was so suppressed that he had to have explained to him the psychological problems caused by having one Catholic and one Mormon parent, particularly in that they both wanted to follow their faith and neither could.. he was baptised, but they never observed anything. Presumably no one did. Where is this battle coming from? And yet I have to assume that OSC knows his own universe well enough to pull it off. And here is an author whose political newspaper columns (published online) I follow faithfully, NOT because he's OSC (because, quite frankly, there are many SF authors whose real life opinions on things I can't stand to read more than a sentence or two of lest I remember it while trying to enjoy their fiction), but because his opinions are often similar to my own and, when not, at the very least possess some sort of intelligence.

And I admit it: it's nice to see an SF author who not only isn't afraid to take a stand (I don't know when that's been a problem), but is willing to take a stand FOR good old fashioned moral values, when most SF writers tend to be on the far side of liberal when you look at the political, religious, moral scale. I only wish this guy were Catholic; we could use someone like him. But even he isn't well known except by hard core SF fans, and I joined a mailing list once centered around OSC and his works only to discover that, once I converted, I completely disagreed with nearly everyone else on the list on nearly anything important. So it's also nice to see one place, one other person, for whom science fiction and religion do NOT conflict to the point of being incompatible.

The second book comes out about a month or so earlier (Sept 18 vs. Oct 30), and is definitely more political. It's a thriller showing the "promise and danger of new genetic medicine techniques." I'll be getting this one as well, of course, partially because I can at least assume his final conclusion will be similar to my view on things, and partially because Empire did turn out so well.. but I can't decide whether I wish he'd stick to other genres, or whether to be glad that he's turning out something the general population is more likely to read yet that carries the opposite message so many other books present.

Somewhere in all this I've buried a point - I don't know whether I've succeeded in making it known just now - and I'd certainly welcome comments, if I've managed to write something intelligible, or even if I haven't. Or do these types of books, and these types of arguments, and the watery positions that usually accompany them along with the oft-repeated arguments and inability to listen to one another and, well, so on, not annoy anyone so much as they do me? Whatever my final decision on the matter of welcoming a new voice in these arguments in the SF field, I can't help but wish we'd at least get some intelligent debate; rarely do I encounter any argument that begs honest discussion when I'm unwillingly exposed to these tides.

(The books in questions, by the way, are A War of Gifts and Invasive Procedures, the second co-written by Aaron Johnston).

Pirates 3

2007-06-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

Having now seen all three movies within a fairly reasonable time period, I take back part of my rant about character development. I don't necessarily like Elizabeth any better than after the second movie, and Jack Sparrow still isn't nearly as funny.. the entire third movie keeps the tone of the second rather than the comedy of the first. I wouldn't rate it with the first, but it's hard to compare, since they aren't entirely the same type of movie.. I do like it better than the second.

(Highlight to read more, because I guarantee, there will be spoilers).

Every character in this movie seems to have problems with constancy, not only with the people they love, but with everyone they happen to have any sort of relationship with. As constancy/loyalty/call it what you will is something I very strongly value, I found it hard to like any of the characters in the movie. I wouldn't have been interested in the outcome if it weren't for the fact that I'd followed them through two previous movies. I am, however, happy with the resolution at the end; it may be only once every ten years, but if Will and Elizabeth keep returning to see each other (and stay loyal to each other) I will be happy. Of course, it also means they can easily mess up this resolution by including Will and Elizabeth together in a sequel. One or the other could fit into a movie sometime in an intervening ten years, but their story is concluded. I'm surprised but not upset that it wasn't a generic, happy every after conclusion, either. Instead, they found a way for Will to honor both his commitment to Elizabeth and his (rash.. but I'll make allowances for family) oath to his father. I think the general conclusion the movie makes is that all the stabbing everyone in the back, changing sides back and forth, watching out for only oneself, etc etc etc, is wrong, but at times it's hard to tell except that it ends well. Since our culture doesn't seem sure either, the way everything from love to strong friendships to business relations mean absolutely nothing as soon as one person changes a bit or changes their mind, at least it's a good reflection.

Even Jack gives up his chance at eternity to help out Will and Elizabeth, for once not acting only for his own benefit. I'm not sure what to think about the scenes with Jack while he's dead; it should, in theory, especially with my studies and fields of interest, have been obvious that it was simply showing Jack having to live with himself in the afterlife or something along those lines, yet I remained completely confused throughout those scenes and my nearest guess was that he'd simply gone crazy(ier) upon dying. That, or the afterlife was not following regular rules and somehow strange, which would fit the movie's world well enough anyway. Something was missing either in my thinking or in the movie itself because it took someone else to point out the "obvious" to me. It's likely that the movie asks you to accept so much in the way of changing the way the world works that it becomes easier to accept a strange afterlife as well, even in place of a more real-world normal interpretation. And I've had a lot of experience placing myself into the workings of various worlds.

For little details, I missed the ruins from the second.. but I really like the riddle maps! Wouldn't that be fun?

MI Time Machine

2007-06-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

Finally, a (brief) summary to go with my far too long list of pictures. And no, I still haven't flipped them all right side up. I'll get to that.

While home in Michigan, I spent something resembling two days at Mackinac Island with a very assorted group of people.. that being my family. That being, myself, my brother, his fiance, my mom, a friend of my mom, my father's mother, three dogs, and a fish that traveled in a water bottle. For the record, though I do want a dog or two once I finally settle down somewhere, I think I will almost certainly never travel with one. It's a bit limiting on what you can accomplish, in every way from making sure the hotels, restaurants, and any indoor or ticket-taking sites you want to visit allow dogs, to just stopping every so often to let them rest. I'm much more willing to make such accomodations for other people than for the pets. The fish was much easier to deal with; we only had to find him ice cubes once in a while. But putting the aside aside...

We used the Star Line ferry to get onto the island, which offers a ten dollar discount for every three adult tickets purchased at one time. Nice ferry, short ride, many views of water and shore lines and the Mackinac Bridge. In fact, they even use the cool hydrojets that shoot water up in the air behind you so it looks like you're going really, really fast.

We stayed at the Mission Point Resort, which proved to be an interesting experience. If I have any complaint about the hotel, it's my luck in finding two employees to deal with who were both extrememly nice, did everything they possibly could to try and accomodate us when we needed to make changes or had problems, and had a horrible aversion to writing anything down that kept causing said problems. Aside from that, the resort is huge, the rooms were a bit on the small side but very nice, one of our rooms was an amazing two room suite (free, as an appology for previously mentioned problems), and for people looking for a resort experience (we weren't, and only spent the night there), offers quite a few different options such as massages, wine tasting, various events, a pool and hot tub, and a list of other things that I don't remember as I personally didn't care about them. Oh, and free wireless, in case you're taking an online class and happen to decide to take a test while on the island. Word has it the connection can be a bit slow though. No air conditioning, but that's common across the island and comes only as a special amenity in some of the hotels, and they do provide fans that worked well enough for everyone in my group.

The island itself was interesting but very touristy, at least the main strip which due to time constraints we were unable to wander away from. We saw one of the four historic parks (Fort Mackinac), which is sufficiently large to occupy an afternoon by itself and contains many different buildings with historic displays throughout. There are also frequent re-enactments of things; troops with rifles at intervals throughout the day, and we also saw part of a court marshall, heard period music, and my brother and I participated in a quick dance demonstration. There are some excellent views of the harbor and the bridge, and one place we stopped for cold drinks and dessert later - the Tea Room - contains a long row of tables stretching across the top of the hill so that you look out over the main strip, the harbor, and the lake while you eat. Of the fifth park, this one natural, I personally saw only a small portion when the younger of the group wandered off and visited Arch Rock around midnight. Judging by the pictures my mom took when the saner members of the group wandered off that way in the morning instead, the view of the land is more impressive in daylight, but the view of the stars was one of the best I've seen at night and worth the interesting trip there (okay, so one of us had seen a horror movie a couple days earlier, one of us has an entire Stephen King collection and an extremely active vivid imagination, and the third of us elected to make animal noises in the background.. I'll let you sort out who is who).

Enough general review. We spent little time walking around, lots of time eating meals and snacks and ice cream, bought fudge (of course!), and overall enjoyed the ability to walk on roads with only bikes and a few carriages to worry about and the lack of motor-type sounds. Were it not for the extremely touristy aspect, I think I would have liked it enough to wish to live somewhere similar; I've always been happier when able to get along without cars, you could walk to any store on the island you needed to get to if you didn't want to take a carriage, and there are plenty of forest-y areas to explore if you have time. Oh, and the Catholic church there (St. Anne's) has a very nice appearance.. though I do decline to make further judgement without having been to a service there.

I think that covers necessary reviews and any highlights. Other highlights are still being eaten, having thankfully survived the trip to TX, and also hiding in my freezer until I'm ready to hand out/eat the second round. Fudge, people. Lots and lots of fudge, in 13 different flavors (there are more, but I resigned myself to only 13 - I have lots of self control like that).

Mackinac Island, Michigan

2007-06-21T18:13:00.000-05:00

You wouldn't believe how many pictures I already deleted from this list. Bear with me until I get the appropriate ones straightened out...

What MI Does Big

2007-06-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago, I was driving from my dad's place back to my mom's when I suddenly knew I was experiencing a real Michigan summer.

The revelation came as I spotted a certain sign.

"Construction: next 125 miles."

Checklist

2007-06-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

To do:

job interview
pack clothes etc for two week trip
make car smoke and coolant boil
pick up Rudy's bbq sauce
make Mackinac Island hotel reservations
get brown gunk on new white shirt while examining car
clean room
learn new things about TX heat, ex. long sleeves = bad
change into short sleeve, dark colored shirt
experience life as shirt. change back into person
pick out music and movies for trip
go outside, make sure car hasn't exploded
clean car
find lots of cold water
double check list, get ready to leave, prepare to shut down computer

All successfully completed. MI, here I come!

Wasn't It About This Time Last Year...?

2007-06-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

I suppose not; I suppose I left my last job, the last time I officially left one, later in the summer. I'm not certain whether it's a habit better kept as tradition or left to eternal sleep by the wayside of (once this year is over) years past, this frequent coming and going. It provides some interesting changes, some more than interesting experiences, and a whole new perspective on numerous points of life each time a particular job is joined and, finally, left, and during all the moments in between. There's something to be said for that - for the people you meet, the things you learn, the new or deeper understanding of the world, humanity, and God, if only you pay attention each time.

This is beginning to sound like far too fond a farewell, isn't it? I wouldn't plan on working there again, but I suppose I did, after all, come to like some of the people I was working with, and for that, if not the store's sake, I'll let it go at a fond farewell and not edit it for the worse.

(Besides, it doesn't hurt that my final Friday was another steak and shrimp dinner, does it? Or that on my very last night - though the reason had nothing to do with me - they served Gatorade, fresh cookies, and all sorts of candy?)

All of that aside, or not aside, as the case may be, as it directly pertains to the fact of my leaving and the point of this post, I HAVE COMPLETED MY FINAL NIGHT at the BigMajorSuperEvilStore.

Somewhere in heaven, the angels rejoice, and sing praises in unending hymns; somewhere on Earth, I fall asleep, vaguely wondering whether they'll mail my last check or make me go pick it up.

One More Point for Kennedy

2007-05-28T01:23:00.000-05:00

The space center, that is. They've designed a shuttle launch experience simulation, minus, of course, the multiple Gs of force.. and unfortunately the actual fact of being in space, but one can't ask for everything. *sigh* Some day...

Anyway, it's been checked out and deemed good by actual former astronauts. So in case I didn't have enough reason already, if anyone's up for a trip some day, let me know!

Do You Really Want to Know?

2007-05-25T08:47:00.000-05:00

My prince charming is still in a pond somewhere. But I saw his picture on a pair of socks. It was very cute.

Mapquest just placed Pflugerville, TX, somewhere off the coast of Nigeria.

This is how I'm dressing for work tonight:

Because I heard a rumor that Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome

came by looking for me again. But I think I'll have him beat; I'll be taller, darker, handsomer, and better hidden.

I tried a type of Mexican candy last night. It was a mango flavored sucker coated with chili. I didn't dislike it. I can't decide whether I liked it, but I didn't dislike it. It was just very, very different. Not as different as eating sausages wrapped in tortillas instead of sausage buns; I don't think I'll get over that one. But that might have something to do with having been stuck eating a wheat tortilla.

I no longer have to worry about being tempted by the final Harry Potter book sitting around BigEvilSuperStore's stock room before it's release date. This is on account of my not being there anywhere near the release date. Unless they start shipping us the books by June 5th. Because I'm leaving work then.

I recently discovered there's a song Martina McBride sings that I don't absolutely love. I heard it on the radio many times, and it was a song about God, and I said, "That's an OK song, but it has bad theology." Then I finally heard it announced on the radio once, and I said, "Martina McBride isn't allowed to sing a song that I don't love. World, what are you doing? You are all out to get me." And the world said, "We know your weaknesses, and we are evil." And I said, "That's not fair!" And the world said, "Muahahahaha." And I didn't understand it, so I went to bed.

Six Books, Because.. Why Not?

2007-05-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

***** - these are stars. Can't you tell? It means I can't do half stars, but I'm okay with that. Oh. And I think the ratings are out of five. Three being average and all that. One being I couldn't even stand to finish the book and I'll never touch it again in my life unless forced, and maybe not even then. There's a fairly big jump between one and two, because I created the system, and I said so.

**** Hyperion, by Dan Simmons - I'm impressed by this guy's writing ability. This book (I haven't caught up on the series yet) is, in part, written as a bunch of stories told by various pilgrims (not like the Canterbury Tales, really!) about their past. The answer to the pilgrimage they're on lies in the connection between their histories. Simmons successfully tells each of the stories in the character's own voice; of course, this has the downside that if you don't care for a particular character's storytelling ability, that portion of the book is going to be less interesting, and I found myself wanting to only skim particular stories in order to get on with something more interesting. However, the puzzle he presents is intriguing (if unanswered at the end; I haven't read far enough to do more than assume he finishes this in the sequel), enough so that I did my best to immediately find the second book to know the answer. Not recommended for anyone with both a vivid imagination and much squeamishness about blood; there are some.. interesting.. death scenes.

****1/2 Stardust, by Neil Gaiman - A fun mixing of fairy tales, but that's only an aspect of the world and side characters within the book, not the story itself. This one I could recommend to almost anyone as a quick, fun read. I've apparently increased my ability to pick up on foreshadowing somewhere along the line, because as with a number of other books I've read in the past half year, I was able to guess the ending while only about half way through the book.. though not the minor details, and I didn't guess how it would get there, only the final result. I actually found a certain aspect of the ending to be mildly disappointing.. but not enough to stop me from recommending the book, or being willing to read it again myself at some point in the future.

**1/2 The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper - Nope, never got to this one before. Apparently there is a book that comes before this one in the series. The particular printing of the book I read did not make that clear (and I looked; I knew it was a series), so I haven't read it. I've only read this one. At some point I will get around to reading the others in the series (I imagine it says something that I'm not rushing out for them), and I do intend to see the movie, but I wouldn't number this among the top books I've ever read. The premise is promising, but the story could have been handled better.. and speaking of foreshadowing, this one failed by way of promising more than it delivered. At certain points I was lead to expect more than what actually happened. In general, I appreciate when I'm wrong at my guesses (after all, I don't really want to guess the entire story ahead of time, unless, perhaps, it's a mystery novel), but I want to be wrong because the author went somewhere brilliant and unexpected, not because the author simply failed to deliver. I have one other complaint I'm going to voice about this book, which would stop me from recommending it to anyone young enough (or otherwise unable) to not entirely grasp the difference between fiction and reality. Most fantasy stories just don't mention faith/church at all. I'm okay with that. This one does, and at one point makes a fairly clear statement that the particular magic in the book is older and stronger than God, or, in other words, implies that God isn't actually real and Creator. I don't mind novels that simply don't bring up the issue, and I don't mind those that specifically do, either; but I dislike this treatment of it.

***** Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny - Hey, it's another series! I read this book (the first one) when I was much, much younger, but recently picked up the series again and am now in the midst of book eight. In other words, I really like these. They're just strange enough for me to fully appreciate them yet not, I think, to scare off anyone who dislikes randomness; they're not nearly as strange in the manner of, say, Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. Everything in these books, though they left me unable to even chance guessing what would come next (and I like that, I really really like that), still makes perfect sense once you're familiar with the world. It also, as you get further into the series, keeps re-examining what you know of the story so far as bit by bit the intentions of other people, and their parts in things, come to light.. the best I can think of to compare it to is the movie Hero. In all of the first seven books, there was only one point when I really became suspicious about something; and that character was so blatantly more than he seemed that it might be the only fault I find with any of the first seven books in that none of the other characters seemed to have a clue. And even that can potentially be explained away... Okay, so Zelazny also has a bit too much fun with certain transitions that, by the end of seven books, get to be a tiny bit on the excessive side in their descriptions. But as thrilled as I am with the rest of the series, I'm not going to fault him too highly for that. Actually, this may be something that my friend at A Theme of the Creator's Music would enjoy.. perhaps I have another book to start pushing. ;-)

*** Redwall, by Brian Jacques - Another series. How'd you guess? Oh, that's right; every person in the world except myself read this book 15-20 years ago, or when they turned 10, whichever came second. Me, I waited until now and age 23.. but after the results of the first time I recommended it without reading it, I figured I should get around to it so as not to make the same mistake again. My conclusion? The results of my first recommendation don't surprise me at all, and had I read it before, I never would have added it to that particular recommendation list. Now I feel bad. It's not that it's necessarily a bad book; the writing isn't brilliant, but it's okay, especially when keeping in mind that this is considered a children's book. When I was around ten I most likely would have greatly enjoyed this - it's only my adult self going "uh, that characterization is bad.. and that writing.. and, uh, this doesn't make sense.. and..." Which isn't to say that I'm flat out recommending this for all kids (wait, I covered that already). This book contains one of the most evil characters I have ever seen specifically, carefully developed and described in any book with the except of the Screwtape Letters, and I was nearly as disturbed by this character as I was by the demon. Simply as the underdeveloped enemy this wouldn't be so bad, but this particular evil character was given much better development than the hero of the story, and was therefore that much easier to attempt to identify with, and yet, there was not a single speck of good anywhere within him... There's also another character named after the devil, but he's not nearly as developed, he just shows up now and again. Not that he helps matters. The hero of the story is fairly inconsistently written, and will easily go from out and out wanting nothing more than to defend his home to, suddenly, relaxing and describing in detail how much he enjoys this stream he's about to fall asleep by even while he knows his home is being attacked. I prefer to consider the writing inconsistent than the character insane. I still think I would have greatly enjoyed it at 10, though other books I read at the time were much better (some were much worse, too); but in the future, I'm going to be much more careful who I hand this to.

*** Iceworld, by Hal Clement - I'm giving this book a lot of leeway because of the fact that it has a copyright in 1953. The situation of the world around that year figures a great deal into the way the story develops, and certain SF ideas had not become quite as common yet. Even so, the only (now, 2007) extremely overdone plot twist he uses is finished by the end of the first chapter and we can get on with the rest of the story. And it's a good story. There is one thing which stopped it from holding more of my interest (and a higher rating); there are two sets of characters whose viewpoints are used, one a group of aliens, the other a group of human beings. The alien viewpoint occupies the majority of the book, and yet they way they are written isn't sufficient for me to easily identify with them. When Clement stays with them for a long period of time, the events that are going on and discoveries that are being made only halfway keep my interest, and I'm anxious to get back with the human beings again.. I care a lot more about what happens with them, despite the fact that the main story is what's going on in the alien world. I find the book equally interesting just for the historical significance (yes, I said that); as much of a history person as I am (heh..*cough*), having read this book will give me much more insight into what life in the early 1950s was like than reading a history book or attending a class ever would.

Spiderman 3

2007-05-16T14:15:00.000-05:00

Despite the various reviews I've heard that simply rated it as a good comic book character movie or similar, I'm going to ignore the separation between such superhero movies and others and say flat out that I really, really liked this movie. Much more that Spiderman 1 and 2 (which I did like, but would not have been nearly as willing to immediately sit through again). I'd happy go see this again any time while it's still in theaters. Tomorrow, over the weekend, when I'm home and it's.. well.. it probably won't be in the cheapsies by then. Hmm. And no, I didn't watch it twice today, but I would have.

In no particular order, various comments I have (with no regard whatsoever for possible spoilers; be warned.. also no regard for the fact that this was a comic first, since, sadly, I never read them and had only a vague idea what was supposed to happen anyway). Highlight to read, since, y'know.. spoilers:

The graphics were really a bit disorienting at times. I thought I was going to get dizzy. Especially the first fight, which left me rather confused as to who had been hit and who hadn't been hit and who tried to hit and which of the people was where and when and moving which direction anyway. I have to say, aside from my confusion, they were certainly nice though. Not just any movie can make me dizzy and disoriented.

While I acknowledge the general idea that once Peter is no longer the struggling boy he was so that we can identify with his human troubles, and instead at the beginning of the movie seems to have everything, and this makes it harder to identify with him, I have no such problem. I can completely identify with having struggled and struggled and struggled and suddenly, for a while, experiencing the happiness as everything seems to go right. Minus the ability to form my own webs. And I don't think I've ever messed things up again by kissing the wrong girl. Actually, scratch that.. I know I haven't.

It's interesting to note that every time that Peter and MJ have problems, it involves them not talking to each other. Peter won't shut up and listen to what she wants to tell him. She won't answer his phone calls when he wants to make up. He feels awful because she won't answer. She finds someone else to talk to because he won't pay attention to her. They're entirely lacking that communication which is necessary for a good relationship. In fact, if they'd bothered communicating, she wouldn't have wound up kissing that other guy. And what's with that, anyway? Does every single romance described in a movie, book, or other medium, anywhere, have to have a scene where one of the characters goes "oops, I'm having a good time with my not-boyfriend, and now we're sitting down together somewhere.. might as well kiss him." Is there some law I missed? On the other hand, Peter doesn't even have that law to excuse his non-girlfriend kiss. Maybe he thought it was like theather; someone should have told him it wasn't in the script.

The church thing.. yeah, that was interesting. I think the guy needs a few catechism lessons.

Peter coming out of that store in a black suit and dancing was, I think, one of the most amusing parts of the movie. It had nothing to do with the movie itself. It had to do with the fact that he reminded me, at that particular moment, of someone I know... The guilty party shall remain nameless, but if anyone who knows him also saw a resemblance, then perhaps my amusement is sufficiently explained.

The redemption/forgiveness theme in the movie was nice, especially the different aspects and situations. I'm disappointed that it took Peter physically harming MJ before he realized something was wrong and rejected his.. companion.. but at least, at that point, he realized something was wrong. And after he did that for himself, he went back (I'm thinking Plato's cave.. yes, I was educated at Ave..) and did what he could to help everyone else, saving them more than just Spiderman's usual physical saving of lives. There was a full range of everything from his aunt knowing immediately that vengance was not a good idea up through Eddie (that was his name, right?) who consciously rejected salvation and chose to destroy himself by returning to the symbiotic alien thing and embracing his aggression and hate.

Harry never impressed me one way or the other in the previous movies. But I like him in this one. I always thought, and still think, that it's a bit drastic for him to go from caring deeply for his friends to wanting only revenge on Peter and being willing to hurt MJ in the process, but it makes the redeption aspect a lot clearer. It was nice to see him as himself in the beginning, and again in the final fight, after he was given (and made) his choice. I didn't want that particular ending for him, but now that I think about it, it represents the fullest turn around possible - not only did he relent enough to grant Peter's request and help, but he returned fully to himself, as he was lying in the hospital in the beginning, telling the nurse exactly how much Peter and MJ meant to him. That was his moment, and he passed with flying colors.

Speaking of Harry, I liked his words at the end too. Easily dismissing the wrongs that had been done to him because, once it came down to the end, "none of that matters." They were best friends. And even everything that had happened in the meantime, which is a lot more than most people will ever have to deal with, could not completely break that relationship once they overcame their obstacles and were together again. That's.. just.. really cool.

I agree with those who have said they would have liked more screentime for Venom, but at the same time, I have nothing particular against Sandman. As I mentioned, I never did read the comics, so I have nothing particular to compare them to except themselves in the movie, and within the movies Sandman had more history (that or I'm forgetting something, which I can't rule out, since me-time it's about 4-5am). Plus, he adds to my running redeption/forgiveness comentary, which thrills the theology/psychology nut within me. And his motives for villiany seemed so much more realistic than Harry's. Not that I have no interest in an alien life form, but to develop that one to my satisfaction they would have needed the whole movie devoted to it, while Sandman and Harry worked well enough for me as they were.

The ending was a bit bothersome, as I was surprised when it ended a few minutes later than I thought it was going to while watching, It just seemed so much like a brilliant ending. And then they go on and do a not brilliant ending, and then a fairly decent real ending, but if I have any complaints, it's the multiple endings. That even bothered me in LotR, something there wouldn't have been nearly as much problem with if they'd done it right and included the bit with the Shire.. hmm, 'scuse me, wrong rant. Or wrong movie.

That, I think, ends my comments... Did I mention that I really like this movie?

An Important Event

2007-05-14T02:53:00.000-05:00

I would like to extend a special congratulations to my brother and his ~~girlfriend~~ fiance. The important date will be occuring approximately one year from now, May or early June.

Yay little brother!

(And for the curious who notice the posting time and were with me Sunday evening, and possibly noticed my rather unawake state of existance; yes, I did indeed successfully if surprisingly make it home okay, and did indeed stay up until almost 3am drinking, chatting, and cooking a turkey with houseguests. It eludes me how I'm awake to write this at the moment (it's been over 30 hours since I slept, not counting about fifteen or twenty minutes during the second episode of Firefly). But it seemed an important enough announcement to stay awake and make. Again, to the happy couple, congratulations! ..and with that, I'm off to bed.

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T03:19:00.000-05:00

Mary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your “Yes” to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God’s word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your Divine Son to give them the grace of surrendered love so that they could join with you in giving their own “Fiat.” May they find daily strength to say yes to the call to the sacrificial love- the very heart of the vocation of motherhood. May their love and witness be a source of great inspiration for all of us called to follow your Son.

On this Mothers day, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us who have recourse to you…

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(found on http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?s=31)

Wishing a happy Mother's Day to all mothers that I know, especially those whom I love as family, and most especially to my own mother and grandmothers.

I Get to Travel!

2007-05-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

The Big Evil Corporation of Doom (hey, there's a new title!) has done something right (besides the free dinners), and approved my vacation. They're giving me part of my soul back for an entire two weeks in June! So I'll be going home on June 8th, and coming home again on June.. 24th, maybe. 23rd. Something like that. And somewhere in there I'll probably also go home. To another home or two. Y'know, just so I don't confuse anyone. I'll also hopefully go to Mackinac Island, though this is still is the speculation stage and needs much encouragement from me.

I feel like I ought to have something more substantial in this post, but I also feel exhausted and am already sitting on my bed. I think you can guess which wins without needing to read the part of the post I didn't write. Right?

My Previous Night's Activities

2007-05-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

I would just like to mention that I'm now the proud owner of Full Metal Alchemist episodes 9-20. I'm no longer stuck at episode 8! And yes, I'm willing to make this a communal set if anyone wants to borrow.. or, better yet, come watch them with me. I've got the first 8 already, I'm willing to sit through them again. (I suppose that really just extends to the people within.. Texas. Though far be it for me to discourage traveling.) It's so nice of random strangers to sell nice DVDs like this cheaply.

Fridays at BigEvilSuperStore have now become a lot more interesting. I may go in disguise next week; I hear they sell some nice masks over in, say, Italy... But they fed us pizza last night, which makes the third week in a row that I've had free food, so I think I'll keep going back. For now.

Acoustic Solar Concerts, $1,000,000

2007-05-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

I know at least one person who ought to appreciate this: our sun makes music. It's not a new idea, and even if we could get seats to the concert we wouldn't be able to hear it (now there's an idea for an alien race with different hearing frequency though..), but it's neat to see an instance of proof. Basically (in case anyone in really as interested as I am) small flares on the sun's surface disturb magnetic loops in a manner similar to, so the article claims, plucking a guitar string. The article goes into more detail than I've bothered here.

I'm going to keep those concert-going alients in mind, though... I like the picture of large arenas set up around a star. I wonder how expensive the tickets would be.

That's Bucky

2007-04-21T19:29:00.000-05:00

From a recent Get Fuzzy comic:

"You question authority, eh?"
"No, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort."

A Strange Conglomeration

2007-04-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

I've never read the book (and so can offer no opinion on it), but I have finally watched the movie Eragon. When the movie initially came out the previews intrigued me; later, I heard a review for the movie that described it as LotR redone badly; still later on, I picked up the book in a bookstore, read the back cover and the first couple pages, and wasn't interested enough to choose that particular book over something else.

Well, someone else decided to go ahead and rent it, and as I somehow neglected to not still be sick and unable to go to work, I went ahead and joined the viewing last night. I can happily say that Eragon is the worst fantasy movie I have ever had the privilege of viewing, though it would make a great MST3K. (To be fair, I must also admit that I haven't seen all that many fantasy movies, as I usually only view them after someone else has recommended them to me.) The filming of the movie, if not the story itself, involved a large helping of LotR with a bit of Star Wars and Harry Potter (movie, not book) thrown in for fun, all mashed together and melted down in a way that would have made a much better parody of popular fantasy than a new movie.

Most of this has little reflection on the book's author, as he probably had no say whatsoever in the way the characters looked, various creatures were designed on film, or anything else to do with the appearance of the movie. To his (and possibly the book's) credit, the actual storyline itself when dissected from the filming of it is fairly original and likely more coherent and captivating than the movie, judging by what any other movie tends to make of its preceding book. In fact, the sheer indescribability of the movie's awfulness may have convinced me to pick up the book someday, if only to do the author the favor of not judging his writing based on someone else's wish to recreate his own favorite movies rather than direct a new one. If anyone has beaten me to reading it, feel free to leave comments to encourage or discourage this event.. I already have a fairly large pile of books already waiting for me in my room.

Christ Is Risen!

2007-04-10T17:23:00.000-05:00

A blessed Easter to you all, late in writing it though I am. Perhaps this shows exactly how little use for a computer (or time to use one) I have had since Palm Sunday. Whether or not it's demonstrable of my time (I've been rather lax on posting anyway), I had a very beautiful and enjoyable, if cold, Easter. I'll never get over how wonderful it is to share this celebration with so many family and friends... and to have any number of little ones thrown into the mix, running around and enjoying themselves!

We had multiple (two is multiple) parties, one on Saturday in which I colored a single egg and ate delicious cinnamon rolls, and another on Sunday for which I contributed to the dinner in the form of two bunny shaped cakes that successfully came out looking just like every good bunny that's had a disagreement or two with a dog over the state of its life ought to look (next year I'll try for the uneventfully raised pet store variety). Should I feel a need, I've got ingredients for other types of candy and chocolaty things to fill myself with (or just hold onto and make for the next big gathering... minus, I suppose, the chocolate eggs).

The choir sang Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and also last Tuesday for a Seder meal which wasn't, in fact, so much of a meal. They discussed the symbolism (and tasted some of it), and included portions of the ceremony such as the four questions (had I done a Good Friday post it would have been entitled Why Is This Night Different From Every Other Night, partly inspired by my own thoughts on the subject and helped along a great deal by the movie The Passion), but overall left out the majority of the actual ceremony (even the majority of the Christianized version of it I've participated in most years). The simple and out of context explanation, aside from being metaphorically interesting in places, did nothing to bring across the beauty and meaning that the meal still holds for us today. To celebrate a Christianized Seder is to see where we as Christians come from and, when viewed with an understanding not only of the events the Jewish people recognize but also in light of Christ's birth, death, and Resurrection, there is if anything an even deeper meaning to words and rituals involved.

Anyway, the choir sang many different times, and my voice lasted (surprisingly, as I began to get sick mid-week) through most of the Easter Sunday Mass, though it entirely departed me in the midst of the Gloria to my own surprise when I realized I could no longer hear myself as well as that of the person I was sharing music with, who I caught looking over in curiosity as to why I wasn't singing. It lasted long enough for me to be a cantor at the Vigil Saturday night - something that, now, I almost shy away from mentioning, in the awkwardness of bragging of my own accomplishments when talking above all about celebrating Christ's Resurrection - I'd shy away, but that it holds special meaning for me, to be able to stand on my anniversary (Yes! It's my anniversary!) and say, "Look, see the new life God has given me. He rose from the dead and has given me new life also, and I am free, I can stand without fear before the people and sing my praises to God." Anyone who has known me more than a few months can, I am sure, picture the time when such an accomplishment would have required physically dragging me up to the podium, turning the microphone volume on high, and waiting to see whether I dared whisper anything into it before racing for my life out the doors. Yet in this celebration of His life I have proof of the life he has given me also; and I think I am not amis in being pleased to see what he has done, and in sharing a part of it.

Of course, my voice has yet to fully return, having been gone all the rest of Sunday, even more fully all day Monday, and now only partially recovered into Tuesday evening.. but it does provide a good excuse for avoiding work at SuperBigEvilPlace, so I'm really not complaining. It can wait a day or two yet.

I did, also, obtain an Easter basket with a bit of candy and a "You can't scare me, I'm a nanny!" mug, and two bouquets of flowers sent from home, both with which I'm very pleased and one that's giving my room a quite pleasant smell at the moment. (It still remains to be seen whether there are candy sales when I bother returning to work again. But I'm fairly well stocked up - and even made it to the vigil reception in time to grab a large slab of frosting with some cake attached. So, either way, I'll survive.)

The Donkey

2007-04-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

-- G. K. Chesterton

When I Begin to Read Comic Books

2007-03-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

I can't imagine there's anyone out there not as interested in this as I am; in fact, I've taken so long to post about it that probably every single other person out there has already come across the news. Right? Right? C'mon, don't disappoint me, people! How is the publication of a comic book story set in the Enderverse not exciting news? And no, I've never been obsessed with anything, ever, in my life.

By the way, a spacecraft I've been too busy to pay attention too successfully switched parking spots yesterday.

Never in my life. I mentioned that, right?

At It Again

2007-03-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had a surprisingly pleasant night at SuperEvilBigStoreThing. I was pulled from apparel to head back to domestics (where I wound up working all last week), a department I think I do like better. A little. There's not a whole lot of better it can get (well, actually, there is, but it won't show up at BigEvilBuyThingsPlace). Tonight, a different lady was sent over to help me. One who has been in that particular department less than I have, or at least a lot less recently. And when she arrived she didn't question my method of sorting and placing things. I didn't even have to explain it. She didn't tell me I was doing anything wrong. Instead, she saw what I had been doing and jumped right in. And the modifications she made that worked for her, well, that was okay with me, and I didn't have a problem with what she was doing either. And then a miraculous thing happened; we got all our work done easily and quickly, and all was well in the domestics department at MajorBigMerchandiseShop. Who would have ever imagined it could happen?

Actually, I had a surprisingly pleasant night back on Monday night as well. It tends to go that way when they pay you overtime to sit around during your regular work hours and eat a free steak and shrimp dinner with all the trimmings. Including a surplus of sodas (I didn't write that. I wrote pop. They gave us lots of pop) and all sorts of desserts. I guess there are perks at any workplace. Or maybe I just have cool managers. But my manager can still beat up your manager.

Lists and Answers

2007-03-19T07:52:00.000-05:00

Things I've learned since starting work:

I know a lot more Spanish than I thought I did, and a lot less than is actually useful.
It is possible to communicate with just hand motions even when you don't know sign language.
Mexican food is not only the stuff that is served in every single Mexican restaurant in the USA in various forms, and is still good.
It is strange to me to find religious articles, from Bibles to rosaries and icons (mainly Our Lady of Guadelupe, so perhaps it makes sense), in at least one section of every major store; but not nearly as strange as hearing the song Awesome God playing over the speakers in NameYourOwnBigPublicStore. I know what it's like to hallucinate; I had to stop and think about it, but I'm sure I wasn't.
I need to take up karate or some other physical art form that involves fighting.
Security videos don't have very high quality images.
Doing laundry for my family is, relatively speaking, really quite enjoyable. (Doing laundry for myself, on the other hand, is still a matter of "how many days' worth do I have left if I really try hard and wear a strange outfit?")
It's safest to hide in the back or the break room later on in the night. All the knife fighting tends to happen up front. I'm not sure quite wear I stand with the clothing sections being in the middle.
However, my manager can beat up your manager! Do we rock or what?

Right then, enough with the random listing of stuff, before I come up with 100 other interesting experiences. It's.. good writing material for all my best-selling novels later on, isn't it?

To answer a couple questions from the comments: I'm not sure what I want an M.A. in. Theology would be fun but, job-wise, useless; education has appeared a good option from time to time; some sort of science, provided I do better at the math this time around (and I'd probably need to go back for another Bachelor's first) could also be fun and overall more useful. And I can't imagine ever being called Mistress Myth; it has an entirely un-me-like sound to it. I'll have to come up with some other interesting title.

Also, we deposit half our souls in lockers, which only each person plus one or two other people, plus any manager that wants to look, plus anyone who gets their hands on the printed out sheet of combinations, knows how to get into, and the other half is mysteriously sucked into the computer system through a USB port and kept there for as long as our grandchildren's great-grandkids shall live, or until someone hits the keys so hard that the computer explodes. They have to be kept there for the duration of our shift, though the part in the locker may be temporarily removed if we leave SuperEvilStore grounds for lunch, and small pieces of them may be collected to take with us on break. We again get the locker portion back at the end of the shift, though Super Evil Employer keeps the computer piece to ensure our return as well as our co-operation with their plan to take over the world (we mustn't hinder the plan while off-duty). The also have a second system, deceptively called a Discount Card, by which they steal another small piece of our soul every time we purchase something from one of their stores throughout the world. Most former employees take refuge in so-far unconquered countries in order to escape the influence and retire with whatever remains of their soul, though those safe countries are slowly diminishing as SuperEvilStore's influence extends ever further across the galaxy.

And now, if you'll excuse my being serious for a moment, and also not creating a seperate post.. today is Saint Joseph's feastday! In some places this is a large and important celebration; I've lived and fallen in love with those places, and it remains important to me, though not so obviously celebrated anywhere I've been in the USA. So happy feastday!

We come to the, O blessed Joseph, in our sore distress. Having sought the aid of thy most blessed spouse, we now confidently implore thy assistance also. We humbly beg that, mindful of the dutiful affection which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and of the fatherly love with which though didst cherish the Child Jesus, thou wilt lovingly watch over the heritage which Jesus Christ purchased with His blood, and by thy powerful intercession help us in our urgent need.

Most powerful guardian of the Holy Family, protect the chosen race of Jesus Christ; drive far from us, most loving father, every pest of error and corrupting sin. From thy place in heaven, most powerful protector, graciously come to our aid in this conflict with the power of darkness, and as of old thou didst deliver the Child Jesus from supreme peril of life, so now defend the holy Church of God from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity.

Have each of us always in thy keeping, that, following thy example, and born up by thy strength, we may be able to live holily, die happily, and so enter the everlasting bliss of heaven. Amen.

(http://www.prayerbook.com/Devotions/Joseph/sjstress.htm)

Spring in Texas

2007-03-19T07:38:00.000-05:00

This is the view from my front yard last week. See the flowers? I'm bragging about it now, before I mysteriously die from being too hot in the summer. Why is it mysterious if I know what I'm dying of? Because I'm just that cool.

And this, I think, is me.

Come Back With Me Lucky Charms!

2007-03-17T15:08:00.000-05:00

I don't have to pretend, I really am part Irish. I also wore green by accident (not that I wouldn't have anyway.. I certainly intend to tonight), likely won't have an opportunity to partake of corned beef (which is sad, I love the stuff), and even more likely won't be offered a single glass of beer (or, for that matter, multiple glasses). However, I am going to listen to Irish music (as well as other types), hopefully dance a bit (though my brother's not here to pull me out on the floor), and enjoy food and company (though no stage time this time). I expect it to be wonderful, as I happen to know this brilliant, wonderful, awesome sounding, better than.. <\insert name of popular good band here/> (okay, maybe I'll stop now).. group that just happens to be scheduled to sing.

Now that it's taken me an entire paragraph to say it: Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

On The Job Front

2007-03-10T22:08:00.000-06:00

In case anyone was curious, I ran away to Dallas over the weekend - last weekend, not this current one - though I think at least half of my readers already knew that. I have no pictures though. Which must be quite an accomplishment for me.

I haven't bothered posting since then because I've been exhausted, mainly due to beginning work nightly at EvilPlace BigLargeEverythingStore (actual name withheld to protect the guilty.. or, rather, my own job in case the guilty happen to somehow come across this, since as long as I don't reveal the name of the store I'm not directing customers away from it or anything strange like that). It's been terribly, extremely, unbelievably exciting so far, in an entirely undescribable way. Mostly involving folding clothes and placing things on the correct shelves and racks so that the customers can come and unsort them again. I knew there was a reason I always attempted to place things back where they came from when shopping; I now doubly appreciate the effort any other customer makes to do the same, rather than forcing me to remove every single unit of socks from an entire shelving rack to resort, something I found myself doing during my most recent night of work because it was so hopelessly and otherwise uncorrectably out of order. Welcome to overnight stocking, folks.

I also have started working as a substitute at a preschool, or rather, almost started working, only the first day I was called in a number of the kids in the class got sick so that they didn't end up needing an extra adult in the classroom. Still, I'm on their list, and will be called in the future. This job is much more actually (rather than sarcastically) exciting, and will hopefully be much more enjoyable - and much more useful for future job applications.

It seemed only proper to follow up my rushed college years, including the overabundance of classes taken at one time, by holding three different jobs at once (four, if you count random babysitting as an actual job as well; five if you count the fact that I'm still a partial owner of my family's bookstore back in MI). I've already been told that I'm insane, though I'm apparently not violent and likely to go ballistic while at EvilPlace BigLargeStore, or so I'm told was verified with my former employer whom I put down as a reference. I'm assuming, though I haven't inquired, that the same questions were asked of my other reference, who - I'm still assuming - did not in fact tell them that I'm crazy, or perhaps did and they were desperate enough to hire me anyway. And who either way most likely had a good laugh at the thought of my becoming overly violent.

Future updates may now include random anecdotes of the insanity of my schedule, much like they would have had I ever blogged in school or bothered studying for all the classes I was taking, something I'm told would have added to the numbers of hours spent per class greatly and possibly lessened the number of credits I was capable of taking. Perhaps, if I ever get a chance at a second go around, I'll have to test the theory - my former method might not work so well for that M.A. I hope to get, anyway. And that's a theory that won't be tested soon.

3/4

2007-03-04T10:05:00.000-06:00

Yep, I need to find myself a new crop of pictures to work with. Preferably a better one. Be that as it may...

Happy birthday Kevin!

Not Just For Fun

2007-03-03T03:02:00.000-06:00

After less than one week, I decided my little Lenten blog experiment was not working anywhere near the way I had hoped, or even really working out at all. I now return to entirely normal programming (at least as normal as it gets around here). The first part of that "normal" is a discussion about Lent. Go figure.

This past Sunday our priest gave a homily about Lenten sacrifices. He used the story of a man who drank a lot, and gave up drinking for Lent, only to return to it by drinking a ton on Easter. The point of the story was that if it doesn't change you, what good is it anyway? The man didn't stop his bad habit of drinking a lot. My first impression of the homily was an immediate "but, that's not the point!" The man in the story was giving up a bad habit just like a new years resolution, with the difference that it lasted over a month until he reverted again. The focus was not on God; it was on giving up drinking. Now, this might have been a faulty first reaction (and how do I know he wasn't giving up drinking for God, anyway, and not because it was a bad habit), and I've since heard both reactions similar to mine and others who thought it made a lot of sense, that, if you're just going to go right back to it come Easter, what's the point? How has anything changed?

The second opinion does make sense, especially given the way so many people treat the idea of giving something up for Lent. There was a bit in last Sunday's reading that stated that Jesus fasted for forty days and, at the end of those days, he was hungry. It was followed by the fact that the devil tempted Jesus by asking him to make bread - of course, if he was hungry, he's going to want to eat. We know that there was a reason for Jesus' time spent in the desert fasting and that he accomplished more than simply starving himself. But too often we give up something for Lent and because our focus is only on giving that thing up, all we accomplish is to make ourselves hungry. Instead of using the time during Lent to focus more on God, we count down the days until we can gorge ourselves on bread again - and on sweets, movies, music, beer, or whatever other things people choose to give up. If that's all that we're doing, then I agree; what's the point? We're hungry, but not any holier (phrasing partially stolen). And probably better off not giving up anything at all.

I found myself in a discussion about this topic within the past week, and had the exact same initial reaction; that's not the point. There's something more to it. We're not giving up something bad in order to, in that way, better ourselves during Lent. We're giving up something good as.. and I stopped there, because, as so often happens, my powers of conversation failed me and my thoughts froze. As what? An offering, a sacrifice, a penance, simply a means of reminding us where our focus should be whenever we think about what we're missing? I didn't end up actually entering the conversation, because I couldn't easily explain it, though a good portion of that IS due to the common and frequent brain freeze that leads most people who know me to wonder if I'm mute.

So what I actually want to do - and will, but I'm putting this thought on a "to-be-continued" status and running away for the weekend - is make use of a method where I rarely have brain freeze problems, and write down my actual thoughts on the matter. But that brilliance will have to wait until I'm home again.

Be With Me, Lord, When I Am In Trouble

2007-02-25T23:51:00.000-06:00

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

The importance of inward things ("believe in your heart") as well as actions ("confess with your mouth"). I'm too utterly exhausted to try and write more - my heart believes I should have been in bed about ten hours ago, and it's time to show this with my actions. Isn't it nice how something such as sleep can be so easily related to theology?

Who's Feeling Secure?

2007-02-24T15:08:00.000-06:00

A bit on the new security features being tested at a couple airports these days. I'm undecided as to whether the x-rays are better or worse as far as privacy is concerned; at least it's only voluntary at the moment.

I'm not planning on flying again anytime soon, anyway. And in much more exciting news, I have a new desk! Well, not new, but I get to reorganize my room. And now I have to go bake scones.

In Need

2007-02-24T15:06:00.000-06:00

God did not ask us to follow Him because He needed our help, but because He knew that loving Him would make us whole.
-- St. Irenaus

Exhortation to the Soul on Fasting

2007-02-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

If thou dost fast from food, O my soul,
yet dost not cleanse thyself from passions,
thou dost rejoice in vain over thy abstinence.
For if thy purpose
is not turned towards amendment of life,
as a liar thou art hateful in God’s sight,
and thou doest resemble the evil demons
who never eat at all.
Do not by sinning make the fast worthless,
but firmly resist all wicked impulses.
Picture to thyself
that thou art standing beside the crucified Saviour,
or rather, that thou art thyself crucified with Him
Who was crucified for thee;
and cry out to Him:
“Remember me, O Lord,
when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom.”

(Yes, I think this is an Anglican site.)

Enderverse and Playgrounds

2007-02-22T23:55:00.000-06:00

Any day where I have a legitimate excuse to crawl through tunnels and go down a slide is a good day.

In other news, the 4th issue of the Intergalactic Medicine Show was released yesterday. As always, it includes (will include) another story from the Enderverse, this one about Peter Wiggin. Remember that Ender is one of the best books ever written in the entire world. It's only appropriate that you go now and read.

The Chair of St. Peter

2007-02-22T10:48:00.000-06:00

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:13-19)

Dies Cinerum

2007-02-21T17:32:00.000-06:00

O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.

St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)
(http://www.churchyear.net/ashwedprayers.html)

Dies Cinerum; Ash Wednesday. Never would I have expected to welcome the beginning of Lent in 70-80 degree weather, or start it off by taking a five-year-old to get ashes, or even, once upon a time, to have found a home with other Catholics among whom the day to day observances of the different seasons are not out of place and uncommon. Today's ashes are not a specific reminder of the unexpected, near and far future, but they are a reminder of death. It's something most people don't expect to occur in the nearer future, or expect to have to deal with expecting. Christians hear often of Christ's death, life after death, and the joys of heaven, yet how many of us when asked would say "I am ready?" Perhaps more than I'm guessing, perhaps not.

That's what the priest's homily was all about today. It was my sixth time listening to an Ash Wednesday homily, but the first time I've heard a priest talk so specifically about death instead of the meaning of the ashes, the importance of conversion, or other favorite topics. Within the topic of death, and once he finished reminding us that there are people who expected to be here today and aren't, and some of us expect to be here next year and won't be (and we never believe that'll be us, do we?), he went on to mention the importance of our relationship with God. That we shouldn't only talk to him while doing other things, though continual prayer like that is good; that we shouldn't only talk to him when we want something. Like in any relationship, we have to spend time with God, with just God, and it shouldn't be a time of "I want this, I want that." Other relationships we have go far beyond that, and our relationship with God is the most important relationship we have. It's that one that will matter most when it turns out that our time is up. It's good to enjoy life, and to look forward to each day of living; but to do so while waiting for, looking forward to, an eternity of Life. If we found out we were to die the next day, or next week, or next year, we should be ready.. not rushing through a laundry list of things to do to prepare as we suddenly realize that we've been neglecting our Father, and have only limited days to develop a spiritual life and get to know Him. This new season offers us another opportunity to develop that relationship now.

(On a not-so-completely-different note, DarwinCatholic is doing a series of meditations on Dante's Divine Comedy during Lent; the first is up today. Go check it out.)

The Feasting Before The Fast

2007-02-20T22:06:00.000-06:00

Interesting thing I learned about being down south today; they don't do Paczki. However, they do sell Kings Cakes, which I only learned of last year and which I didn't even try as there was some doubt about my ability to finish off a whole one today.. in fact, about the ability of the whole family working together to do so. Oh well.

I did, however, manage to place myself in charge of dinner. For all who are aware of my previous cooking endeavors, especially where whole meals are concerned, you can imagine this getting interesting in more ways than one. Aside from being later at night than we're used to eating, it turned out surprisingly well, though I also had help all the way through this time. I wasn't quite as adventurous.. we had Cajun Meatballs, Creole Rice (with polish sausage added into it), and cornbread. Also with Mardi Gras Punch (Vodka optional), and for dessert, the extremely creative angel food cake with kiwi, pineapple, blueberries (see, it's the right colors! Well.. if you pretend the blueberries are purple), and whipped cream on top. I haven't quite named that dish yet, since I'm thinking that "What Happens When I'm Out of Time, Nearly Out of Quickly-Made Ideas, And Need Specific Colors to be Involved" is just a bit too long to market it under.

(The other recipes weren't made up; the food came from allrecipes.com which, after tonight, can be garunteed to have at least two very good recipes, and has a very large selection; and fabulousfoods.com, which I've only used to re-find the punch recipe after making it last year and forgetting what it was called.)

Overall it definitely turned out better than last year, at which I had decorations including streamers and a purple tablecloth, color-coordinated food, and a breaded ham that kept taking its clothing off on the table. But I suppose those things happen.

Do and Don't

2007-02-17T00:04:00.000-06:00

Tonight I was introduced to the movie Bewitched (the newer one). Aside from a few parts that were overdone, I found it amusing and.. cute. Though I definitely missed references/jokes/anything at all that came from the T.V. show, something I never did see the reruns of despite having heard people talk about it often. It's a fun light movie for wasting an evening when you don't want to think.

Much, much better that a movie I found myself watching a week or two ago - My Super Ex-Girlfriend. None of us had looked too closely at different reviews to determine the actual content of the movie, which turns out to have been something I don't think anyone under 40 should be allowed to see. Nor anyone over 40. Nor, for that matter, anyone who happens to be just at 40 instead of on either side. It could have been funny, had every other line been written differently and a couple entire scenes been cut out or redone; as is, it seems more like some poor teenager's fantasy-turned-nightmare with no thought for little things like decency and actual humor. For anyone looking for a movie to see, go watch Bewitched... and we'll all just try to forget that this movie was ever created.

Fire, Not Innocence, Is Colored Red

2007-02-14T21:06:00.000-06:00

It's that day again. That day. The one specially designed for couples to show their love with dead plants and beans and make eyes at each other over cooked animal carcasses (or possibly long white worm-looking things) and sticks of fire. I hear they call it romance.

I, on the other hand, remain obstinately single. I wasn't going to bother with a post having anything to do with the subject, but then I realized: there might be other people like me out there. Other people who have not a clue what to do with this night. And so, for those others, I suggest my clearly brilliant solution: run around all day with kids, then crash in your room with a bowl of heart-shaped popcorn (it may take some imagination) and far too much sugar and sob your eyes out at the sappiest science fiction movie you can find.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, is the day specially designed for single people. It's the day when all the chocolate goes on sale.

Whichever day you all celebrate, I hope it's enjoyable! And now.. my movie awaits.

Mind the Music

2007-02-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

I've entered into the appropriate music debate many times, and possibly have briefly touched on it before on this blog, but always with some trepidation. You see, I stand on the edge of any position within any particular music debate. I listen primarily to country, I'm careful and somewhat picky about what I'll hear within the style and definitely out of it, yet I've found songs I'll listen to within nearly every style in existance. I'm Charismatic everywhere except at Mass and very traditional then. I've learned, more recently, to pay actual attention to the lyrics and to what the music sounds like, but for most of the time when I was growing up, what mattered was what the music said - whether it spoke to you, how it spoke, what the song was about and said. What it leads you to.. where your heart is. It's the issue I have in particular with the traditional/charismatic debates; both can lift your mind and heart to God. Becoming Catholic in a very Charismatic church and then heading somewhere where I got Latin Masses for a year, I should know, I've experienced both. At this point I don't find much of the Charismatic music (in part because of what accompanies it.. clapping, dancing, so on and so forth) appropriate for Mass, but in a prayer meeting I have no problem with it. (I refuse to venture into which songs are just plain badly written and what place those have.)

What the music says - whether it directs you to good things, to God above all - will, to my mind, always be one of the most important aspects, no matter how much I learn about what makes a particular song good or bad. And it's to that end, not to actually debate anything, that I've gone and begun this post. You see, I discovered a new group about a week ago.

Not new new; they've been around for a while. Just new to me. You see, it's also an odd post because I'm probably the last among many of my aquaintances to have found this group, being, as I am, so often behind on these sorts of things. Nevertheless I heard one of their CDs playing during a car ride around a week ago, and a particular song came on that struck me very strongly as applying to a situation I was in. I sat, and listened to it, and it has replayed over and over in my head since then because it spoke to me that morning, and the words helped me turn my thoughts to Christ and away from myself as well as any song I've ever heard before. The group was the Foxhoven Family Singers. Completely unguessable by the name, and equally completely unusual among people and groups I've come to know and like, it's a family that sings together. Their music is specifically Catholic, and while had I heard the song in other circumstances I might have took as much notice as I have of many other groups and passed on without worrying about who it was or how to obtain it.. what I remember of their other songs also has me intrigued, and I've decided to order this CD. The samples are the ones I like best from the various CDs offered on their website, with the added benefit of being the one I was listening to in the first place and which my song is on.

I may post again once I have the CD and have found a chance to listen to all the songs again more carefully, but if I don't, and I'm wrong about being the last among many to heard of them - I'd recommened going to check out the website. It seems to be good music in that it does (well) what music about God should do, they're a large family (with cute baby pictures), and they offer free shipping. What more could you want?

*edit - Fast shipping, too! And I got a personal note included in the package. How cool is that?

Happy Sunday

2007-02-04T00:35:00.000-06:00

"At last I understand why we have waited! This is the ending. Now not day only shall be beloved, but night too shall be beautiful and blessed and all its fear pass away!"

(LoTR)

(Courtesy of http://wikiquote.org/.)

Can You Hear Me Now?

2007-02-02T12:35:00.000-06:00

For years I protested the idea of getting a cell phone. A house phone worked perfectly well for keeping in touch with people; and if I was out, I didn't want to be taking calls anyway. Then, eventually, I began to discover a social life, a working life, an life of many different sorts, all of which included the need for people to be capable of reaching me whether or not I was at home. Since then I've found it extremely useful to be able to call people up where ever I am and to have them able to call me and get ahold of me no matter which house I've decided to wind up at or whether I'm out elsewhere.

Still, I retain one particular complaint. I don't like listening to a cell phone. For whatever reason, I can't hear as well using one as I can with a regular phone. The headsets don't work for me because they won't stay in my ears, and it's frankly impossible to balance a cell phone on your shoulder the way you can a regular one. After listening for too long, my ear ends up hurting.

Enough with the complaints. I've now discovered a gadget that, were my birthday not unfortunately many months away and Christmas even farther, I think I would be begging for. It's a phone. More specifically, it's an actual "retro" phone handset.. you know, that old fashioned thing you put up to your ear and listen to, before they came cordless with the buttons right on them. It's been modified slightly to be able to plug into most cell phones. It probably wouldn't be too useful when out and about - I doubt it'd fit in a pocket, or even a purse of a size I'm willing to carry, but it would work especially well for the longest conversations I have which all tend to be while sitting at home, and, coincedentally, also seem to be when I would most appreciate a regular phone.

Of course, if you DID carry it out around town, it could be extremly amusing to walk around talking into a seemingly unconnected handset. One of those things to try in a crowded elevator sometime, right?

Poor Old Mickey Mouse

2007-02-01T15:28:00.000-06:00

The kids were using a tea set earlier to make Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse; a saucer for the head, two cups above it for the ears.

Eventually they added a sugar bowl to Minnie's head so that she would have a bow. At that point, while watching, I was informed that I could now tell Minnie and Mickey apart because Mickey had nothing between his ears.

The Post That Should Have Immediately Followed the Picture Post

2007-02-01T12:19:00.000-06:00

My number one tip about visiting San Antonio? Don't accidentally go during the Alamo Bowl. Unless, of course, you're going for the Alamo Bowl, in which case I imagine it wouldn't be accidental. It adds a rather interesting touch to things such as parking, parking prices, being able to navigate the riverwalk without falling into the river, and your chances of there being another person within 100 miles who isn't wearing one of two colors (neither of which you chanced to put on that morning). If you do happen to make this mistake, don't get in any lines until after the game actually starts. There's plenty to walk around and see beforehand, and the lines will shorten significantly as people depart to watch football.

I finally got to see the Riverwalk lit up at night. They do this from after Thanksgiving until the end of December, and it's very beautiful with the number of lights they have strung throughout the place and the way they reflect off the water. This time around I also discovered a few of the stores, none of which I bothered going into the first time I visited San Antonio. There are plenty of restaurants (mostly bars, unfortunately), one of which we stopped for appetizers at, and one that I fully intend to go back to... There's a Rainforest Cafe on the Riverwalk! Rainforest Cafe, for those unfamiliar with it, is very well designed to look and sound like you're eating in the middle of a rainforest, minus the supersize bugs. There are plants, there are animals, there are frequent rain storms (without the actual rain), and delicious food if slightly on the expensive side. It's not gormet $30 dollar meals, but it's not Big Boy's either. We also found ice cream places, candy places, chocolate places, and a number of fun little general stores, one of which we went into to find postcards and play with cowboy hats. You can also get boat tours, but we found walking to be interesting enough and a lot less expensive.

The Alamo is one of those places that get lines. It's also a must-see for anyone who cares about US history, Texas, or being able to answer the one question friends who know nothing else about San Antonio will ask. Going into the Mission itself requires waiting in line (something I've been willing to do to get in both times I've been there), but if you just want to walk around the courtyard and see the other buildings before, after, or at any time, you can get without waiting and walk around.

I missed it this last time, but the first time I visited I spent time in the San Fernando Cathedral. It's a pretty church, and also pretty difficult to get a good picture of. It's easy enough to find when walking around, and on the way are some fun bridges and scupltures and parks (and some odd ones) if you walk above ground, or there's always the option of following the Riverwalk most of the way there and walking alongside the stores and water.

As seems to be usual for touristy places, there are flowers and such all over the place, with the added southwest addition of cacti which are always a nice option for taking pictures next to, mainly to send back to more northern and eastern states and say "look, a cactus!"

I once again missed seeing the missions beside the Alamo, so I'll have to make sure to catch those next time.. when I go back to eat in that Rainforest.

When All Else Fails, Try Chocolate

2007-01-23T22:46:00.000-06:00

I have a post that I've been working on - the usual word-filled post to go with my picture post - that I really thought I would finally finish tonight. Everything I've considered posting since then has been saved in draft form and awaits finishing until that all-important "Look, I Traveled!" post is finished and done.

However, instead of blogging tonight, I took charged of the kids while the parents went out. It provided no end of entertainment, from chasing little people all over the house while trying to make (and not explode) a pizza, to a rather curious announcement by the three year old when told to go into the bathroom and wash his hands that he can't because "but I can't find the water!"

I was rewarded by being tired enough to fall asleep by 8:30pm (which means now, at 11pm, I should have no trouble) and this is very good when considering I have to be up between 7-7:30 tomorrow and NOT just to get kids dressed and ready for the day. I was also rewarded by the parents bringing me back a delicious slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Now I know where to go taste-testing when I'm rich again.

And I'll leave it up to you to figure out when it was that I was rich before.

San Antonio, TX, USA

2007-01-18T01:03:00.000-06:00

Hehehe

2007-01-16T12:26:00.000-06:00

My snowman!

Yes, I Did

2007-01-16T11:42:00.000-06:00

Because it's just that exciting. If I didn't have a house full of sick people, I'd be out in this all day instead of just taking pictures...

And yes, it's snowing again today - that's what all the daylight pictures are from. More, thicker, staying, real snow! TX clearly loves me more than MI does. I think I love it, too.

Breaking News

2007-01-14T20:39:00.000-06:00

We interupt this broadcast (wait, was I broadcasting?) to announce that there is stuff coming down from the sky outside. It's tiny, and I can barely see it except at the edge of the street lights, but it appears white and floats easily on the wind instead of falling straight down.

Forgive my excitement at this snow look-alike. It's the first I've seen all year.