Rock the Vote

I haven't even been paying attention really, but I'm so sick of political crap.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to vote next week, because I am. I don't have any candidates I REALLY want to win, though, I just have some people that I really want to lose. One of them I have a personal vendetta against, and I will take great satisfaction in pulling the lever for his opponent (or touching the screen).

Haha! Democracy in action, loser.

But whenever Monday comes

Back to Monday.

The day was livened up by several things, the most exciting being the fire at work this afternoon. The basement filled with smoke, and several senior managers ran around with fire extinguishers and yelled at us to get back in case something exploded. Then the firefighters came, with trucks and gear and an ax to take care of things.

And it felt like winter for the first time today, not because it's cold, but because it was getting dark as I drove home. As much as I liked NOT getting up in the pitch dark this morning, the pitch dark at 6:00 really doesn't make the morning light worth it.

When autumn leaves start to fall

Such a good weekend! Hanging out with a couple of good friends, seeing my family, and just general all-around good times.

But I think that the weather affects my mood, and it really couldn't be any nicer or more autumnal today. Here are some pictures of Autumn in the City.

Magnet and Steel

I'm sort of watching a TV documentary on the magnetic field, and how it may someday soon reverse itself, so that things aren't oriented North, but South. Apparently this happens gradually over time (every 780,000 years or so).

It's kind of interesting, but what I really want to know is what it means for me. Death and apocalypse? Or will all the compasses just be screwed up?

And we got out early, too!

Jackie and the leftovers from our "Jungle" decorations.


"Get in my belly!"


Erin, Jordan, Jackie examining things.


My album cover.

What's an example of a Mennonite ethical dilemma?*

I really didn't intend to write this many posts about heat (or lack thereof), but somehow my blog is turning into a support group for people who aren't turning their heat on until November 1.

And, now that Mike has caved, they're all related to me, at least distantly.

We are a hearty bunch, I must say. (Or perhaps just really cheap).

My feet are numb.


*The title of this post is a joke. You can fill in your own punchlines. Some examples: free beer or free dance lessons.

Start up

I'm kind of giving up on the novel writing, I think. Unless I'm suddenly inspired on November 1 to start writing.

Which I might be, because my house will be warm. Or warmer.

The thing is, my furnace is really old. Like 40 years old. When it wasn't working two years ago the repair guy said he had never seen anything nearly so old. It would be bitterly ironic if I went to turn it on, only to find out that it had died anyway.

I should really be saving money for a new furnace.

When Hell Freezes Over

Tonight I bought a couple of items to complete my Halloween costume. I can’t tell you the last time I dressed up for Halloween . . . probably in elementary school sometime. We never did much Halloween celebrating, really. We grew up among people who thought Halloween was a devil’s holiday (I specifically remember my sixth grade teacher talking about how more bad things happened in late October because of Satan), and because my parents aren’t big holiday people anyway, they just never made much of Halloween.*

We did, however, have imitation Halloween “Harvest” parties in the woods behind my aunt and uncle’s house. A bonfire, s’mores, candy, and you could come dressed as your favorite bible character. Most of the girls came as Queen Esther, because that’s the best costume. You could come as Ruth or Mary, but those mainly involved draping your head in cloth and wearing sandals . . . not nearly as fun as a tinfoil crown and robes. There are many other, less famous women in the bible, of course, but we didn’t really know much about them at the time . . . and some of them were mentioned because of things that they did that weren’t especially Family Harvest-party friendly. Now I think that a good costume would be Jael, who is famous for driving a tent peg through a guy’s temple. That’s about as macabre as any “Satanic” Halloween costume you could come up with, I think.

I’m not going to be a bible character for Halloween, though. Photos to come on Friday, which is work dress-up day. Today we decorated the department for the little kids who will come through tomorrow for trick-or-treating.

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No Heat Report-- Day 3
Temp. in my bedroom: 55 degrees

I don’t know when I’m going to decide that being comfortable is worth the little bit of money it would cost to turn the heat on before November 1. But I haven’t really been home much, so I’m able to stand it.
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* I was surprised when I got to college in NY to discover that many people who grew up in homes more conservative than mine went trick-or-treating as kids. I decided that Halloween just feels more sinister in Florida, because it’s still hot in October. Like hell. In the northeast, it’s just nice and chilly and blustery and pumpkin-y.

I could write a book

How many more things can I add to my life? Seriously. Because I’ve already got enough to do, what with being in charge of worship planning (Advent! Gulp!), being on my Sunday school class committee, working forty hours a week at my real job, working in my spare time at my other job, going to the gym, reading, staying on top of my bills and semi-cleaning my house, sleeping, and, when I’m lucky, having a bit of a social life. (Also participating in the blog contest).

And I'm not bragging about my life, by any means. I don’t FEEL that busy . . . possibly because I’m not giving as much time as I should to any one of these things.

So, I'm thinking I’ll try to write a novel in the month of November. Because it’s a thing: NaNoWriMo. National Novel-Writing Month. Write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. This may be the only way I ever write a novel. And if I give up TV watching and concentrate on this exclusively, maybe I can do it. Crappily, but still.

I could say I’ve written a novel.

Come on, who’s with me?

(And even if you’re not with me, give me some plot suggestions. What should my novel be about?)

At the Hop

This weekend I was all excited about going to Oyster Fest, in Harrisburg. I was imagining a big party, music, people, excitement.

Here is a picture of Oyster Fest:

Oyster Fest '06 . . . not an oyster in sight

As you can see, there were people and music, but really it wasn't all that exciting. Except for the drunk woman dancing in the middle of the street. That was hilarious. I don't have a picture.

The most fun came afterward, when we took a wrong turn getting home and ended up in York. The girls I was with went to college in York, so they had all kinds of ideas for things to do. We were especially excited about the old people dance club. They had never actually been there, so we were envisioning REALLY old people, tottering around on the dance floor to the hits of the 50s. We randomly stole a bunch of balloons from the parking lot (or they did, I'm too chicken to do such things), hid them under a jacket in the back of the car, and went in all loaded with irony.

Sadly it wasn't an old persons' dance club, although there were quite a few 50-somethings. It was more of a Central PA hick bar, with fun dancing, mullets (even cowboy mullets!), and a platinum-haired guy with a platinum mustache who line-danced like nothing we'd ever seen before. This picture doesn't do it justice at all, but that's him in the red shirt.

Cause I'm a redneck woman . . .

And all of this excitement was enjoyed completely sober. Notice me looking like a freak here . . . I'm trying not to blink and ruin the picture (I'd already ruined three).

Deer in the headlights . . . with friends

Breakaway

I tapped my feet impatiently. She had chosen to take the long way home.

We pulled into the driveway.

"Ok, I gotta go," I said, immediately after I got out of the car. No standing around. No chatting. "Goodnight."

"Ok, goodnight," she said.

"It was nice meeting you," said the other girl, who I'd just met that evening, as I ran down the driveway and across the road.

"You too!" I hollered back as I jumped into the car, fired it up, and sped away.

11:25 PM.

A 20-mile drive.

And a mulligan hanging in the balance if I didn't post by 11:59.

Preoccupied with 1985

Here's a picture of my brother and I from about 1985, on the pink loveseat in our family room. I am probably about eight. Notice my freckles and my very big, very spaced-out front teeth. Thank God for orthodontia.

In this pic I have a book in hand, of course, and I know that it's 101 Dalmations in paperback, which I borrowed from my cousin.

Now you're on the trolley!

Here’s something fun: Slang from the 1920s!

Can we please start using some of these in ought-six?

I’m going to put on my glad-rags and hit the juice joint with my fly boy! He’s the berries!

Horsefeathers! The cops caught us drinking hooch in his jalopy. We were splifflicated on giggle water. What a bunch of wet blankets.

And, unrelated, this site is hilarious, too.

I like the way you work it

The last two times I've made it to my weights class at the gym, there's been an old woman there. And by old, I mean like 70. Most of the people in the class are 20-40, with a good portion probably in their 20s. But this woman gently does the weight training and the lunges, the pushups and the situps. All to the rockin' beat of Salt-n-Pepa or Def Leppard. I wonder if she understands the lyrics?

I hope that when I'm 70, if the world is still around, that I can take weight classes with a bunch of twenty-somethings. And lunge along to the 2048 equivalents of Whatta Man and Pour Some Sugar on Me.

Jumbo Monkeys

Today at work I overheard the new guy (started August 30) telling the very-new girl (started last Tuesday) about the tailgate party we'll be having on Friday.

"I don't get it," she said. "Why are we having a tailgate party?"

"I don't know. Just because."

It's funny, because a few weeks ago the new guy probably would've been asking why. And now he just accepts it. We'll be having a tailgate party on Friday. For no reason, other than someone had the idea that we should. Food and video games.

It doesn't take long to just start embracing all of this, really.

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Two words that I always find funny: monkey and jumbo.

Do you have words that make you laugh by their very existence?

Turn your radio on

It must be hard to be a radio DJ.

Normally I don't think about it, but sometimes you'll catch DJs saying the stupidest things . . . or starting a sentence that they don't know how to finish. I do this all the time in real life. I'm always starting conversations that have no real end, or end with me making stuff up, or end with me just sounding stupid. But I'm not on the radio. Thank God.

My favorite example of this happened a couple months ago, after the Emmys. The Emmys started with a montage featuring Conan O'Brien appearing in different shows, one of which was South Park, where he hung out in a closet (a literal closet) with Tom Cruise.

The next morning the male DJ on our local soft rock station (103.3 for those in the know) was recounting the Emmys with his female counterpart. "And then Conan was in the closet with Tom Cruise," the male DJ chortled. "You just know that Tom was hiding from all those Paramount executives."

The female DJ was silent for a second. You could tell she was trying to decide which way to go with this. But because this is polite station, and the DJs don't harass each other, she just murmured "uh-huh" and changed the subject.

I hope she made fun of him when they were off the air, though.

Timing

So yesterday I played this song lyric game called Encore. And it was awesome, and my team totally won. This is a GAME that rewards you for knowing song lyrics. And I know a lot of song lyrics. It may be my superpower. Sadly, I don't know many other people who would enjoy playing this game regularly.

And, thanks to Mike for posting for me yesterday. I was completely computer-less on the eastern shore of MD . . . even if I had taken my laptop, there was no wireless network down there. So, no mulligan, and I'm still in the contest. I have a feeling this is going to happen more as the year goes on, though. I may have to see if I can post from my cellphone.

My house is cold. But I refuse to turn on heat yet. Last year I held out until early November.

By Proxy

Nobody home.

Check back tomorrow for the latest updates, info and hair-raising antics from Lancastizzle, PIA.

posted by mmjr

Everybody's talkin' at me

Things that “everyone’s talking about” according to a Google search:

antioxidants
Bush’s lawbreaking
gas
the weather
Africa
safety
free banking
data management
Madonna’s new album
the glycemic index
branding
Cronulla
the ‘stans
the 9.11 conspiracy (except the Jewish media)

Gotta post something

Dad, you can't take revenge on an animal. That's the whole point of Moby Dick.

Lisa, the whole point of Moby Dick is always be yourself.

Me first

Post 150!

This contest is upping my post count quickly.

Tonight I gave myself permission not to go to the gym. I like when I do that. All day long I just look forward to staying home.

Called her on the phone

T-Mobile has this new thing: unlimited calling to your five favorite people.

I foresee potential social conflict. "What? I'm not one of your favorites? But she is?"

Of course, I don't use T-Mobile, and I don't know five people who use T-Mobile, so maybe this won't be as much of problem as I imagine.

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Have you ever thought about how many Seinfeld problems could've been solved if the characters had only owned cell phones?

Tomorrow

My shopping list:
--trash bags
--two gallons of water
--tissues
--bacon

The essentials, really.

I Saw the Sign

Just because you all need a daily update on my cold: I'm feeling much better, thanks. I went out today, and saw quite few people, and took a walk, and even did some work on my computer.

Being sick is such a good excuse for doing nothing.

And I wrote a blog post about this person that is driving me crazy. And then it wouldn't publish. I'm taking that as a sign that maybe I shouldn't badmouth people in my blog, even though this person doesn't read my blog. It's probably dangerous anyway.

Caught Up

I've waited until now to post for absolutely no good reason. I've spent most of the day on the couch, wrapped in a blanket with my kleenex, watching 18 episodes of The Office.
Good news: six more eps, and I'll be done with Season 2.

Started reading

Tonight I was asked what my favorite book is. I honestly don't know, but the two glasses of Merlot made me need to come up with an answer. So, I said: The Brothers K by David James Duncan.

I'm not sure that it is my favorite book ever, but it is ONE of my favorite books. I highly recommend it.

If you have a favorite book, please leave a comment. I will probably go read your favorite book soon. I really do read other people's recommendations.

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And, as I predicted, I'm getting sick. I'm tired and stuffy and cold, but the cold part might just be because it's 67 degrees in my bedroom. I'm going to take a hot bath, read a book, and blow my nose. Also probably fall asleep.

Isn't that the way

I've been telling people lately how I haven't gotten sick in like, years. Which just means that I'm going to get sick ASAP.

Sometimes, when I hear boys who are six or seven years younger than me talk about their girlfriends, or girls they want to hook up with, I find it very hard to take them seriously.

it's only words

Here are two funny English usage stories:

1) My friend Joy was first introduced to car lingo about five years ago. She hadn't really known much about cars before then, and when she met my family members (and started dating one of them), she started hearing a lot more about cars and car parts. (So did I, now that I think about it. I used to know what an e-cam was).

Anyway, one night we were out and following a car with one of those giant spoilers on the back. The ridiculous kind, that make the car look like it is going to take off. We laughed, and Joy made some comment about the big "disturber."

"'Disturber'?" I repeated, confused for a minute. And then I understood what she meant. And then we laughed and laughed.

2) My family was at a restaurant in Alberta and we asked the waitress, who spoke with a French accent, about the soup of day.

"Zee soup of zee day, is, I think, Smash," she answered.

We all looked at each other, a bit confused, as she left the table to get our drinks. When she came back, someone asked her again, hoping for clarification:"What exactly is the soup of the day?"

She furrowed her brow, searching for something in English that was alluding her. "Smash?" she said again. "Like pumpkin? I think it is called 'smash'."

My mom was the one who finally understood. "Oh," she exclaimed, light dawning. "You mean squash."

The waitress smiled and looked relieved. "Yes!" she said. "Squash!"

And we all laughed and laughed.

Dust in the Wind

A little white dog staring out the window of the nail salon. The red geraniums in the barrel planter. The harassing email. The smell of chocolate in the air. The way the sunlight streamed through the clouds. Finding out what the Dow Jones Industrial Average actually is.

All the little things that make me smile, or make me angry, or happy, or worried, or just pleased for a minute before I go on my way.

None of them are enough to constitute a blog post, even though I generally think "Oh, I could blog about that." None of them are really all that interesting. Tonight I thought I should have a camera to take a picture of the sky, and then I realized that I DID have my camera . . . but I really didn't care enough to dig it out and take a picture. Probably because the picture wouldn't mean anything once it was taken. Even I wouldn't remember why I'd taken it.

These are ephemeral things. But they're the things that make today special. All the little details that make today different from yesterday or tomorrow.

Crazy

I was all prepared when I went to the gym tonight to watch more CNN coverage of the Amish school shooting. And I was surprised when there was nothing about it. I suppose I should be glad that the media haven't gone completely crazy and are leaving the Amish alone, but it was almost as if it didn't happen . . . as if all the coverage I'd read all day and watched on local TV early in the evening wasn't real.

And then I came home and turned on the TV, and it was local news again. All about everything.

There's really nothing to say about this that hasn't already been said, and it's not as though I'm privy to any special information because I happen to live in this county. The whole thing is horrifying, and randomly violent, and senseless.

Blue sky, sunshine

The first of October has been everything the first of October should be, I think. Sunshine, blue sky, a chilly-ish breeze. Occasional cloudy moments.

Someone said something today about remembering this kind of day when it's cold and dark and gloomy . . . and I thought about how often these beautiful days actually do come around. There have been so many days already this year when I've thought or said to someone: "the weather is so perfect." But every new perfect day is just as amazing . . . I never think to myself, "well, I've seen this before. BOR-ING." Every time it happens, it's like a little surprise.

And so, in January, I plan to remember October and hope for April.