My Townie

wiblick has made a request:

"I'm thinking of buying an electra townie 700C 8 speed and NO ONE can tell me anything about it, especially regarding seat height. I'm 5ft 2 as well and would be really interested in hearing your thoughts.Could you mail me? Let me know what model you bought etc. Can you really sit comfortably and have your feet flat to the ground? Do you have a pannier thingy?

or maybe just do an post to your blog about it?"

I have been ASKED to blog! *overwhelmed*

My Townie is a 7D, but I have no idea about the tires. The D refers to the rear derailleur, meaning it has an extra fancy doohickey instead of regular gears. I'm not sure what the advantages of that are, but the 8 doesn't seem to have it. My seat is adjusted so that I can stand flat on the ground while on the saddle if I'm wearing a slightly chunky heel, but there's plenty of room to adjust down if I wanted to be more comfortable in flats. I've seen people on regular bikes, straining to get their tippy-toes on the ground while sitting, and how awkward that is. Also, I love the wide saddle that comes with my Townie.

May be a concern for you: I don't see a step-through version of the 8 speed on the Electra website. Step-through and flat-foot are what makes it so comfortable IMHO, and I don't see it being as good without both. Then again, I'm clumsy. *shrug*

I had the rear rack installed, but make sure you have them use a longer screw, because one that come with the rack popped loose on my first long ride. It wasn't a safety issue, but you obviously don't want that. My other accessories include front and rear blinkey LEDs and a CatEye mirror. Very important since I drive on roads like a car, and its getting darker in the mornings. I'm currently lusting after some fenders, because I'm tired of ringing out my socks and because Texas lied to me about being a semi-desert.

I have a Basil Blossom pannier, which sadly I cannot recommend. They're deadly cute on my bike, but they aren't easily/reasonably removable or collapsible, and don't keep their form (makes them look frumpy). They connect to the rack with buckles, but the frame weirdly with velcro that always come loose, and they shift back into my spokes on an uphill when loaded. They do, however, hold lots of stuff for the price, so I'm not replacing them anytime soon.

It really is a comfortable ride. The sitting position is great for seeing everything around, and not hunched over the handlebars, no strain on my hands, and comfortable starts and stops. Seven speeds seem like enough for me, so I never have to stand to pedal or get off and push up a hill .The best is coasting downhill, such a pleasant rush!

YAY! Divorce!

Thus ends the chapter titled: The Dumbest Thing She Ever Did

I feel the need to celebrate. Who is doing something fun in San Angelo tonight? This weekend? Anything?

I Write Letters

Dear San Angelo,

Sometimes it rains here. Roads are not meant to be rivers.

Regards,
TJ


PS: I hate you back.

Parrot Attacks Wordle

CIMG2636
Originally uploaded by TJ Relic

Rigel doesn't really like it when I use the computer. I'm not sure, maybe he LOVES the computer, and is jealous that I'm using it.

No more playing on the computer, little bird!

Oh, and I was at wordle.net when he attacked, so now you know all the words I use too much.

New Tattoo

Originally uploaded by TJ Relic

I added six photos of my new tattoo to flickr. The flowers will be filled in with a lilac purple, the leaves a dark green (and to cover up the old dragonfly), and I am as yet undecided on the color for the damselfly.

Divorce: Failed

We went before the judge this morning, and were told we had to redo our Divorce Decree in order to clearly state the division (none) of our respective military retirement benefits. Balls.

On the upside, this means that the name change is back ON, because we have to re-file the decree anyway. Sweet!

On to next Friday, then.

200!

I just put yesterday and today's rides into my Bike Journal (at bikejournal.com), and discovered that I've hit 200.00 miles total! That's 74.20 for the month of August, so far.

Oh, and apparently I've only been to the library downtown twice, not three times like I said in my last post.

Showing Off My Crazy

I've been to the library three times this week. That's 33 miles total by bike, for those of you not keeping track. In conclusion: I give up, for now.

Because the divorce petition states that I want my name changed back, it is now a gigantic pain in my ass to change it to something else. It would have just been a minor pain in the ass if I had kept it as Jones, and then filed the name change to something else. The thing is, I have to get the Petition for Change of Name notarized, and this requires a current/valid photo ID with the old name on it. I do not have this, at all.

Changing my name for the divorce means getting new a driver's license, SS card, school ID, debit card, checkbook, and my Inactive Reserve ID card. Also, I have to update my name with the GI Bill, VA Life Insurance, and everything else I can't think of right now. *head asplodes*

When/If I change my name, I will have to do all those things again. Plus, I have to pay $217 to file the petition, and $34 to have a fingerprint card made. At least if I wait until January, when my IRR time is up, I will have one less ID to change. I will, however, confuse the shit out of everyone I know, by changing my name twice in 6 months. Piss.

So, how is my crazy showing? I worked off my frustration by switching my living room and bedroom. Yes, I got my sofa through the door, by sheer determination alone. I suffer from an extreme form of the hereditary disorder known as Rearrangus Furnituritis, just ask my mom.

Family History

I thought I would mine my family history for some surname ideas. I started at the geneology page that my mom put together a few years ago. It goes back to my ggg-grandmother, Charles Ann Boggs.

A Google search for Charles Ann Boggs got me to her on someone else's geneology page. Here are her ancestors and siblings. Funny how all of her siblings returned to (died in) France, where their grandmother Ann Scobee was born in 1783. She's the only one who stayed in the states.

Anyway, since Charles Ann's gg-grandparents (if i'm counting right), Charles Clandenin and Mary Ann Patterson, were both born in Scotland but married in 1735 in Pennsylvania, they must have come over before then.

So I can trace back all the way to William and Margaret (Clandenin), born in Scotland, 1650.

How cool is all that?

Also, isn't Sophronia a neat name? Well I found her in another person's database, and holy cow, that one goes pretty far back into England. Seriously, I haven't found the end of it yet. Woah.

I'm still digging into Lawson.
To keep things straight:
Edward William Lawson
Edward William Lawson on RootsWeb
son of Thomas Sebner Lawson and Sarah Ellen Stanley
Tomas Lawson was the son of Lewis LAWSON and Celia Ellen TRIMBLE

And now I give up, because it seems all piecemeal.

The Name Thing (Again)

I'm still unsure about what to name myself after the divorce. I never really wanted to change to Jones. Its a dumb name, a dumb tradition, and yet another reason I should have known getting married was dumb.

Of course, my birth name might be what I'm stuck with, since I already file the papers. I might try to change it at the final hearing, though. People, I don't know who Niel is, but I'm certainly not his son. The only people I shared this name with, after age 3, was my uncle and some cousins. Not my brothers, or my grandmother, or either of my parents. Lets just say I'm not attached. I still feel bad for my brothers, though, going through life with the name of a bodily function. Ew.

This brings us to made-up, Science Fiction, strong words, and nature names. I would like something short and simple that doesn't end in the letter or sound "A". I'm thinking 3-5 letters and one or two syllables. I don't have any ties to religions or interesting cultures, so nothing that would strongly signify that. I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to pretend that I'm some nationality or heritage that I'm not, because that seems rude.

The best SF name suggestion yet has been Dax. But really, am I that much of a geek? Maybe.

Other options include: Kes, Delenn, Kosh (hahaha), Thrace (Ok, I am not that hard-core geek)

Sadly, with Doctor Who, my options are: Smith, Jones, and maybe for fun: Who.
Do you know any awesome and not goofy matrinomic or nature names out there that fit my loose criteria?

I are not some smarts.

This cell phone thing defeats me. Again.

I have quite a few numbers set to speed dial that I don't use anymore, and I was going through them to reassign speed dial numbers.

That is all. There was to be no deleting whatsoever.

Apparently I misunderstood. When I changed the speed dial number, it would say "hey, there's one there already, replace?" So I'm all, "Yes, replace!" And its all "OK! I won't mention that it deletes the phonebook entry that had that number and replaced it with the other one!"

Yay! Frak.

So, if I haven't called you lately (say, if it is your birthday today, but not if your number is one different than mine and I'm divorcing you) it is because my phone doesn't know you anymore.

Kinda Sad

A comment on my proposal assignment: Beautiful

The page: Table of Contents

Conclusion 1: I am a Tech Writing Genius^(tm).

Conclusion 2: That is really sad.

Uh, Um, Like...Fuck.

Now, I was about to pedal my happy ass to the bike shop to pick up a cargo net, and maybe then take a dip in the pool to celebrate 130 miles on my bike so far and a hellish assignment behind me. Then I realized, that distant rumble? It is electricity falling from the sky. Fan. Tastic.

So anyway, the hellish assignment was a formal proposal, which I chose to do over bike parking and stuff on campus. Five pages, not including the cover letter, table of contents, appendices...were due this morning. I had three and a half days to do research, come up with a real proposal, and write all the damn documents (10 MS Word files later...). I also got dubious honor of being one of only two people presenting my PowerPoint slides this morning. I was up until 1am. I gave up on including any images in the document or the presentation.

Oh the presentation. It was probably painful to watch, but they would be surprised to know that I actually showed improvement in public speaking. Why, I didn't talk insanely fast and quiet, or even run out of breath completely. I was just all "um...where was I again, what was i about to say here, oh look awkward pause!" Amazingly, I still got a 95%, probably on consideration the painful patheticness of my nervousness and the fact that I had no time to practice between writing the paper and preparing the slides.

I certainly got enough riding in, though, pedaling all over campus to look at the placement of bike racks, getting an interview with the campus police chief, coordinating pretend involvement from the bike shop, and pricing fliers.

Doctor Who Summary

After I watched the episode twice (second time with subtitles), I subjected Amanda, a non-Whovian, to this brandy-induced summary of The Stolen Earth. Sobriety edits have been made*ahem*

DOCTOR WHO IS THE GREATEST SHOW EVER!!!!!!
They brought together the two spin-offs and the two previous companions and their families for this HUGE two-part season finale.

Twenty-seven planets are *whoosh* disappeared into a hidden pocket of space and time, cutoff from the doctor, so he takes donna to the Shadow Proclamation (space police), figures a bunch of stuff out in his usual way, all while the companions/torchwood are looking for him like crazy because the Daleks are attacking and the Valiant (floating cloud battleship) is down and the Earth has surrendered. Rose is back from a parallel universe but nobody knows it...*breath*

The doctor is stumped when the particle trail dries up (bee's are aliens, well, not all of them, don't be daft). The doctor giving up freaks the shit out of Donna...*breath*

(Amanda: Alcohol and SF can clearly have bad consequences)

Then everyone the doctor knows on Earth, including the former prime minister Harriet Jones (yes, we know who you are) get together and use all the cellphones in the world to transmit an amplified call into space, which the doctor picks up which launches the TARDIS into the time bubble in the Medusa Cascade.

The crazy Dalek Caan is babblingand tells us: "the threefold man is coming, the darkness is coming" and "the most faithful companion will die."

Then everyone converges on the TARDIS, The Doctor sees Rose *blub*, runs to her, and gets shot by a hidden Dalek. So he's dying and they take him to the ship, where he starts to regenerate, Sarah Jane is ambushed, and roll credits.

TO
BE
CONTINUED

And WTH? The Doctor is still David Tennant in the next week previews, even though we JUST saw him regenerating, which means a new actor should play him.

Ohmygawdilovethisshow!

Also, I know I can't turn John Barrowman straight, but I would love the chance to try...

X-Files *spoilers*

Positive:
Mulder and Scully together without angst. Thank you.

Confusion:
Have they been living together for awhile, or just since she went out to find him? If the former, then why is she ribbing him for being so trusting and not noticing she's in the house, and only just now complaining about the scratchy beard? If it is the latter, then its awful odd how she's referring to them having a home together. Why do two people who love each other and sleep together still call each other by their last names when they no longer have a professional relationship? We are fans of X-Files, we would know who Dana and Fox are.

Interesting:
When Mulder is trying to make a call, we see a closeup of his screen as he selects Gillian. Accidental or intentional?

Negative:
Hey, remember that show, X-Files, where all that supernatural and extraterrestrial stuff is investigated? Well this isn't that. We get one guy who "has visions." We, the audience, don't get to peek into those visions, and they are completely unreliable and mostly useless. Instead, this is a movie about trying to touch on as many "current events" topics as possible: Stem cells, gay marriage, and pedophile priests.

But then they didn't really talk about any of the issues, except the safe one that few will disagree with: pedophile priests are evil nasty people. Then they go to the old standby "evil medical scientists with accents do horrible experiments." They even tried, I think, to imply "horrific" sex-change operations, since the gay-married head transplant guy was only being attached to women's bodies. Of course, that might be because movies don't get made about missing, abducted men, that would be dumb because those men would obviously be able to take care of themselves and get away, duh.

On top of all that, the movie was dull, slow, lacking energy. The same conversations were re-hashed at least three times per character...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... all of these plots would have been 10x better.

On Fat

First, the video by Joy Nash


So this a picture of me, 5 years ago:


I know that at the moment this picture was taken, I felt like a cow. I look back now, and I see that, wow, I was kinda cute. But I still crop my lower body out of this picture, because I still look at it and feel as awkward as I did the moment it was taken. That is a shame, because the pond scenery is sooo beautiful. The bigger shame is that I had to feel so awkward in such a lovely photograph, just because my clothes didn't fit me right.

I. Looked. Great.

But I was so overjoyed at finally FINALLY being able to get into and zip up a size 10 pair of shorts, that I didn't realize that it didn't mean that those pants FIT ME. With the unfortunate shirt, I was stuck on the idea that I was a size Medium, forever an always, up top. I was so terrified, mortified, at ever even trying on a size Large *gasp, horror* that I actually put up with an entire wardrobe (term used loosely) of shirts that stretched tight over my round belly.

I was the most physically fit of my entire life. Back then I weighed 141 pounds, overweight by Air Force standards for my height. Lets keep in mind that at this point I had zero social life and spent 1-2 hours PER NIGHT at the gym, in addition to my unit's thrice-weekly mandatory mile run and calisthenics, and I ate a cobb salad for lunch and dinner every day. I could do 65 situps in 60 seconds, but I still had the round tummy, and I always will. FACT.

Here's me last month:

When I posted this picture to Facebook, I cropped it to not show my arms, and squeezed the image a little. Yup. I still can't stand the sight of myself in the camera's lens.

Now, I don't bother weighing myself anymore. I am done hating myself because of that number. Maybe it is around 165, I dunno. I wear a size 12/14 pant, and Large/XL shirts. I can't shop at most stores in the mall because they have shitty selection that high, and I get asked "why are you here, skinny?" at Lane Bryant.

I have biked 100 miles in about 5 total weeks. I do yoga or an abs workout 4 times a week. I have found healthy, simple foods that I enjoy, and I refuse to eat something "healthy" that I do not absolutely love.

Today I made pound cake, and I will delight in every brandy-infused bite for the next week.

Uninspired Tidbits

I think it is time to start learning what kind of music I like. I think I'll put some effort into that. We'll see.

I finally got ahold of the people holding my bird's new stuff hostage. There was a(nother) huge mixup in the shipment. They are sending a 110% refund. I now have to find someone else who sells Clicker training stuff. Frustrating.

I think Rigel understands "stay." It totally worked today, I could tell he really wanted to fly to me while I was in the kitchen, but didn't. Such a good boy. He deserves new toys so much.

There's plenty of food, but nothing to eat. I must plan actual meals before shopping. Must. As much as I like what I eat, the same thing is getting kind of old.

I made granola the other day. I was surprised by how simple it is, nothing special at all. Definitely not worth the arm, two legs, and my ex-husband's left testicle that it costs at the grocery store. Next stop, home-made granola bars.

It has been suggested that I change my last name to Dax, instead of going back to my original. *ponders*

In the last two weeks, I have biked 54.10 miles. I have gone grocery shopping twice. The first time was for the barbecue, and I hauled a bag of charcoal in my left pannier, groceries in the right, and an extra bag on my right arm. Stopping was educational.

The summer class is going well, minus some annoying group project stuff I will never do again. I think I'm pretty good at this technical writing thing.

Sonic's chicken strips aren't that good, definitely not worth over a dollar per strip.

I shouldn't drink cherry limeade before bed. I am tired, but wide awake.

Eh. That is all.

Sad

So, the last couple of days have been dramatically bad in my family.

Some argument between Mom and Aunt Kay over some other thing spilled over into an arguing over the car I was trying to sell to one of them. I'm getting drunken calls in the middle of the night, and I'm trying to mediate the argument and make sure that my interests (getting the car out of my name) are covered. I thought it was more of the same when I got a call from Mom last night. Not even close.

The call I got from my Mom is that Aunt Kay called her, told her my cousin's boyfriend died, and hung up. Mom called my brother, no answer. Mom called my other cousin, got an angry response and hung up on. I have no idea what that is about, but then she called me and asked me to find out what was going on. She was worried that my brother might not be okay. She is like me (or I am like her, whatever) in that a tiny bit of bad information rolls around in my brain and snowballs until I panic over all the possibilities. This put me in the position of calling my aunt, who was in the middle of a tragedy, in the middle of trying to calm my distraught cousin, and try to get information. I felt like a piece of shit.

My cousin, her boyfriend, and my baby brother are all about 17/18 and good friends. I am assuming the three of them were together last night when the boyfriend drowned in the river. Apparently, the thing to do is wade out to the sandbars and hang out. He stepped into a hole, I guess on the way out.

It could have been any of them, it could have been all of them...

I keep picturing the two kids, napping together on the couch while I was visiting. I have never seen two people so in love, so comfortable with one another.

Mom asked me if they had found him yet. I stammered, I choked. There was no way I could have asked that question, even if I had thought about the possibility. No way on Earth I would have found the words.

Video from KQ2 News

From StJoesNews.net

River conditions blamed in drowning

by St. Joseph News-Press
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

NODAWAY, Mo. — Authorities believe swift river currents contributed to the drowning of a Skidmore teen Monday in the Nodaway River.

The drowning occurred near the intersection of Andrew County roads 400 and 459 just west Nodaway, Mo.

Savannah Volunteer Fire Department personnel recovered the body of Eli Stiens, 19, at 7:19 p.m. Monday, said Bryan Atkins, the chief deputy for the Andrew County Sheriff’s Department.

According to a Missouri State Water Patrol report, the victim went camping with friends on a sandbar. He went swimming in the river, which had a depth of about 7 feet to 10 feet. The report stated that friends said he was approximately 25 feet from the sandbar when he began having problems. His friends attempted a rescue but had to let him go because he was pulling them under at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. Mr. Stiens went under and didn’t resurface.

The fire department launched two boats shortly after 5 p.m. Monday to drag the river, Mr. Atkins said. It was too late for a rescue, he said.

Briefly

If you love Torchwood, and have any knowledge of LOLCats, you must read this now: Trying to Communicate.

That is all.

Technical Communication

We watched this today. The assignment was to write a memo about whether or not this is a "technical communication." I think I'm going to like this class.

This is the Title field...

Fun was had. Not wild party fun, but spending time with my friends and family, doing generally unboring stuff.

Things were photographed. Lots. Maybe I'll upload them later.

Money was spendeded. Way way more than I intended. See, it all started with a sqeaky belt...

Driving was droved. And then more. And then not, until the car was fixed. And then some more driving. And I will never drive again, I hate cars so much. Mom and I got to San Angelo at about 10pm, but loading the birdie and then unloading him and all the accumulated junk from the car took us until 11. I never knew selling the car would be so damn complicated, stupid Texass rules or someshit. I'll just be glad to be rid of it. I'll worry about it later. Actually, I'm worrying about it now, but will deal with it when I'm more awake. Mom has to go back early tomorrow morning, unfortunately, so no fun hanging out. I have a busy day of banking and cleaning and paying tuition ahead of me as well.

Class starts Tuesday...

Totally Pornographic

I can post to my blog, but not read it. The library filer says "Text of web page appears to be pornographic."

They have no idea ;)

Movie Reviews

We saw The Happening last week. It was enjoyable, with appropriate amounts of gore and "holy shit no way!" moments. It was bad, but that's because I think it was supposed to be corny bad. The male lead acted, or not, I'm not sure. It would have been scarier without the "suspense music," although Amanda still jumped. Hehehehe. The premise was intriguing, but towards the end I was trying not to yell at the screen, because it was absurd.

I shall summarize Wanted, with spoilers:
Wes has boring cubicle life, unaware that he is meant for greater things (sound familiar?).
"Saved" and recruited into secret society by beautiful woman.
Wes becomes sexy killing machine after being beat the shit out of in creative ways.
Predictable spoiler ---->>>"LukeWesley, I am your father."
Wes destroys corrupt organization.

Amanda didn't like the part with the rats, I may be partially responsible for that.

I'm going with Mom to see Horton Hears a Who at the $2 theater today.

Don't mind the twitching...

I'm still here, just hanging out. Mostly, there's been much eating, and much chatting with family. The stories usually begin with: "Man, this one time, and I was fucked up, we...."

I had fun baking cakes with Becky's mom for her birthday.

I watched an old downtown St. Joe building blaze, and a train carrying radioactive material derailed a few blocks from Becky's house in Atchison.

Mom had an absolute blast at the Fire Museum the other day. We just happened to show up at the end of a retirement party for the Fire Chief, so we got to meet a couple old guys who worked with her stepdad way back when he worked with the Snorkel.

I've spent alot of time at the park while everyone I know is at work (losers). Yesterday at sunset, I was taking pictures of trees (who's the loser now?), when I noticed a branch full of berries that looked very familiar. We had a mulberry tree at the end of our driveway when we lived in Troy, and I loved staining my fingers with sweet ripe berries. I ate a handful off the tree at the park, and they were perfect. Of course, you never know what pesticides they used, so don't mind me if I start twitching or something...It was totally worth it.

Story So Far....

One more time.

I just wrote one long, drawn out post about my breakdown on the Kansas Turnpike. And then had to write it again, shorter, and now again, because I am a computer genius.

Summary:

*POP* battery light dammit! SMELL oh shit! SMOKE no fucking way!!!!!!!

Minor Freakout, costly repair. There goes my drinkin' money.

Traci's husband, Kevin picked my up from the mechanic. We arrived at Ft. Rielly after midnight, and the gate guard gave us an odd look. Kevin did not understand. Yeah, a soldier coming in, late at night with someone else's dependant spouse, that doesn't raise any eyebrows.

I stayed there, as planned anyway, until my car was ready, and then continued on to Becky's.

There was pizza and beer and electronic Life. We biked down to the water park yesterday. Alan tried to kill me challange me, by taking us up the steepest possible hill on the way back.

I'm hanging out in St. Joe today, while they are at work.

I'm bored.

Call Me!

Summertime Bath

We went to the park today, while the apartment aired out. I took him in the big cage, and put a water dish in the bottom. If I had known he would try to bathe in it, I would have taken the big blue plate.

My voice makes me cringe. Yes, I do talk to him all the time, just like that. I tried to edit out as much as possible, but it is sooo hard to not tell him how cute he is. I mean really.

Plans

Tonight:
Spend another hour cuddling with my feathered monster.

Spend a few hours de-cluttering and extra-cleaning my apartment, because they are sending the exterminators TOMORROW. I'm so frackin' powerful.

Tomorrow: Go around, with Rigel in his carrier, taking pictures of the complex to show off to my family and friends. This place rocks.

Thursday: Drop Rigel at the old apartment and start out on my 12 hour drive to Atchison to visit with Becky and Co.

I'll stay there until next Thursday or so, with a little jaunt over to Fort Riley to visit the Johnson's, then over to MO to stay at Amanda's and visit with all the rest of my friends and family. The ones I like, anyways. At some most points, there will be alcohol, games, photographs and explosions. Just like old times.

Then Mom and I will drive back to Texass, and she will drive back with the car, and I will pedal my way to and from school.

Everything's Bigger in Texass

(they say that like its a good thing)

Oh my goodness! Oh no frickin way! Ew Ew Ew!!!

Yeah, a big one, in my bathroom, in the middle of the night. Hideously big and healthy (if you can call a giant roach* healthy), stalking me from the bathroom light switch. If I had not just peed... After several minutes of whimpering, I steeled my courage and rushed past it, out the bathroom door to retrieve whatever weapons of cockroach doom I could find. This ended up being a large wad of paper towels and a can of compressed air. I blew it off the wall, cornered it, and then held the air upside down and emptied half the can on the little....*insert string of profanities unsuitable for birdboard* until it was frozen or gassed, whichever killed it first. Yes, I could have stomped it with a shoe, but the only thing worse than a live roach is a squished dead one, guts everywhere, no thank you!

There's a question or three here, of course.

Besides the quarterly pest treatments, taking out the trash nightly, plugging the drains, and keeping all food in sealed containers, what else can I do to prevent these nasties? I lived at the old place for 1 1/2 years without a single one!!!

Can these things harm Rigel?

Do food and water containers exist that are less likely to draw the attention of a hungry, nasty critter to my bird's cage?


I will NOT consent to calling it a harmless "water bug." Nuh-uh! Nas-tay!

Ow! *pouts*

Let's ignore any mention of my* marriage or divorce, for now, okay?

Moving on.

I left Rigel at the old apartment while I was moving. It was important to me that he arrive at the new place when it was uncluttered, and full of furniture and such that he was familiar with. I also wanted to do some heavy cleaning, and get a feel for the noises of the place.

Turns out, the walls are thinner, the neighbors a bit noisier, but the grounds maintenance isn't all *BANG BANG HAMMER SAW MOWER STEAM CLEANER LEAF BLOWER* all the time, and the TV isn't on as much or as loudly. So, on balance, this place is a bit quieter, but not eerily so. Except the air conditioner, which clearly works, and could double as an airplane engine, I'm sure.

The first night and the entire next day he was sweet as sugar, honey, and caramel put together. He spent most of the time snuggled in my shirt. Adorable x1000. I'm sure he was looking for something familiar and secure, my widdle lovie dovie birdie. He munched happily on bell pepper and cherry, after an incident with an entire newly-opened bag of pellets infested with some tiny critters.

Today, not so much. I've been bitten at least a dozen times. I've bled, uh, something like 4 times. I've lost count. Looking for security is over, and he blames me for this unacceptable amount of change (it's been a day for that). He's flown at me in a rage, squawking and attempting to bite my neck. I've taken to picking him up with a tea towel or a few paper towels. He lunges at every opportunity, only tolerating petting on his forehead, and only if he is wrapped in a towel, powerless to object.

He is not a happy burrito.

I finally escaped at 5-ish to the laundry room, racked with guilt at leaving him alone, hoping to find a solution online. I failed at the free wireless that was supposedly accessible from the laundry room, but returned with clean clothes a few minutes before birdie bedtime. I spotted a black winter glove...and had a thought. Surely, it would scare him? Surely, he would attack it?

Friends, he loves that glove more than he loves me. (seems to be a pattern this week) It is a comfier perch than a bare hand, and it doesn't object to being bitten, even gnawed. (again, a pattern....hmmmm). Right now, the plan is to handle him with the glove, for both our safety (its hard to control your reaction to bites. I try, I promise, but I am far less than perfect. As you may have heard...). Later, whenever the MONTH LATE PACKAGE FROM BIRDBOARDSHOP.COM** ever arrives, I will begin clicker training. He needs entertainment and enrichment, I know that is the problem. Then I will train him to not bite the glove, as if it is my hand, and then train him off the glove.

Yeah, that's the plan.


*Mine and mine alone, really, because I paid for not only the wedding rings whatever-number-of-years-ago, but also the $230 filing fee for the divorce today. M'kay. I resist the urge to rant on...
**Yes, dear internet commerce folks, it has STILL not arrived. I SORT OF understand that the order got lost behind a desk, and you're just starting up, and these things happen. But it has now been over a week since you said it would arrive, and I deserve something more than a $10 or 10% coupon, or whatever.

Parrots aren't "Pets" and Shit

The only animals that are "pets" are dogs and cats. Period. So says the lease agreements for every "pet-friendly" apartment I talked to yesterday. Now I understand that many birds can be loud shriekers, but dismissing all birds out of hand is narrow-minded, considering that many dogs can be loud barkers. They would deal with loud dogs by kicking the offending owner out, or whatever, and I don't see how birds can't be evaluated on the same case-by-case basis. I can't see how it could be a cleanliness or odor issue, because I guarantee that a day's worth of unattended bird shit smells way way less than a day's worth of dog or cat shit left in an apartment. I know for sure that if you got even a little dog shit on your clothes, People. Would. Know. Rigel occasionally targets my clothes, and I take a damp paper towel to it and presto! no smell or stains.

Bonus, people outside the property won't step in a pile of (pet) bird shit while walking around. Asshole dog owners!

Further, dogs shed nasty mangy fur, which also stinks stinks stinks. My parrot sheds pretty, lovely feathers, suitable for crafting. Birds possibly chew on mini blinds? So? We had a dog once who CHEWED A HOLE IN OUR WALLS!

There is a silver lining, though. The apartment I really really wanted has a sign at the front desk: "We are a pet free community."

I was highly disappointed, and I pouted: "but he's just a little bird..."

Well, then that's another thing, birds and fish are FINE! They aren't considered pets, after all.


I move in tomorrow, no pet deposit!
-

Well, that settles it!

-12 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

Our Sergeant Major

I just found out about the death of one of my high school mentors. From the online guest book entries, I see he went with the same humor and dignity in which he lived.

Sgt. Maj. Richard A. Paquette

How Existential!

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)

You scored as a Existentialism

Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life. “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” “It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.” --Jean-Paul Sartre “It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.” --Blaise Pascal More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Existentialism 100% Hedonism 80% Justice (Fairness) 75% Utilitarianism 70% Strong Egoism 60% Kantianism 55% Nihilism 20% Apathy 15% Divine Command 0%

More Pictures

Here's my new ride:



And a little bit of Rigel.

For Sale

1997 Ford Taurus in Good Condition

Color: Maroon (or some reddish whatever)
Doors: 4
Mileage: 121,000
Gas Mileage : 20 mpg City / 28 mpg Hwy
Engine: V6 3.0 Liter
Transmission: Automatic
Drivetrain: FWD
Air Conditioning
Power Windows
ABS (4-Wheel)
AM/FM Stereo and Cassette
Power Steering
Tilt Wheel
Dual Front Air Bags
Cruise Control
Power Seat

$1500
Available on 30 June in Missouri, or 7 July in Texas.

I'm planning on driving up to MO and then taking the bus back to TX if I sell the car while I'm home.


**Update** Here's some pictures!

Randomness

I ordered many new things for Rigel online a few weeks ago, and I e-mailed them to say WTF DUDES?!!?(nicely) Turns out, the order fell behind someone's desk and they just found it. I get a 10% off (or was it $10?) coupon, and it will be here by Friday. I just say, the Clicker Training stuff and fun toys cannot get here soon enough! squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack squack Poor birdie is sooo bored!

Oh yay! I just realized today is Tuesday, not Wednesday, and I have one more day to clean my house for the bug spray people. I love those people.

I'm tired, despite doing nothing at all yesterday and getting 8 hours of sleep.

Yes, I am really selling my car. Please buy it. Please.

I won the lottery!

0 of 4 w/Bonus $5

How Elusive?

I've watched most of the series Coupling since we got BBCA. Jane is annoying, but she's also My Heroin at about 1:45.

To Do Update

I've been at this "summer" thing for 20 days now. How is it going? Oh, its going allright...

1. Clean my house.
I keep cleaning the kitchen, only to turn around and cook dinner. I've tackled the living room, but that's about it.

2. Mega-Organizing.
Which means, of course, this is not even started. I guess the yard sale sort of counts, but not really.

3. Bird Training
videos and toys still have not arrived. Reducing the lighting from 7 hours to 5 hours has helped with the attitude and biting ALOT! Thank you internet people.

4. SCRAPBOOKING!!!!!!!
is daunting. I finally did two pages yesterday, but my printer is out of ink and all the extra stuff i bought is expired and dried out. Frick! Also, 3 billion cute pictures of my baby brother, where to start?!?!?

5. I plan to read this summer. Books. Novels. Space-Operas. The kind you read for fun, with no homework-related guilt. Lots of books.
nope.

6. I'll leave for the Great State of Misery probably on the 26th of June, or maybe the 20th...or something. I haven't really nailed it down yet. I'll be scrapbooking with my mom on the 29th and 30th at least, though.

Worth It.

Worth It.

Getting bitten, shat upon, screeched at.

Cleaning blackberry poop stains off the floor.

Loads of cash for new toys never used, re-used ones are more fun.

Banana slime on my nice black t-shirt.

Waking up early to honor his sleep schedule.

Totally Worth it.

Fluffed up neck feathers, trying to whistle back.

Flew around the room three times, now wings are stuck in the "Up" position.

Belly feathers sticking through the cage bars from sleeping in the new coziest spot.

Chatters at his dish of vegetables.

First morning step-up, still surprised at how his feet feel.

Totally totally worth it.

His Lordship the Tyrranical Conure

I posted this at Birdboard.com, for some advice...

Lately, I can't leave Rigel in his cage for two moments to use my computer, clean my kitchen, eat, or even to use the bathroom without him going with screeching as if I have left him alone for three days with no food and HOW DARE I BE AWAY! So that now I have to use my laptop in the other room, because if I let him out while I use it he will perch on it and become very possessive of it.

Also when I let him out, he jumps directly for my neck sometimes, but usually bites my hand. He's never drawn blood until now. Then he becomes the angel and cuddles like nothing happened.

Thing is, I can't figure out what has changed to make him this way. Maybe it is just because he's a year old now, maybe it is because he can fly now. I can't change the first, and I really don't want to change the other. I thought it would be so great that I could spend more time with him since I'm out of school this summer, and I almost feel like me being here more often is what is pissing him off and making him think I HAVE to be here ALL the time. Nothing else about his environment has changed.

*sigh* The clicker training kit arrives soon, right? It will help him feel more enriched and improve his mood, right?

Real Human Conversation

Today I had a real, human, face-to-face conversation. Summer makes it hard to do this, with all my college friends at home in other towns, and all my home friends at home where I'm not at (yet!). I guess I've had a few "conversations" while buying things, but that maybe doesn't count much, since that is more "customer service."

I went out and bought some fitness clothes at Ross's, and stopped by Zucchini's for a cool lunch. Eating alone in public is awkward, but I wasn't the only one sitting by myself in a booth. That makes it more awkward, of course, because now you are facing someone you don't know. You can either look down at your food the entire time, stare strangely at a stranger while eating, or start a little chat.

We talked about the heat, different places to get good salads, how I'm just starting to ride a bike in this horrible heat.

"Well, it's definitely good for your health"..."Yeah, unless I die of heat stroke...hhahaha,"

We compared the various coffee shops, and there's a new Starsucks going in next to the Cheddar's. I don't think they will do well with Texas Coffee Co. and Baker's Street so nearby, even though the Hastings is moving further away.

I bemoaned the lack of a real farmer's market in town, since I only knew about the one that sells pumpkins, honey, chili peppers, potted plants, and tacky steer-shaped Christmas lawn decorations. She set me straight. There is one downtown at the Fort Concho parking lot! PickTexas.com lists the dates, times, locations, and what produce is in available each month.

So it was a pleasant and productive "real" conversation, and I really needed that. Also, the chocolate muffin was good.

Ride #3: Leaving the Comfort Zone

I have been looking for the best route to get from home to school, wavering on which busy road I will brave (Sunset or Johnson), when I noticed (on the map) a way to avoid both, so I took it. I'm really glad I did, too. I've never been down that road and it is really pretty scenery! As long as I finally get it in my head to turn at the right road down the line, I will have a really great morning route. :) I ended up all over the place in those curvy non-connecting streets near the college, which is really frustrating, but I always get lost around there by car.

Equipment Malfunctions:
The seat went all wonky on me again! I have a powerful ass, indeed. I took it easy the rest of the way, but as soon as I parked and got off the bike, I heard a tink and one of the screws for the rack came right out! It was difficult for the bike guys to get in when they installed it, so hopefully they will have a way to fix it for me. I put the screw away and tried to work on the seat. The quick release was for sure clamped all the way down, but I tried tightening the screw/bolt/whatever thing with my hand and then I could not get the quick release to clamp on again! I loosened what I tightened and things seemed to work out for now, as it didn't fail me on the way home. As I finished up in the computer lab, I realized I left both my lights on. Doh!

I can summarize the trip to the grocery store like so: If I ever find the city planner who decided that the majority of all streets in this town do not need to be through streets, I will string him up by his toenails. That is all.

I am pretty excited to say I rode back from HEB on College Hills and Sunset and did not feel like I was going to be run over. I did learn that the manual is right, and you should not move more than one gear at a time, and that I should also not try to do this as I cross an intersection. People understood my Oh Shit! face and the not pedaling, so I did not get honked at or anything. I got off the road and put the chain back onto its path and continued on to the intersection where I had to cross into the left-turn lane, and that went smoothly. Well, except the car waiting behind me honked once. I disregard their opinion because I would not have attempted to make that gap even if I was in a car. Cranky Wanker. Things were okay going up Sunset until I got close to the Knickerbocker intersection, where it gets steep. I stopped and was going to rest at the light, but it turned and I almost went but my legs and lungs gave out. I got off the road and walked at the crosswalk on my wobbly legs. I would have rested under the tree for a little while longer, but I had dairy products to protect and it was 96 degrees and I was almost home.

Overall Estimated Distance: 8.0 miles (12.9km)

Last thought: The carry bag was way to small to hold even 5 smallish grocery items. I must find a better way.

Editing with Picnik

Before


After

Bike Ride #2

Summary of Ride #1:
Rain.

Ride #2:
Night

First, a complaint, because I'm so good at those. Can they find a more comfortable way to attach helmets to our heads? Like nails, or staples? Because I'm not all into the bondage/choking thing. Mkay?

Moving on.

Here is a lesson learned for you. After riding in the rain, you should dry off your bike. I learned this because, during rigorous pedaling, my seat would move in all directions. You may understand this was disconcerting. I rode back home and sacrificed a dish towel to dry off the seat post and I think the problem went away. I'm really glad I decided to stay in the neighborhood, instead of trying a route to the school. That would have been a bad time to go wobbling around.

I got the new lights and the mirror mounted and they worked pretty well. The front light did a great job of showing me how wobbly I was riding!

I do have a request for whoever makes bike parts: turn signals and brake lights. WTF with primitive hand signals?!?!

That is all. For Now

Because You Care, Probably...Maybe

Today I bought the bike. They had white, blue, and orange. The white was being sold when I walked in, so I went with the orange. Why not?

Turns out I walked in right as they were getting ready to close, but the woman buying the white bike was very needy, and kept coming up with more stuff for them to put on her bike, and even had them deliver it to her house. I had them put on a rack and also got a helmet and rack bag. I should have also gotten the front basket and a set of lights especially. The rack covered up the rear reflector, which is a wee bit of a problem. I'll probably ride it around the neighborhood during the daytime for a week and then go back for the lights at least.

Did I mention I walked there, stopped at the coffee shop for some lunch, and rode back in the rain? I guess I had to ride in the rain eventually, might as well get it over with today. The ride wasn't too bad, except the sensors at the one light I had to go through did not register me and I had to wait for a car to come along to trip the signal. While I sat in the rain.

Another Wildly Stupid Idea by Me

I have planned a kinda crazy route in order to get my new Electra Townie bicycle from Concho Bike to my apartment. Why? Because I'm to chicken to drive strait down Knickerbocker on a bicycle, duh. Ohhh...Why a bike?

1) I had a bike a few years ago that I rode to work a few times until I left it there for months. Lets just say I bought that bike at Wal-Mart (root of all evil), and the bruises on my ass(area) from the uncomfortable seat and riding position could be shown as proof. This bike is made for commuting, and best of all it is made so you can put your feet flat on the ground while sitting, and comes in a variety of sizes. SHORT PEOPLE REJOICE!!!!

2) My car has served me well. I bought it 3+ years ago for $5000 without financing. It is now 11 years old, and I fear it will any day fall to a problem that will cost more than I can afford to fix it. I cannot afford to buy another car if this happens, unless I want some falling-apart and polluting junker, or to go into debt for a car. Not an option, as I do not have a permanent/long-term job and I will not go into debt. Anyway, a smaller car would be better for me, since nobody else rides with me, so what little gas I buy is being wasted A LOT. Also, I just forked over $140 for a new seatbelt, and it just emphasized all the maintenance costs, gas, insurance, and annual registration fees that mean I'm still paying for this car in some way.

3) I don't go very far, so a bike is a reasonable, healthy and earth-friendly way for me to get around town. I can add a rack and pick up two bags of groceries on the way home from school. It will also keep me from buying stuff I don't need, since I won't be able to carry it, or get to Hobby Lobby or Target anymore. I plan/hope to be able to sell the car after the summer is over and I'm used to the bike. We'll see.

And tomorrow, I'm going to chicken out and not buy the bike. Or I will buy it, you are all going to shake your head and think "There goes another one of TJ's Lame Hippie Ideas." Like that one time I bought a Tablet PC.

Polarized Shirmp Vision

Funky Shrimp Vision helps them get Funky
or as Professor White says, "...for the four fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing and...flirting."
...
The two scientists have shown that shrimp of the species Gonodactylus smithii have eyes that simultaneously measure four linear and two circular polarisations, enabling them to determine both the direction of the oscillation, as well as how polarised the light is.

A Storm of Comments!!!

The craziness must stop! AAahhhh!!! Three whole comments in as many weeks!!! Of course, I just found out, as I neglect to check my gmail very often, and these are on older posts. My responses:

Dear Baba Wayo,

Unfortunately, I gave up on the tablet PC. It is sitting in a box until I get around to scouring it of personal info and selling it at a yard sale. GoBinder wasn't really the problem in the end. The constant noise level of the fans during class, and the feeling like I was staring into a tiny window to write on just got to be too much. Also, it did not effect reducing my backpack load, since I can't download my textbook onto it and still READ my textbook while taking notes.

Short Story: It just became a pain in the ass, and a huge disappointing waste of money. People thought it was cool, though...*sigh*


Dear Beakerann,

The title of the book is called, I shit you not:

"Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle"

Watermelon pickle sounds more appealing each and every time I read the words...mmmmmmmm

Dear Stewie (here's Stewie Blog, can he train Rigel to type without chewing off the keys?!?!?!)

All is well, and Rigel sends his thanks for belated hatchday wishes. I haven't been around Birdboard much since I've been busy, except that I put up a long-ish post looking for help with ants, which quickly got buried and ignored. I have some other questions I need to get around to asking, which I will try to keep short (ha!). I'm hesitant to keep posting questions, since I don't post *look what my birdy did cute* stuff there since I have a blog for that... it makes me seem a bit needy and not very fun. In my own mind, anyway.

Mommy's Day

Our Matriarchy

Bla Bla Bla....

Still no word on my final grade in Physics 2. Suck.

I had to replace my driver's side seatbelt, which was going to cost an arm and three legs. Luckily, I go to the same place all the time and they are super-nice and I saved $40 off my bill. While waiting for them to diagnose the problem on Monday, I discovered the new River Valley Coffee and Cafe downtown. I was so hungry for breakfast that I would have eaten cardboard, but luckily this was much better AND YOU MUST GO THERE AND EAT! Yesterday while waiting for them to finish my car, I stopped by D'Vine Wine for the first time. I was unaware that they made their own wine on site. I had a Wine Rita....a frickin' wine smooooothhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.....it was very good. Then I had to walk back to the coffee shop for some lunch.

For today's activities, I started with a yard sale "organized" by the apartment management. By "organized" I mean they told us what day to do it, and maybe put up signs. Participation was low, and I didn't get out there until 9:30 so I missed some sales opportunities. I made $35, which will go to buying grass mat or bamboo window treatments for my living and dining rooms. I'm off to goodwill now, to drop off some unsold items, and then to Tuesday Morning to find those window treatments, and then to the grocery store for some sour cream for tacos. Mmmm tacos.....I'm so hungry....

***
Eh. I forgot the box of stuff for Goodwill, and there were no good window coverings at Tuesday Morning

But the tacos were totally good, and now I'm full.

To Do List: Summer

This past week, I joined my classmates in ritualistic self-torture. We shoved the knowledge of 4 months into our poor brains, and then yesterday we sat down and turned our heads, so that the knowledge would oooozzzeee out of our ears and onto the Sacred Final. Some of it ended up on the floor.

And then I slept for 14 hours.

The results are partially in, and I have a B in Calculus 3. Physics is still pending, but I woke up this morning with my right hand representing magnetic field, current, and force, and then I realized that I mentally had the field going out of the page on the final. Fucks.

I have plans, and half a summer to get around to them.

1. Clean my house.
For real, people, this place is a general pigsty, and I have no clean socks.

2. Mega-Organizing.
Now that the cleaning is done, I'm all into giving shit away and discovering stuff I've been looking for (like socks) and re-discovering sentimental items (like underwear). That box of cables and that pile of cables and that device over there, they need to find each other. The closets aren't exactly overflowing, but its not like I can find anything in there.

3. Bird Training
Since I'm out of school for a few months, it is time to give a certain unrestrained parrot a few lessons. He's got "be adorable" and "bite me" down already. I think we'll start with "stop shitting on me" and move up to "do not chew on the laptop power cord." We'll see.

4. SCRAPBOOKING!!!!!!!
I am very excited. This will be a scrapbook for my mom, sort of a Mother's Day/Birthday gift that she has to help me with. I got this pretty paisley paper (btw I HATE paisley and this stuff is gorgeous, so there you go) and punch-out set. I still need to find a book, but I'll place the pictures and leave room for Mom to do the journaling. FUN!!

5. Speaking of books.
I plan to read this summer. Books. Novels. Space-Operas. The kind you read for fun, with no homework-related guilt. Lots of books.

6. HOoooommmmeee Home on The Range...
I'll leave for the Great State of Misery probably on the 26th of June, and return to Big Texass on the 6th or 7th of July. Becky wants to go bowling in KC for her birthday, and after that the whole trip is up in the air. Mostly there will be food, coffee, alcohol, and blowing shit up. Probably in that order.

There goes half the summer....bye-bye fun...

7. Back to School
I registered for Technical Writing in the second summer term, and then it is back to school full-time in the Fall. Four courses, two with labs....no time for sleep.

I <3 Soup

I discovered an amazing line of soups a few months ago. Since I want them to continue to stock them for ever and ever and ever, I will share them with you, and thus increase demand.

The brand is Pacific Natural Foods, and the soups are organic, non-dairy, wheat free, low-sodium, low-fat, etc. etc. etc... Wait wait wait! Don't run away! The reason I bought them the first time was that they were WAY CHEAPER than just about any soup in the store. The feel-superior vibes of Organic low-this, non-that were just deal sweeteners. I shop by comparing price per ounce, and both grocery stores I shop at put price per ounce on the label for most things.

First, the packaging they use is that pressed-cardboard stuff like juice boxes. This is way way way cheaper than metal cans and those plastic microwavable Campbell's Soup things. Second, there are about 4 servings per container, so it is like buying in bulk ONLY BETTER because the container is re-sealable. That means I can have a tiny mug of soup one day, a giant bowl of soup the next, and a regular bowl a week later, all without that metallic taste of soup in a can, or cleaning tomato soup stains out of Tupperware.

Did I just say Tomato Soup? You may (or not, if you don't love me, but that's ok, I swear) be aware that I hate tomato soup with the fiery passion of a Orthodontic Torture Veteran, but The Husband loves it very much. I bought all 3 varieties available: Butternut Squash, Tomato, and Tomato w/ Roasted Peppers. I HAVE NEVER LOVED ANYTHING MORE THAN I LOVE THIS TOMATO SOUP!!!!!!!!!!!!! *gasping for breath* It turns out he likes the roasted peppers more, and I love all 3 pretty much equally. The squash is nice and sweet, and I like it slightly cool on a hot day. The other two go great with my grilled cheese sandwiches and are good with a little diced green onion or shallot mixed in, or some shredded cheese.

Um. I think my crazy is showing, just a sec...

Ok.

They also have smaller boxes of creamy corn, and some ginger thing that I tried. Not so good as soups, but pretty good as a sauce on roast chicken and rice.

OH LOOK! There's one called Creamy Roasted Carrot. I'm going to have to try that!

There's my crazy again...dammit!

Diapers

We need BSG diapers, so we don't have to take bathroom breaks during episodes and risk missing critical seconds of BSG greatness.

Also, apparently some car company is in with the Cylons, the background is just like the lights when the final 5 were revealed to the 3's.

I really need to pee right now.

Reflections

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

Wow, I needed this today. I've had a pretty rotten day (week, month, etc.). I went to my local coffee shop for a sandwich and picked up a book off the shelf, thinking the sandwich would take awhile to be ready. I was wrong, the food came quick, but I still stayed for nearly an hour because the book was so good!

These poems made me feel sentimental, open. They are honest, humorous, and intense in their simplicity. I was halfway through and almost walked to the counter to ask if I could keep the book. I changed my mind, and returned it to the shelf. Everyone deserves to read this book, I can buy my own copy.

Happy Hatchday!

The little card that described the birdy in the cage said he was hatched on 20 April 2007. It also called him Sonny. A year later, he has a better name, a willing servant/playgym, and the gift of flight.

Here are a few pictures I took of Rigel this month. There are more on my flickr account.

Goo Bath

I fully expect Cally Tyrol to wake up in a goo bath.

That is all.

It's 5 o'clock....now!

Oh. it. is. so. FINALLY. The Weekend.

This week has been stressful. It started with registration and scheduling problems, and therefore stressing over my finances. The Husband filed his taxes, and we decided to file separately because I didn't have my W-2 ready. Also, he has had some breathing problems while running, and the chest x-ray showed cause for concern. The CT scan results are pending. I spent all day yesterday studying for a physics test, but still felt lost this morning when faced with Lenz' Law.

I went to the nearby H&R Block this afternoon, where they did a great job for me. I'm getting back way more than I thought, actually ALL of what I payed in last year. Very nice. Turns out I won't have to use my considerable "skills" to put myself through college. Not this year, anyway. This also means Rigel gets a play stand, long overdue, and I get to come home for a week or two in late June (probably).

So...yeah...It's 5 o'clock right ....now. Last week I set some strawberries to soak in some lemon vodka. Today, I added the lemonade. Much of this post might not make sense. I'm okay with that.

Also, there's sake, but I want to be mostly-conscious for tonight's episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures (AMANDA YOU MUST WATCH THIS!!!!!) and Battlestar (also this, but you knew that already, (holy shit they're going to unbox the 3's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)).

Um. Yeah. Strawberry Lemon Vodka Yumminess.

WE'RE GOING THE WRONG WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I swear the director told her, "play this one like a 3 year old in a tantrum" FUN!)

TJ: "Special", Has No Class.

I've been told that before, I just never knew it was official. I am "Special," and I have "No Class." Actually, it has been fixed now, and I am officially a non-special Senior. Still, today was stressful. After re-re-rethinking my English minor, and this Professional Writing specialization, and talking to several people , and getting special permission and exceptions for a bunch of stuff, I am finally registered for both Summer and Fall. I'll be full-time in the fall, because otherwise I will start donating blood plasma get a job to cover my expenses. I might still get a job with the VA this summer, which might put any going-home plans in jeopardy. We'll see.

Cinnamon Rolls

My recipe is at RecipeZaar.com, unfortunately I keep getting an error when I try to access it. So sad. I made a new batch tonight, and tweaked it a bit and they are even better. I rolled the dough out much thinner, which meant I made two different rolls. One was honey-caramel and apple butter inside, and the other was sugar and apple butter. They are much more like cinnamon rolls now, instead of whole-grain bread with some flavoring. Here's the recipe, with a few changes from the original. Also, now with pictures!

10-Grain Honey-Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Time: 2 hours or more-ish.
Makes: 12-35, depending on how thin you roll them and how thick you cut them.

Dough:
10-Grain Bread Mix (Bob's Red Mill)
yeast packet (included)
3 tbs olive oil
1 1/4 cup warm tap water
Extra flour for kneading

All further measurements are approximate, that's just how I roll. (get it? haha)
Filling:
3 tbs soft butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/4 cup apple butter
1/2 tbs warm water to seal

Caramelized Honey Topping:
1/4 cup honey
1 tbs butter (optional)
dash cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tbs vanilla extract

Directions:
Honey Topping:
Make while the dough is rising. Ingredient amounts are VERY rough and to taste. Add honey, cinnamon, and butter to small saucepan and heat on medium for 5-10 minutes, watching that it doesn't boil over. It will darken alot. Remove from heat and allow to cool until it is the consistency of regular warm caramel, cool enough that you can dip a skewer in and taste. Add vanilla to taste. You may not want any at all, but straight honey is to strong for me, and the vanilla mellows it nicely. You may want to warm it a little to drizzle it into the buns, but don't get it too hot.

Dough Per package directions:
Add the yeast packet to the mix. Add the oil and water and mix until combined. Using the extra flour, knead for 8-10 minutes. Place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 90 minutes.

Deviate from package directions (as per my usual behavior):
Punch down dough and roll thinly into a rectangle, or divide into two and then roll out. Keeping everything an inch away from the top edge so the batter will seal later, Spread the soft butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, drizzle some honey topping, and spread apple butter. Roll tightly away from you toward the top edge. Lightly wet the top edge and seal the roll. Turn the roll onto so the seal is down and cut into individual rolls with a bread knife. Place approximately 1/2 inch apart in greased pan. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Butter the tops lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until not squishy inside. Drizzle with more topping and allow to cool 15 minutes.

Devour warm.

Hints: Leave enough honey to dip the rolls in.

These aren't exactly light and fluffy, the whole grain gives it a crunchiness, but mine were still moist underneath. I think these will make a fairly healthy breakfast bun, good with coffee.
Before Baking:


After:

Boys Are Cute

I got a call this morning that the blood test came back, and Rigel is a boy. That's good, because it means we won't have to worry about issues like egg binding. I was pretty sure he was a he anyway, because male birds are known for having more vibrant colors than females.

Also, his birthday is this month.

Just sayin'.

Some Crappy Original Poetry

Today I walked half a mile in my own shoes,
Through the park and to the playground.
She asked if I would like to play.
Suddenly, I wished I was eleven years old,
for the first time since I was ten.

I walked half a mile in my own shoes
until I became, for a moment, myself.

Only 20 Percent?

Created by OnePlusYou

Around 20% of the pages on your website contain cussing.This is 150% MORE than other websites who took this test.

Do they count things like "I fraking love The Battlestar Galactica!!!!!!!!!!!!!"? If not, their count is off.


Also, please watch this cute and serious little video about body image that I found via Shapely Prose

I may be excited.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S FINAL SEASON STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

I made some fairly kick-ass cinnamon rolls last night, mostly from scratch, which took nearly 4 hours. The recipe should be up at RecipeZaar.com eventually, and when that happens I will post a link. They're made with a 10-Grain bread mix, and I've eaten 6 so far, so I may never poo again. I'll let you know.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S FINAL SEASON STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

Rigel is cute and cuddly, and only has 2 more flight feathers to grow out. I'll take some pictures this weekend so you can see how pretty blue they are. We went through a bit of bloody ordeal at the vet because I wanted to find out his real gender, and they did that while trimming his toenails. He was such a good bird, though. We find out in about a week, and I'm trimming his nails myself from now on.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S FINAL SEASON STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

I have a Calculus test tomorrow morning. I am fairly unprepared, but there will be more studying this afternoon. For real. No seriously. Oh shut up, you never believe me. :P

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S FINAL SEASON STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

School is generally good right now. I'm still waffling on what to do this summer, but I'm probably taking Medieval Lit and Technical Writing during Second Summer. That fills my advanced requirement for the minor, and I just need one more course. I can wait and hope that the new Professional Editing course doesn't conflict with my Physics schedule when/if it comes available. If it doesn't then I can always stick an easy lit class in my schedule and be done. I think that's the plan, but I still have to run it by my Advisor.

Oh , also, in case you were unaware, the best show currently on television will start its final season tomorrow. I'm kinda excited.