Random Access

After getting to bed somewhere around 4:00 this morning, I was up shortly after 9:30. Sissy’s milling around in the closet had something to do with it.

Didn’t do much after waking up, but I had the ideas of either heading to the park and flying my kite or going to Borders to work on a drawing. A couple of instant messages (to and ) later, and it was off to the park. The wind was decent, but sporadic: I could get the kite up, but it wouldn’t stay up for long (said the Actress to the Bishop). But, the fact that I finally took it somewhere and flew it was good enough. Gabe helped me fly the kite a couple of times… by holding on to the tail.

It was cute. It took me a couple of minutes to recognize what he was doing: He was emulating what he saw me doing with the string. If I waved the string, he would wave the tail. If I held or moved my arm a certain way while working with the string, he would do the same thing… as best a two-year-old could mimic it, anyway.

brought Chiana, her Rhodesian Ridgeback. She’s a very friendly – and happy – dog. And she was really great with Gabe, too. showed us some of the things that Chi has to do for competitions.

Home for a bit and then off to see Troy. I thought that it was all right. A little overdone in some areas. Glossed over parts of the story in others. But on the whole, it could have been worse. It could have been Clash of the Titans II. But it wasn’t. Thankfully.

Until next time…

Namaste.

I am feeling pretty much back to normal today.
Thanks to everyone who sent “get better soon” tidings.

I woke up this morning at 8:00 to get ready for a 9:00 ride up the Jordan River Parkway with and company. got here around 8:30 to take me (and my bike) up to 48th South, where we were meeting. We unloaded the bikes, exchanged pleasantries, and we were off. It was an excellent day for a ride: The weather was perfect (sunny with a light breeze) and there weren’t too many people on the trail.

We rode up to the International Peace Gardens (1, 2). Very neat place. I don’t think that any of us had been there before; I will definitely be going back. We decided not to go any further north on the trail as some of us had acquired flat tires along the way… and we didn’t have tools to change tires with us. Although, thanks to the foresight of , we at least had a pump.

The overall excursion lasted about three hours. It was definitely three hours well-spent.

After an revitalizing shower and a bite to eat, I’m trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my afternoon. It’s still (mostly) sunny out and there is still something of a breeze out there. I should take the kite out for a spin. Especially since I have yet to do so this season.

Namaste.

Friday
Yesterday afternoon, I took a few minutes to step outside and get some fresh air. The sun was out, the weather was moderately warm. It felt good. Just standing in the open air.

I took a moment to wonder if there was a slight chance whether there was any Kryptonian or Daxamite blood in my gene pool. Upon further thought, I hedged towards “no” – I haven’t worked up the gumption to see if I really am faster than a speeding bullet, I am more powerful than a locomotive… if it is N, HO, or G scale, and the only buildings over which I can leap in a single bound are made of Lego.

But it still felt good to be outside. And, to be honest: The whole invulnerability thing (except for Kryptonite or lead – for Daxamites – or supernatural attacks) would definitely be a perk. Flying… Do I really need to say anything there?

Around 8:00, I started feeling a lot more human. But, not in what I considered a “good” way. I started feeling achy. My stomach was upset or at least “unsettled.” And a headache decided to pay me a visit.

I stuck it out and watched CSI (and I forgot to tape the series finale of Frasier, go figure). But immediately after that was done, I drew a hot bath and proceeded to soak for the next hour-and-a-half. Sissy the Wonder Kitty came into the bathroom and kept me company for most of that time. The bath helped a bit with the aches, but it didn’t do much for the queasiness. A couple of Tums were dispatched. They helped somewhat.

I got on the computer to check my email and chat with a few people, but around 11:00, I was still feeling run-down, so I decided to call it an early night. A typical “early night” for me is somewhere around 1:00 AM. I was in bed and bundled in covers by 11:30 PM. When I say “early,” I mean “early.”

Sleep was fitful and restless. I woke up often. The aches had returned and my stomach had still not decided whether or not it wanted to settle down. And I could not seem to get comfortable in bed. Sometime shortly before sunrise, I got out of bed and stretched out in the HALO Command Center. This came under the heading “Good Idea, Bad Idea.” It was good in that I was able to get nominally comfortable. It was bad in that the hum of the computers’ fans – which usually do not bother me – were an irritating distraction from my attempts to return to The Dreaming. I left the HCC and went into the living room. I climbed into the Big Comfy Chair, wrapped my blanket around me and drifted off into sweet oblivion.

Jess woke me up around 9:00. I wasn’t quite as achy and my stomach wasn’t as disagreeable as it had been when I laid down. I wasn’t going to tempt fate by trying to eat anything just yet, but I felt a bit better.

So far, I’ve felt pretty good today. My diet has consisted of crackers (mmm, bland) and Gatorade (because I’ve been feeling a bit dehydrated.) I might try eating something more substantial around dinnertime.

I still wouldn’t mind having a bit of the Kryptonian or Daxamite DNA in my genome, though.

Namaste.

Happy Birthday to:

Thursday
Yesterday wasn’t bad for the first day back at work after vacation.

Last night, , , , , Dave W. and I got together for an off-week coffee at Cocoa Caffè. We had a good time; when they closed, Dave invited us over to his place to hang out.

Home.

Stray Toasters

• Fragments from Wednesday conversations:
  

  [17:38] : telekinetic music powers have we
  [17:39] : Telepathic, too. 🙂
  [17:39] : I’d be too dangerous with teke.
  [17:39] : FAR too dangerous.
  [17:39] : I’d mess with people… just because I could.
  [17:40] : Nothing major.
  [17:40] : Just enough to make them go…
  [17:40] : O_o
  [17:40] : o_O
  [17:40] : @_@

  [12:36] : You should never get a boyfriend, Rob 🙂
  [12:36] : They’re silly
  [12:36] : I’ll keep that in mind. 🙂

  [12:37] : http://www.squidi.net/index.php Yay squidi!
  [12:38] : Oh! So last night B’s playing Tenchu, and I’m watching for a bit. And I decide Ninja missionaries must be drawn
  [12:39] : hahahahah

• Utah weather. Unpredictable.
• Even though I like Halle Berry and I like the current (comics) incarnation of Catwoman, there have been too many negative things that I have seen about the upcoming film that have made me decide not to see it. This is the most recent:
  

  Still devastated by her shattered marriage, heart-broken Halle Berry is having to deal with a deluge of negative criticism for her latest film, Catwoman.

  The buzz on the film, set for its American release this July, has been so bad that Halle missed last month’s film industry convention ShoWest – even though she was supposed to be honoured as Female Star of the Year, says the National Enquirer.

  Her rep blames an ear infection for the no-show but an insider at ShoWest said: “Early online trailers of Catwoman have been pulled and they’re sending cease-and-desist letters to Web sites that were playing it.

  “Everyone is really embarrassed by it – especially Halle.”

  http://www.irishexaminer.com

  I do believe that comes under the heading of “inauspicious.”

• In “Get Over It” news: New Swatch Ad Features Rabbits in Sexual Positions
• Do you like Lego? (Let’s be honest: Who doesn’t!?)
  Do you have a little time to kill and an Internet connection?
  Play!

• The Periodic Cicada is returning to Maryland. The last time that they were there was 1987, the year I graduated from high school. Our graduation was outdoors. Go figure. Fortunately, the bugs weren’t bad around the area where Commencement was held. Of course, that could be due in large part to the citronella lanterns that circled the perimeter.
• And a healthy *shakes fist* to for teaching the fine art of B*goink!

Quote of the Day
Dave W: “Big butt hickeys.”

Time to go save the world again!

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• Halo 2 has an official release date: 09 November 04.
• Speaking of the Master Chief, if you have some seriously disposable income send it to me, you can get your own suit of armor like the Chief wears.
• Art of the Saber
  

  A light saber fight sequence with the flavor of a Hong Kong martial arts action movie. This short is set in a dense forest of an unknown planet, where a young Jedi, eager to fight to help the Revolution, clashes with a Sith Lord in a battle where only one will remain standing. Music by Hans Zimmer and a monologue extracted from an authentic Civil War love letter written in 1861, help to set the tone for this

  This has been out for a while, but I saw it for the first time last week. It’s a beautiful piece of work.

• Fast Times at Hero High
  

  Superheroes weren’t always super. See what they were like in high school in this spoof on Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

  I came across this on C2F Cinema. Very funny.

• The Top 16 Rejected Commandments
• What Kind of Drunk Are You?
• By way of : 1/64 Fast 1/64 Furious
• Also from Nyx: This
• There’s something about Weezer’s videos that are different and refreshing. From Buddy Holly to Keep Fishin’, they have found creative ways to mate their videos with their music.
• Thanks to for this.
• : She can kick Batman’s ass; she did kick Batman’s ass.
  Move along.

• And while I’m on the topic of the Justice League, I don’t think that words can express how disturbed (yet oddly amused) I am by this.

And now, I’m off to save the world!

Tuesday
I had a great vacation. But I’m more tired now than I was when I left. Go figure. That’s why I’m taking a “recovery day.”

A few more things about this past weekend:

• I forgot to mention that Kris, who graduated Summa Cum Laude, tied for seventh-highest GPA in her graduating class.
  

• Mom arranged two “events” (best word I could think of) for Kris: A cook-out at home on Saturday afternoon and a reception on Sunday at Grandover Resort. *sigh* Mom doesn’t half-step when she’s planning get-togethers. I received a surprise of my own at the Grandover: She and my uncle asked me to propose a toast for Kris. *jawdrop* Quite an honor.
• Sunday morning, I went to church with Mom and the (partially extended) family-unit. It was the church that I used to attend and where Mom plays occasionally (she plays primarily for another church). I didn’t burst into flames when I walked in, so I took that as a good sign.
• Sunday night, I met and Backwash columnist ADeadHeart.
  First, I headed to Chapel Hill and met up with . He took me to Peppers, a pizzeria that reminded me of The Pie here in SLC. We had pizza and beer – they even have a specialty pizza there called the “Geddy Lee,” which had; I had one called “Slaughterhouse Five’ (meat lover’s pizza)” He took me on a brief walking tour of the UNC campus and then to Top of the Hill. Apple Chill Chocolate Porter GOOOD!!!

  Then, it was off to Greensboro to meet up with ADeadHeart. She was DJ’ing at B.G. McGee’s; I caught her towards the end of her set. She was playing a lot of old school. Stuff I haven’t heard in years. *nod* Twas good. Very good. We talked for a bit; she’s funny and made me laugh quite a bit.

• I woke up a little later than I had planned yesterday, but I had the foresight to do most of my packing Sunday afternoon before I went out. We headed to Greensboro to take my uncle to the airport and stopped for lunch on the way. We got to the ticket counter twenty-five minutes before his flight left… and the agent wouldn’t let him board the flight. He wound up waiting for an hour until the next flight to NYC. He wasn’t very happy about this. Mom and I headed to Raleigh so that I could make my flight. Traffic wasn’t bad and we had plenty of time to get there. We even made a couple of shopping stops on the way – if you knew my mother, you’d understand.
• Flight One: RDU – ATL: Delays due to weather, but only about 00:20. And I still had an hour to kill in Atlanta. I went to TCBY and Starbucks; one of the attendants at Starbucks said that I reminded him of Michael Boatman.
• Flight Two: ATL – SLC: Holding pattern over Fairfield, UT. Back in Salt Lake City. I skipped the in-flight movie and finished up the Wonder Woman piece that I’ve been working on over the past couple of weeks.
  
  (Source pic)

Now I need to do post-work on the pics that I took. But, I can do that later this evening. If not this weekend. *shrug*

Stray Toasters
Maybe later this evening I’ll post some.

Back to relaxing.

Namaste.

I’ve returned to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.
More later.

Namaste.

Vacations are never long enough; nor do you seem to get quite enough rest on them. I didn’t get to do everything that I might have wanted, but it’s been a great trip. And I got to see my family and a few of my friends.

In a little over 12 hours, I’ll be back behind the Zion Curtain. I have a five o’clock flight, but we’re getting ready to leave now – my uncle’s flight leaves at 1:30… from a different airport.

But, at least I know that I’ll escape again in November.
If not before then.

Blue skies and gentle landings to all.

Sunday
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there.

Lots to say, but almost no time to say it.
I’ve been gone most of the day… and I am about to hit the road again.
Next stop: Chapel Hill.

No rest for the wicked.

*bamf*

After too little sleep and far too little coffee, we headed to Kris’ Commencement ceremony.

It was in Winston-Salem, about 40 miles from here, as the crow flies. For some reason, we took the “scenic” route there – two-lane “highways” through a couple of small towns. There was a small caravan of us; it didn’t help that Kelvin (a student of Mom’s when she taught in MD and a member of our extended family) and I got separated from the group when we stopped for gas. Not horribly separated, only a couple of miles.

We got to the Joel Coliseum, found parking and went inside. We came in on the opposite side of where the rest of our group was. It wasn’t a long walk, though. Played musical chairs for a bit and waited for the graduation to begin.

::: insert standard graduation comments here :::

The speaker was Dr. Mae Jemison.; she gave a very good speech.

We came back a different way – and wound up beating everyone else home. And that even includes a stop at Bojangle’s for a Cajun Filet Biscuit. (And thus, another “Thing to Do While Home” item gets checked off…)

Now, we’re just killing time until the reception/party starts. Theoretically, that’s in 00:30; I’m hedging more towards an hour.

More later.

Pax.

Friday
I slept in this morning… Big surprise there.

I didn’t do much during the early part of the day:

• Taking Mom to pick up her car
• Picking up and helping set up some tables and chairs for Kris’ reception/party tomorrow afternoon.
• Visiting my former 5th Grade teacher and chatting with him for an hour or so.

I met Don, Christine and Young Mister Thomas for dinner at Anton’s Italian Cafe. Very tasty food. (And, once again: Non-Utah beer! It was tasty, too.) While at dinner, I got a call from Mom asking me to run an errand for her. I bitched (half-heartedly) and did it. I then went over to Christine and Don’s for a while.

I left their place with a craving.

For Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
(I’m in the heart of Krispy Kreme land. Do the math.)

I stopped at the local Krispy Kreme shop, picked up an assorted dozen and motored home. My uncle flew in from New York this evening; he and an old co-worker of Mom’s from Baltimore were here when I got in. It was nice to see and chat with them for a bit.

It doesn’t sound like I did much today – and I didn’t – but it was a good day.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting: I’m going to have to be up in a little over 5 hours to get ready for the Commencement Exercises… then back here to help with some of the prep work for the party… then whatever else comes up.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to take the latter part of the evening for myself and get some more visiting in. Speaking of which… : Drop me a text message and let me know when we’re going to get together for that beer.

Stray Toasters

• Green. Lots and lots of green.
• Build Your Own Jet Engine
  and , I have five words for you:
  “Jump jets. Death from above.”

• Comcast has apparently fired the entire TechTV staff. Details here: (1, 2)
• Would these be called “Smart Shoes”?
• Krispy Kreme doughnuts. ‘Nuff said.
• After bitching about UDoT the other day, it’s only fair that I add NCDoT to my “Organizations That Could Use a Swift Kick in the Nads” list. There are a couple of projects here that have gone unfinished – better yet: “not even worked on”… for at least six months!

I’m going to take the next :45 and wind down. I hope.

Namaste.

Thursday
I. Am. Here.

…and I’ve already accomplished two items on the “Things to Do While Home” list:

• Get ribs from Oh! Brian’s
• Have a Red Oak (a local microbrew)

The flights out weren’t too bad. My only complaint is that I had a small child behind me on both legs of the trip… and both kids had a penchant for kicking the back of my seat. It was tolerable since it wasn’t a constant thing, but I did shoot one of the mothers a couple of crusty looks. She seemed to get the hint.

A friend of the family picked me up in Raleigh and drove me into Greensboro to meet up with my mother. He used to be a truck driver (and he is familiar with I-80 and I-15), so we talked about the differences in scenery here versus the far side of the Zion Curtain. And a few other things. I got lost in the “green” of the roadside; I have come to miss rolling hills and having trees around. (by “around” I mean “…not just on the mountains.”) *sigh*

We made it to GSO and hooked up with Mom; she had a couple of rehearsals this evening, so I took that time as an opportunity to call a couple friends in the area and make tentative plans to get together. After the rehearsals, we went to Oh! Brian’s to get something to eat. Ribs and Red Oak. Nothin’ wrong with that!

Home!
Kris (the sister who’s graduating) and two of her friends were here when we arrived. My ex-roommate, Theo, called and came over, as well. I think that I broke his head with some of the things that I told him about Utah. I’m trying to convince him that he should come visit and suffer experience it firsthand.

All-in-all, it’s been a great day.

Thanks to all of you who sent wishes of safe passage.

Namaste.

A nice thing – maybe the only nice thing – about an early flight: I got to see the sun rise over the mountains.

Bag is packed.
Itinerary is in the laptop case.
I’m up out this piece!

Namaste.

Wednesday
All-around good day.

Wait, that’s not entirely true. I was reminded of a long-dormant mantra this afternoon. One that I am sure that other motorists in this state have invoked MANY times over the past five-seven years: “Fucking UDoT!” They are repaving part of Redwood Road.

• In and of itself, this is a good thing.
• Doing at the beginning of the afternoon rush is not a good thing.

It took me nearly 20 minutes to go less than a mile. I was just on my way to get lunch, but I remember thinking,”I hope that no one is supposed to be at the REC in the next ten minutes…” Yep, it was a complete clusterfuck.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be on the way to Raleigh.
Tomorrow night, I’ll be sleeping in my old room.

Stray Toasters

• Retro Journal Entry: Use the Force…
  This and this made me laugh. Thanks, Nyx!

• : Click here.
• Museum of Tolerance: A Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Quentin Tarantino reveals almost everything that inspired Kill Bill
  (Contains spoilers!)

There was a poll that I wanted to add, but I forgot what some of the options would be, so it will have to wait.

I should finish packing so I can get some sleep.
And I should eat something, too. That would be good.

Namaste.