Random Access

Weekends. Gotta luv ’em.

I was able to sleep in, visit some friends and “family” and just plain hang out.

For the first time in months – We went bowling! And we saw some PRIME examples of “What Not To Do To or With Your Hair” at the bowling alley. It was like stepping into Mullets ‘R’ Us! We even saw Skullet Claus; he was probably taking a low-profile breather before his big December rush. And some of the things that some of the people wore….. *shiver* After bowling, we went to Denny’s, not our “usual after-bowling-Denny’s,” though. We went to “Ghetto Denny’s” where we were treated to more fashion and follicle casualties. We’re so lucky… and me without the digicam. Oh well.

Tomorrow: Park City.

Peace.

Twas another good day:

• Gym.
• Work.
• “Hearts in Atlantis”.
• Home.

“Hearts in Atlantis” is the new Anthony Hopkins movie that is based on a Stephen King story. It was not the “Cujo” or “Christine” or “It” kind of Stephen King; more like “The Green Mile” meets “Stand By Me” style. It’s a good movie – I recommend it. The story is (fairly) simple and features characters with believable mannerisms and idiosyncrasies… in other words: “They’re human.”

It’s the weekend, finally. I’m still trying to decide if I want to go to RMR tomorrow night to see the jet car drags. Decisions, decisions. Regardless, Sunday will be spent in Park City. I [heart] the weekend. But for now, bedtime.

Peace.

All-in-all, a pretty good day.

• Gym.
• Work.
• Home.

Nothing really unusual or special happened. Imagine that.

I did get an AIM message from my sister: They’ve given her a (or “yet another”) departure date – 21 Oct. This is the third, if I remember correctly, pushed-back date that they have given her. At this rate, I’ll be on Social Security before she leaves.

And now…. Quotes of the Day

• “The sun shines on a dog’s ass, too” is a saying that we use when someone – usually someone that you would NEVER expect – has fortune and/or fate smile on them. Of course, this is also known as “dumb luck.” Dee and I were talking about… something yesterday (Wed), and he retorted to a comment of mine with: “You are the sun on a dog’s ass.”
• Today, we were talking about a few things and wound up on the subject of pets and exactly who belongs to whom in the pet/owner relationship. We both have cats, which led to: “Anything that you allow to live in your house and to shit in a box and YOU have to clean it up, it owns you. Good point.
• Kristen, another co-worker, called a guy in the “no talking” section (yes, we have talking/no talking sections there) “Queen of the hypocrites,” for telling her to be quiet…. and then proceeding to have a conversation of his own. I did mention that he was in the “no talking” section, right?

That about wraps it for today. More later.

Peace.

It’s come to my attention that this journal has a few more readers/viewers/whatever than I had thought. This was a bit of a shock… but all-in-all, it’s pretty cool to think that people find this interesting enough to check out on a (semi-) regular basis. Just a couple of points that I’d like to make for new readers:

• This is a repository of things that I have thought about, felt, or had blowing across the corners of my mind… along with the wind.
• Since you can’t hear inflection and intonation on here, I’ll let you in on a secret: While I am fairly serious about 95% of what’s written here, there is also a pretty large “tongue-in-cheek” factor… so keep that in mind.
• If you choose to read this, remember: You do so of your own volition. If you are offended by anything, I repeat: “ANYTHING” that you read here, please use the “Post Comment” link at the bottom of each posting. If you agree, disagree, or just want to tell me “piss off,” please do so. NOTE: If you are posting from the web (and are not a LiveJournaler), your comment will be posted “anonymously.” If you choose to remain anonymous, that’s your prerogative, otherwise leave your name/initials/alias in the body of your response.

::: gets down from his soapbox :::
Okay…. on to what I was originally going to write about two days ago…

The California Trip
I have been to Walt Disney World (all four of the Florida parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney/MGM and Animal Kingdom) three times. Each of those trips had their respective disastrous points. I was hoping to break the streak on this trip. I am glad to say: I DID!!!! Best Disney trip to date! And that is including the 20-odd people that we had in our group – Jess’ mom’s side of the family got together in Cali to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa E’s 50th (yes, I said “50th“) wedding anniversary.

Tuesday Night/Wednesday
I stayed up all night Tuesday to finish getting things together. Kind of like staying up on Christmas Eve…. We got to the airport early – 5:45 for a 7:30 flight – and the signs of the increased airport security measures were apparent:

• No one waiting around at the curbs.
• I.D. checks at the counters and gates
• NO ONE, other than airport staff, flight crews and passengers beyond the security checkpoint.

And, that’s where one thing concerned me: the security checkpoint. I had five (5) electronic devices in my backpack – laptop, Palm Pilot, phone, CD player and digicam…. not to mention all of the necessary wires/cables. I expected to spend a few minutes unloading most, if not all, of them and proving that they were in fact what they seemed to be. Nope. Nothing of the sort. I put the bag on the x-ray scanner conveyor, they ran it through, I picked up the bag on the other side and headed for the gate. That didn’t exactly instill me with a lot of hope for THAT part of the new security measures. Sandi’s brother (the one who lives in SLC) and his kids were on our flight out and back; the flight to Las Vegas was uneventful (translation: “I slept on this flight.“). I did take an opportunity to call home and mention that I was in Las Vegas to my sister – the one who’s joining the Peace Corps and heading to the Ukraine for two years. Mean, maybe, but it’s the privilege of being the older brother. The flight to L.A. was equally uneventful (translation: “I slept on this flight, too.“) The most memorable thing about being at LAX – the lady waiting next to us for the shuttle bus. SHRILL VOICE!!! *GAH* She was yelling at her husband about why wasn’t the bus there already to pick them up; poor guy – he looked so…. um…. sullen. We got our vans, checked into the hotel, and then……

DISNEYLAND!!!
As I’ve mentioned before: I’m an overgrown Toys ‘R’ Us kid. And there is “something” about being in the Disney parks that brings out the kid in everyone… I’m proud to say that I am no exception to that! And it was FUN!!! And I put in a fair bit of time over this trip to get pics with as many of the Disney characters as I could!

Thursday
We piled into the vans (another of Sandi’s other brothers and his family arrived at the hotel Wednesday afternoon – I met a lot of people for the first time on this trip) and drove to Sandy Eggo to go to Sea World – another verra cool place. In fact, my phone liked it so much that it decided to spend a few extra days there! (It’s on the way home now.)

Friday and Saturday
MORE Disneyland and California Adventure AND dinner at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney AND…. the Lego Store! They had a full-sized Darth Vader and R2-D2, both made entirely of Lego, in the store. There was even a full-sized Lego giraffe there. Someone had WAAAY too much free time on their hands. Also, Sandi’s sister and her family arrived Saturday night. Have I mentioned that I met a lot of people in a relatively short time on this trip?

Sunday
FOOTBALL!!! Yes, even on vacation, I like to watch some gridiron action. We went to breakfast and then piled into the vans (again) for a ride to Corona, CA to Sandi’s third brother’s house; this was my first time meeting him and his family, too. Do you see a pattern here? This is where we spent the day and had the anniversary party.

Monday
We checked out of the hotel and took one of Jess’ sisters (and her boys) to the airport. And… at LAX, you have to take departing passengers to one of the vacant parking lots (monitored by LAPD and airport security) where they board shuttle buses that take them to the terminal. From there, we went to Santa Monica… and, for the first time in over 20 years, I got to wade in the Pacific Ocean. We returned our van and shuttled to back LAX – where, again, no one asked me anything about all of the electronics in my bag. *sigh* But, they did ask for I.D. at three places – the ticket counter, just before the metal detectors and at the gate. Again, we were a BIT early, so waited for the plane. A short while later, we boarded and flew home… and again, I slept on the flight.

This was a GREAT trip. I did mention that “best Disney trip to date” part earlier, didn’t I? And I want to reiterate something that I said Monday night – If you get a chance to go to Disneyland/California Adventure, get on the “Soaring over California” ride in California Adventure!!! This is, without a doubt, THE BEST flight/motion simulator that I have ridden!

*WHEW* Now that I have gotten all of that out, it’s Miller Ti…. no….. it’s Howdy Doody Ti… no, that’s not it either. *DUHR* I got it….. it’s bedtime.

Peace.

Here it is, a groove slightly transfo…. Hmm. No, that’s not what I meant to say.

::: ahem :::

Here it is, a rare mid-day posting. (Yup, THAT’s what I was after.) Just wanted to post a few not-as-random-as-they-may-seem thoughts.

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.” – “Hamlet” – Shakespeare
———————-
“Each of us,
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that’s far too fleet.” – “Freewill” – Rush
———————-
“Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts.” – “Emotion Detector” – Rush
———————-
“A memo to a higher office
Open letter to the powers that be
To a god, a king, a head of state
A captain of industry
To the movers and the shakers…
Can’t everybody see?

“It ought to be second nature
I mean, the places where we live
Let’s talk about this sensibly
We’re not insensitive
I know progress has no patience
But something’s got to give

“I know you’re different
You know I’m the same
We’re both too busy
To be taking the blame
I’d like some changes
But you don’t have the time
We can’t go on thinking
It’s a victimless crime
No one is blameless
But we’re all without shame
We fight the fire while we’re feeding the flames

“Folks have got to make choices
And choices got to have voices
Folks are basically decent
Conventional wisdom would say
But we read about the exceptions
In the papers every day

“It ought to be second nature
At least, that’s what I feel
Now I lay me down in Dreamland
I know perfect’s not for real
I thought we might get closer
But I’m ready to make a deal

“Today is different, and tomorrow the same
It’s hard to take the world the way that it came
Too many rapids keep us sweeping along
Too many captains keep on steering us wrong
It’s hard to take the heat
It’s hard to lay blame
To fight the fire while we’re feeding the flames” – Second Nature – Rush
———————-
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!” – “If” – Rudyard Kipling

Man, talk about a Rush-track…uh… I mean “one-track” mind. Oh well, as Bobby Brown put it, so eloquently: “It’s my prerogative.” Anyway, it’s nearly worktime, I’d better bounce.

Peace.

Words can be very powerful and pervasive.

Words can be used to build or destroy, as can both the closed fist or the open hand. A closed fist can be used to pummel or hurt, but it can also be used to carry or protect. An open hand can grasp or gently touch… and it can be used to strike.

Often, we forget that words have that same ability. I was reminded of this today.

Something to think about.

Peace.

Back behind the Zion Curtain.

The trip was GREAT! I think that I have finally broken “The Curse of the Disney Trips!” Yes, after three less-than-stunning (overall) trips to Walt Disney World, I have had my best Disney trip ever this past weekend.

I was wrong about one thing though: I’m not going to do the full recap tonight. THAT will wait until tomorrow night.

Have I mentioned “best Disney trip ever” yet? Just wanted to make sure. Because it was. I will say this: If you are planning a trip to Disneyland, make absolutely certain that you get a Park Hopper Pass and go to Disney’s California Adventure – they have a ride/attraction there called “Soaring over California” that is… well, it’s simply the best flight/motion simulator that I have been on.

Ok, enough of this for now, it’s about time to hit the rack – gym and work will be here early.

Peace.

He knew that it was coming, but he didn’t fear it. He embraced it. Only two things stood between him and his goal: 1,000 miles and time. He smiled, roguishly, as he thought, “This is a good day. A good day indeed.” He turned off the lights and closed the door…

Only a few more hours and I will be in California.

I’m going back to Cali… to Cali… to Cali…
Umm, sorry about that. I thought that I had a better rein on this ready-to-go-on-vacation thing. Guess it wasn’t as tight as I thought. I’ll work on that. All-in-all, it was a good day: Gym. Work. Home. I was part of an off-site training class. It was both informal and informative; this is a nice combination. I think that it’s easier to learn things when it isn’t being crammed down your throat. I also talked to the ‘rents earlier, just to say “hi” and remind them that I will be airborne tomorning… and that I will call them when we get to L.A.
California Dreamin’…..
Dammit. I’m really sorry about that. *sigh* Otherwise, not a lot to report. On a more serious note, my friend Paul sent me a link to a site of pictures that show signs of the support that people around the world have offered in the wake of the WTC tragedy.Take a look.

I’m not sure if I’ll be posting over the next few days or if I’ll just keep a running tally of the trip and do a big post on Monday night. I’ll figure something out. Until then….

Peace.

This WOULD have been posted last night, but the servers were down for an update/upgrade…

Monday. I guess that you have to get through them to get on with the rest of the week. Oh, well. This leaves me only two days – or one day and a wake-up – from California. Can you say “Disneyland and Sea World,” boys and girls? I can. Six… count ’em 6… days of non-Postal, California bliss. And this will be my first trip to California in over 20 years; we were in Lake Tahoe, CA last October, but we were only there for a couple of hours. Sure, “it counts,” but it’s not the same thing…

Work was… umm… “something.” We were sent to lunch early. Yay. I was SO excited, in fact, that I didn’t even eat. Otherwise, things were pretty normal… until 6 PM. The senior managers called an impromptu meeting.

Theory: Good. Practical Application: Bad.While I understand, and even commend, the reasons for having the meeting, I think that the tone of it could have been handled differently/better. It set the mood for the rest of my day – IRRITATED. But, I got over it. On the “plus” side, I even managed to get a couple of Quotes of the Day from Dee:

• While talking to another friend of ours, Rick, their conversation turned to Gary Coleman. Yes that Gary Coleman. Dee then talked about an interview that he had read about the former child-star, in which he mentioned that he was a 31-year-old virgin. One thing lead to another and they hypothesized on the whys and wherefores of that. A little banter was tossed back and forth and Dee turned to Rick and said: “Gary Coleman’s a freak…. and you’re just very unattractive.” We all laughed; many a young lady at work has commented about just how attractive Rick is. But it was a good spur-of-the-moment jibe.
• Dee had made a joke or some intended-to-be-funny comment, and then looked at me and saw me wearing my impassive look. He stared for a couple of seconds, turned back to his terminal and let fly with “I’m going to help myself to a serving of shut-the-fuck-up. THIS got a laugh. From both of us.

After work, Jess and I headed down to her parents’ for a bit. I helped edit another of Brian’s papers and we picked up the infamous digicam for the Cali trip – Sandi is about ready to punt it into the canal again. Under the heading of “good thing,” I’m pretty sure that we are going to wind up buying it from them. We left there and picked up some Chinese food on the way home. And, since we’re leaving in… :::does the math::: … just over 30 hours, I even (mostly) packed tonight.

“…and that’s all the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, the men are good-looking and the children are above average.”

Peace.

Quiet and restful day.

I was awakened by a phone call from my uncle in New York. He just called to check on Jess and me and to make sure that we are well. I have the coolest family in the world. All is well, the current disaster aside, with him; this is always a “good thing” in my book.

Jess went to have coffee with Angie around 2:30, leaving me here with the cats. I took this time to be domestic – I cleaned the my bathroom. A little Pine-Sol®, Windex®, and elbow grease later, it was as good as new.

We were invited – and went – to (co-worker) Gary and Colleen’s for dinner; we also met one of their sons’ girlfriends, Eri – a grad student at the U of U. They provided a wonderful cook-out meal. Of course, since Gary, Jess and I work together, the conversation drifted into shop talk a few times… but we did manage to steer it back into the realms of normal topics. They were delightful hosts and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We will have to return the favor soon.

Sleepy-bye-time now for gymtime comes soon. I pseudo-challenged Gary to come to the gym tomorning… wonder if he will make it.

Saturday. Did I mention that I like having days off? I do. LOTS. Didn’t really do a lot today, and I was FINE with that.

It seems that the networks have relinquished their iron-fisted grip on their local affiliates. This meant: I got to watch the Sisko Show tonight!!! Watching that and reading today’s haul from the comic shop were a nice way to spend part of the day. Sometimes, it really is the simple pleasures that can make one happy.

I had lunch with Angie at The Outback. Can you say “Prime Rib,” boys and girls? I can.

Prime Rib GOOOD! ::: handgesture :::After that, I headed down to the inlaws’ for a bit. Jess has the second coolest parents in the world. And I’m not just saying that because Sandi fixed spaghetti for dinner. Honest! It isn’t!!!

Other than that, it was a fairly quiet day… just the way a Saturday should be.

Peace.

And then, there was Friday…

Gym.
Work.
Trip to Borders with Angie.
Home.

I have a few confessions to make:

• I am getting a bit weary of the 24-hour coverage of the WTC/Pentagon attacks. I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that more often than not, we are just getting rehashed information – or even speculation – of things that we heard the day of and the day after. Don’t misunderstand me, I am interested in hearing about important breakthroughs and rescues, but I think that it is a little bit much to watch as EVERY piece of rubble is moved. That said, here’s the rub: I still find myself oddly compelled to watch it, albeit in small doses. Go figure.
• Another thing: How much can we learn from “analysts” who are “former special agents” with fill-in-the-agency-here? These people can discuss topics and procedures that were relevant when they were active agents, but the ones who are working the cases now – and have the pertinent facts/data – are the ones who aren’t at liberty to speak directly to the media; that’s where the public relations agents/ media liaisons come in and tell us the latest information – or as much of it as they can – with whatever spin and/or damage control is deemed necessary.
• Something that I did like: The National Memorial and Remembrance Service. I found the prayers, speeches, and the musical selections to be encouraging and uplifting. We didn’t get to see the service in its entirety this morning, but we got to see the parts that we missed when it was rebroadcast. It’s amazing – and a little bit sad – to see how a tragedy can unite diverse people and groups. Political parties. Religious beliefs. Ethnicity. None of those mattered. Everyone came together to say farewell and pay tribute to the deceased and the missing. It was, in my opinion, a wonderful sight to behold. If only they could come together so easily in times of peace… I think that it also spoke of the human spirit and its will to survive even under the most trying and adverse conditions. To quote Sarah McLachlan: “You’re in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here.”

::: gets down from soapbox :::

That covers it for now… thanks for listening once more.

Peace.

Something from Renderosity.com in memory of the WTC tragedy.

http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?Form.SortOrder=UserName&Start=1&Sectionid=25&WhatsNew=Yes

Peace.

Four days down, one to go… and, we are one day closer to Disneyland.

…and the crisis continues. There have been stories of miraculous rescues from the wreckage and rubble. This is good ,but there were still too many senseless deaths.

The day was fairly typical: Gym, work, home.

I have been trying to contact my best friend in Maryland…. to no avail. I did manage to talk to his sister today – turns out that he has moved and has a new number, which would explain the “The number you have dialed…” messages that I have been getting. I got the new number and will now have to read him the Riot Act for not calling or emailing me with the new info.

Other than that, there have been two noteworthy events here in the high desert today:

• I saw something tonight that was a welcome sight: Lights on an airplane landing at SLIA. The skies have been empty and silent, but this was a pleasant return to a more “normal” state; I think that I had taken seeing them overhead for granted.
• Two trains – one passenger, one freight – collided near the UT/NV border. Amazingly, all passengers and crew survived.

And that’s the news from Lake Wobeg…. no, that isn’t it. Lake Michiga…. no, not that one either. Hmm. Oh, yeah. Salt Lake City! That’s it! *duhr*

Peace.

Today wasn’t bad. Jess and I slept in, which put the kibosh on pre-work gymtime, but apparently we needed the rest.

Work today was much better, at least for me. I could think about the tragedy and without the numbness that I felt yesterday. In the Break Room, the monitors that normally show the Postal Vision® news and information feeds were tuned to one of the local news stations so that we could hear the updates and interviews. It’s still rather unbelievable. Surreal, even. The day passed fairly quickly. And it was Wednesday, so only 16 more work hours in the week.

Gymtime came after work. I had a good workout; I’m beginning to feel like I’m making progress again. FINALLY! It’s nice to see that I am nearing the levels of weight that I used to lift/press/whatever when I was working out a couple of years ago.

That’s about it; I’m going to watch some TV and veg for a while. More later.

Peace.