Monday – 17 March 2008
Happy Green Lantern Day.
(…or, for the traditionalists out there: Happy St. Patrick’s Day)
Today: Work.
Tonight: Garrison Keillor at Abravanel Hall.
Now, off to patrol Sector 2814.
Sunday – 16 March 2008
Today was a “sleep in and have a leisurely morning” kind of day. That was fine with me. When we did get up, SaraRules cooked breakfast and then we set about getting ready for our afternoon outing:
Cinderella (La Cenerentola), by Rossini
That’s right, kids: Opera. The production was a more traditional version of the Cinderella story; it was definitely not Disney – no glass slipper, no wicked stepmother and no singing/dancing animals.
There was a prince.
There were courtiers.
There was the prince’s teacher – who brought just a touch of magic to the affair.
(In fact, when we learned who he was, he reminded me of Punjab, from Annie.)
The production was a lot of fun.
During the intermission, I ran into a couple of people with/for whom I worked when I was a USPS employee: Mike and Dayna C. It was a pleasant surprise, as they were two of a very small number of managers for whom I enjoyed working. We chatted for a couple of minutes before it was time to go in for the second act.
After the opera, SaraRules and I had dinner at Biaggi’s. I had the Rigatoni alla Bolognese; SaraRules had the Penne Sardi. Both dishes were quite good. Drew, our waiter, was rather attentive and on-the-ball.
Back home to unwind and hang out. We watched a couple episodes of CSI: as we sorted through – and attempted to bring a measure of order to – some of my loose ‘Clix. I didn’t take into account that I need to pick up a few more divided containers. We also assembled the Clone Troopers Battle Pack and added it to the Luke Skywalker Pilot Maquette in the second display case. After we finished that, we tried…
…making soft pretzels. They should be done in a bit. I’ll make a note sometime tomorrow as to how good/bad they turned out.
And with that…
Ghost.
EDIT:Â Screw waiting until tomorrow…
We just tried the pretzels: They’re pretty damned good!
(Especially for our first try at this.)
Saturday – 15 March 2008
The turn signal has mysteriously decided to start working again. So, I’m thinking that I’ll take the car in Monday for its oil change.
Next stop: Coffee.
Zoom.
Friday – 14 March 2008
First off: Happy Hatching Day to
And, as
Now, on to our regularly scheduled programming.
After work, I stopped to say “Hi” to Kate, Perry and the kids on the way home. Then, it was on to Target to pick up a few things and then home. I got home a little after 8:30, figuring that I would catch the tail end of CSI: while I waited for dinner to cook. I need not have worried – it was a rerun. I channel-surfed while eating dinner. Then it was time to take it to the streets… of Paragon City. I ran a solo Vanguard mission and then joined an SG-mate and a few others for a 50+ mission. By the time I was done, I was over half-way to Security Level 47.
This morning, I got up to take the car in for an oil change and to get the driver’s side front turn signal assembly replaced. The first question Ian (the associate who usually handles my car service issues) asked was: “Can you leave it with us for a couple of hours?”
*blink blink*
The light assembly is mounted behind some restraining brackets and the bumper – which is why I’m not replacing it myself – but I didn’t think it was going to take quite that long. So, I rescheduled for tomorrow morning. Undaunted, I left the dealership and met Perry for pre-work coffee.
And it’s been snowing. Again. Yee-haw.
Stray Toasters
…and…
A… cardinal… who wants to be….
Oh, Hell… I if I have to explain it, just move 0n.
And, thanks to putting in some extra hours on the front end of the week, today will be an abbreviated work day. Amen.
Namaste.
Thursday – 13 March 2008
Tomorrow is International Pi Day.
It is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.
<< Rewind <<
Last night, after work, I stopped at Dr. Volt’s for my weekly fix. I also treated myself to a box of ‘Clix from the Justice League set. I picked up a couple of boxes, but one “felt” better that the other (i.e.: “it was heavier”). It was a good choice, too, because waiting inside was:
That’s right: Batman and Robin. At 138 points, it’s a pretty economical figure for the punch. The rest of the pack was alright, but after this seeing this piece, I felt satisfied with the purchase.
I did laundry, had a bite to eat, watched a little television and even got in some time in City of Heroes. There was an announcement about Issue 12: Midnight Hour. Apparently, it will be live fairly soon. I ran a mission for Vanguard against the Rikti. I did fine… until just before I got to the boss. Then I died. It feels like a really bad, recurring theme, I tell ya:
*sigh*
The good thing about being an Amenti (from the background I created for Nefer-Tem) is that death is relatively transitory. I resurrected, re-entered the mission, and took down the alien. Neat as a pin.
> Play >
Today has been good. It was drizzling when I left home this morning, so I opted not to wear my brown suede jacket. (Something about not wanting it to get water-damaged…) I wore, for the first time in a very long time, my double-breasted trenchcoat. And my fedora, of course. I had someone ask if I was trying to go for a Dick Tracy look. That made me chuckle, especially as it had never crossed my mind.
Workout
Today’s workout was a rehash of Tuesday’s workout:
Today’s pre-workout weight: 174.2 lbs.
It felt good to be able to do the Decline Press at 185 pounds and not have to change weights on each set. By the time I got to the third set, my arms were starting to burn; the 8th-10th reps weren’t stellar, but I was able to complete them.
Stray Toasters
That’s close enough for jazz.
Namaste.
Wednesday – 12 March 2008
Mid-week.
(As I typed that, I heard
Midnight, and it’s raining outside…
…the opening line from “Midnight,” by Yaz (Upstairs at Eric’s) run through my head.
I went to Chris and Mary’s, after work, to play dolls HeroClix with Chris. He wanted to test a couple of figures before he plays in a tourney next month; I wanted to try out a couple of new figures. He cleaned my clock, but I learned a few things about how to better use a couple of figures, including:
Chris was a little disappointed with the way the new Kyle Rayner figure plays, but I thought that it was alright. And we both agreed that WizKids should do an updated (read: “less underpowered”) John Stewart figure. *shrug* Maybe in the next set…
Today has been good. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary to report.
No sushi today.
No comics. Yet. But, soon… Soon…
Stray Toasters
And, just for the record: “Closer” and “Spelling Bee” are quite NSFW. You have been warned.
I adapted it from this image, which is part of the cover for the Incognegro graphic novel. And here is an article on the book, from The New York Times.
(click image for more information)
* Why did Utah name its capital, Fillmore, after the president (and the county it is in, Millard, too)? The Mormons wanted to join the U.S. They wanted to be a state. Congress and the executive branch were nervous about taking in a state so large (at the time the state covered most of Nevada and chunks of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho — larger than Texas as I recall) and there was active opposition to taking in a state run by Mormons. So the Mormons moved the capital to Fillmore — more centrally located, and out of Salt Lake City where the Mormons had their temple and a lot of people. Then they named the capital after the president, hoping to curry his favor and that of the Whig Party partisans. It didn’t work. The proposed State of Deseret was carved up, and Utah didn’t get statehood until 1896 — after even Nevada.
(from the site’s “Sources on Millard Fillmore” page)
Fillmore is one of the towns I go through on the way to/from Cedar City.
Namaste.
Tuesday – 11 March 2008
One down, one in the chamber and three to go.
Last night, I got home and flopped on the couch. I watched the tube for a bit. Then I realized that eating dinner would be a good thing. Then I remembered that I had planned to cook dinner. So, off to the kitchen to do it.
Objective: Spaghetti and sauce.
I seasoned and cooked the ground beef. I added tomato sauce and paste. Spices and sugar. (Yes, “sugar.” I use sugar in my spaghetti sauce recipe.) I cooked the pasta. And I even made garlic butter for a few slices of garlic bread. Tasty.
Dinner and more TV. Top Gear, Law & Order and an episode of JLU. Having gotten my “watching superheroes” fix, I decided to give in to the dark side my “playing superheroes” fix. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a team to join and got beat down by an end boss in the solo mission that I ran. (Fortunately, I clued in on something that will let me defeat him if I try to solo the mission again.) After licking my wounds, I decided that I wasn’t in the mood for much more CoH, so I logged out and watched Jonny Quest. The classic series, not the 8os or 90s revival.
Then, an early (for me) night, as I was apparently rather tired.
Today hasn’t been bad: I wound up sleeping in a bit. Not horribly so, but enough to get rested. Up, dressed and out the door in (fairly) short order.
Workout
Today’s workout was… work. Muscle-fatiguiging work. “Break out in a serious sweat” work. Which, after the fact (LONG after the fact, that is) wasn’t such a bad thing. Today’s routine:
Today’s pre-workout weight: 174.6 lbs.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Friday night, on the way to Clitorati, Margaritaville came on the radio. Being the infectious song that it is, SaraRules and I sang along. That got me to thinking:
What are some of the songs that “everybody knows” and that are almost guaranteed to have everyone singing along with…. even if it’s only the chorus?
We – and
Can anyone else think of others…?
Monday – 10 March 2008
Oh I could hide ‘neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings
The six o’clock alarm would never ring
But it rings and I rise, wipe the sleep out of my eyes
My shaving razor’s cold and it stings
Welcome to the jungle first work week of Daylight Saving Time. “Saving.” No second “s.”
It was dark when the alarm went off this morning.
It was dark when the second alarm went off, too.
But, we had to get up and get under way. So we did.
<< Rewind <<
After our excursion to the Garden of Sweden, SaraRules and I went home and started putting together the new display case. At the point that we realized that the drill was out of power, we decided to take a homework/City of Heroes break. By the time I stopped playing, Nefer-Tem was Security Level 46… and a couple of bars on his way to 47.
Dinner. Which meant a run to the store. (Two runs, actually, but that’s a detail that we really don’t need to focus on.) Soft tacos. Tasty.
After dinner, we finished assembling the case and decided to settle in and watch a movie. We watched Brick, which I had not seen before. It starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, possibly best known for his role as Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun. It was an interesting and unusual movie. It had a film noir sensibility about it – if you examined the characters, it was easy to see their noir roots/counterparts. It was a smart film, well-written with solid acting and dialogue.
> Play >
This morning, we had IKEA cinnamon rolls and coffee for breakfast (which allowed for a wee bit more sleeping in than if we had gone to Paradise) before heading out.
There may be a nap in the offing for this afternoon.
But for now, there’s PHP, SQL and Windows Server 2003 to be dealt with.
Namaste.
Sunday – 09 March 2008
So far, it’s been a quiet day here in the greater SLC metro area. After waking up to find more “mystery leak” water – and a wet section of carpet – I called maintenance (again). This time, I got some satisfaction out of the deal: Dave (the maintenance guy on-call) came in and checked four other apartments behind mine, but found nothing. He asked if this had been a problem since before SageWater came; I told him that it had. I then asked if someone could take a look behind the drywall. He said that they’d have to cut (more/new) holes in the ceiling. I told him that if they found the leak, they could cut as many holes as it took. They start tomorrow.
After some lazy time watching Ninja Warrior on G4, SaraRules and I headed to the Garden of Sweden for lunch and a bit of shopping. I have the second display case, a couple of lights for inside the cases, a new picture frame for my Roll The Bones tourbook and a new wine rack, among other goodies.
Stray Toasters
And that’s all the news from Lake Saline. For now.
Namaste.
Saturday – 08 March 2008
When I got home from work yesterday, SageWater was done. Completely. Down to the repainting. If I hadn’t seen the holes in the walls and ceiling, I wouldn’t even know that work had been done.
Clitorati was very small last night. Intimate, even. But, still quite fun.
I slept poorly last night. *shrug*
The morning started off well, though. New episodes of LSH and The Batman… and it was the series finale of The Batman, as well. After toons and breakfast, SaraRules and I watched last year’s college dunk competition and 3-point shootout (won, overall, by Katie Gearlds… from Purdue!) and moved some of the furniture back to their prior positions. A few of them found new positions. We also found a home for the artwork that I bought in Cedar last year.
Off to see Kate, Perry and the kids. And to do some minor network maintenance.
Next up: Dinner with SaraRules’ family.
Back home for comics and TV.
Stray Toasters
Next on the docket: Breakfast with the usual suspects.
Zoom.
Friday – 07 March 2008
The re-piping project in my apartment started bright and early (8:00 AM) yesterday. When I got home, the first phase was pretty much complete… leaving a number of holes throughout the walls and ceiling of the apartment. This included a hole in the wall between the bedroom and the maintenance closet (outside). This meant that I had a rather drafty hole that allowed a good deal of cold air into the bedroom… almost directly over the bed. So, I jerry-rigged a light cover to try and keep some of the air out. It was nominally effective. Pictures here.
SaraRules came into town last night. We headed to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Cheese Fries. Prime Rib. Very tasty. We had a great server, as well. Her name was Jennifer. She was attentive, helpful, very pleasant and just all-around “good.”
Workout
Yesterday’s workout – the first in nine or ten days – was good… but painful. “Good pain,” despite how oxymoronic that sounds:
Yesterday’s post-workout weight: 172.4 lbs.
Stray Toasters
And, yes, it is firmly entrenched on the Covet List.
So… how in the Nine Hells does she know where to get in or where the controls – or anything else – are?!
Namaste.
I really wasn’t trying to start something when I posted the Dreamweaver video. But, apparently… I did.
Said you wanna be startin’ somethin’, ya gotta be startin’ somethin’.
I said you wanna be startin’ somethin’, ya gotta be startin’ somethin’.
It’s too high to get over and too low to get under,
You’re stuck in the middle and the pain is thunder.
So, with that in mind, I leave you with the following:
I was about to fire up Dreamweaver, to do some more PHP work, and I started whistling the chorus to this.
I think I need to scrub my brain now.
Thursday – 06 March 2008
I woke up a little later than planned this morning. I made up for it by doing my best impression of The Flash and was ready to roll shortly thereafter. Of course, to make up for such a metabolic surge, I stopped at the local B&B for a frozen mocha. Double shot. Shaken, not stirred.
The crew from SageWater showed up this morning a couple of minutes before eight. One of the guys – I’m assuming the lead on the project, if not just for my apartment – noticed my Ravens pennant on the wall. He asked if I was familiar with Baltimore; I told him that I grew up there. He then mentioned that their company was based out of North Carolina (which I already knew), so I asked which part (which I didn’t know). Raleigh. I then mentioned that I had a sister who went to school in Durham and grew up outside of Greensboro. He went on to tell me how broadly he travels with the company. (A LOT!) His next job is in Seattle. I neglected to ask how long they are typically on the road.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.