Dancing through Life

Still blogging

2007-12-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

I'm still blogging over at The Year of Living [Somewhat] Dangerously, which is Kiti Fantastico with a makeover.

Keeping it up

2006-12-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

I suspect that Blogger will delete blogs that haven't seen a certain amount of activity, so I didn't want to let a year lapse between posts, just in case.

Don't forget, my active blog is Kiti Fantastico.

new site

2005-12-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hey, folks.

I've got a new blog, so please update links. Why? Well, I wanted to go with a new look and stuff, since I'm updating to a new life, but I didn't want to change my old one or how it looked, because I liked it. So I'm just keeping it as an archive.

2005-12-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I graduated, worked a few days, and am now back in Visalia.

More to come, including pictures.

fatigue

2005-12-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, I was tired. How tired was I? SO TIRED. One of the faults of blogs, as with any other written medium, is that there is a limit to the extremity that one can express. I can make my words all caps, then bold and italicize them, but the phrase still lacks that special roll of the eyes and/or wave of the arm that provide Deb's drama queen antics with so much cachet.

But anyway, I was SO TIRED that I took a nap. This is a notable event, because it is very difficult for me to nap: I'm too highstrung to settle down and sleep in the middle of the day; it's enough of a task to settle down to sleep for several hours at night. My napping is become much more frequent as I get older, though, in that it has occurred twice within the year 2005. Whew! I'll be nodding off in the middle of sentences before you know it!

In my own defence, I have reason to be tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep over the past several days, I've been working hard on school (and somewhat less hard on work), traveling hundreds of miles and staying on dorm floors and living room couches, and yesterday was a long day. Jeff and I drove from Whittier to Visalia last night, and arrived at 1 am, after which we both crashed in bed. When I woke up this morning, I was still tired and wanted to sleep more. Jeff decided that we needed to go shopping, so we picked up fast food breakfast (I'm a sucker for egg and cheese burritos and greasy hash browns) and went to Costco for bulk dry goods and stuff. I stumbled and wandered through Costco, and when we got home, I was just so sleepy that I just had to lie down on our comfy couch in the sunshine (when there was sunshine). Jeff ate a prime rib lunch (he made it from scratch), and I conked out for two hours, after which I awoke thoroughly groggy.

2005-12-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

I'm still alive. Just can't think of anything good to write.

fled

2005-12-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true.

I fled the LA/Orange County area yesterday afternoon. I had little reason to stay at work (long story involving all my coworkers actually being on travel this week, so nobody really needed me to be there), so I surprised Jeff by driving home and being in the house when he got here. Heheh.

So here I am in Visalia, getting lots of stuff done. I have work and school stuff to do.

Jeff and I are both working hard on finding employment. We have a few good leads, but nothing definite yet. I'll give more information as we know more. =)

Weekend in review

2005-12-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I spent Friday evening and Saturday with the Guthries (Sam and Melissa, aka the Gu-3s). We began by eating Pho, then watched Finding Neverland, and then crashed for a well-deserved sleep.

Saturday found us all having a slow start, then doing useful things like homework (Melissa, Jeff, and Deb) and messing with a computer (Sam). Three words: Ebonics language lesson. We wanted to go to Darya, a Persian restaurant, but they didn't have lunch prices on the weekend, so it was too expensive to eat there. We checked in with two other places, and both were closed. We ended up at Pomodoro at the Orange Mall, and it was okay. I had a lot of fun talking with Sam and Melissa. We went back to their place and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, while I did some more homework.

Jeff and I then made our way to the Winters' for their now-traditional annual Christmas party. It was fun, and we stayed up way too late. We slept in till 10 am, so we didn't get to go to church, but we did meet my parents and Dan for lunch at the Lakewood Mall. We then went back to the Block to meet the Winters again, and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Ben and Amanda hadn't seen it yet. After dinner at TGI Fridays, we headed up to the Yoshimotos'. Jeff, Josh, and Laurel are all in bed already; I am just up waiting for my laundry to be done in the dryer.

This week in review

2005-12-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

It wasn't so interesting that I have to write a huge thesis about it, but here are a few highlights:

Monday
-Drove 225 miles to work.
-After getting to work, my favorite khaki pants ripped in the rear. Very traumatised, but fortunately, was able to avoid "most embarrassing moment" scenario, and had suitcase full of clothing in car in parking lot. Was unable to find replacement pants at Savers. Am now down to two pair of pants for entire week.
-Lunch at Quiznos with some of the guys; one of them is leaving for another company, so it was the last lunch with him.
-Spent the night with Mia in Emerson.

Tuesday
-Worked part of day at work.
-Ran errands at school, including going to Talbot office and library.
-Dropped into the Word and Image metatorrey class for a pleasant time. There was much discussion about "Is Indiana Jones an anti-hero, and does he change for the better in Raiders of the Lost Ark?" and "Why does everyone like It's a Wonderful Life so much?" Lots to think about, even though I don't care for It's a Wonderful Life (IMHO, Capra went downhill after 1939 and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), and like Temple of Doom best of the three Indiana Jones movies.
-Ate and chatted with Joi. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. I love talking with her, because we both bring such different perspectives to the table, yet I think we have a lot in common. We both see the world in ways that are unique when compared to people around, and have (I think) a sort of sensitive artistic temperament. Joi is a real artist, and I am-- well, what am I? I guess I'm not really an artist, per se, but I like to pretend that I am. But no matter, I learn a lot from Joi.
-Tried to study, but couldn't, due to the hustle and bustle of Mia and Misty packing and getting ready to fly to Washington D.C. for an anthropology conference the next day. Slept instead.

Wednesday
-Fairly routine day at work. Coworker generously gave me some guavas from his yard-- crispy and tart, with white centers. Yum!
-Studied at Starbucks in the B&N at Amerige Heights with Christina and Will.
-Spent night with Christina and Corky.

Thursday
-More fun at work.
-Roommate night with Sara and Elizabeth. Well, Sara came fairly late, but then we watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Still not sure what I think about the movie. I didn't think the direction was all that great, yet somehow it was structured skillfully enough to evoke all the proper emotions at all the proper times. One thing I can praise is the acting-- No scenery chewing, yet all the young leads carried themselves well and very professionally. I would not be surprised if we see great things from them in the future, particularly America Ferrera (Carmen--so gorgeous!) and Amber Tamblyn (Tibby--totally my kind of girl). I guess I would not say that this is a great movie, or even good movie, by any standard, but I would say that it is an outstanding film within its genre of teenage-girl-friends-coming-of-age-movies (and yes, I know that's like saying Big Daddy is an outstanding film within the genre of "comedies" made by Adam Sandler... but not quite so damning with the faint praise and all).
-Accomplished absolutely no studying at all.
-Spent night with Elizabeth and her pets (frogs and hermit crabs).

Friday
-Work again.
-Saw that there were 70 formerly reserved tickets for the Narnia premiere that were released and available. Ran over to school and got two, so that Jeff and I can go; he really wanted to, but we didn't get tickets in time, when they were first offered. We're going to the 6:45 pm showing. Look out, Nicole Kidman, because Deb is going to be working the red carpet for the first time!
-Going to have dinner and spend the evening with the Guthries, in a bit. Jeff is driving down, as we speak.
-Two weeks till graduation. I have SO MUCH to do. *panic*

Just facts, no opinions here

2005-12-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just ate a little packet of Peanut M&Ms, and all of them were either green or orange. Was this some kind of St. Patrick’s Day promotional thing? You know, like the green, white, and red M&Ms at Christmas. Or was it coincidence? Wow.

Today is World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the World Malaria Day, the World Tuberculosis Day, or the World Schistosomiasis Day. I guess I'll be waiting for a while, since most people don't care about deadly diseases unless Hollywood celebrities or rock stars declare them to be a worthy cause.

Today is also the day that demonstrators are choosing to fly the Bintang Kejora (West Papuan flag), in commemoration of the 1 December 1961 declaration of independence and autonomous rule, which was quickly squelched by Indonesia.

These two facts are curiously related (and prove that my grousing about the prominent coverage of HIV/AIDS should not lead one to assume that I am blind to the actual significance of HIV/AIDS). Significantly, West Papua (western half of New Guinea) is Indonesia’s most sparsely populated province, yet has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection. If unchecked (and as far as I can tell, Papua constitutes a ticking time bomb that nobody in, say, the UN really wants to touch), it will quickly reach the epidemic proportions found in sub-Saharan Africa.

Think one can't find humor in pathological viral infection on the pandemic level? Think again. BBC reported that the King of Swaziland (he of the 13 wives, but that's not the humorous part) banned AIDS Day observances because they coincided and conflicted with a traditional celebration, despite the fact that Swaziland has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection (no, that's not the funny part, either). Apparently, this innovative ruler instituted a four-year (ended in August 2005) sex ban for young Swazis, in an attempt to stem the spread of the prominent disease; the BBC correspondent observed that this action was quite unpopular among young people, especially in urban areas. Ya think?

Same old

2005-11-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we are hanging around and watching The Mummy. It's cheesy, but I like that film. Archaeology and action.

I did homework yesterday and today. Not as much as I should have, but it was a start. Now I'll just bury myself all this week.

Laurel came over for breakfast this morning. It was good to see her. I hope to see her more this week.

We visited Parkside Chapel with Debbie and Jerry for church. The less said about that, the better.

I'm leaving again, early tomorrow morning. I will the week as long as I can convince myself of the value of (1) inertial guidance and (2) church history. Or rather, I truly recognize their instrinsic value, but am not necessarily convinced of the value of my being involved with them. *sigh*

2005-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Touchy was mewling a minute ago. Now he is lying on the floor with his paws in the air and his plump furry white tummy exposed, having exhausted himself playing with his catnip-stuffed fishie toy.

Anyway, Thanksgiving came and went. I am fairly ambiguous about this most North American of holidays; while I appreciate the time off (four whole days, put together!), I don't have a lot of sentimental attachment to the concept. I'm sure that I must have had some celebration of Thanksgiving as a child, but I truly don't remember any. I clearly recall Christmas, New Year, and Easter holidays, and even some July 4th parties with some other US expats, but Thanksgiving draws a blank for me. I do remember enjoying such times with the family in the US during high school, but after Grandma and Grandpa passed away, they seemed less special. Now, my ideal Thanksgiving Day would involve solitude, a good book in a warm spot, and some freshly-made Kraft macaroni and cheese; for these things I would be truly thankful! In reality, however, I have to take what I can get.

Jeff and I hosted the event at our new house, and the Feely clan (Debbie and Jerry; Olaf and Rosalee; Rob and Candace) were in attendance. We spent the morning and afternoon cleaning and setting up the house and yard (I dug a few holes). My wonderfully insightful husband realized soon after our marriage that Deb's idea of Thanksgiving dinner was along the lines of Everybody Make Your Own Peanut Butter Sandwich and Leave the Dirty Knife in the Sink When You're Done, and so he has never pressured me to be involved in elaborate and traditional food preparation. He roasted an excellent turkey our first Thanksgiving together. This year, he thoughtfully arranged for his mom and his grandmother to bring several side dishes, and he himself did the (huge) turkey and stuffing again. I just sat around and attempted to be pleasant, and refrained from uttering dark and foreboding commentary on: gluttony, Demeter and/or pagan harvest and fertility rituals, and/or the implicit glorification of the Euro-centric oppressors' eventual betrayal of the indigenous people. Because of my exemplary behavior, I didn't even have to do the dishes afterward. I was so tired at the end of the evening. Cleaning and being polite always take a lot out of me, probably because, as far as I can determine, neither of them come naturally to me.

I got an opportunity to reflect once again on how different my family is from Jeff's. Thanksgiving with my family would be a bit wild and crazy. Conversation would be lively, continuous, and occasionally controversial, featuring much opining and reminiscing about things that nobody but we would find even comprehensible, and at some point during the meal, at least one person's silverware (or even entire plate) would be removed from the table and hidden somewhere, to the amusement of everyone except the victim, of course. The food is excellent and yummy, and there is probably some experimental dish, as well as food made expressly for anyone with unusual needs, such as vegetarian preference or following of Jewish dietary law. After the feast, we'd engage in some noisy and competitive game-playing, most likely Scrabble, and then eat pie (I'd probably bemoan the fact that my pastry crusts are always tough, and my pie-queen mom would assure me that the trick is to use REALLY COLD WATER and handle it barely at all). After the pie, we'd retire to the family room to do some traditional holiday activity like watching the Animaniacs Christmas special or listening to Stan Freberg's "Green Christmas" recording. There'd be knitting, tea and coffee, and a classic movie to top it off.

By contrast, the Feely Thanksgiving is extremely genteel. I have it on good authority that controversy is strictly frowned upon, and so conversation hovers just barely to the right of discussing the weather. [God bless Candace for managing to be charming and interesting without raising a single eyebrow!] The food is predictably high in quality and absent of innovation. I'm guessing that there will ALWAYS be Jell-O, in one form or another. After eating, everyone sits around, and people might speak quietly for a time if the silence gets too deafening. Competition is probably strictly frowned upon, so, no games. There is some talk of watching a movie, but no one quite decides to do it (I'm guessing that asserting one's entertainment preferences is strictly frowned upon). After a particularly awkward silence, someone decides it is time for pie. The pie is generally tasty, and after that, everyone goes home to feel good about the giving of thanks. People are very kind and helpful about cleaning up and stuff, so it's quite pleasant to be the host of such a celebration.

If/when Jeff and I have children, I wonder what kind of family environment we'll create, and how our traditional celebrations will turn out. Will we meld what we've each received from our respective families? Will we come up with something completely different?

Finally!

2005-11-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

We finally got our cable internet installed and working today! We are WIRED.

We are settling into our new house. It is very fresh and nice. It is BIG. It didn't seem so big when we looked at the model home, but now I really don't know what to do with all the space. Mopping the kitchen floor, for example, is a standard chore that needs to be done on occasion, but it's different when one's kitchen is the size of a European principality. If one happens to leave one's reading book in the bedroom, it's no big deal, except that going to fetch it involves a trek upstairs and down the hall that many a Himalayan sherpa would find daunting. *sigh*
The house is well-lit, though, so that is nice. There are all these rooms, wanting to be decorated. I am researching with books and magazines, and looking at paint samples, but the task is overwhelming. Some people (like, say, Jeff) might think the challenge of decorating a nice house and yard is highly desirable, but I just think it's tiresome. A very nice person gave us a gift certificate at a nursery, for the purpose of buying a tree for the front yard, and it stressed me out to have to go and try to choose one. I don't know or care much about yard trees (unless they involve guavas). Obviously, my Hw-1 (Housewife) gene is recessive.

We watched Empire Records and The Great Muppet Caper tonight.

On the books for tomorrow:
Church
Laundry
Put away and organize clothing
Clean downstairs
Pack for next week
School work

pure admiration

2005-11-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

I discovered yesterday that as of Monday, Condoleeza Rice is 51 years old. I don’t make it a habit to judge people based on peripherals such as age (unless the person in question is patently stupid due to youth), physical appearance, sex, etc. But I do have to say that Condi would never pass for 51, in my book. 31, maybe. The woman is a fox!! Despite a life that must have one of the highest stress levels on the planet, she really takes care of herself.

On a non-shallow level: While Madame Secretary of State Rice tends to be a tad too hawkish for my taste, and I don’t love all of her policies and stuff, I really do admire her for her obvious intelligence and professionalism. Like her or not, you have to admit that she kicks some serious tail!

An Open Letter to Rude and/or Stupid Drivers

2005-11-16T13:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Driver(s),

When you are rude and/or stupid on the road, you are an unattractive person who subtracts from, rather than contributes to, society and the human race. I hope that you die soon, and painfully, and due to your own horrendous driving, and spend the rest of eternity stewing in a particularly unpleasant spot in hell.

Utterly Sincerely,
Me

Update

2005-11-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

I haven’t had much occasion to post since last week. I spent last Thursday and Friday down in the Orange County area, working and spending time with people. Friday night, I drove (it was horrible) up to Visalia, and spent the weekend with Jeff and my schoolwork. It didn’t help that I was unmotivated to seek out the deeper mysteries of the patristics...

I arose EARLY on Monday morning, and spent 4 hours driving back south. I’ve been working and studying, and spending my nights with my dear Elizabeth. I plan to return to Visalia on Thursday evening (and hope that the traffic will be better than on a Friday night).

While driving up and down and all around the southern half of California, I listen to music. It’s mostly punk (right now, Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Bowling for Soup, New Found Glory), with some assorted other stuff (No Doubt, baroque recordings, and even Five Iron Frenzy when I am too lazy to change out Jeff’s CDs). I wish I knew where in all our stuff my Pirates of Penzance recording is. I could really use some Gilbert and Sullivan sing-along.

Interesting Tidbit

2005-11-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Several people have shared with me that they are usually intimidated by long blog posts. I’m guessing that if I put the same amount of information in several shorter posts, people like it better. I find this interesting, because I like long posts (although I do appreciate the text being broken into paragraphs and such, as appropriate), both reading and writing them. If I publish or read a short post, it feels... inadequate. I like substance in my writing. Bite me, Hemingway.

Anyway, this is short. I really dislike dry weather. I hate what it does to my hair, my skin, my eyes, and my clothes. I especially hate how everything with even a hint of metal becomes the conduit of Potential Death from Static Electrical Shock. Ow! It HURTS.

I don't mind humidity. In fact, I kind of like it. I've never understood why people complain about hot weather in the desert, but then amend it hastily with, "...but at least it's a DRY heat." In my eyes, the dryness doesn't make it any better. Not that there's anything wrong with hot weather to begin with.

Speaking of weather, you know what I hate? Sun showers. Those happen when the sun is shining all around you, and the sky may even be mostly blue, but it's still raining lightly. Some people claim to like sun showers, and think they're pretty, but I've always disliked them. They are Way Messed Up.

2005-11-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers, you may be surprised to discover that I am considered to be at least adequate at many activities. Parallel parking, however, is not among these things.

And that is the truth.

I've had it up to here

2005-11-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

My philosophy of life is such that I'm something of a pessimist, and don't expect a lot out of existence. As far as I'm concerned, the best you can do on any given morning is sit up, take note that you are still alive, put on your favorite pair of Hello Kitty undies to give you that extra secret oomph, and just face the day as it comes. Sadly, one of those aforementioned undies began to unravel in the washing machine yesterday. How now shall I live? I'm thinking of making my own list of life's little indignities. Legally licensed Sanrio branded underwear is expensive.

Anyone checking jokerz's blog will know that our paperwork was in jeopardy yet again yesterday. We have survived, however, and are cleared to close and move in tomorrow. I ought to be excited, but I'm not-- I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Come on, Hello Kitty (or what's left of you), work for me!!

Speaking of work, I'm beginning lesson plans for classes I hope to teach next winter and spring. Pray that everything will work out, so that I can fulfill my dream of teaching and still obtain income. Stupid income.

And speaking of income, I think I'm going to be able to work a few days this week. Odd that I'm excited to go back to slaving for The Corporation, but the less I say about that the better (see: Dooced, but be cautioned regarding possibly objectionable language).

Okay, now I'm going to bed, to prepare for a day of certain setbacks and eventual moving of heavy objects, plus a 200-mile drive. Whee.

Another Quiz

2005-11-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

1. What is your occupation? Engineer. *sigh*
2. What color is your underwear? Usually white.
3. What are you listening to right now? Blink-182, “Story of a Lonely Guy”. Yes, my Blink obsession continues…
4. What was the last thing you ate? Lemon cream cheese pie from Marie Callendar's.
5. Do you wish on stars? No.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Lapis lazuli or midnight blue.
7. How is the weather right now? Cold but usually sunny.
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mumsie.
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Got it from the Devil’s blog (which I finally found), so yes. PS. Some of my answers are the same as hers, but it is a coincidence; I didn't mean to copy!
10. How old are you today? As Dan says, it’s not the age that counts, it’s the mileage. Anyway, I feel and look as though I’m in my early 20s, but my mileage puts me around 40, I think. C’est la vie.
11. Favorite drink? Diet Coke or good iced tea. Alcohol-wise, Cointreau.
12. Favorite sport to watch? Dancesport or hockey.
13. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, it is currently red. I love it.
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Both, although not at the same time, of course.
15. There was not a question for this one. I will make one up: What store have you visited most recently? Lowe's.
16. Favorite month? Any time in the summer.
17. Favorite food? Wow, so many. Rice. Or a good baked sweet potato.
18. What was the last movie you watched? Ride the High Country.
19. Favorite day of the year? Don’t really care.
20. What do you do to vent anger? Rant.
21. Fall or Spring? Spring.
22. Hugs or kisses? Depends on who’s doling them out.
23. Cherry or Blueberry? Neither.
24. Do you want your friends to email you back? N/A. Although I'll be interested to see if anyone else does this quiz.
25. Who is most likely to respond? N/A.
26. Who is least likely to respond? N/A.
27. Living arrangements? Crashing with the in-laws while we wait for escrow to close on our house.
28. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday, when Touchy was MIA.
29. What is on the floor of your closet? I do not own a closet at this point in time.
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Kakak Dan and parents; I’ve known them since the day I was born.
31. What did you do last night? Watched The Outriders and Fox News; read books and surfed the internet.
32. Favorite smell? Ooo, so many. Baking bread; chocolate; franji pani; fresh-chopped green wood; that elusive tropically hot planty/earthy jungle smell.
33. What inspires you? Beautiful music.
34. What are you afraid of? Failure.
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? None.
36. Favorite car? Anything that won’t break down.
37. Favorite dog breed? I don’t care; keep the smelly things away from me.
38. Number of keys on your key ring? 3.
39. How many years at your current job? 5.5.
40. Favorite day of the week? Hard to say. Saturday, maybe.
41. How many provinces have you lived in? Indonesia: 2. US: 3.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2005-11-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot another thing:

Yesterday (November 5) was the centennial of the birth of JOEL MCCREA. This multi-faceted actor may be my very favorite. He could do anything and make it look easy, which is probably why he was underrated and never received any awards. He did drama with Hitchcock, comedy with Preston Sturges, and Westerns with DeMille and Peckinpah. He started in bit parts at the end of the silent era, but quickly graduated to leading man and star status. He worked with (as mentioned above) some of the best directors, and opposite nearly all the top female stars of the era: Constance Bennett, Kay Francis, Dolores Del Rio, Fay Wray, Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck, Miriam Hopkins, Claudette Colbert, Joan Bennett, Frances Farmer, Merle Oberon, Sylvia Sidney, Loretta Young, Veronica Lake, Jean Arthur, Virginia Mayo, even Shirley Temple (he played her father, of course), Garbo (well, he had a bit role in her film Single Standard) and Marlene Dietrich (although his scenes in her film The Devil is a Woman were reshot with Cesar Romero in the released print); not to mention a host of lesser-known starlets. McCrea moved to making only Westerns in the mid-1940s, claiming he was more comfortable in them, and eventually retired to run his ranch in Southern California, emerging for a few more Western roles in the 1960s and 1970s. He had one of Hollywood's longest and most respected marriages, to actress Frances Dee, which lasted until his death in 1990.

I nearly forgot

2005-11-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

This is the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot.

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November:
Gunpowder, treason, and plot."

Ah, yes, terrorism. Let us never forget the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Slightly. Better.

2005-11-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

TOUCHY HAS BEEN FOUND.

Jeff found him in the garage, despite the fact that all four of us had checked the garage multiple times, and spent many minutes calling, "Touchy, here kitty kitty kitty!" ad infinitum. Touchy's fur is all dusty and dirty. I don't think he'll appreciate a bath, though.

I got Touchers to type this on Debbie's keyboard:
hgtm an

He's not feeling particularly eloquent tonight, I guess.

Worst. Day. Ever.

2005-11-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

I suppose that someone, somewhere, has had a worse day (like, maybe, Job). However, this has been just a horrible day for me.

TOUCHY IS MISSING.

My darling kitty-cat went missing some time between 10 and 11:30 am. He has not been seen since. We don't know if he is hiding somewhere in the house, or if he somehow managed to slip outside, but he is gone, and I'm in a panic. I'm crying and imagining the worst possible scenarios. Has he wandered afar and been hit by a car? Or been kit-napped by cruel people who like to torture small animals? He has always been an indoor cat, since we've always lived in apartments, so he has no experience with the wide world, at least since we adopted him from the shelter three years ago. He is out in a strange neighborhood, and it's getting dark and cold outside.

There are several people that I should have called, to chat and check in, and I haven't. I can't read or watch TV or anything. All I can do is sit and stare, thinking about my cat, and then go outside and call for him for a bit. Augh! I'm seriously traumatized. I'm going to cry for a bit more.

Hobbes, Deb, Jeff, Touchy. One big happy family last Christmas. Now, we are missing our baby Touchers.

2005-11-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

I did a bunch of quizzes from Liz's blog, and tried to post them, but Blogger didn't like the HTML tags, and it messed everything up so that I couldn't fix the HTML, even had I been so inclined.

So in real life, we are not having fun here in Visalia. The lender messed up our paperwork. They suck. Our move-in date has been delayed till next week. On the positive side, though, we are happy to be reunited with Hobbes and Touchy. Debbie and Jerry have been the soul of graciousness.

Laurel lent me a Georgette Heyer book to read. I like G. Heyer. She makes me laugh!

It's late, and Jerry is still up working on a program. I wish I had something to program. I suck. Seriously, it's so depressing to be stuck here, not able to go to work, as I have to be here to sign papers, and not able to do schoolwork, as all my books and materials are packed. All I can do is read fluffy books and amuse myself on the internet. I guess I'll learn some new skills and figure out how to market myself online.

Or maybe I'll go around to all of the places in the Central Valley where I filled out job applications, and personally yell at all of them for not responding to me. Idiots.

Moving Day

2005-11-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

...came upon us, at last.

We survived.

We. Are. Tired. Mumsie came to help us finish up, though. She is the best!

We said goodbye to Amerige Pointe, Starbuck Street, and Fullerton.
We made peace with the fact that neither of us were bold enough to either whack the hateful little dogs next door, or at least inform their owner that we wanted to.
We had some rather nice, hardworking movers that wrapped up all of our earthly possessions and fit them inside of a moving van.

By the way, I said goodbye to my Civic Hybrid on Monday. Yes, we sold it. And I will never again allow myself to become emotionally involved with a car!

We are currently at Josh and Laurel's house, where we will spend the night. Laurel is making persimmon cookies. Interesting. Jeff and Josh are playing Halo.

Our house is on its way to being ready. We had the final inspection yesterday, but we haven't had confirmation of the city inspection. Until the city approves the building, we don't have an official address, and so we cannot set up our utilities. We are not yet sure when we will finally close on the house.

Tomorrow, we will head on up to Visalia ("We may not be much, but at least we're not Bakersfield!") and hope for the best. I can't wait to see my kitty cats again. They are staying with Grandma and Grandpa Feely until we can settle them into their new home.

Finally: Support the Capriccio Gelato Cafe, on Starbuck Street! It is between Fantastic Sam's and H&R Block. It just opened, and has unbelievably good and authentic Italian gelato. Jeff and I will not be there to support it anymore, so you all need to step up and keep the love flowing. For your next coffee date, forego the coffee and have gelato instead. Or guys, charm the ladies with your sophistication and cultural know-how, by treating them to a satisfying (and satisfyingly priced) little dish of this good stuff. Grazie!

In the zone

2005-10-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Multiple people have informed me that I do not post often enough. Sorry! I wish I had a more exciting life. I wish I had fewer inhibitions. I'll try to do better on both counts, so as to provide more and better blog postage.

I got up a little after 8 am this morning, and started some laundry, and am about to do more packing. Jeff is still sleeping. We're going to pack pretty much all day, although I need to eat something first.

Let's see. What has transpired since my last post?

Tuesday:
-Stayed home because of TMJ pain (I hurt from my cheekbones down to the base of my neck) and the simple fact that I absolutely could NOT go to work that day. I was done. Finished. It literally made me cry to think of going into my office and just doing work.
-Chatted with Debbie about possibilities for teaching high school and college in the spring.
-Watched an old movie, The Man in Possession. My Robert Montgomery obsession is just short of my Joel McCrea obsession, and he's such a great light comedian. This guy deserves to be remembered better than he is today!
-Packed two boxes.
-Spent a few hours with Christina.

Wednesday:
-Went to work, while self-medicating with Fall Out Boy and Blink-182, because at least my jaw was well enough to allow me to open up and eat food.
-Arrived at the office after getting coffee, because I KNEW I needed that extra chemical boost.
-Upon entering my office and turning on the computer, I saw an e-mail from Tuesday afternoon stating that there would be a dry run starting at 8 am, for the Technical Interchange Meetings that are taking place next week (Nov. 1-3). Now, I think the dry run (or better, peer review) for the TIM is a good idea, but it was short notice, even if I HAD been in the office on Tuesday, and I didn't have any charts ready. Great. Swell. Fabulous. I also had no one to present the charts, because no one had volunteered, and I will be MOVING that day, so I'm quite busy, thank you very much. I sort of bullied B into doing it, but then Cheryl stepped up to the challenge and agreed to present, thereby establishing herself as my Hero of the Week. Even so, I could actually feel my jaw tightening and increasing in pain by the minute, through the morning.
-Left work early: had to let Jeff drive to the chiropractor to get a check-up on his neck.
-Met with my Talbot proctor for my class in the Ancient Church. We discussed my potential paper topic, and the scheduling of my midterm. She turned out to be fairly nice, which is a contrast to the other time I'd dealt with her (Talbot/registrar foul-ups: a semesterly feature in Deb's life). She was all happy for me, that I'm moving to the Central Valley; in fact, she used to be on staff with Campus Crusade at CSU Fresno, so she knows it well!
-Went to Starbucks and spent a few hours chatting with my old math pupil, Susie. It was great! She's doing so well-- graduated from high school and looking into different options for further education and career. Kami was supposed to meet us there, but she didn't show up, and since I don't have her phone or e-mail, I can't really contact her to follow up. It's okay. Seeing Susie was just excellent, in and of itself. We also happened to see Josh Barber and his girlfriend (Brianna?) there.

Thursday:
-Work again. Took the bus in, and worked 10 fairly productive hours, and took the bus home.
-Utter exhaustion.
-Watched episode of Star Trek: Voyager. It was the one with Neelix and holographic lungs; so much wrong there, scientifically, that I was griping the whole time. I really need to learn to improve that "suspension of disbelief" thing.
-Last roommate night at the Feely apartment! We studied Romans 14-15, and then went in the hot tub. Good time, but sad, too.

Friday:
-Did the work thing yet again, which involved dropping Jeff off at the Park-and-Ride, and picking him up after.
-We had a little group lunch, with Killa CD, Patton Stang, and Proud Father Jim Tway. We were joined by Tina (who gets every other Friday off, thanks to her work schedule at LA DWP), and new invitee Steve B. (also a proud father, whose child was born on the same day as Jim's--weird, huh?), who brought his GMD friend Arash. We talked about everything from convertible cars (guys think they're chick magnets; I hate them) to George Takei "coming out". Good guys, good times. I even got Doug to play Blink in his car on the way over.
-Had dinner and evening fun with the Guthries. We get along really well. We ate at Panera (because no one bothered to consult me before choosing a restaurant), and then rented and watched Kung Fu Hustle. I liked Shaolin Soccer better.
-Came home really late.

This is for Rho!

2005-10-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Laurel requested a new post (at least one before I move), so here it is.

It is 1:30 am, and I'm still not in bed. Boo. I am actually online looking for jobs.

Today, I celebrated:
-The return of my TMJ problems. I wouldn't mind so much, except that it makes it very difficult to eat.
-The arrival of my first Netflix selection! Libeled Lady! It will be my reward for finally reaching the halfway point of my class.

Yesterday, I was busy:
-Spent the afternoon with Sara and Elizabeth. We watched My Fair Lady and Tomb Raider. I know most of the dialogue and all of the score of My Fair Lady-- relics of a misspent adolescence. Some day, I should play Eliza Doolittle on stage.
-Had dinner with John Mark and Hope Reynolds. We don't see them often enough as it is, and moving far away will be sad.
-Did homework and watched the first episodes of Star Trek Voyager. I like it better than I thought I would. Kate Mulgrew both looks and sounds like Katharine Hepburn, and I'm sure that is no coincidence.

2005-10-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

In the past week, I have:
-Had dinner with Sherida.
-Had Essensia ice cream. This is significant only because it provoked an extended discussion about mascarpone. You see, Essensia’s gimmick is putting a phrase that reads “What’s essential is the _____” on all of their products. Some of them are self-explanatory. My very crunchy peanut butter declares, “What’s essential is the nuttiness.” The caramel swirl ice cream stated, “What’s essential is the caramel.” Okaaaaay. The ice cream in question was Berry Italian Cheesecake, or something like that, but the carton did not list berries, cream cheese, or even cake as the essential element. No, it was mascarpone. We humble US citizens had to ask, “What is mascarpone?” I guessed aloud that it was a kind of cheese, or failing that, a sort of Italian liqueur. We looked at the ingredient list, and voila!, it was indeed a kind of cheese.
-Watched Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, The Triumph of Love, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and several episodes of South Park (Yes, I think it's vulgar. I also think it's hysterically funny.).
-Hung out with Jeff, Laurel, and Josh.
-Gone to Grace in Long Beach. It was nice to be back, even though I was not able to see anybody except my family. Laurel and Josh came with us, but I don’t know if they liked it or not.
-Played Stock Market (so perplexing, and not at all logical).
-Looked for a job in Visalia. Prospects are still glum.
-Listened to two lectures on the Ancient Church, and read about 100 pages of later Greek and early Medieval philosophy.
-Visited with my parents for an evening.
-Hosted a table at the Cultural Diversity Celebration at work. I was sharing my cultural diversity as a confused third-world tribal girl stuck in the 21st century. My company is so inept! They have a great intention to foster diversity in the workplace, or whatever, but they’re going about it the wrong way. They’ll never get the support of the engineering rank-and-file, because they aren’t bothering to give the technical people the answers that they need; I don’t think they even realize that they’re way out to lunch. The solution is simple, of course: Put Deb in charge of Corporate Diversity. However, that’s never going to happen.
-Worked some.
-Passed 100 posts on my blog.

There's more, but I can't think of it.

Dre-e-e-e-eam, dream dream dream!

2005-10-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Sherida told me that my blog is boring. I need to post more. As my dear Laurel has been regaling us with tales of her dreams, I decided to do the same, having awakened from quite a doozy, so to speak, a while back!

I dreamed that I was back as a student at Biola (you know, the real kind of student who actually goes to classes). For some reason, I was in the old cafeteria lobby, and noticed the camera/lights/boom mike setup that indicated that filming was going on. Suddenly, a short woman with her hair in a tight bun pulled me aside and told me that I needed to be the anchor for B-TV. What?!? Apparently, the usual student anchor was absent, but had already submitted the story he was to report, so I needed only to read it. I looked it over, and it was standard info about the celebration of the life of a respected film director. Okay, whatever.

I am seated at the newsanchor table, and flurries of action begin. I suddenly realize that I am stark naked.
"Hello?" I call. "I really can't do this. I don't think Biola will like nudity on B-TV."
"You'll be fine. I know we can count on you."
I look down at my teleprompter sheet, and discover that the information I am supposed to present has disappeared, and a completely different story is written there.
"No, wait! My information is gone! I don't know what to say, anymore."
"Don't worry about it. You'll be great."
Suddenly, I am on camera. I open my mouth, and begin babbling, "This famous director made a great impact on cinema, and was renowned for his atmosphere... He directed the musical numbers for The Sound of Music." I can't remember the guy's name! I finish my sound bite and proceed to exit (I don't remember how), still naked. After it's all over, it hits me: Leo McCarey.
[Editor's note: Now, let me pacify any eager and critical movie buffs. I know that in real life, Leo McCarey did not direct the musical numbers in The Sound of Music. However, in my dream reality, he did. Okay? Okay. I too am an eager/critical movie buff.]

Let's play Psychoanalyst. What does this strange dream mean? Perhaps it means that I fear situations where I feel both out-of-control and keenly scrutinized. But, let's face it: Pretty much anyone would feel anxiety about the situation, if forced to be naked and go on television to give an impromptu speech about an unknown topic. The only exception might be an extraverted host of a talk show on the Nudist Channel (I'm thinking someone like Jim Maljanian, but... I don't even want to consider the idea of him being naked.). So I think that in the end, this dream simply demonstrates that I am a human being, after all.

Idiosyncratic me

2005-10-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Kevvie White to reveal five of my idiosyncracies. Unfortunately, I have no idiosycracies. I'm a perfectly average person.

Okay, so I didn't fool anybody, did I? Well, I will still have to think about it. It's not like I sit around doing things and then think to myself, "Hey, self, that was way idiosyncratic."

5. I don't like Mexican food. Apparently, this is very unusual for a person who lives in Southern California (aka Northern Mexico, heheh). I like Taco Bell, but as everyone knows, that is terribly fake Mexican food. I guess that counts as a little personal quirk.

4. I like my guavas green, just out of the bitter, hard stage, and just into the tart, juicy stage; I like my bananas ripe: yellow with the beginnings of brown spotting. It is difficult to get good bananas, guavas, or pineapple here on the mainland. *sigh*

3. I can't resist anything that has to do with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Except some of their movies.

2. I listen to "old people music". I have listened to Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Noel Coward, etc., since junior high school. I enjoy it.

1. I like to bop my head, or dance and sing along, to the background music in stores and restaurants.

I'm not "tagging" anyone else, though. I'm just that boring.

2005-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on the couch, trying to study and listening to a collection of No Doubt singles. Unfortunately, Jeff is in the office, writing his paper and blasting Simple Plan very loudly, so that it overpowers No Doubt even though I'm a few rooms away. I plan to switch to a louder band in a few minutes. Blink 182 should go very nicely with Neoplatonism.

We had lunch with Candace and Rob today, in the food court at Beach and Imperial. We talked about philosophy of education, and theology, and other stuff. There were a lot of people I knew there, for some reason. We saw Jairus Pascale, Will Thorpe, Jim Harrington, Jessy Wall, Linda Kazibwe, the Rosencranses (people I knew from high school in PDX), and even an older Cute Biola Guy that was a secret crush during my early undergrad.

Weekend World

2005-10-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

I deleted the "X your confessions" thingie because it took up a lot of space and it was lame. You won't miss it, anyways.

This has been a nice Saturday. Low-key. I've been reading some ancient philosophy (only 600 more pages) and otherwise bumming around. I like weekends. I like the fact that I can plunk myself down on the couch and not move all day, except to cruise to the kitchen for some food and drink. I read a lot of news and blogs, and watched one of my old movies (Miracle of Morgan's Creek-- see it, it's fabulous!). Jeff spent all day working on his paper (with occasional breaks for Halo).

I'm trying to remember any significant events from the past week, to chronicle here, but can't think of any. Probably because there weren't any.
Sunday-- we had lunch with my fam. Mike is back from NY, so he was there, and Tim was also there, with his annoying friend Nate and Mia's annoying friend Jen.
Monday-- can't remember anything about it.
Tuesday-- can't remember anything. Christina didn't come over, because she had to do her MMPI at the Biola Counseling Center, for Personal Foundations of Ministry. Guess what! She is having difficulty setting up her follow-up counseling appointment, because they keep giving her options for appointments during working hours. As far as I'm concerned, this vindicates me 100% with regard to the events that transpired while I was in the PFM class during Fall 2001. Turns out I was not the problem, after all. Now I'm sort of waiting to see if they tell Christina that she is a bad person, and the reason the Intentional Character Development program exists is to fix people like her.
Wednesday-- Laurel came over for dinner (Jeff cooked really yummy chicken) and visiting. She and Jeff watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, while I offered good-natured mocking.
Thursday-- I cooked beef in sweet-and-sour sauce for Jeff. I'm such a good wife this week! Then, roommate night with my girls. We studied Romans 9-11 (How about those wild olives, huh?) and ate chocolate-covered chocolate Hagendazs ice cream bars.
Friday-- two movies with Jeff.
Saturday-- sleeping in, grazing and lazing.

And now to continue my perusal of The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. Oh, Plotinus, you sly rogue.

More with the psychidelic queer, less with the child molester creepy

2005-10-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Jeff and I went to see a double feature. We initially went to the dollar (technically $1.50, but oh, well) theatre to see Fantastic Four, and then Jeff convinced me to stay and watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I hadn't really wanted to see either, and just went to humor him, but it turned out to be a good evening.

The Fantastic Four is one of the worst comic book movies I've ever seen. [Of course, I've mainly seen the ones that are considered above average: e.g. Spider-man and the X-men movies.] The script was abominable, the cast strictly B- and C-list (the only one I'd heard of was Jessica Alba as the token female; the men were pretty, but nothing special), and I just had nothing to connect to. There is no way that events in the movie could have actually happened, even in a suspension-of-disbelief sci fi universe.
-Exposure to huge amounts of radiation in the form of a solar flare will kill you and destroy your genetic material, not give you superpowers.
-No matter how human DNA is altered, it won't make you into rock or metal, or allow you to be invisible, because that is not possible for the human frame or carbon-based life. [Well, let me think about the invisible thing; perhaps one could construct some kind of shield that would bend/deflect light, but that's not the same as invisibility. I dunno.]
-Exposure to huge amounts of radiation will not alter all of one's genetic material in exactly the same way all at once. That's just silly.
-Even if one's genetic material is, by some freak one-in-a-trillion chance, altered simultaneously in its entirety, the changes won't be apparent instantaneously because one must wait until all one's cells are replaced.
-Don't even get me started on Stretch-Guy and Flame-Boy. "Supernova bad." Ugh!
-Furthermore, exposure to the same radiation should have given everyone the same effect (death), not all different (pick your superpower trick).
Anyway, the movie is just bad. Science aside, the plots has holes you could drive a Hummer through. The writers don't make you even remotely care about the characters. The acting is laughable, but I'm willing to let it go; it's a comic book movie, after all. The thing that bothers me is the wasted potential. The writers and director could have plumbed the depths for nuances on the difficulties of celebrity and being "different" (something that the X-men franchise and even Ghost Busters have managed to do), or preach a lesson on the value of teamwork and sticking up for your friends, but they forego such possibilities and focus on explosions and forgettable one-liners instead. Alba is absolutely and uniquely gorgeous (see her in her Dark Angel days), yet this movie manages to make her into a standard cleavage-and-tight-outfit comic babe, while giving her several unflattering hairdos in an unnatural blonde (to go with the cleavage and tight outfits) color. Metalloid Bad Guy is totally unmenacing (even the Green Goblin was a more compelling villain, and I thought he was just silly). I can't believe they tried to use the ending to set up a sequel-- as if anyone wanted to see more of this yawn-fest.

Fast forward to an infinitely better fantasy movie: Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've never liked the 1970s Gene Wilder version of this tale; it's too weird and creepy, with little payoff entertainment-wise. I had my doubts about this version, since I don't much care for Tim Burton's work, either; I don't find him particularly witty or visually appealing, and it seems like he tries too hard. Well, I'm glad to admit that I was WRONG in my pre-judging of this Willy Wonka (see, I can admit it when I'm wrong), because I thoroughly enjoyed my $1.50 outing to the land of the Oompa-Loompas. In my own defense, however, the ads and previews of this movie did seem to emphasize the creepy/weird aspect of the movie, and that was what I hadn't appreciated about the original film to begin with (hence, the title of this post, and by queer I don't really mean homosexual-- although I think there might be some overtones of that-- but rather the traditional meaning of unsettlingly eccentric).
The Visuals: Yes, Burton stills tries way hard, but at least, in Roald Dahl, he has found material worthy of his effort. I've read and enjoyed Dahl's books, and Burton really captures the dark and twisted (sometimes literally, as in the case of the Buckets' house) essence there. He gets an A- for a production that supports, and doesn't overpower or detract from (my view, contrary to some of the reviews I've read), the film itself. Nobody is a harsher critic than I when it comes to substance-less style, so be assured, Mr. Burton, this review should be more precious than anything from Mr. Ebert.
The Writing: Good script, fast-moving and full of zingers, most of them delivered by Mr. Depp with mincing aplomb. The story is more complete than that provided by Dahl (to the best of my memory), but I'm not complaining, because it gave Christopher Lee a cameo as an uptight dentist (but no more spoilers from me). The writing gets a B for accomplishing its purpose in a more than adequate manner.
The Players and Performances: It's Johnny Depp's show all the way, of course, and I'm thinking that I really must go out of my way to see Finding Neverland, because for all of his seeming oddity, I'm coming to consider Mr. Depp one of the best actors of this time. His Jack Sparrow in Pirates was a revelation to me, and I'm thinking that with some more intelligent choices, that Academy Award might become a reality. Depp's Wonka is twitchily anti-social, yet not without conscience. The page-boy bob, the top hat and cane, the lilting whisper and comments on notecards... he somehow seems like he could be a real person (although not, as some have speculated, Michael Jackson; Mr. Jackson has never been, to my knowledge, nearly as articulate or well-dressed as Mr. Wonka). Is this Dahl's Willy Wonka? Perhaps not, but this is the perfect Wonka for this particular movie. All the focus on Depp should not distract one from the solid performance of Freddy Highmore as the earnest heart of the film; he is loveable without being cloying. Nor may we neglect any of the supporting players who contribute so well to the general quality: Helena Bonham Carter (Can this lady ever be made to look unattractive?) and Noah Taylor as Charlie's loving parents; David Kelly as Grandpa Joe (not to mention the other amusing grandparents); all of the other children and their respective parents; and the aforementioned screen legend, Christopher Lee. Special honor and mention (and a special Oscar, in my opinion) should go to Deep Roy as all of the Oompa-Loompas, singing and dancing in a variety of MTV-inspired musical numbers and basically holding the entire narrative together. The cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory get a solid A for ensemble acting!
The Theme: Did it have an underlying message? Was there some finger-wagging about use of third-world sweat-shop labor in factories? Were we supposed to be inspired to live out our dreams, no matter how seemingly frivolous (like candy)? To be ourselves? Was it really about valuing one's family as the only measure of true success? I'm not sure, to be honest. I'll give it a C for thematic amibuity, but that's okay, if preaching a message wasn't the main point of the movie. If Mr. Burton wants to enlighten me, he is free to do so.
Overall: I rate this movie 4/5 stars. I'm not sure whether it was really all that great a movie, in and of itself, or if it just seemed great, because I saw it immediately following Fantastic Four, which would have made a low-budget Western seem like Stagecoach. Aw, heck, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Attention, Film/Video Majors!

2005-10-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Apparently Al Qaeda has taken note of the poor reviews its recent films have received.
For example, the 2005 Los Angeles/Melbourne threat video was universally panned.
In response, Al Qaeda has begun attempting to recruit A/V professionals to give its propaganda that slick Hollywood feel.

In other news: The Ig Nobel Prizes are being handed out, just as the Nobel Prizes are.
The inventor of synthetic dog testicles took home the Ig Nobel Prize for medicine. Read about his work and that of the other winners.

The Nobel Prizes have been fairly standard this year.
Physics--for research into quantum properties in optics
Chemistry--for the discovery of metathesis method of organic synthesis
Medicine--for proving that bacteria, not stress, cause stomach ulcers. Thank goodness, or else my stomach would be riddled with holes like the surface of the moon...
Peace--for doing something with nuclear inspection at the UN. Not sure how this would be classified as strictly related to "peace" in this war-torn world, but I must answer my own implied query with just two words: Yasser Arafat. Or Henry Kissinger. Yeah. Earlier this week, I read speculation that U2 rockers were being considered for the award. Whatever. *snicker*
Economics--not yet announced
Literature--not yet announced

Haute Hypocrisy

2005-09-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

Of course, we all know that Kate Moss has been caught doing drugs (cocaine, to be exact). She is being fired from many of her high-profile (not to mention high-paying) modeling contracts. While I sympathize with uptight advertising execs who want to send a clear "we-do-not-tolerate-drug-use" message, I have to question the deeper motives of the fashion industry in general. This is blatant hypocrisy! The world of high fashion design and merchandising has probably never been a haven of justice and/or sweet reason (two words: eating disorder), but there has been a certain attitude of tolerance, and "dirty laundry" has usually been kept within the community. Why is Kate Moss taking a fall?

First, Moss herself has now admitted that she was really doing drugs, so she is not a victim of slander. Furthermore, Moss has a known history of drug and alcohol abuse, and has been considered by many to be a public (pretty) face of a sort of swinging, hard-drinking London lifestyle; she was representative of "heroin chic" in the 1990s. Up till now, however, she has been tolerated. This time, has she taken one hit too many? Is the industry primed for a change back to truly healthier imagery (now, this I'd like to see)? Why is the industry as a whole (plus other media) turning on her? Kate has been a glamorous and edgy representative for numerous lucrative campaigns; the more controversial she was, the more valuable she became. So, the only answer that makes sense to me is that others are using her problems as a shield, trying to deflect attention from the many other people who abuse drugs. Seriously, if designers and marketers fired everyone in the industry who does drugs, there would be hardly anyone left! Many models are notorious partiers and drinkers, and even supermodel Naomi Campbell has been open about her struggles with drugs; designers have been known to use drugs (D. Versace, who famously went into rehab, is an example). Instead of firing everyone, the powers that be are firing Kate Moss as a warning to everyone else.

I don't approve of drug abuse, but I have always felt a little sorry for Kate Moss. How many real friends does she have?

2005-09-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yay! Blogger's photo function works today! It was really frustrating last night, when it wouldn't work.

Here is a nice picture from our time at Disneyland last Sunday. This is Amanda and I on the Storybook Land Boat Ride. Even though it's cheesy, I love the Storybook Land Boat Ride!

I'd like to pay a little tribute to Amanda Winter. When I first met her, I wasn't sure how we'd get along. She seemed nice enough, but we didn't have a lot in common (difference in age, interests, etc.). Plus, we had a certain amount of "baggage" and social awkwardness to overcome: Jeff's former girlfriend is Amanda's best friend from college; Ben's former girlfriend was one of my best friends from college. Naturally, I wondered if Amanda would have it in her heart to befriend and accept me, especially after the way some of Jeff's other "friends" behaved toward me. After our respective weddings, we started hanging out, and it was such a blessing to discover that not only did Amanda accept me, but she has revealed herself to be one of the funnest, funniest, brightest, most gracious and classy ladies that I know.

I wrote a post, and Blogger deleted it.

2005-09-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a different post.

Last Sunday, Jeff and I went to Disneyland with the Winters. It was the annual outing for Jeff and Ben's division at NGC, so those who didn't have annual passes got tickets, and everyone got varied amounts of meal vouchers.

I took my camera and had a good time.

Sadly, Blogger won't let me add pictures right now.

You should see Meet Me in St. Louis

2005-09-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I’m not certain that I like the place my life has taken me. Or rather, I'm certain I don't like it. My daily routine generally consists of waking up, muddling through getting ready, coming in to work later than I should, pretending to myself and everyone that I wasn’t late, muddling my way through 8 hours of work while listening to punk music (easy to do when you’re just doing config management), driving home while wondering at the inability of the general populace to handle an automobile with any sense of safety or decency, settling on the couch to read or watch something, or settling onto Jeff’s lap, if he is already home, and then we discuss dinner and figure out whether to watch Simpsons or Futurama, after which we do stuff like cleaning, schoolwork (now that we’re both in class again), paperwork, or spending time with people. My life isn’t evil, or a pit of despair, but it’s discouraging. Jeff and I are both tired, fed up with our jobs, stressed out regarding finances, the house construction schedule changes, friends’ problems, etc. The things that are important to me, and even the little things that used to make me happy, are put on hold because there is no time for them. Plenty of people annoy me, because by and large, they’re stupid; my tongue is in pain because I have to bite it so often. I’ve been running at full speed for ten years now, and I’m tired of it, but there seems to be no escape.

I wish I could just stay home, away from people, for months at a time, doing something I like that pays decent money. I’d let friends and family in on occasion, of course, but you’d have to (and probably want to) leave when I got cranky.
Potential jobs:
Science writer—Get paid to interpret the brilliant findings of people who have worse people skills than even I do. Yes!
Musician and composer—I’d be the kind that always wears black and lurks in coffee houses, “suffering” for her “art”. I’m already experimenting with piercings and hair dye, so it may just be a matter of time.
Fiction writer—I don’t talk about it much, but I still have as much imagination as I had when I was 10 years old, while possessing a lot more life experience. Heheh.
Non-fiction writer—Lots of people need to be set straight on a lot of things. Theology, science, culture, history, politics, you name it. They should pay me to do it for them.
E-business or other digital professional—The people-avoidance career of choice for INTJs. I can do web development from my home, right? If only I knew how.
Advice giver—You know, like Abby or Ann Landers. I’d be a straight shooter, and I could get paid for telling people off. “Dear Frustrated in Fresno, Your life is a mess because you are stupid and worthless. Stop blaming your hard-working parents whose only fault was failing to discipline you as much as you deserved. If you want respect, you have to earn it. While you’re processing that, you can mow my lawn for $5.” I’d do it all by e-mail, so as to avoid interfacing with any real people.
Reviewer of classic movies—Too bad Leonard Maltin already did this. Let me know if you’d buy a book on old movies that I write. It may be worth a shot. 100 Classic Films Everyone Should See, Because I Say So. You know you’d want to read it.

Thoughts? Jeff says I can start my own business and stuff, but I can’t do it fulltime yet, since I need to be sure to earn money. Money is so tiresome! Words of wisdom from Meet Me in St. Louis:
Rose Smith: Money. I hate, loathe, despise and abominate money.
Mr. Alonzo Smith: You also spend it.

Fun notes on history

2005-09-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

It pays to brush up on your history! I’ve discovered that fifty years ago today, Juan Peron (best known to today’s generation as Madonna’s husband, cf Evita) was deposed by a military coup. Though significant, it was not a decisive defeat, as Peron later returned to a beleaguered Argentina and was re-elected president in 1973.
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory

More flurries

2005-09-16T00:20:00.000-07:00

First of all, I must admit that I am on a serious ice cream bar kick. I crave them. So I picked some up on my way to see Sara and Elizabeth this evening. Mmm.

Second of all, that brings me to my next point: I really love spending time with Sara and Elizabeth. We have been best friends for years: Sara and I since junior high, and Elizabeth since college. We all had families that lived near the Portland area of Oregon, so we'd visit each other during summer and interterm breaks. We became roommates some time after graduating, and began a tradition known as Roommate Night, that has continued even after we stopped living together. Every Thursday night (although the night of the week has varied, according to our schedules), we congregate at one of our apartments. We've been working our way through Romans for the better part of the year; it's taken us a long time because we often opt to do something else with our evening, e.g. do crafts like soapmaking or watch a movie. This past year, I've sort of taken Roommate Night for granted. Now, however, I'm realizing how much it is a part of my life, and how much I'll miss it when I move up north.

The thing about my friendship with Elizabeth and Sara is that we are pretty much like sisters. It's about more than just living together and having extensive history. We have gut-level friendship. We can look at each other, and know what the other is thinking. We have inside jokes that don't even need to be verbalized. We can be blunt with one another, and disagree about things, and not worry that it will mar our relationships, because we're beyond that. If you, dear reader, have a sibling, you might understand how it works-- you may fight with a brother or sister, but deep down, you're rock-solid, because your love for one another is not a feeling, it's part of who you are. The roommates-- we're not perfect, and can still hurt one another, but I think our love for one another is a little bit like heaven, except that heaven will be minus the sin.

Furthermore, the three of us are so different. We have different gifts, different hobbies, different futures. Elizabeth is likely to remain in So Cal; I'm moving to the Central Valley; Sara does not even know where she will eventually live, for she will be moving to an as-yet-undetermined but undoubtedly remote area to do Bible translation with Wycliffe. Sara and I are techies, of a sort; Elizabeth works in a people-related job. Sara and Elizabeth like Christian pop music, Christian romance novels, and "chick flicks"; I find them abhorrent. Sara and I enjoy classic black-and-white films; Elizabeth does not care for them. Elizabeth (ENFJ) is a warm-hearted romantic; Sara (ESTJ) is blunt and practical; I (INTJ) am introspective and analytical. But somehow, we make a good mix. I appreciate them not only for themselves, but because they help me to change and become better.

We had a great Bible study tonight. Elizabeth said something profound: "Until we see ourselves as GOD sees us, and see Him as He knows Himself to be, we will be unable to relate to GOD properly. We will be unfulfilled." Sara offered practical examples from her Church and Society class. I commented on the relationship between a sin action and the appropriate (shame) and inappropriate (guilt) reactions, and their role in society. We ate ice cream bars. After Elizabeth left to run an errand, Sara and I had a good long talk about struggles, culture, and other things. Sara is a great sounding board because she is a good listener who gives truly honest feedback, and she is willing to take the time to understand me, because she's known me for so long and has had lots of practice. This, however, should not be construed as indicating that Elizabeth is not a good sounding board. =)

I love my friends!

Flurry

2005-09-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

How can I be working and blogging* at the same time? Thanks to the modern wonders of data mining, I am writing while my computer processes data. I’m sitting at work, running through data and listening to my music. The data work is dull, but must be done. It keeps my fingers occasionally busy, but my mind fairly empty. That leads to thinking and introspection, which can only lead to badness.

Yep, it led to badness. Also, I think I did some of my data processing incorrectly (miscounted some factors). All I have to say is “Oh, nutty fudgekins!”

Murray just came in and talked to Kent about a really cool project for diagramming and displaying the function of the optical sub-system in the gyrocompass assembly. Something useful and instructive. That is what I would rather be doing, instead of this stupid, boring task that I’m on right now. I know that sub-system better than almost anyone else on the planet. I’m a freaking photo-system goddess! Utilize me!

I just remembered that Mom told me yesterday that Mike is going to be here this weekend, and I would like to see him, so that’s something else I need to do by the end of the week.

*I am admiring the way that an abbreviated noun became a verb. Weblog (n. log or journal on the web) --> blog (n. ugly but serviceable word meaning weblog) --> blog (v. to write and post on said weblog). These bloggily (adv. done according blog fashion) blogged blogs now form a virtual layer of the world, referred to as the “blogosphere”. It sounds like it could have a Greek root word:
blogw**: I write my seemingly deep thoughts on a piece of parchment and post them in the agora for all the polis to read.
In a similar way, BUBBS went from being an acronym (n. Biola University Bulletin Board System) to a verb (v. to communicate via said BBS, a la “BUBBS me,” indicating “e-mail me via BUBBS”) to a virtual campus (even more so, now that the layout was changed to reflect the actual Biola campus). Freaky.
**Why does Blogger have a Webdings font (what the heck is that, anyway?), but NOT a Greek font? Have they no consideration for the vast multitude of classical scholars who are blog-happy and active on the WWW? Grrr. Pretend for now that "blogw" is written in Greek letters. I'll try to find a way to fix it later.

2005-09-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is the second morning in a row that I have awakened with a headache. Ick. Must be tension or something. It's really impeding my ability to be productive.

I'm doing all right on my to-do list. Last night, I did several loads of laundry, watched and deleted one movie, signed some paperwork, and updated my resume. Now to send it off to dozens of places, hoping one of them will take notice. In addition to resumes and cover letters, people should be allowed to include little "Why you should hire me" questionnaires, with explanations of how their skills specifically map to the job in question.

Jeff and I watched Rome: Engineering an Empire last night. It was a pretty good documentary, detailing (obviously) engineering (mostly architecture) in the Roman Empire. It made me wish we had HBO, so that I could watch the TV series that they've produced on Rome. However, I can just wait till they release the DVDs and maybe get them via Netflix or rent them at a video store. But back to the original point: I like engineering and I like ancient/classical history, so this was a very fun film to see. If you are like me, try to watch it! It will probably air again soon on the History channel.

Forever To-Do

2005-09-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

It's too difficult to break up tasks by the day, so I'm going to put up a list for the week. This way, if I don't accomplish stuff, everyone on the internet will know what a loser I am! But this week I plan to accomplish:

Housing loan paperwork
Clean the kitchen, including the refrigerator (facing down my fears of the new life forms that are undoubtedly lurking in some of the ancient styrofoam containers in the back)
Wash, dry, fold, and put away laundry, including bed linens
Complete three lessons on the Ancient Church: lectures, reading, and questions
Schedule a meeting with J. Mosbarger

Take care of BMG music stuff
Watch and delete at least two of my movies from the DVR
Exercise
Practice flute and piano
Update my resume
Apply to lots and lots of jobs in the Central Valley
Make plans to get together with at least three friends that I haven't seen for a while
Play some X-box with Jeff
Spend time with Jeff minus the X-box
See my beloved Sara and Elizabeth for Roommate Night (for which I must also do the next chapter of our Bible study)
Maybe see Christina and Laurel
Write to Debbie and some other friends
Make goodies to take to the Friday morning Birthday Brunch at work
Complete summary tables, timelines, and organization for Cheryl's task (at least I get paid to do this...)
Watch Sci Fi Friday
Go to church on Sunday
Eat, sleep, and attend to personal hygiene (I admit it-- I like to put some pretty obvious stuff on my to-do lists, so I can be sure of checking off at least one or two things.)

I'm moving into high-speed over-achiever project director mode. I hope it last at least through November.

Copperheads!

2005-09-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

As anyone who has lived in the North American "midwest" knows, the copperhead is a dangerous poisonous snake.

There is now another dangerous copperhead: Deb! Yes, in a spirit of adventure, and aided and abetted by my dear friend Laurel, I now possess hair that is the color of a shiny new penny. Believe it or not, my intent was to have more of a rich brown color (after all my years of brunette envy), but it turned out red, due to the fact that my pale blonde hair was not a dark enough base to get the Rich Cider Brown (as advertised on the box).

Before:

After:

Realtime online checklist

2005-09-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Accomplishments so far:

Friday
Breakfast with Christina-- done
Work all day-- done (close enough)
Deposit Jeff's check--done
Practice flute
Watch Sci Fi Friday with Jeff
Wash, dry, and fold laundry
Select CDs from online music service--begun
Saturday
Set up study schedule
E-mail J. Mosbarger
Exercise
Clean kitchen, including refrigerator
Possibly see Josh and Laurel
Call Mom
Watch an old movie
Sunday
Go to church
Begin school work
Practice flute and piano
Spend at least two hours working on creative projects
Possibly see Josh and Laurel

I need a job! Give me a job!

2005-09-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

Searching for employment in the Visalia area is something that weighs heavily upon my mind right now, as we have just several weeks left before we move. If anyone reading this blog is located in the Central Valley and knows of a job opening for a brilliant and hardworking scientist, please let me know. I'm going to apply for several more jobs tonight.

Another priority: My last Talbot class, the Ancient Church. I need to get working on that. I wish motivation was as easily obtained as chocolate, and equally as satisfying. I am totally into the ancient world, theology, and all that stuff, so you'd think I'd be eager to start the class, but I'd rather be in summer mode: watching Simpsons, Futurama, and Family Guy, and surfing the internet.

Thoughts on perspective: I went to the doctor on Tuesday, and got the usual physical check-up thingie. I forgot to ask the nurse what my blood pressure is, but I did note my weight when she measured that. Later that day, I spent a little time with Laurel, and told her that I had just had my weight confirmed at xxx lbs. She put up her hand to give me a high five, and then realized that I was just sort of staring at her. "That's not good?," she asked. "Well," I replied, "it's neither good nor bad, but I'm just not used to being this heavy. My inner ballerina thinks I should be 20 lbs slimmer, but my husband prefers me this way. Which will win out?" One person's elephant is another person's ideal, I guess.

Thoughts on theology: I went to Taco Bell with Doug (aka Patton) at lunch today. We talked about some theological issues. He is a Christian, hailing from a quite small and very specific denomination. I don't necessarily have disagreement with his doctrine, but I question some of the practices. They request that members joining their church be baptized, whether or not they have already been baptized in the faith. I ascribe to the idea of One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, so as long as people are truly Christian, I see no reason to undergo a second baptism (and certainly some reasons not to). They do not consider baptism to be regenerative, though, according to Doug.

The world of roommates: I had roommate night with just Sara tonight, as Elizabeth was still flying down from visiting her family in Portland. We intentionally kept it low-key, and watched Cold Comfort Farm. Very interesting. Charming. Not quite what I'd expected.

My sisi always posts her schedules and to-do lists online, so I'm going to try it:
Friday
Breakfast with Christina
Work all day
Deposit check

Practice flute
Watch Sci Fi Friday with Jeff
Wash, dry, and fold laundry
Select CDs from online music service
Saturday
Set up study schedule
E-mail J. Mosbarger

Exercise
Clean kitchen, including refrigerator
Possibly see Josh and Laurel
Call Mom
Watch an old movie
Sunday
Go to church
Begin school work
Practice flute and piano
Spend at least two hours working on creative projects
Possibly see Josh and Laurel

Gifts of the spirit

2005-09-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

More on the topic, mostly because I didn't want to ramble so much in the comments.

Well, my reflection on spiritual gifting was prompted by a re-evaluation of my own gifts. As with the rest of my life, my spiritual gifts seem to be numerous but none of them are very strong or impressive. I'm a little bit gifted at a lot of stuff, but not extremely gifted at anything.

I have always thought that my gift of teaching was my strongest spiritual gift, and that tied in nicely with my natural gift of teaching in non-spiritual areas (I've been told that I should be a teacher since I was in high school). I also have gifts of wisdom, knowledge, shepherding, and discernment of spirits. However, I am starting to think that I have the gift of prophecy, as well. No, no, that doesn't mean I can foretell the future (unless God chooses to use me so at some point), but rather, I speak Truth to people, even when they don't want to hear it; come to think of it, especially when they don't want to hear it. This does not make for a very popular gift.

It has often happened that I will give advice to people, even being very specific about circumstances and likely consequences, and people will blow me off. It is so annoying! I have been trying to bring attention to a certain problem for a few years, and after these few years of constantly saying, "This situation is bad, and will lead to this, this, and this," the leader of the group has said to me, "We've consistently noticed this problem..." So that is good, but I have to wonder, WHY? Why won't people listen to me the first time? Do I seem ignorant? Do I give off the impression that I don't know what I'm talking about? So much trouble in the world could be saved, if people would just listen to me. It's not even that I want anything from being accepted as right, except to keep people from making mistakes, whether mild or serious. I just want to help people.

So while I will not reject what the LORD gives, I'd sort of prefer to not have the gift of prophecy. Is that wrong of me? It leads to frustration. I'd be perfectly happy to have the gift of mercy or helps or faith or pretty much anything else.

People wondering about their spiritual gifts can take some online assessments, although they probably provide estimates rather than absolute knowledge; I'm sure only the Spirit can confirm to you what your gifts really are. Also, different people have different views on the battery of spiritual gifts. However, there are generally consistent lists, drawn from the Bible. Check into spiritual gift-related resources at your local church, too. Here are a few online tests:
http://www.elca.org/evangelism/assessments/spiritgifts.html
http://buildingchurch.net/g2s-i.htm
http://mintools.com/gifts.htm

2005-09-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Too much to do.
Unfocused.
Working hard and harder, but probably not smarter.
Unmotivated.
SOMEbody has to do all the tedious tasks that must be done. But why does that somebody have to be me?
Tired, tired, tired.
Stressed, stressed, stressed.

So, in the interest of self-distraction, I'm providing a Spiritual Gifts Poll:
1. What is/are your primary spiritual gift(s)? Secondary (if any)?
2. How did you discover it/them?
3. Do other people recognize these gifts in you? Do they urge you to use them in service to God and His Kingdom?
4. How do your gifts impact you, yourself? What do you appreciate about them? Do you wish you had different gifts?
5. Do you think gifts can change, over the years? How do you think they relate to personalities and non-spiritual gifts and abilities?

I have a practical reason for wondering, of course, but I also think it is an interesting topic. Please reply!

yawn

2005-08-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I felt the urge to post, but didn't do it. Now that I'm posting (while finally winding down enough to go to sleep), I can't think of anything significant to write. Such is life.

Here are some pictures.

Aspects of Deb: I'm having fun with Christina, reading about my favorite cult (note the sass with caffeine), and being introspective.

Green Day cleans up

2005-08-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Green Day and Kelly Clarkson swept through the Video Music Awards, winning Best Video, Best Group Video, and Best Rock Video (Green Day), and Best Female Video and Best Pop Video (Clarkson). The ones they didn't win were the ones they weren't nominated for (the exception being the fact that in the category where they were both nominated--Best Pop Video--one of them had to lose; Green Day had three VMAs, so they could let Kelly Clarkson take another one)! Gwen Stefani had been heavily favored to win Best Video and/or Best Female Video for "Hollaback Girl", but while I like No Doubt, I haven't liked Stefani's solo efforts, so I was glad she didn't win anything. I love Green Day and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", but honestly, I thought their video was lame and too obvious; it would have been way better if they'd been filmed singing about "walking a lonely road" while on a crowded street-- being alone and broken in a crowd: that's poetic.

I {heart} Green Day. The only men I can think of who look good in heavy eyeliner.

As my dear readers might know, there is a hurricane buffeting the Gulf Coast of North America. You might have missed the news, if you've been living in a remote cave sans TV, radio, internet, and newspaper delivery. I care because I've been hoping to move to New Orleans some day, and if New Orleans is no longer there, I don't know what I'll do. I want to get my Ph.D. at Tulane.

This weekend was fine and fun. I spent Friday evening with my dear friend Barbara Miller, then watched Sci Fi with Jeff. Baal is back in Stargate: SG-1. They should bring Vala back as well. It would be great to see those two go at it tooth and claw.

Saturday, I hosted a Mary Kay party combined with a craft party. It was very fun, if tiring. We had a decent turn-out: Mom and Mia, Jaime Brennan, Joi Weaver, Jessica Locarnini, Amanda Winter, Sara Brown, and Megan Mendoza (with special guest Marian, her baby daughter). If I forgot anyone, I apologize; it was unintentional. Anyway, Mom and Mia were a great help in getting ready, and Jaime did a good job with her Mary Kay presentation. If you like Mary Kay products (excellent for skin care), check out her site.

Sunday, we went to church and then hung loose for the afternoon and evening. I did some laundry and reading; Ben visited b/c Amanda was at work, and he and Jeff played Halo; Jeff and I watched punk rock videos on Fuse.

Weh

2005-08-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I'm here at work, having just eaten my leftovers from Sunday lunch and currently considering going downstairs for a guidance program meeting. I need to be there by 1:30, but don't really want to subject myself to too much in the way of metrics and corporate politics.

I thought it worth noting that I had my birthday recently, and am now creaking on the edge of dotage, at 28. I don't feel 28. Weird. Anyway, I had a party, and some close friends and family came, and it was very nice. I don't usually do big stuff for my birthdays, but it is my last birthday here in Southern Cal, so I wanted to see as many people as possible. Most people didn't bring gifts, per request, but Sara and Elizabeth brought some for tradition's sake. Elizabeth and I gave Sara her birthday gift, too: a heart-shaped locket that will have our tiny pictures in it, so that "she can always carry us with her in her heart." That is significant because I am moving this year, and Sara and Jeremy will be sent somewhere overseas (they haven't had an assignment yet) with Wycliffe in the next year or two, so our time together is precious.
Anyway, I got:
My own iPod Mini!!! I guess Jeff got tired of me always borrowing his. He and Josh and Laurel pitched in to get it for me. It was completely unexpected. Jeff also gave me a gift card for $15 worth of songs from iTunes.
A sweet photo album. This was from Elizabeth, and I'll use it to gather together a lot of the photos that we girls have taken together, over the years (college activities, vacation fun, trips to the zoo or animal park, D-land, alternate banquets, etc). =) It's a special girlfriend album.
Owls from Sara. This is sort of an inside joke, but my nickname in my family (who all have nicknames from Milne's books) is Owl, so Sara started buying me stuffed owls for gifts a little over a year ago. Believe it or not, owls are not easy to come by in the toy market... Now I have more than 10, which is an official collection. They are so cute, too. Several of them came from Japan (which she visited last month), where owls are popular.
A special card and gift from Christina. I won't specify much here, but will just say that she is way too generous.
Homemade card from Amanda. It's very pretty, and shows a lot of attention to detail.
Indonesian food. This was a present from Mike, to allow for my guests to eat at my party. He got me my own special treat, too: lemper!!!!!
Cake. Elizabeth made and decorated it herself, with the fancy frosting curlicues and everything! Impressive, and it was tasty, too. She put candles on it, and made sure that four of them were trick candles, so I had to go to extra effort to put them out. Very funny, Elizabeth.
Card and generous gift from Debbie and Jerry. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love my in-laws. I can't imagine having better "acquired" family than them, with caring and supportive parents, and solid and loving siblings like Rob and Candace.
I hope I didn't leave anything out.

Anyway, a few days before my birthday, Jeff and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. We celebrated by going to Catal in Downtown Disney, which was just okay. We went there last year, and liked it, so we thought we'd try it again this year. However, they've changed their menu a bit, so they didn't have anything I really liked. Oh, bleh. Such is life.

I'm just plugging along with life, then. This afternoon, after the meeting, I have to go to campus and finish registration for this term, in which I will take my last ever class at Biola/Talbot. Praise Jesus! After that, I'll just need to finish tweaking my charts for my presentation tomorrow.

Over and out!

Long time

2005-08-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long time since I posted. I thought about writing something over the past week, but then thought, "Oh, I'm so boring. Who wants to read my nonsense, anyway?" So that is that.

I decided to post today because (for 30 more minutes, CA time) it is the birthday of our (mine, Laurel's, Mia's) favorite cutie from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Yes, happy birthday to James Marsters, who is (believe it or not) 43 years of age. He is a truly talented actor, so I hope he gets some good projects and has a solid career for many years to come.

Here he is, in a rare happy moment with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), planning their wedding, which never comes to pass.

One thing I really admire about any actor is his ability to act with his whole self: face, mind, and body. Here, Marsters embraces the Cross, in his character as a lost (then found) soul seeking redemption.

Random piece of humour

2005-08-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Economic systems, described in terms of cows

INDIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You worship them.

PAKISTAN ECONOMICS
You dont have any cows.
You claim that the Indian cows belong to you.
You ask the US for financial aid,
China for military aid,
British forWarplanes,
Italy for machines,
Germany for technology,
French for submarines,
Switzerland for loans,
Russia for drugs
Japan for equipment.
You buy the cows with all this and claim
exploitation by theworld.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the
milk of four cows.
You profess surprise when the cow drops dead.
You put the blame on some nation with cows &
naturally that nation will be a
danger to mankind.
You wage a war to save the world and grab the
cows.

FRENCH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You reengineer them so that they live for 100
years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
They are both mad cows.

ITALIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.

SWISS ECONOMICS
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You redesign them so that they are one-tenth the
size of an ordinary cow
and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create cute cartoon cow images called
Cowkimon and market them worldwide.

RUSSIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 17 cows.
You give up counting and open another bottle of
vodka.

CHINESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment, high bovine
productivity and arrest anyone
reporting the actual numbers.

Wow

2005-08-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Criminologists actually meet some criminals! Furthermore, the criminals have some solid ideas about how to reduce crime! Who would have thought?!

Seriously, though, it is the desire of the criminals to effect change, rather than their ability, that is surprising to me. Good for them! See, I respect even murderers who are willing to improve themselves and reach out to others. It's people who refuse to make the effort that are the ones to earn my disapproval.

2005-08-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

A byt of Bulwer-Lytton humor.

Generic post

2005-08-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome, gentle reader!

I had a fairly uneventful weekend. I watched a lot of TV (I'm coming to like Firefly very much) and old movies, and fiddled around on computers. Sarah K. Ditore is here, of course, so we had a good time hanging out and chatting. But over all, a lot of lazing around and cat snuggling.

Now it's back to another week of work and hoop-jumping, punctuated by our anniversary on Wednesday. We don't have exact plans yet, but Jeff has been hinting for weeks that I will be very excited about the gift he got me, so I just can't wait!

Finally, I think that the resemblance between Jeff and Joel McCrea would be greatly enhanced by Jeff being leaner and donning cowboy gear, but it's okay if no one else sees it.

TGIF again

2005-08-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Happily, Friday finally arrived again, even though it often seemed, throughout the week, as though it might not.

I had a reasonably good and productive day at work. At the very least, I survived, so it was quite an unqualified success! Seriously, though, I did a lot of work on my various projects, and went to lunch with the guys (or at least, some of them-- Doug/Patton, Clarence/Killer, Eric/Acolyte, and Carroll Shiplett/the old guy). Jeff and I had chiropractic appointments, and then went to the grocery store.

Sarah Ditore arrived just before dinner time. She's visiting for a few days! We ate fajitas, and now we're watching Sci Fi Friday. Yay!

There's not much to share. Not many adventures this week.

TCM had a full day of Joel McCrea films. I recorded several. If I had to choose a favorite actor, of all the classic actors I adore, it just might be Joel McCrea. I think that Jeff looks a lot like him, although Jeff doesn't agree... I'm not sure why not, since Mr. McCrea was very handsome, as well as talented. I'm attempting to post a picture:

Okay, so my use of HTML still needs some work. It's just-- Doesn't he look like Jeff would, if he wore western gear and posed with Veronica Lake (who looks something like me, if I had my hair that way and wore 1940s-style clothes)?

Feel the Love

2005-08-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I went to Rutabagorz (in Fullerton) for dinner tonight, because Jeff and Kelly Leary are in town, so we got together with them and Mark and Brandy Baesel. It was lovely to see all of them. Old friends are the best friends! It was awkward for a few minutes at the beginning, and then we were chatting and laughing fairly easily, like old times. Jeff (the other one) and Kel are moving to Ankara, Turkey, in just a few weeks! We hope to visit them, because c'mon, it's Turkey! They plan to join an archaeological association, and go on lots of travel and tours (but scholarly, not touristy, tours), and it would be so awesome to visit and see some really cool stuff from behind the scenes. [Deb the archaeology buff wipes away drool, for fear of damaging keyboard...]
Mark and Brandy are also hoping to move; they're looking into apartments and jobs in north San Diego County, where Brandy's family lives.

Jeff and Kelly Leary, Mark and Brandy Baesel

Jeff and Kelly, and Deb and Jeff

So, moving on with things: I am working on my resume to send out for various jobs in Visalia. Anybody have any good leads on employment in the Central Valley? It's sometimes difficult for an engineer without formal engineering training.

Jeff is playing Halo with some incredibly foul-mouthed little kids.

I feel old

2005-07-31T23:21:00.000-07:00

My BABY SISTER is ENGAGED.

I have to go back to work tomorrow morning. Such a drag.

Out with the guys

2005-07-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, after going to the Earthworks and then to dinner, a group of the engineers went to a bar in Granville called Brews. I thought it was very interesting to go there and see the local wildlife. It was a total dive! As far as I could tell, the primary motivation for going there was to experience some beer named Arrogant Bastard (no, really, that is its name).

Our manager, Andy, stood us up for dinner, and we discovered that he'd just gone straight to the bar. He was pretty toasted when we caught up with him there. Charming. He leered at Jaime and made off-color jokes about his own lack of endowment. Should make staff meetings more engrossing from now on.

Deb and Jaime pose together. Why? Because we're pretty rocket scientists! We have to admit, though, that neither of us are very good at flirting. *sigh*

David Vickers, a key member of the top-ranked bar trivia team STEELR (Buffalo Wild Wings in Heath on Tuesday night). Deb, David, and Brian ruled the trivia world!

Mark Tinawi: Mr. Gap Inc, and everyone's favorite interim supportability guy. He's the source of a good story: For some reason, on Wednesday afternoon, Mark threw a crumpled piece of paper at me. I responded by throwing a crumpled napkin at him. Since I can't throw worth anything, I missed him, so I threw another wadded-up napkin, but missed him and hit Henry instead. They laughed at me and threw them back at me. I took one of the napkins, wetted it with my water bottle, and threw it at an opportune moment-- I hit him square on the neck with the world's largest spitwad. Heheh. He said it hurt, though. Sorry, Mark! Anyway, then, to my amusement and horror (equal servings of both), I saw that Bob Lusitano (Northrop Grumman program manager) was staring at us. In between snickering and gasping, I berated the Mark and Henry: "Guys, quit fooling around! This is serious business!" *snort snort* Lusitano kept looking at me for the rest of the afternoon.
I swear, I sometimes act like a giggly teenager, but I am a doggone good analyst!

I intimated that my briefing did not go well. Overall, it was actually pretty good. The beginning and ending were kind of weak, but the middle part (the stuff with the data and the technical interchanging) was fine. The worst part was when the customer rep asked me some questions, and I dithered a bit, because it took me a few minutes to figure out what he really wanted to know, versus what he actually asked (which were not the same thing). Cheryl jumped in with some good info, but I had lost my momentum, and the customer guy wouldn't look or talk in my direction (and I was in the front, at the podium) for the rest of the time. It doesn't help that the customer rep looks and acts like a bug that just crawled out from the darkness under a rock. Seriously, he totally does: He hunches over and glances around from side to side, tilting his head up to squint at you, as you mutter about schedule or brilliantly explain your spectral analysis... Makes me laugh.

Ancient Wonders!!!!!

2005-07-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back from beautiful Ohio.

How can I possibly summarize my adventures? It was a business trip, and as far as business goes, it sucked, but as a trip, it was okay.

I saw my fifteenth wonder of the ancient world: the Great Earthworks of Newark, Ohio. So I was very happy that I went.

This map was pretty much useless.

It's large enough that it is very difficult to get a good pictures of anything but a tree or a minor mound:
Within the Great Circle

View of the earthen wall of the Great Circle

I hiked all around and over the Great Circle (c. 30 acres in area) in my cute high heeled brown shoes from the San Diego outlet. I don't recommend it. My feet hurt for the rest of the evening.

I went to the Earthworks park with Ramon:

He's a gyro engineer.

Why, oh why, oh why-o!

2005-07-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Why did I ever go to Ohio?
I know why. Technical Interchange Meetings.

Bleh. This has been a travesty, so far.

The bright side is the fact that the admirable Kevin White lent me Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I read in its entirety yesterday. It was quite good. Rowling's writing really is getting better and better. I thought it was slow at first. Some thoughts:
-I guessed the identity of the Half-Blood Prince before the book was even published; in fact, when Rowling first announced the title of her up-coming volume. How? Why? I don't know. I just noted that Rowling hinted that it was an already established character, so I just went through the list of possible candidates whose origins were still murky, and came to a conclusion. My guess was confirmed by things throughout the book.
-I figured out by the middle of the book which major character would leave the story.
-I think there's more to the ending, and the perpetrators thereof, than one would initially believe.

Tonight, a lot of people from our group went to a bar. We played a trivia game. Fun.

Okay, well, tomorrow is my big presentation. Exciting.

It is now after midnight, eastern time. *yawn* TTFN

And also...

2005-07-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours with Wendy Neal last night. It was so good to chat for a little while. I saw Connor, too. He is such a happy little guy! Wendy is a stay-at-home mom. I'm jealous. *sigh* Anyway, we went to Starbucks and then up to my apartment. Connor loved the cats! He shrieked and giggled and chased them. The cats were a little less enthusiastic about Connor, and spent the whole time slinking around and hiding. Heehee! Connor also got very excited about the X-Box game controller. I'm sure he'll be playing Halo in no time.

Okay, so this is the only picture of Wendy and me that I can find right now. We're with Crissi Clayton, at Temple Square, 2001.

know thyself

2005-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

My comments on geekiness were prompted by thoughts I had over the weekend. Among other things, I jokingly remarked that I liked hanging out with my older brother and his friends, because they make me comparatively less nerdy and socially pathetic than usual. They talk about comic books, Warhammer miniatures, and video games. You know. They are real RPG-playing, anime-watching, convention-attending geeks.

Then I started thinking. Am I in denial? I suspect that most "normal" people (whoever they are; please tell me if you can positively identify them) would see little difference between me and Dan's homies. I have all of the marks of geekiness except extreme computer expertise and Star Trek fanhood, and I sort of acquired those through marriage. I started examining my regular activities and interests.

I like hanging out by myself with just my cats and maybe my husband (when he's not elsewhere, playing Halo or being a computer or photography nerd).
I like getting good grades.
I like watching Buffy and Sci Fi Friday television, and then spending hours browsing the Internet or reading ancient literature.
I like reading science journals.
I like obsessing about obscure topics and researching them.
I like being considered an expert on a wide variety of topics.
I like being able to explain and even diagram the relationships among the various linguistic descendants of Proto-Indoeuropean.
I like my t-shirts with the periodic table or liver flukes on them.

Oh, well.

.

2005-07-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm scarfing down some spinach and leftover pasta in my office at work.
Food. It's a good thing.

Lots of interesting things have been going on in the world:

Indonesia reaches a peace agreement with Aceh

This happened a few days ago, in Helsinki (Gosh, there's a city with a low media profile. I mean, can you think of anything else that has happened in Helsinki recently? When planning vacations, does anyone ever say, "I've heard Helsinki has great beaches and a happenin' night life"? Just the name makes you want to create a joke with a bad pun as the punchline.). Aceh doesn't have independence or even autonomy, but TNI is withdrawing from the area and the Acehnese will get more and better representation. Whatever. I'm waiting to see how long it takes before gun-toting "pro-Indonesia factions" start terrorizing the countryside...

Mr. Scott Beams Up to the Big Transporter Room in the Sky
I'm not a Trekkie, but I am enough of a geek to care. I always found him to be one of the most agreeable characters from the original Star Trek crew. And I didn't know until today that Doohan was a war veteran who served at Normandy on D-Day. So, give him some respect!

Speaking of being a geek, here's an informal reader poll.
Do you consider yourself to be a geek?
Do other people consider you to be a geek?
Does it bother you? (either way)
Would you choose to be geekier?

No, really. What IS there to say?

2005-07-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

I'm just be-bopping along through my life right now. Everything has gone a little crazy, so anything other than a be-bop would be difficult to maintain.

Jeff alluded, in his blog, to the fact that our plans for moving the the Central Valley have changed somewhat. Rather than keeping our original end-of-December target, it looks as we will be moving to Visalia at the end of September. Obviously, this raises our stress level several notches, since we have many things to do, not the least of which is the finding of employment. I had counted on having several more months to spend with friends and family, and now it turns out that I don't have much time at all.

At work, things are the same as ever. This week's indignity: One of our conference rooms has actually disappeared. No joke. Yesterday, there was a conference room in the southeastern corner of the building. Today, the table and chairs have been removed, desks and file cabinets have been emplaced, and the conference room is now an office. Nobody in facilities informed anybody in our department of this change. The Outlook Calendar still officially lists me as having a meeting (I'm the Anaheim chair of the meeting) in that conference room tomorrow. What the heck?!?!?!?! Whatever. I only have two more months of this crap. Of course, I'll miss my job when I go, and eventually it will become the setting of much nostalgic rambling, but right now, I am just so done with all of it. How can they expect me to provide decent and productive work when (1) my computer is not up to standards-- officially, it's supposed to be replaced, but the IT folks don't return my pages, (2) my office is so cold I sometimes have to wear gloves, (3) facilities change without notice, (4) the customer keeps slashing budgets but expecting us to still provide them with quality analysis without being given adequate raw data or other material to work with, (5) etc. etc. etc...?

I still have lots to do at home. I planned to clean and write some letters last night, but we ended up spending the evening with the Winters-- an enjoyable pursuit, but not efficacious for house cleanliness. We did play Haunted Mansion Clue, though. There are hidden Mickeys all over the game board. =) Or rather, :o
P.S. Has anyone ever noticed that Mickey does not actually look anything like a mouse?

Jeff and I are getting by with just one car, since the Accord is still in the shop. I'm taking the bus to and from work. Not too bad, but it makes it difficult to run any errands on the way home at the end of a day.

Christina is coming over tonight. It will be good to see her.

New week

2005-07-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

There's nothing really remarkable about this week, other than the fact that Sci Fi Friday starts up again on, well, Friday.

We got back from Phoenix on Saturday night-- we had to sit in the plane for two hours on the tarmac before we even left Phoenix, and so we were tired and cranky by the time we finally got home. We took it easy on Sunday, and Mia and Tim and Dan came over. Monday, I don't remember what I did, but it wasn't very exciting. Oh, that's right, I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen. Today, I went to work (of course), and then came home, did a bit of housework, Mia and Jeff came home (Mia is staying with us for a few days, as Mom and Dad are in OR), had dinner, did some exercise, and now we're watching Buffy (of course).

Oh, the excitement.

PHX

2005-07-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are in lovely Phoenix, AZ. We are visiting the Wrights. We are trying to get in touch with Roland, so we can get together, but so far have been unsuccessful.

Arizona is a chilly and dark place. Sound strange? Well, outside, it is hot and bright. People compensate by making the insides of buildings freaking cold and dim. But some, as they say, like it hot, and I am one of them. =(

The Wrights have a dog. It is named Lewis. It barks a lot. I miss my kitty cats.

Vacation 2

2005-07-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

I wrote a longish post, but it got dumped.

We're still on vacation.

Monday: Went to Hollywood Bowl for Disneyland 50th anniversary concert. It was better than it sounds. Jeff got great seats and took me as a surprise. The concert included appearances by Mickey and Minnie, Donald Duck, composer Richard Sherman, some of the Electrical Light Parade floats, and Fess Parker (played Davey Crockett, which was-- I found out-- Jeff's favorite TV show when he was a child).

Tuesday morning, we went to LAX to meet Mia and her team as they returned from PNG. It was great to have her back, and she has plenty of exciting things to share.
Tuesday evening, we saw the King Tut exhibit at LACMA. It was fairly good, although it was over-crowded, and both Jeff and I were disappointed that they didn't have Tut's mummy and sarcophagus on display.

Vacation

2005-07-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I are well and truly on vacation. Technically, we started on Friday, but I had some work to do and we were getting some other stuff done around town, so we left on Saturday afternoon. Funny story, though. I went to drop my stuff off at work, and there were lots of people there. Hmmm, some people can't figure how to take a holiday. I walked into B's office and said, "Will you please get a life?" while he said "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!" because apparently I frightened him.

Well, anyway, Jeff and I are at an undisclosed location, far away from it all and avoiding responsibility. We went to a few museums yesterday, and have spent a lot of time vegging. We've watched four DVDs of Buffy Season 4 so far. As per usual, Riley annoys me. How could Buffy stand him? The plot involves him being given drugs to enhance his mental and physical abilities, which leads me to wonder, how dim would he have been without them?!? Excepting a few highlights (including the episode "Hush," which has the distinction of being the only episode of Buffy or Angel that has ever actually frightened me), I find Season 4 to be the low point of the series (although Jeff is happy as long as Anya is part of the action).

Back to regularly scheduled, non-Buffy programming: Today is 4 July, which is the date that the United States of America celebrate their national holiday. As my dad once said, it was very clever of those colonials to time the signing of the Declaration of Independence to coincide with a holiday.

Not sure what we're going to do today, but we're being very lazy about it. Mmmmm.

Touchy photo

2005-07-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Blogger lets you upload pictures! So, this is my cutey-pie, Touchy. And then, me with Touchy.

The only way to work

2005-07-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the first day of our vacation. We are doing stuff around here before going out of town. I had some work to finish up yesterday, so I brought it home. I'm working on it now, and I'll just run by the office and drop it off some time after lunch. Jeff is still asleep (!) so I am comfortably ensconced on the floor in the living room, with food and tea next to me, TWO laptops, and a remote and a kitty cat handy. It is warm, not cold, in my apartment. I am about to become very productive. I should totally work this way every day.
The only drawback is the fact that Touchy has developed a fascination for my cup of milk. He kept trying to lap it when it was full, and then I caught him with his head stuffed inside the cup, licking the little bit left in the bottom when I had finished drinking it. Now he is chewing on a roll of masking tape that got left on the floor.

And now, a special treat for you readers. Below is a message from Touchy. He typed it by walking and perching on my keyboard:
vf -+............................................................. imnjP0-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?>">>>>>>>>> as./

No horrifically long post now

2005-06-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

I am back at work today, after taking yesterday off… I awoke with a sore throat and a lot of pain in my neck. Fortunately, we had a chiropractor appointment in the afternoon, and after my adjustment, Dr. Lee not only did the usual muscle massage, but she also massaged the lymph nodes in my neck (to get my lymphatic system working) and pressure points on my head. Ouch! But I felt so much better after she was done, and went home with strict doctor’s orders to take a very hot shower/bath to keep the circulation going in my muscles, plus expel some toxins through my pores. Aaahhh…
Anyway, I’m back at work. This is the last day that I’ll see Sarah Carrera here; I’ll be gone on vacation tomorrow, and she’ll be over at her new job in Naval Electronics Systems immediately following the holiday (July 4). She’s been a good person to work with, and I’ll miss having her around (not least because I’m taking over some of her duties… like I need extra work!). I’m trying to get the first draft of my document finished and sent out (so people can have a week and a half to give me feedback), and my inbox cleaned out to the extent that 5 days away from work won’t cause the staggering volume of megabytage to cripple the Anaheim Exchange server. Unfortunately, I’ve already switched into vacation mode, so my motivation is at zero! *sigh*

Elizabeth is coming over tonight, and we’re going to watch a movie and have girl-talk. Sara isn’t coming because she’s in Japan for Reiko’s wedding (yay, Reiko!). But E and I will have fun anyway.

Last night, Jeff and I took Laurel to Mott's Miniatures, which is a huge miniatures store along Orangethorpe in Fullerton. It was awesome! We got Laurel a gift certificate for her birthday, so that she can get whatever she wants; she's always longed for a dollhouse, but could never afford one when she was young. The store was supposed to be open till 6 pm, but when we got there at 5:40 (Laurel had to come over from work after 5, and then we had to drive there, so it took a while), the store was closed. The door wasn't locked, though, so we just opened it and walked in. The shop girl told us that the store had closed early because no one had been coming in; I was about to argue that someone HAD just come in, so they should be open again (I'm a tough customer; don't mess with the Deb.), but a man in the back (the owner or the manager, I think) saved me the trouble by telling her it was okay-- she could leave early, and he'd take care of us. So that was cool. We looked a little bit, and Laurel bought something, but it's definitely a place where we'll be going back. Laurel wants to design and build a miniature log cabin (like the one she grew up in, when she lived in the Canadian sub-Arctic region), and I want to build a miniature stilted wood/bark hut (like the one I grew up in). Dollhouse/miniatures companies make a few pretty tame miniature log cabin kits, but Laurel wants one a bit more realistically rough-hewn; meanwhile, no jungle-huts-in-trees-or-on-stilts kits are commercially available. Those imperialistic, western-centric dollhouse makers! With their utter lack of multi-cultural appeal! Oh, well, it gives us a chance to be creative and do our own things.

After Mott's Miniatures (if you live in South LA or North Orange County and enjoy miniatures, check it out), we went to Black Angus on Imperial, because we had a coupon. We ordered what was officially a meal for two people, and there was more than enough food for us three. We at A LOT.

On a side note, I watched The Easiest Way on Tuesday evening, and The Florodora Girl and Dramatic School on Wednesday morning. I love my old movies!

More of life (the past two weeks)

2005-06-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Well, there's no denying that I've been pretty busy over the past two weeks.

I'm trying to be productive at work, so that takes a lot of energy.

The weekend of the 18th, I went up to Visalia for Rob and Candace's wedding. On Thursday the 16th, I went over to Sara's apartment for dinner, as her family was visiting from OR, and were having their birthday celebration. Jeff was already up in Visalia for Rob's bachelor party, so I didn't want to be at home alone, plus I really love the Martins, so it was a pleasant evening. Then I went over to Rob and Candace's apartment (they live in the same complex as Sara and Elizabeth, just in a different building), where Candace and Debbie were spending the night, and I slept there, too. Friday morning, we drove up to LA and got the wedding flowers from the LA Flower Market. It was an interesting experience; not only were we in a place where a lot of the vendors didn't speak much English, but Candace and I were clueless about most of the flowers, whereas Debbie knew all about them. Candace drove up in her car, and Debbie and I drove up in the Feelys' van. We found out that Jerry had injured his leg the night before, while playing volleyball; it turned out, when he went for a real doctor visit the following week, that he had broken his leg up near the knee; it complicated things, in that he was in pain whenever he walked during the weekend, and as the father of the groom, he was an important participant! Anyway, Friday evening, we had the rehearsal and dinner. I set up shots and prepped the video camera, since I had been asked to shoot a wedding video for them. [Did I know anything about doing event vidoes? NO! Did that stop me? Obviously not.]
Saturday was a beautiful day, and things ran pretty smoothly, over all, for the wedding. Candace looked simply beautiful in her dress; it was ballgown style, with lots of lace trim, and it is simply not anything that I would be caught wearing even while dead, but it looked wonderful on her. I like the Vander Koois a lot, and of course I love the Feelys, so most of the people were easy to work with. I dunno... What can you really say about a wedding? Nothing went hilariously wrong. The ceremony was short, and the reception was long. They had a full dinner and DJ with dancing, at some place called the Country M Ranch, which was cute and enjoyable despite that name and the general hick atmosphere. Oh, yeah, Mum and Dad drove up Saturday morning, and it was lovely to spend time with them. They are so cute, and so cool! And Josh (who helped me with the video, and took pics at the reception) and Laurel were there, and the Yoshimotos, so that was nice. We stayed and danced till 10:30, when the bride and groom left; Jeff and I got in a lot of dancing, plus I got some great video footage--the lighting wasn't very good after the sun went down, so I hope it turns out all right--of wild and crazy dancing (including Tamyra, the bride's mother).
Sunday morning, we slept through church (doh!), but got to spend time with both sets of parents. In the afternoon, we visited our model home at The Ranch so that Denise and Dennis Hopewell (Jeff's aunt and uncle) could see it. We drove back down to the LA area in the evening, but discovered that our weekend of excitement was not over, as we were involved in a four-car pileup on the 5 South. Traffic was backed up to the extent that we were only traveling at a rate of c. 35 mph, so nobody was seriously injured. However, both Jeff and I displayed signs of whiplash within an hour after the crash. =( We are currently being treated by chiropractors; if you need chiropractic work, ask me for a recommendation. Anyway, since nobody died or had extensive bleeding, I felt free to view the incident as an adventure. I took photos and video of our car and some other cars and people involved, and the CHP came with their flashing lights and signal flares and police reports (although it wasn't all about us... there were two more accidents at that spot--the 5/60 interchange--within 3o minutes of ours), and I was polite to them, even though two of them told me not to go romping in the brush along the highway (I was exploring, plus looking at one of the other wrecks of the evening; I wasn't hurting anybody, and I can take care of myself while you take witness reports, thank you very much.). When all was said and done, Jeff and I were just very tired and stiff and longing for bed.

The week passed with me fighting a lot of fatigue. I seem to be tired a lot lately, plus it is natural to feel that way when one's body is healing. *sigh* I told some of my managers that I would be at least going to part-time in December, if not leaving the company altogether. In all honesty, I'd like to just leave and get out of there; I am so tired of it! I'm one of those people that can work tirelessly on something, if I am passionate about it, but can barely bring myself to do anything at all if I am just doing work for the sake of earning a living. I feel guilty sometimes. I have so much, and make quite a decent salary, but I am apathetic about my job. Sometimes, I just don't care anymore. I desperately hope that my attitude will change when I start doing something that I choose for myself (namely, science and academia). Some days, I sit and stare and fight back the tears, wondering, "What am I doing here?!?" It reminds me of my first year back in the States, when I would be in my classroom in Portland, and would suddenly look out of the window into the bleary greyness of that city, and it was as if I would have a brief moment of clarity after months of being a ghost of myself. I'd think, "Where am I? What am I doing here? I don't belong here." Even then, I was Difficult. An Iconoclast. A Jungle Pixie in the Overcast World of Tree-hugging Birkenstocks. Bleh.

So. Saturday morning I had coffee with Mum. Saturday afternoon I went to the wedding of Dustin Guenther and Katie Fisher. The ceremony itself was actually pretty fun, probably because it was officiated by Dr. Sanders. I was several people that I knew, but not as many as I'd have expected. I guess a lot of Biola Torrey and science people didn't come because (1) it was summer, and (2) there was, I think, a competing Torrey-related wedding on that day. But the reception was pretty fun, because I got to see Mr. Jim Harrington (who talked to me about cool history stuff from his studies at CSU Fullerton--despite my allegiance to the natural science, I truly love hearing and talking about humanities-related topics) and meet Sharon Biggs (who is a friend of Dan's, and doing mission work in Cameroon), and I sat with Mr. Kevin White, Mr. Eric Holloway, Ken and Lynn Johnson (I only know her b/c she is a secretary in the theo dept at Talbot), and a very nice young man named Steven who is, I found out later, one of the children of the O'Herrins (of whom I know much, via Sara and Jeremy Brown, the linguists). I had so much fun with people (Sheesh, Kevin, you and I should not be allowed to be goofy within close proximity to one another) that I didn't realize how late it was, until I checked Mr. Holloway's extremely nerdy-looking watch and saw that it was 19:23, and I was supposed to meet Jeff and Laurel and Josh at Islands at 19:00! I made some quick rounds to hug the happy couple, and say goodbye to several buds, then blasted off in my Hybrid Civic to meet my other buds at the restaurant. They were almost finished eating, and since I had eaten dinner at the reception, it was no great loss. We reconvened at our apartment, and Jeff and Josh played Halo while Laurel and I looked at knitting patterns and had girl talk.

Sunday morning, we went to church, and then had a Fathers Day/birthday lunch for Dad at a Thai restaurant on Pacific in Huntington Park. Fathers Day had been rather overshadowed the previous weekend (we were just recovering from Rob's wedding), and Dad's birthday is actually the 26th, so it was perfect timing. Tim joined us, as did Andrew, and all the kids but Mia were there (she is excused b/c she is on the other side of the world). The food was delicious, and I had a long talk about "Rules of War" with Tim and Andrew, which was one of those catalytic conversations that prompt me to explore and clarify my own views, even though (due to the emergent nature of my thoughts) I don't always express them to others as wonderfully as I think I ought. I am coming to understand my own objections to certain ideas such as "rules of war" and "just war," and will eventually be able to discuss them in a manner that will satisfy even me (I am guessing that no one else thinks I don't communicate well, but if I don't express myself perfectly, I consider myself a failure). At any rate, it was interesting to see the differences in why Tim and Andrew thought the way they did, even though they both believe that "rules of war" are a good thing.

Sunday evening and Monday, during my free time, I did a lot of laundry, and read, and did other things that needed to be done. Jeff played Halo.

Tonight, Dan came over for a few hours. We ate pizza at Top Class Pizza, then came back to the apartment, and I (again) read, while Jeff showed Dan how to play Halo. We are going to spend some more time with him in the next few weeks, before he ships off to North Carolina for military stuff.

It's nearly 23:30, but I'm barely sleepy. Oddly enough, my fatigue consists of a lot lassitude and bone-deep weariness, but not a lot of actual sleepiness. I think it's related to the abundant light in this time of year. Jeff is taking this week off, so he isn't worried about staying up late. He's playing Halo right now. Surprised?

I think I'll cuddle with my cats. Maybe look at some knitting and paper doll stuff. Having a job totally bites. But maybe it won't, if/when I become a university professor.

Tree branches at half-mast...

2005-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

... in the Hundred-Acre Wood.

The actors who voiced Pooh's buddies Piglet and Tigger have died. I didn't really like Disney's take on Milne's whimsical world for children, but anything Pooh-related is significant to me and my family.

-Wol

Taken from other people's blogs...

2005-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

3 THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND
1. Illogical people, and people who live their lives entirely according to their bad logic. E.g. Mormon “scholars” (Seriously, how can a person be smart enough to have an advanced degree in ancient languages or something, and still not reject the Book of Mormon, et al, in the name of intellectual honesty?), or people who think it’s good to kill babies but not to prosecute criminals. I’m not just ranting; I am actually unable to comprehend certain people.
2. Americans (yes, the same as Dan… but I would also add: Other Westerners).
3. Electrical engineering. No joke. I’m reasonably competent with anything from quantum physics to Greek grammar, but am a total dunce when it comes to circuits/electronics. It’s sad, really.

3 THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1. I have a sick and twisted sense of humor. Well, maybe people do know this one.
2. I wish I had dark hair and green eyes.
3. I like reading other people’s answers to quizzes like this.

LAST...
1. Movie you rented: I rented National Treasure with Elizabeth and Sara a few weeks ago.
2. Movie you bought: I guess Jeff and I bought Phantom of the Opera and Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events from Pay-per-view a few weeks ago.
3. Song you listened to: “I Fought the Law,” by Green Day, on my iPod.
4. CD you bought: The last CDs I bought for myself were Mad About Sopranos and a Jeanette MacDonald CD.
5. TV show you've watched: The Simpsons—the episode where Bart becomes an emancipated minor.
6. Person you kissed: Jeff
7. Person you were thinking of: Jeff, I hope. Otherwise, I was probably just thinking about work.

DO...?
1. You have a crush on someone: No.
2. You wish you could live somewhere else: I regularly wish that I lived in West Papua or Singapore. I think I’d also like to reside in Greece or Italy.
3. You think about suicide: I reflect on it, occasionally. I don’t consider it for myself, though, because I’m too stubborn to give up like that.
4. You believe in online dating: Meh.
5. Others find you attractive: I always assume not, but I’ve been told otherwise.
6. You want more piercings: No.
7. You drink: I drink plenty of liquids every day. Alcoholic beverages? Seldom.
8. You do drugs: Over-the-counter and prescription drugs only.
9. You smoke: Not in any way.
10. You like cleaning: I like doing things that involve disinfecting. Tidying and organizing? No.
11. You like roller coasters: No.
12. You write in cursive or print: Either.
13. You like soap operas: I don’t know much about them, but I probably wouldn’t like them.

HAVE YOU...?
1. Ever cried over a girl: Yes, in sorrow or frustration.
2. Ever cried over a boy: Same as above.
3. Ever lied to someone: I know that I must have lied, but I can’t think of any examples.
4. Ever been in a fist fight: Yes, I’ve been in a physical fight before, but it wasn't limited to just fists.
5. Ever been arrested: No. Apparently, I need to get out more.

WHAT...?
1. Shampoo do you use: Pantene Pro-V.
2. Shoes do you wear: A variety. Skechers, often.
3. Is your desktop background: At work, two Siberian tiger cubs. At home, two lions from the SD Wild Animal Park.

NUMBER...
1. Of times you have been in love: 2
2. Of times you have had your heart broken: 0
3. Of girls/guys you have kissed: Just one boy.
4. Of drugs taken illegally: 0
5. Of people you would classify as true, could-trust-with-your-life type friends: 5 or 6. Counting my family, maybe 12. I’m very blessed, I know.
6. Of people you consider your enemies: There are plenty of people I dislike and/or despise, but none that I could classify as actual enemies.
7. Of scars on your body: Major scars: 3. Minor scars: several more.
8. Of things in your past that you regret: I really regret 4 things that I can think of right now. But I often try to redeem regrettable things by making them learning experiences, and I really have learned a lot from them, so that makes them valuable instead of regrettable...

My celluloid life

2005-06-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

Sara and Elizabeth are here. We are watching Office Space.

I figured it out. If you really want to understand me, watch Mean Girls and Office Space. Mean Girls gives some insight into my early teen years, having just moved from the remote jungle to snobby U.S. suburbia. Then watch Office Space to understand my life in the corporate milieu. If you wish, check out Real Genius for a humorous look at science nerds in college. They're just movies, but they're full of moments that make me laugh and say, "That's funny because it's true!!" I haven't seen Saved yet, but I plan to. It sounds like it'll be my high school in a nutshell.

Anybody else have movies that define little bits of their lives?

Busyness continues

2005-06-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, discussion regarding the wedding and all that will have to come later. Overall, it was a nice wedding, and Rob and Candace seem as though they are going to be very happy.

I am tired.

How about that freedom of speech?

2005-06-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

My company has not yet issued an official policy on blogging. But that might not prevent me from being chastised or even fired for writing what I do. Corporate entities are beginning to crack down on weblogs.

Oh, no! No more funny work stories? No more anecdotes detailing the misadventures of B? Does anyone even care? Does anyone even read them?

Reflections on past week (longish post)

2005-06-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Fun times in the world of Kiti. We finished summer school on Friday, and I was so tired at the end of it. Not only was I handling the equivalent of full-time work and full-time school, but the class was very thought-provoking, so my brain was busy all the time, which left me exhausted.

Tuesday night, I went to Naomi Geier’s 21st birthday party after class. The other guests were her friends from Torrey (many of whom live in the Reynolds’ houses), and I was familiar with most of them. We hung out and talked for a little while, and I had to leave after a half an hour. While I was there, a few girls went out to rent Emperor’s New Groove, but when they got back, I chose not to stay, because I needed to get home and sleep. While I was there, though, one person mentioned that she had heard or read somewhere that it was the one-year anniversary of the death of Ronald Reagan. I must admit that I really did not know whether that was true or not—I have no memory of even what month it was when Reagan died. Anyway, she griped that she had not heard any news reports or anything honoring him.
I remarked, “Why should there be? He’s just an old dead guy.”
She looked at me as though I had suddenly announced that I had highly contagious leprosy. She was utterly incredulous. “Are you serious?”
“Sure, why not? He’s dead. What would there be to say? He hasn’t done anything new in the last year.”
“Well, it would have been nice if there had been some tribute or something.”
“Why don’t you write one?”
“Oh, I don’t know enough to do that.”
And there you have it. Honey, if you’re not part of the desired solution, you’re part of the perceived problem. But I digress. Perhaps I just startled her with my terminology. Perhaps I should have said “formerly aged, currently deceased male person,” instead of “old dead guy.” Perhaps I should ask her about it. Perhaps not.

Wednesday night, I got my hair cut. For some people, this entails going to a salon, or even a barber shop. For me, I simply go to the bathroom, take scissors, and go to work. Yes, I cut my own hair, and then Jeff checks it for stragglers in the back, where I can’t see. I got rid of a lot of split ends and my hair should be fairly healthy at this point, but it looks a trifle awkward. I’m certainly no beautician. I think I’ll try and curl it on occasion, to keep it under control; when it grows an inch or so, it will look better.

Thursday night, I went home and spent quite some time talking to Jeff about my thoughts regarding The Abolition of Man. Argh. I still don’t know what I think of it, and how I feel. I am no relativist or subjectivist, but I really don’t care for the way that Lewis makes his argument or some of his general underlying assumptions. Is there really an objective standard for emotion(s) required in any situation, or toward any object or experience? Can/ought emotions be “educated”? I don’t necessarily think so. I truly struggle, because it seems as though I am out of step with everyone else. All the time. Even my parents think that Lewis is the great speaker of Christianity. I’m a small-minded Uberwensch (gratuitous Nietzsche reference). I must be. I just am not sure about objective emotion and objective beauty (Note: I have no problem with objective beauty of the Creator; just not sure about it being in creation, and no one has provided me with an argument that convinces. I’m not against the possibility of there being objective beauty; I’m just not convinced of it.). He listened nicely, and gave me some good feedback, and I think he’ll read Abolition of Mind again and we’ll discuss it more. I have nicknamed him Mr. Chesty, because (as you will recall) Lewis spends quite some time (the entire first chapter) discussing “Men without Chests” and the need to “educate the chest” with “proper emotions,” and Jeff has a very strong proclivity toward experiencing and understanding emotions.
Strange thought: Women are generally considered to be more emotional, and better able to properly handle emotion, than men. Could it be relevant that women’s chests are usually softer and more prominent than men’s? Yeek! Is this a proper application of biology? Economy recapitulates physiology/anatomy? I am now putting this train of thought out on rusty, rarely-used tracks somewhere in the Yukon.

Let's see. I think we need a spot of humor.
The great thing about working where I do is the potential for humor. Our dear friend B has been up to his usual antics. Being, as we are, in the technical field, we use a lot of flowcharts, specs, diagrams, etc. On Thursday, B had been going over some finer points of the GCA electronics with Cheryl, and chose to copy some of her specs that they were using as illustrations. He went and did so, and when he brought the original back to Cheryl, she discovered that her first page was now double-printed, with E. Nishikawa flight information on American Airlines. That day’s date was printed in the hyperlink at the bottom of the page. B declared vehemently that he did not know how that printing had gotten there. Eventually, he thought about it more, and stated that he thought he knew what had happened: he had first tried to copy the document by running it through the printer. Naturally, this approached proved unsuccessful, so he just went ahead and took it to the copier after all. Apparently, while it was in the printer, though, the first page had picked up a print job that had been sent to the printer. Murray has the same document in his office, so B thought it would be helpful for him to go copy over the first page properly and let Cheryl replace her ruined one. He went, made a copy, and brought it to Cheryl. Lo and behold—he had copied the wrong page! In his defense, we discovered that Cheryl’s bundle of specs was out of order in the folder; B had reproduced the first page of Murray’s spec, but it was not the same as the (ruined) first page of Cheryl’s spec. I told her that I would just go and make the correct copy. I made two: one for Cheryl, and one for B. End of story. Hysterical! But I guess you had to be there…

Saturday, Laurel and I went up to my parents' house and spent the day there. Mum was helping up to sew Laurel's Renaissance-style bridesmaid dress for Marcy Hatch's wedding. We got nearly all of it done, with three pairs of hands to pin and cut out the fabric. It was so much fun! Mom taught us a lot about sewing, and she also let us go through some old (1950s-1980s) knitting patterns that she had gotten from one of her friends-- Laurel and I are going to work on our knitting and make some of the lovely sweaters and coats that we saw. I know I'm always cold, so more sweaters and coats seems like a lovely idea anyway. At one point, we had to go downtown to the Fashion District in LA; I dropped Laurel and Mom off on the corner of 8th and Maple, and circled several blocks for half an hour, while they went into one of the shops to buy notions like a zipper, etc. While I was driving (scary drivers in downtown LA, I must say), a homeless man walked out into the street, tipped his cart over, and then fell down--right in front of me! Never a dull moment! Tim was spending the weekend with Mom and Dad, so we saw him, and then Mike came home mid-day, so we were able to see him, too. Mike ordered Thai food for dinner, and we watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, although Laurel and I had to leave in the middle to get back to my apartment to spend time with Jeff and Josh.

Right now, I'm enjoying the fact that I can relax, even though this next week will probably be crazy, since Rob and Candace's wedding is next Saturday and we'll be going up to Visalia Thursday or Friday (depending on how things work out).

2005-06-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those times when you just feel like a failure? I planned to do a lot of homework this weekend, but all I did was read one book. I’m a bad student. I wanted to see my parents, but I fell asleep instead. I’m a bad daughter. I brought work-related stuff to do over the weekend, but didn’t even touch it. I’m a bad employee. I intended to call Jessica and Katie, and possibly Elizabeth and Sara, and I didn’t. I’m a bad friend. The kitchen is dirty, and I had hoped to clean it, and to be able to cook something, so that Jeff could have something to eat other than fast food during the upcoming week, but instead, Jeff cleaned the kitchen (which is my chore) and cooked dinner on Saturday night. I’m a bad wife and homemaker. As a final indignity, I put on a pair of jeans yesterday and discovered that they are very tight (despite the fact that I weighed myself and am just at 125). I’m too fat for my clothing anymore!

So anyway, things are not going well at work, with people changing their minds and waffling about important decisions, which effectively negates several weeks’ worth of work that I’ve done here; I have assignments that basically add up to two full-time jobs; and IT still has not fixed my computer.

Oh, the humanity!

Reflections

2005-06-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ever have a day that just didn't turn out as you expected? Well, yesterday was one of those days for me. I woke up after 10 am, which was okay, because it was Saturday and I had no morning plans. Jeff woke up, too, and we just sort of sat around for a few hours, trying to decide what to eat for breakfast; our problem is that when we are hungry, both of us are indecisive and rather unable to cook anything. Finally, Jeff decided that we would go to IHOP. We went, accordingly, and had good food with good conversation. Coming home again, I settled on the couch to do a bit of reading for school, while Jeff started playing Halo. I started getting a little sleepy, and felt my eyes drifting closed. I rested my eyes for a tad, and then started to read again. Next thing I knew, I was waking up c. 6 pm. I had slept the entire afternoon away! This may not be a big deal for some folk, but for me, it is very unusual. I seldom take naps, because I am seldom able to relax enough in the middle of the day. My only conclusion is that the book I was reading--The Discarded Image, by C.S. Lewis--is a snoozer powerful enough to sedate even me. I knew it was dull, but didn't expect it to be that dull. Anyway. I did barely any homework, when I was expecting to complete a lot of it.
I think that I didn't realize how exhausted I am, thanks to the schedule I have been keeping this past week. I work every day, of course, at least 8 hours, and then I am taking a summer school course, which meets every night from 18:00-21:20. The class is the Theology of C.S. Lewis, which is a curious concept to me, as Lewis was not a theologian, per se. But the teacher (named Jerry Root) says that the class is not about C.S. Lewis, but rather is about God, just seen through the lens of Lewis' writings. Well, okay, but it's simply agonizing to sit and listen to someone talk about Lewis for more than three hours straight. My experiences in a discussion-oriented class have predisposed me to want to discuss material, particularly rich material such as much of Lewis' writing. Jerry Root just talks and talks and tells stories, and while some people might like that, I hate it. He mentions Abolition of Man, and I think, "Yes, let's talk about Abolition of Man," because there are a lot of depths to mine there, and I don't really agree with everything Lewis has to say. He brings up the fact that Lewis was deeply influenced by Dante, and I think, "Yes, let's talk about Dante," but we never do! Root just rattles on and gives his opinions, and I think the class would be greatly improved by group interaction. I mean, I have lots to say about Dante and Dorothy Sayers and Charles Williams, et al, and I think everyone would benefit from sharing their ideas (as well as hearing mine--heheh!).

I'm a Violin

2005-05-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

You are a VIOLIN/VIOLA/CELLO.You are the epitome of richness and smoothness and
passion rolled all into one. Like the taste of
a ridiculously expensive European Dark
Chocolate bar, you satiate the soul in a way
that nothing else can. At times mournful, at
times blissful, at times tranquil, at times
burning with a fiery passion, your many facets
all share the same expressive colors as those
produced by the violin, viola, and cello.

What musical instrument are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Another sunny Southern California holiday weekend!!

2005-05-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on the couch, watching Episode IV of Star Wars (A New Hope, of course). I haven't seen it for a few years, so it's nice to revisit good old times. What amazes me is how well a lot of the special effects hold up with time. Of course, the energy and humor are all there. We're about to start Episode V: Empire Strikes Back.

Jeff and I saw Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on Friday night. It didn't suck as badly as Episodes I and II. Lucas' attempts at political commentary amused me.

By the way, watching Ep. V: ESB reminds me of my sister's passage from childhood to awareness-- It was the moment when she realized that Yoda and Fozzie Bear have exactly the same voice. Heheh.

This week was rather busy. I finished my school work in good time-- I had my Cults of America final on Monday night. However, I had to keep on working on school-related stuff, trying to get things in order for summer and fall classes. I'm still trying to make sure things are correct with my account, since the charges from Torrey Europe are still not correctly reversed. I'll have to deal with getting tuition refunded to my company, once Accounting gets their act together. As far as I can tell, the majority of Biola is staffed by rank idiots. Anyway, I met with Dr. Holloman to discuss having an arranged course in the fall. *sigh*

Friday, I went to work and then to two graduations: Biola's undergraduate Torrey graduation and the one for the various graduate schools. I was surprised at how sad I was at the Torrey ceremony. I guess I hadn't realized how much many of those young people have meant to me. Last year, I didn't care that much about a lot of the people with whom I had taken classes, but by the end of this year, I'd had two years with several of them, and we'd had some very intense times together. I guess I wish that Talbot had the ability to make learning as effective as what I experienced with the focus on community and scholarship in the undergraduate classes I took. Well, such is life. Perhaps I shall find my calling in bringing such an approach to education at the graduate level. But sadly, my schedule will not permit me to continue in my involvement there, and honestly, with the few people with whom I really felt a connection graduating and leaving, I would have a hard time continuing. But anyway, I was there. I met up with Rebecca Carroll, and told her that I was moving to Visalia, and thought we could maybe become friends. She was very nice, and said she thought it would be very nice.

I went to Talbot (and other graduate) graduation, because Jessica, Alan Conrow, and Phil Scharer were graduating. I saw with Dan and Will. But I had to leave before it was finished, because it ran longer than I had expected. Will and I had fun laughing at the pretentious speaking style of the commencement speaker, Lloyd Ogilvie. Oh, well.

Yesterday, I spent about an hour helping the Del Rosarios clean their apartment. They had a lot of people helping, mainly from their church, so I just lent a hand by cleaning the bathroom. Then Jeff and I went home, and Christina came over. She was very tired, having just run six miles, and we just hung out, and transferred our CDs to the computer for the purpose of backing them up and having them for the I-Pod. Christina got so tired that she decided to go home and nap, and Jeff and I ended up going to dinner with the Winters at BJs. All four of us came back to our place to play games (ended up being Beyond Balderdash). Since I was off contract, I had a few drinks of Cointreau, with the result that I ended up getting very sleepy. *yawn* High-strung as I am, I've found my cure for insomnia.

Beginnings and Endings

2005-05-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

It was the end of my semester today (I get a whole week off, and then start summer school).
It was the beginning of my realization that my baby sister really has grown up.

I had a pretty busy day today. I was tired most of the time, too.

After Candace's bridal shower ended (although the family hung out at her aunt's house for almost an hour after the rest of the guests had left), Debbie drove all Candace's presents over to her family's house, and then most of them were loaded up in her trunk, to be transported down south. We left Visalia c. 6 pm, and I got back to the apartment in Fullerton c. 10:30 pm. Long drive, and very tiring.

This morning, I got up and studied some for my final tonight. Then I went to work for a few hours, but remembered that Mia was leaving for PNG and I needed to see her before she left, but hadn't made any definite plans. So I called her and we figured out that it would be better to have lunch together, since I wouldn't have quality time with her if I went to SMU at 3:30 pm to see off the team. She told me to pick her up at Stewart, since she was borrowing a video camera from a friend. When i got there, she was nowhere to be found. I called her and she said, "Oh, I'm still at Horton!" When she got down to Stewart, she told me that Dan had called her and asked if she wanted to to have lunch together; we decided to bring him along. Mia obtained her video camera from her friend (named, I think, Justin), and we headed off to get Dan at the mail center, where he was helping Becky Taylor carry boxes or something. We went to Spaghetti Factory, where we filmed a bit of video for her to send to Tim, and discussed Dan's counseling class. I left the other two at the library to burn the video to DVD, and then returned to work. After a few more hours of hard technical writing, I headed off to school to take my Cults of America final. It wasn't too bad. I'm happy to be done with the class.

I came home, played on my computer, watched Futurama and Family Guy, and ate Hagendazs ice cream. I wanted to spend more time with Jeff, but he was working on fixing our file server. We'll spend lots of quality time together this week.

Big sister's lament: I know she is 18, but it just doesn't seem real that my little Mia is heading off to another country tomorrow, as a mature college student and leader among her peers. I still think of her as a little girl. I feel old!

Another out-of-town weekend

2005-05-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

This lovely weekend, I am up in Visalia. I drove up with Candace (and her friend Chelsea) last night, in order to be here for Candace's bridal shower. I certainly am happy to be part of a shower for my future sister, but it is a trifle inconvenient, in that this is the weekend before finals week... Oh, well.

Yesterday, I finally felt as though I put in a good day at work. I was terribly tired and stuffed up, with sneezing and a runny nose. However, I did a lot of work on the document I am writing to justify an update to the DID criteria (the document our field engineers use as a reference and a guide to aid in technical decisions). I am almost done, and it will be ready to be evaluated by Cheryl and Murray, et al, on Monday or Tuesday. The good part about my task is that I feel as though I am being at least a little bit useful; the bad part is that writing a technical document is not nearly exciting even as watching grass grow. *yawn*

After work, I went home. Jeff had made dinner, and we watched an old movie together, The Little Giant (great fish-out-of-water comedy; see it if you ever have the chance), as a treat for me. Then I packed and we headed to Biola to spend some time with Mia and Tim; we ended up going to Coldstone (where my beloved Mark Baesel is the manager, although he wasn't there last night) with them, and Abbie Cox came along, too. We had fun eating yummy stuff that is bad for us, giggling and joking on a sugar high. I made up a new name for myself, if I'm ever feeling evil: Darth Kitious. Heheh. We listened to Maroon 5 and Tim sang in a funny voice. We drove to the Lido apartments and waited for Rob, Candace, and Chelsea to arrive from the main campus, where Rob had just played in a intramural basketball game. After a while, the three travelers were finally on our way. Candace drove, and I worked a bit on my computer and then took a nap. We arrived in Visalia c. 1:30, Candace dropped me off at the Feelys' house, and Debbie got up to let me in, and then went straight back to bed. I went to bed myself, although I had to rest a little while before I was able to fall asleep after my catnap in the car.

This morning, I woke up and found that Debbie and Jerry were enjoying breakfast out in their back yard. I joined them and had a good time chatting and relaxing for a bit. We got ready for the day, had lunch, and then Debbie and I went out to buy presents for tomorrow's shower. I am happy with what I was able to buy for Candace. When we came home, Debbie took Jerry out to shop for a mother-of-the-groom dress for the wedding, while I stayed home and did a little homework (studying for Cults final). Jerry and I saw an old movie on TV, The Man in the Attic, and watched it. Hilarious flick with Jack Palance as Jack the Ripper. Hmm. Debbie cooked pasta for dinner, and I made carrots cooked with fresh rosemary--very yummy.

Now, I must wrap Candace's shower gifts and do some more schoolwork.

Rejoice, ye (reasonably) pure in heart!

2005-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

I am soon to be done with my masters degree! Yesterday, I met with Indra, the graduate graduation coordinator, and confirmed that I will definitely be graduating in December. An unexpected bonus was the fact that I will need only 5 units between now and the end of next term. I thought I needed 9 units, so I was stressing about having to take summer school and all that. However, everything worked out so nicely, and now I just have to make sure that I will be able to get 3 TTTH or TTHT elective units in the fall, which is not as easy as it sounds, since there is only one (yes, 1) theology elective being offered, and it is for 2 units. I will not despair, however, for the arranged or independent study course shall be my friend, and Kevin Lewis has offered to help me out. If only Dr. Gomes is feeling helpful and approves my course requests… What I really want is to take Patristic and Medieval Theology, which is a 3-unit historical theology class (the first is a sequence of two), but I took the one-course Historical Theology Survey (since I am MA, not MDiv), and if you take that, then you cannot take either of the classes in the two-course sequence (the other being Reformation and Modern Theology). Arg! I really want to take classes dealing with church history and the ancient church, so it’s frustrating. Perhaps Gomes will let me have an arranged 3-unit course (which will have a different course number, so it’s all legal) for Early Christian Theology, in which I attend the lectures for P&M and then do my own special reading and a paper.

Oh, the trials of a theology major! If theology is so important, why isn’t Talbot (officially named Talbot School of Theology) more helpful to theologians? I need theology electives, and is that such an unreasonable request? Sheesh!

Anyway, my other meeting yesterday was my end-of-semester meeting for those evil discussion classes I like to take. I had a good conversation with Dr. Yim, and Dr. Sanders was there, too. I was able to share a lot of my frustrations with western-centric thinking and people’s tendency not to challenge underlying assumptions that have been plentiful in our readings for the semester. I suspect that the tutors might find it refreshing to have a student who doesn’t gush about the perfection of Lewis, Chesterton, et al, and instead questions, “Are their views correct? Do they offer true Christianity or just their own versions? How could they have presented Christianity better?” Yim apparently found great humor in my PQ rant against Eliot and his sucky poetry, and my reference to Guinevere as a slut. I'm just not capable of appreciating anglocentric free verse modern poetry.

Then I had lunch with Mia at Juice Stop and Bonjour Bagel. Mia was dissatisfied with her smoothie, so she asked if she could get a different one or something. She was told, “No, that is what you ordered. We can’t give you anything different.” The manager of Juice Stop is very rude, so rude that we are not going to patronize the store in La Mirada anymore. Hello, I’ve been a faithful patron since 1996, and all you need to do to retain my business is provide good, responsible customer service, and not be a jerk to my sister—I’m not talking about pandering to every customer who whines that you gave him the wrong color of straw; I’m talking about admitting a problem and trying to make a regular customer happy with your product. I would encourage all of my readers to also boycott the La Mirada Juice Stop.

Christine reminded me last night of another memory from Horton: The fact that during 1997-1998, Austin Powers was always playing on the lobby TV. Yes, that I remember! Instead of roommate night, Sara, Elizabeth, and I went to Christine and Mikel's place for a little get-together-- Jeremy and William were there, too. We were seeing the Del Rosarios last night because, of course, they are soon to embark on their journey to the Philippines, and while we are excited to send them off, we are also sad that they will be so far away.

I'm still fighting off that cold that I acquired on Wednesday (when I had a sore throat and was utterly exhausted). I am now at the sneezy, runny-nose stage. I'm a little tired, but other than that, I don't feel sick. Just stuffy.

Monday, Monday, again

2005-05-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am seriously, like, the worst student ever! I'm in class and instead of paying rapt attention, I'm writing on my blog. But it's okay, because it's Cults of America, and Kevin Lewis is still talking about Mormons. Thank you, I know how to evaluate 1 Nephi in light of Jeremiah 27. I can already explain all the reasons why the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible is neither useful nor authoritative, but the LDS should accept it as so. I understand the issues with "reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics." I'm already an expert on problems inherent in the Book of Abraham. So, it's blogdom for me.

I had a reasonably good day today, despite the fact that I had to go to work, and despite the fact that I had to turn in my Torrey project today. I have been mostly sleepless since Saturday, trying to complete the darn thing, which wasn't difficult but rather just absorbing. I studied the presence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS in West Papua, and it was emotionally and spiritually draining. I have so many issues with so many things, and my beloved Papua is chief among them. If people are interested in learning more about this issue, let me know. I've got plenty to say.

Anyway, as I stated in my last post, I went down to San Diego with Debbie Friday-Saturday. When we got back to LA area, Debbie went shopping for a dress to wear to Rob and Candace's wedding, and I went to the Horton Wrecking Party at Biola. I was 30 minutes late, thanks to traffic on the 5, but I scooted in and had a great time. Dan was there, and saved me a seat at a table with: Jason Miller and his new wife Brooke (never heard of her before), Will Thorpe, Mike Donley and Lydia, Mike Welles, and Akida Morgan. I hadn't seen some of them for ages! I saw Di (Diana Petroi) and she came and joined our table, too. They set up a microphone and encouraged people to come and share their memories of Horton. There were some young girls who shared stories of pranks and fun times, obviously from very recent years, and Josh Neal shared some funny stories, too. Deann Decker came up and shared. I thought about getting up and speaking, but realized that I would either say something stupid (i.e. something I thought was funny, but no one else did) or just babble for a bit and then cry. Well, I'll use this as my open mic.
I remember Horton.
-LOUD and proud! Our secret names and being TOUGH Girls!
-ice blocking
-mud wrestling
-worship times in the study or Joani and Sara's room (Joani on guitar)
-random late-night dance parties
-Deann having babies
-Deann's cookie parties
-Deann comforting me after Angie died
-Deann advising me on helping a friend who was in sin
-Tom Cruise cardboard cutout
-Joani and Sara's poster of Fred With Tires
-"Wall O' Hotties"
-playing pranks in Alpha
-anti-BAB day in chapel: all of us wearing sexy black clothing
-lots of nursing majors and ex-Alpha RAs living on our floor
-RAs from the guys' side and from Emerson would come on our floor during rounds, and yell, "Man on the floor!" We would reply, "You wish!"
-living with Kelly
-early-morning jogging with Kel and Irene Carranza
-Laura bringing home end-of-day goodies from Bonjour Bagel Bakery
-Em-Ho BBQs
-Em-Ho Christmas parties
-tae-bo in the lobby
-Big group of people watching the Seinfeld season finale in the lobby, including Matt Svendsen.
-interterms
-GYRADs
-hanging out with Angela
-spending the night with Mia in Horton whenever Jeff was out-of-town
*sigh* Fun times. After the dinner and speeches, we got pieces of bricks and t-shirts. Then we were allowed to go through the halls of Horton, writing things on the walls with markers. I wrote all over, things like "Deb lived here!" over my old rooms and "Ed Enochs went here!" next to the door of the old HUGE bathroom (note: Donley was wearing his HUGE t-shirt--so cute!).

After going home, I hung out with Debbie and then worked hard on my project. Sunday morning, we visited Rob's church in Lakewood--very fun old-time Baptist church, although not totally my cup of tea. The people of the church were having a lunch and wedding shower for Rob and Candace after the service; Debbie stayed, but I didn't, because I had to get back up to Fullerton and work on my project. Candace wanted me to stay, since she doesn't really know anybody, and I felt bad that I had to leave. We both thought that the whole "let's have the whole church give you presents, even though we don't know each other" party thing was weird, but done with the best of intentions.

Well, my post tried to self-publish. I managed to salvage it, but realized that I don't have anything more to say, at this point. Kevin is talking about genetic origins of Native Americans. Whee!

Another weekend in SD

2005-05-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

I drove down to San Diego with Debbie yesterday. She is speaking at the Christian Family Schools of San Diego conference, or something like that. I came along to keep her company, and because Jeff is in Las Vegas with Josh. We are in the Bristol Hotel, which is fairly nice, even though the internet in the room didn't work very well (which put a kink in my plans to spend several hours researching for my report on AIDS in Papua). At this moment, I'm in the lobby (which has some sort of remote wireless access that I've been able to tap into. I've spent 3 hours reading about the history and statistics of AIDS, so I think I deserve a little break.

There were some lovely people that left comments on my blog a few weeks ago, and I haven't addressed some of the questions yet. Yes, Wendy, I have a blog. It's just a few months old, so you haven't missed much, and I see that you have a blog, too. I'd like to see you soon, especially since I haven't seen you since Connor was just a tiny baby.
Yes, Sherida, we need to talk! I miss you, and will be happy to have a bit more time for a few weeks during summer.
The big news is that Jeff and I have bought a house, and we'll be moving to Visalia. Yes, that is correct. I will be able to attend CSU Fresno and study my beloved parasites, and Jeff will continue in his computer career. Don't worry-- we won't be moving for at least 8 months, since the house is not even built yet. It is a 5-bedroom, 3-bath house with 1/4-acre of land. Bleh! Guess who's not going to be doing the yardwork? I wanted a townhouse, with just enough yard or patio to grow a little kitchen garden... But anyway, I am still adjusting to the idea of moving and changing a lot about my life. I am excited to be heading on the career path I really want, since I've been disenchanted with the corporate life. But on the plus side, I might be able to keep my engineering job part-time, at least for a while. Yay, income!

And now, I get to head back up to Fullerton and La Mirada, and get there just barely in time to attend the Horton Memorial Barbeque/Wrecking Party. I opted to get the t-shirt. Oh, I'm such a wild and crazy chick!

Infamous (not actually)100 question survey

2005-05-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Got this from several people's blogs.

100 Questions

1. Full Name: Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Bannana Fanna Bo Besca III (I'm the cute one!)
2. Nick name: Kit, Kitty, Mama Deb, Baby cakes, ICBM Jungle Pixie, Talbot's only teeny-bopper rocket scientist, the Oracle, the Guidance Goddess
3. There was no question for the number 3. Huh.
4. Place of Birth: Northridge, California, U.S.A.
5. Zodiac Sign: Leo (the cat)
6. Male or Female: XX
7. Grade: 22
8. School: Talbot School of Theology
9. Occupation: engineer, teacher, scholar, homemaker, keeper of kitty cats
10. Location: LA and Orange Counties
11. Screen Names: icbmjunglepixie

__YOUR APPEARANCE___
12. Hair Color: blonde
13. Hair Length: shoulders
14. Eye Color: blue
15. What eye color would you want: hazel/green
16. Height: 5'7"
17. What height would you rather be: 5'8" or 5'9"
18. Shoe Size: Anything from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2, depending on the brand and the type of shoe.
19. Braces: formerly
20. Glasses: Yes, and contact lenses, too.
21. Piercings: Yes. Ears and navel (yes, the truth comes out).
22. Tattoos: No, but it would be cool if I did.
23. Righty or Lefty: Right-handed, but almost ambidextrous.

___YOUR FiRSTS___
24. There was no question here, so I'll make something up. First public performance: Playing one of the three little kittens who lost their mittens (singing, "Meow, meow, meow, meow, we shall have no pie!"), as a kindergartener in a school play.
25. Again with no question! How can they claim that this is "100 questions" if there are not one hundred questions?
26. First best friend: Bekah Newell
27. First Award: I have no idea.
28. First Sport You Joined: I was forced to join all kinds of sports, as part of gym class. I hated them all, except soccer and hockey. I voluntarily joined ballet class.
29. First Pet: Retarded mutant black-and-white cat, Boots.
30. First Vacation: My family went to Bali when I was 2.
31. First Concert: The first concert I consciously remember attending was James Galway at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, back in the early 1990s.
32. First Love: Of what?

___ FAVORITES___
33. Movie: Like most people, I can't narrow it down to just one! But how about 42nd Street, You Can't Take It With You, or The Adventures of Robin Hood, for a few?
34. TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Also, The Avengers, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Simpsons.
35. Color: blue
36. Bands: Beatles, various punk, Glenn Miller, and more.
37. Song: There isn’t just one. Youthful favorites "Lili Marlene," "Rainbow Connection," and "Music Box Dancer," and my latest list of songs to listen to when I’m thinking life sucks, Maroon 5 (“This Love,” “She Will Be Loved”), Green Day (“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”), and Simple Plan (“You Don’t Mean Anything,” “Addicted”). And so on. By the way, Jeff just bought me two new CDs--Maroon 5 and Avril Lavigne. He loves me lots and actively supports my love of depressing music!
38. Food: sweet potato, kue lapis, green guava
39. Drink: air jeruk or Diet Coke (Coca-Cola Lite in Europe)
40. Candy: Dark chocolate L’agi bar. Or Girardelli dark chocolate. Pretty much anything dark chocolate.
41. Sport To Play: dancesport
42. Sport To Watch: dancesport
43. Brand Of Clothing: Chanel or Ralph Lauren, if I pretended that I could afford them.
44. Store: Savers and Powell’s City of Books
45. School Subject: Anything but PE!!
46. Animal: kitty cats
47. Book: Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice try. Try The Blue Castle, Pride and Prejudice, or Foundations of Parasitology, just for starters.

___CURRENTLY___
49. Eating: Nothing, but I just finished a little popcorn.
50. Drinking: Water.
51. Typing: Here it is.
53. Listening To: The movie, plus Sara and Elizabeth talking.
54. Thinking About: Not much.
55. Wanting To: Criticize Diane Kruger.
56. Watching: National Treasure
57. Wearing: Now, I’m wearing khaki slacks, grey long-sleeved Old Navy t-shirt, red short-sleeved Happy Bunny t-shirt (“Make the stupid people shut up.”), and black and tan Skechers.

___YOUR FUTURE___
58. Want Kids: Yes (two boys and a girl, if I get to chose)
59. Want to Get Married: I’m already way ahead of the game, there.
60. Careers in Mind: tech fellow, university professor, rock star, supermodel, celebrity chef (heheh)
61-66. Strangely absent.

__WHiCH iS BETTER WiTH THE OPPOSiTE SEX___
67. Cute or Sexy: They are not mutually exclusive, so I’ll take cute and sexy.
68. Lips or Eyes: Um, I think both lips and eyes are both necessary in the opposite sex.
69. Hugs or Kisses: Depends on who is doling them out.
70. Short or Tall: Tall.
71. Easygoing or serious: Why not both?
72. Romantic or Spontaneous: Well, again, I don’t see that these are mutually exclusive, but spontaneity would tend to stress me out, so I’ll have to say romantic.
73. Fatty or Skinny: Never been attracted to the skinnies. A big man will always make me look petite, no matter how fat I get!
74. Sensitive or Loud: Wha? Sensitive all the way.
75. Hook-up or Relationship: Yeah, I guess it would depend on the man in question… Assuming I understand the question right.
76. Sweet or Caring: Huh?
77. Trouble Maker or Hesitant One: Again I say, huh? I’ll take neither.

___HAVE YOU EVER___
78. Kissed a Stranger: no
79. Drank Alcohol: yes
80. Smoked: no
81. Ran Away From Home: no (I’d like to point out that this should read Run Away From Home to be grammatically correct.)
82. Broken a Bone: no
83. Got an X-ray: yes
84. Broken Up With Someone: yes
85. Broken Someone's Heart: I think so
86. Turned Someone Down: yes
87. Cried When Someone Died: of course
88. Cried At School: Yes, but there are no good stories there. A better story is the one dealing with me crying at Heathrow Airport.

___DO YOU BELIEVE IN___
89. God: yes
90. Miracles: yes
91. Love At First Sight: maybe
92. Ghosts: Yes, but I’d classify them as demonic or other spiritual activity.
93. Aliens: no
94. Soul Mates: Sure, why not? After all, even socks have mates.
95. Heaven: yes
96. Hell: yes
98. Kissing on The First Date: I believe that it happens sometimes. So what?
99. Horoscopes: I believe that they exist. I am guessing that whoever wrote these questions meant to ask “Do you believe that horoscopes correctly predict the course of one’s life?” The question-writer will have to realize that he or she should be more precise in the wording of questions, in order to correctly communicate intentions and desired outcome. What do they teach them in these schools, anymore? Sheesh.

___ANSWER TRUTHFULLY___
100. Is There Someone You Want Right Now But Can’t Have? I really wish I could have a housekeeper, but we can’t afford one.

Interesting Day

2005-05-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting day. Of course, most of my days are interesting, from one standpoint or another.

I went to work, and several people stopped by to inquire about my health, seeing as how I didn't go to work yesterday. I started cleaning my office, which is a greater task than one might suppose, because it is a lot of work to sort and file technical documents.

B stopped by to offer me some strawberries. He apparently bought a whole flat of them and is having trouble disposing of them, because he is single and can't eat that much fruit. However, the berries he gave me were starting to ferment. Hilarious! They have that warm, tangy aftertaste.

I went to lunch with Josh. We had a lot to talk about. I have been pissed at him for a variety of (very good) reasons, and we were able to work some stuff out.

After I got back to work, Mercado stopped by my office to tell me that he nominated me for some sort of award, and Kelly (our chief segment engineer) drew my name out of those nominated. So, I am now the possessor of four Angels tickets for the game next Tuesday. Interestingly, not only do I have class next Tuesday, but I don't even like baseball! So, I have four tickets for something I neither want nor am able to use. I'm letting Jeff have one, and either he'll have three friends to go, or I'll get a few other of my friends and family.

Then I headed home, and folded laundry and tidied up the kitchen.

Sara and Elizabeth came over for roommate night. I love seeing them on a weekly basis! We're watching National Treasure. The U.S. inherited the treasures of the Templar Knights? Huh. But it's a fun movie.

Cavalcade

2005-04-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's a cavalcade of death among Deb's favored actors of classic films: Ruth Hussey and Sir John Mills both died last week. Hussey was a talented MGM contract player who is best-remembered for playing Liz Imbrie (Jimmy Stewart's photographer pal) in The Philadelphia Story, for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress by the Academy. Hussey generally played supporting roles in good films and ingenue and lead roles in minor films.
John Mills' career retrospective reads almost like a Who's Who and What's What of 20th century film and theatre (despite the fact that modern audiences would be far more likely to know of his spunky and undeniably talented daughter Hayley, of Pollyanna and Parent Trap fame). He debuted in a light British film (which I recall as a Jessie Matthews musical) The Midshipmaid, worked in the Brit film and theatre industry through the 1930s, and emerged to good notice for supporting Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips. While Mr. Chips brought him international notice, he continued to work in the UK through the 1940s, notably with Noel Coward and David Lean. His role as Pip in 1948's Great Expectations assured his dubious immortality, due to the fact that it would be required viewing for several generations of high school students who were forced to watch it as part of studying Dickens in literature class (as a filming of Dickens' classic novel, it has really never been bettered, as evidenced by the simply dreadful modernized version from the 1990s). He received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1970.

Ah, yes, good movies.

More angst in life

2005-04-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

I've observed that I've indulged myself in an awful lot of angst lately. I suppose I'm finally growing into myself as a drama queen, and I really am dealing with a lot of stuff right now. I am engaged in buying a house (a large house, I might add), we spent all evening talking about it with Mom and Dad, and then we came home and I started to work on my Powerpoint charts for the Technical Review tomorrow, because I haven't finished them yet (they're going well, though, and I'm taking a break to vent). I had cried from exhaustion and frustration on the way home, and I told Jeff, "We have to go up to Visalia this weekend to do paperwork, but I have to do laundry and clean the apartment, and do homework, and save the world, and I just can't do this." I've been stressed about the finances and responsibilities of buying a house, but remembered that our payments for the house will hardly be different from what we already pay each month for rent; such is the reality of living in an apartment in Orange County.

Now back to technical charts.

What is happening with my life?

2005-04-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am at work. Eating tomato soup. There are lots of people here, customers and contractors, since we have a technical review tomorrow and Thursday. I wish the people would go away. They make it hard for me to work.

I've been edgy all day, and I've been SNACKING, which is quite unusual for me. That is, it's not unusual for me to eat snacks, but I really never just nibble all morning, as I did today. I usually eat a bit, to take the edge off of hunger and maintain energy and blood sugar. Oh, well.

Jeff and I are waiting to hear from a mortgage company today, to see if we will be able to BUY A HOUSE. We are supposed to hear by the end of the day. If it goes well, I'll share details.

I'm done with my soup. I'll sign off now.

Lucky me!

2005-04-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

The reason that I am lucky is that Keiko came over and gave me and Jeff professional massages--she has to put in a certain number of hours of internship before she gets her license to practice, so Debbie invited her over as a treat for us. Jeff and I are in Visalia, so a relaxing backrub was exactly what we needed. But seriously, folks, we have a lot going on and a lot of changes happening in our lives, which will be explained in great detail, soon enough.

Biola finally published the course schedules for Fall 2005 classes, and I must say that they are not making it easy for me to graduate. There are few theology and historical theology electives being offered. I may be able to take 4 units over summer school, which would be a good thing, but that still leaves 5 units I'll need in the fall. I don't think I'll be able to fit any Torrey classes into the mix. It is sad, but most of the Torrey people that I like are graduating this spring anyway. Perhaps we can put together something like the Phaedrus group, where some of us can still pursue the logos. I love Plato! I miss Plato!

I'm reading a really good book about the future impact of nanotechnology on the economy. Very insightful.

More Thursday

2005-04-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't forgotten that it is [when I feel like it] theatre, film, and TV day on Thursday.

I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Sarah Michelle Gellar, who has many accomplishments to her credit (Did you know she won an Emmy when she was just 18?), not the least of which is her portrayal of Buffy in my favorite TV show. But I think it is a tragedy for an actor to become associated with just one role, so I'll also note that she has starred in several very financially successful movies, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2 (in these two teen horror flicks, she played very well as a member of ensemble casts), Cruel Intentions (I thought she gave a convincingly nasty performance), Scooby-Doo (with husband Freddie Prinze, Jr.), and last summer's sleeper hit The Grudge. The one thing I would note about her career is that she might find it helpful to break out of the horror rut and diversify her career.

More than Midterms on Monday

2005-04-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

I had my Cults of America midterm this evening, which was a relief, since I've been studying for the past week or so. I know I got over 90, but don't think I got a perfect score. Oh,well.

My gripe for the day is the total inability of my company's IT (software or hardware) to accomplish anything of worth. I was issued a laptop more than a month ago, and it still does not work properly. Neither the audio nor the modem work properly, and the software people say it's a hardware problem, and the hardware people say it's a software problem. Meanwhile, my computer doesn't operate as it should, and while it does not impede my day-to-day work, all engineers are technically required to have (1) an operational modem for traveling and (2) functional audio to enable video conferencing and such. I just want a computer that works as specified by the company that issues it. Sheesh.

Speaking of work and stuff, my old pal B has been up to some amusing things. He has good motives. For example, he decided that he really wants to dig into specs and manuals and historical documents, and learn the ins and outs of our toaster system. This is great, except that his method of doing so is to photocopy said documents page by page, and he thinks I should have copies, too. My desk is seldom clean, because I have papers and folders scattered all over, and as of today, I have acquired five or six new thick documents, which apparently account for the recent decimation of the Brazilian rainforest.

In other news, Elizabeth has returned from Israel. I'm glad she made it home safely, and I look forward to hearing her stories and seeing her photos. She was still pretty tired today.

Cheryl keeps a jar of jelly beans in her office. They are spicy and tangy jelly beans--very addictive. There are some that taste like cloves and cinnamon.

And we see some Montague/Capulet action in Florida, when two teens' love affair brings the families to bloodshed.

P.S. Futurama is funny. And Family Guy. "Oh, Peter, you are the height of just-too-muchery."

Sun Day

2005-04-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

We did have some lovely sun today. I had heard a rumor that it was going to rain this weekend, so it was very pleasant to have the nice weather instead.

I ought to be reviewing for my Cults of America midterm (tomorrow evening), but I'm just tired of studying Jesus-Only/Oneness Pentecostalism and New Age philosophy (guess what--it's pantheism and monism!). I watched George Arliss' Voltaire, which was better than I'd expected, and now I'm eating ice cream--Lacy and Christina left it here last week, and I figured I should eat it, since it would be a crime to let good cookie dough ice cream get freezer burn.

It was an eventful weekend. We spent Friday night and some of Saturday with Mia and Tim, after which we did homework and stuff. Last night, I went to a bridal shower for my beloved Kelly Tooley (soon to be Watts). It was at Buca di Beppo in Thousand Oaks, and I carpooled up with Veronica Wingard and my dear Diana Petroi. I had so much fun spending time with them. The shower was fun, too. It was a group of girls that I've known (some better than others) since Biola, and because they all know each other even better than I, there was a great spirit of joy and comraderie. Michelle Kelman, Melissa Martin, and Janette Hagen were the hostesses; guests included Angie Borges, Jen Chu (she makes me smile), Shay Newland, and Rachael Bond, plus some ladies I don't know as well, such as Jen Jones and Sarah Shevlin. Rachael, Vern, Diana, and I all lived with Kelly in Horton (Di and I were her roomies), and a lot of the other ladies had been with her on mission trips to the Ukraine. It made me miss the closeness that one experiences with mission trips... Anyway, there were lots of hugs and laughter. Jeff and I won't be able to go to Kel's wedding, since we'd already been committed to the Europe trip since before the wedding date was set (heck, since before Kel even got engaged), but we'll go out to Texas some time soon, to meet Derek and have some good ol' Texas fun. =) It was good to be reminded how much I need people, and how much I miss Kelly, Diana, and even Rachael (she lived across the hall in Horton; we've had some great conversations through the years).

Speaking of Horton Hall: Veronica, Diana, and I are going to attend the Horton Wrecking Party (our last Em-Ho BBQ ever!), and my sis will be there. I'll try to get Elizabeth to come. Sherida will probably be there, and maybe Liz Ray. =) I'm going to send some of my pics for the slide show. I wish Biola would make special edition Em-Ho t-shirts or sweatshirts available to alumni. *sniff sniff* I can't believe they're going to tear down Horton!
H.O.T.T.I.E.S. and T.O.U.G.H. Girls Forever!
L.O.U.D. and Proud, Baby!!

Sooo Tired

2005-04-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeed, I'm tired! I've been so busy with work and school. Our Cults midterm is on Monday, so I spent a lot of time going over the review sheet, Sara and I studied together on Thursday night, and we're going to have another study session on Sunday. I did a dry run of my problem log presentation for this month's GTR, and it didn't seem like it flew so well, but usually my dry runs are kind of choppy, while my actual presentations kick tail. It's just the way I operate, probably because I'm doing constant mental revisions during my dry runs. I'm a consumate performer, really. *sigh* I hate looking like a doofus in front of managers and senior engineers, though. It was annoying that I was scheduled last--Who thought it was a good idea to schedule me to go late on a Friday afternoon? Anyway.

Jeff and I ate dinner at the Olive Garden, and then we picked Tim up at the Fullerton train station. We nabbed Mia and brought them both back to our apartment to watch a movie and spend the night. We saw Shaolin Soccer.

Now it's bedtime.