dandelions, crabgrass and other survivors

hello friday. :-) I have missed you.

Michael Jackson is dead. As cold and callous as it makes me, I am not in tears over this. I didn't really know the man---and I can't honestly believe many of his fans did either.

I can't say that I was ever a fan---even when the man was at the height of his career. I liked his music okay, and I was impressed with his dancing, but mostly my personal opinion of him was that he was just plain weird. It made it hard for me to appreciate him as a person. All the drama and crap in his life made me want to just turn away.

I've never been one who wants to read all the intimate details of someone else's life. At least not of rock stars, athletes, or actors. I have come to the conclusion I'm just not a good fan. Yeah, you've got talent, yes that's impressive, and yes I enjoy your efforts. I buy your music, see your movie, whatever...but I'm not devoting myself to you because of that.

Honestly...I think it is depressing that his death is the top news story. Shit. We've still got a war going on in Iraq. We've got an economy in shambles. We've got global warming and melting polar ice caps. Jesus...is none of that worth mentioning today? Sigh.

Farrah Fawcet is dead too. She was a pretty lady in her day. No doubt. Was she really a great actress? No idea. I never saw even one of her movies.

So...it's raining again. Reminds me of an old joke---It's only rained twice this week, three days the first time and four days the second. Sigh.

My usual routine in the morning is to check my e-mail, surf a few fiction sites while I take my time getting my head wrapped around what needs to be done today. (I'm also waiting for my hair to air dry bit and eating breakfast). At any rate, I fire up the computer this morning and no connection to the internet. Grrr. I think maybe it's just yahoo acting up since that's the home page I open to...but no, no other webpage is accessible either.

I turned off the DSL modum thing. Turn it back on. No dice. Let the computer run its own diagnostics on the problem...no help there. Call my service provider---yep, it's their problem. Except they aren't entirely sure what the problem is. This could make solving said problem a bit more difficult...or so the tech I spoke to tells me. Really? I would not have guessed that. (In her defense it was 6:30 AM, and she was trying her best to be polite---I was trying too. I know I wasn't the first call that poor lady was going to get, and pretty damn sure I won't be the last. Not sorry I'm not her today.)

So, I'm at work for the moment...with limited access because the firewall is up and running again today. It lets me access 'restricted' sites for 10 minutes and then shuts me out. I get a total of 60 minutes for the day. Neat, isn't it? Sigh.

Oh yeah, it's raining...inside and out. No joy in muddville today.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

This weekend the relay for life is going on, and the bank has a team. They have had a team every year----for years. Not sure how many to be honest, but I know they've been a sponser and active participant since before I started working here. Something they should be proud of.

So, in honor of that committment we are having a 'dress down' day. That means everyone is in jeans and wearing their Relay for Life team t-shirts. And for as comfortable as the dress code is for today, it leaves me feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

I have grown used to the idea of wearing 'dress clothes' to the office. Suits, dresses, skirts, heels...hell, all those things are normal for me now. Which really, is a huge shift from what I was doing just ten years ago when jeans and a t-shirt was damn near a uniform to be worn every day. Just goes to prove anything you do long enough becomes 'normal' by defualt.

I'm feeling decidedly out of place in my seriously casual clothing. I never saw that coming.

Hello friday. I have missed you.

Had a good workout this morning. Not going to light the world on fire with my routine but hey, I got there and got it done. Benchpressing 75 pounds now. Like I said, not lighting the world on fire, but I like to think it's respectable. And I'm going to keep telling myself that. :-)

Got a walk in at lunch time every day this week...with the possible exception of today. Sigh. It's raining, yet gain. Very wet June this is turning out to be.

Studio time will be had tomorrow. Huzzah. Bowls to glaze. Pots to trim. And I plan on trying to make more plates. Good times will be had.

And I'm going to go see UP. Wheee. I love animated films. Totally juvenille of me, but really, I don't care. Pixar usually does a fabulous job and I appreciate the level of effort...and the humor. Totally.

Sigh. To work, to work, to buy a fat pig.

I could have spent a lot more time in bed today. But I forced myself out, much to Callie's delight since the bitty bowl had no doubt been empty for a good twenty minutes and she was worried about starving. One thing I actually admire about cats is that ability to look out for themselves---almost to the exclusion of anything else. It's also damned annoying.

So, I'm up with enough time to get in a little work out. I don't go to the gym Tues. and Thurs...so I try to get my ass out of bed and do a little routine at home. Try being the optimum word. Some aerobic stuff, some stretching and toning things. Figure it can't hurt even if I have no proof that it actually helps.

Got on the scale this morning too. Just a checking in kind of thing. Mostly I don't obsess or worry overly much about my weight but I like to make sure it's still where I think it is. I figure my clothes would tell me if it wasn't, but that's not always the case. Today...same old, same old. I'm thinking that's okay.

I don't look like I weigh as much as I do. I pack a lot into a small space I guess. :-)

Weatherman says nicer day today...I have my doubts. Month of May here as been decidedly wet. 8th wettest on record according to the same weatherman who tells me today will be nice.

I hope he's right. The plan today is to meet up with my sister and go to the huge flea market they hold twice a year not far from her place. :-) Not that I need any fleas, but you can get some good deals at these things from time to time. And hey, a day spent goofing off with my favorite sister is never a bad thing.

While we're off having fun, my vehicle will be at the doctors. Sigh. Needs an inspection and some work in order to pass said inspection. Having a car is like having a kid---they always need something. Ah well. I can't really complain. She hasn't cost me that much over the years. And I need her.

Hello wet and dreary world. Sigh. Monday was so bright and sunny.
Tuesday, not so much. And today, more rain. At least all the green stuff looks vibrant in comparison to everything else.

Rained like hell last night. Upside there was it washed a lot of the bugs and dust off my car on my way to and from the studio. I've got 8 pots glazed ready for a high fire. Three of those are for my nephew. Nesting bowls---for when he finally decides to leave home. Keep him from having to eat from teh same dirty dish every day. (Teenage boys can be so disgusting at times).

I've got another 8 waiting for a low fire. I am especially pleased with my efforts at throwing plates. Getting better all the time there. graduated from tea cup saucer size to ones that you could actually eat off. Huzzah.

( It was a good one )

Ah yes, that time of year again. Sigh.

Monday...they had put out cones to control traffic, turning the two lane in front of where I work into a one lane. No biggie really, but they didn't bother with stationing flagmen until about 10 AM. Fortunately most of the people here are reasonably intelligent---although some days I'm not sure about that---and relatively courteous. They managed to police themselves. No accidents and no one died. Well done general populace.

Tuesday...They had guys working on the traffic light. Still no flagmen. But the guy in the bucket truck in the center of all this chaos did not seem concerned. Brave or foolish, I am not sure which. I'm leaning toward foolish.

Wens...they came with concrete barriers. The guy running the crane putting them in position apparently didn't care about the fact that he's swinging these things over moving traffic. I was glad they didn't start doing that until I was already at my desk.

Thurs...well, that's when they started cutting the concrete. Lots of dust and noise and more confusion. My what fun.

Today...they are cutting the concrete directly in front of where I need to turn to get to work. It's also where every customer for the bank needs to turn. I'm thinking this will slow down the number of people we get in the lobby.

Time table for completion of this little cluster...November. Good times ahead for the summer. Oy.

Pilates is a form of torture. I'm sure of this. Lord. I can't decide if I should quit doing it or do it more often.

( Stuff )

Today dawned with the same heavy clouds dominating the sky that have been there every day this week. The clouds were that beautiful blue gray you only see when there is enough light passing through to highlight just how dark they are.

As I was headed for work today, cresting the hill, there was enough of a break in the cloud to let beams of light through. They struck the valley below and I was stunned by how green everything was. For months that view has been nothing but gray. Now all the trees are putting out new leaves, the grass is growing, flowers are blooming.

It made for a lovely vista that I was pleased to take a moment and apprecaite.

Definitely cooler this morning than yesterday. Probably just feels that way because the sun isn't really out yet. C'mon Sunshine get your ass in gear.

I am off to go walk in a charity thing my sister, Nancy, asked I help out with. We're trying to raise funds for research on Juvenile Diabetes. Her second boy, my nephew Nick, was diagnosed when he was six. Another sister, Mary, has a son with it as well. Nate was diagnosed when he was 13. So yeah, it runs in the family.

Of all the X-men, Wolverine has always been my favorite. Hugh Jackman did a fabulous job playing him in the movies---so naturally when I saw the trailers for Wolverine: X-Men Origins, I knew I'd be going to see it. :-)

IMHO the movie was pretty damn good. Nicely wove the plot lines and details of the previous movies together while staying true to the spirit of Wolverine, if not to all the history outlined in the comics. It didn't hurt that we see a lot of Hugh---and a fair amount of skin which was breath taking. That boy is just beautiful, well and truly. His wife is one lucky woman.

The trailers for Star Trek have intrigued me. And I am definitely looking forward to the new Terminator movie. Going to be a good summer for movies this year I think.

The news is all about swine flu. They've got 70 confirmed cases here in the US. Is that enough for an epidemic? And I know it killed people in Mexico but no one ever says how many. Hell, the regular human flu kills people, but it doesn't make the news.

How much more dangerous is this swine flu, really? They made a huge stink about the avian flu, and it really didn't amount to much. At least not that I remember. Lot of chickens and turkeys got slaughtered, so for them, yeah, it was a big deal. And I sympathize with farmers having to put down and destroy them. Huge loss of revenue for them that they couldn't truly afford.

Every time I see this stuff I find myself wondering...should I be worried? Then I realize, hey, you get it, you get it. Not much to be done about it. They won't even have a vaccine until this fall...if at all.

Wearing a mask to as a preventative measure seems just plain silly to me. Not sure how effective it would really be? You'd have to wear the damn thing 24/7 and honestly, in 90 degree heat, I'll pass on anything that just makes me more uncomfortable. Short sighted, probably, but honest.

( It will be a good day )

I'll be out of town for the next two days. Conference. I go to this one every year. There occasionally some good information. And there is also some boredom to be dealt with. ah well, have to take the good with the bad I guess.

Yesterday, I had sunshine. Was a little windy but still a lovely day. I got to squeeze a walk outside in at lunch time. Breathe in some fresh air and get away from my desk. To not be hemmed in by four walls for half an hour. Ah. That was very refreshing.

Today...well, today will be overcast and it will likely rain. Sigh. Apparently there is a short supply of nice days and they must be rationed.

It is almost Easter. There should be flowers blooming. But yesterday there were snow flurries. Sigh. Damn weatherman...why is he only ever right when I want him to be wrong?