I've just started a new season on World Series Baseball '95. For my previous season, I picked the Mariners and loaded the team with power hitters. My starting lineup contained Ken Griffey Jr, Jay Buhner, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas and Matt Williams. And I usually scored at least twenty-five runs per game. It was fun to have six guys each hit over 200 homers in a season, and to win every game so convincingly, but I decided that for the next season, I'd try something different. I'd stay on the hardest difficulty level, but I'd pick a lowly team, and try to win with base hits and hustle.

So, I picked the Cubs and left their roster completely intact. What I forgot was that the Cubbies had their own little slugger, Sammy Sosa. Now, we're twenty games in to the season, and sitting atop the NL Central at 20-0. Every single starter is hitting over .380, has at least 10 stolen bases (five players have over 20), slugging over .468, has at least 13 RBI's and scored at least 19 runs. The starting eight have combined for 39 doubles, 23 triples, 148 stolen bases, 210 rbi's and 202 runs scored. Sosa has gone yard 32 times and has 70 RBI's while third baseman Steve Buechele has knocked ten balls over the fence and has 43 rbi's. In the actual 1994 season, their numbers were 25/70 and 14/52.

My four starting pitchers have an average era of 1.65, and four of my six relievers have yet to give up a run. But they've also notched four saves. For the non-baseball inclined among you, that means four of the games were won by three runs or less. 162-0, I'm calling it now. Maybe next season I'll try the Royals.

This weekend is the first weekend in, oh...eight weeks? Probably. It's the first weekend in eight weeks that I haven't done any MOT work. Unless you count going to a co-worker's funeral. Bad joke.

The funeral was nice, as nice as funerals can be, I suppose. Just about everyone I stood with (it was standing room only, which testifies to Bill's good nature) said some form of "well you sure do clean up well" when they saw me in my spiffy girl duds. I think they meant it, too.

On Friday, I paid my mortgage bill online an entire two minutes before a late fee would have been assessed. That's pretty funny.

Friday night we hung out with the Grumbly and the Pants and the Pants' mom. It was a good time, for reals.

I'm thinking in bullet points today and it's bothering me. Today seems like it should be a full sentence day, with lots of descriptive adjectives. But I can't be bothered, and that bothers me. Perhaps I will think some interesting things while doing dishes.

I feel somewhat insane today. Odd.

I am looking for an icon maker who can make 10-12 good, clean, simple 100x100 icons with 1px black borders. I will give full credit.

No animation. Only two with text.

( Read more... )

So I turned 33 yesterday, and for my birthday. my body decided to give me a lesson entitled "Bitch - you're OLD." After a marathon work week involving a freelance project that is actually due tomorrow and includes INCREDIBLY annoying and tedious work that requires input from people who don't get back to me, as well as everything else I'm working on, the birthday festivities started around 8PM on Friday night. J (that's the guy I'm seeing or whatever the fuck we're doing) and I went to the movies, and then met his friend E at Beauty Bar for drinkin' and assorted mayhem. As we arrived at the bar just at midnight, I thought it appropriate to begin my birthday with tequila. And then vodka. And then more tequila. I actually had a blast and got to dance, which I've been craving forever, but it was one of those "oh, let's just hit one more place before we go home" nights that involved closing Mars Bar after 4 (with parting free shots from the bartendress for my birthday). By the time we got home, the birds had started chirping, which has been awhile for me.

But no matter, I thought - I'm a seasoned partygirl, and I can power through. Had plans for dim sum with good folks at 11, so I got about 12 minutes of sleep before hiking my way down to Chinatown for deee-licious food, and thought everything was hunky-dory. I returned home to maybe catch a nap, get a manicure, and prepare myself for dinner out with my gaybestfriend, and then some drinking afterwards. Well. Halfway through said manicure, my body revolted. Utterly. I've never had such a delayed onset hangover (this was now close to 4PM), but after everything I'd eaten or drunk since morning made a charming re-appearance, it was clear the moules and frites I had planned with said gaybestfriend were SO not going to happen. So I had to cancel my birthday dinner, and put a call out to J, who was set to join me for drinks after he got out of work at 9, saying I was well and truly out of it for the evening.

But eventually, after a few more hours and LOTS of water, I managed to rally enough to go out for a burger and a beer in Woodside late in the evening, and J very nicely came over to keep me company. And while it wasn't the bacchanal I thought I wanted, or even a chic sophisticated evening I thought would be a good second choice, it was still, in the end, a rather nice birthday, even if I did learn that I cannot party like a rock star as much as I used to without consequences. Which is not to say that I won't try -- I'll just have to plan for said consequences. There are worse things, I suppose.

Now, sadly, it's time to go back to work -- there's a pile of crap that needs doing by dark. Sigh.

I looked down and there it was almost a perfect flower all skeletony! This was taken on a phone to the quality is rubbish!

My back is downright killing me. I wrenched my lower back a week ago, and it got worse and worse. Now I can barely move without being in pain. It looks like I'm going to have to go see the doctor tomorrow. And if I can't find a doctor to see me, then i'll find an emergency room.

My point is this: Ow.

'But listen! Wherever you look there's meanness and corruption. This room, this bottle of grape wine, these fruits in the basket, are all products of profit and loss. A fellow can't live without giving his passive acceptance to meanness. Somebody wears his tail to a frazzle for every mouthful we eat and every stitch we wear---and nobody seems to know. Everybody is blind, dumb and blunt-headed---stupid and mean.'

from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Carson McCullers
1940

Good afternoon.

It's that time again Top 5!

Wow, that feels weird.

*takes a moment*

Anyway, here are the topics that will be having their way with you this week.

Did I say "topics"? OF COURSE I did. I promised an uphill climb, and I meant it.

This time around you have:

Not Waving But Drowning
Finding Faith in Myself
My Hero

There's a bit of theme there that I didn't actually intend when I picked them off different parts of my "List O'Stuff". Hmmm... interesting...

You have until Friday May 23rd at noon EDT to have all three entries linked back here.

Good luck, and seriously, have fun!!!

I was folding one of my boyfriend's shirts when I saw this on the care instructions tag --

A one-story old Florida crack motel and a school for travel agents complete with dorms. Here are a few decent shots.

1.


( Central Florida Arachnid Vocational School )

 it truly is going from bad to worse....With Mike not being able to work full time or to bring in the extra money from our side businessit's truly bad.  He woke up this morning and said somebody needs to step up to the plate.  He says he'll go get a second job.  I can let him do that.  Besides him I hate my life here.  I will not sit here alone.  I would rather give up everything else because stuff is not important to me just my family.  I am seriously able and willing to give up TV. the computer,  whatever it takes.  Unfortunately it wont be enough.  We need to sell a few vehicles but no one wants to shoot themselves in the foot but we need money now not down the road.  I dont want to be selfish but I have sacrifised so much to be here.  I cashed in Aaron's college fund which was 7500.  just to be able to move here.  I walked away from the best family I ever had and the friends I had made.  Besides Mike and our boys I hate it here.  His mother constantly thinks she is better than me.  She talks about me in the worst ways.  My boss at work is constantly putting me down.  He even threw money at me once to buy new clothes because he didnt like what I was wearing.  I dont know what to do.  I have never felt this lost or desperate in my life before.  Not even when I lived in a friends basement with my two year old son that I only had enough money to feed him Ramen Noodles for two months.  I just want to curl up and die.  I really cant see how we are ever going to get out of this mess and now I really feel it's up to me to come up with a way.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

A few pics of Paducah from yesterday before I go have breakfast. The full set is here, and hopefully more to come today. I'm having fun playing with my iPhone & seeing what sort of pics I can get on a low-tech, no bells or whistles camera.

( Pictures of Paducah )

Holy Grap People!!!

Our final week of immunities in Season 4 and we turn out TWO CONTESTANTS BREAKING THE PREVIOUSLY SET SEASON 4 VOTING RECORD (and one coming really really close). (there were a couple moments there that I thought we were shooting for the "all time" mark!) AND ANOTHER IMPORTANT MILESTONE.(see below for that one).

This week we say goodbye to

n_decisive

and

superhappytime

n_decisive was one of those contestants that people seemed to notice right off as being a contender. But not in an "OMG she's going to destroy us!" more of a, yeah, she has a good shot at winning, and I'm ok with that." Amazing writer and tremendous supporter of the process even when other people chose to remain silent you could always count on her to speak up when she thought something needed to be addressed. I really can't say enough good things about her. She's truly going to be missed around here.

superhappytime on the other hand. . . heh, ok, I need to be serious, even though I've been known to give the guy a hard time now and then. The truth of the matter, from Day 1 he *really* reminded me of pseudonymjones from Season 3. Which is a pretty high compliment considering that was most people's early pick to win the the whole thing last season.

Even when he was saying there was no way he was going to last, I saw that same spark in his writing.

That said, I promised a few paragraphs up to talk about another major accomplishment this week. I did some checking and I was in fact wrong with something that I've said multiple times this season. lifeofjason came in *7th* in Season 2. mezzominty did come in 6th during Season 1, so technically there is a tie, but considering that was out of 9 and this is out of 155 I think it's safe to say that superhappytime can now officially be considered the Most Dominant Male to Ever Play Idol with a 6th place finish. Congratulations!!


I know you both would have liked to go further, and there are many people who have supported you over these last *7 months* who would have loved to see that happen. But 6th and 7th out of 155? I don't think that's anything less than amazing and you both should be really proud of what you have accomplished.

Thank you for everything.

The story of a young mother sacrificing her life for her three month-old child broke my heart. Sobs shook my body while I struggled to keep my car on the road. My mind cannot begin to comprehend the tragic loss of life which has occurred on our planet during the past month. Cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes; environmental disasters of biblical proportions abound.

My family isn't homeless or hungry. My home isn't flooded or a pile of rubble. I am thankful for the bounty I have been blessed with.

Sometimes it's difficult to remember how wonderful life is and to make every moment count. So many are not as lucky as I.
I am grateful.

Could be a combination of not getting out enough and not watching enough television that makes everyday people doing their everyday thing, out there, so fascinating to me.
It's like visiting a festival, a drama festival, where each act plays out on a different stage. The stages are limitless and I try to see as much as I can.

Act I:
Front steps of the courthouse. A man and woman have just exited the building. He holds the door for her as she starts her decent to the sidewalk below. They are laughing.
Man: That's the first time I've ever been kicked out of the courthouse.
The woman laughs.
They look down at me, passing by on the sidewalk and the man points, laughing, as if I am now in on the joke. I smile knowingly, as if I actually am.

Act II:
Library circulation desk. An older, very tall man is fighting tooth and nail with the library tech behind the desk regarding a 3 dollar and 20 cent fine. Very patient library "girl" (VPLG) is very patient.
Man: When I checked these out, the other girl said they were do today.

VPLG: The computer says you checked these out 4 weeks ago and they check out for three weeks, so they were do last week on the 9th.

Man: But the other girl said they were do today.

VPLG: She may have misspoke.

Man: Well, that's not my responsibility!

VPLG: We give you a receipt listing all your do dates with every checkout.

Man: Yeah, but those are made to not be unreadable.

An onslaught of anger towards this mystery "other girl's" incompetence goes on and on.
As someone who has worked in public libraries, I want to intercede on this library tech's defense and say all the things she would probably love to say; all the things I wish I could have said when I was in that same position numerous times. I'd say a little something about responsibility and how the library doesn't employ children so the person he talked to last time was most likely a full grown woman and not some girl.
But someone else behind the desk has asked to help whoever is next and I believe that's me, so I move along.

Act III
A secluded table at that snooty coffee shop across the street from the library. There is a barista in training.
She has asked barista #1 about the coffee cards the shop accepts.

Barista #1: If someone is buying bulk coffee, ask them if they've got our coffee card. If they are buttheads and don't already have one, don't even offer them one.

All along, I had thought it was something about me, but as it turns out, they are actually trained to be snooty.

I've got about a minute and a half left on the parking meter, so...

The End

Gloria is back. After she finished working on the Indiana Jones movie she left LA and went back to NYC where her family is... now she is back, working on some other blockbuster (this is what she does) and we went to see Iron Man at the Arclight Hollywood. Great film, and fun to see her.

On the way out the papparazzi were chasing someone and apparently the woman called them parasites, but I couldn't see who they were after... it was Jason Statham. He was walking maybe 20 paces ahead of us and I never noticed him until the papparazzi started their thing.

Hollywood..

anyhow it's a good film. Me like.