Islandisee

House

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 21:13:02 GMT

In the process of buying a house (I feel so old and worldly). It is in fact the tiniest house imaginable. 800 square feet (of heated space) if you are feeling generous that day. But at least it will be ours and we won't be watching all the rent money just disappear. Good points: has a floored attic so lots of stuff can go up there, big lovely backyard with space for a shed, lots of windows, good part of town. Bad points: space, the pink tile in the bathroom, and the exterior front. It's never going to win cutest house in town :-) But I think it can be worked with. And the price was definitely right. Now if only the loan didn't take a -month- to process.

Saw Daniel in Pirates of Penzance. The boy looks a little piratey on -normal- days.

Working on Search Engine class (rewriting all my handouts from last time as I realize they were terrible. and more importantly, deathly boring)

Started putting some books up on Bookmooch. Must get rid of at least some books before moving. I may be making furniture out of books to make them fit in the place.

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 17:02:58 GMT

This afternoon I'm off to take pictures of my brother strutting down Devine street dressed as Cruella DeVil. His high school has a parade every year before homecoming, and this year the theme is Disney movies. See what happens when you are the only guy to show up at the planning meeting. Told my boss that was why I was taking off work early too :-)

He gets to play a Jack Sparrow-alike for the 2 minute preview before the Drama's Pirates of Penzance (sp?) production. Seems he got the can't sing genes like the rest of us, so they won't let him in the real show :-)

Saw Stephen Abram, Jenny Levine, and Michael Stephens speak at our Tech Institute hosted by the State Library. Always fun to meet and see library celebraties. Pictures here

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 12:54:37 GMT

oooh, I've never sunburned the -back of my hands- before. New low even for me. That along w/ the tops of my feet, face, and large portions of my legs have me limping along today. Wouldn't be so bad if I could wear pjs to work. No worries, I'll get my just desserts today though. Off to the dermatologist this afternoon who better scold me for getting sunburned :-) Being out on a boat at the lake this weekend was almost worth it though. Kind of depressing though, b/c the scenery is nothing but million dollar homes being built around the shore. Huge monstrosities instead of nice forested shoreline.

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:10:38 GMT

You know you are old when you get a blender for your birthday and you are a) excited about it b) not embarrassed at the alcohol/mixed drink connotation around your parents c) glad it matches your Red Kitchenaid Mixer :-)

Of course, I also drove to Newberry to get the one video game I 'had to have' for my birthday as well. Disgaea is getting hard to find. GameStop just upped the used price from $44 to $65 but Newberry a) hadn't realized that yet and b) had the only copy in 50 miles that had a book and the orginal cover art. Of course, they also had a wonderful used anime section. Expensive trip.

With Lee gone for work, I may have to step into a Blockbuster for the first time in ages. I used to wear nice pj bottoms to Blockbuster at night sometimes, but Netflix I can choose movies nekkid, and only have to dress well enough for a dash to the mailbox :-)

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:52:54 GMT

Pirates was a fun movie, although my derriere certainly recognized that it was a trifle too long. Movie made even cuter by the fact that it was mom who insisted on going opening night. :-) I guess I should be embarrassed at a 50+woman excited by this, but I think its great!

Saw a couple I knew in college, complete with child I didn't know they had. Where has the time gone?

Ate at the Beacon this weekend, which was tasty if fattening. Their onion rings are fantastic, as you can actually see and taste the onion rather than just breading. A bit intimidating experience though, as they -expect- you to be ready by the time you reach the caller. As in the person who screams out your order in Beacon-lingo. I don't know how he does it for hours at a time.

Gave Daniel our 2nd computer that had been sitting around collecting dust as a late 16th B-day present. I don't think he minded it being late :-) Poor guy has had to live with a very old hand-me-down for years. Not the top of the line computer, but now he can at least play some video games.

Speaking of, been playing Syberia II, just bought the first one but I think I'll keep playing the second one now. It is -very- pretty but actually a little mindless. Its almost too easy, and I don't like the voice acting.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 15:48:20 GMT

Stolen from gwynraven. My faux-philosophy for the day.

N-A-O
You scored 66% Non-Reductionism, 66% Epistemological Absolutism, and 55% Moral Objectivism!

You are an N-A-O: a metaphysical Non-Reductionist, an epistemological Absolutist, and a moral Objectivist. If you are simply dying inside to figure out what all this mumbo-jumbo means, then simply continue reading.

Metaphysics: Non-Reductionism (Idealism or Realism) In metaphysics, my test measures your tendency towards Reductionism or Non-Reductionism. As a Non-Reductionist, you recognize that reality is not necessarily simple or unified, and you thus tend to produce a robust ontology instead of carelessly shaving away hypothetical entities that reflect our philosophical experiences. My test recognizes two types of Non-Reductionists: Idealists and Realists.

1. Idealists believe that reality is fundamentally unknowable. All we can ever know is the world of sense experience, thought, and other phenomena which are only distorted reflections of an ultimate (or noumenal) reality. Kant, one of the most significant philosophers in history, theorized that human beings perceive reality in such a way that they impose their own mental frameworks and categories upon reality, fully distorting it. Reality for Kant is unconceptualized and not subject to any of the categories our minds apply to it. Idealists are non-reductionists because they recognize that the distinction between phenomenal reality and ultimate reality cannot be so easily discarded or unified into a single reality. They are separate and distinct, and there is no reason to suppose the one mirrors the other. Major philosophical idealists include Kant and Fichte.

If your views are different from the above, then you may be a Realist. 2. Realists deny the validity of sloppy metaphysical reductions, because they feel that there is no reason to suspect that reality reflects principles of parsimony or simplicity. Realism is the most common-sensical of the metaphysical views. It doesn't see reality as a unity or as reducible to matter or mind, nor does it see reality as divided into a phenomenal world of experience and an unknowable noumenal world of things-in-themselves. Realist metaphysics emphasizes that reality is for the most part composed of the things we observe and think. On the question of the existence of universals, for instance, a realist will assert that while universals do not physically exist, the relations they describe in particulars are as real as the particular things themselves, giving universals a type of reality. Thus, no reduction is made. On the mind-body problem, realists tend to believe that minds and bodies both exist, and the philosophical problems involved in reducing mind to matter or matter to mind are too great to warrant such a reduction. Finally, realists deny that reality is ultimately a Unity or Absolute, though they recognize that reality can be viewed as a Unity when we consider the real relations between the parts as constituting this unity--but it doesn't mean that the world isn't also made up of particular things. Aristotle and Popper are famous realists.

*****

Epistemology: Absolutism (Rationalism or Pragmatism) My test measures one's tendency towards Absolutism or Skepticism in regards to epistemology. As an Absolutist, you believe that objective knowledge is possible given the right approach, and you deny the claims of skeptical philosophers who insist that we can never have knowledge of ultimate reality. The two types of Absolutists recognized by my test are Rationalists and Pragmatists.

1. Rationalists believe that the use of reason ultimately provides the best route to truth. A rationalist usually defines truth as a correspondence between propositions and reality, taking the common-sense route. Also, rationalists tend to believe that knowledge of reality is made possible through certain foundational beliefs. This stance is known as foundationalism. A foundationalist believes that, because we cannot justify the truth of every statement in an infinite regress, we ultimately reach a foundation of knowledge. This foundation is composed of a priori truths, like mathematics and logic, as well as undoubtable truths like one's belief in his or her own existence. The belief that experiences and memories are veridical is also part of the foundation. Thus, for a rationalist knowledge of reality is made possible through our foundational beliefs, which we do not need to justify because we find them to be undoubtable and self-evident. In regards to science, a rationalist will tend to emphasize the foundational assumptions of scientific inquiry as prior to and more important than scientific inquiry itself. If science does lead to truth, it is only because it is based upon the assumption of certain rational principles such as "Every event is caused" and "The future will resemble the past". Philosophy has a wide representation of philosophical rationalists--Descartes, Spinoza, Liebniz, and many others.

If that didn't sound like your own views, then you are most likely the other type of Absolutist: the Pragmatist. 2. Epistemological Pragmatists are fundamentally identified by their definition of truth. Truth is, on this view, merely a measure of a proposition's success in inquiry. This view is a strictly scientific notion of truth. A proposition can be called true if it leads to successful predictions or coheres best with the observed facts about the world. Thus, for the pragmatist, knowledge of reality is possible through scientific reasoning. A pragmatist emphasizes man's fallibility, and hence takes baby-steps towards knowledge through scientific methodology. Any truth claim for a pragmatist is open to revision and subject to change--if empirical observations lead us to call even logical rules into question (like quantum physics has done for the law of the excluded middle), then we can and should abandon even these supposed a priori and "absolutely certain" logical rules if they do not accord with our testing and refuting of our various propositions. As a consequence of this, a pragmatist doesn't feel that scientific knowledge is based upon unfounded assumptions that are taken to be true without any sort of justification--rather, they believe that the successes of scientific inquiry have proved that its assumptions are well-founded. For instance, the assumption of science that the future will be like the past is adequately shown by the amazing success of scientific theories in predicting future events--how else could this be possible unless the assumption were true? Pragmatism borrows elements from realism and yet attempts to account for the critiques made by skeptics and relativists. It is essentially a type of philosophical opportunism--it borrows the best stances from a large number of philosophical systems and attempts to discard the problems of these systems by combining them with others. Famous pragmatists of this type are Peirce and Dewey.

*****

Ethics: Objectivism (Deontology or Logical Positivism) In Ethics, my test measures your tendency towards moral Objectivism or moral Relativism. As a moral Objectivist, you are opposed to Subjectivist moral theories and believe that morality applies to people universally and actually describes objects and situations out in the world as opposed to just subjects themselves. The two types of moral Objectivists my test recognizes are Kantian Deontologists and Utilitarians.

1. Kantian Deontologists believe that the one intrinsic good is a good will. As rational beings capable of making decisions, the moral worth of our decisions is ultimately derived from the intentions behind our actions, not their consequences. A moral being does the right thing not out of recognition of any consequences, but out of a sense of moral duty. For Kant, a good will is the ultimate good because to deny the will is to deny the one thing that makes us rational, moral beings. If an act will accord with or further our status as free, rational beings, and it is possible to will the universalization of such a moral principle without infringing upon our good wills, then an act is good. Kant's categorical imperative provides an objective standard to judge moral worth--it is not hypothetical in the sense of other imperatives, which hide a latent if-clause. For instance, "Eating razors is good" is good ONLY if you tack on an if-clause that says something like: "If you wish to destroy your gums." Thus, the categorical imperative is good, not just IF something is the case, but in ALL cases. It requires people to treat others as ends, and not means to ends, for to treat everyone as a means to an ends would be to deny them their ability to function as rational, free beings--which is what makes morality possible in the first place. The major propnent of this view in the history of philosophy is, quite obviously, Kant.

If that didn't sound like your position, then you are probably the other variety of moral Objectivist--the Utilitarian. 2. Utilitarians define "happiness" or "pleasure" as the sole intrinsic good, and the principle "The greatest pleasure for the greatest number" best reflects a Utilitarian view of ethics. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory, meaning the consequences of an action--not the intentions behind it--determine the act's moral worth. Even if you intended to do great evil with a certain act, if the act produces a net gain of pleasure and happiness for the greatest number, then it was indeed a good act because your intentions weren't realized. What matters in this scenario, obviously, is the consequences of the act. Utilitarianism, of course, can also be reduced to Hedonism. If you do not feel that the greatest happiness of the greatest number matters, but only pay heed to the greatest happiness of individuals, then you are more adequately classified as a Hedonist. But both Utilitarians and Hedonists define "pleasure" as an intrinsic good and determine the moral worth of an act through its consequences. The only difference is whether we measure the collective pleasure of a group or only an individual's pleasure. Prominent Utilitarians include Bentham and Mill.

*****

As you can see, when your philosophical position is narrowed down there are so many potential categories that an OKCupid test cannot account for them all. But, taken as very broad categories or philosophical styles, you are best characterized as an N-A-O. Your exact philosophical opposite would be an R-S-R.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Metaphysics

You scored higher than 99% on Epistemology

You scored higher than 99% on Ethics

Link: The Sublime Philosophical Crap Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Wed, 10 May 2006 13:57:17 GMT

Gotta love Confederate Memorial Day, the holiday only state employees get due to massive political weirdness. Nice to have a day off in the middle of the week, not so nice to have feuding cats to deal with. :-) Off to go find summer work clothes I hope.

Unhappy kitties

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 12:41:18 GMT

Dante is unhappy being stuck in the bedroom and has eaten about as much Sat and Sunday as Iria does all week. Iria is mad at this intrusion into her world, has spent all weekend staring at the door. She is -pissed- and letting us know and rubbing herself all over the rest of the house. They met for a little bit through the cracked door. Image: Dante not moving for 30 minutes. Iria, fur twice the normal volume, creeps up to door, bats paw, hisses, pounces away, repeat. Dante is a meower so I imagine he is going to be very vocal all day while we are at work. I wish we had a bigger separate place for him.

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 12:57:10 GMT

I just spent $300 on vet bills for a new cat so we better be keeping him. Dante and his brother were abandoned by Lee's uncle at 5 months old near his mom's house thinking they would "integrate" with the feral cat colony. Sending them to the wolves. They were brought in by Lee's mom as they were being attacked by the other cats. We're keeping one and one is going to a coworker of Lee's aunt. Who probably won't spend that kind of money for shots and being looked at. The whole thing makes me furious and nausious at the same time. Dante has an ulcer in his mouth and red gums where a cat slashed him and cracked pads on his paws but other than that and malnutrion seems ok. He's back to the vet in a week for checkup then off to be neutered. Worried about integration with Iria-she is a funny creature that doesn't know she is a cat. Hopefully though they will learn to get along-they are both still less than a year old which will help.

Went and saw Daniel in senior directing projects at Dreher. He is a funny kid. In many different meanings of that word. Played a "techie" in one and MacDonald, the quickly dead Scot in another.

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 17:29:14 GMT

Off to PLA conference (Public Library Association) in Boston tomorrow-Thursday. Spent all of last week and some of the week before nursing Lee through a particularly nasty bout of what looked/sounded/felt like strep throat and then dealing with my own slightly-lessened version of the same. Neither of us are back to normal but we can at least function and go to work. Figures that we get sick right as the weather gets nicer. And now I'm off to experience Boston in the spring. Where it is currently 31 and feels like 19. Crap. Lows look like they aren't going to get too much below freezing, though I see the words possible flurries for Thursday. I am in no way clothing-prepared for that. Get back Saturday, Lee is gone the next week at Edisto, then off to NC for wedding. (must buy wrapping paper)

Weeding

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:58:39 GMT

Another day, another set of old musty books waiting to be discarded. Today we had "Jobs for Women over 35", "If women must work", and a whole ocean of books on the education of "retarded", handicapped, deaf, blind, gifted, exceptional, underachieving children from 1930-1970.

Previously: "Co-ediquette" from 1936 on how to behave on campus and many, many shelves on how to have a good marriage and family life from from 1930-1960. They tried to be modern and hip to the changing world. But we just don't think of getting married at 18 and working to help put hubby through college before quitting to have kids as modern anymore.

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:10:24 GMT

You're a Water Angel! You tend to go with

the flow. People admire your creativity and

way of thinking. You are simple at heart, but

have a ever working mind.

What Angel Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 14:42:44 GMT

Lovely president's day off, got lots done. Cleaned out my half of the closet (the one with lots more clothes crammed in every which way) and the -other- closet which was all my stuff anyway. Have 5 trash bags to donate to Goodwill now. And dusted and cleaned out my junk top drawer and threw away lots of well, junk. Mostly dingy jewelry.

Finally got a new phone by switching to Verizon after some seriously bad customer service from SunCom (yes, I have no doubt all large cell phone companies will be rude and unuseful once you have a problem) So now I have a flippy phone with camera (must take pictures of Iria) and a much larger phone bill (but that's for two of us, not just me) I do theoretically get somewhat of a discount with being a state employee. We shall see.

Tomorrow night is the Willie Nelson concert!!! This probably does not make me cool. But they are really good seats. I think I was the 2nd person to buy tickets over Ticketmaster.

Then thursday I'm off to a daylong training on Word. Which makes me feel very old and creaky. Librarians should be getting training on cool new technology and gadgetry.

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 13:54:52 GMT

Update on Life primarily for me:

Watching on TV: Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Inuyasha, YuuYuu Hakusho, Naruto, FullMetal Alchemist, The Boondocks
Watching on DVD: Farscape, GetBackers
Best seen in last few days: Castle in the Sky from TCM. Have 5 more Ghibli stored on DVR waiting for some love.

Cross-stitch: Art Nouveau design for Meg, about to start cute lil' rabbit reading book design for baby blankets being quilted for one of the two babies about to be at work.
Neglecting: Palmetto designs for home (someday I'll finish a work just for me)

Work: Updating and general panic about classes I am teaching in the Spring-A general newbie class on how to use the library and a search engine class. Panic, panic, panic. Although they will go fine. Various other projects, the ever-present crazy requests and questions from the public at large.
Ghost of work past: Please do not make me have to call Charlton Hall about W-2 forms. Please let them have my address. Any address.

Home: Needs some TLC. A big fat cleaning and straightening that I have just not been up for. And a finished coat of paint in the bathroom so I can put the monkey picture back up.
Ghost of home future: "Home-Buying for Dummies" still is too complicated. And does not explain how I am going to buy a house with no money :-)

Best online pastime: Late to this cataloging-books-online-for-fun-and-no-profit idea, have started putting books on LibraryThing very slowly. Reminded again how many of my books are still at my parents, waiting for adequate bookshelf space.

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:50:28 GMT

Took the new Kitchenaid mixer out for a test drive this weekend, and what a magnificent beast it is. Of course my bread that took six hours didn't turn out so hot (edible, but not great) but I think that was user error. Had a good much-needed three day weekend. We spent Saturday at Lee's mommas house where he has been redoing her bathroom for the past three weekends. It finally has walls and paneling and plumbing, although painting and more paneling need to be done. For my part, I played Phantom Brave for many, many hours and got a big case of the gamer's headache. I hadn't felt that hung-over in a long time. I still felt it the next day. Organized pictures and printed lots of digital pictures out of Iria as a wee thing of 3-4 weeks. And resisted the urge to reach through a wall and throttle our new neighbor. Who has been hammering on the walls of her apartment off and on for 2 weeks now. She was going strong from 7-11 last night as well. These are small walls, only so much space for pictures.

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 15:35:56 GMT

Good Christmas-Nice family time in several chunks with less anxiety and fighting than expected. And good meals at every turn. I fully expected there to be emergency room visits with the two deep-fried turkey experiences but all went well. Giving presents to Iria was the best part :-) Most (good) tear-inducing present-Mom taking up cross stitching again after 30 years to make me a bookmark with my name on it :-) Sappy yet wonderful.

A quiet library today, with many people gone until next week. The email and phone calls from over the break were almost all "citizen questions" about property law, finding people in SC, places, and government services. It takes a well-organized state library system (meaning public libraries and us) to help people negotiate the maze of government resources available. (end of small digression)

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 13:56:44 GMT

Grr... my car isn't warming up. No heat. No nothing. Engine block ice cold. I'm so used to cars -overheating- that this one is very counter-intuitive. We changed the thermostat on the car, but to no avail. Now there is some controversy over whether we put in the -correct- thermostat. Fortunately, no big fight over whose fault buying an incorrect one was :-) Also, it is too damn cold to be fixing cars at night. But off we go again tonight methinks.

Tough to buy the few presents I have left to buy w/o a car.

Good news-bought Willie Nelson tickets for when he comes here in February. Looks like good seats too, first row of second orchestra block. So very excited! And found new great restaurant. Pizza place with specialty pizzas like Thai chicken pizza and the one I had with blue cheese and carmelized onions and ham. mmmmmmm..... Have to go back and try some others. They also have Framboise at $7 a pop, that I will have to go splurge for sometime :-)

Work is deserted, lots of people with enough leave to stay away this next two weeks. Should stay pretty quiet.

Iria is going nuts over the Christmas tree; she keeps trying (fairly successfully) to knock the ornaments down. Half the tree doesn't have anything but lights to keep her away from the breakables.

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 13:51:27 GMT

Finally got the ok to stop wearing my sling and start doing frightening-looking exercises with a broom handle.

So Lee then immediately went and badly damaged his thumb at work. Four stitches and a big ole' bandage later, we have 2 good arms between us.

Took Iria today to get spayed. She was trembling and very, very scared. I cried on my way to the car; I know she needs it, but still emotionally hard to hand her over for an operation and resulting pain. I hope everything goes ok.

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 14:08:54 GMT

From The Guardian, and various blog reading and gwynraven. Read in bold-must put some of the others on my ever-longer to read list. 14.5/20

Top 20 Geek Novels

1. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell
3. Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- Philip Dick
5. Neuromancer -- William Gibson
6. Dune -- Frank Herbert
7. I, Robot -- Isaac Asimov
8. Foundation -- Isaac Asimov
9. The Colour of Magic -- Terry Pratchett
10. Microserfs -- Douglas Coupland
11. Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson
12. Watchmen -- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
13. Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson
14. Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks
15. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein
16. The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick
17. American Gods -- Neil Gaiman
18. The Diamond Age -- Neal Stephenson
19. The Illuminatus! Trilogy -- Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson (read 1/2)
20. Trouble with Lichen - John Wyndham

My surely-about-to-be-engaged friend now is so that makes 3 officially engaged friends and now Lee's female boss (wife of other boss) is pregnant. Seems like big life changes around you pop up in clusters.

And if I don't get to drive again soon I am going to scream. Almost 2 weeks now of people shuttling me to work and back. But Thanksgiving with the family is always fun now that I can show up -after- the big cooking arguments.

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 14:16:09 GMT

Here I go with my slow and arduous one-handed typing. You would think I would make only twice as many typing errors, bou you would be mistaken. Haven't slept well for ~5 nights now and really starting to feel it. My shoulder only really hurts when I try to lie down now.

Another day, another friend getting engaged! I have 2 friends officially and one surely-about-to-be engaged at the moment and many others in very serious relationships (read, shacked up). So hopefully that means some nice weddings/parties to go to :-) It seems like it all happened so suddenly that everyone is enering their -adult- lives.

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 22:43:23 GMT

Instead of having a nice Veteran's Day off, I decided to have a dislocated shoulder. Much more exciting. I've never had a scary injury before. I tripped on one of Iria's toys and fell on the edge of our glass table. I thought the arm was broken, so this is a -little- better. But now I have to learn to type w/ one hand. At least it was my right shoulder. -And- I have a class to teach bright and early Mon morning that I have not finished making handouts for. Yuk. Well, Lee and I have now been compared to a train wreck, after this week.

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 14:09:38 GMT

Lesson learned yesterday: Pumpkin pie should not be made with the pumpkin you carve. Pumpkin pie should be made with the canned substance that bears little to no resemblence of what comes out of -your- pumpkin. Nasty two pies made after much work. But our upside down bat pumpkin looked great for our 2 treak-or-treat groups that made it to our house. Not a decent costume in the bunch either.

Class I teach tomorrow. Scared. They took away the projector for the day so I can't practice with that today. But I think I shall go talk to myself (er, practice). Hopefully if I feed the people coming to the class with muffins and orange juice and coffee they won't bite or snarl. I've already had 3 bad dreams about this. Blargh.

Off of work for a week Thur-Wed, staying home w/ Lee after outpatient surgery. We'll see how I do cooped up in the house for a week. Of course, I have to come up with a class on Housing information for that next week while I'm off on -vacation-. Blargh Pt II.

In life and friends

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:58:13 GMT

Upped and emailed an old friend of mine yesterday, the last email I had saved from her was from 2002. I am so pathetic about these things. She's living in a Iowa farmhouse now, being courted by a lovely goose (gander, I suppose) and hip member of an active religious board (how I love spying via Google)

Interesting how many old acquaintances have converted to Wicca or Paganism. Many, many, many of them. I know very few practicing Christians my age these days. Somehow I think it is partially the circle I see, not the end of the Christian church as we know it.

Another first-Shot a gun for the first time this weekend. Lee and I went out to Boody's property and shot his Glock, shot-gun, and pump-action pistol grip rifle (I know zero about guns, so these names may be all totally wrong). I have two big bruises now from learning how to hold the rifles. Didn't even attempt really to aim, just get a feel for how to hold the guns properly, deal with the recoil.

Saw, sniff, the end of Saiyuki. I hate ending series I care so much about (not that I didn't know the ending) Of course, now its on to Reload and Gunlock. But these I won't find on sale for 7 dollars each. No, those I have to pay 30 dollars a pop for.

Stitching little santas for my cross-stitch exchange. I buy 200 colors of thread, and I have almost none of the colors I need for this project. Figures.

So, in addition to the stress of preparing for my class I have to teach at the Library, now a week and a half later I have to give another class to 16 people from the Housing Authority on how to search for housing information (which I know nothing about) And I'm taking off/have off for Veteran's day the 6 workign days before it. So I am going to have to work on it during my vacation. Pooh.

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:46:55 GMT

Two weekends of away:

Weekend before last, drove down to Edisto Island/Charleston where Lee had been working for 2 days on a house on a dirt road overlooking the marshes and inslet and 200 foot pier. I want a pretty summer home on the coast... Piddled around Edisto, had a great fried flounder sandwich and beer battered french fries (new one on me). Next day walked around Charleston a bit, the slave market only semi-open for business.

This weekend, went to Stone Mountain, Ga. on Sunday with the family to see relatives down from Illinois. They are so charmingly Northern (and sometimes not charmingly; I could tell they were a little wierded out by the copious black population and our waiter and ticketperson and such). They are wonderful family (81 yr old aunt is beating me on walking around the park) but a little crazy. I think my family talked 10% of the time, them 90%, half of that stumbling over someone else's speech. Aunt Gloria gave me 20 years worth of letters my grandmother (her sister) wrote to her. I read one but I'm not emotionally ready for reading the lot yet.

Started another cross stitch project as the one for mom is just too darn small to enjoy. Working on 4 palm tree motifs that I will frame seperately and hang together. And I joined the christmas ornament exchange after I -promised- myself I wouldn't have the time. I'm going to have to pare down the quality methinks. And not be disappointed when I get worse-quality ornaments than I give. Have to find 4 christmas or other little designs now to match the scrap fabric I have. (I knew that ugly green fabric would come in useful)

2 more weeks and a day before my class. I have more people (15) signed up for mine than any other. Figures. I don't think I've talked for 2 hours straight in a good long while. Scared. Oh so very scared.

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 18:18:20 GMT

Mom and I went to hear E.B. Lewis speak @ USC on Friday. No, not E.B. White (the swan guy, dead white male) but middle age black illustrator of childrens books and artist. Homepage. Interesting to hear about his process of illustrating, finding models for the children, going -to- Ethiopia to see the landscape and background of the book, etc. Mom got a book signed for her and another one for Shandon. He had wonderful prints, but I really couldn't justify $50-$100 purchase. The food was good too :-)

Been putting off reading the last 30 pages of Thud!. I -hate- having Discworld leave so soon. I just got there.