Reminiscing
April 29^th, 2004
4:00 P. M.

Someone once asked me where I grew up.

"On the shores of Lake Onomatopoeia," I said.

"How is that spelled?" They asked.

"Just like it sounds."

Back to School
April 28^th, 2004
1:21 P. M.

As a dear old friend of mine is winding down her college career, I'm about to restart mine. I am in fact getting ready to go pay my application fee. One more trip to the old campus for me. I do like it down there, though. (I put that last line in there to give you an idea of just what kind of affect life outside of college can have! ... Ok, so it was to give me an idea ...)

In case you're wondering what I'm going to major in, it will be geology (I know I had talked about mechanical engineering, but decided against it.)

I read this article in last month's Discover Magazine, and thought, "This is the kind of action I really want!" The primary subject of the article seems to be more on the side of biology, but there is quite a bit of geology involved with it ... It takes geologists to stumble across life in some of the least expected places of the world.

That, and maybe I have rocks in my brain .....

*** ** *** ** *** **
Today's weekly feature is brought to you by a Chinese Restaurant.

Humpday Quote of the

Week!

Keep your face to the sunshine and you will never see the shadows.
----From a fortune cookie I had with a lunch last week.

Back In Bidness
April 27^th, 2004
12:46 P. M.

Well, it was a fairly eventful weekend for me. I ran around with a friend who has been feeling lower than I've ever felt, and I've been trying to help cheer her up (my mom's been pitching in, too.) This lady found out within the past year that she has a horrific genetic disease which she's been watching destroy her dad. I can say honestly that I don't know how I would handle knowing I had such a disease.

Saturday, we pretty much did our usual thing ... Which is -- go to the grocery store to get cookout type food and some popcorn and watch movies with my mom. (This week it was Seabiscuit.)

But before that, mom wanted to move her computer out of the downstairs room where the ceiling had sprung an unexplainable leak. The computer was directly beneath the dining room. I mean, it would be a lot more understandable if that room were an enclosed (former) porch with a roof exposed to the weather, but ... Well ... It's like I said before -- it was right under the dining room.

The computer's new room doesn't have a phone outlet near it, so we had to scrounge for an extra long cord (which wasn't found until sometime last night while I was at work). So, now I'm "back in bidness!"

Now ... To find out why my debit card isn't working when I try to pay the processing fee on my college application online ...

Thanks To Another Dear Friend
April 22^nd, 2004
3:26 P. M.

I had a good telephone conversation with an old friend of mine today ... We haven't been in contact much with one another for a couple of months. She's been incredibly busy with a tremendously large paper for one of her classes.

She told me it was 67 pages long. Since I have trouble writing much more than five pages, I asked her how she did it. She was kind enough to explain to me that it was broken down into twelve smaller sections. And that averages out to about five pages per section. That sounds a lot more manageable than the whole lump to me.

Which has been a problem for me. I have an inner Homer Simpson that whines at the prospect of how large a paper is going to be.
Teacher: I'm going to need you to write a paper.
Inner Homer Simpson: A paper? D'oh!
Teacher: I need it to be five pages long.
IHS: Five pages? Aawwww!
Teacher: And, I'm going to need eleven more such papers relating to the same subject, and they're all due at the same time.
IHS (while running in circles): Yaaaaaaaaaaggghh!

I think this is going to be out of the way before I start back on my education in the fall. This time around I'm actually looking forward to all the papers, assignments and projects. I need a challenge.

Happy Birthday, Dear Friend
April 21^st, 2004
4:02 P. M.

I know I've addressed this subject before on this weblog. I'll go there one more time, since I must admit that I've never really known until very recently how to even face it.

Those of you who know me (and those of you who have been reading since this past September) know what today is. It's Amy's birthday (she would have been 30 this year.)

I still miss her terribly, and I wonder (as I always will) what she would be doing now. I wonder how many lives she would have touched ... How big of a difference she could have made if she were still here.

I know she made a profound difference in my life. Whenever I think about her, I don't really feel all that sad ... It's more a deep sense of admiration. She faced so many trials in her short life, and managed to keep on smiling and laughing no matter what. (Her parents died on the same day six years apart.)

So, for the past month I've been wrestling with my emotions. She left us on the 9^th and today was her birthday. I actually went out to her grave today, and I left feeling better. I wished her a happy birthday, and said a prayer for her family ... That they may be surrounded by peace and love.

I'm toning down the quote header this week. Today is Wednesday. The regular header will return next week.

"It's all over, all of the suffering
It's all over, all of the other things
I know it's all over now
But for the wondering."
-----Todd Rundgren

Vacation, All I've Ever Wanted!
April 19^th, 2004
12:46 A. M.

Took a week off from the keyboard. The one thing I've come to understand in this life is that you can burn out on even the things you love to do if you do them too often. I think that was showing up not only in the lack of consistent posting these past few weeks, but also in the quality of the posts themselves.

So, after a little time off, I've decided to resume ... For a while. I'll pick some days off (probably Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday), and I'll see if maybe I'll start enjoying this a little more.

Then again ... It could be that April's just a tough month ...

The Sweet and the Bitter.
April 12^th, 2004
3:31 P. M.

I just saw something wonderfully funny over at the Rabid Librarian. Cruise on over and check it out ... It's a delightful little chain quiz ... You'll just have to take it. Trust me, it's great!

There's a new blog out there, written by the author of Tinmen Don't Dance. It's called Technically, It's Sarcasm. The very first post I read on it, I could hear the voice of the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. It's most definitely going to be a daily read ... For those of you who can afford the hourly charges on your worn out old internet connection (but I think that may only exclude me ...)

And, finally, some sad news. It appears that The Abyss is going off the air.

I will miss her take on life. I tried to leave a funny little comment on her final post ... Only, I'm not sure it came out right. I'm not very good at encouraging people when they've hit a low ... All I have to say is, Pua, I'll miss your regular posts, as will many others, and I hope things go well in all the days coming to you. I wish good health, good times, and good luck to you and your families, Pua.

And the same to everyone out there, dear friends old and new.

An Early End to April Foolery
April 7^th, 2004
2:25 P. M.

I've had a nice week in Toronto. I've had a hard time getting rest because of some elementary school kids up here for the National Grammar Rodeo. There's one little guy, I think he must be about ten or eleven, who keeps calling his sister a "dorkus malorkus." How he got to represent his school in any kind of academic competition I'll never know ... Neither he nor any of his three friends could tell me in which state their hometown is located.

But, as you might guess by that last paragraph, I haven't even left my own hometown. I thought I'd try my hand at a little fiction writing, seeing as I haven't done any of that sort since I was in High School. If I were to expand on the last three posts, I might have an interesting story ... Interesting only to my closest friends and family, though ... I'll work on it.

By the way ...APRIL FOOLS!

In all seriousness, though, I like to thank all those who wished me luck on my imaginary journey. (I told the folks around me about this trip to Toronto last Thursday, and that I would not be back. Of course, the folks who heard this story were off the hook pretty quickly; I simply can't hold a straight face for very long anymore. That day, everyone at work put the right date on every bit of paper work they handled. "He's telling a story about moving to a foreign country ... Must be 4/1/04!")

Humpday Quote of the

Week!

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.
~Japanese Proverb

Spring Is Most Decidedly NOT in the Air!
April 4^th, 2004
7:16 P. M.

It's cold up here. I'm very glad I set enough money aside to be able to afford this hotel room for a while. And that connecting flight in Miami ... Jeez, what a tease that was. I've gone from early spring to early summer, and then right back to late winter in only a couple of days. (My sinuses may never forgive me!)

Ok, you may be expecting me to write aboot ... Errmm ... About the plane rides. Well, I've heard it said that it's no different to riding on a bus (which I've done before) ... If that bus was driven by a raging alcoholic, and driven over a series of fifteen to twenty foot cliffs from time to time.

I must say ... Any city situated that close to a lake can't be bad at all!

Somewhere I've Never Traveled
April 2^nd, 2004
2:33 P. M.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't have made such a snap decision. I mean, there is community theater here in Lexington ... But, this is freakin' Canada for cryin' out loud! This is the first time I've traveled out of this country. And, my flight leaves in a little over three hours. (I'm gonna be dead for that layover in Miami ... )

All the clothes I'm packing have been packed ... I've left instructions with my mother to sell off anything I have left in my apartment in order to bring me back in case things don't pan out up there. (Of course, I expect this ... It's alright to be realistic. I mean, just a day ago I was still making plans to go back to school. That could still happen, and I won't be disappointed. So long as I can still make enough money to support a family one day, I don't care what I'll end up doing to earn it.)

Well, I'm off! I've apologized profusely to my mother for having to wake her up so early, but she understands that this is something I must do.

Toronto or bust!

(By the way ... If there is a way for me to maintain this weblog while I'm on the road, I'll do it. I promise!)

Happy New Year!
April 1^st, 2004
3:20 P. M.

I've been contemplating my move to Canada for quite some time now, and today I'm making it a reality. I have my one way ticket to Toronto in hand, and I'm not coming back to the U. S. until I'm as famous in Canada as Mike Myers is here.

Since I've never done any sort of research on the city of Toronto, I don't know anything at all about the place. Hopefully they have a Holiday Inn Express there so I can add that to my resumé.

"Have you performed in a Broadway style musical before?"
"No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."