Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

Maintenance guys finally fixed my bathroom ceiling!!!! They came in on Friday and did it! It was only 28 days after the maintenance guy ripped the 7+ inch hole in my ceiling. I'm not gonna complain that they used up nearly all my paper towels, blocked the shower drain so now I stand in a puddle of water whenever I shower, moved my broom & dustpan and left grit & debris on my tub floor. I'm just going to enjoy not having a plastic grocery bag slowly filling with debris hanging from my bathroom ceiling.

Oh and U2 was on 60 Minutes last night. Sadly, I didn't see it as I wasn't home. Fortunately for me, I've already seen it twice (plus the online vid clips) and I'm fairly sure I have it on tape. Maybe I'll go home tonight and watch it.

May your days be spent chasing bugs, sleeping in the sun, playing with friends and doing whatever you want to do do. And may never worry about being shaved again. I miss you, Gherster-bear.

You are 87% Pisces

To the tune Gloria by, you guessed it, U2.

I try to text this guy
I, I try day and night
But I can't get a reply
I, I try not to care
But something in me, holds on tight

Joely-a
In California
Joely-a
Far away
Joely-a
Joely-a
Oh, Man, resend my text

I try to text this guy
I, I try to e-mail
But I can't get through now
The comp is offline
I'm waiting here, to try again

Joely-a
In California
Joely-a
Far away
Oh, man, if I had been thinking, been thinking at all
I'd have rebooted..
I'd have rebooted...

Joely-a
In California
Joely-a
Joely-a

One of the coolest guys I have had the privlige to meet has a birthday early next month. Yeah, he's a Leo, so obviously he's not perfect. However, he's not nearly as spotlight oriented as the female Leos tend to be. He is an amazing person who has made me laugh and cry and has been there for me when I needed him to be. I've known him since college and will be forever greatful that I was introduced to him my freshman year.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish him a heartfelt Happy Birthday. I know I'm a couple weeks early, but I felt the need to write this today. So from the very bottom of my heart, Happy Birthday The Edge!!

Big Congratulations to Floyd Landis for winning Le Tour de France!!! That makes it eight years in a row that an American has won the race. The first seven being won by Lance Armstrong, of course.

Helluva time trial on Saturday, Floyd! Although the most amazing thing about your win, your hip needing replacement notwithstanding, was your stage win on Thursday. Man that was incredible! Made me want to go to the store and by tubes and tires for my bike (squirrels shredded them over a year ago) and go for a spin.

Congrats again and a speedy recovery after your upcoming surgery!

There once was a blogger named, G
Who asked her readers to be
Thinking of things for her to write
They ignored her like she had the blight
She really doesn't think that's polite

Uninspired readers are not her goal
Alas, it appears they have no soul
So now she must think of ways to help
Maybe smack them until they yelp?
Or wrap them in bundles of kelp

Whatever she does, it'll have to be fast
Some readers might try to sneak past
While she's trying to find ways to end
This horrible rhyme that continues to bend
All poetry decorum without amend

It's never too early to start pondering writing ideas for NaNoWriMo. So yall have anything that you think I should write about? I may just do some short stories and post 'em on here. Give me some words or phrases if you can't think of a plot or scenario. I'm game for some writing exercises.

Bring 'em on!

Like millions of other people, I have an mp3 player. It's not an i-pod but I found myself repeatedly referring to it as "my i-pod". It's only three syllables as opposed to the six of "my mp3 player" and I'm all about the quicker, easier way of doing things. So I thought I'd call it fake ipod but even that was too much for me. So I mushed it together and now have a fi-pod. It works well and confuses people at the same time - a win-win situation.

Anywho, last night I imported another ten cds to my fi-pod bringing the total to approximately 25 albums (had to guess as I have a couple of bootleg concerts and some random groups of songs). Shockingly enough I still don't have all of U2 or Dar Williams on there. Shoot I don't even have any of The Nields on there. I only have 192.8 MB left on it too (out of one gig) so I need to be more choosy about what I add. For those curious minds out there, I added

Zooropa, October, 7, ZooTV live from Dublin (disc 2) - U2
An Evening in Austion - Kate Wolf
The Green World, The Beauty of the Rain - Dar Williams
A Brief History (Discs 1 & 2) - The Waifs*
Grand - Erin McKeown*

*I've never actually heard these albums before so if you're thinking "why did she upload those???" it's so that I can listen to them and see if I like them.

It's not my best lyric revamp but I'm tired of it sitting in my blogger file as a draft. It was inspired back in May when I was coming back from the store with Amy in the car. We were stuck behind this ..confused driver.

To the tune of Little Old Lady From Pasadena by The Beach Boys

It's the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania

The pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Has a shiny new mini van with no gas pedal
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
And stuck on her bumper with pride and joy
Is a brand new shiny red Super Stock Dodge
Are two white n black pretty Soccer Mom balls

And everyone’s thinking that there’s nothing lamer
Than the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania
She drives real slow like she’s in a car
She's the menace of highways near and highways far

It's the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania

If you see her on the street don't try to pass her
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
You might start a passin’ and she'll swerve into you
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Well, she's gonna get a ticket now sooner or later
'Cause she can't keep her foot off the brake pedal, not her

And everyone’s thinking that there’s nothing lamer
Than the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania
She drives real slow like she’s in a car
She's the menace of highways near and highways far

It's the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania

~Instrumental~
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
~Instrumental~
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
People speed to miss her from all around
But she'll give 'em a brake then she'll honk 'em down

And everyone’s thinking that there’s nothing lamer
Than the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania
She drives real slow like she’s in a car
She's the menace of highways near and highways far

It's the pokey ol’ butt from Pennsylvania

Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Dummy go
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Dummy go
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Dummy go
Go dummy, go dummy, go dummy go
Dummy go

Okay so it's just my bathroom ceiling and it's not really falling all that quickly. I could easily avoid the debris, but as I have only one, I figure a little drama would be okay. A pictoral for yall to peruse.

First picture is from June 19 (as I'm sure yall can see as the date is on the picture). It's an obvious blister that's starting to crack.

Next one is from 12 days later on July 1. The crack has grown tremendously, as has the odor of mildew, mold and general decay. It's not pleasant and the crack creeps me out. Who knows what could be crawling, growing, reproducing in the walls and ceiling??

Maybe this is where all those mutant crickets (aka cave crickets) are coming from!

The third picture is from after the maintenance man was by on July 1. He took some plastic grocery bags and ripped the bubbled drywall? paneling? (whatever the term is for what composes a ceiling in an apt.) out of the ceiling. Not only did bits of ceiling stuff fall all over my tub but his work boots left black smears on my tub. I wonder how much crap he walked off on my carpet getting to the bathroom.

Ruler is there to give perspective on the size of the hole. Plus I just wanted to use it.

Next picture shows you a lovely view of my neighbor's pipes. Oh and some glistening water droplets. I wonder if they would charge me more rent if they realized I had such a stunning and breathtaking view.

Thankfully no critters were in the shot. I might have fallen in the tub if something had moved or winked at me.

Last picture is the lovely patch job I did. The plastic bag is still there. Except now it has debris and two dead cave crickets in it. I put it up because showering with a gaping hole in the ceiling was too creepy for me and the smell was ..not pleasant. Very dank and musty and damp. I didn't want my whole apartment to smell like that, plus I'm allergic to mold.

On the bright side, the upstairs bath doesn't seem to be leaking like it was. If it had been the tape would never have held the plastic bag to the ceiling. I think the only reason the bag is still in place is because I used (clear) duct tape.

I got rid of the picture so as not to skew your results...

Your Personality Profile

> You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

After chatting with Rach & Joely yesterday afternoon, I found myself in the grocery store after work. I had stopped at the library earlier and checked out three books and got a noseful of an excellent smelling guy. Too bad he was gay.

Anyway, at the grocery store I was in the produce aisle getting, you got it, produce. That's all I had gone in there for. I have some beef tips that I want to make a stew with (hello crockpot!) and needed veggies to add to it. Filled my hand basket with onion, sweet potato, red potato, celery, carrots, garlic, zucchini squash, jalapeno and shrooms. Then I recollected my conversation with J and R, mostly J though and happened to glance up as I did. And there it is. The thing I needed most and didn't even realize until I saw it. Raspberry Smirnoff Twist V in the refrigeratd section. I grab a pack and head to the checkout.

Clerk rings everything up and I'm out the door. Walking to my car I check the receipt and had to laugh at myself. Not only did I have one bag loaded down with fresh veggies and the other with contraband, but half the cost of my shopping spree was for the Smirnoff.


RIP Syd Barrett. May you find the peace you were looking for, you crazy diamond.

Today is the release date for the DVD of the Canes' 2006 season. You now, the season where they WON the Stanley Cup. WooooHooooooo! DVD is only $24.99 and you can buy it online and purportedly in most retail stores that sell DVDs.

I'm thinking of buying it for my nephew. Need to get him intersted in a good sport early AND get him cheering for my fave team. Besides, his mom has already said that he needs a new video to watch. I'd be doing her a favor if I got him this video! Hmmm. Maybe for his birthday I'll get him the Canes' dvd and a U2 concert dvd. That way he can alternate. It's a win-win-win situation.

You Are 24% Abnormal

You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul. You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

I have an addiction. Okay, okay, okay, I have several addictions but the one I'm thinking of is a secret one. I don't know of anyone that knows it. I haven't talked about it with anyone. I haven't partook (partaked?) of it with anyone, so there are no witnesses. Well, other than my tv and he's not talking. There's maybe two people who know that I like this but neither realizes how deeply I feel about it.

As with any addiction, you're supposed to come clean. It's the first step to recovery. I'm not sure I want or need to recover, but I figured I'd come clean anyway. What is it? you ask. Well it's a sporting event that happens every year in July. Should be ringing some bells for you folks. And no, it's not tennis. Wimbledon Schmibledon.

It's Le Tour de France. I can't help! I love it! I watch the replays of each stage at night and on the weekends, I watch the live coverage. Both shown on OLN. I think it stems from my fascination and avid interest in triathlons. Especially the IronMan in Hawaii. I haven't seen any good triathlon reports for a year or so tho. So perhaps I'm overcompensating by immersing myself in Le Tour. Either way, I don't care. I'm just tickled pink that I can watch as much cycling as my little heart wants. Time trials on Saturday morning should be awesome!

Some folks are completely imbedded in the World Cup. Which is fine, I watch that too sometimes. However, the incident where two people were killed simply because they were watching the game has left a sour taste in my mouth. Islamic militia opened fire on a crowd of teenagers in Somalia during Tuesday's Germany-Italy match. Two people died for watching a sport that is supposed to bring the world together. It breaks my heart.

Another reason is that I constantly say FIFRA instead of FIFA. Hazards of working with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act. Having said all that.. Go France! Err, I mean.. Go Italy! Yeah! Italy! Don't wanna jinx the French :)

Here's a six minute video of an Edge interview from JazzFest (May 2006). I can't put into words how amazing I think The Edge is. He has such heart. He uses his celebrity in positive ways. Only drawing attention to himself to benefit others, unlike some other 'stars' that are in the news these days.

Watch, learn, take heart and maybe come to understand, just a little, why I love this guy so very much.

We had an Amazing storm Sunday night! Power was out for 16-17 hours or so (for me, anyway). Lots of flashing lightning, booming thunder and down bursts of rain. What really did the damage was the straight line winds. As you may know, we got something like 18 inches of rain in four or five days last week. The ground is still completely saturated. Then when the rains came through with this storm on Sunday evening, areas starting flooding. Yet again.

As you can see, the area out front of my apartment is a touch damp. This area doesn't typically have standing water. There is an area, just to the left of the picture, that often puddles up so I didn't feel the need to photograph that. I was more interested in photos of things that weren't common occurrences. The water was just running over the ground like it was pavement. And the areas where the water was just standing, the water just got deeper and deeper.


After the driving rains (shown rather well, if I do say so myself, in the first picture) the winds came in and trees started toppling.

Just getting to the library I had to drive around one and a half trees that had toppled over into the street. There were trees down everywhere. On top of cars, power lines, homes, signs, and blocking parking lots. There were at least three or four down in one condo parking lot alone. Unfortunately they were brand new condos and the trees fell on construction equipment.

Two trees split around my apartment building alone. I didn't get any photos of the trees in the road or down on the sides of the road as I was driving and felt I should concentrate on missing the debris instead of photographing it. I know, I know. What kind of photographer am I??

I wish I had been able to snag a photo of the trees dangling down the side of an overpass. I have no idea what was holding them up there. Maybe roots caught on the fence. I may get inspired and hike up there to snap some photos. Although I currently give the odds of that happening as slim to none :)

Like many Americans I am thrilled by the space program and avidly watch the launch of each Shuttle mission. I was disappointed on Saturday and then again on Sunday when the Discovery launch was postponed due to bad weather. But hearing that the launch was rescheduled for July 4th gave me little patriotic shivers of joy - despite the current administration.

So there I sat watching CNN and waiting for lift off. Intermittently shouting at the asinine commentator to "SHUT UP YOU BAFFOON!!" he was such an idiot. Hello! You had mission control on the screen and they were talking. Let them talk! Don't try and explain every little detail just because you think you should. Or you like the sound of your voice. I figure he kept yapping because he had a larger viewership than usual on a Tuesday afternoon in summer. What a dork. At least he shut up and didn't translate what 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1 meant.

Sad news on this holiday. Two silverback gorillas at the National Zoo have died within three days of each other. First one died during open heart surgery and the second one died two days later of heart disease.

Apparently heart disease is the leading killer in captive gorillas. It's not known if gorillas in the wild have the same problem as they don't typically live as long. At least, that's what the news was saying.

Happy 4th of July everyone. Enjoy the fireworks responsibly :)

A quick entry today since I'm without power at home, have the day off from work and am sitting in the library, freezing my toes off in the A/C. My friend Kelp (yes, that's a fake name) sent me this link a week or two ago and I still laugh my fool head off at it.

Richard Simmons on Whose Line