Blinky Lights and Shiny Objects

While reading through some of the comments on a post for a sewing blog I read , I realized on about the 7th page that I've been spending more time reading about sewing than actually sewing. To quote our intern at work, "That's really lame." Why? Because my room was in a state that to sew anything I had to do about an hour of rearranging computer equipment. And to cut anything I'd have to find a home for six piles of magazines and paperwork that had migrated to the cutting table. Weekend project! Yesterday I accomplished turning the lesser-used half of the dining table into the computer desk. A weighted USB hub and surge-protected power squid serve as a docking station. The scanner is set up and ready to use, which was another goal of the reorganization. So far this morning, I've tackled the magazines and paper piles. I see the table starting to appear, and I've unearthed the pieces of the dress I was working on last. The whole room looks better,...

This is a test to see how well mobile blogging of short ideas goes from my iPod. I'm slightly interested in Twitter, but I've already got this blog I rarely post to. So, rather than add another page my parents have to go to read how I'm doing, I'll try updating this one more often.

In less than a week we fly to Cozumel, Mexico for our vacation. I've never been on a standard tropical-beach vacation before, but after the winter we've had it seems like a VERY good idea. It is fun to have "buy bikini" as part of the pre-trip checklist, because it reminds me how different the weather and the priorities are going to be down there. Having this to look forward to is helping my mood because it encourages me to brush away the little annoyances before they build up. Mental conversation example snippet: "This email I got highlights a problem with my design that I couldn't have anticipated. That's unfortunate, but I'm not going to let it get to me today because I'm going to Mexico next week." I studied Spanish formally for four years, but never really felt like I "got" it. I'm not great at retaining memorized information, so when they would leave one verb tense to teach another, I'd forget the details of the ...

It was one of those weeks this week at work, and now we have a rainy weekend. Puddles have formed in the front yard already, which usually has good drainage. At least the pressure is off to get anything done outside. And, I don't feel as bad for not signing up to run the Dundee Road Race 5k this year, which is scheduled for tomorrow morning - so is a 90% chance of getting an inch of rain. Still, I'm very glad it is not a hurricane, or any other form of weather that is trying to kill us. Maybe I'll finish that crochet project I haven't worked on all summer. Or one of the books I'm theoretically reading. My minimum goal is to re-hang the sliding doors and track in front of the washer/dryer, to clear the last of the bathroom stuff from my sewing room. Oh, and to recover from work enough that I can face next week a bit less grumpy.

For your online entertainment, here are four webcomics worth reading. All four are strong in writing, artwork, characterization, and timely uploading. I'm giving four links for each: an example strip that lets you see the "tone" of the comic without giving any plot away, the base of the archives, the main page, and the facebook fan group. Let me know what you think in the comments - if you are reading this through facebook, you will need to go to the main blog to leave comments. 1. Suburban Tribe by John Lee: example , archives , main , facebook . Based in an advertising agency in Louisville, KY, this strip is nominally about having a normal job. But it also has adventure and fantasy, from an intelligent cat who uses the internet to the Halloween horror stories. I happened upon the strip nearly by accident, while I was shopping on Cafe Press. It has been on hiatus recently, but is supposed to start up again in April. Mr. Lee could use some more readers, so check th...

Here is a pile of random items that have been banging around in my head: 1) Herb says "everyone is doing it" so I joined Facebook. 2) I think I want an Amazon Kindle, but I'm not sure if that is just because what I REALLY want is more time to read books. 3) The Mazda3 is now four years old, paid off, and has 40022 miles on it. 4) I'm more bothered by the sirens in GTA than any of the other offensive noises. 5) If you have to "do" your eyebrows, I recommend trying threading . The pain level varies, depending on who is wielding the thread. But it is cheap, $6 where I get it done, quick, and the results are very nice. 6) The stock market can stop going down now. Please. 7) I've resurrected my Palm IIIc from 1996. It works fine. 8) It can stop being winter now. Please.

Another thing I accomplished yesterday was reading "Our Former Lives in Art" by Jennifer S. Davis. Again, I checked it out from the local library. It is a collection of short stories about people, but with some fantastical elements showing up amongst the realism. Nothing that totally separates the stories from the actual world we live in, it is more just showing how we don't understand everything about the actual world. There ARE adult themes. There are Christian themes (for and against). People in the stories make some bad choices, or redeem past bad choices. The writing is good - detailed enough to understand why characters are doing what they do, sparse enough that you use your imagination to fill in the rest. Each story goes quickly, and I found myself looking back at the title of each chapter after the vignette was finished for one more clue. Here is one of my favorite passages: "You never asked me about my eye," Alfred says. "I don't t...

I just finished reading a book (checked out from the local library) titled " Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , a Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver. I highly recommend it as entertaining and informative. She writes about her family moving to a small farm in Virginia and only eating locally for an entire year. Her husband interjects each chapter with a worrisome piece of information about the state of American agriculture, often tying in to the state of the American diet. Her daughter ends each chapter with a glimpse into the way this strange (for our times) way of eating affected her life as a teenager. I can't say that I agree with some of the doomsday predictions in the book, but people should at least be aware of this angle on the subject. If you get a chance to read actual books anymore, you should check this one out. As far as its influence on my life, I think I'll be buying more produce from Goebbert's when it is available.

A few blocks away from the bookstore as we walked back to the hotel, I was waiting for the light to change to cross the street. A man approached, looked at the bag I was carrying, and asked, "Did you just buy the new Harry Potter book?" "Yes," I answered, unsure what else he thought it might be, considering it was close to 1 am on Saturday morning, and the street was crowded with costumed fans. "I'll give you 200 dollars for it." Then he pulls out a wad of (Canadian) bills and starts counting. I didn't respond immediately, but when he looked back up at me I realized that my face was distorted with an expression of disbelief and disgust. I quietly squeaked out "No," and the man shrugged and walked on. "You should have taken him up on it." "I don't want to wait in line for four hours to get another copy!" "That's a lot of money." "That was an unfair question! And if you really wanted to tur...

Vacation plans for this year are shaping up. We've got tickets to Montreal (AA frequent flyer miles = Canada for the same rate as domestic) and a reservation at a hotel . Generally the rest of the details about what we'll be doing are best left to "whatever we feel like" but this time I've got to take care of one more item. I will be in Montreal for the release of Harry Potter book 7. I hadn't read any of the HP books before the 6th one came out. So last time I didn't care. But this time, I want that book as soon as physically possible. If I wasn't travelling, I would pre-order at Borders or Barnes & Noble and go to the midnight release party. Now, I've got to put some more thought into this. The easy way out would be to order from Amazon.com and have it delivered to the hotel. But I'm worried about the logistics of that, and ruining all of Saturday waiting around for the package to show up. No, I still want the book on Friday nigh...