at least it's consistent

so, i have (at least) 7 different story ideas in various stages in my head. And I had hoped that I'd at least get *some* writing done this month. However, EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to start writing one of them, I freeze up.
Every. Single. Time.
Massively annoying. Tomorrow when I have some time, I'm going to google up some writer's block remedies, see if that spurs anything on.

The Real Hero

I have to admit, Harper is the real hero (or is it Real Hero?) when it comes to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

She defeated me in (some hilariously epic) Coin Battles, 10-4.

But  I think if we have a rematch, Yellow Toad may have some tricks up his sleeve. Yaaa!!

Zombie stories for people who don't like zombie stories

in honor of Easter, which is (supposedly) all about zombie Jesus, I'm gonna give you a list of zombie-related books that would be good reads, even if zombie stories aren't your thing. (And why wouldn't they be??)
But, regardless, these are good.

Feed by Mira Grant. (This is evidently the first in a trilogy, and I've yet to read any of the others in the series) Basically, it's year 2034, and  zombies have been around for 20 years. Whereas most zombie novels deal with the zombie-apocalypse happening, "Feed" focuses on how life goes on AFTER.
Bonus - the details of how the zombie virus affects the entire world (it's not just humans that are zombie-fied, it's all mammals over a certain weight. which means, among other things, zombie-giraffes.) are just incredibly well thought out and interesting.


Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead by Scott Kenmore.
So refreshing to have a zombie story told from the zombie's point of view. And even though the main character is a zombie, and thus, really, a monster, he's still sympathetic. This would make an amazing movie.

Monster Island, Monster Nation, and Monster Planet by David Wellington.
Everything I've read by David Wellington has been super enjoyable. The first and second are pretty much standalones, but reading book 3 without reading 1 would be a mistake. Interestingly, #2 is kinda a prequel to #1, and then #3 picks back up where 1 left off.  But all of them are unique takes on the typical zombie fare.

answers, such as they are

It's funny (not funny 'ha ha', but funny, 'hm'), I actually have a number of things that I want to blog about this month. Or, you know, at some point. But most likely this month while I'm on my 'blog every day this month' kick.
That's not the funny part (or, I guess, it could be, depending on your sense of humor). The funny part is that even though I have a growing list of possible blog entries in my brain, I am, yet again, finding myself at the end of the day, near exhaustion, with no ...whatever that word I'm looking for is.

But, upside? That means in the next few days (weeks?) when I've got more time to sit and blog, I'll totally have something to say! Exciting!

In the meantime, today's entry is gonna be me replying to the boq from 2 days back.

Like this:

If you could make a phone call to yourself 15 years in the past - but you could only speak for 10 seconds - what would you say? 
You know, I kinda do remember getting a bizarre phone call roughly fifteen years ago. The unidentified voice told me "ask her what kind of writing she does - it's a perfect pick up line." 
Death Star vs. Borg Cube. Which would win?
Resistance is futile. Borg FTW.
What songs/artists have you been listening to lately? Or, conversely, what song did you last hear on the radio (or internet or television or wherever)?
New (to me) artists that I'm really enjoying: Foxy Shazam, Local H, Garfunkel & Oates, Gotye*, Negativland.


Last song I heard on the radio on the drive home was "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service, which I'm frankly kinda tired of.


*I still like to randomly pronounce this band as either: Goat, Goat-yeah, Got ye, Go tie, Gyaaatee, or Goaty. And that is despite the fact that Amy did tell me the correct pronouncetiaon ...and of course, I don't recall what that was. Also, I don't know whether to applaud them or curse them for "Now You're Just Somebody That I Used to Know", because that phrase just does. not. leave. my. brain.

The Terminator franchise - what should be done with it?
I'd like to read (or write it myself, but I think reading it would be more likely) a remake of the original story where the T-800 is the protaganist. It would be a tragic tale, of course, because the evil humans win in the end, but I'd like to see it told from the Terminator's POV. (Or Skynet's?)
Also, I wouldn't mind visiting the timeline wherein the Sarah Connor Chronicles television series received a 3rd season.
Also also, my Year Zero story had some moments of brilliance.


Life is pretty crazy when you think about it. 
That's not a question. Also, life is pretty crazy even when you DON'T think about it.


go to wikipedia, and click on "random article". What'd you get?
Evidence-based pharmacy in developing countries. 
Suppose you go to a corner store, and when there, a group of teens ask you to buy them some alcohol. Despite it being against the law to do so, you do. Now, suppose the teens drink the alcohol, and then get into an accident. Who is at fault?

It's fobody's nault!

Now, same situation as above, but let's add a twist  - what if the teens get into an accident WITH YOU - and end up injuring you. ...could you sue them?

Dude. This is America. You HAVE to sue them.

I had thought that today was going to be a slow(ish) day at work, allowing me to work on some fiction writing. Alas, it was not the case, and I'm exhausted and it's late, and I haven't blogged yet, and tomorrow is not going to be any better (with regard to free time at work, anyway) so I guess I'll just see what the weekend brings.

The great thing is, this will be a 3-day weekend for me! I'm taking Monday off of work, because we have a billion errands to take care of. Hopefully I can make it a billion and one, and get some writing accomplished.

questions, a bunch of 'em

If I were not so tired, I'd do the markup/html thing. Alas, if you wanna answer these questions, you're going to have to provide your own bolding on the qs (or not, that's cool, too.)

If you could make a phone call to yourself 15 years in the past - but you could only speak for 10 seconds - what would you say? 


Death Star vs. Borg Cube. Which would win?


What songs/artists have you been listening to lately? Or, conversely, what song did you last hear on the radio (or internet or television or wherever)?


The Terminator franchise - what should be done with it?


Life is pretty crazy when you think about it. 


go to wikipedia, and click on "random article". What'd you get?


Suppose you go to a corner store, and when there, a group of teens ask you to buy them some alcohol. Despite it being against the law to do so, you do. Now, suppose the teens drink the alcohol, and then get into an accident. Who is at fault?


Now, same situation as above, but let's add a twist  - what if the teens get into an accident WITH YOU - and end up injuring you. ...could you sue them?

so, there ya go. if you've had a boq itch that's been needing scratching, that should suffice.

evidently, I have no will power

a co-worker was kind enough to buy me a Taco Bell meal today, including a Pepsi.

I was going to not drink it, but ultimately, caved. So, 3 days. At least I'm still blogging.

No TV and No Beer Make Homer Something Something

over 7 months ago (wait...really?? WHERE does the time go??), we canceled our cable, with the plan that our television viewing would be done with the converter box we had bought waaaay back when.
 Only, it turns out, that at some point we gave away (or lost) the converter box. Meaning, thanks to the digital conversion of 2009 (wow. time truly does go faster the older you get), we can not see the local stations over the air.
 But, here's the crazy thing - I don't miss it.
 I still stay up to date with Survivor (on CBS.com) and 30 Rock (on Hulu). But everything else...can wait for it to come out on DVD, really. That's what's going to have to happen with the final season of Chuck (I was watching that on Hulu, until NBC [or perhaps Warner Bros since I believe they own the program?] decided to NOT post the final freaking season online.) And that's how I'm going to have to see the final season(s??) of Breaking Bad (and I may have to go into internet-hiding once it starts so as not to get spoiled. God, I wish it were out already. I just WANT to know how it all ends...)
 Anyway. The point is, we still have netflix, and we still have the internet, so, ironically, TV can just curl up and die. (I do find it hilarious that I'm employed by a television station [and was even the Programming Director] but COULDN'T WATCH OUR STATION EVEN IF I WANTED TO. Ha ha! The ironing, etc.) But, yes. Netflix DVDs and Netflix streaming and DVDs from the library and Redbox have all supplemented our viewing of television.
And really, the only question(s) I have is(are) - why didn't we do this YEARS ago? And why doesn't everyone do it this way? The lack of commercials alone. My god, I SO do not miss commercials. (And this is an election year!! Score!!) Of course, that also means that this year we did not have the ability to watch the Super Bowl and thus, there was no Buffy Bowl 11. Bummer. Overall, though, the lack of network (and cable) television hasn't resulted in the end of the world. Of course, we still have to make it thru December of this year...

No Joke

I really do intend on blogging every day in April.

I also plan on not having any pepsi this month. (And, aside from the Dr. Shasta I had earlier with lunch [and will have with dinner], will also be avoiding sodas of all types)

The blogging everyday is just so I can get myself back into the habit of writing, something I've avoided for much too long.

The soda thing is simply to see how much will power I have (and, you know, there is the fact that it truly isn't good for me).

I'm 1/30th of the way there!

Nothing that happens on Leap Day counts

Oh, if only.

Steph already blogged about it, but I figured I should at the very least mention it myself. And, heck, Leap Day only rolls around once every 2/5th of a decade, so blogging on today is almost mandatory. Or something. I'm very tired.

But, yeah. Today was a bus day for me, which meant that Steph, and the littles picked me up at the bus stop (or, as I prophetically wrote in my 'leaving work' email today, the "bust stop"). Steph drove out onto the street, and the large white Dodge pickup truck in front of us stopped and began backing up.

As is the case in situations like this, time went all womlu, and seemed to simultanously speed up and move in slow motion. My brain wants to remember that Steph tried to back up herself, but it didn't really happen that way, I just think that I had wanted it to. What really happened was Stephanie screamed, and I had time to think, "He's backing up. He's not going to stop. Steph should go in reverse too. Maybe he'll just tap us." CRUNCH!

Oh, and at some point during all that, I leaned over from the passenger seat and laid on the horn, in an unsuccessful attempt to get the driver's attention. I remember too, that I kept honking even after he had come to a complete stop and the damage was already done. Part of my brain seems to feel/think that I'm honking still, that I'll be honking forever. (LIke I said, I'm really tired)

Anyway.

Tears were shed (Stephanie and Irina. I don't know/remember if Silas cried or not), and then the guy called his insurance company, while I searched (in vain) for our up-to-date insurance card. Meanwhile, Steph took my phone and called 311, and we waited for a police officer to show up.

To make a long story short (too late), we were all okay (although, obviously, extremely unhappy with the situation), and the van is still driveable, so, once the officer took our insurance info and the other guy's insurance info, and filled out the police report,we headed home. And now we're going to remember this stupid accident every four years. Crap.

oh, right, i was blogging, wasn't i?

remind me to keep on that.

it's amazing how many different thoughts/feelings/opinions one has about a day over the course of 24 hours, isn't it? Today has been incredible, funtastic, shitty, headache-inducing, mellow, boring, asinine, regal, busy, lazy, hilarious, and Wednesday.

Can't wait to see how tomorrow plays out.

random bits from today

I decided/learned that zombies hate mailboxes. (It's true. Have you ever seen a zombie near a mailbox?)

Sang the hot dog tune about 15 times - and that was in the 6pm hour alone!

Saw lots of road construction.

Finished book 2 of "Preacher". (It's not great, but I've got to see how it all ends.)

Watched "Horrible Bosses" - started off slow, but had some very funny moments to it. Haven't quite figured out what my haiku review will say about it, if I opt to do one.

Thought about just posting a random youtube video on days like today when I don't have anything to say. I may end up doing that in the future...

Cleaned another portion of my office up. It's slowly becoming (gasp!) organized!!

Blogged random stuff from today.

Worst. Ear Worm. Ever.*

back in December of this year (heh. or, rather, December of LAST year), we went out to get some groceries, and while at the supermarket, we saw a Salvation Army employee standing in front of his donation jar. He sang a little ditty as we went into the store:

"Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog. Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog."

We continued on our shopping, and everything was cool.

On our way out of the store, we encountered the man again.
And he sang the song to us once more:

"Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog. Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog."

And that was enough. Two times we heard that song, and it has been stuck in my head, off and on, for the past two months.
It was catchy enough, and almost familiar enough, that I knew it HAD to come from somewhere. So, I looked it up.

It's from the Mickey Mouse Club, evidently. And, as far as I can tell, was written (and performed, perhaps?) by They Might Be Giants. Which goes a LONG way in explaining why it's stuck so well. But, seriously. This song just won't get out of my head.

*Worst? Or Best? I guess it depends on your view, and how you define the success of an ear worm (or, meme, as they should be called - back before the word meme got coopted by internet quizzes and flickr and whatnot.)

A few Sundays ago, as I was leaving church, I found God's wallet. It looked like an ordinary wallet when I first saw it, but the identification inside stated that the owner was the Almighty.

I was quite surprised by this finding for many reasons. First, I did not know that God carried a wallet. Upon further thought, though, it made sense. Even the Lord needs a place to store His money.

The other surprising thing was that He'd lost his wallet at all. I had always assumed that God was all-knowing. Logic would dictate that an all-knowing being could never misplace anything. I dismissed this, however, with the fact that perhaps God had other things on His mind, and just hadn't come back for His wallet yet.

Which was the third surprise that occurred to me - God attended the same church that I did!?! So... my religion was the right one! Cha-ching!! Instant access into heaven!
And, I suddenly realized, now that i had God's wallet, I had the potential to become...like a saint or something. I could imagine it vividly... me. ... the patron saint of lost wallets. It brought a smile to my face.

First, though, I needed to return the sacred possession to the owner.

I briefly considered the Lost and Found, then discarded the idea in favor of tracking Him down and returning it in person.

I looked around the near-empty building. Most of the church-goers cleared out rapidly at sermon's-end, but a few like myself had not yet made it to the doors. None of the people still in the church looked like God. That is, no one was an old man with a long white beard, donning robes and glowing. Perhaps, I reasoned, my conception of God's appearance was wrong.

I opened the wallet and removed the driver's license. (God drives??)

The photo was blurry and unclear. Not Glamor Shots material, for sure. I could detect a somewhat high forehead atop which sat some (in my opinion, unnaturally) curly hair. I wondered if perhaps God had had a perm before the picture was taken.

His skin looked flawless (not a surprise) and did have a hint of angelic glow about it.

He was sporting facial hair, although it was brown, not white, and it was well-kept and short. It did wonders on concealing his age. Judging by the photo, he looked to be maybe 40 or 45. Not a day over infinity.

According to the ID, his birthdate was 01/01/01. His address was, ironically enough, the address of the church.

Looking through the rest of the wallet, I discovered a passport, a social security card (all 9s), a credit card (MasterCard, of course) and several denominations of bills (American money, and foreign bills of all kinds: yen, pesos, Euros, shekal, francs and more.)

I also found some "family" photos. There was, of course, teh Father, Son and Holy Ghost, several shots of Jesus (I could see the resemblance), one or two really old ones of Mary, plus an autographed picture of God shaking hands with Elvis Presley. The writing on the back said, "Long live the King. - EP"

Finding nothing else of interest (all things considered), I put everything back as I had found it, and carrying the wallet, left the church to see if God was still in the parking lot.

There was someone getting into a Pathfinder who, from the back, looked like they could possibly be God..

I ran to the person and tapped him on the shoulder. "You forgot..." I stopped when I saw that this man was NOT Our Father. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face, "Yes?"

"Um. You... forgot to introduce yourself." I finished, sticking out my hand,I gave him my name. Cautiously, the man shook my hand and introduced himself.

"Well," I said, "guess I'll be going, now that I've met you." I tried to sound genuinely happy, but I'm sure the man thought I was psychotic.
"Okay." The man answered. "Nice... to meet you." He climbed into his truck and drove away.

The parking lot was utterly abandoned. I would have to track down God somewhere else.

Haiku Review: Super 8

Super 8: mix in
E.T, Goonies, ID4,
Cloverfield, lens flare.

This film was okay
as an homage to Spielberg,
just wasn't 'super'.

Calling it "Average
8" - more accurate, but would
have sold less tickets.

Haiku Review: 88 Minutes

Muddled, generic
"thriller" with no real suspense,
does have Hamcino.

Who's the killer? And
is the other guy guilty?
The answers are meh.

I had wanted to blog every day this year - or at the very least, every day that I had something to say - but seeing as I have nothing to blog about right now, I think I'm going to go ahead and give myself permission to skip today.

...and seeing as how I've just blogged, I do believe that gives me a 'get out of jail free' card to use at some point later in the year.

The CenturyLink Saga

Note that this saga ends ...anticlimatically.

So, we had Century Link as our cable provider for most of 2011, but due to finances, we simply could no longer to justify paying 60-whatever dollars for televised entertainment, and opted to cancel it. So, I canceled, back in October, and I distinctly remember during that conversation that Century Link told me, "We will send you a box in the mail so you can mail back the cable boxes."

Fast forward to Decemberish, and we still haven't received a box in the mail. So, whatever, we figure, we'll just keep the cable boxes as decorations. (They were technologically pretty.) Around this time, though, we were having dinner at the Dairy Queen near my work, and we saw a Century Link building right across the street. Steph made a comment to me that I could "return the boxes there in person". I agreed. And then, of course, didn't do it. Heh.

So fast forward a few more weeks, and we find a Century Link bill with a 260 dollar charge on it. Apparently they REALLY want the boxes back, and were willing to charge us insane amounts of money until we returned them.

That brings us to the present. Or, yesterday, I suppose. We got the Century Link boxes together, along with the remote controls (well, the remote controls minus one backing panel) and the router, and I put them in the front seat of the van so I could return them to that Century Link near my work during my lunch break.

THAT brings us to today. Lunchtime arrives, and I get in the van and drive down the road a half mile to that CL building. As I'm pulling into the parking lot, I see a sign on the gate that says, "This in not the business office. That is at 330 S Valley View Blvd".

Hrm. Okay. So. I'm a little peeved, but whatever. I drive down to Valley View Blvd, which is just a few miles down the road. But at that part of town, I'm at approximately 3700 S Valley View. [sigh]. So I drive and drive and drive, and make my way thru I don't know how many miles of construction, and EVENTUALLY get down to 330 Valley View.

As I'm pulling up, I'm noticing that there ...aren't a lot of cars there. Or, more specifically, there are NO CARS in the parking lot. And then I see a piece of paper taped to the front of the building. Uh-oh. Pieces of paper taped to buildings are never good.

I park, get out, and find out that the Century Link offices have moved to 2101 N Rainbow.

Now I'm super irritated, but have to drive back to work, because my lunch hour is nearly up at this point.

However, Rainbow is the road I take home, so, I figure, I'll drop off these boxes on my way home.

I finish up my work day, and then proceed down Rainbow. I find 2101 and pull in there. As I get to the door there, I see a sign ...that says the hours are 9a-6p. :)

Once inside, it took all of 20 minutes (maybe less) to get the situation sorted out, and all the extra charges dropped from our bill. Hooray!!

Habit!

They say that to have a habit form, you have to repeat the action for six weeks. (Or, something similar to that. Or maybe I just made that statistic up out of an amalgamation of things I've heard/read over the past 30-some-odd years.)

ANyway. Let's assume that it DOES take 6 weeks for a pattern of behavior to become a habit. I suppose that means that mid-February, I'll finally be used to blogging again. I hope that it becomes easier by that point. Heh.

Tomorrow is the first work day of the new year, and I'm not looking forward to it. In addition to the mountain of work (almost literally at this point - the paperwork in my office is seriously stacking up), I have 3 different locations to stop at either while on my lunch break, or directly after I get off work. That's the bad thing about starting the new year off with days off. You expect that to be the norm... So, maybe it only takes 2 days for habits to form.

Don't call it a comeback

Although I guess that's technically what it is.

Yep, I'm blogging again. Which means there might be something to all those 'end of the world' theories about this year after all.