It's kickin' in! Yeah! It's kickin' in! Yeah! It's kickin' in! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!

So, because I'm dumb I went and had a Pepsi at 9:30 at night. It's now 1 in the morning, and guess who is WIDE AWAKE! As an added bonus, guess who has to wake up in about 6 hours.

My knee is sore. I think it has to do with the caffeine. Or at least, that's what I'm blaming right now.

Man, my blood is pumping so fast, my thoughts are too numerous to blog. It's....something. Rapid fire synapses time! If this doesn't flow, forgive me.

Two semi-interesting things from the news today. Both reminded me of the Jupe. First was the interview with a vampire. No. Interview with Kirsten Dunst. Yes. Heh. I didn't get to hear much of it, but it was kinda boring anyway. Guy was talking to her about her costar of Wimbeldon and I was all, "Dude. Who cares about that guy? Talk to her about her." They did talk about sports for a bit, which was even more of a yawnfest, but at least Miss Dunst looked pretty. [up] I asked if Guy got her autograph, but he did not. His response, "Arent' you married?" To which I said, "I wanted an autograph, not a date!"

Anyway, he said that if there are any other stars that I would like autographs from, to let him know, and he'll see what he can do. Of course my brain blanked out at that point. Are there any celebrities I like? I think the answer is no.

Second news/Jupe-related topic. According to a new phone study, more people in New Jersey are looking forward to the fall leaves changing colors than to the presidential election. YAY! Maybe the news will start to cover that instead!

So, the reason we need to wake up so early tomorrow is that we are going to [something]Orchard with the unschooling group. We're going to pick apples and tomatoes and ...other various fruits and vegetables. It's way the hell over in BFE, though, so we've got a heckuva drive ahead of us. Should still be a lot of fun, though. Unless I wind up being UTP@. [/foreshadowing?]

I've got like 40 (read: three, maybe) political posts in my head. AND I still need to finish Ape10 (I don't like to think about that, as it causes me a huge amount of guilt at being so lazy with it. What is it with me and putting off work??) AND! I still have not written Simon's letter to him. Yeesh. Right now I feel like I could accomplish all of that and a hundred other things, but I've got a feeling that that's...not quite right somehow.

You know what I like? People.
You know what I hate? People.

I think I want to change my blog's template again. One of these days I'll find something I like well enough to permenantly stick with.

37 USA

I love letters.
Having Jupe as my pen-pal for the past however long it's been has been revigorating. I've been writing more - actual physical pen on paper writing, not this recycled electron crap [wink] - and getting letters in the mail is AWESOME. (Trust me, it's so much better getting a letter in the mail than getting another notice telling me (or Steph, most likely) that we are "pre-approved".)

The worst part, though, is the waiting. Email and IM and PM and blogging and phone calls have all made us rather impatient. But there's something ...reassuring? ..about holding a letter that someone has spent time and effort on, you know?

Anywhat, I've doubled my pen-pal membership today! I have decided that I am going to start writing to Simon as well as Amy. Jolly good! Although I guess that might be more expensive, stamp-wise, but still. Yay for international friendships!

Oh, and speaking of stamps, I wanted to talk about this site where you can make your own personalized stamps! How cool is that?!?

I think once civilization collapses, the post office will be one of the things I miss the most.

Lastly related to the whole letter-writing motif, I wanted to say that if anyone else out there wants to join my ever increasing circle of pen-pals, I'm all inclusive. If I don't have your address (or you don't have mine) just contact me and we'll get that situation remedied. [up]

And in other news, why the hell is my blogger time off by an hour? It's not after 1pm. Yet.

(re)discovery

Things I have (re)discovered, (re)learned, or (re)thought in the past few days:

• Americans are fat.
• Yu-gi-oh! is incomprehensible. Honestly. It makes NO sense.
• Other people's lives are boring! (This was discovered by me spending an hour hitting "Next Blog" on the blogger NavBar up top.)
• My life is boring! (This was discovered by me spending an hour hitting "Next Blog" on the blogger NavBar up top.)
• I have poofy hair.
• David Bowie is a genius. Or at the very least very very creative.
• I am so bloody lazy that it's sickening.
• Tab + Space does not send emails. (Thanks, Jupe!)
• Vegas is hot.
• Other people don't do my job as well as I do.
• Mail - both physical and electronic - is both wonderful and horrible.
• Lists are always a good thing to fall back upon when you can't think of what to blog about.

indefatigable

Finished It. Bah. Not King's best work, although there were certainly moments of magic in there. But, really, did that book even have an editor?

I'm now reading The Alien Years, and even though I'm only 12 pages in, I've got an uneasy feeling that I'm going to be disappointed. Maybe I just need to lower my standards. ;-)

I've had the same four songs or so running through my head for about two weeks now. "Across The Universe", "Thunderbird", "Memo to Human Resources", "Fall Dog Bombs The Moon"

I'm nothing if not ecclectic, I guess.

My dream last night was boring, but the best quote from it: "In a decision that is neither John Wayne nor John Wayne Gacy..."
Yeah, I don't know what it means, exactly, either, but I liked it. Or liked it enough to make sure I blogged about it.

Sign seen a few days ago:

Free Car Wash
Sept. 11
GOD BLESS AMERICA

"Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world."

I should look up the meaning of Jai guru deva om. I mean, if it's gonna be inside my brain, I should know what it means, right?

Tuesday and Thursday of this week John Bush and George Kerry are coming back to Vegas. Yippe! That means traffic will be doubly horrific on those days! Thanks a ton, Democratic Process!

Reading the Weeklies I have seen the Fall Preview of movies this year, and I must say that I'm pretty underwhelmed. I don't think any one particular film stands out as being "Must See". Again, maybe I just need to lower my standards.

F.

Ever since we said it, he went and took the credit

Heh.

So, yeah. I know that Ape10 has like five fans, but I wanted to let them all know that if the new episode (entitled The Boy Who Cried Lion) isn't up by midnight tonight, not to worry. It will be up soon after. Also, I think once 2004 is done, I will not post new eps on the 10th. Not to worry, the adventures of Ape10, Zombielyn, Spark, and the others will continue - at least one new one a month - but having a deadline is stressful, and I'm attempting to live my life wherein I make decisions that result in less stress.

In somewhat related news, I'm testing this out...Bah. It didn't work. Either time. That's ...quite disappointing, actually. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. [/self-amusement]

Lastly, and completely unrelated to anything I've been talking about, anyone ever have a crisis (or crises) of faith? [sigh]

You promised me the ending would be clear

So I'm in a better mood than last time I blogged (how could I not be??) so this should be a much more positive entry (there's only so much raging against the machine one can take, right?)

(Now you do what they told ya. Now you're under control.)


I'm still reading It. I don't know how I feel about that book. It definitely could've been shorter.

Last night we dined at Souper Salad, which once upon a time was a decent place to eat. "What happened to you, Souper Salad? You used to be cool." In it's defense, it was pretty close to closing time for them. But still, for 22 bucks, it should've been better. Souper Salad, for those not in the know, is a salad and soup buffet place. You pay your five bucks (or whatever it costs) and you get all you can eat salad, soup, bread, etc. In times past, it was more tasty than last night.

The fun parts, though: The power went out. While we were eating, the lights had flickered several times, and I had thought to myself, "I wonder what they would do if the power did go out." (I find myself thinking about that type of thing a lot. "What will we do when the whole grid goes down?" "What will the reaction be once the...well, you get the idea.
Anywhat, the power went out, shortly before we were going to get dessert. Yay! It's really neat being in the dark in public places. There's a time when everyone pauses, takes a moment to realize, "dude. That constant light we take for granted? Not so constant."
And then there is waiting. Waiting until the power comes back on. Because it always does.

And, yeah, it did. And this entry is not turning out as positive (or as interesting!) as I had hoped.

THe other good (um...except that it wasn't) part of the dinner at Souper Salad was that I am an idiot.

One of the dishes they had was labelled "Mustard Potato Salad". That sounded pretty yummy to me, so I scooped it up onto my plate, and gave it no more thought.

Then, while eating it (and it was quite good), I saw something that at first my brain tried to explain away as being either a carrot or maybe a tomato slice. I didn't eat it, because some other part of my mind said, "No. That's a shrimp."

I stopped eating the Mustard Potato Salad, and asked Stephanie - "That's a shrimp, right?" She said, "yeah", and to make a long story shorter, it turned out that what I thought was Mustard Potato Salad was in fact "Fisherman's" ...something. It contained shrimp, crab, noodles, blah blah blah.
Long story short (too late) it became increasingly difficult for me to swallow, and I felt (briefly) that we might have to run to the hospital. We didn't, and I survived (obviously!) But I was thinking, if I ever want to go out in style, I will just need to pile on the shellfish. Because, dude, crab meat is really good.
Of course, it wouldn't take much. I had three bites of the Fisherman's stuff, and that was nearly enough.

In other news, we watched Spirited Away the other night. Quite impressive, although I wondered why Giro (sp??) would want to go back to her parents. But, yeah, the animation was pretty darn cool, and the story was, overall, a really good one.
We also got around to watching Whale Rider, which I enjoyed, but I think I should've waited to watch it. We saw it last night, and I couldn't concentrate very well. (Due in part to the allergic reaction I was having) Still got goosebumps, though.

It feels weird to have to go back to work again. My two days off each week seem to go by faster than anything.

ooh! And as a tie-in to the title, we bought Labyrinth on DVD yesterday. Have yet to watch it. Maybe we'll do that tonight.

why?

why do i bother why do i write why do i try why isn't even the right question, because even if i know the answer, the real concern is what to do about it. What to do what to do? I don't have a freaking clue. Heh. I'm rhyming, and I'm saying "Heh", so i must be in a slighlty better mood than i was when i first started this entry, no? it's all running together because the return key doesn't work wait, let me try...

Of course. I fixed it.

Why can you get arrested for simply being somewhere? Just being on the sidewalk is cause to put you in jail? Whatever. Whatthefuckever. I'm so sick of it. How can anyone see the events of our culture and think it's okay? Think it's sane or normal or logical or good? How???

"One thing I learned about America is that if you work hard and play by the rules, this country is truly open to you. You can achieve anything." ~Arnold Schwazenegger

That was the only bitof the RNC I've watched.

God, i was going to go bashing it, but why? Why bother? It doesn't freaking matter waht I type or what you type or what anyone says or types. I'm so tired of swimming against the mother fucking current of this culture. It's SO FUCKING PREVELANT. It's everywhere. "Did you're oldest start school yesterday?" I was asked at work. No. We're homeschooling. "Oh, that's great." she replied with an obvious fucking forced smile on her face.
Fuck you. SJesus christ, why must everyone be the goddamn same? Why must i be bombarded with "This is the best computer for sending your kid back to school" "This is the best person to "lead" the country" "This is the best weapon to kill people so that you can drive your car"
Fuck it all.

Can someone explain to me what the fuck the word 'progress' means? What is progress? Is progress more cancer? Here's a bumper sticker for you: Some day, we will all have cancer. It's funny, cuz it's true. Har har har.

Is progress feeding more people? Making sure that we have enough food to feed the billions of people on this planet? What about water? Nobody thinks about water - well, they do, but it's not gotten much press. I remember seeing a special years ago (it was an Earth day special, back in the 80s...Bette Midler was portraying Mother Earth ...it was a huge ta-doo, I'm sure someone else out there saw it) anyway, the only thing i remmeber was someoen holding up a gallon jug filled with water and saying, "If this gallon of water represents all the water on the planet, and we pour out all the salt water, and all the water that is polluted to the point where it can not be consumed," and while saying that, they were emptying the bottle, "what we would be left with is one drop."
I have no idea how accurate that was (it seems to me that it couldn't have been very. I mean, really, one drop from a gallon?? And even though the earth is big, and has a LOT of water on it...that just cant' be) but the point remains that without clean water, you die. So, you know, putting chemicals into the water seems a rather dumb idea. "Don't shit where you eat" seems pretty common sense to me. But what the fuck do I know? Honestly - what do I know?

I'm

I don't know how to wrap this up, i don't even know if i WANT to wrap it up, ubt I'm feeling rather drained, this was sorta cathargic, and i've lost my train of thought, so I guess maybe i'll just hit publish post.

Remind me to remember more.

Or maybe not. Perhaps my brain knows what's best, and the whole forgetting is what I should embrace. All too often, we don't listen.

What the hell....

Oh, guess what! A few days ago, when I made the suggestion that blogger's emailed comments would be better if they told you what post they came from - WELL NOW THEY DO!

Awesome!

We finally went to the library, and I checked out:

• Stephen King's It, which is a re-read for me (Steph recently re-read The Stand, and it got me all reKingivized)
• The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg. Aliens invade the earth, and without communicating to us at all, knock us down a few pegs. Could be really great, or could be crap. I'll keep you informed.
• Let It Be...Naked by the Beatles. Can't go wrong with Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. =)
• David Bowie's Reality. I've not heard the new stuff from Mr. Bowie, but I'm hoping it's good.
• Whale Rider, because it's a movie I wanted to see.

Then we went to Dairy Queen. Mmmm. Ice cream.

The other day, I 'fixed' the television, so even without the rabbit ears, we can actually see most of the channels again. "Man's ability to use tools!!!"

Work again tomorrow. [sigh] But at least it's payday. [sigh]....I mean Yay! (and sigh)

Bettie- the 23rd and 24th votes were from Vegas. [wink]

I guess that's it. I feel like there's something vitally important to be blogging about, but I can't quite put my fingers on it. Hmm.

Indecision 2004

I won't have this be the entire political tirade post, but just a sample of it.

The thing I'm wondering - are there Undecided Voters? Sure, I am one in regard to the WD election, but when it comes to the actual Presidential Race - is there anyone out there who hasn't already made up their mind? I suppose they must exist, but they really must be a minority.

If that's the case, why the wait? Why not simply hold the election today and have it over with? Why drag it out for the next month? Meh. Chalk it into the ever growing pile of ways in which politics suck.

I find your lack of faith...disturbing.

Ralph Nader was in town today, speaking at the Las Vegas Library.

I didn't go see him speak, but part of me wanted to.

Not because I would vote for him, but mostly because everytime I hear his name, the Imperial Death March starts running through my head.

10:10

Weird.

Anywhat, all I wanted to say was Thank You.

To all the people out there who know me, know the things I think and the things I say (and especially to the ones who put up with the things I do - (AND on a daily basis)), but like me anyway, thank you. It means everything to me.

11:11

Bah. I have nothing to speak of.

'Tis another Monday. Which means 5 more days of FUN FUN FUN!!!

Anyone know what the going rate for murder is these days? Five years? Ten? Ehh.

What was I going to say?

We wound up not going to the library yesterday, so I have nothing to read. I wish I were more imaginative, then I would write my own stories. I used to. Back in the day. Ah, youth.

I suppose if we're going to watch the new television season, we should get some rabbit ears. But, honestly, it just doesn't feel that important. I might feel differently when people start talking about Alias and Lost (which I was kinda looking forward to) and whatever else is on that isn't reality TV.
And now, for some weird reason, I can't get my blog to go any further. I guess this line will be cut off.

Wetuwn, Bo-bah-ho!!

I couldn't (can't) sleep.

I'm sure that the fact that I had a 44oz. pepsi today (after refraining from the nectar for the past 5 days) had nothing to do with that. [rolleyes] I really ought to cut soda out of my diet completely. [sigh] Someday.

Went to the park today, and while watching the ants, i was able to come up with a question for the monthly boq. Hooray! I would go into detail right now, but feel that that would take away from when i post the question. you'll know it when you see it, i suspect.

Man, the internet at night is dull! I mean, nobody's blogging, nobody's online to tlak to me, even the DerJen folks are silent (and they can talk!).

I've been thinking about trying to recontact my mother. We've not spoken in...well, it's been a while. She has never (as far as i know) even seen pictures of Saren or Harper. Heck, she might not even know they exist. Some part of me thinks that should be remedied. "Remedied" looks wrong. Meh. Too lazy to spell chekc it.

Library tomorrow (technically today)! Hopefully i will find something that grabs my interest. I still have the recommendation that Jess gave me several months back to check out (they never have it in!!), so there's that option. Otherwise, i got nuthin'. I'm sure i'll find some cd or dvd to pick up, but i'll be amazed if i am able to locate a book that I can get through. W'll see.

I like the commenting feature that blogger has, but it would be even nicer if when you get the email notification, it told you what entry it was in. Like Blurty does. Oh well. Maybe some uppity-up at bloggerco will see this and make some changes. Or not.

i suppose i should get some sleep. i'm not exactly tired, not exactly wired, but somewhere inbetween.

I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things.

THis entry may be long. And rambling. Or not. I haven't determined that yet.

It doesn't have a point, or maybe it does - all stories do, so I'm told ...of course, all writing is also propoganda, so there ya go - what (hwat) was I talking about?

The title of this entry comes from Fight Club, which I finished yesterday. I can't seem to read anything other than Chuck Palahniuk lately. I've tried, though. I read most of Red Sky at Morning before devouring FC, but after a point, RS @M simply became ...I don't know. Monotonous. And the dude, while his heart is in the right place, is so obviously a Taker. Currently I'm punishing myself by trying to get through Human Nature by some jackass. I wanted to get a different perspective (what if everything I believe is WRONG? - a question that more people need to ask themselves) but sadly, I can't do it. There's simply too many things that make me go ARRRGH!

In nonbook news, I think I'm addicted to the internet. I keep coming back online, even though there's nothing here. At least this time I'm blogging, for whatever that's worth, but still. I think that it's because I can't go online while at work that I feel the pressure to get as much onilne (or online, if you prefer) time in as possible at home. Not good.

Checked out Radiohead's Hail to the Thief from the library the other day. I've listened to most of it while doing dishes, which means that I have yet to actually sit down and listen to it. The paft that has sunk in though has been enjoyable, so there ya go.

It's old news by now, but a few days back Jupe was in Vegas. We went down and met her (and The Boy - but not The Boy) and had about as much fun as one can have sitting in an airport. There is photographic evidence of our meeting, but Steph's the one with control of the camera, so pester her for them to be uploaded.

I need (want) to add a list of blogs back. Must rememember to check out BlogRolling sometime soone.

Also need to send a PM to the following people: Bally. Jamie Marie.

Have you seen that they changed the nickle? The back of the 2004 year nickles now have two hands shaking, and two tiny axes crossed over them. It (I guess) represents the Louisiana Purchase. Which, according to the nickle took place in 1803. So...this is the 201st year anniversary. Wheird.

Hee. Cat hair. Also - "With this cat, I thee wed."

Must write abook. And when I do, must make sure that I am referred to as "the P@". It's what everyone calls me. Except for the people who add a "t" to the end. Once again - the "@" symbol means "at". Thus, P@ is equivalant to Pat. P@t would mean Patt. Not the same. But, yeah, it's what they call me places. Online. And such.

Also neat- I've rediscovered the joy of having a penpal. Amy and I have been exchanging letters for about a month (more??) now, and it's really quite pleasant to get a letter in the mail, in addition to communicating online. Maybe more people should write to me. Or maybe I should write to more people. Hmmm. *rubs beard in thoughtful manner*

The. What?

AOL had a story (such as it were) on anarchists interferring with the Republican National Convention. Huh. Nothing really of interest in the article, but there was a shoot-off article that talked about how they're offering discounts to dinners and whatnot to people...if they protest non-violently. "Here, have a dinner at Applebee's, just don't break anything." [rolleyes]
(Although, honestly, a dinner at Applebee's sounds pretty good right now.)

It's Friday?? When did that happen?

Hmm. Need to work on the conclusion aspect. Of course, nothing tops "And the earth grew weary of all this nonsense, and hurled itself into the sun."

Think exponentially

The car's mileage yesterday hit 124816.

Just thought you'd all like to know.

This entry may not change anything.

Whilst discussing the upcoming revamping of Stephanie's blog (once the baby is born, she'll need a new title, as there will be 3 of 2...) I came up with this little tidbit:

"Why not 'Clouds in My Coffee'? You can have the description say: "I'm so vain, I bet you think this blog is about me.""

Heh.

So, this website will change your life, supposedly. It's based upon the book, "This Book Will Change Your Life", which I've skimmed through while at the bookstore. (And if anyone wants to buy me, I won't object. But I'd rather have this one, if you're in the buying mood...) The book is a spoof on self-help books. It has 365 things for you to accomplish. If you do each one, the book says, you will become famous. An example of one of the things (and I'm going from memory here):

• Count the number of buses you see on your way to work.
• Multiply that number by 3.
• Divide that number by 2.
• Buy that many candy bars.
• Give the candy bars to complete strangers.
• Write down exactly what the people say to you on index cards.
• Find random address from the phone book.
• Mail the cards.
• Wait.

Last night while trying to sleep, my brain had this little dialouge:
"You're not a decent person, P@."
"Working on it."

My brain is a strange and mysterious place.

And, one last thing on the subject of change - Saren is now 7 years old. Crazy.

"Surreal" isn't the right word, but it's the first one that comes to mind.

I'm reading Choke by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) right now.

Yesterday, while at work, I recieved news that an old semi-acquiantence/coworker had died.

There was a brilliantly awesome lightning storm on the drive home last night.

Cox Cable has been sending our bills to a P.O. Box in Minnesota for the past 7 months.

I "came out" as an anarchist on the WD, nobody seemed to have noticed. Huh.

This is a Friday the 13th. Wonder what treasures it's gonna hold.

Why did I open up Blogger?

I guess it's so that I can re-habitiualize myself into blogging, even on those all too numerous times when I've got nothing to say. Like now!

*sits here for four minutes staring at a blank screen*


Yup. Nothing to say.

but at least I'm blogging again, right? Right.

Oh! I know - I asked two coworkers this yesterday, and got an "I don't care." and an "I don't know, Aliens, I guess." as a response, so I'll posit it to the P@riots.

Aliens or Predators?

So...

...I guess this internet thing is still around, huh?

It's been so long since I've done this. But, I'm finding, it's almost like riding a bike. (Ya hear that, Jupe?)

So, yeah. After my last blog entry, I took a three week hiatus from the world wide web completely. Didn't check my mail, didn't log on, didn't even say the word "internet". (Well, that last one may not be completely true)

And you know what's weird? I didn't miss it!!

Well, no, I did, at first. The first two or three days were horrible. But sometime shortly after that, it simply became habit to NOT log on. To NOT depend on reading emails, or seeing the AOL Welcome screen tell me about the Administration That Cried Wolf raising the "Terror Alert Levels" once again.

But, like the luring siren's song, eventually the Internet called me back to sink amongst the drudge of electronic information. Also, I needed to write the newest Ape10. Also also, I did miss my Internet Weirdo friends.
I think if I could somehow stay in contact with my IW buddies without the net, I most certainly would. We'll have to work on that.

So, yeah, I'm back online. I've even, as mentioned, written a new Ape10 episode (entitled Plug In. It's long, but I think that it's worth the wait of the "summer hiatus" that I took). In addition, I've moved Ape10's home! No, he still resides in the park in Azwood, but from here on out, all new episodes (and the old ones) will be found at Ape10. Comments (on all episodes, even ones you've "seen" before) are quite welcome.

I'd update you all on the events of the past month, but remarkably, it's been rather unremarkable. (Except for the $300 power bill.) Once I get back into the swing of blogging, I'm sure I'll have more to share. Until then, as always, thanks for reading.

Ape10 will not be shown tonight...

(I know!)

In it's place, I present a ...music video. Pretty much in the style of Ape10. Don't worry, the goings-on of Ape10, Spark, and Zombielyn will return soon enough. I apologize for the delay.
In the meantime, enjoy the song!


I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah