Saturday, April 24, 2004


House News

We got the keys on Wed and then I went to yoga by myself cuz Mom wasn't feeling too good. Our yoga instructor mentioned my going to advanced potentially (you can advance quickly in yoga and I'm more flexible than I thought) and that round of sessions starts at the end of May. Current round ends soon...anyway I'm off topic (!...naw *really*?! :-P ;-D ).

We've got a LOVELY back porch to sit on now and we've been making good use of it, except today, I was busy doing something else today. The fact that I was busy (or at least preoccupied) is a big deal cuz we ain't done much of anything so far except prime the red walls and we need more coats. It's like the White House meets Mr. Blanding's dreamhouse (please tell me you saw that film!)- each room is a different color. The "bordelo red" living/dining room I nicknamed "Moulin Rouge" for about 2 days, but it ain't red no more.

But speaking of red, the rosebush on the back porch is home to a Mama Cardinal and last night, her eggs hatched. She was pissed at us yesterday. Mom was sweeping the porch, and plus we're still new. Now with 3 chicks, we now know why she was extra upset last night. No I haven't seen or heard the chicks yet, but I really don't think she'll let us. Daddy Cardinal sits on the fence in a few specific spots. Back on Wed. Mama Cardinal kept leaving the nest and going to "talk" with him on the fence, then he'd leave for a few minutes, come back, and then she'd return to the nest after they'd "talked" for another minute. For a bit there I thought she was having cravings or something and he was out to get her pickled ice cream flavored worms or something. :-) Maybe she was just spying on us. ;-) No really, Mom said she gave her a stern warning when she first got out there. Really, *we* aren't gonna do anything- maybe she'd wanna talk to some of those lizards we now have again. ;-D

I took LOTS of pictures of the inside before painting started so you'll see the outrageous colors soon enough. Thing is, you know me- I love color! It's just that these shouldn't go on the walls, especially given out lifestyle. So far, all I've been able to do is bluetape the bottom of the windows, put a couple things in the closet, take pictures, put in light bulbs (I put one of those specialty smiley face ones in my fan for fun- never tried 'em before), prime the bottom half of the little wallspace that'll hold the fridge (and got some on my pants and hair in the process, tho not much), and help rinse the new fridge out. That fridge is kinda freaky- it's on wheels and man does it ROLL! We were listening to the new Pink Panther movies compliation sdk we bought yesterday while rinsing it out, so I now have this visual image of the fridge sneaking around the kitchen late at night.

"dead ant, dead ant..." ;-D

Did I tell you about the trees yet? We've got about...<counts> egads, um: 8 or 9 cedars (we thought they were junipers), 6 junipers (or are they a different kind of cedar?), 2 paper birchs, 4 kinds of maple (1 each), 3 dogwoods, 1 magnolia, 1 pear, 2 plums, 1 orange, and a few crepe myrtles. Not to mention all the azaleas, wild strawberries, and goodness only knows what else, I don't remember. I know we got at least 2 other kinds of trees (1 each). The tree & yard guys came on Wed or Thurs (forgot which day) to tell us what we should cut and what we should just trim and live with for a while. Bad news is we have to get rid of all the dogwoods <:.-( but there's a spot where we could plant a new one. Most of all the stuff that's there, we can just trim up a bit and there's a grass we can plant that can take all the shade. I tell ya, it's like a forest there! :-) No Ents tho. Altho there *are* days in yoga when I end up doing more ents than trees about halfway thru. ;-)

With all these trees and this family of cardinals, this yard gets kinda noisy cuz where there are trees, there are birds (only 1 squirrel so far). We've seen at least 1 blue jay, either a sparrow or a wren (couldn't tell), some sort of black bird, and of course there are now the 3 little baby cardinals in addition to their parents. All the others, you hear 'em. You don't see 'em. And yes the noseeums are out now too. And the ants (ants and ents, woodn't you know it bugs me?) ;-) . The wasps live in the carport roof so they've gotta be evicted sometime. It gets noisy as in talkative there in the afternoons what with all the birds and kids around. This is the same neighborhood we lived in when we first moved to this town in '95 and that Halloween we had over 50 or 60 (don't remember) kids come around. They had to have come from this side of the 'hood. ;-)

And speaking of noise and way-back-then (9 years ago- YIKES!!! It really *was* 9 years ago?!?! WOWIE...) when we first moved in, there was someone in the neighborhood who had a drum set and would play in the afternoon. This house we're moving into was the drummer's house- or rather the upstairs room of the backyard...shack? Lean-to? Grandfathered in workhouse? Whuddya call this thing?! The outhouse? Well, it *does* have a working toilet, but the bottom's not totally enclosed. The area where the bathroom is yes, but it's really more a workshop with a room upstairs. The drummer had already moved out a few years ago and the folks we bought this place from were a realtor and a cabinet maker. Dunno if it was them who grandfathered the rest of that place in (it was built in at least 3 stages in at least 3 different years), but according to when they said *they* moved in, I don't think so. Plus that "house" (the second-story thingy) had been there for quite some time; what's throwing us are the writings in the concrete out there: 2000 and 2002. Unless they picked the place up, put in the concrete and then set the place back down again... ?-/ Um, wingardium leviosa? :-P

Anyway, I don't have the pix just yet but I'll post a few when I can. I got very few pix of the outside but I *did* get the beautiful view from the upstairs balcony/porch. The front door faces west so I'll be able to get some great shots of sunsets if those trees cooperate. So nice up there, I hope we can keep it cuz that second story's supposedly in violation of some outrageously stupid building regulation or something. Those things have gotten SO stupid in this town. Well, *we* weren't the ones who built it so NYAH! Well, at least the staircase going up is sturdy, with me and my fear of heights, I actually feel pretty alright going up there tho I still can't manage to get myself to lean against the railing much.

The pool still ain't working, but at least it's there. We've already had our first visitors and housewarming gift, even tho we haven't moved much of anything yet. I tell ya, I am just ITCHING TO PAINT THAT PLACE!!! Maybe it's cuz Mom and I got too addicted to Trading Spaces and I just really really really wanna get my hands on a roller. Then again, I know we've gotta get rid of that pimp purple room. If only it were a solid purple and it were mine. :-) Oh well, no biggie. I guess I could hijack the color for when we repaint *my* room. ;-D Nah, I wouldn't want *that* kind of purple, but the idea of it does go with the colors in my décor...

Anyway, that's it for now! Maybe I'll pull out my copy of The Money Pit finally, cuz there's a lot that needs to be done to this place. Won't happen in 2 weeks ;-) , but definately over time.
posted @ 11:08 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Friday, April 16, 2004


9 movies in 3 weeks...

...and they were all rentals. Dad was in San Fransisco on a business trip so Mom and I decided to rent some movies. Besides, we hadn't really checked out the Blockbuster too much since they moved from their tradition location in town.

Matchstick Men Mr. Cage got it DOWN! I've had times where I've had all those quirks do that to me. It was quite eerie really. Sad the girl wasn't really his, but I'm still glad he figured his life out. Still felt like a let-down ending and the twist was confusing a bit.

Under the Tuscan Sun A cheery movie. Great scenery, culture clashes, the usual stops me in my seat (sex, religious differences, gay stuff...) but still a cute film.

Mona Lisa Smile I'd heard it described as "Dead Poets Society for women". Only DPS was better. Partly because the ending is sad as few people really seem to take her advice and actually have it show at the end. Yeah they show their appreciation, but you're (ok I was) left with a feeling that it was "nice" rather than "meaningful".

About Schmidt A quiet film, almost no soundtrack. Reminded me of my depression cuz it's so quiet and because of that I could relate. The ongoing letter-writing sounded like a blog so that was cool. :-)

Lost In Translation Like About Schmidt, it was quiet and reminded me of my depression because of it. However, it is *because* it is so quiet and reminds me of my depression is what makes the film both brilliant and boring. Life is boring and I'm glad these 2 films showed that. But at the same time, when you've come to expect faster pacing in films, it can be a real let-down. The culture clashes are very real and if you don't already know a bit about Japanese culture (like how/why the mix their L's and R's) then some of the humor is lost on you. No, a lot of the humor is lost on you. If you've ever felt like a lone duck out of water far far away from home, then you'll "get" this movie. If you've ever met another lone duck out of water far far away from home at the exact same time and felt a weird sort of kinship in that, then you'll "get it" even more.

Runaway Jury It dumps you right into the action without ANY slow intro whatsoever. You miss one quarter second and you lose your place completely. It is confusing and I kind of wish I'd seen it more than once (like Matchstick Men) so I could watch the twist unfold. While I agree that gun companies are aware and should be held accountable, I do NOT agree with the idea of someone swaying the jury on subterfuge and revenge. The fact that they got away with the money bothered me. It's one of those "right reasons, wrong methods" and those bother me cuz there was no remorse. That's probably why I only saw it once. It was kinda funny that I rented and saw this after Schmidt and Translation. :-)

Something's Gotta Give Wow. :-) We were on a Jack Nicholson spree here and this was the Jack winner. The Jack Nicholson/Diane Keaton pairing was WONDERFUL and it is a cute story. Funny too. I just thought the ending was too short and a bit corny, especially after how long it took for the ending to get there. There was this whole "apart time" for the characters and just when they get back together, it ends. It was lacking....something.

Radio Based on a true (local as in SC) story and a great film! Cuba Gooding Jr did a FANTASTIC JOB and it was great that they had the real Coach and real Radio at the end too! :-) Very nice film- rent this one!

Anger Management This is only 1 of 3 films I have ever rented and never completed. I forgot that this film was Adam Sandler, I had hoped that there would be more Jack-ness but no. The other 2 films I never finished were Wayne's World and Being John Malkovich. I almost didn't wanna finish Shrek. It's rare we bomb. I hate it when films try to show "the innocent getting blamed" as being funny, altho if the guy really *were* being as abusive as everyone says and the quietness was a portrayal of how the guy felt from *his* point of view (which is how I was trying to take it) then that would make more sense. I also don't find penis size or the suggestion of incest to be a sorce of amusement either.

As you can tell, we watched these in 3's. :-) I also bought the Down With Love and Matrix Revolutions DVDs. The "revelations" in DWL and Matrix 3 are less annoying as the first time around, probably because I'd seen them before and there weren't any fanboys jeering the death scene. Tho they were still overblown. Still, DWL is a cute film, and I think that I'll stop the DVD when the humans prepare to make their last stand- the rest of the movie's pretty much dead for me from there and it's rare that I'd say I won't watch the ending. It actually killed the franchise for me for a long time, but now that I have that option, we'll see. I also agree more with the other fanboys (and girls)- the first Matrix was better and other than the Burly Brawl, there was no real "substance" to Reloaded other than the Architect scene and a lot of kick-ass fighting. Rewrite!
posted @ 10:21 PM  |   0 comments  |  


Backlogging again

Got a few interesting and a few disturbing things to blog about that I should've blogged about earlier. So here goes:

Wal-Mart fire Gas grill gas tank was at floor-level. Kid was upset at father and lighted it. Wal-Mart was closed for a couple days, but I didn't notice anything when I was there yesterday (but then again, it had been a few weeks).

Car explosion No it wasn't our car, but I was outside when a car exploded during a car fire last month. No injuries and thankfully it was a small explosion, but the car went kaboom nonetheless. It was in a CVS parking lot...I wonder if the car had heartburn. ;-) But no really, we saw it thru where the flames really started catching to the total inferno to the explosion...didn't have a choice really, we were driving into the lot next door and then had to stay low to make it to the door. Came back out briefly about 5 minutes later and the good ole boys (fire dept.) was finishing up putting it out.

House hunt We've started looking for a new house. We only looked inside of one, but apparently that's all we needed because...

We're moving! We closed on the house today!!! You won't see me (again) for a while cuz we now gotta pack and move and stuff. But we've gotta paint first! I have to post y'all pictures of what the current paint situation of this place is. It's unbelieveable! I'm a very colorful person, but this...this is...um, how do I put this gently? Um...ok I can't.

Bordelo...pimp... The living/dining area is a bordelo red (2 reds actually) and my parent's room is currently a pimp purple. I am not kidding. This has GOT TO GO!!!

Dad's home! Left on Valentine's Day, returned on Easter. Business trip again. And wouldn't you know it- we went to and from another project (went with him initially back in October) in North Carolina yesterday because he forgot something. :-) I *LOVE* the woods! And the new house has got LOTS of trees (altho sadly most of those tall junipers will have to go).

The Apprentice Mom and I got hooked on the show the week Kristi got fired. Omorosa = bad. We guessed Bill would win. I wanted Troy originally but, I just hope people stop giving Omorosa offers. That's just...I can't say it cuz I'm a nice person (at least I like to think of myself as a nice person). No I don't watch it for Trump, but I did see Trump on SNL- FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!

In yes Out no I have been having email problems this past week most likely due to the new anti-virus I'm using on trial because the stupid PC-Cilian (on whose watch I lost my hard drive in Dec) decided that they were no longer gonna support updates for my version AND THEY DIDN'T FREAKING TELL ME!!! So for over a week it was trying to update and timing out. I had to email them myself to learn that I had to pay to upgrade or else more bugs and other nasty things. I called my tech support about it initially and they suggested the program I'm using now but I think I'll have to go back to Norton even tho there are reports that the current version can screw up your files. >:-P~ Oh well...

RIP Nick & Mary Yankovic A nightmare about something unrelated woke me up on Monday so I went online and found out that Weird Al's parents had both died last Friday due to C0 poisoning. Built a fire and forgot to open the flue. Al posted a message to his fans on his site and I've added the Yank Blog to the bloglist below (hmm...that thing needs updating).

proof that depression is depressing Depression is the main reason I have not been online as of late. I've been having a bad 6-month spike in my ocd and it's been hell. Just didn't feel like going online even tho I dearly miss blogging. This is what depression can do to you- make you temporarily lose interest (or at least just plain ol' not do) in things you love. That Zoloft rock and I have that in common...alto I tried Zoloft (amoungst others) and I'm intolorant to it. All of them.

Gary Larsonist I finally finished looking thru the 2-volume definitive set we got for Christmas today!

I'll put the movies I've seen lately in the next post.
posted @ 9:55 PM  |   0 comments  |