Quo Vado?

The worst part of working on this crappy project of Bossman’s isn’t the pain in the butt work to date, it’s the construction phone calls. Now, I realize that engineering plans (especially Bossman’s) often don’t make too much sense without careful reading and occasional great leaps of logic. This project, however, is going to be worse. The artichoke doesn’t have a clue about how to nicely put a building like this one together, so I’m assuming one of two things will happen during construction. The annoying, but less scary option is that the contractor uses alot of time pestering me with questions that reading the plans would answer or that are outside of my purview (like fire stopping and waterproofing). The other option scares the be-ge-bees out of me. Sometimes artichokes start answering obvious structural questions without input from the engineer. This usually leads to crazy fixes that don’t transfer the load closer to the ground. Now, I’ll admit, I get cranky when people don’t read plans and/or want answers TODAY but I try to temper my reaction with thoughts of the alternative. Sometimes it works.

You Are Balanced - Realist - Powerful

You feel your life is controlled both externally and internally. You have a good sense of what you can control and what you should let go. Depending on the situation, you sometimes try to exert more control. Other times, you accept things for what they are and go with the flow. You are a realist when it comes to luck. You don’t attribute everything to luck, but you do know some things are random. You don’t beat yourself up when bad things happen to you… But you do your best to try to make your own luck. When it comes to who’s in charge, it’s you. Life is a kingdom, and you’re the grand ruler. You don’t care much about what others think. But they better care what you think!

Via Blogthings

Is it bad when it’s the new television season and I’m watching the first two episodes of the second season of The West Wing. As I watch I remember just why I came to love these characters. There aren’t many shows I watch with the intensity I give to The West Wing and Firefly. I watch these shows, the ones with characters I love, and search out themes and question choices and options. There are other shows I like, but I don’t watch murder and mayhem procedurals for the characters or even the stories as they relate to stories. How is it that I become so attached to characters of fiction? Is it because from this distance I can see their flaws, but remain a safe distance away? Is it because I can see little bits of myself in so many of the characters I love and gain that moment of understanding? Is it because they tend to act on their more noble instincts, when I so frequently take the easy way out?

After deciding I needed to get out of the office for lunch, I headed to the wing place down the street. I ordered the usual, a dozen original wings and a Diet Coke, and then found myself adding an order of seasoned fries. It turns out that impulsive addition filled an unknown craving. It helped that the fries were HOT and I had blue cheese dressing for dipping. I pounded on the crinkled potatoes as if I hadn’t eaten for days. I cannot believe I polished off near a whole order of fries.

Now, I think today is Friday. I think my brain has found that nice mushy point where it only works on specific things. I do know that I’m getting older. This muscle strain shouldn’t be still hanging around today, but it is.

Am I correct in remembering that killing people where they stand is a bad idea? Bossman and the project he screwed up are driving me crazy. Really, I know you want to issue the drawings at noon tomorrow. You’ve already told me six times what I need to get done. You force me into yelling at you because you can’t hear me. And you won’t leave me alone to do my bloody job. Killing your boss is a bad idea. Killing your boss is a bad idea. Killing your boss is a bad idea. Killing your boss is a bad idea…

Did you know it was Wednesday? Someone forgot to tell me, and I keep acting like it’s Tuesday. Add to this mild day aphasia, my instance that it’s July and the year 2004 and I’ve got all kinds of wacky dates on the stuff I did at work today. I have determined over the last couple of months that I can’t work a job with a lot of traveling - I’d have no idea the day.

“Except the trouble is, as a creator…I saw a lovely analogy recently. Somebody said that writers are like otters. And otters are really hard to train. Dolphins are easy to train. They do a trick, you give them a fish, they do the trick again, you give them a fish. They will keep doing that trick until the end of time. Otters, if they do a trick and you give them a fish, the next time they’ll do a better trick or a different trick because they’d already done that one. And writers tend to be otters. Most of us get pretty bored doing the same trick. We’ve done it, so let’s do something different.” - Neil Gaiman (Time Interview: Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon)

It begins in a small serene place, with one small person daring to interrupt utopia by speaking for those who won’t be heard. From this point of conflict, Serenity slams forward throwing us into a world of calculated violence and inevitable escalation. In Serenity, Joss Whedon crafts an action-adventure story that stands separately from the series Firefly, on which it’s based. The introduction of the heroes integrates itself smoothly into prologue’s propelling action and clearly establishes the well oiled nature of the crew. Whedon effectively satisfies my four criteria for a good action-adventure movie: I laughed out loud, there’s a reason for all action, the connective tissue pulls the story together, and my attention doesn’t waiver. Better than meeting all four of the criteria, the single thread spun in the opening scene weaves it’s way throughout the movie and, if you allow it, informs so much of the conflict as well as the decisions made. I’m going to enjoy seeing it again, just to reexamine the reflection of that idea. On point and aware acting improved the well crafted story. When you can feel the beginning of dread roll off of a character, the actors have done their jobs. For this movie they did their jobs well, letting amazing things show on their face and in their bodies. The movie did have a few glaring (and non-spoiler) flaws, there was an obvious bit to cater to the television fans and the denouement left no ragged edges. I know Whedon has more to say about this verse, and the end felt too much like a movie ending.

Serenity

• Matinee or Evening Movie: Evening
• Add to Collection: Yes
• Grade: A-

As for whether or not you need to see the show before seeing the movie, I certainly don’t think so. In fact, I’ll be blasphemous and say that you’re better off not watching the DVDs before seeing the movie. In watching the film I found knowing what I did about the background of these people to be distracting. My brain spent a good chunk of the beginning of the film reminding myself to accept the movie on face value and to not get disturbed by how far the television created family had disintegrated and just how much malice exuded from the captain. So, if you haven’t seen the show, wait until after you’ve seen the movie.

My site visit yesterday went reasonably well. After climbing makeshift ladders to the third floor, it turned into more of a conversation about what the contract documents actually said. I’ve decided I need to get a translator to actually write these things in English, because apparently I don’t know the language. The visit did, however, leave me in pain. The makeshift ladders were made so that the steps were eighteen inches apart. At only five feet tall these eighteen-inch steps were a bear to go up. Once up to the third floor and finished with my review however I came to a different problem. I had to descend the same steps. Not being fond of heights, I took each step one at a time carefully placing my left foot on the ‘rung’ before moving closer to the ground. I was excessively relieved when I reached the first floor. Today, however, my right quads are giving me fits - angry at having to carry and balance my whole body for so long yesterday.

I was so exhausted after Sunday’s visit to the hospital and yesterday’s to Tallahassee that I went to bed at eight o’clock last night. I must have needed it, because I still didn’t want to get up this morning.

Why do pilots tell you that if the plane falls out of the sky it has to decent in excess of eight miles before it touches the ground? Is having this information supposed to be comforting? Am I supposed to feel more in control of the situation? Is it supposed to scare me into behaving for fear someone pushes me out? Beyond occasionally being allowed to choose your seat, doesn’t stepping onto a plane an act that inherently yields a large degree of control.

Airports are so much fun. I once again get to do the fly out, fly back in a single day trip. Luckily, today’s site visit isn’t that far away so it shouldn’t be too bad. I took a different route to Hartsfeild this morning. Because I didn’t leave at the usual crack of dawn time, I ended up trying to make it to the airport through rush hour traffic - yech. Instead of catching the connector to I-85 South I took the perimeter. It’s tough to take an unknown alternate when you’re concerned about being late to the airport. I turns out, however, that the traffic was the least of my worries. I finally find a spot in the parking garage and begin to collect the things I need before flying.
Boots. Check.
Black Book. Check.
Hawkins. Check
Drivers License. Uh, wait, my wallet’s not there. OK, so check the flap pocket - no, it’s not there. Now, I know I packed it last night. Take a deep breath, is it underneath the flap pocket. No. The side pocket? No. OK, deep breaths, check the main compartment. Side in the hand. Move across the pocket. Remove. Repeat. Calm yourself. Try the last pocket. There it is. Right where I intentionally placed it so that I could easily find it. Lovely.

Via Stewgrad

[x] I’ve run away from home.(Mom even paid for college.)
[x] I listen to political music.
[ ] I collect comic books.
[x] I shut others out when I’m sad.

[ ] I open up to others easily. (Depends what about.)
[ ] I am keeping a secret from the world.
[ ] I watch the news.
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.

[x] I own an I-Pod. (Mini)
[ ] I own something from Hot Topic. (??)
[ ] I love Disney movies.
[ ] I am a sucker for hair/eyes.

[ ] I don’t kill bugs.
[ ] I curse regularly.
[x] I paid for that cell phone ringtone.
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name.

[ ] I’ve slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation.
[ ] I love Spam.
[ ] I bake well.
[x] I would wear pajamas to school.

[ ] I own something from Abercrombie.
[x] I have a job.
[x ] I love Martha Stewart.
[ ] I am in love with someone. (With the same guy for sixteen years now. It (and he) constantly amaze me.)

[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[x] I am self conscious.
[x] I like to laugh. (This one is kind of lame, I mean, who doesn’t?)
[ ] I smoke a pack a day.

[ ] I loved Go Ask Alice.
[ ] I have cough drops when I’m not sick.
[x] I can’t swallow pills. (Don’t watch me try.)
[x] I have many scars. (Some of them are invisible to the naked eye.)

[x] I’ve been out of this country. (Canada coutns, eh.)
[ ] I believe in ghosts.
[ ] I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room.
[ ] I am really ticklish.

[x] I see/have seen a therapist. (Duh.)
[x] I love chocolate. (Double duh.)
[x] I bite my nails. (Without thinking.)
[ ] I am comfortable with being me.

[ ] I play computer games/video games when i’m bored.
[x] Gotten lost in your city.
[ ] Saw a shooting star.
[x] Gone out in public in your pajamas. (Once I was "sick" for Halloween.)

[ ] I have kissed a stranger.
[x] Hugged a stranger.
[ ] Been in a fight with the same sex.
[ } Been arrested.

[x] Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
[ ] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
[ ] Made out in an elevator.
[x] Swore at your parents.

[x] Kicked a guy where it hurts.
[ ] Been skydiving.
[ ] Been bungee jumping.
[ ] Broken a bone.

[ ] Played spin the bottle.
[ ] Gotten stitches.
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.  
[ ] Bitten someone.

[x] Been to Niagara Falls.
[x] Gotten the chicken pox. (Apparently I wasn’t much fun to be around, but given I was two I don’t remember.)
[ ] Been to Japan.

[x] Ridden in a taxi.
[x] Shoplifted. (One Brachs carmel piece, I felt so awful I never did it again.)
[ ] Been fired.
[x] Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.

[x] Stole something from your job.
[x] Gone on a blind date.
[x] Lied to a friend.
[ ] Had a crush on a teacher/coach.

[ ] Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
[ ] Been to Europe.
[ ] Slept with a co-worker.
[ ] Been married.

[ ] Gotten divorced.
[ ] Saw someone dying.
[x] Driven over 400 miles in one day.
[x] Been to Canada.

[x] Been on a plane. (That’s where I’m at right now.)
[x] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
[ ] Thrown up in a bar.
[ ] Eaten sushi.

[ ] Been snowboarding.
[x] Been skiing. (Just once, anything other than shoes between my feet and the ground is a bad idea - even the shoes are occasionally questionable.)
[x] Been ice skating. (See above.)
[x] Met someone in person from the internet. (Back when both the internet and I were extremely young.)

[ ] Been to a motorcross show.
[x] Gone/Going to college.
[ ] Done hard drugs. (Does Advil count? )
[x] Taken painkillers. (Does Advil count?)

[ ] Cheated on someone else.
[x] Were so bored you took this survey.
[ ] Have a tattoo. (I wish.)

Something I didn’t need to see: the dead bug at the bottom of my iced tea cup.

So, I didn’t make it to church again this weekend. Only this time I knew where it was, what time service started and I was even up in time to make it. This morning we made another visit to the hospital. Alm managed to pick up a stomach virus that lead to food not staying inside her body. So, we headed to the ER for fluids and an anti-emetic. Five and a half hours later, we headed home. We went to a different hospital this time around, it wasn’t as fun. We got put into an isolated room, the television was showing hunting and there was no eye candy. The worst part was they filled the candy machine with crappy stuff. Ok, so not everything in the machine was crappy, but it didn’t have a key a ingredient of the Sunday Morning Breakfast of Champions - the Snickers bar.

Tonight’s season premier of The West Wing was excellent. The tease had me screaming at the TV. It opened with the ‘future’ dedication of the Bartlet library. It was great to see a bit about the future of these characters we’ve come to know and love and wonder how they got there. In reality, I was screaming because I just wanted to see who the president getting out to the car was.