Extra, Extra...Read All About It

Avast, ye scurvy sea dawg...

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:01:42 GMT

`Tis the day of "International Talk Like a Gentleman o' fortune"! This be one o' th' best days o' th' voyage of ye life.

While I be at work, th' tide be still a good one. Thankfully, 'tis Friday. I be very excited about th' game goin' on t'morrow. 't ortin' ta be a good one. I be also excited about th' pre-game party up on th' deck o' th' stadium. That ortin' ta be awesome as well.

Holy Mother of God...*

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:10:10 GMT

(Really.)

While wandering aimlessly through Michael's Friday morning I found myself humming along with the music drifting through the air. It was familiar, instrumental, and calming... Until I realized I was humming along with "What Child Is This?"

Why was Christmas music being played in a store on September 5th? Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Was there some cosmic shift and/or alignment occurred without my knowledge that gave reason for this?

* Note: I started this post last Friday and forgot to click, "Post." Whoops.

** Special Note: I just so happened to be looking around in the HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS when it dawned on me that I was listening to Christmas tunes...**

Librarian FAIL

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:16:30 GMT

-----Original Message-----
From: Unable To Read [mailto readnoti@somecollege.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 4:31 PM
To: Service Desk
Subject: Re: Webcast Thursday afternoon

Do we need mikes or cameras?
- Unable TO Read

-----------------------------------
>>> QUOTED EMAIL TEXT <<<
<servicedesk@cclaflorida.org> 9/3/2008 3:15 PM

I look forward to seeing you Thursday, September 4 at 2 p.m.

Use the link below to access the Webcast. It is recommended you log in 15 minutes before the session begins at 2 p.m.

http://vclass.distancelearn.org:80/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1219958809879

The password is - ***** - (lower case)

We will be using telephone (not microphones) for discussion during this session. Use the phone number and code below:

Phone number: 888- 808-****
Conference code: *******

Please contact the CCLA Service Desk with any questions.

See you online!
>>> <<<

Seriously? (For the record: yes, he was, in fact, serious.) You're a librarian - how are you not literate?
READING COMPREHENSION - YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

*Names changed to protect the unattentive.

I miss making real entries in my journal...

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:53:47 GMT

I utterly and completely miss making real entries in my journal. I also miss my journal being public. Then again, I also like my privacy. ...So, I'm kind of at a quandry. I hope I can find a balance in between.

I guess I don't like the idea of my posting facts about my life being used against me at some later point. There really isn't much to do in order to avoid that, though... aside from not posting publicly.

Perhaps I should ressurect my, "Hey, it's my life and I could care less what you think of it or me," attitude.

Mmm. Yes, perhaps it's time...

Gone, again...

Fri, 23 May 2008 16:41:17 GMT

(This is becoming a theme... Over half a week in St. Augustine, last week - now this.)

We're gone, again.
Back next week.
Ocala National Forest, here we come.

Wow...

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:42:00 GMT

My husband just Rick-Rolled me. Wow.

Samuel: I are LOVE you!

Sent at 5:36 PM on Sunday

Samuel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI

Sent at 5:39 PM on Sunday

Yeah, and he's sitting two feet to the right of me.

Expected Grades...

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:03:24 GMT

I think I'm looking at 2 "A"s, 1 "B", and a "Satisfactory" (in an S/U course) for this term. I'm kinda bummed I'm that I'm probably going to end up with a "B". It's gonna blow my "4.0 Post Baccalaureate GPA". Then again, hey, if I'm three terms into the Master's and just hitting my first "B", I must be doing pretty well. Right?

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:46:12 GMT

Sorry, magnoliafly, but I had to...

		Lindsay With its comfortable, adjustable strap, this bag is very versatile. Features include a long zippered compartment on the back, a drawstring pocket on each end and two pleated slip-ins under the front flap. Removable baseboard and magnetic snap closure. 10¼” x 8” x 4¼” – 53” adjustable strap
		Medallion Mini Zip Wallet An adorable wallet with lots of compartments, slots for bills and cards, a clear ID window and a zippered, gusseted coin purse. Finished with a tab closure. 4¼" x 4"
		Checkbook Cover Paying bills might just become fun. Give your checkbook a whimsical wrap with these simple, pretty covers. 6¾" x 3½"

"Hooray," for Vera Bradley! They came in today and I loooooooooooooooove them!

So, yeah. I don't update nearly often enough anymore.

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:58:29 GMT

I want a new purse. ... I'm thinking Dooney & Bourke. Why? I don't know. I just like leather purses. I need a new, good leather purse. For some reason, most Coach bags irk me. They seem...fragile. Meh.

I almost bought one today. And while it was a good deal, only $119 + shipping, I talked myself out of it. "HOORAY," for impulse control.

However, it should be said that I will, most likely, buy one soon.

OMFGA - EVERYONE "STRIKE" !!!!!111oneoneeleventy-one

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:35:45 GMT

Okay. There's a lot of buzz flying around about what's supposed to happen today. I must say that...

LJ Content Strike

Many of you have probably heard about the LJ content strike.

I'm all for it.

This post by beckyzoole explains the reasoning.

... is about the most ridiculous things I've seen in ages.

THIS is what people get worked up over? There are millions of starving children, in this nation alone... but how many people find the time to work a fundraiser to help put food into their rumbling bellies?

Our country's sons and daughters are fighting an asinine war in Iraq and dying, everyday; but THIS is what people are up in arms about on the home front?

The Editorial Projects in Education (EDE) Research Center reported, in June 2006, that nearly 1 in 3 high school students in the Class of 2006 will not graduate; they would, instead, drop-out of school. Don't get worked up about that number, though. I mean, it's cool. Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute and author of another study on dropout rates says that this national study isn't valid. In his view, "It's ... inappropriate for comparisons across states and school districts, the reason being that his formula is very much affected by how much grade retention there is in ninth and 10th grade. Any school that retains students in ninth grade is automatically going to look worse, whether graduation rates really are lower [there] or not," he said of the EDE report. Mishel's own report, based on the US Education Department's National Educational Longitudinal Study, suggests that in 1992, 78 percent of students received a regular diploma, rising to 83 percent by 1994. For African-American students, whose graduation rates lag behind the US average, the figure rose from 63 percent to 74 percent over that period. OH. No cause for alarm then. So long as 83% of students in (supposedly) the last "Superpower" can manage to get through high school. Let's not even think about examining how many of those students ever, actually, LEARNED anything. Jesus. The education system in this country is a dismal FAILURE. That's okay, though. Just so long as NO ONE PUTS ADS IN A FREE FUCKING INTERNET JOURNAL.

Darfur? Nothing to worry about. Nothing really going on there... But you'd better not touch my ability to have a free LiveJournal account without ads, or I'm going to cause a stir by ~~boycotting~~ "striking".

AIDS in Africa? Whatever, man. If they die off, it's less people that can have free accounts on LiveJournal...so I can get better server response time AND I can use those deaths to justify that there's THAT many people who can't get free basic accounts. SO I SHOULD STILL BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE FREE BASIC ACCOUNTS, DAMN IT.

The sarcophagus around the destroyed Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl plant is not an effective permanent enclosure for the radioactive pile of debris and unreleased nuclear material lying, in wait, beneath. Its hasty construction is aging poorly. The sarcophagus is in such a weak condition that a small earthquake or severe wind could cause the roof to collapse. If it collapses, another cloud of radioactive dust could be released, of unknown size, and could potentially cause even more environmental and health issues than have already been seen as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Big deal? Naaaaahhh. Eliminating the previous incarnation of Live Journal basic (free) accounts and only offering free accounts with ads? HOLYSHIT. I'm going to stand up for the rights of all people who want to use LiveJournal and not pay. I'm going to "STRIKE" - and send a message to those unholy bastards who would change such a thing. (I just won't plan on moving to Russia/Europe anytime in the next 1,000 years or so.)

SERIOUSLY. What the holy Hell is WRONG with people?
Of all the things one could possibly get worked up over, why is THIS it?
I just can't wrap my head around it. I really can't.

I'm all for having a cause; shit, have multiple causes. If something moves you, or you see an injustice or untolerable situation - do something about it. Petition for others to take notice, and act, as well. But for the love of everything holy... for the sake of Jesus Christ, or Vishnu, or Buddah, or Moses, or whoever the Hell you think is holy... TAKE UP A WORTHY CAUSE.

Now, aside from the ridiculousness of getting up in airs and wanting to prove a point/ garner attention to this "issue", I'll move to a few other topics related to this ridiculous exercise.

Technically, LJ users can't "strike" ... they can boycott. I'm just amazing that people are still using the terminology "strike" for this.

...beyond that. I'm glad they're going to boycott. This will make a day with nice, fast, server response when I use LJ.

Even beyond that, what corporation wouldn't like a break on server strain and, thereby, a decrease in overhead for 24 hours. Hell, if I was the current owner of LiveJournal, I'd be stoked for this. Because, even if you "strike" (God, I hate that terminology for this) - they've still got your money. And they'll still get your money next year, unless you want to move to a Blogger account, or a WordPress blog, or the like...

LJ might be made up of content from users...but so is any service or business. The point is that LiveJournal IS still offering free accounts to users: if they want the services, they can have them at no charge - and just take some ads. If they want extra services, and convenience features like not having ads, they can pay to get them.

Business is business...free services are free. That's the exact reason why your webmail services have ads in them, even if they are text only (but if you're still using yahoo, hotmail, msn mail, they're banner ads). Ads pay the bills. That's the reason YouTube has banner ads - that's the reason ads exist. SOMEONE has to pay the overhead of offering a service; if it's not the user, it's got to come from somewhere. Should they jack up the cost of having paid account benefits so WE can pay for the cost of hosting free users' sites? Color me crazy; but I don't think that's a valid option.

Okay. I'm done ranting. I've just seen that idiotic banner posted and reposted so many times, that I thought my brain was going to explode.

Say now... Maybe that's something I could start up... A monetary donation pool to assist those so tired of ridiculous causes that they just need to go to get away to a private island and forget about the massive throngs of sheep-like people scattered across the globe who think anything that sounds like a cause is worth supporting. Yeah, I like the sound of that. Please contact me if you'd like to use your credit card or paypal account to lend to that cause.

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:10:44 GMT

No, really. Talk about failing.

"Oh, a grassy patch in front of Walgreens? I'll land there."

WTF?

And then you try to land vertically?

Newsflash - "YOU WEREN'T PILOTING A HELICOPTER."

(The idiot pilot didn't die. Broken leg and other non-life-threatening injuries.)

Wedding photos!

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:21:08 GMT

Wedding photos have been posted!
There are more, and once I have them, I'll add them.
So yeah.... click the image to the left to open the slideshow from flickr.com

It's still sinking in.
We did it.
We went to Las Vegas... and got married.

=)

I tell ya, best decision we've ever made!
Vegas, FTW!

WOO!!

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:45:20 GMT

So....

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:45:55 GMT

Going to Las Vegas with Sam.
BRB.

So, yeah....

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:03:02 GMT

I'm engaged.

He managed to surprise me, even. I admit, I was starting to think that the thing we have to go to for Sam's boss (on Thursday) was made up... a distraction tactic for him to propose then. Because of that suspicion, I had no idea what was in store for me last night. When I got out of class last night, he asked if we could just got out to dinner instead of cooking, as it was already after 8:00pm, and he was still in his court clothes after having to run down to see his mom as soon as the day ended. I figured, "Why not?" He told me he needed to run an errand before dinner, but I figured that'd be fine. So, we're on the to the Northeast side of town, out Thomasville Road and he's says, "Oh, look! The lights at Dorothy Oven [Park] are on. Do we have a few minutes to look?" I figured that if he wanted to drop in, that we must have time. So, I told him I thought that would be nice. He's a great listener with an awesome memory, so I was sure he remembered that I'd never seen Dorothy B. Oven Park lit up before, and he was just being sweet.

We walked through the lighted park, to the gazebo. Everything was lovely. It was a brisk November evening and I was taking in the view. We were saying how it'll be just the right spot for the wedding next year... Then, he said, "There's just one thing I have to check on before next August..." I asked him, "What's that?" and I turned to face him. As I looked to him, expecting an answer to my question, he was on one knee...and he asked me a much more important question.

On bended knee, holding my hand, he asked me if I would marry him. My answer was a half-breathless, "Of course I'll marry you!" He stood, pulled out the ring box out of his pocket, took out the ring, and placed it on my finger. I hugged him, kissed him, and asked him, "Is this real?" Yes, I cried a bit. (I'm allowed some girly moments.) I kept asking him, "Is this for real?", "This is real, right?", "This is real?"

He asked my parents yesterday, after court, but before he came down to Tallahassee. He then showed his family the ring last night, and told them that it'd be happening soon. Both families are excited. My grandmother's response was, "Finally!" After calling both families, we celebrated at Osaka. It was an amazing night!

I'm pretty much ecstatic right now. Dad and Grandma, the two people I was most worried about not seeing such an occasion, are both still around. They both know, and they are both happy, and that means the world to me!

Blaaaaack Friday.

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:06:46 GMT

I'm getting stoked. Already printing out leaked Sale Advertisements. Beginning to formulate lists and game plans. Good God, I love this beautiful, commercial, consumer-driven holiday.

boo isn't that bright...

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:47:07 GMT

The best part is the sound of her "meowing" at herself for biting herself too hard.

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:16:21 GMT

Dad had another stroke.

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:55:42 GMT

I'm so excited. About my life. Sam's life. And, our life together. It's not that fleeting excitement. like, when you get to go to a movie premiere and the feeling's gone within a few hours. It's like...well, it's similar to being content. The wonderful thing about being content is that it's nearly a constant thing. It's not full of ups and downs. In fact, it's almost stable, in that way. That's the kind of excitement this is. I'm excited to start each day, because i know, each day, that I have him.

In other news, my super special secret makes me happy. Very happy. I might be able to share it come the end of the year. We'll see.

I kind of have to pee right now. I think I'll do that before my afternoon meeting.

Barack Lobster...

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:47:55 GMT

Barack Lobster.

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:11:44 GMT

Sam comes home (from his conference in Rhode Island) tomorrow night. Tonight, I'm going to try to set up a surprise for him.
Tonight, I have to bake cookies to take to class tomorrow for our presentation.
Friday morning, I have a root canal.
I'm helping Sam's mom with something after my dentist visit Friday morning.
Mommy comes to town Friday afternoon.
I have to work from home from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm on Friday.
Saturday is the SCA event in Crawfordville. The group going is: Me, Mom, Sam, Bess, and Laura. I am very excited.

Upcoming Events:

FSU vs. NC State (October 6th)
David Allen Coe Show (October 11th)
Wild Adventures (October 13th)
Saliva Show (October 15th)
Sam's family in Bainbridge [BBQ?] (October 21st)
Halloween Party (October 28th)
Sam's Birthday (October 30th)
Sam and Bess' Birthday Celebration (November 4th)

Dear God. Busy, much? *smile*

dare i tag this... "family"

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:49:38 GMT

Life is good.

We crack me up!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:46:12 GMT

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:44:21 GMT

Did I mention that I got a new stove? I didn't. Well, guess what. I got a new stove. I'm very excited about this turn of events. *dances* Especially since Mom and Dad will be coming to Tallahassee this year for Thanksgiving. I'll have a nice, new stove to cook on/in. Wheee!

Things have been super-busy, as of late. Work + school + a life = a Catherine running around like a chicken, sans head. But, things are good.

I have one more tooth to get fixed this year. It's right next to my front tooth. Root canal is scheduled for the 28th of this month. The infection is back, though, so I need to call for another antibiotic, so we can do the root canal then. Other than that, I have one more tooth up top that gives me problems. It hurts, often, but since it's more to the side of my mouth, I can tolerate it a lot better than one up front causing problems. I have my very back, right molar that will need to be surgically extracted next year, too. But.. that's it. The rest of the dental work is done. Once this infection goes down and I get this front tooth taken care of, I'll be one extremely happy person!

Family is great. I loved going down and seeing everyone at Nick and Nancy's anniversary party.

School is... busy, already. But, that's okay. It's a means to an end. I need to talk to Janet Dilling soon about doing a course audit to make sure I can wrap up the Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management next term. I have *got* to get a leg up on this internship, too. My goal is to get a little bit ahead in all of my classes over the course of this week, so starting next week, I can dive into the internship shit. Providing I do well grade-wise this term, and I manage to take the GRE and score above 1000, I'm going to apply for acceptance into the MPA program. Man, I'd feel great if I get in. If I don't... I will probably fall apart. I'm not moving to go to Grad School. So... That'll be it, then. But, I'm going to hope for the best and just press on.

Boo is doing well. She's seems to be starting to get over some of her "kitten aggression". Which is good. She can be such a good little girl when she wants to be.

Sam is, well, wonderful. I'm pretty much the luckiest gal, like, ever. I adore him and his family. I had the best time Sunday when we watched Palm Beach Story. I'm excited that Bess wants me to help with Halloween ideas. =) Very excited, actually. Honestly, I just can't believe how lucky I am. I'm so glad his family has welcomed me the way they have. I can honestly say that I love and respect them all. Which, I mean, come on... what's the likelihood that you find a partner to love and respect, and then it turns out that you can love and respect his/her family as well? I am so blessed!

Now that I've started buying things online... I can't stop. Heh. Oh well, at least they're good deals! Plus, every time a package gets here, I feel like it's Christmas.

Aaaaaaaand... that's my life.

He's the best birthday present imaginable...

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:11:31 GMT

You know those stupid chick-esque quotes that float around the internet? You know, the ones propagated by sorority girls everywhere. The quotes about perfect guys and beautiful romance, blah blah blah...

I've seen this one for years, and always wanted to puke:

"Wait for the guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heart beat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you are just as pretty without makeup, and the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you... the one who turns to his friends and says,"That's her.""

It's kind of weird, because despite my loathing of such interwebs dribble... I'm amazed to realize that's what I have. I don't understand why he is/feels that way about me... and I don't know how I got so lucky... But I do know that I'm amazingly happy and grateful.

Internet meme, I can't stand you (in principle), but thanks for so eloquently pointing out how awesome my guy is.