Not what I was expecting to post

Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.

-- Philip K. Dick

I had been planning and working on a lengthy post, but last night it got scrapped. So for now you are getting this short post.

• Back in mid-June I found out that the house I was living in was being sold and I had to be out by the end of July.


• I have a nice new apartment, but with little to no furniture.


• For the past month work has completely sucked and had me stressed past the breaking point.


• Things happened last night which really threw me for a loop.

My mind is still racing around in circles chasing its own tail. This had me on the phone with my sister until sometime after 1AM. And then lying in bed awake, pacing, etc. until 4AM or so.

I know this doesn't tell you anything, but if I didn't post anything right now, I'm not sure when, or if, I would start posting again. Plus, I told Ricardipus that I would be posting something "in the next few days."

Seven Random Things About Me

I was tagged by Ricardipus, so I guess I should do this. And I guess I am behind on writing the standard "X Things About WyldWoods" post. So this will be a start to that one.

1. I have performed 1 legal wedding. With a second one coming up next year.

2. At 14 years old I started giving hand-me-downs to my father.

3. I learned to drive at age 11.

4. I never got drunk until I was legal age. Although that does not mean I never tasted alcohol until then.

5. I have never been to any Disney theme park.

6. The most I have ever lost in a single trip to a casino is $400.

7. On a trip to Canada's Wonderland there was a roller coaster I could not go on because I was too tall. (I'm 6'5")

I think I'm now supposed to tag seven other people; however, I don't know if I even have seven readers. So I'll just say that if you read this, and haven't already done this, you can consider it your turn. Or not. The choice is yours.

Peace.

I'm off to spend the weekend with TWIL.

A Good Name For A Rock Band

Well, I'm back from Rites of Spring and I've been back to work for a day...

I need a break.

Rites was very good, and I came back feeling great. The people at work were welcoming and went out their way to make me feel ... back. Now I just need to sleep some more.

Last year I was a member of a small group who ran into a black bear on the road. This year we didn't have any encounters with bears. The most dangerous animal I saw would have to be the rabid chipmunk. {Which lead to the name of this post.}

It was good to see people I don't get to see enough. To catchup with what friends are doing. To be involved with a spiritual gathering of about 400 people.

And of course, to spend 5 nights together with TWIL. We spent time together during the day as well, but we also spent a lot of the day doing our own things.

I'll be back here soon, but for now I'm off to bed.

Walk in Beauty.
Peace.

Time Keeps On Ticking, Ticking, Ticking

I don't know what to say, so let's just cover a few quick points before I go off to bed.

...

I was going through a period of "hermiting" and didn't really talk to anyone other than TWIL for quite a while. I'm pulling out of it and have talked to several {for me} people in the last two weeks.

...

I leave for Rites of Spring in less than a week and I have not really started my packing yet.

Packing for a week in a tent takes a while. Possibly longer than I have if you wanted to do it right and lighten the load. At this point I will probably end up packing some extra stuff just because I don't have enough time to properly go through and figure out what I really don't need.

And when you are talking a week in a tent ... in May ... in New England ... you can't count on the weather at all. Over the nine years I've been going {this will be number ten} I can remember days that got up to 30C, at least on that got to 34C, and nights that got down to 5C. There were years where we barely saw a single cloud, and other years where we barely saw the sun.

A rule of thumb seems to be "if you don't bring it you will definitely need it." This applies to sunscreen as much as thermal underwear.

...

I am tired from travelling. {Which is really not helping get my packing done.}

I was in Austin, TX for work all last week. I had a good time, but didn't get back to the hotel any night before 11:30. Factor in the hour time difference on top of the jet lag and it wasn't enough sleep. Especially since my sinuses went nuts as soon as I got there and haven't quite recovered yet.

I flew back Friday, getting back to the house a little after midnight.

Of course, I then got up Saturday morning and drove out to spend time with TWIL.

After being there for a little under 24 hours I drove back. And I was back in the office here Monday morning.

When do I get to stop moving?

...

I wanted to write but couldn't get anything to come from my fingers that I was comfortable willing to post here. So I started another journal.

Let me point you to it...

That's it on that shelf right over there.

I have renamed this as my Public Journal. The new one is paper, is for me only, and is my Private Journal.

This gives me a much needed outlet for the thoughts I need to get out, but am not ready to share. I'm hopeful that this will mean more posts here. After all, as the private thoughts are dealt with in the other journal, I shouldn't have as much blocking the other thoughts.

...

I'm not sure what the will leave to be posted here. It might be stories from my past. Maybe just what I did any given week. Maybe just random links that I want to share.

Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments. I'll feel free to read and ignore them.

I guess that wasn't as quick as I thought it would be.

Walk in Beauty.
Namaje.

When Slang Terms Collide

Overheard in the hallway, from a male voice:

She was outside shagging them, and I figured if she can do it, I should be out there shagging them, too.

I don't think anyone else around at the time is aware of the British use of the the term "shag" and I certainly wasn't going to point it out. Even though that was the first use into my mind, being the most commonly used in my experience.

...

I know it has been a long time since my last entry, and I don't know if anyone is still hanging around here or not.

There has been a lot going on. At least my brain seems to have been working overtime, with so many things swirling around that I was getting motion-sickness. However, my sea-legs are starting to come back and hopefully I can get some of these thoughts written down and stop them from overwhelming me.

My Life Is In My Own Hands Again

It was that time of year again. and I had to leave the country.

I dislike that time of year, and always find it stressful, because there are so many things about it that are out of my hands. What if the BCIS agent is having a really bad day? What if the Threat Level changes while I'm en route? Etc...

{The threat level has been changed while I was en route before... Almost to the point that they would have closed the border.}

But there were no problems this time, except for a rather large delay while they processed all the people in front of me. Including photos and fingerprints.

Now I need to get a passport before next year. Or before I fly, whichever comes first.

From the "What were they thinking?" Department

I don't usually post news stories, but more people need to hear about this.

Have you heard about the marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Adult Swim? It lead to a few problems, and arrests, around Boston. The story can be found many places, including here.

A couple of quotes form the article:

Authorities have arrested two men in connection with electronic light boards depicting a middle-finger-waving moon man that triggered repeated bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday and prompted the closure of bridges and a stretch of the Charles River.

and

The devices displayed a "Mooninite" -- an outer-space delinquent who makes frequent appearances on the cartoon -- greeting passersby with an upraised middle finger.

Makes me wonder how much thought wass put into the planning.

Of course, I also wonder about the people who saw the "device", a circuit board and battery, and decided to shutdown Boston for a day. Apparently the other 9 cities didn't get shutdown, or at least didn't get any coverage.

Resolutions, and Updates

I guess it's about time to share some of my resolutions for the new year. But first, a couple of updates...

• The tendinitis I have is DeQuervain's tenosynovitis and it is getting better with treatment, but it still hurts.


• Way back when, I set a weight-loss goal of 60 pounds. {Actually, it was 65.} Well, I have lost 30-35 pounds so far.


• Shortly after I moved my blog from my own hosting to Blog*Spot, Blogger added support for Custom Domains. I am thinking about using them, but wondered if anyone else is using them yet and what their experience has been.

Now, on to the resolutions...

• Lose the other 30-35 pounds that I didn't lose last year. {Maybe more, we'll see how it goes.}


• Get in much better physical condition.


• Keep better control of my diabetes. Specifically, my bloodsugar.


• Read at least three books for nothing more than entertainment. {In addition to the audio books I listen to.}


• Write in my blog more often, and keep up with others better.


• Get organized.

Some of those don't sound like much, but overall, it seems like a lot. Got to get moving on them.

Peace.

That @#$%#-ing Hurts!

Well, after seeing my doctor I have found out what the pain in my thumb is...

I have tendinitis. She even told me what type it is, I just can't remember off the top of my head, and I don't have the paperwork in front of me. {I'll update this when I have the information.}

Things are fine as long as I don't move my thumb or try to lift anything, although it is finally starting to get better. I guess the anti-inflammatories and exercises are helping. I was already wearing a brace I picked up at CVS.

I used to be able to pick up The Sprout, a touch over 100 pounds, and hold her there. Then, the other day, I picked up an 8 pound cat and it almost made me pass out. It wasn't too bad until the cat twisted in my hand.

Painkillers would seem to be a good idea, too.

Happy New Year!

I don't want to be here right now. I spent the weekend, and welcomed the new year, with TWIL and The Sprout. But I have to go back to work in morning, which meant leaving this afternoon.

Now I'm back in Boston, and about 300 miles from where I really want to be. The only consolation being that I'll be with them again soon.

In the meantime, there's work and there's life.

Happy New Year, Everyone!