Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there, especially my own mom. Sis, if you see this today please make sure Mom does too.

I miss picking lilacs for Mother's Day. For many years we had easy access to bushes of these beautiful flowers, and they're my favorite spring scent. They remind me of my childhood, and I consider myself very lucky to have had 3 generations of women as examples to learn from and to draw upon. Motherhood is a constant challenge, and I commend all of you who were or are able to carry out that task. I know I couldn't do it, and I want you all to know it's deeply appreciated even if your child doesn't say it often. Thank you, again and again.

Yes, the holidays are here and for once I will have minimal decorations. I've vowed for years not to overdo it like some in my family have a tendency to (sorry, but I don't want to see christmas everywhere I look). I found a nice tree for a good price and tomorrow we will string lights and hang ornaments. Stockings will be hung by something with care, in hopes they get stuffed to the brim with goodies. Yay for rampant commercialism.

Just kidding.

Anyway, I'm excited that for the first time in a long time, I'm not alone and actually feel there's a reason to indulge in minimalistic holiday decor. I just never felt right about doing anything when I was on my own, because for me it's a family activity. Either everyone does it together, or it doesn't get done.

Speaking of which, I need to buy some stocking stuffers seeing as the gifts I'm making for various people will be late in coming (damn my workplace for not letting me have distractions between calls this month). There may even be a nice dinner, depending on schedules of the various parties involved. It'll be a welcome change from the past few years.

Ah, yes...change. I'm going out tonight. To an actual bar, with people. Yes, I shall even drink, but just one. People at my age can't indulge too much, you know.

And with that, I leave you. This year has been full of changes for me, but I truly believe most of them are for the better. May all of you finally get what you deserve as well.

I think we may get snow today.

avast, ye scurvy dogs. prepare to be boarded!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. Today is "Talk Like a Pirate" day.

now hand over the rum.

mind you, I'm known to make sweeping generalizations at times, but...

When people stop talking, they stop caring.

and if you ignore someone long enough, they will go away.

just a couple observations.

motivational posters for geeks.

http://www.llbbl.com/data/RPG-motivational/page_01.htm

I'd like to see Sam Jackson in this:

http://www.llbbl.com/data/RPG-motivational/cthulu3.jpg

Respond to this post and I will give you the three words that I think MOST accurately describe you.

The cost? You have to return the favor by posting this in your own journal

I just want to wish everyone out there a happy and safe holiday. Please don't blow up yourselves or any small animals. And don't drive drunk either.

No, it's not "to seek the grail."

I must get to a Yankee Candle shop. It's been hella hot here lately, and while that in itself is tolerable, it makes me miss a slice of home. Even after five years, I still long for the chance to go to the lake to cool off. I miss the sound of the waves, the feel of the sand between my toes, and the smell that wafts in at night. I told a long-distance friend "if they made an air freshener that smelled like wet sand and fish, I'd buy a case of it right now."

Well, apparently there are a couple candle scents that fit the description.

I know a few of you are "eeeewwww"ing right now, but please understand. This is a comfort thing for me. It's a memory, a part of the place that made me who I am. It's one of the things that used to lull me to sleep. This place is beautiful, don't get me wrong. But everything I love about my current home is visual. When I close my eyes, there's nothing there. There are no night sounds, no smells. So I'm just trying to fill that gap. Apparently "Midsummer's Night" has that smell, as does combining "Meadow Mist" with "queen Anne's Lace." I must investigate this further. So, off to the candle shop I go. On Wednesday, when I'm off work.

I got an unexpected phone call today. Mind you, I rarely answer the phone if I don't know who is calling, but something told me to do it this time. I've been thinking about adding a basic cable TV package to my current internet, and today was offered 6 months free after which it will cost $16.85 per month. However, I'll get $10 per month off my internet package which means I'll finally get my History channel, Discovery, etc. for less than $7 per month above what I'm paying now. One week from today, I will be able to watch all those educational programs I enjoy so much. Yay, me!!

when you put Mentos in Diet Coke?

go here to find out:

http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html

If any of you have Cingular Wireless, do not...I repeat, do NOT...wipe out the battery compartment of your phone with Windex on a paper towel and then bitch when we tell you the liquid damage indicator is showing positive, lest I hunt you down and torture you mercilessly and without remorse.

That is all.

deskneighbor: "what time am I off today?"
me: "all day."

this exchange was with a dear friend who I constantly tease about being "slightly left of center." It's okay, she does the same to me.

my co-workers provide me with a steady source of amusement.

Go to Wiki and search for your birthday. Enter here 3 events, 2 births and 2 deaths.
My birthday is August 25, for those who don't know.

Well, I'm going to copy whatever pleases me!! Here goes:

Events
1609 - Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
1718 - New Orleans, Louisiana is founded.
1814 - Washington, D.C. is burned and White House is destroyed by British forces during the War of 1812
1920 - Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, started on August 13, now ends. The Red Army is defeated.
1944 - World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.


Births
1530 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (d. 1584)
1819 - Allan Pinkerton, American private detective (d. 1884)
1882 - Sean O'Kelly, President of Ireland (d. 1966)
1917 - Mel Ferrer, American actor
1921 - Monty Hall, Canadian-born game show host
1930 - Sir Sean Connery, Scottish actor
1949 - Gene Simmons, Israeli-born bassist
1958 - Tim Burton, American film director, producer, and screenwriter
1970 - Claudia Schiffer, German model (schwing!!)

Deaths (eh, not so interesting)
1482 - Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI of England (b. 1429)
1900 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (b. 1844)
1984 - Truman Capote, American author (b. 1924)
2001 - Aaliyah, American singer (plane crash) (b. 1979)

Will be visiting my parents this weekend; Dad turns 75 and we're having a (hopefully) big celebration for him. I'm driving 400 miles to be there. For some reason, though, these visits always make me not quite nervous, but definitely unsettled. I'm always afraid I won't come back, or will return to such drastic changes that I'll have to readjust all over again. I tend to look for assurances from my friends that they'll still be here for me afterward. I don't know why I feel this way, but I'm dealing with it as best I can.

I think I have everything packed and ready to go. I'll have to go over my list again to make sure. I've been in hyper-organization mode for days now. I proved this to my supervisor at work by drawing up a training schedule for our team at work, cross-referencing employee schedules with the scheduled training times and even mapped out how many people would be remaining on the phone during each training session. I've been having crazy dreams and can't seem to slow my brain down. Now that I think about it, I can kind of understand why Dad was always so irritable when we took trips. I seem to have inherited a lot of his characteristics. I'll have to work on that. (hehe)

Anyway...comment at will; feel free to slap me around if you think I'm acting crazy. Just let me know you're listening and I should be okay.