slaying giants, one at a time ...

Dragon Mood? -- proud of us

My partner, S, and I struggle constantly to balance between work and leisure time, between being productive and having time to recharge our batteries. Sometimes, it feels like we are more successful than others.

In the past three weeks, we've accomplished several BIG tasks, akin to knocking several 500-lb. gorillas off of our backs.

First, we FINALLY settled things with our roofing contractor from the remodeling we started eight months ago! He had one dollar figure in mind; we had a lesser one in mind (surprise!). We negotiated and settled on splitting the difference ... hopefully with everyone satisfied and feeling okay about the resolution. With that agreement, we got several pesky, lingering issues resolved and promptly wrote him a check.

During our week of vacation over the Fourth of July, we FINALLY met with a financial planner, something we've been talking about for some time now. Olivia is an energetic and enthusiastic young woman, whose father I know from 30 years ago (hello, Cherry Lane apartments, Rich and Mickey, in labor with Josh at Sparrow!). More recently, S has made some investments through him. Olivia now works in concert with her dad, which gave S and I some added peace of mind. Through Olivia, we are going to consolidate our investments and 401(k)s, making it easier to track them and to make future decisions. We are hoping as are most boomers, that we are not at the edge of a precipice, preparing to watch our retirement savings be washed away in a tide of Wall Street pessimism and nosediving funds. Let's be hopeful.

And, our third giant was cut down just this past week, in the front yard of our pied-a-terre. It was the tree that was split in half by the OTHER falling tree. S cut all its branches off last fall, rendering it the quintessential Halloween tree: completely leafless, stark and scary-looking. While intentions were good, the follow-through was not and our Halloween tree was threatening to close in on its first birthday in such a state. This past week, S and I and our neighbor, Jan, felled the thing, FINALLY! S wedge-cut and sawed and shaved it down as Jan and I gamely pulled on two ends of a rope, trying to steer it away from the house and cars and anything else we didn't want damaged. Thankfully, S notched it and cut it just right. Then while she removed its limbs, Jan and I yanked and pulled and finally rolled all the pieces into one, lumpish-looking pile. Hurray for the three Amazons!

Stay tuned! More giant-slaying to come ...

Happy Fourth

Dragon Mood? -- feeling happy maybe?

H-A-P-P-Y, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY ..................

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

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HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

Not jaded

Dragon Mood? -- still quivering with momentary patriotism

Here in Motown, there is a curious tradition where we celebrate the Fourth of July BEFORE the Fourth of July. Like last night, on June 23rd, a whole ELEVEN days before the real deal!

Anyway, dear readers, I wanted to give you the good news: I am not jaded. Towards the end of the spectacular fireworks display over the Detroit River, with hundreds of thousands of Windsor and Detroit spectators watching (S and I comfortably ensconced in our plastic Adirondack chairs watching on the boob tube), the fireworks zooming and bursting and whizzing to patriotic music, I cried. My tears probably were due more to the music than the fireworks, but I thought, "This is a great country. I LOVE America. These fireworks represent all that is great about America and her people. I'm glad we didn't move to Canada when Bush became president!"

Life with its funny twists and turns

Dragon Mood? -- surprised at my surprise!

Between doing laundry, steaming straight creases on some incredibly rumpled new work pants and waiting for the televised fireworks, I had a realization.

Not just any realization, mind you, but a "Wow" realization: Today, June 23rd, WOULD HAVE BEEN my thirty-fifth wedding anniversary ... if I were still married. But that's not the "Wow" moment.

I had turned to S and told her that I was really glad that I was with her and that we are sharing our lives. She smiled and asked with that I'm-so-glad-you-said-that look, "Really?"

"Yeah," I replied. But if you had told me thirty-five years ago (when I was all of TWENTY!), that in 2008, I would be sitting with my PARTNER, a woman, whom I've been with ... uh, going on 22 years, I NEVER would have believed you. Thank God we don't really know what life brings us! We might find it unbelievable!

That was when my "Wow" moment hit.

Sore throat to cough

Dragon Mood? -- sick of being sick

Yes, I'm a bit chagrined to admit that I stayed home yet another day feeling ill. Tuesday night, my extremely sore throat segued into a very annoying persistent cough that kept me up too much of last night. Chest feels tight. Massive headache. I felt extremely crummy this morning.

I finished a book today: Jayber Crow, a novel by Wendell Berry. I bought it last week at a used bookstore right here in our little Motown village. It was one of three that I bought as part of my summer plan to read, read, read and NOT watch TV. I got this hardback for a whole $6. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Which is why I sort of consumed it. And now I have TWO books for the rest of the summer. NNNNOT!

Actually, Ruth brought me (at my request) the John Adams' biography that we gave Paul about six or seven Christmases ago. I'm looking forward to reading that too.

Bleccchy

Dragon Mood? -- not so good

Home again this afternoon and feeling bleccchy. If you're not sure what I mean by that, take a really sore throat, add an annoying phlegmy-sounding cough, spin your inner ear like on a merry-go-round (or a Mary-go-round, hee-hee) and you're getting close! Or just use your imagination!

Home feeling sick and crummy

Dragon Mood? -- at home, ill, feeling crummy with a summer cold

But all was not lost ... I DID DOWNLOAD FIREFOX 3.0!

Professional networking

Dragon Mood? -- feeling positive about my professional connections

One of the things that I learned from my recent eighteen month stint being regularly and securely employed is that it is highly important to network with people. (Pause while Caroline, Josh and Aaron all yell, "I TOLD YOU SO!")

Now that I have LEARNED MY LESSON, I am attempting to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. Curiously enough, a guy I met at a metro Detroit career center (we were in a four-hour 'mature worker' seminar together) later sent me an email inviting me to join LinkedIn, a professional networking website. I joined with a bit of trepidation, but now I'm glad that I did. I have about 15 connections and hope to grow my network of resources.

To that end, I have placed a link on the left-hand side of this blog that looks like this:




I'll keep you posted.

...which I have not done ....

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Happy Saturday morning, everybody! A couple of years back, Saturday morning was one of my favorite times to post here. Two houses, moving the computer to the pied-a-terre and just-plain WORKING forty hours a week on not one, but TWO computers has definitely cut into my blogging time.

So I am doing something which I have not done in a darn long time! It feels good.

I'm sitting here in the 'weekend' house, the house in the pine trees, looking out the window at a wealth of green-ness. We've gotten several nice rains this past week so all the plants and the trees and the grass are perked up and looking happy.

S and I are watching our second grandbaby this evening, 21 month-old Madison. She is a pleasure to be with and she makes us both laugh. (Babies that make you laugh -- as opposed to cry -- are always a good thing.) Madison does quite a bit of baby talking, most of which I have a hard time catching the meaning. She is an escape artist -- she loves escaping from her clothes. At night, we have to put a onesie on over her diaper and underneath her jammies, in order to make sure the diaper stays on. She's also a water baby and LOVES to splash and play in the liquid stuff.

I'm also hoping to do a bit of painting this weekend. Given that painting is 90% preparation and 10% painting, that may be a bit ambitious. I've done virtually none of the prep. (Sigh!) Baby steps, remember?

wailing "... Ju-u-ulia JUNE ..."

Dragon Mood? -- feeling like I could use a little bluegrass energy, a la Alison Krauss

Hokey SMOKES, Bullwinkle, it's June the first and I've decided to write in my blog. It's been a curious couple of months: work consuming all my Monday-to-Friday energy with the weekends busting in for serious rest and relaxation.

As for the resumption of blogging, it's all Caroline's fault. She's writing in her blog ... AGAIN. While talking on the phone (as I was driving back to the house-of-the-pine-trees), she revealed (somewhat fearfully? trepidatiously? sheepishly?) that she had begun blogging again. I was surprised at her demeanor. Blogging, like bathroom time, is your OWN business.

But, I was glad to hear that she's writing again. She is, as the proud and TOTALLY OBJECTIVE mother that I am, a writer deserving of superlatives. Wonderful! Awesome! Articulate! Engaging! Conversational! Informative! Passionate! I love reading what she writes!

That's all I gots to say.

Oh, except that this post's title is a reference to some lyrics on the outstanding CD, Alison Krauss + Union Station LIVE

Dragon Mood? -- slightly smug at my discovery and slightly chagrined at my duh-ness

Because I'm a regular reader (along with 10 million other lucky people) of Dooce, I recently learned about her winning four (wasn't it four?) Bloggies, an annual award given to best of the best blogs amidst all the things World Wide Web-bish.

It suddenly dawned on this oh-so-quick Dragon, gee, maybe I should look over what other blogs won awards? They might be interesting or well-designed or fun to read?

While my Bloggie-award-winning tour was by no means exhaustive, I did find this gem of a blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. What little I've learned about her, I find interesting and fun and it makes me want to check back on her writing again soon. Plus, she's got some awesome photos of western skies, horses and cowboys.

And ... not to sound stalker-like, but I'm really curious where the heck she is? Wyoming? Eastern Washington state? Montana? Possibly even somewhere in California? What piques my curiosity is there appear to be no mountains or mountain ranges anywhere in her photos. Hmmm.

Check it out.

Funny excerpts

Dragon Mood? -- amused

Here are some funny excerpts from the political blog, Daily Kos. They tickled my funny bone so I thought you might find them funny too.

• An Obama surrogate unfairly savaged Hillary Clinton and resigned after apologizing profusely. A Clinton surrogate unfairly savaged Barack Obama and resigned only after vowing to unleash a plague of locusts and Gonorrhea---and gonorrhea-infested locusts---across the United States, while personally supervising the onslaught from her lair. A McCain surrogate had a mild case of constipation which he resolved with All-Bran.


• The traditional media kept shouting at me that it's all Howard Dean's fault that a small group of idiots in Florida and Michigan screwed primary voters by breaking party rules, that Howard Dean should pay for do-overs with his own MasterCard, and that Howard Dean single-handedly caused global warming and AIDS in Africa. I won't believe it until Wikipedia confirms it.


• A phone rang in the White House at 3am. Bush handed it to Laura and told her to take a message.


• Condi Rice fucked up peace talks in the Middle East. Again.


• Ninety six percent of the world's seas became either overfished or polluted. Dolphins began plotting with sea horses to eradicate the human parasites once and for all.


• Iran's president was greeted with sweets and flowers in Iraq.



• Southwest Airlines and managers in the FAA were busted for blowing off safety inspections of their aircraft. (Naturally, no one has actually been fired yet even though 44 planes have since been grounded). Whistleblowers said their first clue was when the airline purchased a hundred thousand rolls of duct tape.



• George W. Bush sang a song containing jokey lyrics about Katrina, Scooter Libby and Iraq at the Gridiron Club dinner. The D.C. press corps found it so funny that cocktail weenies shot out their noses.



• Doctors admitted that all those colonoscopies they've given people over the years have been worthless because they didn't know about the "flat" lesions that actually cause colon cancer. Congress unanimously approved a measure forcing those doctors to drink a quart of that pre-colonoscopy goopshit every day for a year as punishment.



• The price of oil rose to the point where it's now sold exclusively through the Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog.



• Bush vetoed a bill outlawing torture in America, paving the way for Dick Cheney to keep making public statements through the end of his term.


• China announced that it now has enough long-range, nuclear-powered hovercraft to transport its entire one-billion-man army across the Pacific Ocean. In response, the Pentagon immediately requested another trillion dollars for the war in Iraq.


• Cracker Jack announced that the new "toy surprise" they're putting in each box is a home mortgage certificate.


• New York governor Eliot Spitzer resigned for spending up to $5,500 an hour ($92 per minute!) screwing hookers with gold-plated vaginas and diamond-encrusted nipples. Republican Senator David Vitter was taken to the hospital with a life-threatening bout of convulsive laughter.


• One in four teenage girls developed a sexually-transmitted disease. Gay guys issued a brief statement: "Don’t look at us!"


• And Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island was busted when cops found pot in her ride.

A rose is a rose is a rose

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Or 'What's in a name?' I couldn't resist this meme, from LutheranChik's "L" Word Diary:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Heidi Protege

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Vanilla Birkenstock. I definitely gotta work on gangsta name and my street cred.

3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog.

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Elizabeth LaGrange. My birth town is in the heart of redneck Texas, where the 'a' is long and drawn out with a twang. But Elizabeth LaGrahngzhe sounds so ooh-la-la opera-ish.

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first three letters of your last name, first two of your first name): Sob-ma. Doesn't exactly have the cachet of Obi-Wan Kenobi, does it?

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Orange Bloody Mary. Ennnnnh ... sound of rejection

7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Albert John.

8. STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Cashmere Mist Peppermint Bark

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Putz Paris. Now this one I like!

10. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Iris

11. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Honey Crisp (Sauguatuck) Hoodie ... now that doesn't sound so bad, does it?

12. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Kashi White Pine. Very granola-y, tree-hugging name

The color white ... as in snow?

White, the color of ...

• Traditionally, a sign of purity, virginity and peace
• Vestal Virgins of Rome were dressed in white
• The flag of surrender
• Represented by the metal silver
• In heraldic terminology, argent
• Chinese color of the West and the Earth
• A Hindu color of mourning
• The Japanese color of death
• The color of feather used to denote cowardice
• The color of Jesus' clothing after the Resurrection
• The Moon
• The Roman color of national mourning after the death of a Caesar
• A Persian symbol of divinity
• In socioeconomics and collars, it symbolizes the managerial class
• In magic, it implies the Devil is not involved
• Astrological number 1
• Birth sign Leo
• The opening move in chess
• The color of an insignificant taradiddle (little white lie)
• The Pueblo Indian color of the East
• Snow and of course, the interminable winter we're having.

Bad time on [his] dime

Dragon Mood? -- another reason to love Izzo: his plain-spoken-ness

Coach Izzo on the Big Ten Network:

"I think it has been a PR nightmare," Izzo said Monday. "And, I think it has hurt all of us."

...

Those who don't [have the Big Ten Network] are fed up, and Izzo has empathy for them.

"We have so many things right now that we're trying to fight -- the price of tickets, the economy of our state -- and then we throw this at them," he said.

"Five years from now, if cable companies pick it up, does it end up better than it was and we're just going through a bad time? I just don't like the bad time being on my dime."

This interminable winter in lovely shades of pink and blue

Dragon Mood? -- the quietness of this photo calms me

From the talented Michigan photographer, Capt Piper, I am reprinting one of her photos from Flickr. Gosh, can this woman capture nature's beauty?

hiccups

Dragon Mood? -- amused

Our bedroom door cracked open Saturday morning and Preston shyly peeked his head in. "Grandma!" he exclaimed as he charged towards our bed, "I got the hiccups!" S replied, "You do? Lemme see." At which point, Preston leaned in and opened his mouth wide for S to catch a glimpse of those pesky hiccups.

realization

Dragon Mood? -- relaxing

Driving home from work, listening to NPR, I realized there's several things going on in our world this week that are once in a lifetime events. Consider this:

• Fidel Castro resigning after 50 years in power in Cuba.
  
  
• Barack Obama securing wins in Wisconsin and Hawaii, reinforcing the perception that he is the peoples' choice and unstoppable in his pursuit of the presidency.
  
  
• A lunar eclipse tonight, predicted to be blood red and possibly visible here in Motown? Be hopeful that we have a clear night, cloudless night.
  

Silly Grandma!

Dragon Mood? -- remembering with amusement

Early Saturday morning, S and I had the pleasure of waking up to hear our grandson, Preston, exclaim, "Daddy, we got to whisper!  Grandmas are SLEEPING!"   S and I looked at each other and chuckled.

Later, up and out of bed, making coffee in the kitchen, I told Preston, now almost three, that today is Grandma's birthday. 

"Grandma's BIRTHDAY!"  he echoed.  He jumped up and down in excitement and patted his own head.

"Tresents, tresents, Grandma's gonna get tresents!"  he predicted.

S corrected him, "Preston, YOU're my present!"   He looked puzzled.

I interjected, "Preston, is Grandma being silly?  Tell her you're not a present, you're a boy!"

He got a big smile on his face, immediately turned  to S and exclaimed, "Silly Grandma!  I'm not a tresent, I'm a BOY!"

a cold Monday night

Dragon Mood? -- sipping hot raspberry tea, relaxing

Monday night, relaxing inside while it's frigidly cold outside. The high today was 14 degrees. The low is below zero. Brrrr! To keep warm, I'm watching PBS Antiques Roadshow and surfing the internet. S is playing a high-stakes game of Spider (you know, solitaire).

It's all OFFICIAL now!

Dragon Mood? -- eating licorice and still waking up

Yup, it's still sinking in but I'm all OFFICIAL now: a honest-to-goodness, bona fide employee of The Company. (big sigh) WOW!

Mondays and Fridays tend to be the busiest days of the week for me at work. Yesterday was no exception. Work was flying in faster than I could process it or send it back out. And ... Murphy's Law was making an unwelcome appearance in my work universe; anything that could go wrong, did. Suffice to say that by 3:30 p.m., my scheduled time to head home, I was still up to my ears in alligators, beating back the chaos. At 3:45, my phone rings. It's an HR person asking if we can meet in 15 minutes for me to SIGN THE PAPERS? Are you kidding? YOU BET! So-o-ooo, I guess there was a good reason that my workday was chaotic and I was delayed leaving. I filled out forms, printed and signed my name several times over, including the all-important W-4 form. Uncle Sam must have his share.

And, while I haven't blogged about this, another aspect of this, subtle-yet-pretty-darn-important transition is that I AM NO LONGER A CONTRACT WORKER. I am a salaried employee. What does that mean? Well, a very concrete example is that I was ill with the flu on Monday and Tuesday of this week. That would be my second and third day on the payroll with The Company. As a salaried employee, I GOT PAID while at home, laying in my bed with that sledgehammer headache and my roiling, nauseated stomach. Imagine that! In my work universe, that's an UNKNOWN thing! You work, you get paid. You don't work, you don't get paid. That's what I've known for the past eighteen years. Forgive me, dear diary, if this ol' brain still hasn't quite got its figurative arms wrapped around that NEW CONCEPT!

And my apologies for all the CAPS in this post, but this feels BIG, ya know? I've got to express all these feelings somehow!

New-to-me website

Dragon Mood? -- sleepy, waking-up mood

Here's a new-to-me website that I've visited several times in the past week: Unclutterer. It's a blog about living and working in a simpler, uncluttered environment. It's a group blog. Check it out.

Opportunities AND Patience

Dragon Mood? -- positive, hopeful

For a little weekend, astrologically-oriented diversion, here are some short-term forecasts for me, myself and I. You know, the three faces of Mary? Forecast to begin this month ... Oh! .... and these are compliments of Astrodienst.

Jupiter trine Jupiter: An opportunity

Beginning of February 2008 until end of September 2008: This influence usually represents a time of optimism and positive thinking in your life. You seem to be at a quiet point of balance that enables you to look over the affairs of your life and get a good perspective on them. Therefore, it is a good time to make long-range plans and to reorganize. You should use this time to gain new perspectives through education or travel or by participating in one of the consciousness raising activities or groups that exist now.

This is a time of psychological and physical equilibrium. If you have recently been ill in either body or mind, this influence will help tremendously with the healing process.

This is also a good time to examine your ideals and your goals, for it may be possible to actualize them in various ways now. At other times there is too much tension in your life or too much resistance from others. If you are involved in any movement for reform, now is a good time to take some positive action. Or you might become more involved in religion or philosophy, because you need to know much that is beyond the apparent order of things.

It is quite possible that you will do nothing during this time, because it gives you a feeling of balance but no drive to do anything in particular. You have an unusual sense of ease and relaxation now. This is also a good time to travel, both for relaxation and for educational reasons.

The important point to remember with this influence is that it is fundamentally an opportunity. You will not feel driven by any energies, nor will you feel any resistance to your efforts to do something. You can make great use of this time, but you have to take the initiative.

Neptune opposition Pluto: Please wait

End of February 2008 until mid December 2009: This influence signifies encounters that cause various aspects of your life to be transformed. Most commonly, this transformation will take the form of disappearances of persons, circumstances or even possessions that you have become used to. You will also encounter forces that try to reveal aspects of your life that you have long kept hidden from yourself. Initially you will probably resist these revelations, believing that they cannot teach you anything very constructive. An influence like this often reveals aspects of ourselves that we have been taught to consider evil or at least negative. These aspects are often a source of positive energy, but because we refuse to acknowledge them, that energy is wasted and is usually out of our control. There will be much psychological compulsiveness at this time, but the less you resist facing yourself, the less difficulty you will have.

On another level you will be shown a spiritual dimension of your existence that can immensely broaden your life and experience, if you are willing to look at it. This dimension may seem so far beyond your ordinary life that you will consider it impossible to accept, but this knowledge is necessary for your growth.

On a practical level, avoid taking at face value any new encounters with persons or circumstances. Even when persons are not trying to deceive you, they may do so unintentionally, because you won't immediately understand what they are really showing you. Until you have arrived at this level of understanding, simply adopt a waiting attitude and commit yourself to as little as possible.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Doris!

Dragon Mood? -- cozy & warm on the internet

Saturday morning, once again home amongst the pine trees, now covered in soft, fluffy snow. We had a storm blow through all of lower Michigan yesterday that dumped various amounts of snow: Detroit less, mid-Michigan more. Thankfully, we didn't get hit with the worst of it and I was able to go to work yesterday and drive back here last night.

Today is my Aunt Doris's 84th birthday. So here's a BIG internet-ish, cyber-ific HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her! On a more 'grounded' level, I called her on my cell phone, sang "Happy Birthday" to her and we chatted for 30 minutes or so. It was a good conversation. What a woman! At 84, I'd love to have her spunk, her get-up-and-go, her optimism!

Hoping metamorphosed

Dragon Mood? -- excited, pleased, happy

What I've been hoping for has finally happened? Bush out of office? Nope, we've still got to endure another 11 months 24 days 1 hours 47 minutes 9 seconds of his leadership (see this site). Spartans clinching the Big Ten championship? Nope, but they're definitely on track to do so. My big news is that I got an o-fficial job offer from The Company I've been working for the past seven months -- a bonafide, slightly-more-money offer of direct employment! Whoo-hoo!!

Friday post

Halleleujah, it's Friday!   This has felt like a lo-o-oooong week and I'm ready for a three-day weekend.

I still have heard nothing from The Company's HR Department regarding being offered a direct position.   Everyone I have spoken to forewarned me to expect a long, unpredictable wait.  Looks like their predictions may be accurate.

S and I met with our builder on Tuesday night.  Other than a few odds and ends, he's pretty well wrapped up the remodeling of the front of our pied-a-terre.  It looks fabulous!  It really does ... better than I could have imagined or anticipated.  The building inspector came by yesterday (Thursday) and put his stamp of approval on it, as well.  We'll probably need to pay Paul his last draw here within the week.

Wednesday afternoon, Paul's best buddy, Tim, came by and picked up all the scrap metal left from the remodeling.  He was going to take it to a recycling place and hopefully get $100-200 for the lot of it.  Tim is unemployed, struggling to make ends meet and we appreciated all his help on the project.  I was happy he was willing to haul it all off and also happy to see our driveway, clear and open again.

I'm going to post this now and hopefully I can post again before the day is done!

Welcome email

Ireceived a welcome email the other day; it was entitled "Company Opportunity" and was an invitation to fill out an application for direct employment with The Company that I've been working with for the past seven months.

I went in to my boss's boss's office and thanked him for the opportunity to apply.  He encouraged me to fill it out that evening and get it turned in the next morning -- all of which I did.

This morning, I heard from an account executive for the contract house with whom I've been working.  He informed that The Company wanted to know what they (the contract house) were paying me.  Eek!

I'm feeling excited and yet scared that The Company may extend me an offer that will include a low-ball salary.  I'm not quite sure how to handle that.  My income has either declined or been flat (and flat with inflation, to my way of thinking, is equivalent to declining) for the past eight years.  Talk about the eroding middle-class income!  I could be the poster child for that!

I asked for an annual salary that is 20% above what I currently make ... and currently I'm paid strictly as an hourly worker. 

I need to talk to some people.  Some of my peeps, you know?  Get a feel as to what to expect.  What's reasonable.  What's not.  Stay tuned.

Hoping it's not too late to say ...

Dragon Mood? -- rusty and uncertain

Happy New Year to everyone! ....... I have been SO OUT OF IT with regard to blogging, I hardly know where to start. Curious, isn't it, how rusty and unfamiliar my blogging skills have become?

S and I returned from a brief vacation to Washington D.C. early New Year's Eve. We had time to order some Chinese take-out, pick up a couple of videos and settle in for a quiet celebration before 12 inches of snow began to fall. Whew, that was close! We both felt immensely grateful that we didn't have to drive the 570+ miles through snow and slippery roads to get home.

Other updates: I am currently in my seventh month of the new job, in which I am feeling much more confidence, as well as comfortableness with my coworkers. My boss wrote a letter of recommendation that I be hired direct about a month ago. The wheels of the Human Resources Department grind slowly so I've heard nothing yet, but I'm hopeful.

Update on our pied-a-terre: The remodeling that was supposed to take a couple of weeks is now approaching two months. Our builder, Paul, sadly had to layoff his crew for lack of work, so the work is being done by Paul and his friend, Tim. A crew of two builds more slowly than a crew of five or six. Also, Mother Nature has blessed us with several good snowstorms as well as some unusually frigid temperatures that would chase even the hardiest outdoors person inside to a warm room.

Here are a couple of pictures of the latest and greatest on the house:





Suffice to say that we're pleased with the results and dealing with the slowed pace of progress on the house. We're both looking forward to sitting on our new porch when spring arrives!

There's lots more to tell, but I'll call this good for now and hit the "Publish Post" button. It feels good to return to blogging.

Blogging hiatus

I've been on such a blogging hiatus these past two months, I'm feeling incredibly sheepish and a tiny bit intimidated at even posting something ... now.   Don't ask me why I haven't blogged.  The answer is too simple -- I got a job.

I am now five months plus into my shiny brand-new job and still enjoying it very much.  More than anything, I like the variety of my days.  And for me, so easily bored, that is huge.  There is also a fair amount of repetition in what I do, which also satisfies my need to get into a routine and get better and better at those repetitive tasks.  I find satisfaction in that as well.

There has been some talk with both my boss and my boss's boss about hiring me direct.  I hope it happens sooner rather than later.  The security of a permanent position would feel far better to me than the contract ones I've held for so long.

Vacation

Dragon Mood? -- ???

hello, remember me? I've been gone on a blog-vacation, a lo-o-o-oooong blog vacation but I'm BAAAACK!

Kind of java person?

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Found this fun little quiz at LutheranChik's "L" Word Diary -- oops, I first typed it "Dairy!" ............... So, what kind of coffee am I?

Mary, You Are an Irish Coffee!

At your best, you are: wild, spontaneous, and outgoing At your worst, you are: too extreme and reckless You drink coffee when: you want to keep drinking booze Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

[Update] And here's S's coffee type (I read her the questions through the window while she smoked and drank coffee out on the backyard patio -- ha-ha):

S, You Are an Espresso!

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Job Update ... again

Dragon Mood? -- happy and NOT bored

In the middle of my THIRTEENTH week at my shiny-brand-new job. Thirteen's my lucky number. 'Nuff said.

Oh, deer!*

Dragon Mood? -- did it really happen?

Time has been slipping by, far more quickly than I had realized, since my last post. That post was all about a tree falling on our roof during a destructive storm here in the Motor City.

Sunday night, Mother Nature's second hammer -- so to speak -- fell. Driving home from our friends, J & J, along a two-lane country road, a deer jumped out of nowhere and hit my car, cracked my windshield and tumbled the entire length of my car over the roof. I wasn't hurt. It all happened SO fast, it took more than a few seconds to register what had just happened. The deer's face and then the cracked windshield verified it for me.

My car's in the shop for all of this week and next. The estimate is at around $2400. Ouch! This is one time that you won't hear me bad-mouthing insurance companies ... at least yet!

* With a nod and an apology to mijita, Carolina, for the title.

Wild night

Dragon Mood? -- slightly embattled

While putting together the previous post, I also was watching the local TV weather guy reporting on an oncoming storm. It looked big, substantial and in some areas, downright nasty. Turns out, we got the nasty.

Still at the pied-a-terre in Detroit, S and I heard the distant rumbling of thunder coming closer and closer. We stood outside on our front porch, watching the western sky. S pointed out that the clouds were going one direction and the trees were blowing another. While out there, the wind suddenly picked up speed; the storm was literally "blowing" in.

We headed inside to check the weather report again. S suddenly yelled to open the windows (we had the A/C on) to provide some pressure relief. As I opened the window, another gust blew by. The force of it felt downright scary. The rain was blowing sideways. S ran upstairs to open the windows on both ends of our gable-roof second story. I heard a curious "whooshing" sound and ran to the front door. When I opened the door, there was our street tree, suddenly embracing and enclosing our front porch and the aluminum awning over it. It had blown down on our house! I was stunned!



The rain continued to pour down, sideways, and the wind blew like you see on TV when they're showing hurricanes. Amazing! We wanted to go outside and see what our house looked like, but the rain and the lightning were too much ... so we waited.

We heard a voice yelling, ran to the front window and looked out. Our neighbor, Ryan, was standing there in a windbreaker and flip-flops, drenched. "Are you okay?" he asked. We ran out to join him, but didn't stay long; the rain was still too heavy. And the lightning was still too frequent, one or more strikes a minute.

After a while, we ventured out again, the rain lighter by now, and scoped out our fallen tree and damaged house. The front awning is definitely crunched on one side. The tree was literally lifted up, sod, roots and all, and laid down on our roof. There is a giant earthen bulge in the area between the street and the newly-laid concrete sidewalk, tree still attached to the bulge. Weird-looking!



By 8 or 8:30, we could hear chain saws going in the distance. Shortly after dark, we could see truck lights down at the end of our street. There was a tree across the road there. Just four houses north of us, another tree had been uprooted and laid across the street, grazing and damaging a brand-new Mercedes Benz and some other late-model car. With regard to that, I felt especially fortunate. While the storm was uprooting our tree, my car sat parked on the street, literally within three feet of the destroyed tree. Wow!







After the initial shock, the street acquired almost a party atmosphere. People were walking and bicycling by, stopping to take pictures of our tree and the other ones on our street with their cellphone cameras. People are funny! There were big truck rigs, burly guys with chain saws cutting up the trees blocking the road, the smell of diesel fuel and sawdust everywhere. We talked to city officials hurrying in in their official city pickups, hey, we've got a tree on our roof. They checked it out, said sorry, we've got worse situations that we need to take care of first. We'll be back later.



And they were. Around 3:30 this morning! Yup, a crew of at least 8 to 10 guys and one woman showed up at 3:30 and by 4:30 they were done. The tree was down, the big logs cut and piled alongside the street on the earthen bulge, and all the foliage and debris raked up and fed into a giant wood chipper. S was so envious. She said she'd love to have a chipper that size!

I headed to bed around 5 a.m. I was just starting to drift off when I heard these deep rumbling sounds. I touched S and said, "It's starting to thunder again."

"No," she said, "they're picking up the logs."

I ran to a front window, and sure enough, she was right. There was a huge truck with a giant claw attached to its back. A worker was maneuvering the claw to pick up each 4 to 6-feet-long log and drop it in the back of the truck. Hence, the deep rumbling sounds!

Finally, about 5:30 this morning, I fell asleep. What a night! It's one I won't forget for awhile, you can bet on that!

[I hope to post pictures tomorrow. For now, I'm pooped and still need to drive to the other house, the one with ALL the trees. Ha-ha.]

Clover Keys

Clover Keys
Originally uploaded by Brian Cerveny.

This is what you DON'T WANT to do in my job: let the 'grass' grow under your fingers!

Anticipating September 6th

Dragon Mood? -- remembering & ruminating

September 6th ... did somebody say September 6th? Yeah, somebody did. I heard it at work. In my world, that day will always be Nana's birthday. Nana, my maternal grandmother. I wrote about her here. And here's the ensuing conversation between Me and Myself:

Me: How old would Nana be now?

Myself: 106

Me: 106!

Myself: That's a looong time! (looking up, calculating)

Me: Yeah!

Myself: Well, how old are you now?

Me: I'm 54.

Myself: Yeah, well ... that's a looong time too! You're more than halfway to Nana's current-but-not-here age.

Again, with the positivity!

Dragon Mood? -- attempting to swing BACK to positivity

And now, for more viewing pleasure ... please reference this posting.

Iraq & Vietnam -- No comparison

Dragon Mood? -- only slightly pissed off

Trying to keep my slightly more positive outlook, but detouring back into some momentary negativity, I heard the Commander-in-Chief-Idiot compare Iraq to Vietnam. And you know what? I don't care. I really don't care about your stupid comparisons.

First of all, I don't believe you. I think you're the ultimate puppet, the talking head -- make that talking EMPTY head -- just parroting what you've been told. Told by the Chief Architect of Lies, Mr. Liar-Himself Rove.

Secondly, if you're a parent who has lost a son or daughter in Iraq, does it comfort you to know that Iraq is like Vietnam? If you're a little kid who's lost his mommy or daddy in Iraq, can that comparison comfort you in the dark of night when you need comforting? I don't think so.

Thirdly, Iraq is engaged in a civil war, a tribal war. We should not be in the middle of a tribal war, between TRIBES, for crying out loud. All they want to do is KILL EACH OTHER!

Take your insipid, smoke-and-mirrors comparisons, Mr. C-I-C-Idiot, and stick them where the sun don't shine!

Happy Wendishday!

Dragon Mood? -- positively moody

And on a slightly more positive note, I just wanted to say

H-A-P-P-Y

W-E-N-D-I-S-H-D-A-Y-!-!

...otherwise known as Wednesday.

Job Update

Dragon Mood? -- catching up

Can you believe it? -- I hardly can. I'm in the middle of the tenth week of my shiny-brand-new job! I've gotten to the point where I can really crank through the easy parts. And even the balancing of several middling-hard tasks, I can manage with a fair amount of composure.

But today was a new high ... and low. I finished transferring a huge amount of data this morning, sent out emails announcing "the data's there" to all the responsible parties ... and by 3 o'clock this afternoon, learned from a gentle messenger that a significant portion of the data was, simply put, crap! ArrrghhH! Talk about disappointed! Talk about embarrassed! Talk about distressed!

Thankfully, my boss set me straight. It's not my job to validate downloaded data, just download it. And the problem didn't start with me. It started at the source of the download ... again, which isn't me.

It's all about me, you see. Or, in this case, not me. And it wasn't ... about me. It was about them, whoever and where ever those ubiquitous, invisible corporate suit-wearing IT persons are!

So ... my boss was gonna fire off a polite but crankily firm email about the poor quality of this data ... with highly informative yet incriminating screen dumps of the poor data quality supplied by me. We need good data! What the hell are you yahoos waiting for?

I love it!

Yup, this describes it ....

Dragon Mood? -- dreamy

Once upon a time ... after almost a whole bottle of red wine, the world felt like one BIG FAIRY TALE.

From Astrodienst:

Dreaminess
This influence stimulates the imagination in a very positive way. Your sensitivity to and awareness of the subtler aspects of the world around you is greatly increased, and your intuition is much stronger than usual. Sometimes this influence accompanies a period of dreaminess, in which you spend much time fantasizing. In your contacts with people, you have a much clearer sense of what is going on in others' minds. If you can keep your perceptions straight in your head, you will be astonished by the insights about people that this influence can bring. However, during this time it is often difficult to keep your intuitions sorted out. Clear thinking is not one of your strong points today, and in fact you should try not to use your rational mind very much. Rely more on your inner senses and feelings.

Why do I feel sad now?

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Today is the midpoint of August.  For some reason unknown to me, this time of year always feels rather sad to me. 

I remember as a little girl that my grandmother, Nana, always felt sad this time of year.  Her husband, Albert, had died on August 25th.  Every August she spent grieving his loss.

My sense of August feeling sad probably is a childhood holdover from the end of summer and the fear/anxiety/excitement of returning to school.  It's probably that simple.

When I think about September, I think of new beginnings, new shoes, and days that feel like summer but are not. 

Yeah, those are definitely holdover feelings from childhood.

 

from whence he came

Dragon Mood? -- oh, but that this could have happened about six years ago!

All I can say is HALLELEUJAH! The Devil's spawn is returning from whence he came. News media are reporting this morning that Karl Rove is resigning at the end of the month and returning to Texas. ArrrghH!

Monday morning update

Dragon Mood? -- waking up

Five-fifty A.M. is not usually a time that LENDS itself to introspection, composition and POSTING, you know?

S is "home," back in the pine trees this morning. She worked diligently last week, working late every night to meet a deadline. Friday, at 7 p.m. the deadline was met and her boss told her to take Monday off. She is happily complying today.

Anyway, I have the house to myself, my hair is washed, so I have some extra time this morning. I'll live life on the edge, whaddaya say and POST?

This morning I begin my NINTH week of my shiny-brand-new job. As I told my dad and step-mom last night, I continued to be amazed -- no, amazed and SURPRISED -- at how much I'm enjoying my new job. I didn't think I would like it this much. Honestly. I was afraid I would get bored. So far -- knock on wood -- that hasn't happened!

My job revolves around moving data. I move data in, I move data out. I move large quantities of CAD data, using the CAD software that I have worked in for over ten years. I also use a number of other software applications, that I jump from back and forth. I now have two PCs at my desk. The IT folks finally loaded a necessary software on Friday on that second computer. Now, I can really multi-task!

Trying to catch up late on a Sunday night

Dragon Mood? -- struggling to find the words

Idon't know why, but I'm having trouble making time to post. I wish when I thought things, I could simply think "POST" and POOF -- a la Harry Potter -- here they would appear!

Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy. And while things haven't been exactly difficult, they have been BUSY!

Since flying to Madison for the weekend (was that really three weeks ago?), I've felt behind. And the faster I try to go, the behinder I feel (...however that old saw goes)? Work is going okay, thank goodness! I've made sure to get enough sleep that I can be alert and function well at work. But after work, I tend to crash; sometimes, just for a half an hour, sometimes longer. I want to blame the humidity that we've been experiencing; but that may simply be an excuse.

Last weekend, I stayed here at the pied-a-terre, while S headed up north with the younger twin, Tim, to load and haul some furniture from her sister's house. I treated myself to a languorous Saturday afternoon trip to IKEA, a jaunt through a Heartland's-version Target and a self-indulgent "I'll-take-some-of-that" and "oh-some-of-that-too" evening meal at a luxe gourmet shop that I rarely visit. I spent way too much money and you know what? I didn't care and I didn't worry about it. I simply gave myself permission to have fun. Which I did.

This past week, however, has been preoccupied with thinking about and starting to get the pied-a-terre ready for our new about-to-be housemate, Erin. Erin is a young woman, beginning grad school at Wayne State, who will live in the pied-a-terre's upstairs while going to school. We found out after the fact that she's a lesbian (where was my gay-dar?). I've painted the linen closet, shuffled shelves and drawers and closets around, attempting to make room for her in the bathroom. S and I moved the treadmill out of the TV room and brought the computer downstairs and into the TV room. I'm sitting here in this new location and I can feel that I'm gonna like the computer in here.

Whew!

You know what? It's gotten late and I need to go to bed!

Maybe more posting tomorrow?

Things I want to write about ....

Dragon Mood? -- decluttering my dragony mind

Istill want to write about S and my weekend in Madison, helping our beautiful daughter, Carolina, move into her new home. Oh yeah!

I want to write about what I did on my summer vacation (ha-ha) this past weekend.

I want to write about our new about-to-be housemate, Erin, who will be moving in in just over a week, dislocated finger and all.

And, I want to say that TODAY is the beginning of my EIGHTH week on the still shiny-brand-new JOB! YAAAAAAAyy!

Recent reads

Dragon Mood? -- LOVE to read!

Here's what I've been reading this summer ....

• Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card


• Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card


• Prentice Alvin again by Orson Scott Card


• and -- what else? -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

I must say ... I'm enjoying reading all this fantastical, magical literature. I plan on buying the rest of the Alvin Maker series by OSC. Nice website here.

Spelling with flickr

Dragon Mood? -- this dragon LOVES words and spelling!

Please check out the bottom -- the verrrry bottom -- of my blog. Evidence of a new toy: Spelling with Flickr. Found here.

In a word, "BYOO-TUH-FULL"

Dragon Mood? -- languorously remembering

BYOO-TUH-FULL is the word for this past weekend. It was a picture-perfect weekend in terms of weather, activities and enjoyment. Settle in and let me tell you ...

S and I had a leisurely leaving of the pied-a-terre on Friday evening. She and I putzed, her outside on our new picnic table, me on the computer. She drank a few beers, I polished off a bottle of Crane Lake Cab. She took a shower and a quick nap. I putzed some more, working on our neighbor, Jan's, resume.

We finally pulled things together about 9 or so and got on the road. S suggested we find a Big Boy and get a Number #1 breakfast. I was hungry myself but wasn't optimistic we would find a Big Boy en route. Amazingly, we did -- off the Novi exit and to the left. We chowed down like truck drivers.

We got back on the road and headed home to the pine trees, now with it quite late. The last half hour of the trip, I was really fighting sleep, a combination of fatigue and all those carbs elevating and then dropping my blood sugar, I'm sure. I had the windows open, the radio cranked up and I was lightly slapping my face just to keep myself awake! Sheesh! Scary drive.

Saturday morning, I slept 'til past ten. I guess I was tired. I showered and headed out to do some errands. I picked up coffee at Horrocks. I also hit their garden center and bought ten little pots of different ornamental grasses -- blue fescue ('Elijah Blue'), some porcupine grass, some grass whose name escapes me now but the variety was 'Karl Forster' and one maiden grass meant to be a specimen in our pied-a-terre backyard. I had fun picking those out! I hit a MacDonalds for one of their new southwest salads (pretty good!) and then headed back to the east side of town.

At Tar-zhay, I bought myself a cute little straw purse on sale ($3.74!), some black trouser socks with bamboo(!) in them and the new Harry Potter book, on sale, for $17-something. I also bought mundane things like toothpaste, a couple of pens and some baby wipes (for us fifty-something babies).

Mid-afternoon, I headed to the hair salon and got my hair cut -- FINALLY! It had been over ten weeks since my last one, and the hair was looking very mop-like. Now, it looks and feels better!

From there, I joined S and we met up with Mark, Lindsey and toddler, Preston, at Reno's outdoor dining area for a late afternoon birthday celebration to mark Mark's 25th birthday. It had been literally months since I had seen them last, so we had a lot of catching up to do. In the five weeks since I started my new job, Mark had lost his. We talked about that, Lindsey's job, as well as all the new and exciting things that Preston is learning or discovered. For a two-and-a-half year old, Preston did amazingly well at the restaurant.

S and I took Preston home with us for the night, while Mark and Lindsey headed off to a party with their friends. Preston and Grandma toddled around the yard, watering the grass, checking out the aluminum fishing boat as well as the kayaks. Preston was very excited and interested in "Grandma's TRUCK!," "Grandma's camper," "Grandma's BOAT!," and "Grandma's kayak." The caps tell you the level of enthusiasm.

Preston finally crashed between 10 and 10:30. After multiple starts and stops, S and I finally got to watch our new copy of "The Big Chill" DVD. Amazingly, that was the first time that S had ever seen the movie in its entirety.

All three of us slept until 9 a.m. Sunday morning. Preston came toddling out of the guest bedroom, looking for the "grandmas" and ready for action. I jumped up and made coffee while S pulled Preston into bed with her for a few minutes of snuggling and then a diaper change. When I checked next, Preston and Grandma were both running around naked, Preston sitting on the potty (and using it!), Grandma pulling on her nylon shorts and a tank top for the day.

We hung out on the deck until Mark and Lindsey showed up. We ate grapes and clementines (I had bought them at Horrocks the day before for Preston -- I didn't know you could get Clementines in summer!), Little Debbie Pecan Pinwheels and some Bob Evans little sausages that Preston insisted on stuffing into his mouth in one bite.

After they left, S and I snoozed on the couch for awhile. It felt like a relaxing, lazy Sunday. Mid-afternoon, we pulled things together and headed over to our friends, J & J, to take our kayaks out on the lake. Like I said earlier, the weather, the temperature, the sky was picture-perfect!

Other than my slipping right into the water on their concrete boat launch (slippery with algae!), and the pleasures of kayaking with a 70-lb wet furball in my kayak, our time out on the water was fun and relaxing. We paddled here, we paddled there, around the lake at J & J's house. We watched people, we watched birds, we listened to the breeze on the water, we heard frogs. Cisco was in dog heaven out there, ears up and on full alert!

We got home shortly after six, I immediately headed for the shower and washed off lake and dog fur. I was on the road to the pied-a-terre before 7. Upon arrival down here, Jan and Tom invited me over for a glass of wine, which I appreciatively accepted. About 9:30, I climbed into bed for a 'date' with Harry P. and friends. Lights out before 10:30. I never heard S come in.

In a word, this weekend was "byoo-tuh-full."

Anticipation

Dragon Mood? -- gleeful

A week from tonight (Friday), S and I will be in Chicago, meeting up with my sister, Ruth, and heading north to Madison to see my lovely mijita, Lina. We're gathering to tote boxes, unwrap dishes, paint doors and generally help her move and HOUSEWARM her new little abode.

Week FIVE

Dragon Mood? -- thankful and happy

Week five . . . I'm in the middle of week FIVE at my brand new job! I can report -- happily -- that I was busy today and relishing the challenges of my job. HURRAY!

Have I mentioned how THANKFUL I am to have this job?

Sensory and NEW!

Dragon Mood? -- loving sensory things

Can you imagine the pleasure of a BRAND NEW sensory experience at the ripe age of fifty-four? Allow me to enlighten you!

S and I were up north this past weekend (Cisco, too!).     Saturday evening, we went to Michelle and Jim's home for supper (Michelle is S's sister). Dinner was fashionably late (ten o'clock), but while dinner cooked, Jim introduced us to this vibrating spider-like contraption that you or another person can use to stroke your hair and scalp. (I thought of YOU, Lina!) It was WONDERFUL! Most relaxing! I think we may have to ask Santa for one in our stocking!

The OTHER sensory experience I had that night was ear candling. I had never heard of it before Saturday night. Simply never heard of it. Jim came out of the bedroom or bathroom with this 10 or 12" long tapered candle-looking like thing. It actually felt like waxed cloth or waxed heavy paper that was spiraled into a long, slender conical shape. You could see through it from one end to the other.

I laid on the sofa on my side with my head relatively horizontal. Jim took a paper plate, made a nickel-sized hole in the center, placed the ear candle through the hole, lit the top of the cone and gently placed it in my ear. I really can't say that I experienced any sounds or smells with the procedure, although after about ten minutes I felt some pressure inside my ear and pushed the ear candle away from my head slightly.

When he was done, he showed me that there was this pale yellowish powder inside the hollow candle. This was (supposedly) the stuff that the ear candle had drawn out of my ear, wax and dirt and dead cells, I guess. I tapped some of it into my hand, smeared it on my palm and smelled it. It smelled waxy and slightly burnt, but it certainly didn't have the smell of the detritus that comes out of one's belly button or behind your ears when you haven't washed for several days. It didn't smell funky at all.

I will admit that I had my reservations about ear candling's efficacy, but I also was enjoying Jim's ministrations. Being the go-for-the-gusto dragon that I am, I asked him if he would do my other ear too? Sure, he replied.

So, he did the other ear, with pretty much the same results. Pale yellowish powder, no funky smell.

When we got home, I googled ear candling and got an EARFUL (ha-ha). Here's what one typical site said:

Why Ear Candling Is Not a Good Idea

"Ear candling," also known as auricular candling or coning, refers to various procedures that involve placing a cone-shaped device in the ear canal and supposedly extracting earwax and other impurities with the help of smoke or a burning wick. The origins of candling are obscure. Ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, the pre-Columbian Americas, and even the mythical city of Atlantis are cited as possible contributors. The procedures supposedly create a low-level vacuum that draws wax and other debris out of the ear canal. Some proponents even claim that impurities are removed from the inner ear, the facial sinuses, or even the brain itself, all of which are somehow connected to the canal.

... Since wax is sticky, the negative pressure needed to pull wax from the canal would have to be so powerful that it would rupture the eardrum in the process. However, candling produces no vacuum. Researchers who measured the pressure during candling of ear models found that no negative pressure was created. The same investigators candled eight ears and found that no ear wax was removed and candle wax was actually deposited in some of them!

The Bottom Line

For most people, ear wax moves along the ear canal and eventually makes it to the outside, taking with it any accumulated dirt or other matter. Compacted ear wax should be removed by a physician or other health professional using legitimate instruments. Candling is both ineffective and dangerous.

(sigh) So much for new sensory experiences, huh! I probably won't do any more ear candling. I'm glad I can say that I tried it though. But, then there's that vibrating spider thing ...

A jim-dandy of a word!

From Word of the Day:

triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun:
A morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th.

Triskaidekaphobia is from Greek treiskaideka, triskaideka, thirteen (treis, three + kai, and + deka, ten) + phobos, fear.

In Christian countries the number 13 was considered unlucky because there were 13 persons at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also unlucky, because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence a Friday falling on the thirteenth day is regarded as especially unlucky.

Some famous triskaidekaphobes include:

Napoleon
Herbert Hoover
Mark Twain
Richard Wagner
Franklin Roosevelt

 

Have a GREAT day!   And I mean it!

Thirteen!

Dragon Mood? -- aquiver

Do you know what tomorrow is? Do you? It's a Friday the Thirteenth! Whoo-hoo! I love 'dose THIRTEENS! My lucky number .... :-)

And Happy Birthday, Mark and Tim! Happy 25th! Love you guys!

Thankfully coming to a close

Dragon Mood? -- not sad to see it end

As I have referenced many, many times before in this blog, I have been without permanent employment for the past eighteen months. Just since mid-June, have I started a job which hopefully I will work at for a long time to come.

Every Thursday I like to check Astrodienst because they offer astrological horoscopes with more substance, less haranguing for money and what sounds like frequently right-on observations about the possibilities confronting me. Here's one that I've seen for many months and can happily say is just about over:

Confinements
Valid during many months: During this time you may have fewer resources available for doing what you want, and you may have to focus the available resources on more restricted and concentrated objectives. The effects of this influence are several. First, structure in your life will change significantly, but not suddenly or without warning. The changes brought about during this time are inherent in what is being changed, if you look carefully. It is rather like an inevitable conclusion of a situation. During this period some things will come to an end or an old order of life will cease. On a metaphysical level, this influence means that factors are now being incorporated into the structure of your life that will later bring about evolution and growth. This process involves getting rid of old structures. What happens now will have great consequences in fourteen years.

On a material level, this influence often causes financial problems or other kinds of shortages. Sometimes government or other officials will impose heavy burdens that greatly restrict your freedom of movement. It is also possible that some incident or accident may affect your health and thereby restrict your freedom of movement.

All of these effects confine your energies so that later they can be focused upon matters that will require your full attention. If your energy is spread too thin, later crises will be much more difficult to bear. Then you will have to go through a most unpleasant house- cleaning of everything in your life that interferes with your natural pattern of evolution.

As you are more and more restricted by circumstances and the need to use your resources conservatively, do not simply hold in your energies. Build new structures to correct the problems you face now, and concentrate all your energy on bringing about necessary evolution in your life.

Transit selected for today (by user):
Saturn Conjunction Pluto SaturnConjunctionPluto,
activity period from beginning of October 2006 until 17 July 2007.

I didn't know how to spell my own name!

Dragon Mood? -- chagrined!

Feeling both quite smart and quite dumb at the moment. I got an email from the developer of Pictobrowser asking about my previous post.

After a couple of emails back and forth, he ("d" as in Diego?) said "oh, wait! your Flickr userName is "calypso Dragon 13"

Uh ... yeah, it is but I didn't know it would accept the spaces and the caps! Duh, I am CHAGRINED!

So, here's another SHOUT-OUT to Pictobrowser. It's one darn cool and simply ELEGANT widget!

Oh yeah ... I forgot about the photos. These are from March, 2007, when most of us gathered in Chicago to celebrate St. Paddy's Day and watch college basketball like there's no tomorrow! Can't wait for next year!



UPDATE: His name is Diebo Bauducco. Here's his website. He's obviously one bad-ass designer and coder. Talent!

The coolest widget

Dragon Mood? -- excited in a cyber-geekish sort of way?

Once upon a time, there was this cool widget called Pictobrowser that displays Flickr photos in -- did I say how cool it was? -- the coolest way. But I couldn't get the damn thing to work for me. Hah ... until I resorted to copying someone ELSE'S html code from their page source and substituting my own Flickr userID and set number. Sheesh! So much for ease and user friendliness!

Heh-heh, heh-heh .... but it WORKS!

Week FOUR

Dragon Mood? -- thankful and happy

HEY . . . . I started my FOURTH week at my still-shiny-new job today. Things are going well. I like my job. My only regret is that I don't get to surf and blog on the internet while I'm at work. Damn! What an inhibiting rule! Don't they know that us Sagittarians like our FREEDOM?

My new word

Dragon Mood? -- etymologically creative

It's Monday night, S and I are both back here at the pied-a-terre ... and I'm just PER-PLUNKED! My new word. It's derivation makes no sense, but it rolls nicely around in the mouth and the tongue, so I'm stickin' with it. PER-PLUNKED!

What does it mean?

Hmm .... (thinkin')

Kind of Monday-night tired, a mite crabby with the heat and looking forward to swishing my feet around under cool, cotton sheets.

That's PER-PLUNKED!

At least for THIS day!

Memorable Fourth of July nights

Dragon Mood? -- happy and tired

Ten twenty-six, Fourth of July night and things are a-boomin' and a-poppin' around here. Anybody and everybody who's got fireworks is out settin' 'em off! Happy FOURTH of July, everybody!

I'm back here at the pied-a-terre, gettin' ready to head to bed ... so I can be ready to head to WORK tomorrow morning. Driving down here this evening, I was reminiscing and remembering some memorable Fourth of July nights that S and I've had together.

Like the Fourth up in Copper Harbor, at the national park. We were camping in the playground of the park, it was so insanely full! We watched fireworks, drank beer and played cribbage until four in the morning. Then we hiked a ways to a park bathroom to pee, brush our teeth and get ready for bed ... and some weirdo teenage kid was peeping in the women's bathroom. Scared the sh*t out of us!

Like the Fourth, driving through western South Dakota on the freeway, observing one little rural town after another's fireworks displays from a distance. It felt intimate and distant at the same time and I felt so happy and proud to be American that night.

Like the Fourth last year. We were at Riverfront Park in Lansing, with two of S's three sons, two wives, one grandbaby. It was Preston's first Fourth as a toddler and Mark held him in his arms, oohing and aahing with each poof and pffft and fizzle of the fireworks.

Sweet memories!

And tonight, I'm thinking of my sweetie at home in the pines. And my sweet kidlets down on the farm in Texas, with my sister and my dad and my aunts and uncles and cousins. Ohh, I bet they're having a good time! Drinkin' and playin' Spite and Malice. Maybe shootin' off some fireworks? Maybe watching the stars in that Texas night sky that seems to go on forever and ever?

Whoo-hoo!

Dragon Mood? -- freedom-loving patriot

H A P P Y

F O U R T H

    of   J U L Y ! !

Insomnia ... AGAIN!

Dragon Mood? -- rubbing her sleepy dragon eyes sleepily

While my dear partner, S, is 75 miles away -- on vacation(!) -- I'm here, at the pied-a-terre, supposedly working, er, make that, supposedly SLEEPING ... but I'm not sleeping well when my bedpartner is 75 miles away and it is now 5 minutes to 4. Four A.M.! Grrr ... I don't LIKE having insomnia!

P.S. Just call me ... AND ...


I think Punkymoods needs to add an emoticon for INSOMNIA!