Cats are weird

My cat has taken to drinking out of the bathroom sink. I'm not quite sure why. It's kind of amusing because just before she jumps up on the counter she'll look at me like I'm about to admonish her. I'll say, "Spooky..." and she'll meow at me. Then we'll proceed to do this a few more times. Then out of sheer cheek, she'll jump up anyway and start licking the sink.

I'm baffled but bemused.

Delightful

Another day of more of the same. It's Monday. I did enjoy seeing Mike in a monkey suit but other than that and 24 tonight, the only interesting thing I did was watch "Garden State." Yes I know it's been out a long time and is known as a good flick, but well, it's one of those movies you think, "I should rent that." and you never do.

So I threw it in my Netflix queue and watched it tonight. And it was a good flick :) Enjoyed it very much. This scene made me laugh out loud:

Mmmm fog

Today was spent having a lovely breakfast with the kid and just generally hanging out. It was really nice. Yesterday was gorgeous out so I took a few snaps of the deep fog. I'm posting it today because I don't really have a shot from today. It was yicky and sunny out :)



I miss days like this so much. I dig the gloomy, foggy, rainy days. I'd probably be right at home in Seattle. There's something sort of delicious about being swallowed up in a cool fog, and the sounds outside are amplified slightly. It's ethereal and beautiful to me. Maybe it's because I associate the fog with Monterey and being able to watch the daily fog bank roll in over Pacific Grove and listen to the waves crash on the beach without being able to see them. It's comforting.

I'm so goth eh? Hehe. Not true really, I love bright, sunny days too as long as it's not a thousand degrees out but the weather affects my mood. I'm lucky in that I don't get depressed and moody when the clouds roll in. I welcome it for the reasons I just said. And I welcome the beautiful weather too but there's something sort of raw and cleansing about rain and fog. I just love it.

It can be like this...

...just like this, always...



Guess what I did this evening :) Now I can finally quit whinging about not being able to see it. I'll have some kind of review of it over at Ridiculous Thoughts. I need some time to let it soak in.

Time to go home

It's a good thing she's a reader, otherwise she'd be so bored waiting for me to finish up at work.

Death Star

I have to cop out again for today's pic. I really lead quite a boring life and I can only take so many pictures of my office or my cat before even I get bored with those. But I had to update my other blog for work today and I ran across a guy who epitomizes nerdiness but in a good way. He designed his dream home thetaer to look like the bridge of the starship Enterprise.

Pretty cool I thought but as I perused his site a bit more I found links to other people who were just as nerdycool. My favourite was a guy who made his home theater resembling a scene on Vader's Death Star. I loved it. Anyway here's a small pic of it:

Lunch and a movie

Last night I worked out how to get movies onto the iPod so I did "Shaun of the Dead" for Shan because she loves it. She's not allowed to have it at school so I get to play with it during the day :)

It was lovely to sit outside at the park and enjoy my lunch and watch a bunch of zombies get their heads bashed in with a cricket bat.



Hard to see I know but trust me, it's Shaun trying to convince Liz they'll be safe at the Winchester :)

6 hour meetings - yikes.

I spent the majority of today inside this building at a meeting I didn't really need to be in. Not bitching mind you, I learned quite a bit of stuff I never knew so that's good, but my department was invited by the publisher since Online is going to be important to the news department's future goals etc.

The problem is the meeting focused more on journalistic issues and was probably (hopefully) productive for them. For me it was mainly a chance to learn more about that department which isn't a bad thing. I took notes! (This is me ensuring I say no bad things about my job on the Internets :)

I'm trying to see the good in everything because frankly after 6 hours in a plastic chair in a hot room, my peppy levels were low. But hey, free lunch!

That time of year

Yes it's tax time. I'm not one of those folks who puts it off either. I want it done and out of the way. So as soon as my W-2 shows up, I'm done with it :) Mine are so simple it takes all of 30 minutes and I use taxslayer.com. It works for me.

Today was full of Vampires

While Shan disappeared in her room to load every CD she owns onto her spiffy new iPod, my next netflix movies showed up. I wanted to see what the "cult" was about so I'm watching the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

I've put this off because frankly, I can't stand Sarah Michelle Gellar. But I'm putting aside my dislike so I can see what the fuss is about.

It's not bad. It's not stellar so far but I'm assuming it gets better or it wouldn't have lasted so long. We'll see. I'm looking forward to the appearance of this bloke though:



Phwoar.

Woohoo!!!

Shannon finally got her iPod :) Isn't it spiffy?

M-M-Max Head-Headroom

I loved this show. In one of my frequent hunts through video bargain bins I found the pilot episode on VHS and snapped it up. It's not available on DVD. I hope they release it someday though. I'd like to watch the whole series again.

Anyway so tonight I dug it out and watched Edison Carter track down the mastermind behind blipverts that were causing people to explode. It was great :)

Civic Duty

Well I got cornered for Jury Duty. Nobody wants to get called for it and it's always regarded with such negativity. I can understand why I suppose... your boss may not like it, it alters daily routines, you might lose money, it's a pain in the ass, etc. Part of me was whiny about it too so I won't say that I didn't feel any of that.

But I was also kind of interested in it as well. I worried about my workload and having to play catchup and the logistics of getting my daughter picked up from school and all of that but I'm in a "calm before the storm" pattern at work where my load is lighter than normal and I got the kid sorted out.

So I set out for the courthouse this morning full of curiosity about the inner workings of our justice system. I'm not being facetious or anything, I'm sincere. At one point in my life I had thought I wanted to become a lawyer. That didn't work out but I still have some interest in the law.

Anyway today's shot is kind of a neat angle on the cool-looking courthouse. I know I put up a stock pic of the courthouse when I got the jury duty letter, but this one's cooler :) Because I took it, hehe. I wanted one of the rotunda inside but thought the other jurors would regard me funnily if I went around snapping pix while we waited for selection to begin.

Today I learned...

a new Photoshop technique. Well, it's new to me. I never messed with the pen tool very much but I was poking around today looking for a way to create some spiffy new effects with Photoshop. Sometimes you need to hone the old skillz you know?

Anyway I found a tutorial on turning photos into lineart that looked interesting. I've been working on this pic of my daughter for the past 3 hours.

Original pic:


Lineart version:


So technically I did not take a photo for today, but I manipulated one :) and since I make up the rules, that counts too.

It's not very good, I know, but I think it's ok for a first attempt. I'm going to fiddle with another pic this weekend.

The Bull

Lunch today at El Toro which was surprisingly light on the bull motif. It's my fabulous boss' bday today so we took her out. It was nice. I don't think I've ever eaten a quesadilla with so many shrooms in it but luckily, I love mushrooms.

I would have snapped a shot of everyone at the table but a) I felt like a dork for even thinking about it and b) I looked enough like a dork for snapping a pic of this sun/moon thing they had above some of the tables. This pic-a-day thing is really hard for someone as introverted as I am :)

Anyway I found the combo of old mexico booth architecture particularly jarring when you see it in contrast with boring old office ceiling tiles.

A Tangled Web

I don't even know what half of these chords go to. This is the mess by my desk and it's driving me mad. My drawer gets stuck in it, I'm forever getting my purse caught in the tangle... But if I touch it to try and make it less messy, something loses power and I piss off coworkers. Or my laptop blinks off.

I'm just waiting for the day something shorts out and I'm left a fried pile of ash in my chair :)

A Long Wait Over

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....

Despite my grumpiness at stupid football pre-empting the premiere and a rant at my Fox affiliate for losing picture during a crucial moment during the show, my beloved "24" returned tonight.

And returned with a bang. Jeez.

Feeding the Kitty

I pent the day finishing up Season 4 of 24 so I could get ready for the S5 premiere tomorrow night. My cat was consistently in my face most of the day like the little attention whore that she is :)

Then we discovered that she was almost out of food which explained the attention-whoring. Poor thing was trying to say, "Hey! I'm almost out of food and I will starve to death if you don't get me some food damnit!"

I have a hard time translating sometimes. Occasionally her neediness is just her way of saying, "I'm bored. Pay attention to meeeeeeeeee."

Anyway, after a lovely dinner with my aunt and cousin and meeting my step-grandmother for the first time, we popped into Walgreens to get some cat fud.

And here is another pic in the series of store logos :)

SDC

So I think it's time for Tonga to make another appearance here. Her friend, Bobby Alt, is in Street Drum Corps and she decided to pimp herself and her desktop out in SDC art and asked me to snap a pic.

So here she is :)

So vivid

As I was leaving Skags tonight I was totally struck by the gorgeous sunset happening. It had beeen overcast and drizzly most of the day so when this cacaphony of vivid oranges, blues and purples happened it was really quite striking.

So I took a pic :)

Oh no...

My daughter has discovered anime. I hope it passes quickly like the Pokemon phase. No offense to anime fans out there. It's not the style or anything. It's the phase thing. I see little dolloar bills dancing out of my wallet.

This afternoon at work she showed me some manga art she doodled.



I hope it encourages her to draw though. She can enjoy her phase so long as she doesn't stumble on manga porn. Some of that stuff's a bit much for my little girl :(

Love/Hate

I hate The UPS. Well, I hate their delivery service I should say. I don't mind popping into their full-service store because the people there are nice and they do everything for me. I suck at getting things like xmas pressies wrapped and boxed and shipped and I like that they do all the work.

But...

I hate it when someone ships something to me via UPS because the bastards won't leave the package outside my door if no one is home to take the package. Even if I sign their slip saying it's perfectly fine with me if they leave it on my doorstep - which is in an enclosed apartment complex. They still won't leave it and it pisses me off royally that I then have to drive out to Bumfuck, GI to pick up my package because I'll never be home when they deliver because I, you know, work all day.

Normally I have things I buy online shipped through the USPS. The US Postal Service has no probs leaving stuff outside my door, why should the UPS? But this time I had made my purchase on Amazon and didn't realize until the order was complete that they ship via UPS.

Sorry it's just irritating to me today because I had to drive to the pickup center TWICE tonight so I could pick up my package containing my beloved season four of 24.



The first time I went out there - at 6pm mind you - they said the driver was still out on delivery and they would call me when he comes in and if it was before 8:30pm I could come back out and pick it up. Otherwise I'd have to try again tomorrow. I'm already bitchy because I forgot I had to pick up the kid at the Gs and they called wondering where I was. (No, I don't normally forget about my daughter :) I had just mistakenly thought she was getting a ride from them. Sue me, I'm on a lot of meds right now :)

Oi enough moaning. Long story short, I got my DVDs and all is well. Now I have to power through them before Sunday so I can be caught up :)

Haven't been here in a while

I haven't set foot in Hastings since before Christmas. I wanted to buy the movie "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and I figured Hastings would be my best shot at getting it. Wrong. They only had it to rent. Gits.

Ah well. I did find "Return to Lonesome Dove" for 11 bucks so it wasn't a wasted trip. Yes I realize 'Return' pales in comparison to "Lonesome Dove," but I like it anyway. Bite me :)

Obsession

The last movie I watched before my little trip to the hospital was "Heavenly Creatures." It's about two girls in New Zealand who become close friends. Too close as it turns out. Their obsession with each other and the rich fantasy life they concoct leads to brutal murder. And it's a true story as well which I think adds a bit of "Yeesh" to it.

Anyway the main character of the film, played by Kate Winslet in her first film role has a bout of tuberculosis and features a shuddersome scene of her coughing blood. Soon after the film ended, I had my own bout with that which led to quite the scene of panic and then of course the trip to the hospital. Lucky for me it's just pneumonia.

My favourite scenes in this really good little flick were of the girls' fantasy life involving a made-up land of kings and queens and knights made of clay who protect the girls. Peter Jackson made a good little flick out of this I thought.

So today's pic is a screenshot from the movie and is my way of saying all I did today really was sleep. Yes, I am that boring.

I hate these things

They're a bitch to remove and I can't seem to find my scissors.



Anyway I'm exhausted and am going to bed. You can read about my adventures in the ER tonight over at Ridiculous Thoughts.

Spiffy

I got a new mug today. You can never have too many mugs I always say. This one evidently came from Chihuahua, Mexico. Yesterday I spent some time helping a guy get his flash banner working on his website. Apparently this guy produces an Hispanic newspaper for this town all by himself. It's really quite impressive.

Anyway today he gave me a mug :)

Return to normal.

I have an unhappy camper at home. Well she's not at home right now because today she had to go back to school after the xmas break. Ha ha.

Anyway as I was driving her to school we were held up by the inevitable train that I'm certain waits for us to approach before it moves on. As we waited I was looking around at the the somewhat dilapidated businesses that somehow manage to stay alive right next to the tracks.



This shot is of Esmerelda Auto Sales. It's a bit dark so I 'shopped it to lighten it up and lost some of the quality. I got to wondering who on earth would buy a car from this place. There were dingy strings of pennant flags seemingly strung haphazardly around a light pole flapping in the breeze. A minivan was parked in front but I'm not sure if it belonged to the owners or was actually for sale. The windows were shuttered and you can't tell from the photo but the paint is peeling all over the building.

I spent the eternity waiting for the train wondering how a place like this stays in business. It's one of those nothing little places you forget about as soon as you pass by. I don't know why I'm rambling on about it really, but it just stayed in my head on the drive up to the school.

Continuing the theme

Since my batteries are still kaput and I haven't been arsed to run out and get some more (really should invest in some rechargeables, these damn things are expensive) here's another picture of a favoured actor. 24 is starting up soon too so yay!



Ahhh Kiefer. Loved him since Lost Boys. He's an interesting guy too if anyone's ever inclined to read up on him. Bit of trivia: Kiefer used to rodeo professionally and took home a top prize in roping.

And with this I'll quit copping out on the photos and get back to posting my own tomorrow.

Aye Carumba

Batteries died while I was "experimenting" last night - er that didn't come out right. They died while I was fiddling with - no that's dirty too. Okay, while I was trying to get the perfect artistic shot looking through a bottle of water, my batteries died.

:D

So enjoy my current obsession, Gael Garcia Bernal.



Scrummy.

Through the bottle

Struggling for ideas, not sure what to take a pic of today because all I've done is watch FK and drink water.

So I started goofing around with the camera. The result is this pic looking through my Aquafina bottle. It's strangely kind of neat I think. Not sure what the lines on it are though. Weird.

What?

I'm starting the new year off with a shot of a very pissed off, very wet kitty:



It was bathtime today. Spooky was not pleased.