And I do mean good.
Everything I wanted to get done for this costume has been accomplished Wit the inclusion of a garter for the dagger I wasn't planning on taking. The belt and scabbard look great. The cape is done.
And I have a suitable bag. Looks like something my Rouge might carry and is big enough to hold the cameras and other stuff.
Shows what $10 bucks and a half an hour of work can accomplish. Yes, I used $10 of the Walmart card to finish the costume. It's worth it.
I'm ready to head off into the land of elsewhere. Bring on the true vacation. Cuz this is the only go away from home vacation I've gotten in more than 20 years. It is a good weekend. Regardless of what doesn't quite work.
It's a live and learn sort of thing. Last year we learned not to have Taco Bell and then follow it up with White Castle. This is a recipe for chemical warfare.
Well, this is probably the last post till Sunday or Monday. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Morning of Con.
Which is not a Con. morning. Those are completely different.
This is the morning of Con. Which is a special thing all by itself. Con. prep has been in full swing for 2 weeks now, on E & J's part, mostly. I started working on the T.A.R.D.S costume over a month ago. Since the critical fails on that front, I've been working intensively on the cape for a little over a week. But I've been over there working on the belt, and helping out where I can.
Con. prep is a year long thing, really. Intensity of activity depends on the costume. Last year I was putting the finishing touches on the Umbridge costume and packing at this point in time. This year I'm working on the cape.
And it's almost done. I wrestled with the hem till the wee hours. The first pinning was way to high. It would have inspired high water jokes. So I had to mark the hem all by myself. It's not easy to set a hem on something when yer wearing it. I always have trouble with hems anyway.
It looks good in theory, section by section on the table, with the bulk of it trying to slither off the other side....
I really needed a bigger work space for this project. Would have been much easier to do if I could have laid the whole thing out flat at some point. The table I have won't even accommodate a quarter of it at a time. Made things very difficult. The cape is heavy and it was always sliding off the table. I don't have a full length mirror so I'm judging the final product on what I can see with it hanging on the back of a door, spread out on the bed, or looking down while I have it on. A dress makers dummy would be very helpful.
It's far from perfect, but it's done. I'm gonna throw it in the wash. It spent a lot of time on the floor it needs a good washing. It seems to move well, I can walk in it with out stepping on it. Will have to wait and see how much other people step on it.
I was planning on pinning it on, have a neat necklace bit that will make a good pin, if I can get the backing to stay on it. that became a problem about 2am this morning. That's when I decided to go to bed....
I still have to wrok with the pin and see if I can get it to work. Failing that I'll have to find an interesting button and do some more hand sewing....
I'm also working on a garter for the dagger. I wasn't going to mess with the dagger this year, but I had an idea last night....
Still need to do something about a bag.... I started on an idea the other day, but it's not panning out...
And I have to run to Wally world for dog food.
I'm waiting on the Macy's check to pop up in my account right now. I'm supposed to be getting paid for last week, but it's not there yet.
As usual, the morning of Con. and it's chaos.....
But, it's all good.
This is the morning of Con. Which is a special thing all by itself. Con. prep has been in full swing for 2 weeks now, on E & J's part, mostly. I started working on the T.A.R.D.S costume over a month ago. Since the critical fails on that front, I've been working intensively on the cape for a little over a week. But I've been over there working on the belt, and helping out where I can.
Con. prep is a year long thing, really. Intensity of activity depends on the costume. Last year I was putting the finishing touches on the Umbridge costume and packing at this point in time. This year I'm working on the cape.
And it's almost done. I wrestled with the hem till the wee hours. The first pinning was way to high. It would have inspired high water jokes. So I had to mark the hem all by myself. It's not easy to set a hem on something when yer wearing it. I always have trouble with hems anyway.
It looks good in theory, section by section on the table, with the bulk of it trying to slither off the other side....
I really needed a bigger work space for this project. Would have been much easier to do if I could have laid the whole thing out flat at some point. The table I have won't even accommodate a quarter of it at a time. Made things very difficult. The cape is heavy and it was always sliding off the table. I don't have a full length mirror so I'm judging the final product on what I can see with it hanging on the back of a door, spread out on the bed, or looking down while I have it on. A dress makers dummy would be very helpful.
It's far from perfect, but it's done. I'm gonna throw it in the wash. It spent a lot of time on the floor it needs a good washing. It seems to move well, I can walk in it with out stepping on it. Will have to wait and see how much other people step on it.
I was planning on pinning it on, have a neat necklace bit that will make a good pin, if I can get the backing to stay on it. that became a problem about 2am this morning. That's when I decided to go to bed....
I still have to wrok with the pin and see if I can get it to work. Failing that I'll have to find an interesting button and do some more hand sewing....
I'm also working on a garter for the dagger. I wasn't going to mess with the dagger this year, but I had an idea last night....
Still need to do something about a bag.... I started on an idea the other day, but it's not panning out...
And I have to run to Wally world for dog food.
I'm waiting on the Macy's check to pop up in my account right now. I'm supposed to be getting paid for last week, but it's not there yet.
As usual, the morning of Con. and it's chaos.....
But, it's all good.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Con Countdown....
We have entered the final round of Con countdown. This time tomorrow we will be on Con time. Which, as you all know, moves in mysterious ways. Con is one of the few places in my world that still has magic in it. I'll get to see people I haven't seen in at least a year. I've already seen people that I haven't seen in a year. C & M got into town yesterday afternoon. We sat around the kitchen table swilling coffee and laughing.
There have been a couple of costume accidents. The staff for C's Moody costume was pretty much destroyed by Fedex. It got to E & J's on Tuesday in five pieces. Luckily C found a place on line that can ship a new one and have it here today or tomorrow. I'm not sure, I don't remember when it was supposed to come in and I haven't talked to anyone over there tonight. It will be here for Con. M & C are repeating their costumes from last year as Mad-Eye Moody and Minerva MoGonagal. Moody's wand arrived yesterday and the staff should be here in time.
J & E are doing a big splash this year with the ballroom costumes from Labyrinth.
These will be in serious contention for the Hall Way costume contest. They decided not to enter the Masquerade. They didn't want to devote the time it takes to compete in the Masquerade.
J made Jareth's costume and J's mom made the dress for Sarah. I've seen Jareth's costume. E's been beading it for the last week. This thing has some serious bling to it. It's gonna look good. E finally found the perfect wig. The Jacket is done. Everything is ready to go. Except Cosplay shipped him 2 left boots. They got here late yesterday. There's another place out in Cal. that's shipping another pair, hopefully not exact matches, unless they are the right ones, by tomorrow.... Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
I haven't seen the dress since it was a couple of bolts of material. Haven't gotten an update on status. Last I heard, last night, there was still some question on the state of the dress.
I will have plenty of pictures at the end of the weekend.
Things are charging now. Batteries and cameras, they are all sucking up juice as we speak. I'm doing laundry and packing. The belt and scabbard are completely finished. I need to hem the cloak. Still haven't found or made a camera bag. Gonna hafta work on that. I need to dig out the leather lace I dyded last year for the dagger. The Umbridge costume is ready to go. I want to clean up a little before leaving.
So I have things to do before I sleep.
There have been a couple of costume accidents. The staff for C's Moody costume was pretty much destroyed by Fedex. It got to E & J's on Tuesday in five pieces. Luckily C found a place on line that can ship a new one and have it here today or tomorrow. I'm not sure, I don't remember when it was supposed to come in and I haven't talked to anyone over there tonight. It will be here for Con. M & C are repeating their costumes from last year as Mad-Eye Moody and Minerva MoGonagal. Moody's wand arrived yesterday and the staff should be here in time.
J & E are doing a big splash this year with the ballroom costumes from Labyrinth.
These will be in serious contention for the Hall Way costume contest. They decided not to enter the Masquerade. They didn't want to devote the time it takes to compete in the Masquerade.
J made Jareth's costume and J's mom made the dress for Sarah. I've seen Jareth's costume. E's been beading it for the last week. This thing has some serious bling to it. It's gonna look good. E finally found the perfect wig. The Jacket is done. Everything is ready to go. Except Cosplay shipped him 2 left boots. They got here late yesterday. There's another place out in Cal. that's shipping another pair, hopefully not exact matches, unless they are the right ones, by tomorrow.... Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
I haven't seen the dress since it was a couple of bolts of material. Haven't gotten an update on status. Last I heard, last night, there was still some question on the state of the dress.
I will have plenty of pictures at the end of the weekend.
Things are charging now. Batteries and cameras, they are all sucking up juice as we speak. I'm doing laundry and packing. The belt and scabbard are completely finished. I need to hem the cloak. Still haven't found or made a camera bag. Gonna hafta work on that. I need to dig out the leather lace I dyded last year for the dagger. The Umbridge costume is ready to go. I want to clean up a little before leaving.
So I have things to do before I sleep.
This is cool....
Just when I was thinking I'd have to spend more time on the phone with Clear, the refund showed up. I returned the modem to Clear last week. I was gonna call them about the refund when I got off work today, was expecting to have to fight them for the money. Good news is, the refund is in! This is cool. They did live up to their word. So Clear will honor their money back policy, you just have to cancel within 30 days and wait a while.
Well that's one thing off my to do list. Which is good, cuz it's rather a long list. Con countdown is nearing it's end and I've still got a lot to do.
The first day of work was good. This job will either get me in shape, or kill me. Lot's of lugging stuff up and down steps. But I don't have to mess with the public, which is a big plus. Yesterday they had me playing with china. That was rather freaksome. Kept worrying that I'd break something. But I merchandised 2 displays of plates, cups, and stuff and didn't chip or break anything.
Dusty is heading into her third day out of the cage. So far so good.
Well I've gotta hit the road...
Well that's one thing off my to do list. Which is good, cuz it's rather a long list. Con countdown is nearing it's end and I've still got a lot to do.
The first day of work was good. This job will either get me in shape, or kill me. Lot's of lugging stuff up and down steps. But I don't have to mess with the public, which is a big plus. Yesterday they had me playing with china. That was rather freaksome. Kept worrying that I'd break something. But I merchandised 2 displays of plates, cups, and stuff and didn't chip or break anything.
Dusty is heading into her third day out of the cage. So far so good.
Well I've gotta hit the road...
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Just when I was trying to stay positive....
The @&!!%# coffee maker goes out. The stupid thing's only about 5 months old. But it appears that the heating element is shot.
At least it went out today, when I've got time to screw around with coming up with a make shift plan, and not tomorrow when I have to leave the house by 5am and it would be even more of a rude awakening. I can plan for the inconvenience. From here on out, I'll have to boil water on the stove, stand and pour that through the basket, and then nuke the second cup. Isn't that just spiffy?
Don't know when I'll have the money to replace it.
Life is such a joy.
I should have just waited and looked around for the Black and Decker. I didn't want the Mr Coffee, back when I bought it. But, that's all they had at Walmart, and I needed a coffee maker. So I went ahead and bought it, even though the reviews I read weren't good. Just proves that reading the reviews on Amazon are a good way to judge the quality of the products that are out there. This thing has been a dog since the day I bought it. It's the leakiest thing I've ever seen, and now it's little more than a decorative grounds holder.
If yer buying a coffee maker in the near future, don't trust the Mr Coffee name. They ain't what they used to be.
I've got a $25 credit for Amazon. Guess I'll head over there and see how far that will get me...
At least it went out today, when I've got time to screw around with coming up with a make shift plan, and not tomorrow when I have to leave the house by 5am and it would be even more of a rude awakening. I can plan for the inconvenience. From here on out, I'll have to boil water on the stove, stand and pour that through the basket, and then nuke the second cup. Isn't that just spiffy?
Don't know when I'll have the money to replace it.
Life is such a joy.
I should have just waited and looked around for the Black and Decker. I didn't want the Mr Coffee, back when I bought it. But, that's all they had at Walmart, and I needed a coffee maker. So I went ahead and bought it, even though the reviews I read weren't good. Just proves that reading the reviews on Amazon are a good way to judge the quality of the products that are out there. This thing has been a dog since the day I bought it. It's the leakiest thing I've ever seen, and now it's little more than a decorative grounds holder.
If yer buying a coffee maker in the near future, don't trust the Mr Coffee name. They ain't what they used to be.
I've got a $25 credit for Amazon. Guess I'll head over there and see how far that will get me...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Another Monday....
Another week gone.
But, today I'm finding it difficult to be bummed.
We're in the final countdown to Con. and I don't care that I won't have money to burn. I never really spend all that much in the Hucksters room anyway. Last year I bought the sword and the daggers for the Rouge costume and I still only spent about $40 bucks. This year there's not really anything I want, so no big loss. For me Con is about hanging with my friends and taking pictures. Thanks to my awesome friends, I can do that without too much worry. The costume prep is almost done. So all good on that front.
And today, I have places to be and things to do. Got a house cleaning gig that will provide some tide over money. At the end of the week I'll get the first check from Macy's. It's small, but it's something. Hopefully I'll get at least some hours from Macy's every week from here on out. This week I'll get enough to pay the insurance on the car. After this weekend I can contemplate getting rid of the yard sale stuff. A table space at the flea market is $10. I'm thinking that will get me more traffic than a yard sale. So seriously looking at that for the weekend following this.
Life could be a hell of a lot worse.
On the good side, I left Dusty out of the cage while I was gone yesterday and she didn't chew anything!! Maybe my baby puppy is finally growing up. She managed to get my knee pads down on the floor, but had the good sense not to chew them. So today she's earned another day out of the cage. We'll see how this goes. Maybe next weekend I won't have a huge mess to clean up on Sunday. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I'd really like to be able to take the crate out of the living room. If all goes well that could happen as early as next week.
Gonna go shopping for pants today. I've already resigned myself to not finding any slacks with pockets, so there's only the chance of a pleasant surprise there.
Well, I've gotta get my butt in gear and move. Hope everybody has an awesome week!
But, today I'm finding it difficult to be bummed.
We're in the final countdown to Con. and I don't care that I won't have money to burn. I never really spend all that much in the Hucksters room anyway. Last year I bought the sword and the daggers for the Rouge costume and I still only spent about $40 bucks. This year there's not really anything I want, so no big loss. For me Con is about hanging with my friends and taking pictures. Thanks to my awesome friends, I can do that without too much worry. The costume prep is almost done. So all good on that front.
And today, I have places to be and things to do. Got a house cleaning gig that will provide some tide over money. At the end of the week I'll get the first check from Macy's. It's small, but it's something. Hopefully I'll get at least some hours from Macy's every week from here on out. This week I'll get enough to pay the insurance on the car. After this weekend I can contemplate getting rid of the yard sale stuff. A table space at the flea market is $10. I'm thinking that will get me more traffic than a yard sale. So seriously looking at that for the weekend following this.
Life could be a hell of a lot worse.
On the good side, I left Dusty out of the cage while I was gone yesterday and she didn't chew anything!! Maybe my baby puppy is finally growing up. She managed to get my knee pads down on the floor, but had the good sense not to chew them. So today she's earned another day out of the cage. We'll see how this goes. Maybe next weekend I won't have a huge mess to clean up on Sunday. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I'd really like to be able to take the crate out of the living room. If all goes well that could happen as early as next week.
Gonna go shopping for pants today. I've already resigned myself to not finding any slacks with pockets, so there's only the chance of a pleasant surprise there.
Well, I've gotta get my butt in gear and move. Hope everybody has an awesome week!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The things you remember....
J's costume for this years Con has sparked many jokes and invoked the spirit of Mr. Extreme himself, Liberace....
Anybody remember him?
He, and his outrageous costumes, were a semi constant in my childhood. He was always fun to watch, wherever he appeared.
The man was not afraid to laugh at himself. I think that was one of his greatest talents. It's good to see someone so talented who doesn't take himself too seriously. He always came across as a plain nice guy, who enjoyed the jokes.
And he was extremely talented, as these clips from his 50's TV show demonstrate. Watch those fingers fly...
Today, I give you Liberace, one of the great showmen of my time.
Anybody remember him?
He, and his outrageous costumes, were a semi constant in my childhood. He was always fun to watch, wherever he appeared.
The man was not afraid to laugh at himself. I think that was one of his greatest talents. It's good to see someone so talented who doesn't take himself too seriously. He always came across as a plain nice guy, who enjoyed the jokes.
And he was extremely talented, as these clips from his 50's TV show demonstrate. Watch those fingers fly...
Today, I give you Liberace, one of the great showmen of my time.
Friday, September 23, 2011
An amazing thing...
The mail has been late most everyday this week.
But, something amazing came in the mail on Wednesday. Someone, I don't know who cuz they didn't sign the card or put a return address on it, sent me a hefty Walmart gift card. I have my suspicions as to who it was, but no way of knowing for sure. I think it might be one, or more, of my former co-workers, who were an amazing bunch of super nice people. Whoever it was, I hope you are reading this, THANK YOU!!! This bit of a boost is muchly appreciated and extremely timely, as I have to invest in cloths for the new job.
The dress code at Macy's is all black, with no denim allowed. I have a couple of shirts that I can wear, but no pants. This incredible gift will allow me to be properly attired for my real first day of work.
Things are going to be very tight from here on out. I can only hope that I can get enough hours at Macy's to make my bills. I will get a small check at the end of next week. But Macy's is starting out very slowly. Next week I'll only get 8 hours. I'm hoping for more the week after. At $8.00 an hour I'll need at least 30 hours a week to even hope to cover everything.
The job hunt continues, but there has been no more response to all the apps I've put out. I've listed with two 2 temp companies, but I don't know how that will work out with Macy's, and they haven't called me about anything.
I have listed with a new job board that is generating more leads, and leads on this side of the river, which is good. The less driving I have to do the better. Keeping my fingers crossed that somebody will call and I can at least pick up another part time gig that will give me more hours.
As it is I'm already in the hole. I wasn't able to make the tax payment on the house this month. So I'm heading into negative numbers.
On the bright side, I guess, I'm not smoking as much.
I took cans and scrap metal in the other day and got a little more cash. Everybody in the house still has food, and the electric is good for another month, so not all bad.
I'm thinking about renting Dusty out as a squirrel exterminator. She's real good at it. Got another one the other day. She likes to go and sit on the back steps and wait for the stupid things to come into the yard, and they are stupid enough to come into the yard with her sitting there. I'm not happy about it, but the squirrel population is dropping. I'm just hoping she doesn't get bit. I can't be out there with her all the time.
She's agitating to go out right now...
I was told, in no uncertain terms, that my presence was required at Con next weekend. So I will be going, and I'm gonna try not to worry about the money aspects. Though gas for the car is going to be a concern. No matter what it will be fun, and I will enjoy myself.
I'm going with the rouge's costume. The bodice for the TARDIS costume is giving me fits and dying the lace did not go as planned. Things just did come together and I don't think I can finish it by next weekend. I'm almost done with the cape, and last weekend, with J's able help, and donation of the leather and other supplies, I got the belt mostly finished. I stripped and refinished the scabbard for the short sword, it's black to match the belt. I'm going to try to make some sort of bag, to carry my camera and such, that will match the costume. We'll see how that goes...
Still can't get my email to work, not totally. I have narrowed the problem down to the router. AT&T is PPPOE and I can't get the router to work with that setting. Every time I try, it disconnects from the web. I think it has something to do with the passwords. It's not AT&T equipment so their tech support can't do anything with it, unless I pay for a service call, and that ain't happening right now. If I get the time, I'll call Belkin tech support and see what they have to say. For now, if I disconnect the router I can access email and Facebook. Maxwell and his connection problems have eaten enough of my time.
And, if I don't find someway of bringing in more money it's all gonna be a moot point. I'm gonna have to drop Netflix. After October, I'm not going to have electricity. Kinda puts things in perspective.
Besides, right now, I need to worry about how to make the payments on the refrigerator. I've been paying on that for over a year now and I don't want to loose all the money I've already paid into it...
Ah, well such is life. Things have to get better soon, right?
Now, I'm off to check the other job board and see if there are any more places to apply. I'm averaging about 5 apps a day. Something should change soon...
But, something amazing came in the mail on Wednesday. Someone, I don't know who cuz they didn't sign the card or put a return address on it, sent me a hefty Walmart gift card. I have my suspicions as to who it was, but no way of knowing for sure. I think it might be one, or more, of my former co-workers, who were an amazing bunch of super nice people. Whoever it was, I hope you are reading this, THANK YOU!!! This bit of a boost is muchly appreciated and extremely timely, as I have to invest in cloths for the new job.
The dress code at Macy's is all black, with no denim allowed. I have a couple of shirts that I can wear, but no pants. This incredible gift will allow me to be properly attired for my real first day of work.
Things are going to be very tight from here on out. I can only hope that I can get enough hours at Macy's to make my bills. I will get a small check at the end of next week. But Macy's is starting out very slowly. Next week I'll only get 8 hours. I'm hoping for more the week after. At $8.00 an hour I'll need at least 30 hours a week to even hope to cover everything.
The job hunt continues, but there has been no more response to all the apps I've put out. I've listed with two 2 temp companies, but I don't know how that will work out with Macy's, and they haven't called me about anything.
I have listed with a new job board that is generating more leads, and leads on this side of the river, which is good. The less driving I have to do the better. Keeping my fingers crossed that somebody will call and I can at least pick up another part time gig that will give me more hours.
As it is I'm already in the hole. I wasn't able to make the tax payment on the house this month. So I'm heading into negative numbers.
On the bright side, I guess, I'm not smoking as much.
I took cans and scrap metal in the other day and got a little more cash. Everybody in the house still has food, and the electric is good for another month, so not all bad.
I'm thinking about renting Dusty out as a squirrel exterminator. She's real good at it. Got another one the other day. She likes to go and sit on the back steps and wait for the stupid things to come into the yard, and they are stupid enough to come into the yard with her sitting there. I'm not happy about it, but the squirrel population is dropping. I'm just hoping she doesn't get bit. I can't be out there with her all the time.
She's agitating to go out right now...
I was told, in no uncertain terms, that my presence was required at Con next weekend. So I will be going, and I'm gonna try not to worry about the money aspects. Though gas for the car is going to be a concern. No matter what it will be fun, and I will enjoy myself.
I'm going with the rouge's costume. The bodice for the TARDIS costume is giving me fits and dying the lace did not go as planned. Things just did come together and I don't think I can finish it by next weekend. I'm almost done with the cape, and last weekend, with J's able help, and donation of the leather and other supplies, I got the belt mostly finished. I stripped and refinished the scabbard for the short sword, it's black to match the belt. I'm going to try to make some sort of bag, to carry my camera and such, that will match the costume. We'll see how that goes...
Still can't get my email to work, not totally. I have narrowed the problem down to the router. AT&T is PPPOE and I can't get the router to work with that setting. Every time I try, it disconnects from the web. I think it has something to do with the passwords. It's not AT&T equipment so their tech support can't do anything with it, unless I pay for a service call, and that ain't happening right now. If I get the time, I'll call Belkin tech support and see what they have to say. For now, if I disconnect the router I can access email and Facebook. Maxwell and his connection problems have eaten enough of my time.
And, if I don't find someway of bringing in more money it's all gonna be a moot point. I'm gonna have to drop Netflix. After October, I'm not going to have electricity. Kinda puts things in perspective.
Besides, right now, I need to worry about how to make the payments on the refrigerator. I've been paying on that for over a year now and I don't want to loose all the money I've already paid into it...
Ah, well such is life. Things have to get better soon, right?
Now, I'm off to check the other job board and see if there are any more places to apply. I'm averaging about 5 apps a day. Something should change soon...
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
There's problems here...
This started out as a reply to Pardu's excellent diary '"Classism" and the Death of Middle America'. But I realize that I'm straying from the
point and it's getting to long for a reply...
We've been giving the rich tax breaks for going on 10 years now and
the country is worse off than it was before they went into effect. So I
still don't see how anyone can continue to support the idea that tax
breaks for the rich are good for the nation. The Bush tax cuts have not
created any jobs.
Look at the unemployment figures, and then argue that point.
Corporate execs and CEOs get to keep more of the money and this country slides deeper and deeper into the pit. If we don't collect more revenue we don't have the money to spend on... anything. Education is in the crapper, our roads and infrastructure are crumbling, policemen, firemen, and teachers are out of work. Where is all the hyped good that the Bush tax breaks have brought us?
And now we're supposed to cut support programs that thousands depend on for simple survival so that the execs and CEOs can keep even more money? How is that going to help?
I think they'll wake up tomorrow and buy another Van Gogh to hang on the wall of a house they don't live in.
More tax breaks for the rich and corporations are not going to help anyone but the rich and the corporations.
HCHRISTE brought up the issue of outsourcing. Which works for the corporations because they don't have to pay a living wage in 3rd world countries. There's no regulations in 3rd world countries. It's all good for the corporations. So they want to bring home the 3rd world conditions. They want to pay people here the same non-living wages they pay there. They want to wreck the same ecological destruction here that they wreck there.
Let's drop minimum wage to $3 bucks an hour.
Let's get rid of the EPA and OSHA.
Let's give them what they want.
And we can all live in a world where the price of clean drinking water will fuel more corporate profits and the common rabble can breath toxic fumes while they work 24 hours a day for the benefit of their superiors...
What we should be doing, here, at home, is making it less profitable for corporations to out source. We should be making the corporations pay to fix the ecological damage they've inflicted on the 3rd world. We should figure out some way of raising the living standard of the 3rd world.
Along with that, we should revamp welfare and the other support programs so that only those that truly can't work get a free ride. Instead of just handing out free money, there should be some control of where that money goes. If you are able-bodied and healthy there should be some sort of work requirement for the money. FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps worked wonders for this country. Something like that, along with training programs could do a lot for us right now.
We should clean our government house. But instead of cutting vital services we should be looking to cut redundancy and waste. We should be looking to reduce cronyism and pork. We should be looking to take profit out of government. We should be looking at cutting salaries and perks. Let's get rid of the lobbyists, let's put some limits on campaign money. Let's restrict media messages, get rid of the sound bites, spins, and false information. Let's bring government back to the service of the people, instead of the control of the people.
Look at the unemployment figures, and then argue that point.
Corporate execs and CEOs get to keep more of the money and this country slides deeper and deeper into the pit. If we don't collect more revenue we don't have the money to spend on... anything. Education is in the crapper, our roads and infrastructure are crumbling, policemen, firemen, and teachers are out of work. Where is all the hyped good that the Bush tax breaks have brought us?
And now we're supposed to cut support programs that thousands depend on for simple survival so that the execs and CEOs can keep even more money? How is that going to help?
That line is from a song published back in 1990. Is it any less true now? Is there some magic number that will suddenly turn the tide of greed? Do you honestly think that any of the money men are going to wake up tomorrow and think 'Hey I've got 5 houses, it's time to start giving back to the community'?And computer terminals report some gains in the values of copper and tin
While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs
For the price of a hospital wing
I think they'll wake up tomorrow and buy another Van Gogh to hang on the wall of a house they don't live in.
More tax breaks for the rich and corporations are not going to help anyone but the rich and the corporations.
HCHRISTE brought up the issue of outsourcing. Which works for the corporations because they don't have to pay a living wage in 3rd world countries. There's no regulations in 3rd world countries. It's all good for the corporations. So they want to bring home the 3rd world conditions. They want to pay people here the same non-living wages they pay there. They want to wreck the same ecological destruction here that they wreck there.
Let's drop minimum wage to $3 bucks an hour.
Let's get rid of the EPA and OSHA.
Let's give them what they want.
And we can all live in a world where the price of clean drinking water will fuel more corporate profits and the common rabble can breath toxic fumes while they work 24 hours a day for the benefit of their superiors...
What we should be doing, here, at home, is making it less profitable for corporations to out source. We should be making the corporations pay to fix the ecological damage they've inflicted on the 3rd world. We should figure out some way of raising the living standard of the 3rd world.
Along with that, we should revamp welfare and the other support programs so that only those that truly can't work get a free ride. Instead of just handing out free money, there should be some control of where that money goes. If you are able-bodied and healthy there should be some sort of work requirement for the money. FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps worked wonders for this country. Something like that, along with training programs could do a lot for us right now.
We should clean our government house. But instead of cutting vital services we should be looking to cut redundancy and waste. We should be looking to reduce cronyism and pork. We should be looking to take profit out of government. We should be looking at cutting salaries and perks. Let's get rid of the lobbyists, let's put some limits on campaign money. Let's restrict media messages, get rid of the sound bites, spins, and false information. Let's bring government back to the service of the people, instead of the control of the people.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Frustration!!
<SIGH> Looks like frustration is gonna be the name of this week too. Little is going right at the moment. I'm having problems getting the internet access set up. Seems to be a problem with the router. If I don't have the router hooked up the internet works fine. I can get into the Yahoo account and Facebook works. Hook the router up and Yahoo and Facebook don't work.
So, right now, I can either read email and post to Facebook, or I can watch TV. Can't do both, cuz I need the router to stream to the TV. I'm still working on it.
Which is eating time that I need to work on the costume for Con. That's not going well either. Had to seam rip the bodice twice already, and I haven't gotten to the difficult stuff yet. Decided to work on the cape and screwed up the cutting. Luckily I had enough material to recover from that. But now I have to make a decision on the lining and I don't like my choices in that department. Things just suck right now.
But, today I go in to do the paperwork for the job. Hopefully I can start working soon. I need the money.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a better week than the last...
So, right now, I can either read email and post to Facebook, or I can watch TV. Can't do both, cuz I need the router to stream to the TV. I'm still working on it.
Which is eating time that I need to work on the costume for Con. That's not going well either. Had to seam rip the bodice twice already, and I haven't gotten to the difficult stuff yet. Decided to work on the cape and screwed up the cutting. Luckily I had enough material to recover from that. But now I have to make a decision on the lining and I don't like my choices in that department. Things just suck right now.
But, today I go in to do the paperwork for the job. Hopefully I can start working soon. I need the money.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a better week than the last...
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Today is really my kind of day.
According to the nifty Oriental Trading Calender today is Cream Filled Doughnut Day. It's a good day. Happy Cream Filled Doughnut Day! I'm including my favorite doughnut in this day, even though they are custard filled. My all time favorite doughnut is the Caramel frosted, custard filled doughnuts from Shuncks.The bakery at Shuncks is one of the best around. About the best here,since Sielbold's closed. The bakery that replaced Siebold's isn't as good.
It's turned into a nice rainy day.
Yes, I'm weird, I like rainy days. I like gray and drippy. The dogs aren't too thrilled, but I'm quite happy. Haven't had a day like this in a while. It's just a nice rain, no big hairy storms or strong winds. There was some good thunder and lightening early this morning. Right now I'm listening to a steady downpour. It's really kinda cool.
Well, I've switched internet providers. I'm now with AT&T.
Clear really didn't want to let go. Spent over an hour trying to get the service shut down and get the question of returning the modem settled. They say it's a full money back thing, till you want your money back. The service seemed to work OK, in general. But I couldn't get it to stream NetFlix. Since I rely on streaming for entertainment, this was a problem. I did everything they said too, had a great signal, but had to move the modem to another room to get it. This was a strike against. I still couldn't get it to run NetFlix. So I decided I didn't want to keep it. Getting them to honor the money back thing was not easy. Right now I'm wating for the return address label to show up. I'm betting on another extended session with the foreign customer service staff.
At first I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of AT&T. 2+ years back when I had the service at the other house, the service was fine, but dealing with customer service, which was in some other country, was a pain in the posterior. I wasn't looking forward to repeating that.
But, I'm happy to say, things have changed with AT&T. The people I've spoken to on the phone were American and so far everything has gone fairly well. I've got a problem with emil that still needs fixing, but I'll get back to it shortly. Netflix works fine and everything else is doing OK.
So summing up internet survey:
Charter, expensive at $60.00+ a month and out several hours a week.
Clear, less expensive, at $45.00 a month. It was down a couple of times too and didn't work as well. Though setup with Clear was way easier than Charter. If you try Clear make sure to keep everything in the package and determine if it's going to work for you quickly. If you don't cancel before the end of the 30 day trial period, yer stuck with the modem.
AT&T: This time set up was fairly easy. Customer service is now based in the U.S., which is a big + for them. I'm working on the email problem, we'll have to wait and see how that goes. Internet access has been steady since I set it up last night.
I'm sure Charter is having problems today. They always do in bad weather
And AT&T is way cheaper at $14.95 a month, right now, and even at $30.00+ a month at the end of the year.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Positive Thinking
According to my nifty Oriental Trading calendar today is positive thinking day.
I've been a believer in positive thinking for quite awhile now. Many years back when the depressions was really bad, and I was very close to just offing myself, I realized that a big part of the problem was my attitude. If I kept thinking that everything was crap, then there was no way anything was going to change. So I determined to change that attitude. I embraced positive thinking. I started by coming up with a list of 100 things I was grateful for, figuring that if I could come up 100 things to be happy about then the world, and my life, wasn't all bad. After all, what goes around comes around, and what you put out into the universe comes back to you three fold. That decision was enough to pull me out of one of the darkest times of my life. I've been a believer in positive thinking ever since.
It hasn't always been easy. Back when I made the decision to embrace the positive I had Steve around to keep going. When Steve died the only thing that kept me from following through with any of the various plans to willfully shuffle this mortal coil was my promise to him that I wouldn't, that, and the very real fear that I'd screw it up big time. I've tried it enough times to know that killing yourself isn't the easiest thing in the world. The fear of ending up as a vegetable is not totally unfounded.
This most recent bought of negativity, the loss of the best job I've ever had, is seriously testing the positive attitude. But, so far, the positive is still holding.
It's not all bad.
I am, conditionally, employed. I have been offered, and have accepted, a job with Macy's. Just waiting for the background check to clear. I'm not sure, but there appears to be some sort of problem with that. Got a call from them yesterday to confirm that I had completed all the necessary steps online so they could complete it. I double checked and it says that everything is done. Last Wednesday, when I went for the interview they said it would take 5 days for the background check to go through. But I don't know weather to count the 5 days from last Wednesday or if I should restart the clock from Monday. I'm going to wait till Friday and if I haven't heard back I'm gonna call and see what's up.
It's not much of a job, part time at $8.00 an hour, but it's something. I'm still submitting apps. and completing testing for various positions. Hopefully something will change soon.
For now, I'm gonna think positive and believe that everything will work OK.
Today, I'm messing with the internet service, again. Clear just doesn't work with the Roku, so I can't watch anything on NetFlix and some of the other channels don't play smoothly. I'm trying to get service set up with AT&T. We'll see how that goes. If I have to go back to Charter, I'm not gonna be a happy camper. $60.00 a month just for the internet sucks. AT&T will be $14.95 for the first year and about $30.00 after that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm waiting for them to finish setting up the service. Hopefully this will be the last of the computer/internet problems...
But, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
Compared to many, I'm not that bad off. I still have some money in the bank and the possibility for employment in the near future.
So happy positive thinking day!
I've been a believer in positive thinking for quite awhile now. Many years back when the depressions was really bad, and I was very close to just offing myself, I realized that a big part of the problem was my attitude. If I kept thinking that everything was crap, then there was no way anything was going to change. So I determined to change that attitude. I embraced positive thinking. I started by coming up with a list of 100 things I was grateful for, figuring that if I could come up 100 things to be happy about then the world, and my life, wasn't all bad. After all, what goes around comes around, and what you put out into the universe comes back to you three fold. That decision was enough to pull me out of one of the darkest times of my life. I've been a believer in positive thinking ever since.
It hasn't always been easy. Back when I made the decision to embrace the positive I had Steve around to keep going. When Steve died the only thing that kept me from following through with any of the various plans to willfully shuffle this mortal coil was my promise to him that I wouldn't, that, and the very real fear that I'd screw it up big time. I've tried it enough times to know that killing yourself isn't the easiest thing in the world. The fear of ending up as a vegetable is not totally unfounded.
This most recent bought of negativity, the loss of the best job I've ever had, is seriously testing the positive attitude. But, so far, the positive is still holding.
It's not all bad.
I am, conditionally, employed. I have been offered, and have accepted, a job with Macy's. Just waiting for the background check to clear. I'm not sure, but there appears to be some sort of problem with that. Got a call from them yesterday to confirm that I had completed all the necessary steps online so they could complete it. I double checked and it says that everything is done. Last Wednesday, when I went for the interview they said it would take 5 days for the background check to go through. But I don't know weather to count the 5 days from last Wednesday or if I should restart the clock from Monday. I'm going to wait till Friday and if I haven't heard back I'm gonna call and see what's up.
It's not much of a job, part time at $8.00 an hour, but it's something. I'm still submitting apps. and completing testing for various positions. Hopefully something will change soon.
For now, I'm gonna think positive and believe that everything will work OK.
Today, I'm messing with the internet service, again. Clear just doesn't work with the Roku, so I can't watch anything on NetFlix and some of the other channels don't play smoothly. I'm trying to get service set up with AT&T. We'll see how that goes. If I have to go back to Charter, I'm not gonna be a happy camper. $60.00 a month just for the internet sucks. AT&T will be $14.95 for the first year and about $30.00 after that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm waiting for them to finish setting up the service. Hopefully this will be the last of the computer/internet problems...
But, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
Compared to many, I'm not that bad off. I still have some money in the bank and the possibility for employment in the near future.
So happy positive thinking day!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Something New
And fun!
It's Swap Ideas Day, according to my nifty Oriental Trading calender, and I have something cool to share.
A couple weeks back the folks over at My Memories contacted me and asked if I would like to evaluate their scrapbook software.
Now, I'm not really a scrapbooking sort. I've done a couple of albums in the past, but they've all been pretty basic. But this looked kinda fun. So I decided to try it out.
And I'm glad I did. It really is as easy as they say. In about 10 mins. I created my first page:
It's Swap Ideas Day, according to my nifty Oriental Trading calender, and I have something cool to share.
A couple weeks back the folks over at My Memories contacted me and asked if I would like to evaluate their scrapbook software.
Now, I'm not really a scrapbooking sort. I've done a couple of albums in the past, but they've all been pretty basic. But this looked kinda fun. So I decided to try it out.
And I'm glad I did. It really is as easy as they say. In about 10 mins. I created my first page:
And, while this is really neat, I decided that the background was a little tame. I wanted something with a little more umph:
Changing it was just a couple clicks of the mouse. That one was so easy I decided to get a little more involved and I created a page for a friend:
Pretty cool, huh?
I even used the software to create a graphic for the blog the other day:
I'm not one to rely on preset templates. I created these pages on the fly. But if you really like things easy, the My Memories software comes with a whole bunch of photo layouts, templates, and quick pages. As shown in the video above, the fast fill makes albums really quick and easy.
The basic software package comes with lots of different backgrounds and embellishments and there are many more available on the My Memories site. They even have a whole bunch of free kits to add to the selection, and there's the My Memories Blog where you can pick up tips and new ideas.
I downloaded the software from the website and installation was easy, even with Maxwell being old and slow. I downloaded several of the free kits and installing those was a snap. The My Memories software works with all of my fonts, and I have A LOT of fonts, and it even works with some of my graphics.
All and all I've had a lot of fun working with the My Memories digital scrapbooking software
And now for the best part.
As part of the evaluation the folks at My Memories are giving me the chance to give away a free software package. The regular price for the suite is $39.97, so this is pretty good deal.
If this sounds interesting and you'd like to try it yourself, for free, all you have to do is:
1. Visit the My Memories site, look through the scrapbooking kits, and pick out the one you like best.
2. Send me your cutest photo.
Send the photo and your kit choice to: merrykat3@gmail.com
The deadline is next Saturday, Sept.17, 2011.
Next Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, I'll post the photos and announce the winner of the the free My Memories suite.
And if you are just so psyched about the software and don't want to wait, cut and paste this code:
STMMMS31997
For a $10.00 discount on the My Memories Suite and $10.00 coupon for the My Memories store.
And check back throughout the next week for more on the software and more of the projects I've made with it.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Movie review: Hanna
Year: 2011
Director: Joe Wright
Country: USA
Studio: Focus Features
Run Time: 111m
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Kate Blanchett, Tom Hollander
'Hanna' is a stylish thriller.No, it's not the most original storyline.
Yes, it does have plot holes.
But, ignore all that and just enjoy the ride.
I really liked this movie. If I had the money I would have already bought this from Amazon. As it was, I spent the four bucks, that I don't really have to spare, to rent it.
And I don't regret the decision at all.
'Hanna' is a beautiful film. The cinematography is outstanding with many images that linger in the mind's eye. From the snow bound woods at the beginning to the final shot, it's all good. There's no shaky cam here. The fight scenes are well choreographed and impressive.
Unlike 'Black Death' Hanna has an abundance of emotionally engaging characters.Hanna, herself, is a sympathetic character. Raised in isolation to be the perfect assassin, her coming of age is violent and confusing. But she weathers the journey well, and proves that you can overcome your upbringing. Saoirse Ronan makes Hanna a hero to root for, despite what she was meant to be.
Cate Blanchett's Marissa is an obsessive, cold bitch that you just love to hate. She has a lot to hide and Blanchett manages to convey that without going over the top.
Tom Hollander as Isaacs is plain creepy. The tune he whistles throughout the film will stick with you.
And not in a good way.
Added to the brilliant cinematography the score elevates this film to art. The soundtrack provided by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons as The Chemical Brothers is wonderful. It highlights and enhances the action perfectly.
If you like thrillers or action movies, 'Hanna' is well worth the time.
Movie review: 500 Days of Summer
Year: 2009
Director: Marc Webb
Country: USA
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Run Time: 95m
Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend
It's a story about love.
Which really is a different thing entirely.
'500 Days of Summer' is a relationship in a nut shell, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's a character piece, so if yer looking for flames and fighting, this is not your film. If you're looking for an enjoyable story, with some great moments, this is a movie to watch.
I like the style of the film. The artistic touches and intrusions are well used. I loved the big dance number, it was a great illustration of an emotion most of us have experienced at one time or another. The sound track is enjoyable and interesting enough to get me to search it on Amazon, so I could find more of the same type of music. The non-linear plot is a perfect reflection of memory, and its dependence on perception.
Zooey Deschanel is charming as the quirky, independent, pretty girl. Even though you're tempted to hate her an behalf of Tom, the focal character, you really can't. She's too honest and likable.
The real standout of '500 Days of Summer' is Joesph Gordon-Levitt as likable, inhibited Tom Hansen. He makes a weak, misguided character, a character that could easily cross over into annoying, sympathetic. He keeps Tom interesting and engaging, even when you want to reach out and smack him.
Joesph Gordon-Levitt, as Tommy on '3rd Rock From the Sun' was my favorite character. He's made the jump from child star and is proving himself as a fine, versatile actor. He was a standout in 'Killshot' as a psychotic punk. He turned in a great performance as action guy in 'Inception', and now he adds nice guy Tom to his credit.
'500 Days of Summer' is an entertaining take on love. If you see it for no other reason, watch it for Joesph Gordon-Levitt's performance.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Movie review: Black Death
Year: 2010
Director: Christopher Smith
Country: Germany
Studio: Egoli Tossell Film
Run Time: 102m
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Carice van Houten
It is realistic.
That's about the best thing I can say for it.
The middle ages were one of the nastiest, filthiest, most ignorant and violent periods in human history. This movie captures that very well. There's plenty of sword play and mayhem. But it's all done in the shaky cam style, and I'm not a fan. Just jerking the camera around doesn't lend anything to the action beyond confusion.
Yes, yes I know that's the whole point...
I'm still not a fan. I'd much rather actually see a well choreographed fight scene than wonder what they are trying to cover up with faddish 'style'. Let the shaky cam die, people. 'Blair Witch' wasn't that great a film.
'Black Death' centers around a young monk who's too gutless to leave the church to be with the woman he loves and too spineless to commit to his vows. We follow this wishy-washy, little twerp on a coming of age journey that leads to a life as a vengeful psychopath in the service of the church.
Sound like fun?
The Christians are self-righteous and spiteful, and the pagans are just as bad.
There's really no likable character in the whole film.
It was mildly entertaining, but pointless. The cinematography was pedestrian and lack luster. I can't even remember the score. At no point in the movie did I hold my breath, root for any character, or wonder anything beyond how much longer it had to run.
If you've ever wondered what the Dark Ages were really like, watch this film. It's a fairly accurate picture. Beyond that, give it a pass.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Things made of fail and another beautiful day...
It never occurred to me before, but the first Tuesday of every month is a BAD day for poor ol' Chicken Dog.
The testing of the emergency warning system is not a happy thing for Luna. It kinda freaked me out that first Tuesday back in July. I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't, generally, home during the day on the first Tuesday of the month. I had forgotten that was a routine thing.
It had slipped my mind that it was the first Tuesday of the month, but this morning when it started I knew what it was, it didn't bother me. Poor Luna has no idea what is going on. For her, all hell breaks loose the first Tuesday of every month. This morning she was plastered to my side the minute it started. I wonder what she does when I'm not here. It's gotta suck being a neurotic dog.
Well, this morning she got a cow hoof. So it wasn't all bad. When I finally go back to work, I'll have to try and remember that every first Tuesday is a bad day for her.
The job hunt is the first thing made of fail. No results, yet. I have gone on 3 interviews, though, so it's a little better than it was. The first interview, last Thursday, was a total bust. Drove all the way out to Bridgeton, only to find out the person interviewing had made a mistake. She was looking for call center help. She thought I had call center experience, but I don't. The other 2 interviews went fairly well. I'm waiting now. I have another interview tomorrow, and I submitted several more apps today. I signed up with yet another job search site. We'll see if that doesn't lead to something. I've done phone interviews with a couple of the temp agencies, but still haven't heard anything back from them.
Beyond that, nothing much has changed. I'm going to takes cans in for recycle sometime this week. But that's not going to be much in the way of income. I went through and totaled up all the yard sale crap. Came up with a figure of around $400. I know the pricing is fair, I put on the stuff what I'd be willing to pay, and I'm cheap. But income realized from that source depends on weather it sells. Still debating the layout of $70. for a flea market stall. Money is getting tight, and that's a gamble. Which is why I haven't already committed to that course. I really thought that the job hunt would have turned up something by now, otherwise I would have started out with that right off. Oh well, live and learn. I'm still adding stuff to the pile.
Which brings up one of another thing that was made of fail.
My original plan for the desk was to mount 2 sliding keyboard trays that I salvaged from the other house. I tried mounting them and found out that they are too heavy for the hollow core door I'm using as a desk. So I'll have to abandon the idea. I've got no use for them, beyond the one planned, so they go into the yard sale crap.
I'm going to have to abandon my original plan for an Archon costume. Not really sure I'm even going to go. I don't have the money to contribute for food and such, unless something changes I may not go. Weather I go or not, I'm not going to be able to finish the costume I had planned. I've got it all cut and ready to sew, and I'll probably finish that part of it. But, I'd still need to buy a wig and boots, and that ain't happening. Yet another thing hanging in uncertainty...
I've been trying to make a Halfling. Been trying for a while now. I got a useable head:
But then I started working on the legs...
And while I was working on those, the ears got knocked off the head. I was OK with just reattaching the ears, but then I decided he needed an upper lip and I tried to smooth out that divot in his nose ...
It was all down hill from there. I squished the head, I'll have to start all over. This time I'm doing the legs first. Those get baked as soon as they are finished. So no inadvertent squishing or other problems with them laying around. I'm working on toes now. It's not as easy as it sounds. When he's got legs to stand on, I'll make another head. I did it once, I can do it again...
The dogs are driving me up the wall with the curtains. They both like to stand and look out the window, which really messes up the curtains, and totally defeats the purpose of having them. I'm fixing them multiple times a day. This is a problem. I'm gonna sew the panels together so they don't separate at the top. When I set the sewing machine up again.
Not sure when that will be.
It's another beautiful day. I need to make up for being a lazy slug the past 2 days. It's time for some serious yard work now. It doesn't hurt to kneel, well not as much as it did. I need to go out and do some weeding and trimming and such. It's time to mow again. Today is a good day for yard work.
The testing of the emergency warning system is not a happy thing for Luna. It kinda freaked me out that first Tuesday back in July. I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't, generally, home during the day on the first Tuesday of the month. I had forgotten that was a routine thing.
It had slipped my mind that it was the first Tuesday of the month, but this morning when it started I knew what it was, it didn't bother me. Poor Luna has no idea what is going on. For her, all hell breaks loose the first Tuesday of every month. This morning she was plastered to my side the minute it started. I wonder what she does when I'm not here. It's gotta suck being a neurotic dog.
Well, this morning she got a cow hoof. So it wasn't all bad. When I finally go back to work, I'll have to try and remember that every first Tuesday is a bad day for her.
The job hunt is the first thing made of fail. No results, yet. I have gone on 3 interviews, though, so it's a little better than it was. The first interview, last Thursday, was a total bust. Drove all the way out to Bridgeton, only to find out the person interviewing had made a mistake. She was looking for call center help. She thought I had call center experience, but I don't. The other 2 interviews went fairly well. I'm waiting now. I have another interview tomorrow, and I submitted several more apps today. I signed up with yet another job search site. We'll see if that doesn't lead to something. I've done phone interviews with a couple of the temp agencies, but still haven't heard anything back from them.
Beyond that, nothing much has changed. I'm going to takes cans in for recycle sometime this week. But that's not going to be much in the way of income. I went through and totaled up all the yard sale crap. Came up with a figure of around $400. I know the pricing is fair, I put on the stuff what I'd be willing to pay, and I'm cheap. But income realized from that source depends on weather it sells. Still debating the layout of $70. for a flea market stall. Money is getting tight, and that's a gamble. Which is why I haven't already committed to that course. I really thought that the job hunt would have turned up something by now, otherwise I would have started out with that right off. Oh well, live and learn. I'm still adding stuff to the pile.
Which brings up one of another thing that was made of fail.
My original plan for the desk was to mount 2 sliding keyboard trays that I salvaged from the other house. I tried mounting them and found out that they are too heavy for the hollow core door I'm using as a desk. So I'll have to abandon the idea. I've got no use for them, beyond the one planned, so they go into the yard sale crap.
I'm going to have to abandon my original plan for an Archon costume. Not really sure I'm even going to go. I don't have the money to contribute for food and such, unless something changes I may not go. Weather I go or not, I'm not going to be able to finish the costume I had planned. I've got it all cut and ready to sew, and I'll probably finish that part of it. But, I'd still need to buy a wig and boots, and that ain't happening. Yet another thing hanging in uncertainty...
I've been trying to make a Halfling. Been trying for a while now. I got a useable head:
But then I started working on the legs...
And while I was working on those, the ears got knocked off the head. I was OK with just reattaching the ears, but then I decided he needed an upper lip and I tried to smooth out that divot in his nose ...
It was all down hill from there. I squished the head, I'll have to start all over. This time I'm doing the legs first. Those get baked as soon as they are finished. So no inadvertent squishing or other problems with them laying around. I'm working on toes now. It's not as easy as it sounds. When he's got legs to stand on, I'll make another head. I did it once, I can do it again...
The dogs are driving me up the wall with the curtains. They both like to stand and look out the window, which really messes up the curtains, and totally defeats the purpose of having them. I'm fixing them multiple times a day. This is a problem. I'm gonna sew the panels together so they don't separate at the top. When I set the sewing machine up again.
Not sure when that will be.
It's another beautiful day. I need to make up for being a lazy slug the past 2 days. It's time for some serious yard work now. It doesn't hurt to kneel, well not as much as it did. I need to go out and do some weeding and trimming and such. It's time to mow again. Today is a good day for yard work.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
We should all hang our heads in shame....
Man Dies From Toothache, Couldn't Afford Meds
This
is not a one off people.
And
I wouldn't assume it was due to some sort of character flaw in the victim.
And
it's right to call him a victim. He is one of many victims of the
economic war.
Yes,
I will continue to call it a war. Few realize, but we are waging a war
for the fate of this country.
And for me, the other side is winning.
Cuz the side that's winning is going for a City in the Sky model.
That looks great, doesn't it?
All nice and utopic, airy and clean.
Till you realize that the majority of the population won't live in that pretty, clean city.
The majority of the population will be living like it was 1927.
Just like Kyle Willis.
And unless you are making a 6 figure income right now, your chances of living in that cloud city are slim. There are a few in the upper brackets of the middle class that will get in. But the farther you are from the 6 figures the more remote your chance is.
And your kids won't do any better.
2008 saw the first generation of kids that, likely, will not surpass the living standards of their parents. At the rate we're going the best you can hope for your kids, is that they maintain the standard of living they grew up with. Working a minimum wage job and paying $4.00 a gallon for gas that's not gonna be a possibility.
And with corporations and the CEOs sucking the money up, it's not gonna get any better anytime soon.
And now, they are making moves to get rid of minimum wage. If that happens fewer will be living with the standards they grew up with.
Me personally, I don't want to live in a cloud city, not if someone else has to live in poverty to keep me there. I'd much rather live a reasonably comfortable life, knowing that the majority of the population of the world is also living a reasonably comfortable, healthy life as well..
Friday, September 2, 2011
Poor Oz
I've been messing with some new scrapbooking software. Which we'll talk about in detail in a bit.
And I've been searching for pictures to use in a couple of projects. I went looking for pictures of all the animals alone, just one animal in the picture. I had to go back over a year to find one of just Oz. Which leads me to consider, am I ignoring him?
I've got plenty of pictures of all the animals solo, doing cute things, and I've got pictures of Oz with others, but not many of just him. Which could imply a lack of attention on my part.
After all Oz, like his name sake, is a very low key, mellow kinda of guy. He's not as demanding as Dusty, as needy as Luna, or as annoying as Anya. Oz is a confirmed indoor kitty, so he's not sitting on the steps with me in the evening, like Ashron. I visit with Bird while I'm working on the computer. Oz is too big to sit comfortably on my lap when I'm working.
But, Oz is my most active snuggle buddy. Now that there's someplace comfortable to sit in the living room, he's a very happy camper. He's already learned that sitting next to me, rather than on me, is the way to go. Cuz even if I sit down to watch TV, I'm not gonna stay down. There's always some reason to pause the program and move. If he sits next to me, I'm not constantly throwing him off. But if he's within arms reach, I will pet him.
He's, usually, next to me when I wake up in the morning. But he's not pushy like Ashron. Ash wants to sleep on or in my face. Oz curls up a few inches away, so I don't always notice him. He, like the dogs, moves the minute that I do. But, unlike the dogs, he doesn't pester me till I get out of bed. He goes and sits on the dryer. He sits on the dryer and waits till I let the dogs out and then he says good morning. He gets a scratch or a good petting, depending on how awake I am. Come to think of it, lately he's been hanging out on top of the dryer a lot, and he's there when I come in, or when I'm playing the-other-side-of-the-door with Dusty. So, I guess, he does get his fair share of attention. He's just so laid back, I don't notice it as much.
I'll have to remember to take more pictures of him.
While we're in the subject of the Peanut Gallery...
Dusty, silly goof that she is, ran face first into the trash bin Wednesday.
I have no sympathy for her. It's a huge, red thing. If she can't watch where she's going, it's her own fault.
There's no permanent injury. It did slow her down, for about 10 seconds.
And I've been searching for pictures to use in a couple of projects. I went looking for pictures of all the animals alone, just one animal in the picture. I had to go back over a year to find one of just Oz. Which leads me to consider, am I ignoring him?
I've got plenty of pictures of all the animals solo, doing cute things, and I've got pictures of Oz with others, but not many of just him. Which could imply a lack of attention on my part.
After all Oz, like his name sake, is a very low key, mellow kinda of guy. He's not as demanding as Dusty, as needy as Luna, or as annoying as Anya. Oz is a confirmed indoor kitty, so he's not sitting on the steps with me in the evening, like Ashron. I visit with Bird while I'm working on the computer. Oz is too big to sit comfortably on my lap when I'm working.
But, Oz is my most active snuggle buddy. Now that there's someplace comfortable to sit in the living room, he's a very happy camper. He's already learned that sitting next to me, rather than on me, is the way to go. Cuz even if I sit down to watch TV, I'm not gonna stay down. There's always some reason to pause the program and move. If he sits next to me, I'm not constantly throwing him off. But if he's within arms reach, I will pet him.
He's, usually, next to me when I wake up in the morning. But he's not pushy like Ashron. Ash wants to sleep on or in my face. Oz curls up a few inches away, so I don't always notice him. He, like the dogs, moves the minute that I do. But, unlike the dogs, he doesn't pester me till I get out of bed. He goes and sits on the dryer. He sits on the dryer and waits till I let the dogs out and then he says good morning. He gets a scratch or a good petting, depending on how awake I am. Come to think of it, lately he's been hanging out on top of the dryer a lot, and he's there when I come in, or when I'm playing the-other-side-of-the-door with Dusty. So, I guess, he does get his fair share of attention. He's just so laid back, I don't notice it as much.
I'll have to remember to take more pictures of him.
While we're in the subject of the Peanut Gallery...
Dusty, silly goof that she is, ran face first into the trash bin Wednesday.
I have no sympathy for her. It's a huge, red thing. If she can't watch where she's going, it's her own fault.
There's no permanent injury. It did slow her down, for about 10 seconds.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
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