4/27/2006

Went for a walk this evening

Andrew practically shoved me out the door - good thing he didn’t lock it behind me - and told me to take a walk. It was a good thing he did. Walking through the park listening to ducks and crickets and dogs and looking at the way the sunlight reflected off the pond and how green the grass was. Just having 15 minutes away from the house and the kids was great and very therapuetic. After I came home, I went upstairs to the office and managed to pound out 1200 words in a couple of hours.

Maybe my touch of writer’s block has really been cabin fever.

Also had a voice lesson today. It went very well. I’m not entirely positive of my end goals with regards to these lessons - but I am having a lot of fun going to Jill’s house to sing. I used to sing. I’ve missed it.

All in all - not a bad day. How was your Thursday?

sparta at 11:45 pm

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4/25/2006

Bored Bored Bored

Okay - the title here might be a smidge misleading. See, I have plenty to do - probably more than I’d like to even try to do on a daily basis - but that’s not what I want to do, and when I sneak off here to the Internet. NOTHING IS NEW! I have no new email from anyone - no one’s been updating their blogs - I feel isolated, cut off, adrift, and … and … BORED! With nothing to do here, I am then forced by maternal and matrimonial guilt to drag myself back to the chores that await me.

Come on - can’t someone help me procrastinate? Give me something to read or a messaage to reply to … do you really want me drowning in my chores all day?

And before anyone suggests that I could be using this time to work on my novel(s) - let me remind you of the two noise & interupt generators I live with. While I can sneak off to read things on the Internet or compose an email (over several sessions, mind you), there is no way I could concentrate enough to work on anything as serious as that.

*sigh* Since you’re all so quiet, I guess it’s back to the dishes for me.

sparta at 4:15 pm

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4/21/2006

This cracked me up

Ever feel like doing this?

sparta at 9:25 am

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4/20/2006

Did you ever listen to……

the Ramones? (If you didn’t - see info here.) I did.

I used to/listen to a lot of punk, then new-wave. I had tapes recorded from friend’s tapes who were recorded from friend’s tapes. Mixes of things…the Ramones, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Black Flag, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Smiths, the Smithereens, Violent Femmes, Dead Milkmen, Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, a lot of other bands from this list …. while you’re at it, look here and here, too. A lot of other stuff isn’t on a list exactly, because they were local bands. Try this link to get an idea, though.

New-wave was an odd spin-off of punk. Then came “alternative”. What in the world is that supposed to mean? It seems to give the impression that it’s just off to the side. You can listen to popular music, or this alternative. Punk - and even New-Wave - stood out as choices, not consolation music. I regret that I do not have more copies of music that I used to listen to. Many of my mixed tapes have disappeared long ago. Some were never mine, actually, but were actually to be passed around and shared. I guess whoever ended up with them has them - or they’ve thrown them out. I have a feeling my dad probably came across some of mine and tossed them a long time ago. It’s very sad.

Anyway - back to the music. I was/am also a fan of progressive rock. This means Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Jane’s Addiction, Led Zepplin, Queen, Yes … see list here.

I also enjoy some heavy metal, classical, and yes, even show tunes (come on, I was a theatre geek, after all), country, jazz, blues, r&b, reggae, rap…. Well, I’m sure you get the idea. Not the genres as a whole, mind you - but each one has something in it I like.

What didn’t/don’t I enjoy, you may ask? Well, THIS for starters! Sorry about the shock. Bands of that type irked me for some reason. Couldn’t stand a lot of what was considered mainstream or popular then, or at least what was popular in my area at that time.

So what about you, what did you listen to?

sparta at 3:43 pm

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4/18/2006

Hey, all.

Today I spent some time out in the big blue room. It was fun - and warm - and bright. Someone called that glowing orb the sun. I vaguely remember it.

;0)

Anyway - haven’t heard from Allison since she called to talk to John and tell him Happy Birthday. She’s avoiding us for some reason. *sigh*

Still, John and Phil have both been in good moods - Spring Break is this week (remember, that means *I’M* off from teaching ^_^) - AJ’s new job is going well - and we got our taxes done in time!

My voice coach called to schedule the time for our next lesson - and she’s squeezing me into a day when she really doesn’t have time, but she likes me, so ^_^ she’s making an exception.

I haven’t been sleeping well, but aside from that … healthwise … I’m feeling pretty well. The knee doesn’t like deep bends, but that’s just going to be a life-long consequence of that injury.

The writing has stalled, but I’ve been doing a lot of critiquing for friends and acquaintances. I love critiquing. Maybe I should have been an editor. Hmmmmmmm. I count the crits as a learning experience, so while my word count hasn’t increased, my knowledge base has - thus when I do write, it will be better!

Ha!

For those to whom I owe e-mails - hang in there. I will write back some day soon - I promise, but maybe not today. Today the big blue room is calling to me again!

~PJ~

sparta at 5:10 pm

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4/14/2006

When do you celebrate your Tax Freedom Day?

Out here in California it’s April 30. Illinois is also April 30. When is yours? For those who don’t have time to explore the link right now, and aren’t sure what I’m talking about, let me explain. If, let’s say, you could pay all your taxes first in daily installments starting January 1, Tax Freedom Day represents the first day you would not be paying any tax and keeping your own earnings. Thus, back in 1920, when we paid less in taxes, TFD was February 12; today it is April 26th (with some states even later).

The amount we all pay in taxes is ridiculous. That loud hum you hear is our founding fathers who cannot believe we pay what we do without staging a revolt. They hadn’t wanted income taxes on the citizens like this. The federal government was supposed to raise money bases on tariffs for the most part. The Federal Government was never meant to take on most of the programs that it has.

I have some issues with the way powers in Washington are grabbed and used, words are shifted, spun, and mutilated to fit the purposes of those in power….

[Mostly this is me thinking out loud ….]
more ยป

sparta at 7:36 pm

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4/13/2006

Today

There’s not much new today. We went to see “V for Vendetta” last night. It was very good. Saw it in the IMAX theatre - that made it better! :-)

It was the first time we’d been out on a “date” since Allison decided to depart. The young lady we found is very sweet and very nice. She came highly recommended. We’re definitely going to have her back.

All in all - things are going fairly well. My writing’s sort of been on hold, but my critiquing is way up. Which reminds me … I’d better get off of here and get back to work!

How are all of you? Drop me a line or leave a post here and fill me in!

~PJ~

sparta at 3:50 pm

Comments (2)

4/10/2006

Ever wonder?

Remember when you were a kid, and you wanted to dig a hole in the backyard? Ever wonder where you’d end up if you just kept digging and digging? Well, Venomous Kate pointed me to this site which will answer that question!

Thanks, VM!

sparta at 10:13 am

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4/6/2006

Happy Birthday, John!

This was John as a baby. So hard to believe it was just five years ago. He’s grown up so fast. But, it’s to be expected, I guess … he was impatient enough trying to get into this world. The nurse and I were seriously worried John was going to be born before the doctor arrived. John also rolled over from his tummy to his back when he was just a few hours old. The nurse who was in the room with me looked at me - looked at him - then looked back at me, grinned and said, “This one’s gonna be trouble. Make sure you keep your runnin’ shoes handy.” Boy, was she right!

Here’s the little guy today! I took this with my camera phone, so excuse the less than stellar picture quality. Still adorable. ^_^ We went to Baskin Robbins earlier so he could pick out his cake and candles. He chose to get a “number candle” instead. More pictures later.

~PJ~

sparta at 3:43 pm

Comments (3)

4/4/2006

You have to wonder

You have to wonder about the adventures of a guy like Karl Bushby. Those who I’ve known for a while might have heard me talk about Michael Palin’s Full Circle which comes from a line of shows geared toward interesting travel journeys. These also include: Around the World in 80 Days (1989); Pole to Pole (1992); Hemingway Adventure (1999); Sahara (2002); and an upcoming Himalaya (?). Palin has written journals which were then neatened up into book form. We have Full Circle as a book on tape, and I have a copy of Sahara. Cool pictures in that one.

Why does this fascinate us so? Perhaps because most journeys in today’s societies are marked in terms of flight numbers and rental car tags; the tourist traps enjoyed (or not), or the fact that nothing was seen but the inside of a server room, conference room, or other business locale. Perhaps also because of the dangers of foreign travel. The concept of going to somewhere like Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia seems amazing in light of the dangers and lack of most modern conveniences. For some people even the idea of climbing to the tops of the Rockies and camping there seems incredible.

These things fascinate me - not because I find them so inconceivable or because I myself am such a gung-ho adventurist - but because I sometimes wish I was. :-)

So, go ahead, share with us your dream adventure [NOT vacation - the two are different here]. I think mine would be traveling throughout Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. There has to be some amazing things there to see.

Next?

sparta at 5:07 pm

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