Mud Party

It's actually not mud, but henna paste, and my head is currently slathered with it. That's right, I decided to try something new. I'm dying my hair with henna instead of those yucky chemicals I've been using for 13 years. Using henna on your hair is quite different than commercial dyes. It's not a liquid, but a paste, that I've been instructed to 'apply like frosting on a cake.' That's about what it felt like: gooey, sticky, green frosting. You should have heard me last night while I was mixing up my henna potion! It sure looked and smelled like some witchy concoction.

I got used to the smell as I was putting the stuff on my head. It's slightly hay-like and grassy. It's really a very natural, earthy scent. And why wouldn't it be? It's all henna (natural) and lemon juice (natural). My hair is pretty long (oh, how I hope I got it all! It's so very hard to section myself!) and with this cake of henna and plastic wrap and towel over my head, it's really heavy. I've got three more hours to go like this! Maybe I should take a nap....

Poor Branwen, my mother's old Saturn. We finished clearing it out and took off the tags so the Purple Heart charity could come and take it away. While we were doing this, we noticed the driver's side lock looked amiss. It was! The metal lock part was pushed back, and the rubber seal around it was loose. Someone tried to break into our car! We were very upset about this. That is not a fitting end for a car that served us so well for a few months shy of ten years. It looks like they didn't succeed (they wouldn't have gotten far in it anyway), but that's not the point. And it's disturbing to think someone even tried, in this otherwise quite suburb I've lived in all my life. Despicable.

Ah, but the old car is gone now. I hope someone will get some use out of it somewhere. Probably for parts. My mother and I were out shopping. This is a good thing. A car, though not alive, is like a part of your family. You rely on it to get you places, to protect you from the elements and from accidents, to carry things that are important to you. We would have cried to see it go.

Tomorrow is brunch. We get to show off the new car to Fox and his wife. And walk to and from Annapolis in the rain. Should be fun!

Not Sure What to Say

I'm having a hard time finding something to blog about today. Yes, the day is young and something may come up later. I really want to avoid ranting about work, but work is getting unbearable.

It's not the job, because I still very much enjoy what I do, I might be getting some help to get caught up, and I'm otherwise not in bad shape. It's the people. It's specifically one person. 1/4 of my group has decided that the other 3/4 should not be in any way associating with each other. I've had problems with some of my coworkers in the past, and they with me but, within the past couple months, I've felt that we've all arrived at a place where we can work together and get a long and respect each other.

But this one person.... This person has picked the most vulnerable of us, WAM, and decided to fill their head with nonsense. Nonsense that is a direct attack on my and another coworkers character. I'm happy to report that WAM is too smart for that and has been sharing e-mail exchanges with me. So, this other coworker, I'll call them Sam, says that we're misleading and offensive to WAM. I don't know where Sam's information comes from, because WAM and I have been getting along fabulously recently.

I don't put much in the opinions that others have of me, but when I learn about it and learn that it is unjustified, I can't help but be quite upset. I was so upset yesterday when this all came out in the open that I barely did any work, I had a migraine and a stomach ache. You can't just not let it get to you, as much as you try. How can one person, insignificant in the grand scheme of my life, have such a strong effect on me?

Well, really it's because I let them. But there are two things, if nothing else, that I am not. I am not a liar, and I am not racist. And I will be damned before I let anyone accuse me of either. Indirectly, this is what Sam has done.

But it will be ok. WAM and I and the other third of us will be talking to Boss² about it, probably Monday. This needs to get resolved before it hurts our productivity more, before it escalates further. There is an employee here who willingly, deliberately, and constantly tries to cause enmity among the group, and it needs to stop now. This is not an ideal work environment.

Tonight, I'll be mixing up a henna potion. Tomorrow, I'll slather it all over my head. Then I'll have a good 4 hours or so to sit around and play with Poser and Vue. Remember that involved scene I was working on? I got some new models that, I think, will put me that much closer to completing it. And I've got time to do it while my hair color settles in!

Toast to Friday, and leaving a very stressful situation behind me for the weekend!

Washington DC is Searching for a New Slogan

Currently, they use "taxation without representation." While this is a true statement (DC residents are taxed, but do not have a voice in Congress), it doesn't exactly promote people to visit.

I like this city, and I tend to not like big cities in general. There are many things to see; museums, historical places, monuments, memorials, Japanese Sakura trees. The place is teething with interesting things that don't have to cost any money to enjoy. It is the capital of a nation, a nation that is a world power, and all we can think of is "taxation without representation."

Well, truth be told, they need to fix that lack of representation part, but they want something new to say about this fine city. People have been calling in to local radio and TV stations and city officials. Here are some suggestions:

Welcome to Washington DC, Don't Park Here.

Welcome to Washington DC, Now Leave.

Washington DC, Traffic Beast of the East.

I vote for the last one (you thought this was going to be a serious political blog entry, didn't you?).

I plan for a few mishaps along my 50 mile commute in and around the DC area. Even sitting in a 30 minute back up, I should be able to get to work by 7:00. So, some poor soul broke down on the bridge this morning, blocking the left lane and creating a 30 minute backup along five miles. No problem, we're still going fine on our time table. Then some fool in a landscaping truck crunched up the back of a little black car, creating another 30 minute backup along another five miles of Beltway. 30 minutes I can take. Not one hour. I was 30 minutes late. Yuck.

Yup. Traffic Beast of the East gets my vote.

Four Months from Now

In four months, I will be visiting my friends in Idaho. A lot will happen between now and then, making it seem like so far away. That time will get here before we know it though!

I dreamt last night that it was July, and I had just arrived at my friends' home. One cat, Ashy, came right up and said her kitty hello (much like she did when I met her last year). The other female, Pandora, really really really wanted attention from me (only slightly unlike what she did when I met her last year). The other cat, Bandit, spent much of the first part of the dream hiding from me (exactly as he did when I met him last year). But, I was able to tempt him out with a handful of kitty treats, and Willow and I were trying to hold off Pandora as I gave Bandit treats so he'd remember me. In the midst of all these kitties, I realized that I forgot my laptop (horrors!) and my tarot cards (more horrors!) and a few other things that I really wanted to bring.

I know I'm not actually going to forget those things in July (how can I possibly forget my cards?), but now my trip really does seem so far away. I know it's not. My Spring and Summer days are pretty full right now, so I'm sure it will come before I know it. Soon, I tell you, soon!

I've been looking forward to this since I left them last year. Everyone around the office thinks my life must be pretty dull if I'm that excited about going to Idaho. I don't care! It's not dull! And I am excited! So there!

Last night I re-downloaded that three hour download onto my laptop so I can write a back-up copy to a DVD. Downloading to my laptop took one hour. I figured it out though! Three hours to one hour is the difference between a 10MB hub and a 100MB hub. I need one of those on my desk computer! New upgrade to Vue coming soon!

If anyone wants to know, all back office systems at work are down right now. And nothing is on the Africam to keep me occupied. I completely cleared job #1 of the four I have to cover yesterday, though. A step closer!

That's all the bored rambling for now, I think!

For Willow

What is 2400 miles? A distance that could take some two days to traverse over land. But with a few circuits and cables, that space is covered in an instant. With the speed of thought and a few firing electronics, 2400 miles doesn't seem quite so far.

How many people in our lives would never have been there if it wasn't for modern technology? What an amazing world we live in.

Have a wonderfully happy birthday, Willow. And here's a little Danish Proverb that I've always believed: The road to a friend's house is never long.

While I'm at it, here's to the 400th post! What fun!

Let's Exercise Together!

Today, we will jump to conclusions, run logical circles around each other, and stretch the truth.

Don't ask! I had two cups of coffee today! One more than the average work day. That caffeine crash is going to suck!

How Long??

Somehow, Poser 7 got released without me. I don't mind too terribly much, Poser 6 does what I need on most occasions. However, it's always nice to be up-to-date. And the new version of Vue, 6, is completely compatible with Poser 7, where parts of Poser 6 were not. With me so far?

I am going to upgrade Vue eventually, so I might as well upgrade Poser too. I purchased my upgrade version today and started downloading the .zip file. Holy smokes! The progress screen estimates three hours to download the .zip! It's ok, I've got the time. Then again, if it takes three hours to download a .zip file, how long do you think it will take to install that sucker? Methinks the computer will be on all night.

My mother and I went to brunch by the Bay today. We didn't wear quite enough coat so didn't walk the docks. Still, the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing and the gulls were flying. *sigh* I like Spring!

I Don't Know What to Say Today

I got up at the regular time and went into work. I got there an hour earlier than usual (skipped my workout, you see). I came home and took a nap, now I've got that groggy after-nap feeling.

In other news, this is the action on the Africam last night. LOOK AT ALL THOSE CAPE BUFFALO!! And they were making Cape Buffalo noises!

They haven't approved my registration for the Africam forums yet, so I have to post my screenshots here. I can mind the forums without posting anyway. I never thought I'd find something more addictive than EverQuest.

Looks like I have the house to myself tonight. This happens so infrequently. Let us reflect on that for a moment.

I might mess with that image I'm trying to create on Poser tonight. Or I might cuddle up with a Callie-cat in front of the Lion King, or something. I can run amok!

Amok, amok, amok, amok!

Little Somethings

This is for my friend Willow, maybe a little taste of home. This is the 'guest cottage' that my second cousin (mother's cousin) is in the process of building at his home in Hawai'i. I'm sure he's got extended family that he didn't know he had who want to come and visit when it's done. I do! But he already knows about me. :)




I'm not sure exactly where he is. I've been told that he's in the path of the lava flow, if a lava flow was to occur. I should ask him for a more specific location some day.

This is also for Willow. Fondly dubbed 'Ellie' by Africam forum members, I've seen this bull twice. Doesn't he look happy?!

You can waste away the hours viewing the Africam here. That's what I did last night. And why I didn't get to bed on time.

Have a good day, Willow!

What Doesn't Bend Breaks

I am so glad that the weekend is fast approaching. It won't be much of a weekend because I intend to go into work on Saturday. And I'll be doing a task I'm not looking forward to. But, when you as for help and they say there is none, that means they pay me extra to do it.

Today, my parents and I had occasion to contemplate the fallen branches in our backyard from the ice storm we had a month ago. It was quite confusing. Two branches from the same tree fell in a T pattern, with other trees and their limbs all around it. That must have been some really heavy ice to get that top branch where it was. The force of nature, even its destructive force, can be so awesome.

That small part of forested land has changed a lot since I was young and played among those trees. It's thinner now, much has died and fallen. But the oak is still proud and tall. It's the tallest thing around, actually. If we ever lose that tree, it will be a sad day. As sad as when I lost my maple in the front.

Some things just should last forever. But in my memory, they will.