journal – Page 19 – commonplacebook.com

The Road to Springfield

Post author:HFM
Post published:June 11, 2001
Post category:House and Home Journal Television

The Road to Springfield: [link deprecated] Vote on your favorite supporting character in NCAA playoff-style matches. To be eligible, the character must have appeared in at least two episodes. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are ineligible.

This weekend was laid-back but pretty busy: I went to the lesbian picnic on Friday night. Saturday, we did a brief run through the Talbott Street art fair, peered in the windows of Dan and Doug’s new house (they’re closing Wednesday) and ate lunch at Bazbeaux. On Saturday night, I went to R. Bistro (Massachusetts Ave.) with Dan, Doug, Garrett, Amy, Jeremy, Jennifer, Barb, Michelle, and Ralph. David’s the manager, there; it’s a new restaurant. Nice place; definitely go.

I spend Sunday working on the lawn and “verandah”. I finished putting up hooks for hanging plants, then planted the Snow-in-Summer seeds and Black Eyed Susans, then I went and bought a hanging plant and a bunch of small plants for the front flower bed.

My Birthday

Post author:HFM
Post published:June 7, 2001
Post category:Books Brain Food Journal Movies Recently Read

Dan and Doug took me out to dinner, and gave me North By Northwest and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and My sister gave me a fondue pot, ice crusher, and goth chick Barbie. So my birthday turned out pretty damned cool.
Fake book on Amazon: American Foreign Policy by G. W. Bush
Fake reviewers on Amazon: Henry Raddick and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

‘Cambrian Explosion’

Post author:HFM
Post published:June 1, 2001
Post category:Brain Food

Remember when you were a kid, and all of the sudden, for no apparent reason, you shot up several inches one summer? Like growth wasn’t a slow, glacial process but an abrupt one? Sort of like some of the theories on evolution that suggest mutations aren’t as gradual as we think. (A Cambrian Explosion, per Jim C.)

Although, when you look closely at the theories, the idea of a real ‘explosion’ is probably a misnomer:

The Cambrian explosion, or Cambrian radiation, was the relatively rapid appearance, around 542 million years ago, of most major animal phyla, as demonstrated in the fossil record.[1][2] This was accompanied by major diversification of other organisms.[note 1] Before about 580 million years ago,[note 2] most organisms were simple, composed of individual cells occasionally organized into colonies. Over the following 70 or 80 million years, the rate of evolution accelerated by an order of magnitude[note 3] and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today.[5] All present phyla appeared within the first 20 million years of the period,[6] with the exception of Bryozoa who made its earliest known appearance in the upper Cambrian.[7]

busy weekends

Post author:HFM
Post published:May 29, 2001
Post category:Journal

Someday, I’m going to actually have a three-day weekend where I accomplish all the stuff I need to accomplish and yet still have time to relax and enjoy myself. I got a lot done, it’s true. However, the mountain of junk that’s still left to accomplish is threatening to tumble down around me. And I really have to learn to say no to people.
Boy, it has been a grand week of me bitching about things, hasn’t it? I just want to go home and sleep. But no; there’s too much to do.

So I’m back at work

Post author:HFM
Post published:May 7, 2001
Post category:Journal Travel

So I’m back at work after my two-week vacation and my big-fat road trip extravaganza. Yipeee! I had a great party, and a great time, but it’s good to be back to my 130 + work-related e-mails. Swell. Plus I’m in my new cubicle after the latest move at work (happened right before I left). I gots me more space than before. Es vera cool. 🙂 The party and road-trip photos will go up ASAP after I finish working on my Dad’s website.

people-powered mower

Post author:HFM
Post published:April 16, 2001
Post category:Funny Websites Journal Recently Read

Bought a people-powered mower this weekend and mowed the lawn. Cool. My arms are tired, but the lawn looks great and it’s a small, efficient mower that doesn’t need gas or create air pollution. My lawn is green in every sense of the word.
This guy is interesting. He’s got an interesting design and he’s and excellent writer with a lot of provocative ideas.

productive weekend

Post author:HFM
Post published:April 1, 2001
Post category:Journal

Had a really productive weekend, but have discovered that I still have TONS of work to do. i spent the weekend working on the house and the lawn, doing laundry and dishes, hanging pictures, etc. I still have a lot of work to do on my Dad’s website, and I discovered when i logged on tonight that I have a TON of requests (25 of them!) for work to be done on the gayindy.org website. I’ll have to get to them tomorrow night. And we have 15 pages to mock up for a hot new project at work – to be done by Wednesday. Ack!

moving to the pumpkin house

Post author:HFM
Post published:March 26, 2001
Post category:Journal

The big move took place last Sunday (3/18) and it all went really smoothly. My dad & step-mom, brothers Todd & Scott, sister-in-law Bethany, and sister Stacy all helped out. The one thing I forgot to do was grab my camera and take photos of the move. Everythings in place and most stuff is unpacked already, with the exception of three boxes still in the living room; mostly just office supplies. I’ve made a dozen trips to Target to get little things, and I’m mostly organized. Things that got broken: coffee pot (replaced), picture glass from a framed poster (no big deal) and the bathroom scale (yeah!).
It’s been an interesting week. I’m still not used to the new place, although everything’s more efficient, especially in the kitchen. I’m *still* thrilled to death to have a new refrigerator with a real freezer. It’s unbelievable the amount of stuff I now have frozen. My sister’s got my old computer all set up and has been getting online with it and playing Sim Tower. Cool. I’m glad I kept it.

Poor Customer Service Experience

Post author:HFM
Post published:March 16, 2001
Post category:Journal

I bought two mattresses last Saturday (March 10th) at Kittle’s Rooms Express and when I paid for them, I arranged to have them delivered tomorrow (Saturday, March 17th). They were supposed to call me at work and arrange the delivery time. So several days went by, and I got no phone call, and just as I was going to call them, they left a message for me at home, saying they needed to “arrange a delivery date.” A mattress sale is the perfect chance to upgrade your sleep setup.

Now, I had already arranged the date, so when I called, I was already concerned. Turns out they couldn’t deliver the mattresses Saturday, and wanted to do it Tuesday. When I said I’d already scheduled it for Saturday they told me the saleslady hadn’t done it (I *watched* her enter the info.) So after talking to the warehouse guy and the store manager, I ended up telling them to shove their mattresses.

So I went to The Mattress Firm and bought two mattresses, and they’re going to deliver them this afternoon. Yeah for them.

moving

Post author:HFM
Post published:March 15, 2001
Post category:Journal

I’m about half-way moved into the new place and have been staying there for a while; my sister is staying at the old apt with the cat, who’s birthday I missed (the cat’s not the sister’s) in all the hoopla of moving. Fortunately, she can’t read the calendar, so if I give her a bunch of catnip tonight, she’ll never know any difference. Again, giving catnip to the cat not the sister. Although, who knows, maybe Stacy’d like some catnip, too.