Get Out and Vote!

Happiness is........

One less bike in the house :)

Papa Bear sold his grocery bicycle on EBay today. He originally bought this Motobecane Nobly for me. After he finished various improvements, he added two back baskets and rode it daily to the Piggly Wiggly across the street.


The main reason this never actually became mine is that Papa Bear wanted to tinker some more and decided to rebuid a Schwin Worldsport for me instead. I have been waiting for brakes to finish up my bike for three months. I'm told that I need a special sort of brake that has only come up for auction twice during the rebuilding process. Both times I supposedly was on the computer and the last minute bidding wars were missed.

The good news in moving just one bicycle out of the house is that I was allowed to then rearrange the house. I combined our desks and created an enlarged office area, a smaller & more accessible dining area and a cozier living room. I turned his previous desk location into a place to park and work on bicycles.....which included all tools that are now kept in one large box instead of individually strewn all over the living room.

Happiness is regaining control of the house. 

You Know Room Service is Bad When......

After the events of last night, I decided to stay in tonight to work on Specific Objectives that are due next week. I began by ordering room service. I made a presumably safe choice with a tomato and basil pizza. It did turn out alright, BUT....right after the server left, I opened the pizza box AND.......it was EMPTY!!!! :-/ So I ran down the hall to explain my predicament to the server. He apologized profusely, returned a bit later with the real pizza....AND brought me a sudzy cocktail to make amends.

All's well that ends well!

Someone...Anyone...Please Confirm My Sanity!!

Reporting from Secaucus, NJ....everything is anything but sane!

I am attending a hazmat training seminar and things have taken quite an interesting twist. Tonight several out-of-towners, including the instructor and yours truly, have met for cocktails and dinner. The dinner conversation included a heated discussion with the the instructor on politcs and religion. When he got distracted, others put him back on track just to see what would be discussed next. Most of it involved religious history, but not all of it. He was so sure of his convictions. I acknowledged that we all are limited to our experiences and for that reason our knowledge suffers from many limitations. I also stated that I prefer to be naive in my determination that all people should be given the benefit of the doubt that their actions are based on a desire for a greater good for mankind....however skewed that that may occasionally be. he agreed with me on these points. A few points that bothered me were:

1. The US is on the verge of a civil war. (I was asked if I even followed the news...to which I replied that I generally do not watch Rush Limbaugh....neither did my instructor.)

2. All practicing Muslims (yes, men, women & children....were indeed at war with infidels. They may not admit it because their primary contention is not to attack unless they know they can win. Their numbers are growing, so it won't be long)

3. Mary Magdeline really was a whore.

4. Puritans were Dutch (I know they were English as one of my ancesters escaped persecution in England, became a Planter in Plymouth in the early 1630's and followed the teaching of his friend, John Lothropp....I am sane on this point :)

5. Catholc origins are found in mythrils (my problem here maybe my lack of ability to spell the word in my search engine...I have tried all possible conbinations and this is the only version Yahoo! has turned up anything.)

6. Jesus was a man who became a Savior, but he is not a deity. God was just an agent within him. To this point I suggest that based on such terms that God was within us all....to which he suggested only those who are saved....to which I suggested to everyone whether or not they understood such terms as saved or unsaved (this dialogue has nothing to do with my thoughts...I was just curious about the instructor's thoughts).

There was more, but I just can't wrap my head around most of it. I got the feeling that I was one of the first to question some of his research...including the correctness of his direct translation of the bible from Hebrew....my point here was..word for word translation aside, it is difficult to gain knowledge of common connotations a couple thousand years later.

My ending thought is that maybe I should keep my thoughts to myself....but it began so innocentley. I had no idea of the twists that one comment would take....so much for my general conviction of avoiding topics on politics and religion.

Ethics

I found this sign a few years back on the Folly Beach side of Folly Road. It always sends me into a fit of gigles that this slogan was used for any campaign.

 

Spooky Inspections

Everyone who works on the waterfront has a story. Life is anything but dull around the ports. One true story I heard today is rather appropriate for Halloween and my nightly listen to Dracula. We are shipping a container of personal affects that has been ordered for an inspection. This in itself is a given. But THIS particular box contains a coffin. So some poor Customs inspector is going to have to open that coffin to examine its contents.

I imagine there will actually be a team of inspectors there - mulling around for the morbid curiosity of it all....who knows, maybe it will be filled with dirt from the old country.

Hooked on Audio

My evil cunning has now hooked my daughter on....Dracula!

A few years back I took a road trip to Ohio. Prior to leaving I went to the library to find a nice long audio book or two to listen. I settled on Bram Stoker's Dracula for the few times the kids were asleep and several of A Series of Unfortunate Events series for when they were awake. The trip made me an addict to audio books...especially anything the narrator Robert Whitfield or Tim Curry reads. After a few large library fines, I decided to check out Audible.

Recently, Audible offered to give me a 1 GB nano iPod (that Mary was wanting for Christmas) if I would prepay a year of audible instead of paying my subscription month by month. For me, this was a deal. I find myself looking for loooong listens....just to make it even more worth my while. I began with a recommendation from Expat Yank - 25 hours of The Three Musketeers (which I havejust finished), followed by 18 hours of A Short History of Nearly Everything (which the family enjoys on our weekend drives to the grandparents), weaved in with 14 hrs of Dracula (which Mary & I listen to in 30 minute increments every night). I'm also listening to The Whistling Season on Radio Reader on the way to work and Black Elk Speaks on the way home from work. Somehow I'm also managing to read a couple of chapters of Children of Dune each day and whatever my son requests for bedtime.

I'm proud to say the benefit of all this is that my kids love reading. My 5th grade daughter was just evaluated and her reading comprehension is on a 10th grade level....Wow!

Moooo-dicons

The one thing I definately like about LiveJournal is the option given to display your mood. It gives the reader a sense of perspective on how to take the words being read. It also gives the writer an opportunity to let out a quick and sometimes needed emotion.

I am currentl VERY moody as I have had a virus all weekend that causes a nauseating vertigo...bleck! I am sure it is a virus because I have never had vertigo before, and earlier this week my manager also had her first case of vertigo. So if any other lowcountry reader feels dizzy in the head, don't be blue. You are not alone!