giving thanks and stuff like that

I find it harder and harder to update this. now my updates also include my latest struggles with that, apparently. I think part of it is because I hesitate posting something that I have no pictures to go with...I'm a really visual person, and I know how cool accompanying photos are. So...I wait...until I have something with a photo. But....thats not always possible....I think its also hard when I dont really know if people are reading it, you know, the people that I would want to. The ones that I dont see every day so it would be cool if they wondered what I was up to and checked it out every now and then. So...motivation is hard to gather sometimes I guess. But, I will trod on. When I began I had no followers at all, so I'm surely better than I was at that point.

So, what am I most thankful for? certainly my job, my house, my food, etc. But, I really am most thankful for the people in my life, my family who gave me everything I needed to get to this point. all the other stuff I listed above can be traced back to them in some way. And of course Jenn. The two most important things in life are God and relationships. So.....I look at all the people, and I thank God for them. of course I thank God for lots of other thigns too...like nature, colors, sound, seasons, and his salvation. So.....anything you are thankful for, that maybe you just recently figured out? Shoot me something new, something about your life RIGHT NOW that you are thankful for...that would be cool.

Did you have a good thanksgiving? We went around my family's table and all shared what we were thankful for, after eating lots of food, then we spent a lot of time with cousins, grandparents, and widescreen TVs with football on them. Here's what I love about my sister. Its about 9pm, and shes starting to get hungry. She wants more Turkey, more stuffing. So....she gets it. Stuffing is delivered to her shortly from the vast stash in the fridge. Relatives LOVE to feed you, of course. half an hour later shes moaning and rolling around in the car next to me complaining about how STUFFED she is. Stuffed........stuffing.....hmmm, I wonder if she made the connection....

Adventures

So, heres what's been happening...let's see, last weekend I went sailing with a friend from school, Greg, on his boat down at Solomons. We were in a race, had a pretty good time but didnt finish in the top 3. Oh well, it was quite a day, very relaxing. I've always loved sailing.

This past weekend I've eaten Indian food, and then a random guy from Poland, Macek, came into town, and he's stayed at my place the last two nights. I hadn't met him before, but he needed a spot to crash, so it was cool. He's a very interesting guy. You could talk to him for hours....he's got a lot on his mind, that's for sure.

Oh, forgot that on my day off on friday I went to Ellicott city with Jenn, apparently the whole place is pretty much haunted (well, some of it), there are website and all about the places that are haunted. Here's the website. Its very quaint, lots of antique shops. We went to a Tea place, called Tea on the Tiber. The Tiber is a creek that flows down underneath half of the houses there, its pretty cool how they've built the houses over top of them, and I guess they did that more than 100 years ago when they built the city. Its been flooded pretty bad in the past though.

http://www.ellicottcity.net/

update!

I have a feeling my reader numbers are dwindling since I havent been updating as much. I guess I left high expectations on myself back when I posted more often, but I dont know, I guess there hasnt been as much to tell you or something like that. nothing that you might not already know. I'll tell you in a few minutes about what I've been doing recently, but for the moment....just know that this website will always be here, dependable, and stuff like that. At the very least its got some cool links, eh?

Smell my feet

So, its thursday, almost Halloween. Tell me, what was your best costume ever....? Some of my favorites (YES, in order of preference):

Best
1. Skeleton
2. tomato
3. Cowboy
4. Vampire
5. King

Worst:
1. tennis player
2. mountain climber

The Hokie Powerhouse Flexes its Muscles

yeah, it was a bit sloppy, but it was a grinding in your face 28-9 victory right in the teeth of an improving MD team...and they went down alright. V Tech is now 7-0, still #3. The sloppy play should give us enough motivation to show BC what's up next thursday night when they come to town.

this is amusing...

adopt your own virtual pet!

These noodles are older than dirt

Well, I've had a hard time updating this thing I guess. I really don't do it unless I come across something that I absolutely must share with the world. Much of what I'm dealing with these days is pretty common knowledge to you all out there that know me. Well...except for the 4,000 year old noodles that they discovered in China! thats pretty cool. Not that I have anything to do with noodles, I just happen to probably be the first person all day to actually read that article on MSN. Everybody else is probably still asleep. Anyway, you should check it out:
NOODLES

It's a friday, and I'm awake, so that's positive. I just found out that I can't get tickets to watch my beloved Hokies play against Maryland just a mere 20 minutes from my house. That's tragic. I WILL see them play next year! You can hold me to that. I may have to drive 4.5 hrs down to Blacksburg for that, but hey, I need to put in more quality Blacksburg time anyway. I'll be heading down there in about two weeks probably. Thats gonna be so refreshing. I need some of that fresh mountain air, especially in the fall.

So, that's right, its fall now! What do you like about fall? I dont always do so well with my online surveys here, but do me a favor and help us enjoy fall by sharing what you like best about it. A lot of memories come to mind of hiking on brisk days with a blue sky and yellow leaves blowing in the stiff wind.....the smell of chimneys....and pumpkins and stuff. Last year I had a pumpkin sitting on my porch. I remembered noticing one morning that "hah, somebodys pumpkin got squashed" as I passed some orange goo in the street. Took me about two days to realize, my pumpkin was missing...hmm...and then it hit me in a funny way that it bothered me a lot less that I lost my pumpkin, than the fact that some mischievious person was on my front porch in the middle of the night. Yeah, I just got TP'd the other night....they did a really bad job too. My sister thinks they got spooked because they left a whole roll on the ground. It really is a pain to clean up though, because its all wet outside, and the stuff just totally disintegrates the second you try to pick it up. I figure.....if I pick it up a bit every day it won't be so bad.......

HokieNation wants a blocked kick...

And they got it! In case you weren't paying attengion, on Sept 24 Jeff King blocked a field goal against Georgia Tech that we ran back for a Hokie Touchdown. Thats what VT is made of. Yeah, its the real deal....Tech is now 5-0 and ranked No. 3 in the nation. Theres a lot of football left, but things are looking good. Don't miss out on the excitement...you can always ask me who theyre playing next, and when. I'll fill you in.

open water

So what's on my mind this morning?? Sailing....

creative cats

for the benefit of you all who didnt check out John's wonderfully uplifting fetish for cat photos in his recent comments, here's a bonus. this should be called, "lime cat" and "don't touch me". the 2nd one actually came with instructions next to it on how to clean a toilet: open lid, insert pet shampoo, insert cat, close lid, flush toilet, wait a minute, open lid, dodge cat as it rockets out of the toilet.

[this story was inspired by actual live cats. no people were harmed in the creation of this post]

what works for you?

I know not a whole lot of people read this, but I'll throw a question out there...what really lifts you up when you're down, blah, not centered? Hopefully by now you've figured a few things out....maybe we can encourage each other like that....with interesting ideas.....I'll share mine...but not yet.

Here's a little bonus while you're thinking about it. A picture of a cat found in Mississippi after the hurricane. Its nice to see life surviving and moving on. We need to see that.

and I'm back

it's been forever since I've updated this stuff.....in the meantime, I've been to Seattle and stuff. Jenn's cousin got married out there, so I went out to join them, and had a great time. I ate lots of Chinese food...some highlights: jellyfish, sharkfin soup. I didnt eat some of the stuff, but it was okay, I had plenty of shrimp, lobster, fish, rice, crab.....whatever else. This was at a "chinese banquet", something like 13 course meal, in Chinatown there in Seattle. After the actual wedding, which was the next day, I was just itching to see the town, so Jenn and I went up into the Space Needle, ate at the revolving restaurant up there........wow, that was an experience. Almost euphoric, watching the city revolving around, having a great conversation, good food, all that. Some pix are up here, as you can tell, so enjoy.

The next day we went to this place called Squonamie falls, pretty amazing sight, but it was less water than usual. Still, a nice walk, and very relaxing. Hmm, I forgot to mention that the wedding had to be the perfect setup, with the weather, right on the water, very calm...very peaceful. You can get a glimpse of that behind in the picture of us.

I'm going to see the Juliana Theory next tuesday, you should check out their new album. Its coming out tuesday too. I think I'll be a bit better about updating this now....I've got more pix up on my photobucket site...if you know where it is. If you don't, just ask.

IM translator

ok...so hilarious, you gotta check this out, if you hope to communicate with anybody 12 or younger...looks like thats the direction our language is heading...

http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

laptop madness

check out this story I swiped from Johns blog...its quite bizarre. people really wanted these used laptops...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/16/computer.frenzy.ap/index.html

its quite bizarre, but at the same time it strikes me....Henrico county...yeah, that nice place down in Richmond...they actually get laptops as freshman in high school? They not only put P. G. County to shame, but they make us look like we havent even invented the wheel yet. When I was in high school I took a data processing class (1997), and the computers we used didnt even have a MOUSE. Bowie was a special school though...with all the riotous activity that went on...the walk-outs, threats, actual explosive devices found, pep rally riots, and excessive fire-alarm pulling (sometimes 4-5 per day, no joke). so we had our ID tags (with "breakaway" chains, specially designed so an administrator could swipe it as you fled the scene of your crime), and our pat-downs at the front door, and all that. Ask me how many things got stolen from me during the 4 years I was in high school....sorry, didnt mean to ramble. What was life like at High Point, or Laurel...? I wonder....

gift errors

if you ever go to MSN then you've probably seen these...its on the main site today. Here are some of the worst wedding presents (I picked my favorites):

"A 3-D painting of horses"
"A really ugly art piece involving a cow tooth"
"A ceramic fish statue"
"A hand-painted lucky horseshoe"
"A picture of a wine cork"
"A friend gave us a framed invitation to her own wedding, which happened about five months before"
"A cinnamon-scented stuffed dog"
"A re-gifted tray (with the original card to the re-gifter included with the present)"
"A $15 garage rack (we don't even have a garage!)"
"A bottle of vinegar vegetables"
"A mop"
"Dollar-store picture frame with price tag still attached"
"Febreze air freshener"
"Gift card that was empty"
"Mounted can opener with the UPC code removed (so the giver could get the rebate and we couldn't return it)"
"An IOU"
"Nothing"

Makes me think of listing all those presents Ive got for birthdays, christmas, whatever that share a similar spot in my heart (the recycle bin part)...but that probably wouldnt be a good idea. I do think Ive been okay with the wedding presents Ive given.....since Ive pretty much stuck to people's registries...thats usually safe.

Some words to go away with...."It's the thought that counts" (even if it seems they weren't thinking)

quote of the day

here' s my deep thought of the day...I borrowed this from Jenn, so its not really mine. This baby is worthy of a fortune cookie:

"coincidences are cool....especially when you know there's no such thing ;-)"

yeah so....in some random way this one reminds me of Mr. T and an Orioles/Red Sox baseball game I went to last year......not really a story I'll share. Just wanted you to notice that its SO EASY for my mind to get side-tracked....

The Sweetness

they say that good things come to those who wait....well I waited a while to decide if an iPod was right for me. Here she is...my beloved has been treating me very well.

new music

The Juliana Theory

God is huge

or I could say God is everything. Here are some verses that have really struck me today...starting with one that really speaks of how God is right here with us, all the time.

Jeremiah 23:23-24
"Am I a God near at hand," says the Lord
"And not a God afar off? Can anyone
hide himself in secret places, so I
shall not see him?" says the Lord;
"Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord

I was also listening to a song by David Crowder Band about stars...and some of these other verses come to mind when I sit under His stars:

Psalm 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God;
The skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
Night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 16:7-8
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
Even at night my heart instructs me. I have
set the Lord always before me. Because He
Is at my right hand I will not be shaken.

Wicked Storm

I've been getting complaints about not updating enough here, so I guess I should make more of an effort? No cool pictures today, but soon enough there will be....when I get my film developed.

Last night I experienced what was probably the worst storm of the summer so far....I was in Annapolis, on West street. One second it was getting darker because it was dusk, then the next second the sky is black, then the next second its black and blowing and starting to rain. This sucker came up FAST. So I'm there with Jenn at a car dealership looking at stuff, and as it starts to rain there is water pouring into the showroom. That stuff came under the door and in like 10 feet. Waiting to test drive a car, we wait a while watching the water pour across the parking lot. signs get knocked over, etc. For some reason there was a fake owl hanging from the powerlines, and he was blowing totally sideways most of the time.

So we finally test drove it in the river that used to be the road...yeah some parts we had to go onto the wrong side to not swamp the car. Then after the whole thing, I notice the signs knocked over, a large cigarette disposal thingy that looks to have been blown into a brand new car and opened itself up (fun). Then I get to MINE, and theres a stinkin sign up against IT (it actually fell ON it). I havent really checked much to see if it left marks, but I sure wasnt happy. (these are metal signs that say like "customer parking" and junk like that. I guess they move them around to trick people or something....so they arent permanent?)

Then theres the power that went out, forgot about that one. Anyway, when I get to work today, I'm seeing that the whole DC area had issues, as I hear about it on the radio, then just outside my building I'm noticing large potted plants that were knocked over, then rolled around...a bird's nest that was definitely not in the tree that used to hold it. A real fun time. I'm told the left 2 lanes of part of the beltway were under 2 feet of water...I've only seen that once before, at the same spot near River Road (the name fits, eh?). Not so good for driving.