i have a 40 inch HD TV with bose surround sound at my disposal and can’t, for the life of me, figure out how to switch over to play a DVD.

nothing on tv either.

i met up with two friends from the TCF yesterday morning at the jacksonville zoo. what a great day it was!
all the animals there were so cool, some of the highlights: an anaconda snake that was bigger around than my leg, colorful poison frogs, a silverback gorilla who was a big flirt and then the two coolest things, i got to feed giraffes (didn’t pet them, they didn’t get close enough), and then went into stingray bay which is a shallow, shell-bottomed pool where you can stick your hands in and pet stingrays (barbs removed). they brought out food, which was 4 or 5 little pieces of fish and shrimp in a cup, and told you how to hold it between your fingers and the rays would come up and sort of vacuum them out of your hand! they feel really strange, soft and almost slimy on the bottom and a bit rough on the top. when we first got there i was just holding my hand in the pool trying to pet them as they swam by and one came over and tried to suck up my fingers. freaked me out a bit at first. i didn’t know it but i was holding my hand the way you are supposed to when there is food in it and i guess he thought i had food. i had to go back and get a second cup because it was so much fun to feed them. the rest of the zoo was great and the gardens were so beautiful. since my batteries died right after the giraffes, i have to get the stingray and some of the landscaping pics from one of my friends that was there. we had lunch in the zoo as well. good times!

me feeding the giraffes:

after i got back i decided to take a walk out to the beach around sunset. it’s very strange to be there at that time of day and the sun isn’t setting over the water. living on the west coast of FL, i get to see the sunset all the time. maybe one day i will get up early enough to see the sunrise. yeah. i’m on vacation. probably not going to happen!

the beach yesterday evening:

today i am just spending sitting by the pool listening to the sound of the waterfall that flows into it. the 4 little pooches that are in my care for the weekend are the most adorable, loving, little doggies ever. the 2 yorkies sleep and snuggle with me at night even. i am plotting dognapping at this point!

tomorrow morning i am going to the lighthouse in st. augustine. and if there aren’t too many people crowding the place, i will visit the historical area of the city too. they’ve built a parking garage recently. i almost missed seeing stuff because finding a parking space was nearly impossible last time i was there.

i think i am now off to take a swim and then continue to lounge around. i’m feeling incredibly lazy today!

tomorrow is the big day. i leave for vacation and will be gone until may 10th. of course i will be popping my head in once in a while at night when i read email and such.

plus, i hope to post some pics while i am gone as well!

try not to make a mess of the place while i’m gone!

ciao!

omgs.
it just dawned on me that i am leaving for vacation in 4 days and aside from the list i made a few weeks ago, haven’t even thought about what to take with me.
gah.
must work on that tonight.
at least the suitcase is still in the garage since megacon. i never put it back up in the attic.
guess i will leave it down for wrath of con at the end of may.

i’ve been pretty busy with work(s) this week, working almost 70 hours total. some good news is that i will only have one job in about 3 weeks or so and that’s all i’m gonna say about that.

i’m also getting ready for my vacation which starts a week from this coming wednesday!
i’ve got almost everything in order - directions, maps, list of things to see - and i will have my laptop with me so i will be able to post pics along the way.
i watched a video on youtube last night of the giraffe overlook at the jacksonville zoo - something i definitely have to to do - and you can even pet and feed them!! i love giraffes so this will be something pretty special for me. i can’t wait to see the zoo and botanical gardens and get some great pics.
i’ve lived in FL for 27 years and i don’t really do many touristy things. i am planning on going to the aquarium in tampa sometime soon after i get back.

also, the big thing that i have going on will be happening right after i get back from vacation.

not too much of anything else going on here right now but i am about to get myself outside to finally get my tiki masks painted and hung on the fence. i also bought a cool bamboo windchime to hang out on the patio. it’s beautiful outside this afternoon and i am going to take full advantage of it!

i had one of the best birthdays ever this year, and it’s not over yet.  tomorrow, cyberdelia and i will be celebrating in style and i think we might even invent a new martini for the occasion. there wil be pics and a review of the martini…hehehe.

as for the birthday this has been a great one. i’ve gotten some cool gifts, one of which i will try to take a video of tomorrow…hilarious…and then there will be more gifts, drinks and BSG tomorrow night as “epic friday” begins a great weekend (anything has to be better than last weekeknd with no car - last friday’s festivities not included).

i finally got my car back. when i called late this afternoon they were just about to call me to let me know it was almost finished.  about an hour after my phone call they were here to pick me up. since the repair bill was so high ($600+) he;’s letting me pay it in 2 installments. did i mention that i have the greatest mechanic ever? it’s a darn good thing that i have a second job or i would be walking to work every day. he showed me the bad motor mounts and i can’t believe they were still holding my motor in. he said it was sagging a little but with the new parts, everything is good as new. i am so glad this happened before my trip to the east coast in 3 weeks.

i managed to clean the entire house today and did 3 loads of laundry! i wanted to work on a few art projects but that just never happened. i still have to do some organizing in my bathroom but it’s not necessary. everything is all clean and tidy and it’s too bad we aren’t having a frak party here this week. actually, i’m not sure if there is one going on at all. since it’s my brithday weekend, i’d like to have something going on.
cyberdelia was asking me today what i wanted to do and i drew a blank. i would like to get dressed up and go somewhere but i just can’t think of anything i want to do. the whole car expense has just made my brain hurt. guess i should really think about that. maybe i will just stay home, make a fire out in the pit and have some cocktails.
i guess i shouldn’t worry about that now but instead, enjoy my relaxation time tonight because tomorrow is back to the grind. at least there are only 3 more days left to the week!

since i apparently have nothing better to do today but sit here and tweak websites, i added a plug-in so i can imbed youtube videos. it took me about 5 tries to get the thing to work but so far, i think it’s working just fine. i also had the thought that i would try my hand at getting that stupid “private post” plug-in to work. i can actually make some stuff private here but anyone that i want to read the content will have to use a common password. that means i can put a password on random posts and then those of you who know the password can read my ever-so-important ramblings.
the only thing that is kinda weird about that is that once you put the password in, i don’t think it ever refreshes back to private. the posts will always be seen by you once you add the password the first time. not a problem for you but it’s hard for me to make sure that the password is working because even when i log out of WP, i can still see the post. that, and i will have to use the same password for every private post. does anyone have any thoughts on this?

i also thought of using my vox blog as a private blog but realized that only vox members that i have in my friends list can read my private thoughts. that’s fine and all but i only have 3 people on my friends list and not everyone has a vox blog.

so here’s the question: should i just password-protect certain posts and then send the password to the few of you who asked to sign up? again, thoughts?

also, can you let me know if there are any bugs in the video from the post below?
thanks!

in party news, our frak-party friday night was a blast! it was quite the drive to orlando but so worth it. there were about 18 people there and we had food, drink and battlestar (on 3 different TVs). one of the best parts of the evening is that cyberdelia had some sneaky surprise birthday plans going on. we even rode over together and i had no idea!
during one of the breaks in the show she snuck downstairs to get the birthday snacks that she hid in her bag…cookies with chocolate icing to spread on them, and a bottle of three olives chocolate vodka - complete with a bsg shotglass. of course my shots were filled up to the “oh frak, you’re a cylon” line. i also got a taste of mixing raspberry vodka with diet coke. yummy! we really had a great time, got to meet more TCF‘ers and took a bunch of pics. i should have mine posted in the gallery sometime later on today.

if you haven’t see the first episode of the new season, this video will help you catch up:

more geeky stuff:
i’ve decided to subscribe to twitter again. i actually did that last week but never had the time/ambition to add it to the sidebar until last night. i figure with unlimited texting on my cellphone i can update it lots, so why not!

turns out that my car is still in the garage and 2 sets of motor mounts later, the OEM parts had to be ordered from ford. having an older car is sometimes a pain. one of the sets they got just didn’t fit and the second set fit but then one of the bolts broke. it is going to cost me only about $40 more for the ford parts so that’s not too bad.i know i hardly ever talk about work here, and that’s for a reason, but the sucky thing about this whole car mess is that i can’t go to job #2 and it’s really important (to me) that i be there right now. job #1 is taken care of with vacation days and to tell the truth, i could care less if i go there or not. the most annoying thing was when i called in this morning and explained my plight. no “sorry to hear that” or “hope the car is ok” - all i got was, “*heavy sigh* - we are so busy today too”. like i am supposed to feel guilty or sorry that there is so much work - it will still get done without me. of course that got my dander up and all i could reply with was, “well there’s nothing i can do about it”. so now, on the off chance that my car is finished today, i’m still taking tomorrow off. because. i. can.
job #2 however, i do feel bad about missing, not because there is so much work or that my presence is needed so badly, but because i am learning stuff there. if the car is ready early enough tomorrow i will definitely go in to job#2. if it happens to be ready today, i will go in to job #2 early tomorrow. besides, i don’t get paid for time that i miss there since i am part time, so the extra hours will help.

it was a nasty rainy day yesterday and after a short power failure, my internet was crap. the modem and 2 routers had to be reset a few times and by last evening i couldn’t stay connected at all. snurching internet from a neighbor’s wireless wasn’t even helping me (shhh…) on rainy days the internet seems to be worst which has me guessing that the older underground wires aren’t in that great of shape. one of these days i will have the cable people re-wire everything.
of course, last night was one of the few times that i had some free time to chat with a group of friends so i was pretty upset that i couldn’t continue. too bad because i knew i didn’t have to get up early for work today.

so the pony is in the shop and i just got the bad news phone call. i took it in to get that hose replaced and while they were under the hood they noticed that my motor mounts were not even connected anymore! the transmission had been acting a bit funny but i had a conditioner put in last month before megacon and it seemed OK afterward.  i guess the problem was starting then. i won’t have the car back till tomorrow. good thing i ran my errands before taking it in.
i’m glad that they noticed the problem but geez, car repairs are ’spensive! i can’t complain too much though. if i had a newer car, i would be paying that amount every month as a payment.
*tries to make self feel a little better about the repair bill*

since i can’t go anywhere on my day off, i’ve decided to rearrange my bedroom again. i haven’t liked the new layout since i changed it so i am changing it back. it might help me sleep better too.
after that, it’s time for haircolor (don’t i lead an exciting life?) can’t go to a party with shabby looking color, now can i?
besides, next week is my birthday and if i am going out, my hair has to look good. the new style is coming along nicely as it grows in. guess i will wait till next month to actually change the color. (there are a few reasons for that, one being $$ and the other…well that’s part of my ‘thing i can’t talk about’. i need to make sure a color change won’t be a problem)

in the irony dept:
i just got an email from ticketmaster listing all the upcoming shows in my area and at the top of the list is the band pearl jam. weren’t they the band that back in the 90s had the biggest beef with ticketmaster over their service charges and high ticket prices?
by the way, when the tickets go on sale they will be $67 for all seats! no cheaper prices for the seats further back as it is usually.
how the times have changed.

countdown to vacation: 26 days

it’s the middle of the night on a thursday and i am wide awake. i have the laptop in my bedroom and i fell asleep while reading my email about 11pm and then woke up again around 2am. fortunately i’m off tomorrow so i can sleep in a bit.
i’ve not been getting enough sleep as of late and it’s starting to wear me down. changes are afoot and my mind has been having a hard time shutting down at night. i just can’t stop thinking.
i had a few recreational plans (read: shopping) for the day tomorrow but some of them were squashed because now i have to take the pony to the garage in the morning. when i got to work this morning i heard a horrible whining noise when i turned to back into my parking space. at lunch i went out to check the power steering fluid and sure enough, it was very low and there was power steering fluid all over the place. i think it’s just the hose that goes from the resevoir to the pump that is bad. it looked pretty questionable. my mechanic said that since the belt and pulley were still working, it is pretty safe to say that the hose is probably the culprit. under his advice i stopped by the auto parts store on my way to job #2, grabbed a quart of fluid and made it to work and then home with no consequence.  i also noticed when i pulled into my driveway that my driver’s side headlight is out. i hope that doesn’t cost too much to have it done at the garage because i am just too lazy to do it myself.
there are a few errands that i have to run in the morning before the garage so i really should go to sleep soon.

tomorrow night cyberdelia and i are attending another geek fest “frak party”. this one is over in orlando and we are celebrating the battlestar galactica season 4 premier. yeah, we use any excuse to go to a party! it will be fun to hang with all our geeky friends again!

oh, i will have some huge news to report in the coming weeks so stay tuned. even though i am so tempted to spill a little bit of it now, for safety and security it has to stay a secret for now. (sorry, i still can’t get the whole ‘private post’ thingy to work. if i could, some of you would already know!)

i hope everyone has a great weekend!

it is 45 degrees here this morning. last time i checked, it was spring and i lived in FL. gah!

now resisting the urge to go back to bed and watch the rest of battlestar galactica, season 3. four episodes to go and i will have re-watched all 3 seasons.
season 4 starts in 10 days!

must motivate self to get ready for work…

a happy chocolate bunny day to everyone!

~may you never leave your chocolate bunny without ears~
i guess that means you’re supposed to eat it all in one sitting?

(comic courtesy of mother goose & grimm by mike peters)
(quote courtesy of my friend john)

can you tell i don’t have much to do today? i’ve been loving the fact that i have had a lot of “me” time this past week. since returning from megacon i have had the entire week off from my second job due to the fact that there was nothing to do there. being part time, i am not guaranteed my hours. i really needed the time off though, working two jobs is really taking its toll.

i might go outside a bit and work in the yard. i need to clean up the rest of my ‘post-con mess’ in my bedroom and put everything away. i packed my ‘weapons’ into their boxes and put them on the closet shelf until may. i need to go out later and get a plastic storage container for all my belts, holsters and canteen covers too.

anyway, the real reason i decided on another post was this…
i logged on to my flickr! account and had the following greeting:

as cyberdelia was trying to decide if she should remove the “BSG caprica six” action figure she got at megacon last weekend out of the packaging, she posed this question:
“what good is an action figure if it’s not going to get any action?”

the figure is quite bendy and cyberdelia noted that it bends in ways it shouldn’t.
i reply, “well she is a cylon afterall”.

six is now on the shelf hanging out with the original BSG series “apollo” and “starbuck” figures.
i suggested that six and the “trinity (the matrix)” figure that is also on the shelf should have a brawl.
six would probably win because even if trinity shot her, she would eventually come back.

we have some seriously weird conversations in this house…

hilarious!
if you’re a fan of ths show, this little video will get you up to date on what has happened so far:
battlestar galactica video

the decompression from megacon 2008 is still not complete. i think it will take a few more days before i am back to normal. today was my first day back at job#1 but i didn’t have to go to job #2 this evening, so all the pics have been uploaded into the gallery and captioned. again, i didn’t take these (obviously, since i am in a lot of them) but i was there for all of them. the friend that took most of them is a professional photographer and did a way better job than i ever could have. i am sure i’m going to find a few more online over the next few days and will share those as well.

i really had a great time and when “wrath of con” comes around in may, we’re going to do it all over again!

there is so much i want to write about megacon but i am sitting here falling asleep. after 2s day of walking around the con in costume & posing for pics, then a night of drinking and dancing till 4am, i got next to no sleep last night. we walked around the con again today till about 3:30pm (i couldn’t even think about a costume today). there was a lot of traffic and it took me 2 hours drive home. my raptor car did well and got me there and back uneventfuly.

i am sitting here nodding off but wanted to share a pic. i will write more tomorrow.

this is the whole group of us in different BSG costumes. all of us in black are the BSG razor marines group “the divine devils”. the greens are the basic BDU setup and on the top right is a viper pilor and top left duty blues costume. i personally only took 1 pic throughout the whole con but a friend (and fellow TCF-er) took some awesome pics. i am going to add a few of them to the gallery.

Read the rest of this entry »

i don’t do these much but i thought this one was pretty interesting. i snagged it here .

Here are the rules:

1. pick up the nearest book.
2. open to page 123
3. find the fifth sentence.
4. post the next three sentences.
5. post a comment here once you post it to your blog so i can come see!

here’s mine:

the first time i visited cross creek mall, i couldn’t have been in fayetteville more than a month. i was excited - i was 900 miles away from trouble and it was time to start a new life. i was probably not even twenty steps through the entrance of the mall when i heard someone say, “hey, freak! yeah you! ace frehley!”

~ from ‘the paths we choose’ by sully erna ~
and yes - i should be in bed.

i got up early today so i could get ready and get out of the house at a decent hour. i went to my local fabric store and picked up all the materials (minus one small clip…grrrr) for the holster for one of the costumes that i will be wearing at megacon next weekend.
it came out way better than i expected since i was working off one that cyberdelia bought recently. it cost me about $12 to make (about half of what it cost to buy) and it looks pretty authentic. the pic i have below doesn’t do it much justice but you get the idea. oh, and the sidearm in is isn’t real, it’s an airsoft gun

in case you’re wondering, the two parts at the top go onto a pistol belt and the bottom strap goes around the thigh. the clip that i am missing is to keep the strap in place when it is adjusted to the size of the thigh. i can’t forget to pick one up. i should be getting the rest of my costume parts on tuesday and will post pics of all of it together. i will have some pics of me in them after the con.

edit:
just  cheched the ups tracking for my stuff and it is on time. i should get it tomorrow!!