The Daily Grind

The End of An Era

2004-06-24T01:56:58Z

Alas, I've lost the will to blog ... actually, I find that I really have no need of two blogs anymore, so I'll now be doing all my blogging at [ www.barbyandbrad.com ] To know the latest, visit me there.

Book Meme via noetic_toe

2004-06-11T22:14:41Z

Book Meme
* bold those books you've read
* italicize started-but-never-finished
* put in parentheses if you've seen the movie ;)
* underline the ones you actually like
* add three of your own
* post to your livejournal

1. (The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)
2. (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen)
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling

6. (To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee)
7. (Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne)
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis)
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. (Little Women, Louisa May Alcott)
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. (Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell)
22. (Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling)
23. (Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling)
24. (Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling)
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. (Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. (Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery)
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. (The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett)
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. (Black Beauty, Anna Sewell)
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. (Matilda, Roald Dahl)
75. (Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding)
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. (Dracula, Bram Stoker)
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. (Les Miserables, Victor Hugo)
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsythe Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. (The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood) -- currently reading
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. (High Fidelity, Nick Hornby)
144. It, Stephen King
145. (James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl)
146. (The Green Mile, Stephen King)
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. (Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian)
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. (The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett) ??
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. (Charlotte's Web, E. B. White)
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. (Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens)
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. (American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis)
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Grossmith
187. (Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh)
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine -- shall I name them all?
189. (Heidi, Johanna Spyri)
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. (The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice) -- book was great, movie sucked!
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
28. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. (The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan)
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder -- ALL of them!
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. (Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien)
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. (Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk)
288. (About a Boy, Nick Hornby)
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. (Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice)
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. (The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern [or William Goldman])
322. (Beowulf, Anonymous) -- yes, believe it or not there IS a movie!
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. </i>My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok</i>
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. (Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare)
367. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate O'Brien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine L'Engle
386. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris
391. My Antonia, Willa Cather
392. Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
393. The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins
394. Conceived Without Sin, Bud MacFarlane Jr.
395. Pierced by a Sword, Bud MacFarlane, Jr.
396. Tully, Paullina Simons
397. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
398. Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood
399. Earth Abides, George R. Stewart
400. Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars, Daniel K. Pinkwater
401. The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub
402. Black House, Steven King and Peter Straub
403. The Seventh Son, Orson Scott Card
404. The Prophet, Khalil Gibran
405. Firebrand, Marion Zimmer Bradley
406. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
407. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig
408. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
409. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
410. The Iliad, Homer
411. Tom Jones, Henry Fielding
412. Roverandom, J. R. R. Tolkien
413. A Separate Peace, John Knowles
414. The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling
415. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
416. How to Be Good, Nick Hornby
417. The Color of Water, James McBride

Whewh, I didn't know I was such a bookworm. Still, so many I'd never heard of.

A new little girl!

2004-05-17T15:44:34Z

I heard (by accident) this morning that Chris and Adrienne are the proud parents of a new little baby girl! I haven't heard her name yet -- Chris was trying to call his parents at the time and I wanted to let him get through to them. But I'm so happy for them. And a little shocked, too, at their being parents now. God bless you both! (all three of you! ... and let us know what you named the cutie!)

Practice in Parenting

2004-05-02T02:29:46Z

I agreed to help my supervisor this week and next. He's in Pittsburg at General Conference, the conference held every 4 years when officials and members of the church decide on new programs, budget, and legislature for the United Methodist Church. What did I agree to help him with, you ask? Well, I'm responsible for picking up his 13 year-old daughter from middle school until next Wednesday. Sounds easy, but let me tell you, when I drove onto that school lot, it was like the first day of 6th grade. It was freaky, really. Anyway, I got over it, and I think the first day went ok. Just Monday and Tuesday to go! She's a cool girl, so I'm not worried.

Today, I did very little. Watched TV, took a 2 hour nap, and downloaded a new browser for my Mac. Microsoft has stopped supporting IE for the Mac, so I'm ditching them. I'm also erasing everything Microsoft I can find on my Mac and downloading free/open-source software instead. I figure MS Office will soon be replaced with Open Office, my browser's already been replaced, and I don't need an email client because Brad's computer handles all that stuff. Ooh, and I actually used the command line yesterday to ping Brad's system. We have a pseudo-network setup so we can share our DSL. Brad's even got the laptop we borrowed from work plugged in so he can do some diagnostics testing. Ahh, the life - to have more computers in your home than people :)

Well, the bed beckons me. It's off to snoresville.

Turning my black thumb green . . .

2004-04-25T23:51:07Z

I've taken a recent interest in learning to garden. You might laugh, but up to now I've killed every living plant I've ever owned. Actually, I have a few I'm trying to nurse back to health, so maybe that's not an accurate statement. I'm attempting a small butterfly/hummingbird garden and an herb garden also. Our apartment complex is so beautiful, and our neighbors have such nice plants outside their apartments, so I thought I'd give it a try. That and I'm sick of paying $5 for 5 Basil leaves at the grocery store!

In my quest for gardening knowledge, I've been trying to learn the common and scientific names of some of my plants. I of course know the geraniums, then there is "Salvia" (which I just think looks too much like "saliva") and Juniper. I've not gotten very far in my studies, but I figure I'll retain just a little of the information.

Partial view of our little garden

I also started a journal using "Greymatter" on Brad's and my personal website. I just thought it made a little more sense since our wedding is over. Go to www.barbyandbrad.com to see it.

I Live in Dr. Seuss Land...

2004-04-14T00:45:16Z

Here is my evidence

Now, you've probably seen these before, but being from Florida, I'd never seen these sprout out of the ground like this! It's a Cinnamon Fern, as far as I know, and they're growing in the flower beds in our courtyard. They're so cool. I watched a gardening show online last week, now that I *can* with DSL :) , and I discoverd that you can actually eat the "fiddle heads" of the fern. So I've been telling Brad that we may have to live off of the Dr. Suess-ish ferns in our front yard until we can pay off this torrent of bills!

So, I've been talking about these cats that hang around our apartment building, and I discovered the other day that our upstairs neighbor either owns, or feeds these cats. I don't mind because I love cats, and our landlady won't let us have one in our apartment, so "adopted cats" are the next best thing.

Oh, and on a related note, there's a rather large groundhog living in the field just across the parking lot from our place. He's incredibly dumb, but really fun to watch. I'll have to see if I can snap a pic of him sometime. They really look like beavers!

nerdchick @ 2004-04-02T14:58:00

2004-04-02T20:04:49Z

I have to teach a workshop!! ACK! I'm doing research now to try and prepare - the workshop's in June - but how much prepration can you really get! Ugh, I hate public speaking.

I'm refinishing our third-hand dining room set now. I've had to take the upholstry off our 1960s-era Swedish style chairs and sand down the legs, side pieces, and backs. The good thing is they're looking great and at this rate, I might actually have a nice-looking place to eat before my parents come up in May.

I'm also consindering writing a book for doing ministry on the Internet. I don't know how qualified I am, but I've got a few years in "the trenches" and would love to be able to tell all the dorks that work at my organization (that think all I do is answer phones and emails and "fally around with the press releases") that I'm a published author!

I'm bored

2004-03-05T20:05:43Z

Let's see, went to work. Finally feeling better after over week of being doggedly sick. My boss is mysteriously absent today. He left abruptly yesterday without a word and haven't seen him since :-?

Have been working on a new website for my side ventures, InnerSpace Media. Brad and I are collaborating on this, so maybe it'll work out this time around. Stay tuned for the new site to launch in a few days at www.innerpacemedia.com.

My dad got a new job. He finally got fed-up with the county government and told 'em to shove it (althouh I'm sure he was a little polite-er about it than that :) I forget the name of the company, but it's a private building-inspection group out of Tampa, FL. He's now making about double what he was making when he started with Highlands County Building Dept. I'm glad for him. Hope he enjoys the work more.

Brad and I are thinking of taking a class together at the community college here. It's a programming course that I should remember the name of, but can't right now.

My friend the black cat came to visit yesterday, mewing his mouth off. He begs for food at our apartment complex, even though he's a very *overly* healthy cat.

That's all for now. Off to celebrate the weekend!

Now that I have a minute

2004-02-25T01:16:27Z

I barely worked today. I was in a meeting from 9am-noon, a totally unnecessary meeting, IMO. But I went. And it all turned out ok because afterward, Brad, my boss, my co-worker, and I all went to the First Methodist Church's annual all you can eat Pancake breakfast.Ahhh, sooo goooood. I actually ate buckwheat pancakes this year, which I was never really fond of before, but now I love. I had 4 pancakes, I think Brad and the other guys had about 10 a-piece. A group of school kids, about 50 of them, came in shortly after we got there and the guys were worried they wouldn't get any more food, so they hurried up and stacked their plates. I think the lunch conversation revolved around football, tractors, lawnmowers, and war. I had very little to contribute, needless to say :)

Brad's supposed to go get his NC driver's license tomorrow. He's only been procrastinating 3 months! And his FL licence plate expires tomorrow, too, so he has to go get an NC tag. There's a load of money flushed down the toilet. We'll also probably have to pay property tax on his car which is a total crock. OH, and he has to have the tint taken off his windows because it's "too dark." Although, it's ok for SUV's and trucks in this state to have completely opaque tint on their back windows. Yeah, makes a lot of sense to me! I found out it actually IS a conspiracy between the state gov. and the "big 4" auto manufacturers. Seems they have a "deal." Just like those good ol' boys.

Anyway, Brad and I had such a cool Valentines Day. We made dinner and ate it by candlelight. Then we had dessert on the floor in our living room while listening to the band that we "fell in love to." Really, it was just Sixpence None the Richer (gag if you must, but we've been listening to them since their "a deux" days), but it was really a great time. We talked about our "firsts" and all the reasons why we fell in love.

Uhm... what else can I ramble about?? Oh, I'm thinking of getting some fish or an amphibian or something. I really want a pet, and since I can't have a cat or dog (and I don't really bond well with rodents), I'll go for something less cuddly. Don't know if I'll get my way, though. I don't think I'd remember to take care of it...hmm, maybe that's why I'm postponing parenthood :)

Sprawled on my NEW bed

2004-02-09T04:33:14Z

Hey, we finally got furniture! A bed and a couch. Both are very welcome since we've been sitting on pillows in our living room and sleeping on a air mattress in our bedroom for the past two months. I feel very thankful ... and I will continue to be, probably, until we get the credit card bill at the end of the month :(

Oh, and it seems that the names of my and my husband's future children has been under discussion. It's ridiculously funny because Brad and I are waiting 4 1/2 more years before even considering becoming parents. Chris...shouldn't you be finding names for your own offspring? :)

Linux makes my brain hurt

2004-01-29T18:15:47Z

We just had a Linux server go down at work -- something about a port being shut down. Anyway, all of our web communities run off that one server and now we're trying to track down the one guy who may know how to fix it. I'm, of course, no help because my only experience with linux is mounting drives and playing around in RedHat and Mandrake guis.

Oh, Brad and I are contemplating what to do with the website we set up for our wedding www.barbyandbrad.com. We just found a cool new hosting company LunarPages that offers a lot for a little. And they've gotten pretty high ratings. While I'd like to pick someone local, the people around here just aren't up to speed. And to be honest, the web servers we run here in my office have better up-time than the local hosting companies.

Brad is delving into database, php, and SQL. I say, good luck. I tried to learn linux and pretty much decided that I'd figure it out as I had to. I still want to learn perl because there have actually been times when I couldn't used it. Right now I just know enough to manipulate a few lines as needed.

Well, now I guess you can figure out why I picked "nerchick" as my username. I ramble on about programming languages, hosting companies and websites at length. Sorry for putting that glazed-over look in your eyes [ drool ]

My husband's found a NEW wife

2004-01-04T01:38:22Z

I've lost all privileges pertaining to my living room TV, AND to my husband! It seems Brad has found a new love

Brad's New Love

Oh well, there's only so much a woman can do against a Ninentdo GameCube.

In other news, I can't find the pictures I took of the new apartment. Granted, they were from when we had JUST moved in, so the place looked trashed, but I still wanted to show everyone where we live now. Maybe I'll have an excuse now to fill up another memory card .

nerdchick @ 2004-01-01T16:09:00

2004-01-01T21:10:04Z

I almost forgot. We took the Christmas tree down today. It's laying out on our patio now. Such a sad sight :( I think I'm actually sad for it. Next stop -- woodchipper!

My what a pickle!

2004-01-01T21:04:12Z

My former landlady is really determined to find out where Brad and I now live. I don't know why. If she quit bugging me about it, or even just directly asked "where are you living now?" I might actually be inclined to tell her. But instead, she tries to follow us, or she claims she has something of mine (won't say what) and wants to know when she can bring it by. She kind of freaks me out!

Our ringing in the new year was pretty cool. Brad and I just relaxed, has some chili, *I* drank some beer (Brad said it tasted like something bad), and we watched the last 5 minutes of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve! Quite the party animals we are!

Anyway, I had planned to go in to work for a while today, but I just don't see the point. There's nothing to do. I'd just be twiddling my thumbs or doing what I'm doing now :)

Some gator out there is missing its tail!

2003-12-31T20:55:07Z

I can finally say I've eaten an alligator ... tail that is. When Brad and I were down in Florida, we went to this new place where we live called R.J. Gators. I guess it's a central Fla. chain that serves fairly localized quisine (although I couldn't seem to find any collard greens on the menu!). Anyway, my Dad ordered gator-tail for all of us to try, and I have to say, it really doesn't taste like ANYTHING. Not even chicken. A major let down.

nerdchick @ 2003-12-29T22:21:00

2003-12-30T03:32:39Z

Christmas went well. Brad and I celebrated the weekend before and had our nice, quiet pre-Christmas before heading down to Florida to visit the family. Here's our loverly tree

Photo's will be up on the website soon.

Stayed with Brad's parents while were down and visited with the pups (and his parents and brother too!). We were greeted with a new queen-size bed in the spare room when we arrived! I don't think I've ever had such a good night's sleep :)

Had some issues with my Dad's sister. Guess she's still sore about me not asking her to play the organ at my wedding. I think it's resolved, but you just never know. Anyway, spent Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas day with his. It was so nice just being able to visit with the family and relax a little. Usually it's rush, rush, rush. Anyway, it was a great time and unbelievably I'm glad to be home...although I'll miss everyone back home for a while to come!

Bad taste, senior citizens, and a Christmas Miracle!

2003-12-09T01:50:02Z

Whoever thought updating your journal would be such a hard thing to do? It's weird, I thought that once I got married things would settle down and I'd have more free time. But, unfortunately, I picked up two new freelance accounts and a few pro-bono on the side, only because they asked nicely. All that in addition to my 9-5. I told Brad, my hubby, that after these, I'm taking a break from freelancing for a while. It's just too nervewracking. You have to work with people that think they have taste, but really don't. And you have to tell them they don't, but in a way that doesn't insult them. I wish sometimes I could just design and not have anyone standing over me saying "Oh, make this a little bigger, and that a little smaller, and that a little bluer, and this a little oranger..." Granted, that's part of the business, but sometimes I just need a MORE creative outlet than my work. Being 'creative' for a living isn't always fun.

Oh, I got to teach a computer class for seniors today. Talk about 'dumbing it down.' The last meeting we just got done showing them how to scan their photos and use digital cameras (they complained because it was too 'techy' and they didn't get any 'hands on' experience). So, guess what they ask me to teach next time? HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CAMERA! Anyway, after that meeting I was little irritable and tired. I think I now know how a sixth grade algebra teacher feels at the end of the day.

Hey, we're goin' home for Christmas! Woohoo! Although, I think I might miss having a COLD Christmas this year. I was a little looking forward to it. But, balmy weather won't be all bad. I'm kind of looking forward to being able to wear shorts again :)

Yeah, it's time to move on

2003-11-14T18:21:37Z

Well, the time has come to move out...we're considering several apartments in the area. The reason you ask? Well, our landlady is getting a little viperous. Our answering machine accidentally caught a conversation between her and some guest she had staying upstairs, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I guess I'm a little disappointed and hurt, but she evidently doesn't really like us and doesn't trust us either. Seeing as how we have no written contract with her, things could get bad down later on. So, we're going to rent a place in town for a while. Anyway, that's just me venting. Glad to finally be able to get it out in the open. So, all those who have our address, hope you didn't write it in pen.

Time Out

2003-10-20T02:04:49Z

Went to Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Brad braved twisty, windy, one-lane gravel roads (with 2 way traffic!) to get us there, but we made it. Glad we did. Here's just a couple of the photos:

The elk evidently run rampant there

The leaves are starting to change!

More photos to go on the web at our website.

Birthdays and the Flu

2003-10-13T01:15:26Z

Ugh, I think I have the flu. Took a nap today around 4pm and woke up feeling a little better. I think I'm dreading this workshop on PowerPoint that I have to teach tomorrow to a bunch of my fellow coworkers. I get all worked up over things like that.

I meant to post these a while ago, but just now got around to it. I went to my friend Stacey's birthday last Monday. I knew about half the people there, but the guy next to me was drawing on the paper table cloth a rendition of the Apocolypse occuring in Maggie Valley, NC. Eerie, but so incredibly hilarious. Anyway, here's a few shots:

Stacey gets shy with all the attention

Jeremy and Margaret, our pastor and his wife (don't they look like they should be in high school! It's great to have a young pastor.)

More photos to come (this is fun!)

Married Life is Good (ie I live with a comedian)

2003-10-12T02:36:36Z

So it's been almost 3 weeks now since we've been back from the honeymoon. I've been working with Brad for about a week now and it's been both fun and frustrating. Mostly because I have no patience and I hate to have Brad see me in my "flustered" state. Anyway, we're adjusting. There aren't many couples who can work all day together then go home at night and spend more time together.

Went grocery shopping at 9:30 pm last night. It was nice - nobody there. I trampled across a couple dumped out boxes of spaghetti. That's an interesting feat!

The leaves are starting to change up here. Laugh if you must, but being a native Floridian, I've never seen tree leaves change colors. It's so cool to wake up every morning and the landscape's changed.

In other news, I've married a comedian. He's definitely entertaining :) Guess that's good because I'm discovering that I'm the serious "parent" in the relationship.

Here's a photo of Brad saying in disbelief "We're Married!" Yeah, I can't believe it either :)

More later.

Yes, we're back

2003-10-01T01:15:44Z

Okay, so me and my NOW husband are back from the honeymoon. The wedding turned out so nice and the honeymoon was so relaxing. It was so cool to not have any place we HAD to be! We just walked on the beach, slept in as late as housekeeping would let us and meandered through a really neat post-revolutionary military base. Sorry, no photos of the honeymoon...our camera didn't come in time. Photos of the wedding are on their way, I hope :S

In other news, I'm back at work... which is good, and bad. I find myself wishing I was at home with Brad slumped up on the couch. Brad on the other hand spends his days chasing chipmunks on our front porch. I'll have to post a picture when I can figure out our new camera :)

Well, that's enough for one day. I think I've pretty much gotten caught up to date. Stay tuned for more boring drivel....

Tick, tick, tick, RRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGG!

2003-09-10T21:51:27Z

Hey, time's up! Well, not really. I've got exactly 10 days until I get married and it's a mad house here! Not only do I have to get "caught up" for the next two weeks that I'll be gone, but I have to finish a bunch of "wedding stuff" that I've put off to the last minute. Add to that the hassle of changing banks, insurance, MY WHOLE IDENTITY! Yeah, when you consider all this has to get taken care of before I leave for Florida on Sunday, it makes for a very hectic end-of-the-week.

On the bright side, my boss and coworker took me out for lunch & coffee today. And I was noticing as we perused downtown Waynesville, it's not a half-bad place. It's very artsy. I almost walked over a guy doing a painting in front of one of the shops. Very cool.

Anyway, that's the latest!

:P

2003-09-04T19:39:40Z

Post, Brad, POST! POST BRAD POST!

Getting the Jitters?

2003-09-01T13:50:34Z

There is now less than 19 days before my identity changes. You'd think with all the excitement, I'd be a little jittery...okay, I AM! I'm having weird dreams and always clenching my jaw and having weird "visions" of wedding cakes being blown up and tornadoes ripping through the neighborhood on the morning of the wedding. A little melodramatic, I know, but I've been told every bride goes through it.

I honestly think that Brad has it worse. Half of Sebring is asking him if he's Barby's fiance and when he's getting married (they all saw the engagement announcement in the paper). Then of course, they ask the inevitable, "Are you nervous?" I wonder sometimes why people ask such questions? Do they really think there's a possibility that somebody about to get married ISN'T a bit nervous?

Okay, something other than wedding stuff - I'm reading "The Kitchen Boy" for my next book club meeting, and I have to say, it starts off sad, and I'm pretty sure it ends sad. It's about the kitchen boy that worked for the Romanov family directly after the Tsar's overthrow. It's fictional, but of course, based on the real-life event. I'm debating about whether to finish it or just claim that the wedding interfered :-S Not sure I want to be depressed in the coming weeks.

I found the greatest Christmas present for Brad, but because he reads my journal, I'm not at liberty to discuss what it is. All I can say is it's gonna rock :) Our first Christmas together is going to be so incredibly cool. Except that our landlady will be up and we're not sure how many other people she'll have with her. It's definitely a humbling experience to live UNDERNEATH someone.