I'm at work. Might as well get paid.

The Free Times is a wacky little indy news 'zine that I pick up most every week. Sometimes they take themselves too seriously, but you can always find honest reviews of shows, movies, books, and music. They also have great horoscopes. Here's mine for the week:

"Lent is the period between Ash Wdnesady and Easter when devout Christians commemorate the 40 days that Christ allegedly spent resisting the devil's temptations in the wilderness [typist's note: that's not how I heard it, but whatever works for you]. Growing up Episcopalian, I was tought to imitate Jesus every year at this time by giving up something I had a strong attachment to [we Lutheran's did this, too]. My usual choice was candy. It so happens, Virgo, that even if you're not Christian, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to renounce three experiences that you have become a bit addicted to. Those experience are berating yourself, denying yourself pleasure, and giving till it hurts. I urge you to give them all up between now and April 10."

That sounds like a damn good idea.

There's snow on the ground.

Stayed at home. Too much ice.

And now Wachovia is going to refinance. And give me a HELOC behind it, which is how it ended up working. $70,000 or so mortgage at 7.45% over 27ish years = -$100 in payments.

$13,000 HELOC = closing a couple more credit accounts.

This may work after all.

When I would wake up in the night (I don't sleep well after one of my mood swinging days), I could hear the distinct shimmering/shivering sound of ice through the pine trees.

Don't worry, the mood pendulum has swung to the other side.

I got a big box from Amazon today. :-) So I went out and got something for said big box.

Yes, spending money sometimes helps.

I almost went out to eat, too. I was thinking about it as I left the mall. As I was thinking about it, a bunch of ice pellets hit me in the face.

Hint taken.

Pizza should be here soon. ;-)

Wachovia said no to refinancing.

I go to creit union, they want $70 to even consider refinancing me.

Fuck that shit.

I'm home with a headache. I'm not allowed to kill people.

Bush wants a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages "Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass and to send to the states for ratification an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman as husband and wife," Bush said.

Whatever happened to that thing about the seperation of church and state? Ya know, the clause in the Constitution?

Yeah, I know.

Which Genocidal Maniac Are You?
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LMAO

I've added a link to Amazon. I have a wish list there. ;-)

Oh, and there's one at ThinkGeek, too.

I say... and you think...?

Angel::
Birth:: beginning
Logic::
Stars:: what to look up to
Nursery::
View::
Hart:: another word for deer
Creation::
End:: is not the end
Fortune:: is what you make of it

Friday Five again

When was the last time you...
1. ...went to the doctor? Saw a doctor last month every day while I was in the hospital. Haven't needed once since. So... 3 1/2 weeks.
2. ...went to the dentist? August of last year. I'll see him again next month.
3. ...filled your gas tank? Tuesday morning.
4. ...got enough sleep? Ye gods... long time gone.
5. ...backed up your computer? September 25th. I was looking at that CD this morning and thinking, Damn, I should back this thing up this weekend.

State refund bought a nice new TV Wednesday.

Federal refund paid off the hospital from last year, one doctor from this year, and the phone bill already. I know I need about $40 for this weekend (pre-purchasing Hardcore Hell tickets), and tonight I head to Wal-Mart to do a major grocery shopping (put more meat into the freezer). If I have anything else, I'll head to Goodwill and look for some work pants/skirts.

Monday, March 1st, 8:30am EST, wing a thought my way... I'll be taking the Word XP Expert-level MOUS exam.

The instructions are posted RIGHT NEXT TO THE SCANNER.

Guess reading is an optional ability when you're a legal secretary...

"Talent and creativity are yours to use and keep." - my fortune cookie

Best thing of that $9 I wasted on Chinese delivery. :-p

Nope, I'm not leaving early. I'm not allowed.

"There's got to be someone on the phones," the network guys say. My boss is out sick, Jill's training someone all day, Sandra leaves at 3:30pm normally, and gods forbid the network people be asked to answer the phones.

Hopefully the roads won't be bad after the sun goes down.

There's this white flaky stuff coming down outside my window.

My car's tires have 42,000+ miles on them.

I may just have to do the job.

If Bush is looking for WMD*, he'll find them here in South Carolina.

* wintery-mix days

Am I the only person in my office who knows that if the lawyers aren't happy, we're screwed?

I swear, between Sandra and Stephanie ignoriong the phones and emails, and the network guys being completely out of touch with the users, my jaw is sore from clenching it while I've been yelled at by pissed of lawyers who are losing billable time because I can't get any answers out of anyone.

I say ... and you think ... ?

Dragon:: Power
Molecule:: Small
Tire:: needs rotating
Mighty::
Octane:: the more, the more expensive
Troll:: Vol'jin
Atmosphere:: makes it or breaks it
Guide:: is not hand-holding
Leash::
Dustmite::

Spent the weekend playing "WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne". I WhosYourDaddy'd my way through most of it, since I was more interested in the story than the strategy. And what a story! For a minute, I thought Arthas was going to have second thoughts at the end... damn beautiful animation, as always.

Besides, some weekends (like the past grey rainy ugly one), sometimes you just want to watch your characters squish everything in their path.

OK...g onna carefullt walk to bned.... see ya'll later... 5 shots late... ;-)

Wow, it's after 9pm and I'm still up... go me! :-p

Fuck, didn't post the previous one 30 minutes ago... now i"m contemplating the 5th shot of whiskey

Alright, now the damn monitor won't stay still...

(starts Akira over)

Sometimes, you just need to unwind... after a week of dealing with my serisouly psychotic co-workers, especially yhe one with the martyr complex, 4 or 5 shots of Jim Beam is just not a bad thing.

Why is my big cat Goldeneye looking at me funnt?

Oh yeah, speaking of Akira... I remember thinking the one time I watched it a few years ago that I needed to be in an altered state of mind to appreciate more of it... anyone wanna donate a copy to the cause?

any typos for the rest of the evening can be attributed to the fact that the keyboard won't stay still

A week or so ago, someone over on the DVDVR board posted the top 10 anime soundtracks, and included in the list was the Akira soundtrack. I had a copy of a copy on tape back in college, but lost it long ago. So I went to your friendly neighborhood Ebay and got me a copy cheap (less than $12, including shipping).

When I got it today, I remembered that a friend of mine in college said you really had to be in an, ah, altered state of mind to appreciate some of the tracks.

pours second shot of Jim Bean whiskey

That should do the trick...

Adventures at work...

GroupWise is the email system we use, and it's one quirk with Archiving is that if it archives email in a shared folder, it only goes into the archive of the person who created the folder. Which means that other people who would normally have access to that shared folder cannot see it's archive. Pain in the butt sometimes.

A paralegal called, saying she needed something that was archived in one of our big important lawyer's (snicker) archived folder. "You can go into her account and do that, because her door is closed." She made it sound like the lawyer-lady wasn't here. "Is it locked?" I ask. "No, she's just got the door closed so she won't be bothered by the hallway noise."

"No, I'm sorry, all I can tell you is to ask her to unarchive it for you."

She didn't like that answer. Too bad. By the time I found one of the network guys and they got around to unarchiving it, the lawyer-lady could've done it herself without the hassle. Grow some balls and don't be scared, or you'll never be more than a paralegal.

OK, what moron told this hole-in-the-wall Italian place that putting lasagne and salad in the same container, and then hand me that container sideways, was a good idea?

From The Friday Five:

1. Are you superstitious? Somewhat.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition? Silly, stupid extremes. Like my co-worker is about
-><- that close to canceling a test she's taking today because she just remembered it's Friday the 13th.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition? Favorite? Don't have a favorite.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual? Yes. And no, not a ritual/number/stupid shit like that.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not? Yes and no. There are things that can't be explained, and there are times when I do things that scare the shit out of myself. Sometimes those horoscopes are dead on, but I don't call psychics every night.

What do Girl Scouts put in their Thin Mint cookies that makes me able to eat a half a box of them over an afternoon?

*munch munch*

Adventures at work...

We started getting calls and even a couple of emails in about some "Websense" thing. I go in and look at someone's computer, and when they tried to get to a travel agency so they could book a flight for their lawyer - a website they have used in the past - it came up "Websense Enterprises has restricted access to this site."

"What's Websense?" they're all asking. Hell if I know.

Finally, one of the network guys sends out an email to one of the users, copying us, saying that "it was due to some testing". Thanks a whole fucking lot for letting us know about this testing during the middle of the day, guys. We fucking appreciate it.

Found this over on Slashdot, after voting in the poll about Martina life, and loved it.

It must have life on it
The Martian Air Force has knocked down more than 50% of the explorers we've sent there.

I was a little worried when Spirit stopped signalling. It then occurred to me that if the Martian Air Force doesn't get you, the Martian Marine Corps will.. Ooo-rah! :)

I've seen Return of the King three times now in the theater. This third time was cool, not only because I hadn't seen the film since December, but because I was over the awe of most of the major things and could focus in on the little stuff.

Like the fact that the mumukil are FUCKING RUNNING by the time the Rohirrim get to them. Ho-lee shit. Something that big running is just not supposed to happen!

Like I finally realized that when the Rohirrim are gathering to charge on the armies in front of Minas Tirith, they're not just yelling. They're yelling "DEATH!" I don't know about you, but having 6000 horsemen - OK, 5998 horsemen, 1 horsewoman, and 1 horseHobbit - coming pounding towards me hollaring "DEATH!" every few feet would make me tell my commander officer to go fuck himself, I'm heading home.

But yes, all three of these movies are wrong in so many ways, from small ways to big ways to, "What the fuck, didn't they read the book?" ways.

And the soundtrack for the third film is interesting... it starts off when Pippin gets the palantir from the sleeping Gandalf (and having him sleep with his eyes open was disturbing). I wonder if the soundtrack people didn't know what Jackson was going to start the film with, so they chose something several minutes in just to be safe.

Love. You Truly Desire Love. You long for someone
to hold you and take the pain away. You haven't
been in much relationships or you need to work
on how to handle them. You always seem lost in
a daydream about the person you care about
most.

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What Do You Truly Desire? *PICS*
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I truly desire a love that doesn't hurt so much. I know pain is a small part of everything, but it shouldn't wrack you with guilt-pain.

Adventures at work...

Secretary calls, said her Word was doing weird things. It was actually MacPac, a software we use. So I'm re-installing it, and she said her "computer had been doing crazy things" since I'd installed a connection to the color printer on her floor. "What kind of things?" I ask. "Oh, I don't remember, they were just aggrevating."

*sigh*

Dawn - You can come by anytime. ;-) I'll stock up on the tequila.

From Monday Madness:
1. On Sunday afternoon, I like to just... watch football. After the football seasons over, I'll be on the computer more.
2. I'm behind someone at a traffic light, the light turns green and they just sit there, I... Honk the horn and ignore the finger.
3. My immediate reaction to someone making a nasty remark to me is... to ignore them.
4. If I had to live in a state/country where it was cold most of the year, I would... move.
5. When the weather outside is hot and humid, I prefer to... stay inside with a working air conditioner. Go to the beach if I have the time/money/energy.
6. My favorite 'comfy' clothes to wear around the house is... sweat pants.
7. If given a deadline at work/school to finish a project, I usually... get it done.
8. If someone gave me a pet for my birthday, I would... wonder why they thought I needed more cats.
9. As far as watching the clock on weekends, I... don't.
10. I usually wash my car about every... third blue moon.

ARG!!! fucking Blogger killed my links when they "fixed" the problem!

Found this over on Tam's log... find the link on the side, or the bottom, or wherever the fuck blogger is putting it right now... She got it from HERE

1. Identity:: Who I am, which is more than you want me to be
   
2. Reveal:: Nothing. As little as possible. Everything without meaning to.
   
3. Live:: Now
   
4. Attitude:: is a state of mind
   
5. Night:: Sleep
   
6. Nevada:: Vacation
   
7. Weekend:: Time alone
   
8. Write:: I wish... my people won't play
   
9. Friend:: Janice, Dawn
   
10. Seventeen:: not so good
    

Boss sends an email to the help desk box about a couple of printers not working. He signs it with this, "Please look at first thing in the am"

How much you wanna bet that even tho Sandra gets here at 8am and I get here at 9:30am, it won't be looked at by her?

Nope, sorry... won't dumb myself down or slow myself down just to make you feel better, oh co-workers of mine.

Signed, the 21st century Mentat.

Advanced Big 30 Personality Test Results Sociability |||||||||||| 34% Gregariousness |||||||||||| 34% Assertiveness ||||||||||||||| 42% Activity Level ||||||||||||||| 46% Excitement-Seeking ||||||||||||||| 46% Enthusiasm ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Extroversion ||||||||||||||| 44% Trust ||||||||||||||| 46% Morality ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Altruism ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Cooperation ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Modesty ||||||||||||||| 50% Sympathy ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Friendliness |||||||||||||||||| 59% Competence ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Neatness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Dutifulness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Achievement ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Self-Discipline ||||||||||||||| 46% Cautiousness ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Orderliness ||||||||||||||||||||| 64% Anxiety |||||||||||| 38% Anger |||||||||||| 38% Depression |||||||||||||||||| 58% Self-Consciousness ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Impulsiveness |||||||||||||||||| 54% Vulnerability |||||||||||| 34% Emotional Stability |||||||||||||||||| 52% Imagination |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Artistic Interests ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Emotionality ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Adventurousness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Intellect |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Liberalism |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 82% Openmindedness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 73%

Take Free Advanced Big 30 Personality Test

What Famous Leader Are You?

What Classic Movie Are You?

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done? Told someone I loved them.

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother would never approve of? Ride a motorcycle

3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it's a lifestyle) 4ish

OK, so I skipped a couple. Sue me.

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Introverted (I) 77.42% Extroverted (E) 22.58%
Intuitive (N) 52.5% Sensing (S) 47.5%
Feeling (F) 54.29% Thinking (T) 45.71%
Judging (J) 51.52% Perceiving (P) 48.48%

Geez, legal secretaries are a suspicious bunch...

The network guys are working on a project to make maps of the floors, which will include where the network printers are. It'll help a lot, believe me, since their is neither rhyme nor reason nor labeling on these printers to identify them. So I send out emails to the people in care of the network printers asking them to tell me what model they are.

One secretary emails me back, and this is a direct quote: only if I get to keep it.

If I had said no, she wouldn't have answered?!?

I've updated some of the junk on the side, in case you hadn't noticed.

Don't ask why the Corner and the Tribute page vanished. I'm in denial.

Chris! Gonzo, Air Force guy! I lost your email, send me your blog again!

I voted for Howard Dean.

I'll be sleeping in my own bed for the first time in over a week tonight. Might even get to drive tomorrow, too.

Bush will pick who's going to be investigating the WMD claims.

Wanna bet they don't find much?

FINALLY, I have power.

Yes, the Panthers lost. I'm still wearing my blue and black outfit today. We'll do better next year.

Supposedly, SCE&G has put me in as an emergency order. After claiming in the paper that they had fixed all the outages, they damn well better consider me an emergency.

Still no power.