New Life, New Goals

Just a few at this point:

- Work smarter and harder, and leave work by 5:30 at the latest
- Get moved downtown
- Save a boatload of cash in a wine bottle. (think about it, it makes a lot of sense). Bonus goal: rip my debt a new asshole.
- Continue along the path of deepening my faith and practice.
- Develop a better sense of consistency
- Have more female friends
- Be in Banjo lessons by November (how and where? that's another goal)
- Get back in shape, cardio 4x a week
- Get my cholesterol down to the legal limit
- Take a fly 'n drive trip this year - out west or out east
- Get rid of Canon point 'n shoot and into at least a Nikon D40. Used is fine
- Start a fund toward a 12-gauge. Nothing says "I love you baby" like a 12-gauge
Bonus goal: Bag a buck or a doe in the fall

There. I done said it!

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs

It doesn't get a lot better than this....

Have I ever mentioned that I met Lester Flatt when I was about 5? I still remember it pretty clearly for a memory at that age. I remember being backstage at Alpine Valley and I was wearing one of my pinafore-style dresses. He leaned over to talk to me, and I don't remember everything he said but I do remember this: his presence felt very confident, gentlemanly, and southern. He was the personality and presence of a quintessential Bluegrass master. I remember his hat, I remember that he was wearing a suit just like he wore here in this video.

Without further adoing from Ms. Jones, here are Earl and Lester performing "Hey Hey Hey " and "Flint Hill Special". Just leave 'em on while you go about your blog reading, it's good stuff.

Why there will never be a cure

Because there is too much money in the Making A Difference business. Seriously. The make-a-difference business is massive. Anything pink apparently makes a difference. Wristbands make a difference. For the past ten years I can't say I've actually seen results from these things that are supposed to be making a difference. Except if you want to talk about the difference between me and the people who feel pretty inflated and look down on others who aren't on the make-a-difference Express. Including their megalomanic leaders.


So let's play a game... kind of like Fred might over at Real Debate:

Fill in the blank -

"______ for the cure"

What kind of a chicken

uses something called "anonymouse" to visit a blog?

boaaaaack boack boack boack....

Knock Knock...

see more crazy cat pics

How Ethanol, Global Warming, and Energy Prices are Affecting Me.

It's very simple. I can no longer afford to live in the wonderful duplex that I live in. It's all due to energy prices.

Therefore, unless I want to live paycheck to paycheck and not save or invest in my future, I have to move closer to work.

Ah yes, the liberal dream come true. Raise the cost of energy so much that people MUST downsize and walk or bike wherever it is they have to go.

In all honesty, I am rather excited about moving downtown. But I wish I had more choice in the matter. As it is right now, my energy costs exceed $400 a month. This is between heat, cooking gas, and gas for my small car. That's pretty excessive for a single woman who doesn't eat much and has few and basic needs.

The situation with energy costs and subsequently food prices will only escalate. Anyone who doesn't think that's the case isn't being honest with themselves.

And the local government cannot afford to fix the roads anytime soon. I'll be darned if I'm going to drag my car over these roads voluntarily. My car is my only solid investment besides my 401k. And $600 twice a year for suspension work isn't an option.

I can't imagine what it's like for someone who makes less than I do or supports a family. Don't tell me we should in any way shape or form subsidize them. That's not an answer. We need real energy solutions and the only energy that food should provide is to a human body - not an engine.

Sweet Jane

Humpday is almost over. Aren't you happy?


So to celebrate here is one of my favorite songs. Has to be the original version though :) Only as I have gotten older can I appreciate the Velvet Underground. Who knew you could do so much with three chords.




My favorite part of the song?

Well, the part that goes a little somethin' like this:

"la la la...lalalaaaaa..."

Hey, told ya it was simple!

Guess How Many Peeps

I started a new little game today...

Just for peeps and giggles, I crammed as may peeps as I could into a mason jar. Everyone had to guess how many peeps were inside. The winner won an ergonomic backpack (complete with compartments for a cell phone, ipod and earbud window, and best of all a quick release strap.

If we had a tie, here is how we would have resolved it. Each guesee would have had 12 peeps. The person who could eat the most peeps in :30 seconds would be the winner.

Luckily, it didn't come to that :)

Happy Easter

Adoramus Te Christe

Some of you are aware that I have returned to my Catholic roots - and to the roots of Catholicism. Since doing so, my life has improved by leaps and bounds. Rather than simple prayer, I have learned how to bind myself to God and this has moved me to know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, at deeper levels. This could not happen without a special gift: the gift of knowing myself (and as the recovering center of the universe, believe me, I thought I did).

We know it all, you know.

A few months ago I began attending the Tridentine Latin mass. I'm sure it's not for everyone. But it is for me. The mass is sacred, reverent, and focused on God. Having always been spiritual but not enjoying the Catholicism I grew up with, I found it really difficult for years to say to myself, "I don't want to go to mass." Now I wouldn't miss it. Why would I miss the opportunity to connect, revere, commune, and be loved by God.

The standards are high. The accountability is higher. But there is nothing about me that is unworthy of being held accountable. In fact, it helps me think further about what I am doing and why. Does it please God? Does it make a mockery of the revered light that he put into my soul when he made me? Is it good enough? We are all good enough to have what is good enough. And that means saying yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no.

This lent I intended to give up sweets and one other dairy vice. I failed. There are a lot of things I fail at. The trick is not to fail in vain and do the same thing over and over again without learning. Forgiveness is part of failure, and for this, I thank Jesus. I adore him and bless him.

So I was trying to find one version of the hymn "Adoramus Te Christe" to post this Good Friday evening. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but what I found, was pretty darned good. Have a listen. And if I don't post until then, Happy Easter.



By the way....here is the version I originally was looking for:

http://fisheaters.com/forumpix/adoramustechriste.html

Good to know about gasoline

Brother Mav sent this to me. I haven't Farked it, but it makes sense. Read on.

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total
capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and
other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pump:

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping
on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON

Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.

Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis. Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell........................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel).

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern
oil:

Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco..................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
BP/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess.......................0 barrels
ARCO....................0 barrels

If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations near you.

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.
Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) and so on, by the time the
message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers!!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it.....THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How long would all that take?

A Bob Wills Break

Fuzz's recent post reminded me of how much I love Bob Wills. So I had to go track down some trax :)





And just because I love 'em, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Bill Monroe:

Hooray! It's day one!

The first day of the rest of my life!

So with that said, at my new employer, I cannot access email outside of my work email. My site access will also be a little limited, so emails will be answered at the end of the day. From time to time I may post a comment reply, however the internet policy will be very different.

But I had a few days off. I went to Maryland and hung out in Baltimore for a few days. The weather was perfect, the crab cakes scrumptious, the national aquarium playful, and the old neighborhoods beautiful.

By the way, every road in Maryland is rock solid. The freeways were also well planned, distributed traffic evenly.... okay I'll stop now. Maryland = Mayberry in many ways.

And in case you're wondering, yes I am totally going to go back. Definitely for an Orioles game, and if I play my cards right - the Preakness :)

Okay, time to get this party started!

Killing the Blues

I'm going to get out of here for a couple of days and take a road trip. By air. Anyhow. You know what I mean :)

Of course, I will have pictures. Maybe even a few extra pounds when all is said and done!

My First Day, Untethered

It's my first day away from my old job. I feel like, well, a natural woman.

Amazing how something so simple, kind of brings me back home to myself.

How much more appropriate of a day for me to stumble across a very old video from my all-time favorite band, The Lemonheads. This is a promo video they made in 1988. Of all places, it was on Yahoo videos.

On My Last Day At My Last Job...

I held my box of desk items and cried as the elevator went to the lobby.

This time, it will not be quite like that.

Because I am going back to the employer that my heart never really left :)

Tuesday Music

Why Tuesday? Well, Nick has Mondays.

I was talking 80's hair rock with a friend of mine the other day and we got to talking about awesome acoustic covers - and there sure are a lot of them. And let's face facts, the 12-string acoustic version of Warrant's "I Saw Red" is insanely good. Long live the rock ballad!

We Now Resume Our Normal Programming

well.... you know what I mean :)

Home and resting

Pa is now home and resting. They did a radical form of a prostectomy and we'll hear more by Tuesday. For now, it's just really great to have the first man who ever dedicated his life to me, at home. Love you Pa.

My New Employer Rocks

They done sent me flowders. This is at least a $75 arrangement.

Sniffle. I heart them!

Thanks

Thanks everyone for your kind words and emails. I really appreciate it more than you know. I'll be back with you soon.

Left Field

I have had news that my Father has cancer. This week he will have surgery in hopes that all is removed. I ask you to please keep Pa in your prayers.

This makes me all the happier to have changed jobs, and to have the ability to focus on what's important. For the past seven years I have had limited amounts of time with my family, especially my brother who lives in Las Vegas. In life there is no such thing as a redo. The Undo function only exists in windows. Focus on what is important, not on what you think you "have" to do.