Monthly Archives: March 2007

Home Sweet Home

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We got our place, for certain. It all worked out great. It’s so exciting to be getting all this taken care of, to make progress, as slow as it has been, and get ready to go. I’ve been making more lists than I imagined, Austin things to do before I go, people to see, what clothes to pack, where we’ve put things, addresses to change…I’m sure I’m forgetting so much, we haven’t moved in three years.

This is the place:

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This is the view, there’s a rooftop lounge-y area, of course it’s cloudy, but you can make out the Space Needle, and mountains behind that when it’s clear:

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Here’s our place, small, but fully furnished and everything:

lroom.jpg

We leave in two weeks, and will spend a weekend in Denver on our way up to spend time with my old college roommate, SB. I can’t wait!

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Wartime Reading

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Here’s another interesting story from popcandy.com.

Warzone Books – What Troops and Western Civilians are Buying From AbeBooks.com
The Physics of Blown Sand, Writing Poetry, Harry Potter and Organic Chemistry are just some of the diverse books bought from AbeBooks.com by military and civilian personnel stationed in Iraq since 2004.

We have selected 50 titles from books purchased by AbeBooks’ customers – including US soldiers but also UK military personnel and Western civilian contractors – living on military bases and secure civilian installations around Iraq.

They might surprise you. Some readers in Iraq are inspired by the desert landscape while others are dipping into American history and politics. Some purchases are deeply personal such as a guide for an expectant father, and books about theology and spirituality – others are practical purchases such as an English-Turkish dictionary. Textbooks constituted the most popular genre illustrating the fact that many readers on bases in Iraq are studying in their spare-time.

Read the full lists here. I was surprised!

About Handwriting

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Are you buying it? Which are you?

HANDWRITING AND WHAT IT MEANS

If letters slant to the left: Indicates introspection and a lot of emotional control.

If letter slant to the right: Reveals a person who’s outgoing, friendly, impulsive, and emotionally open.

If letters are straight up and down: The sign of someone who’s ruled by the head, not the heart.

Letters that slant in more than one direction: Indicates versatility and adaptability.

An erratic slant: Usually means a lack of flexibility.

Heavy pressure writing (like you can feel the rib made on the back of the paper): The writer is agitated.

Moderate pressure (the writing is dark, but you can’t feel the rib on the other side of the paper): Shows ability to deal with stress.

Light pressure: Indicates someone who seems to take life in stride.

Tiny letters: Indicate the writer is has somewhat low self esteem but is intelligent.

Small letters: The hallmark of quiet, introspective types – they’re generally detail-oriented and have good concentration.

Large letters: Sign of a confident, easygoing individual.

Huge letters: Indicate someone who’s theatrical, usually loud, and needs to be the center of attention at all times.

Wide letters (their width and height are about the same): The mark of someone who’s open and friendly.

Narrow letters: Show someone who’s somewhat shy and inhibited but very self-disciplined.

Letters that don’t touch: Indicate an impulsive, artistic, sometimes impractical free thinker.

Some letters connecting: Means the writer’s personality blends logic and intuition.

All letters making contact: The sign of someone who’s highly cautious.

A curved first mark: Shows a person who’s traditional and plays by the rules.

A straight beginning stroke: Reveals someone who’s rigid and doesn’t like being told what to do.

A final stroke straight across: The writer is cautious.

An end mark that curves up: Reveals generosity.

Perfect penmanship: The hallmark of a communicative person.

An indecipherable scrawl: Indicates a person who’s secretive, closed-up and likes to keep his thoughts to himself.

from: http://www.didyouknow.org


This Is Spartaaa…

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What did you think of that movie, The 300? The gratuitous nudity and beefy men had me only half interested. The cinematography was neat. I didn’t know it came from a comic book graphic novel… that’s cool, I guess. I saw it at the Alamo, the day it came out, that may have been the most interesting part. Only people really into a movie do that (and their wives…)

No matter what you thought, you should love this thread, despite the low bandwidth for the image hosting – hopefully they’ll fix that. Be sure to scroll through ALL pages of comments to see every image. I can’t stop laughing.

Spartan

My fave:

quizdineqz0.jpg

Edited to add: Since this is one of my most popular posts I thought I’d share this pic,

via chickencrap.com, since I heart Chuck Norris:

Accomplishment

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The best part about getting skinny, besides the pants, is the real sense of accomplishment. I was the kid that never, ever completed the President’s Physical Fitness program. It’s bad, I know. Not in 3rd grade, or 5th grade, or ever. Because I couldn’t run a mile. I never could. Last year I did, for the first time. Three weeks later, I was up to two. A month or so after that, three. Without dying.

This week, I’ve done 5 miles 5 days now. In less than an hour. It is amazing that I have changed my body, my mind, my breath, and enabled myself to achieve new successes.

guide to running
www.equileisure.com

It might not be a lot to many people, who have been able to accomplish this feat easier, or earlier than me. But the way I see it, you have to take your successes and make your happiness not compare to anyone else’s.

I’ll tell you what has made all the difference, is certainly my soundtrack. I listen to a little too much ‘whiny man music’. By getting rid of some of that and picking up the pace with some loud and fast rap and techno, I challenge myself to push a little harder, run a little stronger.

And it’s paying off!

Another Good Cause

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There are some things I notice about growing up. I had never run around being involved in charity  very often, I can’t lie to you. Must have been since I watched The Inconvenient Truth and then the Tom Brokaw special on global warming (his is actually better, more informative) and then last night I saw that Planet Earth special on Discovery – all THREE HOURS of it – that I’m getting a little concerned about my role in this life.

Here’s a great site that I found. If you use this as your search engine this week, Microsoft will be donating money to the UN Refugee Fund.

9million.org

There are also t shirts and a donation site here.

Astute Readers

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Truth be told, I wasn’t really scared to move, just wondering how two people with stay at home ‘jobs’ would meet new people. The recent deluge of mail and phone calls has let me know that there will, indeed, not be a weekend over the next six months where we will not have a visitor, so that won’t matter.

I’m calling shenanigans. People always say they will come and visit, but then make up excuses and no show. I, on the other hand, will be driving through Denver to see my bestest buddy, for sure. And there’s this one little lady I have a feeling will make it up there, because, crap, this is a great lineup for a music festival:

Sasquatch Festival

And jeez, how could you NOT go to something named the Sasquatch Festival? Not much can beat Austin City Limits Festival, but LOOK AT THIS VIEW:

sasquatch view
www.leftoffthedial.com