WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 1, 2008
–   – 
Tsoine-iga  – Dunidodi saquu
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏌᏊ

2:54a – I was shocked to realize it was October already! I will be 51 in just 3 days! Another year passed.

I got home tonight (after waiting for TWO trains at the 157 crossing!) and went right away to watch Season 2- Chapter 7, of Heroes. I am SO MUCH enjoying this series. It gives me something to look forward to ... and I almost forget what that feeling is like most of the time.

2:57a – My computer is having issues and I have to reboot. It will probably lock up again and not let me power back up for 15-20 minutes. It has been doing that ever since I put that unnecessary NiC card in.

OMG! I am very upset. I accidentally overwrote all copies of my October 2007 journal page! That is the entry with my 50th birthday! No... Nooooooooo... damn. Maybe I have a copy backed up somewhere, but I suspect I do not.

3:43a – I have a frozen stuffed-chicken which Skip made and gave to me in the oven. Not sure how that will come out. Going to go watch Chapter 8 of Heroes and try not to think about the stupid blunder I just made! I am sick over this. I hope I have a back up of the html file, but I've had a problem with back ups for a while now. My Journal is just getting to big to back up to one DVD.

4:39a – I will look for backup copies of my journal tomorrow. Maybe I have a copy of the file I wiped out. I am very upset about this. I have not missed a daily entry in years and this will mar my record. Meanwhile, I ate the stuffed chicken Skip made. It came out alright. I also watched Chapter 8 of Heroes. My enjoyment of the series was dampened by my disgust with accidentally wiping out my October 2007 file.

4:42a – Anyway... off to bed for me now. I can sleep in tomorrow.

1:21p – So ... I got up around 9:30a this morning. I was going to try to sleep, but then I remembered screwing up my October 2007 and was too upset to stay in bed. I got up and searched to see if there was a way to save it. No luck. It's lost. I have taken some simple steps to prevent this in the future at least. Even though I do no have all my files back up on DVD (I ran out of room after 5 years!), I have sent a copy of all my basic HTML journal files to be saved on my Yahoo site. It took about 10 minutes, and if I had done that before, I could have rebuilt the lost page. Another case of 20/20 hindsight.

I got the lawn mowed, then I picked Skip up from the train. He had been over to the house on 74th street. I decided he wanted to buy it and was ready to sign. But then found out that someone had bid $10K above the asking price on the house and so he is not going to get it after all. He was very disgusted, and I so am I.

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 2, 2008
–   – 
Nvgine iga  – Dunidodi tali
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵ

12:37p – I tried to get up around 11:00a, but just could not. I got up at 11:50a and ended up laying back down "for just 10 minutes." I got up finally at about 12:20p. I am already running behind scheduled.

I stopped at Block Buster on the way to work and got a couple of DVD... including IRON MAN! I have been chomping at the bit to watch this one. I will watch it after work tonight. I also stopped at Rally's and got a burger & fries which I ate on the way to work.

I did floor support until about 7:30p, then went into the regular queue taking calls. At midnight I was on the phone with an older gentleman (Ron?) who started off his conversation with, "I am one pissed of customer!" I worked with him for a while and had him joking with me and happy. I taught him how to use F5 to refresh his screen and that resolved his problem. I began my conversation with him at the age of 50 and ended at the age of 51 ... lol!

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 3, 2008 –   –  Tsunagilosdi  – Dunidodi tsoi ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏦᎢ Skip called me 3 times tonight. I managed to call him back to see what was up. He needed cat litter, so I stopped and got some on the way home.

3:49a – I am well into watching IRON MAN (my birthday treat for myself). It's great!

4:38a – Just finished IRON MAN. That was a fantastic movie and a great way to spend my birthday.

4:58a – Skip is just leaving for work at this moment. Wow... things are a turmoil in HIS work place, but ... he seems to have a firm grip on things. I think we are good there.

Meanwhile, I think I will go to bed. I've not had supper, but I don't want to deal with cook at this late hour. I just recorded a brief blurb for my birthday. I will deal with that later too.

4:16p – I woke up this morning and read for about an hour before getting out of bed. Skip got off work early and I picked him up around 3:00p. He's watching the IRON MAN movie now.

I wrote this to Shirley Sirota and thought it would be good in my journal too...

SATURDAY - OCTOBER 4, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquidena  – Dunidodi nvgi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏅᎩ

12:31p – I read in bed last night until about 4:15a, then got up about 11:50a this morning. Went straight to take a shower and am getting ready for work. This begins day 1 of my long stretch for 4.

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 5, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquasgv  – Dunidodi hisgi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᎯᏍᎩ

Remembering Michael Salvato who
passed on this date two years ago.

3:34a – I need to cook something for super/lunch... but I don't have the energy. I am going to bed.

11:57a – I got up at 11:32a and went straight to the kitchen to start cooking something. I need something to eat for this morning, and something for lunch later. First I put on the inevitable pot of rice. Then I chopped some chicken thighs into chunks and put them in a pot with onion, brussel sprouts and seasonings. Before this, I stepped outside to put some table scraps out for the critters and I checked to see how my one big gourd is doing. That took about 3 minutes and in that time I got at least 3 mosquito bites! I was only out for a moment and I was constantly moving. The mosquitoes are just ridiculous this year. I will be happy for the first frost to get rid of them!

The chicken, rice, & sprouts was pretty tasty and made a decent lunch. Work was another typical day, though a bit busy for a Sunday. I am continuing to read "Valley of the Horses." Ayla has just rescue a cave lion cub. I am curious to see how this progresses.

MONDAY - OCTOBER 6, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquidena  – Dunidodi sudali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏑᏓᎵ

1:51a – Home again. Two days down... two more to go. The car is really smoking badly. It's not going to last much longer.

12:53p – I woke up at 11:00a on the dot, but fell back to sleep. I got up just before noon. I am too tired though. I should be leaving for work in about 30 minutes, but I just don't have any energy.

After getting to work late, I then had to sit for about 30-45 minutes waiting to get a seat ... we were "max capped" again. Not uncommon for a Monday. I spent the entire day in floor support, except for around 8:00p when I had to call a customer back in California.

Meanwhile, in my book, Ayla's horse, Whinney, has left her, in heat, to join herd of wild horses. Baby, the Cave Lion, is probably going to be going off on his own soon too. I am hoping Ayla and Jondalar meet soon. I am getting tired of the pointless suspense...

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 7, 2008
–   – 
Taline-iga  – Dunidodi galiquogi
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᎦᎵᏉᎩ

2:48a – While sitting in the living room watching "The Crusades: A March Through Time" ... I saw a bug running across the floor. It was another roach! I smashed it with a beer can. (Beer IS good for something! lol). I think it was a female carrying an egg pouch. It was hard to tell. It isn't now though.

I got up very late. About 12:20p. However, I managed to get to work about 15 minutes early! Jay was flabbergasted.

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 8, 2008
–   – 
Tsoine-iga  – Dunidodi tsunela
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏧᏁᎳ

2:05a – Home again. It's very cool out (65°f).

4:12a – Watching the LOST IN SPACE episode tonight, "All That Glitters" (1965), I was surprised to see that Werner Klemperer (aka "Colonel Klink" ... from Hogan's Heroes) played in this episode.

4:10a – I just finished watching the Crusades movie. It was really very enjoyable. I did not eat anything to tonight. I am not sure what I will do about food tomorrow. Whatever. I need to get to bed.

4:16a – My "supper" tonight, consisted of some spicy boiled peanuts. Not very impressive, but very tasty and enjoyably ... HOT!

1:27p – I was going to sleep in today, but ended up getting out of bed at 11:00a. Very early for me. I am headed out to the store now. y'Av' anzpl' Ut' ekme ey' eikk' orfe Skip. Utarmorre Se iz' irTbede.

I went to Schnuck's and bought some cake making materials. Then I went to Q-Mart to see if they had a "Atbult' Avye buSmilz" ... but they did not. So I zipped back over to Schnuck's, but they did not have any either. I will have to go look for some tomorrow.

I went by AutoZone and bought an FL12 flasher for the car to try to get my signals to work. Unfortunately, I cannot find where it goes on the car! I can't be this complicated.... jeez.

I put a pot with TWO bags of raw peanuts on to boil around 2:00p.

I picked Skip up from the train as I usually do. We went by Schnuck's. He bought 4 beers, but only got home with 3 of them. A beer vanished. Odd.

9:38p – I just finished getting 8 days of word graphics caught up ... and I got a pork loin in the oven cooking. We ran out of foil, so I used some leftover foil out of the icebox. However, I have a couple of sweet potatoes to cook too. So, I chopped of the top of a couple of beer cans and put the ᏗᎤᎳᏛᎯ in the cans to cook.

Our new experiment with cooking sweet potatoes (ᏗᎤᎳᏛᎯ) in beer cans.

11:08p – I think supper is done. I told Skip to dig it. It's still early for me to eat yet. The peanuts are still cooking. I have had them on the stove now for about 9 hours! I think I can go shut them down.

11:11p – Skip just commented that the ᏗᎤᎳᏛᎯ are not quite cooked well enough. Next time, if we cook them in beer cans again, we need to leave them in for 90 to 120 minutes.

11:43p – Skip just went to bed. He will be 40 in about 17 minutes. I suppose it would be rude to wake him. But ... I think I will go start cooking his birthday cake now. I hope I have not had too many beers to do this!

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 9, 2008
–   – 
Nvgine-iga  – Dunidodi sonela
ᏅᎩᏂ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏐᏁᎳ

12:17a – It is now past midnight... Skip is officially FORTY YEARS OLD! I think it means more to me than it does to him, but... what can I say. My baby brother is 40 now. That's awesome. I am planning on making a huge birthday cake for him with the candle that I have been saving for this occasion for 11 years. I have  the first 2 pans in the oven baking already. These 2 are a rich chocolate. The next two layers will be butter pecan. The icing will be coconut-pecan. I have not made a cake in years, so I hope this goes well!

12:26a – Wow... I have cooked a sizeable meal of pork loin, peas & carrots in white sauce, and those beer can baked sweet potatoes. But I am not hungry!

2:17a – I've still not gotten hungry and still not eaten. Wow... that's not like me at all. However, I have been nibbling on things all night. Veggies that I was cutting up, boiled peanuts on the side, and I licked the bowl after making Skips cakes. So, I have successfully ruined my appetite in a grand fashion. Anyway... I am off to decant the last two cake layers to cool.

2:30a – One of the two Butter Pecan layers fell apart. I think I can fix it, but I sure wish it would have stayed in one piece.

4:10a – The cake is not looking so good, but I have not given up on it. I am only making it 3 layers instead of 4. I need more icing though. I will have to get more tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have hidden the cake in my room.

4:01p – I did not get up until about 1:00p today. I stayed up way late last night working on Skip's cake and drank a bit more beer than I normally do. I had a headache this morning from the beer, which is rare. I felt better after making a pot of Oolong tea.

I checked the cake which I had hidden in my room, and was dismayed to see the the top layer had broken and a third of it had slid off the side.

I took a shower and Skip and I headed out. I dropped him off at the train depot and headed to Soulard Market. I spent just $8 and got 2 yellow squash, 2 zucchini, 9 lbs of yellow onions, a box of jalapeño pepper, two containers of peeled garlic, and a bag of cauliflower florettes.

I then rushed back to Cahokia, stopping at the store to get some extra icing for the cake. (And some ice cream). Once home, I got the cake back to the kitchen without dropping it... which was a bit of an ordeal. It had been sitting on a shelf in my room, and by complete coincidence, I had clean that shelf very well earlier yesterday. Before cleaning it, there had been a thick layer of dust which would have ruined the cake. I lucked out in that respect. But the cake is awful. I gave up on the top third layer, and dropped it down to just two layers. I looks more like a muddy hill than a cake.

Go ahead... laugh. It is pathetically funny... lol!

6:03p – We called Blake and had a talk with him about rent. He wants to raise rent to $650.00! (from $575.00). That is ridiculous. He said that is about what his expenses are on the house, but Skip has been studying the market every day now for months and has all kinds of amortization programs at his disposal (trying to determine his eventual mortgage). To suggest that this house is costing $650 per month is silly. That would mean he has been paying about $75 per month just to let us live here! So ... we talked him down to $600 for the next 3 months. Meanwhile, we are living in a slum with leaks in the roof, my bedroom is falling in, the tiles are coming up, the carpet is trash, the storm door is falling off. I just want to move out of this dump. However, most of this is on Skip. I am paying what I can, but my income is less than the bills these days, so I am at Skip's mercy. Sometimes I just want to pick up and leave...and see where my few remaining days take me in life. I am so tired of trying to make ends meet and still getting no where. What's the point?

Well... I have been busy this evening, off and on. I have been chopping and freezing more vegetables. Last night I chopped up a huge bag full of veggies using the bag that I got from Costco. Today I have filled 6 more quart Ziplocs with a vegetable medley. The veggies used are mostly cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and carrot. The last bag has some brussel sprouts chopped up in it too.

11:47p – Meanwhile, on the computer, I have also been busy. I found an old news letter... a "LeesLetter" which I used to send out back before email or on-line life. I have added this to my Journal site in graphic form. You can see it here.

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 10, 2008
–   – 
Tsunagilosdi  – Dunidodi sgohi
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏍᎪᎯ

1:57a – I have some rice on to cook. I have finely chopped up dome pork and chicken to stir fry. I have chopped up the garlic and jalapeños in the blender too.

2:12a – I stir fried the meat and veggies and the rice is done. I look forward to a yummy meal. I think it's about time to watch some more LIS.

I lay in bed reading until after 5:00a ... I just could not put the damn book down. <sigh> Ayla finally met Jondalar... the first of her own kind she has ever met. It was the part of the book I have been waiting for.

I got up as late as could manage this morning. I fixed a bite eat, took an expedited shower and watched a bit of a "Charmed" DVD. I dropped Skip off at the train stop and headed to work, just a little behind schedule. However, it's Friday, and traffic sucked. I was stuck on the PSB bridge and did not make it across until 2:10p (and of course, I was supposed to be at work at 2:15p).

Work was about the usual, except Steve has really been pressing to get my schedule changed to coincide with his so he will have some backup in floor support. I re-wrote my schedule and submitted it to Chris and he approved.

SATURDAY - OCTOBER 11, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquidena  – Dunidodi sadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏌᏚ

Before leaving work, Skip called me about 3 times. I could not answer, but called him back just before 1:00a as I was leaving the building. He said something about something strange at home... he would not explain. I know him well and knew it was not anything really bad, or he would have told me on the phone. I was intrigued with a bit of trepidation as to what I would find. Skip is normally in bed by the time I get home!

The trip home was uneventful as I listened to NPR about the usual current topics. The economy has gone to Hell in a hand basket; Obama and McCain are still fighting it out; Sarah Palin is proving to be a very WEIRD chose for McCain's running mate; the Middle East continues to be the Middle East; and life goes on. Actually... the economic problems are really worrying me. It has spread to the entire world economy. I don't know what is going to happen, but I have the feeling it is worse than the realize or wish to let on. Oh... and underground African Hip-Hop music is having a hard time getting on the radio to sing about HIV and other such serious topics. (I love NPR!)

I got home and Skip was still up. I opened the door with some concern as to what I would find. I never expected what happened. He opened the door and said something like, "Look! A goat!" ... and a small goat got up and ran across the room toward us!

Well, it was NOT a goat, but that's what he said, and that was where my mind-set was as a result. It was a young puppy. It is malnourished, so very skinny, with long gangly legs. It's ears are badly infected and seriously swollen as a result. The over all effect did give the appearance of a goat at first.

Our new family member?

So ... we may have a new addition to the household. We are taking him to the vet tomorrow.

4:32a – Meanwhile, Skip made some Mostaccioli  (or Muskacholi, as they call in here in St. Louis). I am going to get some of that and watch some more LIS.

I worked on setting up my new scheduled at work tonight. I will begin the new days tomorrow (Sunday).

1:00p – I am finally up. Skip has an appointment for the puppy at 2:30p in Bellville, so I don't have much time to get woke up and ready to go.

We found our way to the Veterinary office with very little problem. Skip had a laptop with him with him and was using online maps and satellite access. Between that and my growing knowledge of the area, we never even made a wrong turn or double-back.

While we were out, the car started make a "new" noise that does not sound good. It sounds like the rear brake rotors are rubbing. They are fairly new, so that is quite frustrating. Assuming that is what the problem is.

After spending over $160 at the vet, we left. The puppy, as yet un-named, has now had all his shots, has been dewormed, claws clipped, treated with steroids for the pain of the infection, provided with antibiotics, heartworm pills, and much more. Even a new collar. Skip says he has not decided if we will keep him or not, but he has spent over $200 on him today. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's nearly as much of a sentimental softy as me! lol...

We had planned on going to the Saw Mill for lunch, since they have outside seating and we could take "the puppy" with us. Unfortunately, they were closed! We ended up driving back to Popeye's Chicken. I was famished! I got a 3 piece meal with an ear of corn and a couple of jalapeños. We got home and Skip started up his current "Lord of the Rings" DVD (in progress) and we pigged out and watched the movie for a while.

After eating I become exceptionally lethargic and went to take a nap. Skip got me up about 6:30p I think. He needed to got to Wal-Mart (to spend more on "the puppy"), to Schnuck's and to Q-Mart. I picked up some things in Wal-Mart (soda and milk), but I just stayed in the car an rested at his other two stops.

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 12, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquasgv  – Dunidodi talidu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏚ

1:44a – I have a pot of rice cooking. Not sure quite what I am going to do with that, but ... I have some meat chopped up, and LOTS of vegetables to go with it all, so I should be fine.

3:30a – I hate the idea that I am going to work tomorrow. Whatever... off I go to bed now.

12:50p – I am up. Soup is on. Shower taken. Email checked. Now...I need to go eat a bite and figure out what to wear ... and hit the road.

New carpet was being installed in our quad today. We had to move to a different seat. Hated it.

MONDAY - OCTOBER 13, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquonvhi  – Dunidodi tsogadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏦᎦᏚ

I went to bed fairly early this morning and planned on getting up at least by 11:00a. Instead, I overslept and did not get up until 12:10p. I ended up being about 30 minutes late. My new schedule is finally stabilized in the IEX system. I spent another day all day in floor support. I also finished reading "Valley of the Horses" at lunch. I've begun reading the third book now, "The Mammoth Hunters."

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 14, 2008
–   – 
Taline-iga  – Dunidodi nigadu
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏂᎦᏚ

1:44a – I got home and took the puppy out. (I really wish we had a name for him!). I was out just a short time, long pants, long sleeves, but a mosquito managed to bite me on the bridge of my nose! Now I have a big bulging Roman nose. It doesn't itch though. Yet. It is either too swollen to itch yet, or it was something else that bit me.

5:48a – Skip just got up. I was watching what may be my last episode of LIS. I must be off to bed.

11:23p – I got up around 1:30p. I ended up being on the phone nearly all morning. With Skip, Tad, G&L, Bethany and Steve. My work schedule seemed fine to me, but now Steve realizes that I will not be there on Tuesdays and he is stuck with no support. Further discussion reveals that he is by himself only from 9:15p (when Chris leave), until 10:45p (when Becky gets in). That's about the same situation I've been in every Monday and Tuesday for about a year now. I call it "Hell Hour." At least, with my new schedule, he will be covered on Wednesdays and the weekends. So he will only have about 1 hour per week by himself. That's not much... I do it all the time. It's rough, granted, but unless CVG wants to treat us like we are hard working skilled technicians and respect our efforts, then it won't make much difference.

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 15, 2008 –   –  Tsoine-iga  – Dunidodi sgigadu ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏍᎩᎦᏚ I got to work a bit late. It was raining, which slowed traffic down way too much. This is my first Wednesday to be working "on schedule" in over a year. (Since we began the static floor support schedule). The purpose of my schedule changing was mainly to cover Steve who was having to work all by himself every Wednesday. Ironically, I was asked to do Customer Survey call backs, so Steve ended up doing floor support all by himself anyway. I finished the call backs right at 7:00p ... just as Rodney was arriving. Rodney was going into Floor Support, so once I got back into doing floor support, we had three of us covering what poor Steve had been having to do all by himself. After getting home, I watched "Star Gate - The Ark of Truth" ... and began watching the new "Indiana Jones" movie, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 16, 2008
–   – 
Nvgine-iga  – Dunidodi daladu
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏓᎳᏚ

I felt awful this morning. My chest was hurting. More specifically, around my heart. This as been going on for the past year actually. It's not a major pain, just an occasional twinge, or ache. But I realize that it is very slowly increasing. It really worries me with all the heart problems in my family and my direct genetic kin. I went in to work late, trying to get some rest. But then I started to feel bad at work, and after finishing my floor support time at 7:00p, I had to leave. I am hoping to get PTO to cover this so I do not get an absence or lose pay. If not, then at least UTO so that I do not get an absence, even if I do lose pay. I came home and chatted with Skip a bit. Then I went to bed and read my book ("The Mammoth Hunters") for a while. I put the book down and dozed for a while before finally getting up again. Skip was still up. I made a powerful herbal broth which was very stimulating and had me sweating and sniffling. I finished watching the Indian Jones movie and retired to the computer to catch up my online life. Today is Gary Anderson's birthday. He never communicates with me, but he played a part in the "Washington University" chapter of my life, so I sent him a birthday wish today.

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 17, 2008
–   – 
Tsunagilosdi  – Dunidodi galiquadu
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᎦᎵᏆᏚ

2:11a – All I've had to "eat" tonight is a large cup of spicy herbal broth, and some boiled peanuts. I think I will go watch some of the new DVD I have. I forget the title. Some silly comedy.

11:54a – I was wakened a bit ago by the sound of people on the roof. The repairman was here. I was expecting him.

1:51p – The repairman is still here. They have been putting a new storm door on the front entrance. It's just like the back entrance's door. Very plain and not as attractive as the one which was there before. I think it really detracts from the charm of the house, but it was Blake's decision, and hopefully we will not be living here all that much longer.

10:11p – Here we are, hours later. The door was installed, but I am not impressed. Of course, I don't think the idea was to impress me, but simply to meet minimum requirements for the house. The door is functional but looks ugly. It does not shut properly. They had no clue how to install it. The young assistant (Scotty) kept saying that the entire door was defective. The front latch does not work right. There is a lot of draft space around the frame overlay. The existing frame which was damaged was not replaced as we were expecting, but a new aluminum frame was screwed onto the top of the existing frame.

11:51p – I have cooked a pork loin roast, wrapped in mustard leaves, with onion and other seasonings for supper.

SATURDAY - OCTOBER 18, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquidena  – Dunidodi nigadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏂᎦᏚ

12:13a – I have had an interesting day with the repairmen here. Scotty and Gary. (Scotty asw' ungy' Anj' Utkeye! I suppose they will be back tomorrow.

1:39a – I am off to bed. Supper was most satisfying, and I cuddled with the puppy (I am calling him "Nog") and he enjoyed my attention.

Pork loin wrapped in mustard greens -- it came out very juicy and tender!

I woke up about 6:00a and did not doze off again until about 8:30a. Then I woke up needing to go go the bathroom. My mouth was dry again and I was thirsty. I drank more water. I dozed off again around 9:30a and was up at 9:45a for another run to the bathroom, and more water. This happened about three times, pretty much on the hour. I finally got up around 1:45p with most of my day gone.

I did a bunch of laundry last night, and got it all hung and folded this evening. Skip spent the day house hunting with Sharon. They looked at about 6 houses and he likes 2 of them.

Nog's ears are getting really bad. Skip spoke to the vet and it looks like they are going to have to be amputated.

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 19, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquasgv  – Dunidodi soneladu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ

12:07a – I have caught up all but two days of my WOTD graphics. I am making supper from left over pork from last night.

1:14a – I am off to bed now.

I had some exceptionally odd dreams. At one point, I woke up and noticed the small fan that I have drying my poke berries was making a high pitched, whining noise. I sat up in bed and I could see what appeared to be a "glowing" spark in the fan. It has been running constantly for several days as I use it to dry out my poke berries, but it is a cheap fan, and I was afraid it my be burning out and possibly presenting a fire hazard.

A semblance of one of my dreams this morning...

Suddenly, I woke up and realized that the entire thing was a dream! I was dreaming that I was laying awake in bed. How annoying!!

2:44p – I actually got up before noon. I went to the store and picked up some stuff to make a big pan of sausage gravy and biscuits. Skip and I just finished eating. He has gone to his room to take a nap, and I am tempted to do so too, but I've not been up all that long, so I shouldn't go to bed already.

I finished re-watching the "Kung-Pow" movie today. Totally STUPID, but... amusing.

This has been a dull, boring and sad day. It was nice to have the day off, but I did nothing. The car has too many problems to go anywhere safely.

Tad sent us an email tonight saying Blake asked him to do a walk through of our house for him. We were a bit bothered by this, since Blake had not mentioned this to us. Then we got an email from Blake saying he had not said this and to ignore it. WTF? We really need to move out of this place. The sooner, the better!

I got WOTD-5 done tonight.

MONDAY - OCTOBER 20, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquonvhi  – Dunidodi talisgohi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪᎯ

12:27a – I am trying to get something prepared for 3rd meal.

1:45a – My supper was okay, if not the greatest. I've taken a couple of PM's and am going to bed early. I hope to get a good night's sleep and be ready for work tomorrow... and the following days. I hope the car makes it. It is not doing too well.

12:15p – I am up, but not very enthusiastic about going to work again. Especially with the latest problem the car is having with what I think is the left rear brake. It making an awful "metal on metal" grinding noise. I just put new rotors and pads on all four wheels about a year ago, so something has gone wrong.

Work... was work. I stopped at Block Buster on the way in and picked up a couple of movies. Star Ship Trooper 3 and Mostly Ghostly.

I watch Mostly Ghostly after getting home and started Star Ship Troopers 3.

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 21, 2008
–   – 
Taline-iga  – Dunidodi talisgo-saquu
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏌᏊ

My Aunt Marlene's 62nd birthday today!

Remembering Danielle, a fellow skater, taken from use at the
tender age of 26. She remains in our memories and our hearts...

More significant Terran history is made today!
India launches its first lunar spacecraft.
The unmanned lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1, or "moon craft" in ancient Sanskrit,
came at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday (8:50 p.m. ET) from the Sriharikota space center in southern India.

I finished watching Star Ship Troopers 3 this morning, and returned them to Block Buster on the way in.

I filled the tank this morning for only $38.00! That's the lowest I've paid in a long time. I think the price was $2.79/gal. And just a few weeks ago it was $4.20!

I was late getting to work today. The car would not start for some reason, but it finally started. I call Pete's Auto about bringing it in on Thursday. But then I spoke to Skip and he wants to meet with the people we are trying to get to "rescue" Nog the dog on Thursday, so that may be difficult to arrange.

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 22, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquonvhi  – Dunidodi talisgo-tali
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏔᎵ

I spent the entire day on Floor Support again, per Chris' direction. There was really nothing exceptional to report today. The blandest of bland days I think.

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 23, 2008
–   – 
Nvgine-iga  – Dunidodi talisgo-tsoi
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏥᎣ

3:03a – I've been trying to catch up my journal some tonight. Jack also came on line with his new dual-core computer. I know he is thrilled with it. It's already getting late and I haven't even thought about what to make for 3rd meal ... or lunch tomorrow.

I got to be about 6:00a this morning.

11:24p – I did NOT want to get up this morning. I expected that. However, I managed to drag my ass out of bed by about 12:15p.  It has been a gray and rainy day. I had so much to do. Still half asleep, I contacted Skip about having the puppy "Nog" picked up by the "rescue" people.  I contacted Steve about giving me a ride from Pete's Auto where I was taking the car for repair today. I managed to get Nog to the Library parking lot precisely on time to meet with Sandi and her husband. They took over custody of Nog, and his possessions. Nog was happy, perky and (of course) had no clue what was going on. He just seems to be happy to be loved.

Once Nog was relinquished, I came home in search of something to eat. I was famished. I had a can of menudo and fixed that with a little extra garlic and jalapeño. Then I went to the store. If the car is going to be down for a few days, I figured I might need some things. However, everything was just too expensive. I got some frozen bell peppers, some candy for Samhain, and then I went next door to Wal-Mart for beer. The beer at Schnuck's was $11.xx. At Shop-n-Save it is $9.97. I got my beer at Wal-Mart for $10.xx. I prefer to buy it at Shop-n-Save, but I was running late.

After dog delivery, cooking, eating and shopping, I finally got chance to head out to Pete's Auto shop off Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights, MO. It turns out they are right next door to the computer shop I took Skip took Skip too a while back.

The ever-present and haunting Imo's advertisement...

Steve pulled in almost exactly the same time I did. I left the car, with instructions, and then Steve and I headed out. I was hoping he would take me home, but he was sick, dealing with aches & pains, and probably a fever. I had said he could drop me off at the MetroLink and I would find my way home. Unfortunately for both of us, he took me up on that offer. He said he would drop me off at the North Hanley MetroLink train stop. Unfortunately, he did not realize there would be an accident on I-270 and that traffic would be backed up and 2 right lanes closed. We were stuck for a seeming eternity behind this truck with an Imo's advertisement on the back. (I wonder if Julie Imo is still alive? I worked with her at Wash U.).

By the time we finally made it to the position of the accident, there was nothing left to show that there had aver BEEN an accident, except for some emergency vehicles all park along side the road.

The only sign we saw of the accident, taken thru the windows as we creeped by at slow speeds.

Skip's "order" of a drinking flask arrived today. This is a HUGE flask! It was purchased partly as a joke, but he plans on taking it to an upcoming concert. That should be interesting...

Sneaking this gargantuan flask, full of booze, into a concert...
Hmm.... this should be interesting!!

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 24, 2008
–   – 
Tsunagilosdi  – Dunidodi talisgo-nvgi
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏅᎩ

1:50a – I am struggling to hold my eyes open. Off to bed!

3:26p – I had a nice long sleep of about 12 hours! I really needed that. I called Pete's Auto, but apparently they have not even started on the car yet. I am still not sure about how I am going to get to/from work tomorrow.

3:31p – I just heard a door shut and I see a white van out in the driveway. Tad and Richie are next door working on their house and they have a white van, so I wondered if it were them. Nope. It's Gary with G&L services come to work on the front storm door some more. Meanwhile, I have some food cooking and went into the kitchen to check on it. I opened a cabinet door and a roach ran out! I slapped it and it almost fell into my cooking food. I manage to kill it. It was a female with an egg pouch, so I am glad I got that one!

5:16p – I've spoken with Pete. It looks like the leak repair will be under $300. That's good.

9:32p – I spoke with Pete again. Looks like the timing belt will have to be replaced. This requires a special order, but he can have it by Monday. That's good, I suppose, but getting to work will be a problem. I talked with Steve, and he is going to pick me up at 12:15p tomorrow. I will be getting to work early. This weekend is going to be a mess, but ... I will get through it. At least I can look forward to next weekend; I will have 4 days off.

I am not feeling good tonight either. I rode with Steve yesterday in his enclosed pickup. The heat was high and he was sick. The windows did not roll down. I was worried about catching his bug, and I am hoping I did not. My eyes are burning, and my head hurts. I am way too sleepy, considering that I got 12 hours sleep in last night. I hope I am not getting sick.

I made a new video tonight, made from footage from this very day ... but from 1992.

SATURDAY - OCTOBER 25, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquidena  – Dunidodi talisgo-hisgi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᎯᏍᎩ

2:53a – I am off to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow to go in with Steve.

11:05a – I woke up about 7:30a and never really got back to sleep. I got up around 10:30a, washed some dishes, checked email and took a shower. I feel exhausted. This is going to be a LONG day I'm afraid.

This was taken in front of the house this morning, while waiting for Steve to pick me up.

Steve picked me up at about 12:30p. We made it to work at 1:16p. I got my scheduled adjusted for the next 3 days. I will have to take a tardy today and maybe tomorrow, but I should be able to get a UTO on Monday.

I took calls for the first hour, then went on floor support. We were going to leave at 9:45p. That's when Steve's shift ends. I said we should probably tell someone we were leaving, since there would be no floor support of an hour until Becky arrived. Steve finally told Michelle, and she wigged out, so Steve agreed to stay another hour. That was good for me. At least I did not lose as much time. Only about 1 hour of pay. Tomorrow will be much the same. I have been really under the weather all day though. My heart keeps palpitating, and I have been just totally exhausted. Steve was not much better, as he is still recovering from being sick.

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 26, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquasgv  – Dunidodi talisgo-galiquogi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᎦᎵᏉᎩ

12:52a – I got home and Skip was still up cooking his supper. It smell great from outside, but when I stepped into the house it had an odd fishy smell.  He rented the new "Hulk" movie and I have been watching it. He has gone to bed now and I suppose I had better not stay up too late. It was a struggle to function all day today.

3:11a – The new Hulk movie was very good. I really enjoyed it. However, I have stayed up far longer than intended. I am off to bed now.

12:08p – I slept well for a change and feel MUCH better today. Steve should be here to pick me up in a few minutes.

MONDAY - OCTOBER 27, 2008
–   – 
Unadodaquonvhi  – Dunidodi talisgo-sudali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏑᏓᎵ

3:24a – I've been working much of the evening on video from October 24, 1992, with Rex and the boys at Lake Eola. I need to get to bed! Like... a half hour ago. But food is still cooking.

4:01a – I've scarfed down some food and am off to bed. This is way too late for me since I have starting an hour earlier tomorrow. I feel indigestion coming on already too. I think I will take a PM ... I hope it does not cause me to over sleep.

11:22a – I over slept! Only by 15 minutes. One more day to get through. Steve is picking me up again, but I don't think he is working today. The part for the car is supposed to arrive today, so we any luck, it will be ready tomorrow.

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 28, 2008
–   – 
Taline-iga  – Dunidodi talisgo-tsunela
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏧᏁᎳ

3:32a – I am off to bed

3:41p – I got up around 1:00p and fixed a pot of tea. I poured the water into my tea pot however, and saw something floating in it. I looked more closely and discovered it was a SPIDER! Yuck! I pour it all out and started from scratch.

I talked to Pete. The car so far is up to about $380.00

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 29, 2008
–   – 
Tsoine-iga  – Dunidodi talisgo-sonela
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏐᏁᎳ

1:35a – I just finished watching "Monsters & Mazes." I had seen part of this old 1982 movie with (26 year old) Tom Hanks. I thought the movie was from the 1970's by the style. It was interesting how the end of the movie had a major scene in "The Two Towers" ... which alluded to Tolkien's "Two Towers" ... but was actually referring to the two towers of the World Trade Center. It is hard to believe this was nearly 20 years before the 9-11 disaster. I think it is the only movie I've seen with scenes from within the WTC.

1:41a – So, now my food has been eaten, my movie has been watched and I am bored. I have some cake and ice cream I can eat, but no milk. Nor nothing to watch while fattening up on such sweets.

11:06a – I sure did not want to get up this morning, but of course I did. Steve just called. He has been in early working some over time. He is on his way to pick me up now.

Wow... Steve got here WAY EARLY! I still had food on the stove and was in the shower when he called me. I got out of the shower, dripping, but the phone had given up. My cell phone showed the Steve had called again. With a towel wrapped around me, I peeked out the window as I was calling him back ... and there he was, sitting in my driveway! Of course, I had a panicky time rushing to throw my clothes on (and today was "dress for success Wednesday"  ... so no jeans and such). I got my food thrown into a container, and made a separate dish of plain rice. I don't think I kept him waiting too long. I also called Pete and the car will not be ready until about 2:00p today. So, I told them I would pick it up tomorrow morning.

I joined Steve and I ate my morning rice on the road. Steve is a great guy. Intelligent and intolerant of stupidity. I can appreciate that. I paid him some money today for all his effort carting me to/from work. I may have to pay him back in rides some day though, but I will be glad to do so. I know this is taking a toll on him. It would wear me out. I should only need one more ride from him and that will be to pick up my car in the morning.

Also, in my discussion with Steve this morning, he pointed out that I bought my rotors and pads from AutoZone. They provide a 'Limited Lifetime Warranty' which means that I should be able to get new rotors and pads from them for free as long as I own the car. I am a bit skeptical, but hopeful that this is true. He says he has replaced his brakes several times under this process. I will have to speak with AutoZone about this and see how it works.

I thought I would go on the phones today, but I ended up being in FS all day. It was grueling. This new SmartZone webmail interface Comcast has come up with is a great idea in theory, but in practice... I suspect they are going to lose a lot of customers.

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 30, 2008
–   – 
Nvgine-iga  – Dunidodi tsosgohi
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏦᏍᎪᎯ

3:03a – It is such a pleasure knowing that I do not have to go to work tomorrow. And I should have my car back. The breaks are not fixed, but (see above). And I owe Skip a fortune and don't know how I am going to pay him. I need to make more money! Oh ... and I still have to spend $209 on simple insurance on the car so I can get my tags renewed (for another $78).  Then ... there is a stack of bill sitting in front of me which I am trying to ignore... for now. On the bright side, I got my $275.02 back from DirectTV a couple of days ago. I won't see any of it in any discretionary spending, but ... at least I got that back.

Meanwhile, Skip is still trying VERY seriously to buy the 1867 house in Bellville. I am finding myself wanting him to get this house more and more. I am trying not to get my hopes up... the let-down really sucks. But it's a beautiful old house and in great shape from what I have seen. I did not get to visit, but the pictures were promising.

3:10a – And I learned tonight that the Cooks are planning on keeping Nog ... errr... "Chuck". That is pleasing news. I am glad he will be remaining in the local area. Maybe we can go visit him.

3:18a – I am getting a bit tipsy, but I don't want to go to bed. I have put some meat scraps on to render down into a broth. I am to "awake" ... though tired. I need to do something or create something. Maybe its time to visit the video archives again...

3:23p – I got the car back. The brakes still need to be fixed, but the engine seems to be running much quieter, and I feel more power from the car than before. It's idling smoothly now. There was a little bit of smoke, but I think its just some leftover oil burning off. The engine was cleaned though, and looks much better. Hopefully the gas mileage will be better too.

3:25p – I spoke to Skip a little bit ago. I am going to pick him up from work shortly. We are bringing home the carpet extractors to clean house again. We are also going to go out and look at the house. He put an offer down on it yesterday, so we have our fingers crossed it will work out.

After picking Skip up, we drove out to Belleville so I could have a look at his prospective new home. I am getting very stoked on the new house. I hope he gets it. So far, so good!

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 31, 2008
–   – 
Tsunagilosdi  – Dunidodi tsosgohi-saquu
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᏚᏂᏙᏗ ᏦᏍᎪᎯ-ᏌᏊ

1:48a – I have been cooking some beef parts for about 24 hours now. I have mixed this with some rice and am making a huge beef stir-fry. I also have a new movie started. Something about "T-Rex" ... so its some kind of dinosaur movie. Not sure just what it is.

2:33a – I am off to bed.

Skip started cleaning the carpet this morning. I suggested we go to Costco, but he said the equipment had to be back tomorrow. I thought he said it had to be back on Sunday... but Skip forgot he was taking Friday off. He thought today was Saturday. Also, I reminded him that Marty and the gang were going to be coming over for the Halloween campout. So, we headed out. First I went by Hair Fetish and had Jeff do my hair. Then we went to Soulard and I got some vegetables. From there we went to Costco, mostly to buy meat, but we also got 170-count container of paper plates. That should last for a while! By this time, the campers were already set up in the back yard. We stopped by Shop 'N Save before coming home and met "the gang" back at the house.

The pictures above are a couple of select shots from our Samhain Party and camp out in the back yard. In attendance were me and Skip of course, since we were the hosts; Marty, JR, Billy and Iris. Bill could not make it... too bad for Bill! It was a good time.