Saldrin Moore or less

2007-06-07T14:31:00.000-05:00

So my significant other decided it was time for new phones. I’m not really sure why. The ones we had before worked perfectly well. They sit on the counter top waiting patiently for that day that someone would actually place a call to that number.

I guess it had something to do with the fact that the kid would be going off to school soon.

So he picked out these sleek looking state of the art super thin, camera phones. And although they are not named so, they look suspiciously like a razor. This of course got the kids all excited and the pair temporarily disappeared until I was able to wrestle the one back from the youngest. That one I decided would be mine. Why? Well, it looks cool.

Within a day of taking possession of my new phone my partner in crime got a hold of it one night at a ball game and proceeded to download a new ring tone for it. Now when ever it actually does ring I have to sit there a moment wondering what the heck that is…oh yea! It’s my phone.

And of course when the kid found out her dad had downloaded a song for his, um, mine?, she, too needed to get a song for hers. She is a big David Bowie fan so now she is serenaded by "Let's Dance" when ever her friends give her a call.

This is still a very foreign concept to me and I finally set my phone to vibrate to let me know that someone might actually be giving me a call. It’s proved to be most humorous since the phone now does a little dance across the counter top every time it rings and I’m prompted more by the thunking sound and the rush to grab it before it makes it to the edge.

One of my other really favorite things about the phone is the fact that it’s so thin. It fits perfectly in my back pocket for when ever I actually remember to carry it.

Of course being so thin and the fact that it really doesn’t ring much I tend to forget about it being in my pocket.

That is of course until the other night.

I was sitting on the couch watching a little TV…and one of the kids decide to give me a call.

Much to my surprise I discovered that my phone is not set to vibrate. It’s set to taser!

I go from a nice slightly conscious state of barely hearing what’s on the tube to falling off the couch and end up dancing on the floor to the tune of the Dobbie Brother's "Black Water" for about 10 seconds before I realize what the hell just happened.

So I’d like to thank you dear…for that lovely present.

Tonight, after you go off to bed and drift off to a peaceful sleep, I think I’ll come slip the damn thing into your shorts….then go downstairs and give you a ring.

Just another day...

2007-05-23T13:51:00.001-05:00

Today marks a highlight in my life. A major milestone that I really hadn’t thought of until now.

A day like any other that is passing by without much fan fair. A day that feels no different than any other. A typical day in my life really. With work and lunch and the normal day to day drudgery of most working couples.

Today marks 20 years of a life with the same person. A bit of a rarity in today’s world.

And much as it was 20 years ago today, I find I still enjoy the company of my significant other. We still share the duties of chores, and dinner, and the other necessities of life and don’t really give much thought as to who is doing them. Well maybe a little…but it’s quickly lost on other things that need to be done.

We still enjoy sitting quietly watching a movie, or TV. Of playing a silly computer game together. We spend all day working nearby and a good bit of that day in each others company. We still hold hands while walking across the parking lot on our way to the store. We still enjoy walking the mountains together and surprisingly, so do the kids.

Although we may not be doing things with quite the quickness we once shared, we still do them without much fuss. And more importantly, we still do it mostly together. Sure there are times when we go off in our separate ways but at the end of the day we are there, once again, together.

I’m not much for leaving the house during the week once we get home, and he likes to go off and do little things with the kids.

I often wonder what’s wrong with us. How can we go though the day and still share a kiss, or a hug, and not feel much different about each other as we did 20 years ago. How can we imagine life any other way?

And more surprising that anything is the fact that our kids are pretty much the same as we are. Even at their age they still enjoy the company of their ole parents and are happy to go off and do the same things we do.

So Happy Anniversary to you, dear.

And here’s to another 20 years! A little bit slower once again perhaps.

Not Made in USA

2007-05-16T11:29:00.000-05:00

I read this article today about Dell Corporation and its steady decline in both a good product and customer service. The sad thing is you can insert just about any major company’s name here and pretty much end up with the same customer complaints.

Let’s face it, Corporate America’s increasing need to export all its manufacturing and customer service to foreign countries is the culprit. To discover the reason for your defective product can all be contributed to those three little words you find on any item you buy today…”Made in China.”

When was the last time you went into a store and actually found a decent article of clothing worthy of spending money on? Or a kitchen appliance for that matter? It’s all junk, and it’s all made in sweat shops in China. And every store you go in has the same damn thing. Every couple a months we all have to go out and spend more money to replace the junk we just bought because it’s falling apart. I had to go out and buy a simple white dress for graduation for my daughter. We spent 5 hours trying to find a decent dress that actually fit. The only thing we found was the same stupid white dress that fit like an old potato sack in every store we went in. Needless to say she will be wearing an off white, print dress in violation of the stupid school standards because “I” refuse to spend money on the only crappy product we could find that fit the dress code.

I happy just to be able to find food that was grow in the good ole USA!

I long for the time I can go into a store and find that oh so elusive “Made in USA” label on anything. Americans use to make a damn fine product. But that is a thing of the past. Now, major corporations have even taken to firing their employees making an obscene $20 an hour in order to save money so they can pay their CEO’s a more modest $600 million dollars a year. Just think, if they only knocked off one of those “0’s” at the end of that salary how many Americans they could feed by way of an honest day’s work.

And just to prove the point that the wealthy make way too much, someone just spend $72.84 million on this! Hell I would have painted it for a mere $1 million with the same results.

Full Circle

2007-04-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, I remember that day all too well all those years ago when my mom got tired of seeing me sitting in the living room, watching TV, instead of out job hunting. The day she drove me down to the local Army recruiter’s office, and dropped me off. I don’t remember what day it was…just remember that day. As like most things in my life I never remember the exact day. Time seems to have little meaning to me. It floats by as it always does until one day I remember I was supposed to have taken care of that…err 3 months go!

Anyway, so there I was, signing my life over to Uncle Sam, then off I go to spend the next six years living the Army life. It was good, it was fun, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Every couple months they packed me up and sent me somewhere new. First Fort Jackson for training and schooling, then Fort Ben Harrison (it’s not there any more by the way…just a warm fuzzy memory and maybe some cheap townhouses hastily build and now in need of some serious repair I would suspect, but hey some developer is happy and that’s all that matters anyway right!), then Fort Port, LA. (Did I mention I joined the Army to go overseas and see Europe.) And finally ending my career at Fort Myer, VA and in view of Washington, DC. During that time I swore I wasn’t going to have kids, and wasn’t even going to thing about marriage until I was about 29 or so. I was going to see the world! And what happened, you asked? Married at 23, mom at 25. I’m really good at sticking with a plan!

And here I am at full circle. I now find myself with daughter much like myself. A lovely, wonderful person that everyone loves (ok so I’m not the everyone loves kinda person…/shrug). And I find myself on the brink of sending her off into the world and wondering where the hell those past 18 years of her life got to. Surely, it can’t have been that long already? Hell, we just brought her home from the hospital yesterday. A nice Army hospital with all the modern technology (I tell a good story don’t I!)

And here she is all grown up on me and 18, and I’m sending her off to the unknown. To some sleepy little college out in the middle of no where to find herself I guess. 18 years ago when she was waking me up in the middle of the night screaming, I couldn’t wait for this day. When she got the flu and threw up all over me I couldn’t wait for this day. When she hit the terrible teens (which is much like the terrible two’s only worse) I couldn’t wait for this day. Actually she was a very pleasant teenager…but a horrid little two year old always making me feel guilty for bringing home THAT other kid.

And now it’s here…and I wish it would go away. Funny how that goes.

But to give credit where credit is due, she turned into a wonderful person…that was her father’s during. I was just the one that growled at her and her sister to clean their rooms and pick up after themselves…I didn’t go a good job at that.

I find I’m really going to miss her. It’s going to be hard not having her there in the evening to watch our TV show with. But in a way I’m excited for her to be off on her own and experience the thrill of being independent. Well, somewhat independent since we are still footing the bill. But she’ll get to make all those little decisions herself; hanging out with the friends she’ll make at school and not constantly have someone looking over her shoulder. It will hard at first for sure like it was for most of us. But if she’s anything like her mom, I’ll be wondering what the heck she’s up to and why she hasn’t called in the past three months.

Eagle Cam

2007-04-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Once again, I'm neglectful of my blog. Oh well, it has its moments...and then it dosen't.

Anyway, as an update, one of my many pastimes’ include watching the family of eagles down in Norfolk, VA raise their young.

Last year it was a family of Peregrine Falcons. Unfortunately, this year they seem to have been plagued with a run of bad luck with two eggs being laid in different locations and both disappearing within a few days. A raccoon was trapped and release at a new locations so I’m hoping they will soon try again and I’ll get to see them raise their kids, too.

While I wait and see what happens, I’ve been watching the Eagles. It’s amazing that such predacious creatures can be so attentive to their young. Mom seems to spend her day somewhere close to the nest keeping an eye on the three chicks they have while dad is off fishing up the next meal. When ever he delivers the catch of the day to the nest, mom comes and distributes it to the youngsters. And on occasion, I have observed dad feeding mom as well. It’s a touching sight.

Yesterday was a cold and raining morning and during that time mom was there huddled close to the kids and even letting them try and crawl up under her. An amazing feet in itself since they are already half grown.

They are a funny sight to see, all feet and clumsy wings that they seem to have no idea what to do with. They spend a good part of their day either crashed out fast asleep or sitting on their bottoms with their oversized feet stretched in front of them. In the past week they have been in the process of swapping out their baby down for feathers. It is pretty evident by the older one, much larger and farther along then it’s younger sibling of several days still coated in the soft grey down.

There is a hierarchy to their existence as well. The larger one is always first to be fed while the other two wait patiently for him to get his fill. As soon as it’s evident that he’s getting thoroughly stuffed, the middle chick moves in for the next bite, followed by the smallest of the lot. Even the parents seem to favor the bigger of the three. Today, I watched as the little guy did his best to beg for some scraps and even attempt to bite off some himself, while the parent just seemed to look about unconcerned. Poor guy. Only in the animal kingdom is the baby of the family not the center of attention. Just an insurance policy incase something happens to the other two. Let’s just hope he grows up strong and finds his place in the wild.

If you’re interested, here’s the link. They spent a good part of their day sleeping but it’s still fascinating to see such power birds be such caring, attentive parents.

Hopefully, the falcons will have their family going soon so I can observe them as well.

Winter is Coming!

2007-01-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

And yet more exciting news for the fantasy fans out there

My other favorite author, George RR Martin, has also agreed to to turn him famous books into a TV series.

He's made a deal with HBO. And lucky me, I'm already a subscriber. Was looking for a reason to actually keep this in my TV lineup. And now I have one.

So if you're looking for an interesting mix of Science Fiction meets the dark ages, this shouldn't be a disappointment. It's a bit too gritty for basic TV, so putting it out there along with HBO's Rome seems only fitting.

Oh Too Cool!

2007-01-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

I was stumbling about the net today looking for some information on Terry Goodkind. And low and behold what did I find! He has agreed to do a TV mini series of his famous book series, The Sword of Truth.

I’m really excited. I love his books and am eagerly awaiting the final installment. If the TV show stays true to the books, it should prove to be a great program.

For those of us that find the reality show craze dull, boring and totally pointless, this will be a welcome relief. Personally, I just don’t get reality TV. It is anything but reality for anyone but a hand full of folks that chose to make total fools out of themselves for all to see. But hey, the networks make huge profits off these silly shows and aren't saddled with a bunch of prima donna actors demanding huge salaries for themselves. It's a big win situation for them.

I only hope viewers tire of this sort of programming and start to demand quality shows once again.

And, besides, we just don’t have enough sci-fi, fantasy stuff to watch.

Speaking of which, I recently watch the movie, Serenity, and just loved it.

During the holidays as I was wandering about my husbands favorite book store in search of something to add to his growing stack of literary works by the bed, I passed by the movie section and one caught my eye. It was a set of disks from the TV series Firefly. I had never heard of it before but damn if those faces didn’t look familiar. Turns out Serenity was based on this program but, sad to say, it only lasted one season.

So I picked it up and gave it to my husband for Christmas. Actually, I got it for myself because I wanted to see it…he was just a good excuse.

It was a terrific program done in 2002. I still can’t believe I missed it. It’s a fascinating collision of Science Fiction meets the old west. Yea, I know, it’s a strange combination. But wow. It was gritty and well done. An intelligent show with some great acting. You just fall in love with the characters and their great sense of humor. The folks that came up with that one should be proud of a well done product. And the network that doomed it to fail should be ashamed. After doing a search of the IMBd, it seems Fox cursed this wonderful program from the get go with constant interruptions for baseball and other various preempting programs and the viewers could never keep up. What to go Fox!

It really gets annoying that major networks constantly interrupt our favorite programs to broadcast all the sports shows. Great for the sports fans, no so for us that have our favorite programs.

BTW, I’m a Yankees fan. But it’s not going to rule my life. I love spending a quiet evening in front of the tube watching em play…especially when it’s against the Sox. But at least these are done on the side channels dedicated to sports...or at least most of those I watch are since I don't exactly live in Yankee territory.

Thank goodness for services like TiVo and On Demand that allow us to catch up at a more convenient time. If it weren’t for Spike, my digital recorder, and On Demand I don’t think I’d ever get caught up with CSI or NCIS. But just because I didn’t get to see them on their regularly scheduled time doesn’t mean I don’t want to see em. It’s just easier on a Sunday afternoon that 9PM during the week.

Happy (and somewhat belated) New Year...

2007-01-17T12:56:00.001-05:00

Yea, I know. I've been delinquent in my postings. And my walking. But hey, it’s only 24 degrees here. Well it was 67 a few days back but that’s beside the point. It’s cold now and that’s my current excuse.

After making the typical 'OMG, I'm bored at work" circuit of some of the other bloggers, I was surprised to discover that I have been demoted to the silent sister in law.

And yes, I read your comments.

Well, I'll try and do better. Work had been rather bustling for a time but I am now back in my holding pattern waiting on the “others” to give me stuff so I can be bustling once again.

My other excuse is that after a couple months off from my other misguided adventures, I have once again picked up pen and paper...or more precisely, keyboard...and am attempting to finish a somewhat screwy book that's been floating about my brain for some time. If I work up the nerve, perhaps at a later date I will post an excerpt from my writings. But don't count on that. It’s a top secret project that not even the significant other has had a glance at so far.

One of my other misfortunate adventures has included wagging war on Western Digital and boycotting CompUSA for selling me a bum hard drive and being stubborn about owing up to their crappy merchandise. Especially after I was told it was my fault and that I must have gotten it infected with some nasty internet virus or something. Funny, the “C” drive never came down with anything. I guess I must have gotten that one immunized or something.

But he was real helpful in offering to redirect me to a guy that would walk me through reformatting this crap hard drive. Um, since when did it take special assistance to /format f the f’ing hard drive anyway? Hell, that's something we all learned back in the 80's bud.

So fair warning. You don’t want to deal with WD’s customer service. It’s horrendous. Took me two weeks of phone call’s to finally get through. Of course they did finally answer my repeated emails about two weeks after the fact. Way to impress your customers WD!

And well CompUSA lost a customer just because they wouldn’t even talk to me about the crap they sold me. In order to get any service out of them you have to pay upfront for their damn warranties. That just pisses me off to no end.

These companies get you coming and going. They have successfully removed any obligations to providing decent products and service after a two-week period. Or better yet, blame the customer for the defect.

Anyway, perhaps this will be a start of a more creative new year for this blogger.

but I wouldn't count on it. I switch gears too fast. Old family curse ya know. Start stuff and never finish.

Time to switch to running....yea right

2006-08-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

After a week of blistering heat and high humidity, the weather has finally broken, dropping back down in to the mid 80’s. Who would have thought the 85 would be considered cool? But after the 100 degrees with heat indices in around 110, it was a very welcome relief.

As the weather finally broke to a more comfortable temperature and after two months of walking pretty consistently, I decided it was now time to make the transition from just walking to running. What was I thinking!

It was my third night of attempting to run. And I do mean attempting. Five years ago when I was running, I was lean and trim and sure footed. I could run like the wind and nothing could detour me. Hills were not a problem. I ran up them like they were nothing.

The other night as I was listening to Evenessence screaming in my ear mocking me to go faster, I started up that same hill that was not a problem for me just a few years ago. About half way up I swear I heard Even screaming “BURN, BURN, BURN!,” and I’m thinking, “YES, it does!”

Holy hell…

That was the end of my running. I’ve decided that all those years of running on concrete have done my knees in. I’m going to stick to walking from now on. I’m going to leave the running to those young gazelles out there that snicker at me when they come running by. And relish in the fact that they will be where I am now in 20 years…if they‘re lucky.

And I’ve also discovered that there are some groups you just can’t listen to when trying to set a good pace. While Even wasn’t bad, that mocking has landed them on the trash heap just because.

The Moody Blues, who are so amply named, are one of those groups you just can’t get into out on the road. Every time they come on, I find myself daydreaming of a nice quiet backyard, a hammock, and a couple of wine coolers. Sort of defeats the purpose of walking.

Led Zepplin now, is real good at urging you on and for some reason my ipod really REALLY like them. I’m not complaining. Only draw back is they like to change up the beat in the middle of the song and you find yourself stumbling when they do.

I think it's time for a wine cooler...now where did I put that Moody Blues CD?

And so the adventure continues…

2006-07-19T14:55:00.000-05:00

After having spent 2 weeks on vacation doing as little as possible other than that of the recreational kind, I find myself once again back at work and back to the walking thing.

You would think the 98 degree days with 68 percent humidity would slow me down. Oh no, not me. As I like to tell my significant other, I feel like I have accomplished something when I get home red faced and drowning in my own sweat. Mostly it’s just chasing the others away as I pass by them.

Today we are having a cold front move through. It’s only about 88 outside with 52 percent humidity and a strong possibility of thunderstorms…a damn arctic chill. Who knows, maybe Mother Nature will give me an excuse to stay inside and take a nap instead.

Of course the significant other has decided to join me on my quest to commit suicide via sunstroke and all. Not even the ipod can distract me from his presence as he persists in smacking the biting flies that have also decided to join me on my nightly walks. I never noticed them before…not until I felt that “thwatt” on my back as he tries to assault them. I don’t really think there are any. He just uses it as an excuse to get back at me for something I didn’t do.

Alright, Im off to do my nightly adventures...

Har, Har...

2006-07-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

Stealing the others' ipods for my walking expeditions pays off!

I have acquired my very own sleek new version of the 30G vid pod and am currently loading it down with the mass of CD's we have acquired over the years. Should only take me a couple months to do...might even have room for videos at some point.

Picking the CD cases with no CD's makes it go a lot faster...

Up to about 6G now with a few more hours to pack on the turns!

Who ever said birthdays suck!

Oh wait that was me.

Walking is a dangerous endeavor….

2006-06-23T08:29:00.001-05:00

Who would have thought just walking could be so dangerous?

Certainly not me, and not in this quite little suburb.

It’s now week 4 of the walking thing. I’m feeling pretty good. Up to 4.5 miles now. Starting to pick up the pace a bit. Yesterday, it was like 92, the humidity is high but that’s not stopping me. I actually prefer it a bit warm. Makes me feel like I really accomplished something when I get home.

I’m just booking along, lost in my own world. Sting’s Brand New Day album is urging me on with his upbeat sounds to Dear John letters and life on the street. Yea I know…it sounds depressing but the music is perfect for walking and keeping a pace.

Anyway, I’m at the half way point. Just made the turn to head back and focused hard on that little patch of shade just a few yards away. The sun is brutal out in the open and that shade is looking really good. It reminded me of that scene in The Chronicles of Riddick of them racing against the rise of the sun to get to the safety and security of the bunkers just ahead.

Just as I hit the comfort of the shadows cast by the trees lining the golf course, a blurry image rushes past me on the right. And before my brain even registers what it is something else catches my elbow. As I’m getting spun around and in the space of mere seconds it takes me to get pulled off my feet to where I actually make contact with the earth below I realize what’s going on. Some idiot biker has just run me down.

Now if you’ve ever been in an accident you know this feeling well. No matter how fast things transpire, in that moment of impact and until it’s all over, the world suddenly goes into super slow motion and you seem to have an eternity to think about what’s happening to you. First, it’s “What the hell!” Then “Ah, shit. That was a bike.” Followed up, “I’m gonna kill this idiot.”

As I make that long, drawn out trip of being pulled around and then down on top of the bike, I lay there for a moment just mad as hell. Then I realize I’m on top of who ever just ran me down. Slowly, I push myself off the bike and back on to my feet and turn on my attacker.

Starting back at me are these two big brown eyes big as saucers with that “OMG, she’s gonna kill me!” look in them. And I realize that my ten-year-old attacker is still pinned beneath her bike. Blood is running down her knee, a big heavy bike lying on top of her, and all she can do is apologize. I pull the bike off her and check her over to make sure nothing is broken. Her partner in crime as now returned to the scene and she appears to be the sister of maybe 8. Both of which are more concerned with apologizing. Can’t really be mad at em now.

We dust ourselves off and continue on our separate ways. Only the poor kid makes it about 10 feet when the shock sets in and she breaks down. I finally get her to calm down and do my best to fix her bike…I’m not too mechanically inclined but I finally get it working again and we go our separate ways...again...

The return trip is a tad slower than I wanted. Those last two miles felt like an eternity and all I could think about was this is really gonna hurt tomorrow.

And I wasn’t disappointed. I feel like I got run over by a biker this morning. Maybe it was a truck…

Who would have expected battle scars from walking anyway?

I think I’m gonna go out at lunch to the local REI shop and look at some new hiking boots.

And maybe some knee pads.

Some elbow pads.

A crash helmet.

And maybe a bullet proof vest.

Get your own....

2006-06-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

So after taking a short hiatus from the fitness thing, I finally get motivated enough to start again. Well, ok so it’s been 5 years…what can I say, the weather was bad! Anyway, I’ve started with the walking thing, the running thing will have to wait a couple months and a couple pounds for me to catch up.

In that spam of time the world has evolved much to my dismay. Though a few things have been for the better…or at least I thought.

Evolution bought us these nifty little things called ipods (yea, yea everyone knows what those are). Take an entire musical repertoire with you anywhere you go, so when you stumble over those crappy songs your significant other insists on putting on his ipod, theres something you can find to listen too. At least he still enjoys some of the old time rock and blues that I prefer.

For three weeks I’ve been coming home from work, throwing on a comfortable set of decent walking cloths and grabbing the ipod as I head out the door. Then the other day, I discover he has forgotten to plug it into the charger and the battery has gone dead. Sure, I could have put it on the charger for him…but hey, it is his ipod, right!

Luckily for me the kids each have one as well, and the things are big enough to hold so many tunes that I’ll find something to listen to. After all, just about every CD I bring home from the store for myself disappears for a couple days (weeks) as everyone gets a turn listening to it before I manage to snag it back from them.

Kid number 1: “Hey, can I borrow your pod? Your dad’s is dead.” “Well I forgot to recharge it.” (this is the quick one that realizes what’s on hers and doesn’t want mom to know). “Ok. I’ll ask your sister.”

Kid number 2, just getting off the bus: “Hey, let me have your ipod, I’m going walking and dad’s is dead.” (bewildered look as you gently take it from her hand) “Thanks, I’ll see you in a bit.” And out the door I go.

I make it all of about 10 feet before I realize what it is that they are saying. At first I just thought I was imagining things. No, I’m not. Those lyrics really are “The internet is for porn!” I stop dead. Should I go back and say something? Naw, I’ll keep going…it can’t be that bad, can it? After all I have the best kids…they aren’t into stuff like that.

No, it gets worse and I’m just about busting a gut a half mile from home. The song, although raunchy is somewhat amusing in a twisted sort of way. And the kids do have my bizarre sense of humor.

So once the song has ended I decide to play it safe and just find a familiar artist to listen to for the next 4 miles. Ah, Seal…that’s good and safe.

Return trip. I explain to dad what I was listening to and his eyes get kinda big as I’m chuckling through the conversation. Then I call Kid #2 down and ask her to explain why this is on her ipod. In typical kid fashion she points at Kid #1 and says, “She showed it to me…there’s a video that goes with it!”

Oh dear god.

Moral of this story. If you aren’t prepared to come to the realization that your kids aren’t as innocent as you thought they were, get your own portable music device.

The video by the way, is pretty tame and amusing, especially since I actually play WoW.

The ipod on the other hand was a bit disappointing when you realize how they are produced.