Long Day

saturday was a reeeeeeally long day. i don't mean that in a bad way. in fact, i really enjoyed it. however, i got it started by going to bed at 2:00 that morning. then i had to get up at around 6 in order to get to work by 7. then i worked about a half day. we ran a couple of errands to get materials and stuff. also, *ahem,* stopped by the donut shop for a little nurishment. then we put up a bunch of lettering on the side of dr polk's office.

then i went over to dan's apartment and we proceeded to have a good ol' time. went to sonic for him to eat (i had my own, which i shamelessly brought over to our table to eat). we decided that we wanted to go swimming, but the pool wasn't open yet. so we watched the legend of bagger vance. i'm sorry i didn't notice what the correct spelling of that is. then we went swimming, which was the first time for me. no, not the first time for me to go swimming, but the first time this summer, other than in the river on our kayaking trip. and the first time at sfa. i tried to do laps with dan, but i got too tired after doing several, and i just floated around and waited for him to finish his work out. then we just goofed off and did a sorry job of playing basketball in the water. went and watched an episode of 24. then went to wal mart and got bbq supplies, which we took to the house and prepared into some marvelous bbq chicken! thanks marmar! then we went and played volleyball. and i just realized that i have slipped back into making a list of activities which is likely to drive you insane if you've read this far.

it was definitely an exhausting day though. anyway, it's exactly one month from tomorrow till school starts back. hurray...? yes, i'm pretty sure at this point that i can't wait. now of course after several weeks of that i won't be able to wait till the next break. we also started talking about bikes this evening, and i remembered how much i want a motorcycle. but that has nothing to do with anything, and i do have some things to do. the answer to the quiz from last time is answered in the comments. lata tatas.

primogeniture \pry-moh-JEN-ih-choor\, noun:1. The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family.2. (Law) An exclusive right of inheritance that belongs to the eldest son.

"Yummo"

okay, the title is a quiz. if you know which movie i'm thinking of that it comes from, you get mega e-props. if you do not know... you got a problem that must soon be remedied. anyway. and by the by, none of my family members can participate in this quiz. i don't think i needed to say that, but just in case.

the actual reason for that title is that i'm currently eating a dr pepper float. and i just ate a brownie right before that. i know it's bad, but let me be quite frank with you here: i really couldn't care less. so cheers for DP and IC!!!

i potentially could have had my first car wreck today. if i had, which i didn't, it would not have been my fault. anyhow, with that important note out of the way... i was turning left onto vista drive from north street. i was waiting patiently, and eventually i got a green arrow. an oncoming car slowed and came to a stop in their right hand lane. so i turned in. juuuuust as i turned in, another car came peeling out of one of those little roads (i just spelled that "rodes" before i even had a chance to think) parallel to vista, whipped around the parked car, and went straight through the intersection. i think they just realized as they were grazing my back bumper that that had been a parked car they had just sped past. yeah buddy. watch yo se'f. it kinda freaked me out, and had my heart going for a while though.

got off work early and got in a few good hours of piano practice. it was great.

watched friday night lights this evening. it was a good movie. i almost cried a couple times. not that that is top criteria for a good movie...

must work in the morning. what time is it now??

hopefully dan will come over tomorrow. more ping pong! yessssss. see y'all "sweet darlin's" later! (obviously i've been chuckling about that pallate again.) and don't forget about which movie "yummo" comes from! if you know of more than one movie that word is in, please share.

refulgent \rih-FUL-juhnt\, adjective:Shining brightly; radiant; brilliant; resplendent.

To the Renaissance, they [the Middle Ages] were nothing but a dank patch of history, a barren stretch of time between luminous antiquity and an equally refulgent present. --Justin Davidson, "On the Record," Newsday, January 19, 1997

Shoes

when you buy shoes, what exactly is going through your head? the whole concept has changed a great deal for me "over the years." wow, that sounded so fogie-ish. anyway, used to be the reason i bought new shoes was cuz my old ones got too small. i'm usually pretty good on my shoes, and i never actually wore out a pair until i was like, 15 or something. so, when i was little, and my shoes started getting old, i would start trying to imagine that they were to small. i could hardly wait for my toes to pinch painfully so i could start asking for a new pair. always high tops. nothing else would do. the low ones were just un-cool. then after a few years i got to the point where i sometimes liked the ones with low tops. for a few years every other shoe would be high top, then low. then came the big moment. the time when... i started wanting name brand! *clash of cymbols* needless to say, it was shortly after this that i started having to either help buy, or entirely pay for my shoes. then i got to the point where i only bought running shoes (the same place that i happen to be at today). i usually vacillate between nike and new balance. when i actually purchase the shoes, i always want ones that look totally awesome, but no matter which ones i get i always end up thinking after a couple of weeks that they look more cool than any of the others. weird. used to always get white, cuz they looked so shiny and new when they're new. then i realized that grey, silver, black is the way to go. aaaaaaaand i'm always thinking that i'll keep the old pair that i'm retiring for working, and only wear the new ones for when... um... they won't get dirty?? on good shoe buying sessions it'll be several weeks. but then before you know it, the new ones are the grunge, the old ones are the work shoes, and the new ones on the shelf are calling your name. but i'll just wipe the concrete and paint off my nike shox running shoes (more mullah than i should pay for work shoes) and hope they last another year or so. why isn't shelling out the dough so fun when it's yours?

Mmmm

my advice to you? don't pour scalding chili all over your hand, and don't squirt chemical welder in your eye.

Oops, I Did It Again

so here's a story from the allied sign builders archives. we'll just call the instigator of unhappy circumstances "bill."

dale (mr boss man at allied) was working in the office, when the big diesel crane truck came into the drive. a moment later bill comes in white faced. he looked really scared, like he was in shock or something. dale of course was not a little alarmed and stood up with concern, "what's the matter bill??"

"i hit a guy with the sign truck!"

"well, what happened?"

"he was riding his bicycle and he road accross the road just as i was turning in. i was going pretty fast and hit him hard. he rolled onto the hood, over the cab, and into my load of sand in the back!"

"oh no! is he ok??"

"i don't know!"

"didn't you check and see?!?"

"i got out and went back there to see, but he jumped up with a wild look in his eyes and got back on his bicycle! he road away furiously shouting "DON'T CALL THE LAW! DON'T CALL THE LAW!..."

Paintball

it's that time again. you can only go for so long without playing paintball. i guess it's just one of those summer things, like lemonade, or swimming. except really, it's all year. anyway, my good buddy sam clinch is turning 20 tomorrow. WOOHOO!!! so we headed down to swift and silent to celebrate like real men. i mean, what's closer to a fella's heart than tromping around in the woods, sweating like a pig in a sauna, and shooting each other?
*************************************************
the aggressors mount the ridge of the oak-crested hill, their hunched, furtive sillouettes sharply outlined against the blazing sun. quickly they scurry for cover, pressing their bodies against the solid rough trunks of the oaks. furrowed brows, channeled with salty rivulets, squint down at the town below. then past the ring of imposing metal bunkers, bristling with enemy armament, to a sand-bag entrenchment with a flag pole, securely located "downtown." as the wind catches the colors and ripples them in the breeze, the squinting brown eye narrows still more, and the furrows deepen, then turn away - to business. a few muttered words pass between the two watchmen on the hill, and soon they part and begin once again to advance, this time down toward the city, and this time with determination in their steps. suddenly one slips to the side and dissappears into the forest, the other runs madly down the left flank and flings himself into a sheltered embankment. rising slowly and glancing throught slats of his shelter, he sees the city still silent. apparently his sudden charge forward has gone unoticed. or are they simply waiting to lure him in? then the brown eye turns to the forest. all is still silent there too. bringing his mind back to focus on the task at hand but still straining his ears for shots from the city or the woods he crawls out from behind cover. creeping foward he draws ever nearer the city, it's ghoulish black windows staring back cold and uninviting. the rivulets on his brow have turned to streams, the tall grass and rough ground tear his arms, the ants bite him... but still he presses on. as he comes to the edge of the grass land, he parts the border of weeds and beholds the great menacing city before him, in all it's strength. once again the brown eye scans the nearby forest, and this time is encouraged by a slight movement, then a nod. turning his gaze back upon the city, taking it all in, he surveys his chances, his opportunities. by watching the movement behind the darkened windows, he discovers the position of the enemy, but always the center of his thoughts are on the flag. the prideful colors now snap spitefully in the breeze. then he tenses every muscle in his body... machine gun fire bursts open from the edge of the forest, and the hum of bullets in the air and projectiles ricocheting off the bunkers fills the air... then with a fiery light burning in his eyes, where before there was only bleary sweat, he launches himself against an enemy bunker! rapid fire continues out the fron entry toward the forest, so the brown eyes glance in the back window on the back of the furious defender. "hey you. surrender." he says quietly, tapping the shocked and terrified fellow on the shoulder. as the "company" from the woods advances into the open and closes in on the city, the brown eyes at last turn once again to the flapping colors. with a deep breath he runs accross the front lines deep into enemy territory and seizes the flag and once again turns toward the blazing sun and flies with all his might to the shelter of the mighty oaks, pursued closely by shouts of victory, and not so closely by the ever dimishing roar of battle. entering the shady seclusion of the oaks, he throws himself on the ground. the fiery light turns to a sparkle of delight. with one last shout of exaltation he turns his tired steps toward home. ahhh victory... so sweet.
*************************************************
okay, that's kinda the idea. and sam... happy birthday man. sorry i had to shoot you twenty times, but that's just the way it is at these parties. especially since you're too big for birthday spankings.

nebbish \NEB-ish\, noun:A weak-willed, timid, or ineffectual person.
You used to be a nebbish, a noodle, a fool, And now you're Mr. Big Time with your own private pool. --Maira Kalman, Max in Hollywood, Baby

Sightings of the Day

the sightings i'm referring to are actually from yesterday. you are not going to believe what i saw. well, actually, if you're from the east texas area you might believe it, but i have certainly never seen this before. any more sensitive readers let me caution you that this is sort of crude. ah, it hardly merits a warning. i dunno. just be aware. if you're really concerned just skip this next paragraph which is separated.









so what do you do to your truck to make it a little more manly? or maybe a lot more manly. apparently, if you're one particular fella in nacogdoches, with a jacked-up old bronco, complete with fat knobby mud tires, the answer is simple... he decided to hang a humongous set of very real looking, skin-colored testicles from the back bumper between the tires!!! is this outrageous or what?!? i mean, we're talkin' 3000 lb bull stuff goin' on. now he just needs a "keep nacogdoches weird" bumper sticker (upside down) to be complete. ah, the things people do for attention never cease to amaze and amuse me.









i guess the other humorous sighting of the day pales in comparison. but i'll share it anyway. we were in wal-mart (excavating many treasures and munchies from that fearful labyrinth) and i noticed a largish pile of empty palates stacked on some sort of a cart. as i cast a glazed eye over them, one in particular caught my eye. it had stenciled and burned onto it the words "sweet darling." eh?? i'm trying to think... is this some kind of merchandise? is there some skillful pallet maker with a secret lover in the wal-mart stocking department?

at work the other day, i was chopping little notches in long metal strips we use for making letter cases (a process i think i may have already mentioned). since i was doing them by myself i guess i had nothing better to do (meaning with my remaining faculties while the rest of my being was engaged in mind-numbing chomping) i counted how many little toofers each metal strip got. if i made them even, every one had almost exactly 200. blah. *chop...chop...chop...* one notch at a time. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! am i going crazy? at least this time i only had to do seven strips. sadly, i was quickly sobered up by one of the vise clamps coming undone, presumably because of the hammering vibrations it was experiencing. it came crashing down on my ankle with all the steel malice it could muster. i immediately yelped, picked up the injured limb with both hands and went bounding around the thankfully empty shop howling and frothing at the mouth, i guess like a maniacal one-legged jack rabbit.

i have another story for you too, from the "archives" of allied adventures, but the publication date has not yet been determined. probably something like, tomorrow. no sense in telling you everything now! stay tuned, "sweet darlings," more is on the way!

now let me see if i can find an interesting word of the day... ah yes, perfect. and an excellent sentence.

fatuous \FACH-oo-uhs\, adjective:1. Inanely foolish and unintelligent; stupid.2. Illusory; delusive.
No enquiry, however fatuous or ill informed, failed to receive his full attention, nor was any irrelevant personal information treated as less than engrossing. --Michael Palin, Hemingway's Chair

Yo Wassup...

... i'm still here, it just keeps getting too late to post. there's some great stuff i've got for ya that'll be available tomorrow. don't lose hope!

Oily Business

the poor old van finally got an oil change today. i've been quite a procrastinator, knowing for a long time that it needed to be replaced. when i was looking around in there for any other fluids that needed to be replaced, or refilled, i discovered a smallish rubber hose that is not connected. i have no idea what it's for, but it goes into a box (approx 3 in cubed). right where it's supposed to go in it is completely severed. on the other side it has a small cable connected to a curved piece of metal. it seems like i remember that cable pulling and rotating the piece of metal when the accelerator was pressed, in times past when i've been watching the engine while someone else was working on it i guess. but it still drives, and i guess it would take someone with a little more knowledge than oil changing skills to figure it out.

at work we are making excellent progress on the furniture sign. all the vinyl has been layed and trimmed out. all the metal work is bent onto all the letters. red (as soon as i wrote "red" i realized i don't know the word for the thing that is red) stuff that is made out of plastic and runs around the edge of each letter like trim has been glued around the edges of all but the one of the R's in FURNITURE. it's gonna be great to see these things finished, cuz i've put a ton of work into them. here's a bit of wisdom from the allied sign staffers... "never squirt chemical plastic welder glue into cuticles and open cuts on the fingers." pretty messed up, huh?

last night we watched two movies. 1- the pacifier. okay, it was entertaining. funny most of the time. i'm glad i never went and watched it in theaters or anything. it's a good one time laugh though. 2- bride and prejudice. very interesting, very interesting indeed. i liked it though. the music was either really cool, or completely histerical, which is also cool. i think indian music is very enjoyable to listen to. i may just have to get the sound track. and of course, i have to admit that i haven't seen so many beautiful people all in one movie very often. *grins*

i've been getting some good practice in in the evenings, including last night. after work i put in a couple of very pleasingly productive hours. i know i had mentioned before having feelings of frustration, but it was really great last night. after practicing i went and listened to the "french evening" of chamber music. they're doing a series, with a "czech evening," then a "russian evening," last night french, and tomorrow a "german afternoon." it was wonderful. dr dalmus was there, playing violin of course. dr goodall on the oboe, dr reychev on the cello, two guests, who's names i can't remember, that played violin and viola. last, and certainly not least (perhaps greatest in my mind), was dr pitts on the piano. they were all wonderful, and said that their playing had peaked at just the right moment. apparently the performance was better than their practices had been going, and they were relieved that it had gone as well as it had. i know i was pleased. i did feel a little out of place there, because i was still in my work clothes, and 90% of the audience was over 60 and wearing suits and ties. :-P if anyone is free tomorrow, i recommend the german afternoon. it's at 2:30 in cole concert hall, and costs $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. and by students, that doesn't mean that you have to be a student at this esteemed university. even if you're in high school, or going somewhere else, or if you just got out i'm sure you could still get a student ticket. anyway, i would love to see someone there i know. besides my dentist. lol, i saw him there, and i said hi to him in my typical attempting-to-be-friendly way. then, after he curtly nodded at me and walked away, i realized that he probably had absolutely no idea who i was. so i just laughed to myself and went in and sat behind him, just to make him feel uncomfortable. NOT! anway, he and his wife were not exactly my company of choice, so let me know if you want to join me!

ooooh, i just heard rachmaninoff's rhapsody on a theme by paganini today, and it thoroughly revived my intense desire to learn the piece. *sigh*

apparition \ap-uh-RISH-uhn\, noun:1. A ghost; a specter; a phantom.2. The thing appearing; the sudden or unexpected appearance of something or somebody.3. The act of becoming visible; appearance.4. (Astronomy) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; -- opposed to occultation.

wow, i really got a kick out of the harry potter troubles. read about it here, if you haven't already heard - harry potter. so apparently they have been all secretive about this latest book "harry potter and the half-blood prince." i really didn't know, but that doesn't mean anything. so a drug store accidentally put them on the shelf early and sold about 14 copies before realizing the mistake and removing them. and another store also sold one. here's the jab though... they've been wanting to release all of them at exactly the same time so that critics and readers can all read them at the same moment. they don't want anyone to get ahead or get an "unfair" advantage. so a judge decided that they couldn't tell anyone about them, copy them, sell them, even read them, etc., until the official date. what kind of craziness is this? is the whole deal insane? or not as insane as i think it is? i just don't get it. however, i have no room to speak really, having never read a word of any harry potter book! haha, now sue me.

encomium \en-KOH-mee-uhm\, noun;plural encomiums or encomia \-mee-uh\:An often formal expression of warm or high praise.

The giant throws the butler into the lake, whereupon Charles delivers the perfunctory encomium, "Wickham was a good servant." --Jeremy Treglown, Romancing: The Life and Work of Henry Green

Signage

that is all, really. just work work work on making signs. the last couple of days i've finally been trying to get back into my piano practice routine. this evening i got in a good couple of hours, but it didn't feel very productive, and i didn't notice any vast improvment over last time. but that's to be expected since i really haven't done anything in the last two weeks or so. bleh. it's looking like this summer i may not get as big a jump start on the fall semester as i was hoping.

clay made me laugh today... when he and roger came back to the shop at about 5:15, or 5:30 i was still in there working on some lettering. he was like, "boy! you still in here workin'?!?" i kinda smiled and nodded, since my presence was pretty self-explanatory. "your girl friend must want a big fat diamond ring! or maybe she just eats a lot! harharhar!!!" i tell ya what, with that he had me rolling too. i had visions of me slaving away till all hours in the sign shop and then going in my grungy work clothes to persperate over the glass of a jewelry counter, looking for a fat diamond ring. then smiling wanly as "she" ate a hamburger at my expense. and then going back to work! haha! aaaaanyway.

stertorous \STUR-tuh-ruhs\, adjective:Characterized by a heavy snoring or gasping sound; hoarsely breathing. As pianist Dezso Ranki pounds and weaves at the keys, his breathing is at times so stertorous one could swear that someone in the audience is snoring. --Josie Glausiusz, "Joining Hands," Discover, July 2000

Flat Cat

you might be a red-neck if someone on the road you live on walks out in front of your car (like, 100 feet in front, it wasn't a close call or anything)... and peels a flat cat off the road and carries it away swinging stiffly by the tail. huh??? oh wait, i just saw that this morning. it was gross, let me tell you. and later they had a lemonade stand out there, which also said something about an animal raffle. i didn't ask.

unfortunately this has to be short, i've gotta go eat. i hear something about... hotdogs?!???? we'll have to see about this.

The Cuzzin's Are Here!

aunt nancy and her kiddos, kyle, kelly and keegan, are all here visiting right now. they're on vacation from michigan. i think they're going to be here a total of three days, which means they're probably leaving some time tomorrow. this evening there was an amazing talent show. the range of instruments included, piano, violins, guitar, harmonica, voice, (accompanied by piano, and karaoke) as well as recitation of poetry etc.

we dined upon spaghetti and chocolate chip cookies. at completely different times. now we are in the midst of playing 42. i was playing, but i have sometime since relinquished my position to courtney. i also hear a movie playing upstairs. mom is busy using deadly force against an invasion of insects. napoleant is widening his territory to include the indoors. not a smart move.

of course, i went to work today. even though i haven't been posting, i have still been over at dale's shop. been constructing lots of metal letters. we have now spelled FURNITURE, in gigantic letters. and now GALLERY, also large, but not nearly as big as FURNITURE. last, but certainly not least, we have to create Griffith. let me tell you, the faunt they have chosen is not going to be easy. we have to bend these strips of aluminum around every letter to make a casing that will have lights inside, and the curvy caligraphy style just isn't doin' it for me. dale's going to have to offer some serious help for me and john i'm thinkin'. i dunno, maybe john's up to it. by the way, there's finally a sign up that "i made." the pizza hut sign on south street. go ahead, go check it out. it's totally the most awesome thing now. kinda get the same sensation of pride as i got working for my dad, with one special difference. it sounds better to say, "go check out the new sign for pizza hut on south street that i made," than to say "have you gone to the bathroom in la caretta's? i made those partitions."

somnolent \SOM-nuh-luhnt\, adjective:1. Sleepy; drowsy; inclined to sleep.2. Tending to cause sleepiness or drowsiness.

here's a quick little deal that i got "selected" to do, as someone's lj friend. some of these might not be 100% accurate, but close enough. i'll give you a real post of one these days.

also, just an added little note, john is being added to my blog list as turtlewurx. check it out!

1] Favorite scent: salty wind by the beach or in a boat on the ocean
2] Favorite way to relax: take a hot shower. and listen to music. (swimming in the ocean is always nice too, but i usually don't have the opportunity to relax that way. )
3] Favorite movie you own: MI II (i only personally own 3)
4] Favorite movie you don't already own: the matrix (numero uno)
5] Favorite male movie star: brad pitt
6] Favorite female movie star: this is actually a lot harder than i thought it would be. i can think of some pretty ones, but they're not such great actresses (at least from what i've seen). nicole kiddman? i guess i'll just go with her.
7] Favorite book genre: mystery (especially ones with lord peter whimsy in them)
8] Favorite clothing store: old navy
9] Favorite non-clothing store: best buy (yes, computers...)
10] Favorite cartoon character: jeremy (zits)
11] Favorite CD you own(?): like, how is that even possible to say? i'll just say josh groban. the older one, not closer. thought that one's good too...
12] Favorite CD you don't already own: i want the sound track to the phantom of the opera
13] Pass the torch and tag five of your blogger/lj friends: chaos_unspoken, evan, ludwhig, melanieliz, turtlewurx, and anyone else who wishes to complete this small survey. :D

Wedding Bells For Real

...but not for me of course (friday, may 13th of my archives if you don't understand). yesterday was the grand ceremony and celebration of hannah's wedding. she was looking more georgous than ever (if that's possible) and dusty was tall and handsome as usual. both were grinning from ear to ear of course. there was an impressive array of bridesmaids and groomsmen, 7 or 9 or something. jesse and three other fellows did the musical honors, their little quartet sawing away beautifully both for background music and anywhere needed during the ceremony. it reminded me how much i miss getting to hear that kind of music. when i'm at school never a week goes by without listening to some sort of recital or concert, string quartets, piano, orchestras, etc. so i really enjoyed it last night. after the ceremony there was a fine reception in the grand ball room. they had a jazz band playing, with dr houston conducting. there was a sumptuous line of tables around the room amply supplied with tasty food and punch. and a chocolate fountain. a chocolate fountain. ahhhh. once the eating died down there was much dancing to the music coming from the tom houston stage. jeanne introduced me to swing dancing. she said i got about 3 or 4 lessons in 5 minutes. it was pretty fun. i'll have to learn a little more, and just practice a lot to get the feel of it. i had the hardest time at first just doing the basic step and not slipping into a waltz or whatever. when all was finished, hannah and dusty had fed eachother cake, and sipped their champaigne with linked elbows, then we pelted them with "rice" as they ran down the front of the uc, and they sped off in a limousine. the limousine was tooting "here comes the bride" on it's horn. congratulations hannah and dusty!

now, as for what other stuff i did this weekend. on friday i did in fact go camping with parker, as well as 5 other young scouts. we went out to lake rozell friday night, spent the night, and then worked on first class requirements sat morning. i'm quite thankful that cody was able to do some work with parker on several of the requirements earlier in the week, besides the ones that i worked on with him. since so many extra boys came it took a lot longer to get everyone through each thing. we did lashing, knot tying, cooking, rescue carries, etc. good ol' boyscout skills.

tomorrow i believe we're going to the jones' (ron and jerri, to clarify from the masses) giant fourth of july bash. should be fun. anywhere there's good food, i'll be there. horse shoes starts at eleven!

caesura \sih-ZHUR-uh; -ZUR-\, noun;plural caesuras or caesurae \sih-ZHUR-ee; -ZUR-ee\:1. A break or pause in a line of verse, usually occurring in the middle of a line, and indicated in scanning by a double vertical line; for example, "The proper study of mankind is man" [Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man].2. Any break, pause, or interruption.