It's funny (or tries to be).
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Inspired by a book I Just finished
Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore. Plus I just like drawing in the nude. In fact, I'm not wearing any pants right now. Ewwwwwwwwww!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thirsty Two
This weeks ride began from Chris' house around 11:00 and he'd planned a trip that would take us to some familiar places as well as some new (to me) watering holes. Our first stop was for lunch at Urban Barbeque where we both got some much needed hydration and some very decent barbeque. We limited ourselves to one drink per stop so as soon as our glasses were empty we were rolling to our next stop, The Olney Ale House. We were considering skipping this stop because it's not far from Urban Bar-B-Que, but they have a very nice selection of beer on tap and in bottles and it was hot out.
From Olney our third stop of the day was new to me, Growlers Brew Pub. I was surprised that we'd not stopped there before but Chris had just recently discovered it while out with his wife. The building was built in the late 19th century and had been everything from a bank to a car dealership. They'd done a great job of restoring the place and had at least a half dozen of their own beers on tap. They'd only been opened since 2006 but our waiter told us it was owned by 3rd generation brewers.
I was surprised when Chris told me we'd already ridden 22 miles. Maybe my stamina had improved since I've been working my new job or maybe it was the promise of the beer from the next stop. From Growlers we did another short ride to one of our favorite places, Dogfish Head. By this point we were starting to lose a bit of sunlight and if were were to ride home we'd have to do part of it in the dark so the decision was made to make one more stop, Buffalo Wild Wings, for wings and beer, and then take the bus home from there.Once we arrived at the bus stop, we were up to 32 miles and 5 stops for beer which was reasonable since we'd been out for almost 8 hours (I don't ride as fast as I drink). The aforementioned app said that we'd earned 7 beers each calorie wise so we ended up in the plus side of the exercise scale. This ride also put my bike riding total up to over 100 miles for the year which is a milestone for me. Since it's only July there's a good chance that I'll be pushing that total towards 200 before the end of the year. All I need is Chris, my bike and a list of really good beer bars.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Good Grief
By the time Charles Shultz had been cartooning for 25 years he'd been syndicated, had TV specials, albums, a Broadway play and oodles of merchandise tie-ins.
I got a rock.
On the plus side, I got the little red haired girl.
I got a rock.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Oh, The Simpsanity!
One of the things I have been able to capture on my little point and shoot camera is the destruction of a little Bart Simpson doll. I've had it for years and it's been kept on a high shelf but I came home from work the other day to find this:
Today I went to make the bed and I found this:
Maybe the most disturbing is the way his pants are wrapped around his ankle. I think our sunny Santana has dark side we don't know about. Perhaps the sickest thing is the fact that I laughed when I made both discoveries. I don't know what that says about me and I don't really care but I get the feeling that Kathy is feeding some of my toys to Sandy just to get rid of them.
Sleeping Out
I've said that if I could live an extra 10 years I'd be grateful to spend them all in bed. It's not what you may be thinking. I just like to sleep and sleeping in has always been a hobby of mine. There are few things better for me than waking up and seeing the clock approaching noon. For me the best hours of the day are between 11:00 pm and 3:00 am. Or at least they were before I got a job that requires me to be up before 5:00 am.
I don't think I have insomnia, but I have had my share of sleepless nights due either to too much caffeine or the fact that sometimes my mind won't settle down and let me rest. Thankfully those days seem to be behind me. Early to bed and early to rise, plus sweating all morning and early afternoon in the sun, makes me want to get in bed by 9:00pm. It seems like there are still 24 hours in a day ( that's right isn't it? I'm not so good with the math) but now my body seems to be running on solar batteries. I think I've seem more sunrises in the last three weeks than I've seen in the past 49 years.
Getting up with the birds also has other advantages. Mainly, most of the other animals are getting up too and the park where I'm now working is crawling (sometimes literally) with animals. I have been taking my camera to work but I've yet to have it ready for when I come upon some of the deer, rabbits, foxes, turkeys, turtles or countless other species that inhabit Quiet Waters. Having grown up in the country most of this wildlife is not new to me but there's something comforting about seeing all this and knowing that humming metropolises like Washington DC and Baltimore are less that an hour away.
I'm still learning the ropes and rhythms of park life but I expect at some point soon I'll be ready to document some of the wonders of nature I see everyday. For now I'll just have to be satisfied with seeing it all first hand.
I don't think I have insomnia, but I have had my share of sleepless nights due either to too much caffeine or the fact that sometimes my mind won't settle down and let me rest. Thankfully those days seem to be behind me. Early to bed and early to rise, plus sweating all morning and early afternoon in the sun, makes me want to get in bed by 9:00pm. It seems like there are still 24 hours in a day ( that's right isn't it? I'm not so good with the math) but now my body seems to be running on solar batteries. I think I've seem more sunrises in the last three weeks than I've seen in the past 49 years.
Getting up with the birds also has other advantages. Mainly, most of the other animals are getting up too and the park where I'm now working is crawling (sometimes literally) with animals. I have been taking my camera to work but I've yet to have it ready for when I come upon some of the deer, rabbits, foxes, turkeys, turtles or countless other species that inhabit Quiet Waters. Having grown up in the country most of this wildlife is not new to me but there's something comforting about seeing all this and knowing that humming metropolises like Washington DC and Baltimore are less that an hour away.
I'm still learning the ropes and rhythms of park life but I expect at some point soon I'll be ready to document some of the wonders of nature I see everyday. For now I'll just have to be satisfied with seeing it all first hand.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Free Park-ing
Last semester my sociology class required that I provide 15 hours of community service and keep a diary of my activities. I chose working at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. My service turned out to be helping the park horticulturist, Joyce Green (Great name for a horticulturist, right) dig up an old herb garden around one of the statues in the statue garden and replace it with rose bushes. By the second day of volunteering Joyce's boss, Mark, must have liked my work because he asked me if I'd be interested in a part time job there. I said I would certainly consider it and we left it at that.
This rose project took less than 15 hours so I volunteered to work at the parks Earth Day festivities. This put me over my required hours and I had some fun and even learned some stuff. While we were cleaning up Joyce asked me again if I'd like to work at the park part time. I had talked it over with Kathy and she agreed with me that a seasonal job for the county was better that working at my current job where my paychecks don't always cash. Joyce said it was dependent on whether the next budget would be approved but she would have Mark call me if there was an opening. This was in April.
At the End of May, Mark finally called me and asked again if I was interested and I said yes. He said that the position was approved in the budget and I should come in and fill out some paperwork to get the process started. He called me back two minutes later and asked if I had a drivers license. Yes. Good. He call back again a couple minutes later and asked if I had any felony convictions. No. Good. It was the best interview I've ever had.
Three weeks ago he asked me when I could start. I told him that I had to give notice at my other job but since I'm only working there three days a week I could start by working two days at the park the following week. He wanted to make sure I knew that this was seasonal work and I would be working a lot less in the winters. I said that was fine because then I could concentrate on school.
Now I'm into my second week and I'm enjoying it. The hours are 6am til 2:30 which I'll have to get used to again but it's working outside and there is more contact with nature that with customers. So far I've gotten to drive a 1 ton dump truck and use one of those leaf blowers that you strap to your back. Nice. I'm hoping Joyce can give me some pointers on getting grass to grow in my yard but that will all come in time. I'm also looking forward to learning to drive a real tractor. Sadly, it's always been a dream of mine and it's about time it was fulfilled.
This rose project took less than 15 hours so I volunteered to work at the parks Earth Day festivities. This put me over my required hours and I had some fun and even learned some stuff. While we were cleaning up Joyce asked me again if I'd like to work at the park part time. I had talked it over with Kathy and she agreed with me that a seasonal job for the county was better that working at my current job where my paychecks don't always cash. Joyce said it was dependent on whether the next budget would be approved but she would have Mark call me if there was an opening. This was in April.
At the End of May, Mark finally called me and asked again if I was interested and I said yes. He said that the position was approved in the budget and I should come in and fill out some paperwork to get the process started. He called me back two minutes later and asked if I had a drivers license. Yes. Good. He call back again a couple minutes later and asked if I had any felony convictions. No. Good. It was the best interview I've ever had.
Three weeks ago he asked me when I could start. I told him that I had to give notice at my other job but since I'm only working there three days a week I could start by working two days at the park the following week. He wanted to make sure I knew that this was seasonal work and I would be working a lot less in the winters. I said that was fine because then I could concentrate on school.
Now I'm into my second week and I'm enjoying it. The hours are 6am til 2:30 which I'll have to get used to again but it's working outside and there is more contact with nature that with customers. So far I've gotten to drive a 1 ton dump truck and use one of those leaf blowers that you strap to your back. Nice. I'm hoping Joyce can give me some pointers on getting grass to grow in my yard but that will all come in time. I'm also looking forward to learning to drive a real tractor. Sadly, it's always been a dream of mine and it's about time it was fulfilled.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Powerless
This weekend has been a bit trying. Friday Kathy took Sue and Chris's daughter Kit to the Frederick Zoo and then an overnight stay at a hotel with a ginger friendly pool (indoors), so I had the mutts all to myself. Friday night as I lay in bed reading the light's flickered a couple times and then at about 10:30 the power went out completely. This was nothing new. Ever since we moved to this house, the Anne Arundel County power grid has always been a little undependable. It's gotten better over the last few years but we've learned to stock up on flashlights and candles just in case.
In the past these power outages have usually been as brief as they were sporadic, but because of some freak storm that moved through the area, we were just one of about a half a million households who had their lights (and more importantly the AC) snuffed out. Since I don't watch or listen to the news I had no idea how widespread the problem was until I drove to work Saturday morning and came across numerous traffic signals that were out as well as some main roads that were cut off by fallen trees.
Once I did make it to work, I found that there was no power there as well. Since almost all we do in the lab now is pretty computer driven, no power meant no work. The landlord reported that the power company told them that the earliest we'd be back on line was 4:00 that afternoon. When I relayed this to the boss he made the decision to keep the doors open until noon for people to pick up their orders but we would close for the day after that. Since there were 4 people scheduled I volunteered to leave early so after my hour long commute to work, I worked for about 40 minutes and the turned around and headed home.
Another effect of this freak storm was the effect it had on the local garage/yard sales. It seems like everyone was concentrating on doing yard clean up instead of opening their homes to treasure hunters like me. I did stop at one church sponsored yard sale on my was home but only managed to find yet one more book I don't have time to read.
The dogs were glad to see me when I returned home and aside from doing some yard cleanup of my own, I worked on my project of fortifying our fence line with bricks at the base to hopefully deter Sandy from doing anymore tunneling. The outside temperature was approaching 100 degrees but this job had to be done sooner rather than later. Our neighbors around the corner are doing some home improvements, including removing an old fireplace. That can mean only one thing: FREE BRICKS! I'd already made a few wheel-barrel trips the night before so I took advantage of my new found free time and did a couple more trips. In the mean time, Kathy had returned home from her air conditioned excursion and now the orders of the day were to keep cool and try to salvage any of the thawing food from our freezer.
Living with a red head in the south is no easy feat. Gingers tend to feel the effects of heat 10 time more that normal people (it's a scientific fact) so if you take away the life saving AC, you run the risk of having one unhappy ginger. Lucky for us the master bedroom is located in the lower level of our split level house so it was considerably cooler than the upstairs so much of yesterday was spent on the bed with cool damp wash clothes to keep the heat a bay. Of course once the sun went down it took all it's natural light with it. Reading by flashlight is fine if your on a camping trip but once it was lights out it was time to try and get some sleep.
It was kind of hot and sticky, but not in a good way. The dogs still insisted on sleeping on the bed with us so I'm sure our combined body heat added to the discomfort in the room. The air outside did cool down some after sundown but not enough to make opening our windows beneficial. When I did wake up (with some helpful insistence from the dogs) It was 7:00am and time for our morning walk. This time of year we need to get our walks out of the way before the sun is too high which can make it dangerous for anyone wearing a fur coat. When we got back from that, I took Willow and Zappa on a car ride in search of any gas station with power so we could get coffee for me and a meat stick for them. I was also on the prowl for any bagged ice I could find to help try and save the stuff we'd stashed in the coolers. No luck there but we did find a Shell station that could provide the other two necessities.
I was taking a shower at about 9:30 when the power came back on. Kathy admits she screamed with delight. The air conditioning kicked on immediately and in a short time all was right with the world, or at least our little corner of it. The first thing we both did when power was restored was to check our email and do a little post blackout catch up.
 |
| A picture of what you see when the lights go out |
Once I did make it to work, I found that there was no power there as well. Since almost all we do in the lab now is pretty computer driven, no power meant no work. The landlord reported that the power company told them that the earliest we'd be back on line was 4:00 that afternoon. When I relayed this to the boss he made the decision to keep the doors open until noon for people to pick up their orders but we would close for the day after that. Since there were 4 people scheduled I volunteered to leave early so after my hour long commute to work, I worked for about 40 minutes and the turned around and headed home.
Another effect of this freak storm was the effect it had on the local garage/yard sales. It seems like everyone was concentrating on doing yard clean up instead of opening their homes to treasure hunters like me. I did stop at one church sponsored yard sale on my was home but only managed to find yet one more book I don't have time to read.
The dogs were glad to see me when I returned home and aside from doing some yard cleanup of my own, I worked on my project of fortifying our fence line with bricks at the base to hopefully deter Sandy from doing anymore tunneling. The outside temperature was approaching 100 degrees but this job had to be done sooner rather than later. Our neighbors around the corner are doing some home improvements, including removing an old fireplace. That can mean only one thing: FREE BRICKS! I'd already made a few wheel-barrel trips the night before so I took advantage of my new found free time and did a couple more trips. In the mean time, Kathy had returned home from her air conditioned excursion and now the orders of the day were to keep cool and try to salvage any of the thawing food from our freezer.
Living with a red head in the south is no easy feat. Gingers tend to feel the effects of heat 10 time more that normal people (it's a scientific fact) so if you take away the life saving AC, you run the risk of having one unhappy ginger. Lucky for us the master bedroom is located in the lower level of our split level house so it was considerably cooler than the upstairs so much of yesterday was spent on the bed with cool damp wash clothes to keep the heat a bay. Of course once the sun went down it took all it's natural light with it. Reading by flashlight is fine if your on a camping trip but once it was lights out it was time to try and get some sleep.
It was kind of hot and sticky, but not in a good way. The dogs still insisted on sleeping on the bed with us so I'm sure our combined body heat added to the discomfort in the room. The air outside did cool down some after sundown but not enough to make opening our windows beneficial. When I did wake up (with some helpful insistence from the dogs) It was 7:00am and time for our morning walk. This time of year we need to get our walks out of the way before the sun is too high which can make it dangerous for anyone wearing a fur coat. When we got back from that, I took Willow and Zappa on a car ride in search of any gas station with power so we could get coffee for me and a meat stick for them. I was also on the prowl for any bagged ice I could find to help try and save the stuff we'd stashed in the coolers. No luck there but we did find a Shell station that could provide the other two necessities.
I was taking a shower at about 9:30 when the power came back on. Kathy admits she screamed with delight. The air conditioning kicked on immediately and in a short time all was right with the world, or at least our little corner of it. The first thing we both did when power was restored was to check our email and do a little post blackout catch up.
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