“I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.” ~Abe L.

Abe is pretty much the coolest, and Steampunk is pretty much awesome.

(No those links are not to Rick Astly videos.  This time.)

Words To Say and To Laugh

Do you know why I like Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquil?  Because I love to say "SQUEAKQUIL!"  I think it's one of the best puns/play on words, I've heard in a very very long time.  It's so appropriate and fun to say!

Other things that are fun to say:

1.  Mailman Pants
2.  Teepee Pointy (think as the name of your first born)
3.  Mudlodge Roger (also a name, but just fun to say anyways)
4.  Alberkirqui Turkey Jerky
5.  Sea Anemone
6.  M.Knight Shamalonalonalonalonalon (sometimes it's hard for me to stop saying this)

Let's see.  Last Friday I went rollar skating at a rollar rink with Sarah and Heather.  It was so much scarier and harder and painful than I ever imagined.  I could only go straight or faster.  After a while I mastered making the turns around the rink.  I didn't fall once.  The place was filled with people 15 yrs old or younger.  Some of them thought they were SO COOL, and all of them cared what others thought about them.  You could feel the caring.  It was refreshing to know that I didn't care at all, in any way.  I didn't even wonder if I looked cool because I was older.  I didn't...I just looked old.  I didn't do the hokey pokey with everyone, and at first I was sad, but then after the first verse I was incredibly happy I didn't.  I always did the hokey pokey when I went to Skate Estate when I was younger, and I thought it was fun, but then Friday, I remembered I did the Hokey Pokey because they threw out candy when you put your whole body in.  It was my only chance as a child to get candy.  (I kid I kid).

Saturday morning was so nice Josh talked me out of washing the outside and inside of our vehicles by hand and into going mini-golfing.  There is a mini-golf course near our house that is a little run down and beat up.  Money hasn't been put into that place in years.  We did the castle course and I WON!!!!  I won by a lot!!! I got 2 holes in one and many holes at par!!!  I only got a score of +6 once!  I wore a skirt that was too short though, so Josh had to pick up and put down my ball for me.  My mistake. 

I'm Sorry Mom

I talked to my mom today on the phone while I was out taking a walk.  She told me she lost all her documents in her documents folder.  Do you know what's funny, it really is her documents folder.  I think she has a folder inside MyDocuments that is called Peg's Documents.  But she lost everything that was in it.  It isn't deleted, just lost.  She can open them up from word and she can find them if she searches for them.  But she is unable to figure out what folder they are in.  Personally, I'm hoping she accidentally hid the documents, so that they are all still in that folder, but invisible.  That would probably be the best.  I told her to see if she could see what the folder path was when she searched for the documents.  She told me that it said they were .doc files. Which is true, I'm sure they are.

I then changed the subject because I am not very good at explaining computer stuff to her.  Do you know what I changed it to?  Helping her use kayak.com to find cheap airline tickets. 

She is going to visit me when I get to walk and go to graduation for getting my Master's.  She tells me it's May 14 at 9am.  If you go you will get as much free champagne, strawberries, and expensive cheese as you can handle.  Josh and I were double fisting the champagne last year.  There were mountains of strawberries. I've never seen so many strawberries at once.  I can't wait to go back.

Everything I am Thinking about

Oh my goodness.  I am a big fan of Erin Brokovich.   And the movie.  I mean, the real story is so good and so is the movie.  My dream look has always been what Julia Roberts wore in the movie, shirts so low her bra shows, but she makes it classy.  Too bad I'm not quite so tall and lean as Julia Roberts. :/  But I do beat her out in the chest area...i bet she's wearing pushups in this movie.  I can't wear push ups because I might choke myself and die.

Click here for a special Message.  Sometimes Josh does that dance.  It's probably one of the best things I've ever seen.

And...yes I did go there.

So, I eat whole grain, I excersize, I don't drink pop, I own a cat.  And yet, I am still 15 lbs over correct weight for my body type.  I should just except it, like I do my hair.  But am I really happier letting my hair win?

Do you know what Ackbar likes?  He likes being on Jury's and saying "Guilty!"  He's not so happy go lucky as Josh and I.  Sort of like if we had Republican Baptist children, because they chose that lifestyle.  Which by the is what I'm sure we'll have.  Especially if we continue to live down south.

I got a Legos Catalog delivered to me at work today.  Made my day!  I didn't read it until I was in the car with Josh, which is good because it was Hilarious!  It was all about super tall camels and ostrich racing.  Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense.

I've been watching Legend of the Seeker a lot on weekends.  I have decided that I would prefer to read the books more than watch the tv show, even if the old wizard looks like Jonny Knapp.   I don't watch the show Brother And Sisters with Ali McBeal woman any more because it is always sad.  Happy things seem to happen, but really not at all.  It's just sad.  That's not why I watch tv.  I watch tv to gain a false sense of happy endings in life.  Unless I am watching Becker.  Then I am watching to laugh and then feel uncomfortable.  I mean seriously, every time I watch that show, it's funny and then I feel uncomfortable.  I love Becker, and Ted Danson.  Cheers is on sometimes too and I watch that.  Kirsti Alley, I think, is prettier now with all her weight than in that show.  But this might have something do with her giant 80's shoulder pads.

Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle

I like my engagement ring.  It's pretty darn sparkly.  I did just wear it in the shower...cleaned it off a bit, increasing the sparkle.

I was talking to a girl the other day who was maybe 24, maybe, and she was married.  She had on her engagement ring that I believe had three diamonds and the middle one was HUGE.  Bigger than my other friend's diamonds, and I thought their's was big.  Then her wedding band had about 15 small diamonds in a row on it, and the metal was so shiny, I bet it was white gold.  I always think it's odd seeing such an obviously young looking person wearing such expensive jewelry.  I mean, really, where did this guy, just out of high school get the money for that shiza? (I may have heard a lot of her life story...not that I minded, I liked it).  Maybe it's all fake, like mine.  It's true, I'll admit, mine does not have real diamonds.  But that does not diminish the sparklyness of it.  Okay that's a lie, as a geologist, I know that Diamonds are coveted because when they are cut just right the sparkle the most.  It's got something to do with their molecular structure.

Someday when Josh and I both have good jobs and can afford something silly like real stones, we are going to get two emeralds (tear drop) and a diamond (square, princess cut?) put into my ring.  Until then I am enjoying the sparkles it already makes.  I want emeralds because they are green and are more rare than diamonds.  Idealy I would go out into the field and collect these emeralds myself.  I feel that I already have...I've found green corundum.  I can't ever remember if corundum is emerald or ruby or if they are the same but different colors.  But whatever I found it wasn't gemstone quality.  I THINK I found green corundum, it may have been something else.  It was six sided and NOT quartz.

Oh do you know what I realized the other day?  I realized that I hated Kanye West BEFORE it was even cool to hate him.  It's true.  My first year at Vandy I went to a concert where he was at it, and it was horrible and boring.  Horrible.  I won't get into details, but I do believe at one point the entire audience fell asleep because he was so boring.  Then he sang a song/remix that used my favorite Daft Punk song.  At first I was excited b/c I love Daft Punk, but then I was angry because he made the song terrible and he played it so loud it ruined my hearing.   I will forever blame my poor hearing on Kanye.  Someone at work's ring tone is that song.  At first I was like, Awesome, Daft Punk! And then I was like NOooooo...Kanye!

Then after Kanye ruined my hearing, he ruined Bonnaroo while we were there.  Don't worry I boycotted his show because I hated him.  Not that I needed too, he ended up playing 8 hrs late at 4 am.  Ask anyone who was there, Kanye ruined Bonnaroo. Finally, as I'm sure you all know, he ruined Taylor Swifts acceptance speech.  But by this time I already disliked Kanye so much, nothing he did or does warrants my attention.

Some Days Are For Sleep

I think I slept all day because I'm not really sure where it went.


But, I did do the dishes, start laundry, cleaned the washer and dryer, organized the laundry room, and swept the floor of the kitchen and entrance way.  Oh and took out the garbage in the rain.  Josh totally owes me.  I'm thinking I can ask him to vacuum tomorrow.  If I don't do it later tonight.

Yesterday I went disc golfing with Josh and several friends.  It was a lot of fun.  The weather was a little cool, but that was perfect after we warmed up from walking.  Let's see, what are some details from the trip?  Josh and Shann played catch with a football before we started, which Josh really really enjoyed.  He hasn't been able to play catch in years.  I went into the woods myself to get my disk, and didn't make Josh do it.  Mostly because it hasn't been warm enough yet for the spiders to get too big and there isn't any green out yet, so the spiders couldn't be hiding under the leave either.

It was really nice to spend the day outside.  Today it is foggy and raining, perfect for sleeping all day on the couch.

I have all these little color markings on my finger tips, took me a while to figure out what they are, but I did.  I'm smart like that.  They are not from markers because I did not use any today.  It's Sunday, so I wasn't at work where I keep all my multi-colored pens.  Sometimes they mark on me, but not today!  I just got done emptying the vacuum of all it's dust...nothing but grey grossness in there.  But then I remembered the cookies!  Josh picked out some frosted easter cookies with sprinkle dots!  They are like frosted animal crackers (the good kind) only their shapes are eggs, chicks, and bunnies.  The freaky part is that the chicks are four legged and don't have a beak.  We thought they were squirrels or a little dog until we read the package. They have sprinkle dots on them and I think the colors from the sprinkles spread onto my fingers!

This morning I was eating them with Josh, and I told him they are my favorite and that I love them so much.  He said "I know you love them so much.  I was trying to eat them one for one with you and I felt like I ate a ton of cookies!" 

There is this commercial on tv selling Brawny dish towels, and the cg's are kinda cheap and obvious.  It's of the brawny guy singing an older, yet good song (that I can't remember now) to the girl in the store.  Because of the poor cg's it reminds me of a vintage 70's commercial.  I like it  a lot.  It makes me happy.  I also have a coupon for Brawny AND am out of paper towels.  It's pretty much a blinking neon sign telling me what I need to buy.

Justin's Birthday

It's Justin's birthday today!  I always love celebrating Justin's birthday because he's able to do with green beer.  Sometimes I think he gets sad because people want to celebrate St. Patty's Day more than his birthday, or that he feels he has to celebrate double or something.  I just think that Justin is awesome and St. Patrick is awesome and therefore today is SUPER AWESOME!  If I have a son born on St. Patrick's day, I shall name him Patrick Justin.  I am sure Josh will agree.  If it's a girl, her name will be Patty Justine.  Maybe Patronella, but call her Patty instead of Nelly. Patronella is my Oma's name, and my aunt's.

Oh yeah, I was going to describe Justin.  I hope he doesn't mind.  He's tall with a nice smile...when he uses it.  And he only uses it when something really is funny.  Like REALLY funny.  Therefore he is a funny person because he has a good humor meter.  He is quiet and thoughtful and generally only speaks to say something funny (at least when I'm around), but he isn't an extrovert comedian or anything.  His sense of humor is some of my favorite, and probably some of the least understood.  He once found the id card of the some guy, twice. He hates someone named Paul.  He is nocturnal generally, and is a pretty good WoW player.  In fact he was playing the first time I ever saw WoW (Josh made me watch), maybe 6 or 5 yrs ago.  I remember he was killing wolves with his dad, and I just didn't understand or comprehend in any way.  Oh, he has a dog...well probably a family dog, named Chubbs.  Chubbs is pretty sweet, but he doesn't like girls.    Sometimes Chubbs would visit while we were in college together.  Oh yeah, Justin is one of Josh's friends from high school, and then he went to CMU as well.  He and Josh lived together for 2 years.  Justin and I have teamed up to bother Josh while he's been sleeping a few times. 

So, how will I be celebrating Justin's birthday?  Well, I cleverly (I give myself too much credit, it just worked out this way) chose to work from home on Thursday. This allows me to sleep in an extra 1.5 hrs, therefore I can go out tonight, but not have too much fun.  Just enough, which is fine by me.  I bought a groupon, which is a neat internet coupon thing, for 9$, the groupon gives me $20 worth of food at the Dog of Nashville.  So Josh and I are going to have beer and hotdogs for dinner.  Mine will be wrapped in bacon and deep fried.  Then we will head downtown to see what's up.  I may try on some cowgirl boots because I really want a pair to drive in.  Apparently the most comfy things to drive in are boots because of the heal.  I believe it too.  My ankle boots are the easiest thing to drive my truck in. 

Hopefully I'll see some of you out there tonight!

Trapped On A Pirate Ship

I am uninspired today, so I am using a promp I found on the internet:

7. Write a story titled, "My Journey on a Pirate Ship." You and your friends can star in the story. 

I was on this ship, this wishy washy wavy ship for so long now.  It did three things.  It moved up, it moved down, and it moved in circles.  

Stupid monkey!


If only he hadn't thrown the paddles overboard.  Once I found out the monkey was still on board, I threw him over...but clearly too late.  Damn, I hate monkeys.


With out paddles we were at the whim of the sea currents.  I did have some ropes tied up just in case a herd of whales or porpi (plural for porpoise, I'm sure) swam by.  One-Eye-Roger was skeptical of the plan.


"Arrrgh! So ye thinks ye kin jess tie these here ropes ont' the pORRRRPIIiiii and asks them t'bring ye ter shore?"


"Yup." answered I.  I'm plagued as an optimist, plus One-Eye-Roger didn't know I could speak aquatic languages.  They always say to hold your cards close and since I was working with stab-their-own-mothers-without-blinking-pirates, I was most certainly going to hold my cards closer.  Plus as captain, I never (rarely) need to explain myself.  


Several weeks later we were still in that wishy washy wavy ship just looking for those damn porpi or whales.  I was hoping for porpi because I wasn't sure if we had enough rope for whales. Plus whales can be tricky...much like the elusive moose.


As I was saying it was several weeks later and One-Eyed-Roger was looking to eat the cook, while I was checking our destination with my trusty, but never dusty, sextant.  When suddenly I felt a swooshing and a wooshing underneath me and the ocean started to swell all around the boat.


"THE WHALES!" I screamed gathering the crew and preparing the rope.  Just as we got to the edge of the boat, a rather larger and slimy tentacle reached over the edge of the boat.


"Now where have me seen that afore?" Mused One-Eyed-Roger.  "Apon me mother's beard, it's a kraken."


"A kraken?" I shouted again, once I start it's very hard to stop. "You mean a sea beast that looks like a giant mile long squid?  A beast that has mythical origins but scientists have proof of large kraken like creatures existing?"


"AAarrrrghhh!!!  That's the beasty aiight!"


"I'LL TAKE IT!"  Yes, I'm still shouting, but in my defense the boat was rocking mightily and I wanted to catch that sea creature kraken thing no matter what.


Me and the crew, we gather up the rope, and according to plan and practice, we threw it as hard as we could.  The Gods were with us that day because as we cast the rope out, the head of the kraken emerged with large roly poly eyes stuck straight out of the water and slid right into the loops of the rope.


"PULLLLL!!!"  You thought I was yelling before, you should have heard that shout.  It echoed off the overhead clouds filling the wishy rocking swelling ship with the sound of thunder.  And sure enough, that rope tightened up around the kraken, and according to plan, he took off at high speeds!  I only hoped it was towards land.

Nom Nom Nom

Today many years ago Julius Caesar was killed.  Many years later, but still many years ago, Shakespeare wrote a play about it.  And now people remember it all.  I always wonder about these things, I mean, it's been so long...how sure are we that he was killed on this day? And did he really say "Et tu, Brutus?" or whatever it was he said.  How much is fact and how much is remembered as a mixture between fact and creative liberties Shakespeare may have taken to make his play more interesting.  Then all of that could have been mixed up and dumbed down to be taught to school children.  And yes stuff is definitely dumbed down.  The more I advanced in my geology education the more I realized that what I was taught and then teaching, in my intro classes was so dumbed down it was basically lies.  That's okay though, because you need a starting point that's easy to understand and then you build on that.

Google says that "The Ides of March" is the hot thing being googled right now.  Surprise surprise.

Last Thursday I went with a coworker to a meetup to see a blogger she's been reading for years.  We were a bit early (even after picking Josh up to work), and so she brought us to Grimey's.

On Wednesday night Josh and I went downtown to pick up a couch from a storage unit that we are getting from a friend.  On the way home we passed The Basement, an out of the way music venue.  I saw that there were lights on and the doors open, and what looked to be a used book or something shop on the inside, and I said to myself..."I need to go there!  I need to know what is in there and if it is interesting enough to buy."  And it turns out that that was Grimey's!  I had no idea until I got there.  It's a store that sells new and pre-loved albums and cd's.  It's the best one of these type of stores I've ever been to.  I was able to find a used copy of Neko Case, Tornado Love, which I've been wanting since I heard her interviewed on NPR last spring break in Nevada with Josh in the parking lot of The Nugget, in Searchlight.  Then I also found a copy of Johny Cash that had all the songs on it I've been wanting.  I wanted both those CD's so bad I had put them on my list of stuff I want.  And now I get to cross them off.  How satisfying.  I also wanted some Norwegian Death Metal but I couldn't find any.  I did get a crazy swedish cd in which one of the songs is titled Ted Dansen...whom I watch constantly.  All that's on our tv is Becker or Cheers, usually in a row.  The band sort of sounds like Modest Mouse meets Weezer, but not unique in its' sound, like those two bands are.

At the meetup, I met the blogger girl, she was very skinny and very nice.  I drank a girly drink that was vodka (top shelf, not well) mixed with chardonay.  It was sooo tastey!  I know it doesn't sound like it would be, but it was surely was!  I also talked to a creeper there who is a corporate sales person for Cracker Barrel and didn't want to say anything bad about Flint.  He said he was there in the 90's and it wasn't too bad.  Not so sure I believe him on that one.  Did you know that I eat at Cracker Barrel a lot now?  It's true, I do.  It's across the street from work, so people go there a lot to eat.  They employ old ladies who are more scarey than cute because they have to deal with douches all day and that makes them mean, not sweet.  Also the old ladies are not very good at being servers.

After the meetup we ate dinner at 12th South Taproom, sitting outside.  It was so nice and fun.  I got a Reuben because I couldn't help it.  They are my all time favorite and I can't resist them, even with an entire menu to look at.  The second I see Reuben, I have to eat it.

Funny Faces and Buttercups

Last Saturday Josh and I went to The End to see Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band play. This was our second time seeing the, both being at The End. The first band to really play was called Apache Relay, and they were actually pretty good. They are a fun band to watch play because several of the members show their personalities so well. Josh and I were excited because we've seen the base player around town a few times (I don't think I've ever talk to him) but he makes the most awesome and intense faces when he is playing.

About a year ago we went to Bongo Java to listen to our friend Alan Thompson play in their attic stage. The band that went first in that set was Apache Relay, only I think it was one of the very first times they ever performed. I say this because they were really bad. They weren't quite together as much as a band who've been doing this a long time is. They have a lead acoustic guitar/singer, a mandolin, a violin, and a base (the concert last Saturday had backup guitar and drums too). The violin player looks like my brother, they are both skinny with very thick red hair, and my brother tried to play the violin when he was little as well. The lead singer also seemed like he thought he was a lot better than everyone else in the band.

So when we saw them all again this past Saturday, they were more practiced, had a rather large and hipster-y following, and hadn't cut their hair since the first time. Except the base player, he cut his hair, but not his beard. The lead still thought he was amazing shiza, but also thought the rest of the band was as good as well..so that was a nice improvement. He was totally into himself and the moment, and at the same time lacked a little self confidence. At one point Josh and I turned to each other and said, at the exact same time, "He reminds me of Eric." Seriously we said that together, so it must be true. Eric was a tragic figure of both Josh and I's pasts.

Rev. Peyton's Big Damn band was as good as the first time, only the audience was not. The first time we went it was a Tuesday, so it was much emptier. There was a lot more people this time, including Rock-a-billies. To tell the truth, I have never had a great experience with Rock-a-billies and I think they are kinda silly. I mean, really, who wants to bring back the 50's punk? Anyways, all the rock-a-billies started moshing up front to hillbilly music (yeah, there's a juxtaposition to think about), and they were kind of dangerous. It definitely took away my enjoyment of the concert. And I got stepped on once and it hurt. There was a he/she there moshing, who was shorter than me and looked to be 12 yrs old. Josh is sure it was a she, but I saw him go into the men's bathroom.

After the concert, we and Bob and Jacque (who had a great time as well, so I'm told) went to Cafe CoCo and had an after concert snack. I haven't done that since I moved out of the dorms I think, but it was so fun! (Gone out to eat after the bar that is). A plus was that I wasn't so wasted or drunk that I couldn't function properly, so I definitely did not make a fool of myself. The older woman behind us in line was drunk and I think she stepped on Josh and then called him Buttercup.

A Poorly Made List

List all of the things that have happened to you only once in your entire life:

1. Well, I was going to say got married, but technically, Josh and I were married twice...
2. I also have lain awake all night long because it was so flipp'n cold out and my mom did not provide me with a warm enough sleeping bag, twice.

3. Oh, I know. I've only had to have surgery and use crutches once. And hopefully it will stay that way. You know the pointy bone on the outside of your ankle? Well, the bottom most screw in my line of 7 screws, is right on the end of that pointy-out bone, and the screw does not lay flush with the bone. It's sorta gone in at an angle. My bones were soft, like a "70 yr old woman's" when they did the surgery, and I think that may have affected the screwing. Anyways, sometimes I hit that screw on things like chair legs, or brush it against something when I am walking. It's soooo horrible and painful when that happens. I just drop and hold it and imagine the screw ripping through my skin from the inside. It's more horrible than painful I guess, but still painful, don't get me wrong...just not the most painful. I'd put the whole experience as being very very similar to hitting your funny bone...that's made me drop before too. I can feel the screw and make them stick out of the skin so you can see them in there. If you ever want to feel them just ask. I always offer to let people feel them, because if I was someone else, I would want to feel them too.

4. Put on a green glittery St. Patrick's day hat from the Dollar Spot at Target. Only once did I do that, and then I was covered in green glitter from the inside of the hat. Two days ago Josh saw one at Target and thought it was awesome and was about to put it on, and I was all "NNNNnnnooooooooooooo" (in slow motion)and leaped (Lept?)out and stopped him, for which he was very Thankful.

5. Scared a cat. I knew he was behind a bale of hay, he was a kitten so maybe not so bright, and I leaped around the corner and went "Yah!" and the kitten jumped straight up into the air and spread out all of it's paws and opened it's mouth in terror. Just like a cartoon. That was so awesome, I've remembered it ever since in great detail, and I was only 8-ish when I did it. And I've been trying to scare cats ever since...but they are tricky tricky animals.

6. Let a dog lick my lips and then liked it. Only once. I didn't even know her well, but she was a Pomeranian, and it solidified my absolute love for those dogs. Clearly though, my love for pomeranians is far below my love for cats.

7. I have seen a cow dance twice. One cow was just itching it's butt and the other cow was dying. I didn't know it was dying until it vomited bright green stuff (which I thought was AWESOME) and then fell down and died. My mom was not as amused or amazed as I was. Maybe this is why death does not make me sad?

8. I've only once gone on a mission trip. To Tijuana. Now promise that when you read that word you read it in a Mexican accent. It's the only way. I felt that we were doing more bad than good on that trip, and I didn't enjoy most of it. I pretended I did and I told myself that I did enjoy it for a long time. But now, I know that I didn't. I enjoyed parts of it, like when I had to lead the bible study, or laughing with Sarah, one of the girls I got to know on the trip. And getting to know my friend Megan better. But over all I didn't like it. I didn't see what was so wrong with the way the people were living...if they had enough food and were happy...why do have to Americanize them? That's what I felt we were doing...spreading American values instead of truely listening to them and their needs. Plus "real" mexican tacos were no where near as delicious as Taco Boy tacos.

9. Only once have I eaten at the Taco Bell on West End near Vandy. Only once and never ever again. Worst. Experience. Ever. So bad I can't even tell the internet.

10. Only once have I tried Zycam nasal spray, and I probably never will again.

And You All Thought REEs Were Boring...

Yesterday at work was so exciting! And my mother was not home for me to call and tell her all about it. So I called my sister and told her...on her birthday. Sorry Mandy, Lame birthday present. Now you guys get to hear all about it.

First, I was able to swipe the wireless keyboard and mouse from the unused desk in the expanded hall (there is no better way to describe that area). The keyboard has a button on it, and when I press it, it automatically pulls up the calculator. Yes, it has a calculator button if you will. Even if none of the other kickass extra buttons worked, as long as I have this calculator one, my life is great. There is also a sleep button and a log off button, and a mail button and a webpage button. It took me a very long time to find the delete button, but it was just the largest one next to the backspace key. Go figure.

Second, I'm getting a new chair! When my supervisor asked, I was all, YES. Because I'm learning that if someone asks you a question like this, just say YES and don't ask questions. So then, they were like, what chair do you want? And I was like...one that rolls better than the one I have now. Not a good enough answer I guess. I got to sit in my supervisor's chair to test it, and I was like, sure, that chair is good. Everything on it adjusts. I told my supervisor that I didn't care what the chair did, so long as it reclined. She gave me a LOOK. Apparently recline was the wrong word to use. I just like chairs that give a little when you flop back into them. I told her I like to slouch when I work, similar to when I drive.

Turns out that chair, they basically picked out for me, was the most expensive one there is at Staples. Which I knew it was.

You see, I have a best friend and old roommate who LOVES office supplies as much as me, and we spent (and Josh and I as well, this is a great hobby of mine)time sitting in and testing all the chairs at Staples and rating them. Once I even knocked down part of a display wall doing this. I know that some chairs look super comfy and aren't and I know the super adjustable all mesh ones are the most expensive. So when they asked me if my supervisor's chair would work, I said yes.

I also knew though that the girl who does the actual ordering dislikes waste and is a very economical person, which I can't disagree about. Her and my views are similar. So she sent out an email with the link to my supervisors chair yesterday, and asked if this was the right chair and good enough. I said YES, after spending time reviewing all the chairs that Staples offers on the internet. I want it not because I really want the most expensive one, but because I don't want to spend money on a chair that turns out to not be comfortable. Then today she sends out another email with two different and less expensive options. (I really did see this coming!) and I knew she had spent a lot of time researching chairs and coming up with these options. And I thought it was all taken care of the second I sat in the chair and said, sure this chair works, the first time. So I researched these new chairs, decided on the cheaper one because, in fact, it is more similar to the actual chair I wanted than the one in my supervisor's office, and I can pick the color. I was going to get alpine.

Now I hear, she found a company, with help from the IT guy, who brings chairs here and we all get to sit in them and test them out and pick the ones we want! It's a dream come true!

You Can't Tell Me What To Do

When I started research potential vendors for biodiesel processors for work, I started contacting a few of them to ask questions, get my name out there, etc. Big mistake. For the longest time I've been plagued with phone calls from them (at least 2 from each, but up to 5+ from one). And I wouldn't mind if they were willing to help me or talk biodiesel to me. But they assume from the beginning that I am an idiot and only spurt biodiesel-isms. Standard stuff that one would say that is understood by all. But I am way beyond that...and I want to discuss the nitty gritty details. Which they are unwilling to do.  They are unwilling because it would interrupt their sales pitch.  I am also far beyond the sales pitch. Plus I am not the one choosing which one to buy..the Tribes are.

One guy is pretty nice and I like him. He's eccentric and I can't understand a word he says because he's straight from 'bama. He did call me a bunch and then have someone else email me.

All the sales men want me to come visit their facilities, and want to come and give a presentation. I told them too that I am just putting together a list and am going to send out a call for bids. They ignored that.

So anyways, there is this one guy, who happens to live 2 miles from where I work. Crazy right? He called me up and set up a time to visit, and I was all...wwwweeellllllllllllllll I guess it can't hurt. So he came and he told me basically the same word-for-word stuff he told me over the phone. He wouldn't answer any of my detailed questions and he had a hard time understanding that it was the Tribes getting the biodiesel, NOT the casinos. T.R.I.B.E.S. As in their own sovereign government. The casinos are just a Big Business that the tribes pay someone to run. The sales man kept on saying the casinos instead of Tribes, and then he assumed that they would put him up for free if (IF) he went to the casino (TRIBES) to train them in biodiesel making. Which they wouldn't. USET members don't even get a discount, let alone put up for free. That would be like the Holiday letting a DMV person stay for free because the Holiday in is in the USA and the DMV person works for the USA. Exactly like that.

Normally I don't think I would care, but he kept on treating me like I was the stupid one.  But really I sat there and listened to all this stuff I already knew and tried to ask in depth questions.  But those questions he usually shrugged off as not important.  Doesn't matter...I want to know the answer.

So one important question I asked was "Do you have a method to recover the methanol from the glycerin?" His response was that we didn't need to do that because it isn't cost effective. Recovering and reusing the methanol wouldn't save us any money.

But that's not why I asked. Here's why it's important to remove the methanol: the glycerin cannot be used for anything if it has the methonal in it because it will act as a dangerous and explosive substance. It will be impossible to do anything with the glycerin...even, at the very worst, dump it. The methanol in the glycerin will kill plants and wild life. It's important to remove it so that the Tribes can compost the glycerin to dispose of it, or use it as soap.

Some websites set up by do-it-yourselfers who don't know much of the science behind it all and don't make biodiesel to the scale that the Tribes plan to, say that you can let the glycerin set out and the methanol will naturally evaporate. But THE BOOK on DYI biodiesel making says that is very dangerous because if the glycerin forms a dried up layer on top or is covered or anything, the methanol gas will build up and become very explosive.

You see, it is VERY important that the methanol is removed, and he really did answer my question like I was stupid to ask it and told me he didn't think I needed to buy a methanol recovery distiller.

This all happened a month or more ago, and I was over it and then I got an email from him that was almost a word-for-word recap of what he tells me on the phone when he calls me and what he said in our meeting. Nothing new. And there was this:

"You had asked about a Methanol Recovery System.  After much R&D, it was decided that a Methanol Recovery System did not offer a substantial cost savings to our customers, did not recover enough Methanol to make a difference in cost savings of biodiesel production and has safety issues in recovering the Methanol."

Well I'm glad he decided that for me...the customer. Because I don't know anything at all about what I'm doing and I would only want it to save money, even though I work in an environmental office. All the high end biodiesel units do come with methanol recovery systems built in, fyi.


His unit does not come with 55 gallon barrels that hold the Used Veggie Oil and the finished biodiesel. He told me it would be to expensive to ship and I could just find some down there...by the tribes. I could. No. That's what I'm paying the contractor for! I told him that in the beginning, I am looking for a contractor who can set up a complete turn-key system for me.


I'm pretty sure he thinks he has it in the bag and that I am stupid and he is convincing me of all these things he says. But it's not even up to me....it's up to a group of 6 or 7 people in other states.


On a side note, I met someone the other day who truly believes that all non-Christians are the Children of Satan...according to Paul. You know...I've never liked Paul. He seems to be a little to uptight and rightous and holier than thou for me.

So today I realized even more so how awesome my sister is.  You thought I was awesome?  You should meet her. She's just like me but refined.  She appreciates a good poop joke like the best of us, but will not repeat them while you are eating, on accident.  She has extra pointy teeth.  She has a superior sense of fashion.  She was smart enough to remain smaller than me...so I can't take her clothes.  On occasion I do get a pair of sweet sandals....if I'm lucky.  Her feet are smaller than mine.  Yes, that's possible.  That makes 3 adults I know of who have smaller feet than me.  I don't remember anything about one of those people except that she wore size 5.5 and annoyed the hell out of me.  Let's see...Mandy is a far superior artist than me...to make up for it I am a far superior geologist.  I wonder who got the short end of that stick? (Hint: It wasn't her.)  She does this super cute smile frown thing really fast when she's thinking.  She hates it when I do it back at her.  She doesn't yell when she gets angry, and I am unsure if she does get angry.  She is also shorter than me...ultimately making her cuter than me.  She is better at doing her hair and makeup than me too.  Far better.  But I think (think) I got the better hair...  Mine doesn't get incredibly cute devil horns like her's does...but that's just splitting HAIRS (yes pun intended!) because our hair is basically identical.  I don't know if she likes puns or not or uses them.  She is also very quiet and never talks too much, unlike me.  I bet she is a better listener than me.

We both know how to work hard, because we both grew up on a farm.

Finally.  She owns a chip and dip tray, that she made, that looks like an old-school Nintendo controller.  That pretty much tops it.  I put a pic up on my Facebook. 

Ackbar hasn't made me angry since the ankle biting incident, so he's probably staying.  Sarah and Heather brought him some mice toys and catnip and he's oh so much happier with them, I haven't seen him so active or playful until he had neon mice to kill.  He is a mouser.  I just wish we had some real mice for him to catch.  We read up on Maine Coons online, and they say that those cats are not vertically inclined.  Therefore, Ackbar is horizontally inclined...which he proves to be true by sleeping all day on his side.  He is not so stinky and poopy as he has been too.  I'm very careful of what he eats.  Oh and I got kitty treats to help train him.  (The Internet says Maine Coons are easily trainable...for a cat).  I am training him to come running to me every time I come home.  It's been a lifelong dream of mine to have that.  Only it would be better if he was female and had a litter of kittens and they ALL came running and meowing when i got home.  Then we could all wrestle on the floor and play and have fun.  I'll be satisfied with just Ackbar and no meowing and no kittens.  Dreams always come true in a way you didn't expect.

Speaking of dreams coming true, I own 6 wonderful chairs that will never break.  I got them for free from a coworker.  He had been storing them for 13 yrs, without the table.  Beautiful.  I didn't know what to expect in how I would get chairs, I just knew I wasn't going to buy them new.