Everybody gets their fifteen minutes... so congratulations to this guy. (You just know he's sitting next to his Pentium III with Photoshop 6.0 feeling pretty proud of himself right now.)



Origins: A grim sense of humor and digital photo manipulation skills can produce some interesting results these days:
Aside from all the digital imperfections in this image (such as shadows not matching reflections), a number of logistical errors make the picture suspect beyond credibility:
-September 11 was warm and sunny, not the type of day on which a tourist would have been decked out in a winter coat and hat.
-The airliner in this picture is approaching from the north and would therefore have been the one which hit the north tower of the World Trade Center (WTC1), but WTC1 did not have an outdoor observation deck. WTC2 (the south tower) included an indoor observation deck on the 107th floor and an outdoor deck above the 110th floor, but WTC1 housed only Windows on the World, an indoor restaurant with a magnificent view of the city but no outdoor deck.
-The operating hours in September for the WTC2 observatories were 9:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M., meaning they opened too late for a tourist to have been present on one before the first plane hit at 8:49 A.M.
-The aircraft shown is a Boeing 757 bearing American Airline markings, but Flight 11, the only American flight to crash into the World Trade Center, was a 767.
(Taken from snopes.com)

Song for the Day:
Celtic Aggression - Tonic
I almost forgot how amazing this album is. This song served as a nice reminder.

With the sudden onslaught of cold and flu around the country, I'm not entirely convinced that the biological warfare hasn't begun already. I mean, think about it. Anthrax is so obvious. The Plague is so 14th Century. What better way to make a country suffer than to give everybody cold and flu symptoms. Couldn't get much worse to me.

Yes, I feel it coming on. That tingle in the back of the throat that says "I'm really going to cause a lot of pain in a few days.", the ears feeling a little plugged, the pressure in the cheeks from sinuses gone wild. Nice.

I blame Karl. I wanted to rig up a walkie-talkie system so that he wouldnt contaminate us all in staff meeting last week, but nobody else went for that idea. Of course, Joe was sick... and I did spend most of last weekend at their house with the little sweetheart. Then again Chris was apparently fighting death over the weekend... and I was over there quite a bit lately. I wonder if germs travel through the phone... then it could have been any number of people.

Song for the Day:
Sweetest Thing - U2
Heard it yesterday at Royal Thai and needed to hear it again.

Yesterday's Song for the Day:
Anger Inc. - Adam Ant
Not that that was my mood or anything... just had it in my head and wanted to mention it.

Everything about babies is sweet. Their fingers, their toes, their ears, their noses. Just sweet, sweet, sweet. I used to think that I would never, ever want to have children. As I said to Barbara today, I know that God has not yet brought me to a point where I want to have them in the near future... but I can see how people who have them enjoy them. The problem is... sweet babies eventually turn into 2-year-olds. Aaaaahhhhh!!

I am so cool -- I'm a stick-shift-driving fool! There's no stopping me. Well, I guess there is... I did my fair share of stalling today. But it went surprisingly well. I drove to Barb & Matt's all by myself. Drove to Angela & Joe's tonight with mom... that was no small feat either, I might add. I am almost in love with that car enough to consider dealing with car payments again. Almost.

My niece is gorgeous!

I do have to say that everyone in the world should experience flying over Iowa in the fall. The one-mile by one-mile sections make this amazing patchwork quilt of green, gold, orange, and brown. Simply breathtaking... for this midwestern girl anyway.

And though I hated life so early on Saturday morning... the take-off from Nashville International was one that I will not soon forget. Once we got above the blanket of morning clouds, there was a beautiful pink sunrise. I felt like I should have been riding on Falcor -- it was amazing.

The quote of the day comes from my father. Since I don't have a car here, I said that somebody was going to have to give me a crash-course in driving a stick-shift so I could take the Miata. And he says, "Can we please not call it a crash course?" (It was probably funnier to us.)

So Nate and I went to see Jason Ingram, Kelly Minter, and Sonicflood last night. I am admittedly the worst person to go to a concert with. I'm a stander... a bobber at best... but I am definitely not a jumper. I prefer to soak it all in. There is nothing I like better than watching seasoned performers deal with a problem on stage. Interesting to watch their communication.

That was one thing I have to hand to Mark. He was excellent at communicating what he needed from stage without ever letting on to the extent that the audience knew what was going on. That was always cool.

So yeah... Sonicflood. It was interesting. Jeff Deyo left big shoes to fill. The dude did a pretty good job... but I have to say that I had a better time with the original line-up. Oh well. Kelly and Jason were pretty good though too.

Anyway... no song for today. Gotta go see the baby again!

I lock my bedroom door at night.

I'm not exactly sure why... seeing as how I live alone, and there shouldn't be anyone else inside trying to get in. Sleeping with the door shut makes sense, as every good fireman's daughter knows. But locked? Is that extreme? I don't know.



I love President Bush. His speech last night was amazing. I'm so glad that my friends and I are able to discuss this stuff, because otherwise I'd feel so alone in the world.

A scary thing though... so many of my dear guy friends have been talking about how they have been having thoughts of enlisting in the armed services... which is a cool thing, but yet -- I am selfish and really hate the thought. Did I say that I would maybe marry one of them before he got shipped out??

Song of the Day:
In My Dreams - REO Speedwagon
Do not ask me why -- I have no idea why it has been stuck in my head all day.
~~We climb and climb and at the top we fly
Let the world go on below us, we are lost in time
And I don't know really what it means
All I know is that you love me, in my dreams ~~

By the by, I purchased the Entertainment Weekly with Michael Jackson on the cover. In the pathetic article that continuously bashed my Michael, there it was -- the word "malarkey"! I'm amazing. I didn't even realize how influential I am. Ha!

pho·bi·a n.
A persistent, irrational, intense fear of a specific object, activity or situation (the phobic stimulus), fear that is recognised as being excessive or unreasonable by the individual himself.

A lot of people claim to have arachnophobia. And yeah, I don't think many people are really into the thought of having lots of little creepy-crawlies all over their bodies or anything. But I used to have a really big problem with spiders. A phobia, one might say. A paralyzing fear. I read far too many articles in Readers Digest at one point, I think.

There was one night, I forget the circumstances of why I got up in the middle of the night -- needed a drink or the bathroom or something. I never would have normally turned on the light in the hall to go downstairs, but on this particular night I did for some reason. On the stairs was a huge spider... maybe a little smaller than a half-dollar, but that's pretty big for someone who is scared of them. I simply could not make myself go down the stairs... and I certainly couldn't get close enough to kill it. If I remember correctly, I went and dialed our own phone number so that it would ring downstairs. I woke my mom up with that, and she came up and got the spider so I could go down.

I was forced to get over this problem when I lived in the woods of Michigan. They were just unavoidable. The only ones I really hated were those jumping hairy ones. I still hate them.

I say all of the above to preface the tale of my experience from last night.

I walked up to my door... and there on the step was the largest spider I have ever seen in real life. I am absolutely not kidding when I say that it was the size of my palm with its legs. The abdomen or "butt" or whatever you want to call it was the size of a blow-pop. My only thought was "Must Kill". I certainly could not step on it and risk missing and having it climb up my leg or anything. So I took the grass to get to the door, went inside, threw my stuff down, and went to get the bug spray. By the time I returned, it had galloped off. As of this moment, he is still at large... though I sprayed the foundation of the house in hopes he was hiding in a crevice somewhere.

These are two articles I really didn't just need to read: Brown Recluse in Tennessee and Between brown recluse and black widow, tiny arachnids can cause not-so-itsy-bitsy problems

I'm moving.

Song for the Day:
Where the River Runs Deep - Cissy Etheridge
This is a great song... soon everyone will know it. This chick is really awesome, and I can't wait until she has some of her music on CD for purchase.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I decided over the weekend that I am going to singlehandedly try to bring back usage of the word "malarkey".
ma·lar·key n. Slang
Exaggerated or foolish talk, usually intended to deceive: “snookered by a lot of malarkey” (New Republic).

One week later, we are still feeling the aftershock of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and elsewhere. It has been weird. The patriotic "go America" part of me is proud of the unity that has been displayed... but yet there is a part of me that thinks it is so pathetic that it took such a horrible thing to bring the people together.

I finally cried just a bit on Thursday night... I think it was... when I saw them playing our national anthem at Buckingham Palace. I don't know why that struck me... but it was just amazingly touching, I suppose. And then Sunday morning... when I was at my old church GCL, and they had a slide display... that got to me. And then for some reason, I have the hardest time looking at this website showing pictures of tributes to America from all over the world.



I do have a couple of gripes though. And I don't mean to be insensitive, but...

#1. If you are going to display the flag, for Pete's sake, please do so properly. (i.e. when hanging it vertically, the Union -- the blue part -- is always to the viewers left.)

#2. Put away the Left Behind novels, and pick up your Bible if you are all concerned about this being the "end times". His last name is bin Laden, not Carpathia, so quit with the freaking out already. If you must freak out, please do not do so in my presence, as it just irritates me.

#3. Don't go bashing my Dubya. The same people who think they could do better are the same people who wouldn't run for student council, much less public office.

Song for the Day:
One - U2 as performed by Tait

DDPs / Days:
Okay, so I've lost track... I probably had about 9 over the weekend. I'm weak. I was peer pressured.

So last night all the work people got together for dinner and prayer about another matter... but once that was all over, we were glued to the television watching all the latest updates. The newest footage of the planes crashing into the buildings just makes me ill. There were some really interesting commentators on FoxNews.

To the guy who called in and wanted to know why we aren't herding arab-americans into camps and deporting them... and to the guy who called in and was basically insisting he know what the U.S.'s strategy is -- you are two of the world's greatest idiots, and it is embarrassing to me that you live in my country.

Some people say what we are thinking better than I can. An open letter to the ones responsible. So this guys sounds a little angry, but he makes a pretty good point. This is a kinda cool tribute to Americans from, of all people, a Canadian.

The thing is, people are all talking now about how they are afraid because they have to fly somewhere next month. That is just plain stupid. You ran that same risk every time you stepped on a plane before, so get over it. If you have such a huge problem with fear of dying on a plane, get in your car and drive then... and get smashed into by some punk 16-year-old kid with no respect for the potential killer they are steering.

Yeah, I'm supposed to fly home next weekend. Am I scared? No more than usual -- except to think that I don't have a cellphone, so were I in that situation, there would be no last minute "I love you"s to anyone I know. Maybe I am the stupid one, and I should be much more concerned for my own wellbeing... but the fact of the matter is that I cannot stop living just because others have lost their lives. That may come off sounding really jaded and harsh, but that's not how it is intended. I just do not think that we are meant to live in fear.

Song for the Day:
Crowing - Toad the Wet Sprocket

You know, my generation didn't know Kennedy, Lennon, or King Jr.... but we have our own tragic events... and the news of which will stick in our minds for all time.

...The Challenger Explosion (I was in the library at Kinsey Elementary School with Jenna, Cory, Matt, & Mrs. Thompson when Mr. Mars brought a television in for us to watch the blast-off live.)
...The Gulf War (Okay, this one is sketchy to me, but I remember watching the news in Mr. Jensen's class.)
...Kurt Cobain's Suicide (I was on the floor of the living room watching Entertainment Tonight.)
...The OJ Simpson Car Chase (Lisa and I were bowling at Quantico Marine Base.)
...Princess Diana's Death (Micah told me when I got to the church where their ARC group was performing.)

And then there was today. The World Trade Centre has been leveled by a terrorist act. I can't believe how messed up humanity can be. How can anyone rationalize this behavior enough to give their life to hijack a plane and crash it into a building? It's just sickening really.

Tim Poss, of SuperOne in Atlanta, told me about it when I called in first thing this morning.

We were kinda in a funk all day at the office. Hovering around the television with CNN broadcasting non-stop all day. I don't think it really hit me until I went out to the post office and caught site of a huge flag flying at half-staff. It was then that I really lost it. So many people's lives have been rocked much more than mine. It's just this great feeling of sickening helplessness.

Too bad this had to overshadow the great post I had planned for today reporting on our "celebration of autumn" last night. Complete with parks and scary stories and bonfires and hockey masks.

No song for the day.

DDPS / Days:
2.5 / 8
Alright, so I caved. It was a stressful day, and Starbucks was closed.

The beautiful thing about memory is that once in a while it allows you to forget most of the bad and sugar-coat what is left. So much so that someone on the outside probably has no idea why the situation was ever considered painful at all.

I know some really cool people.

We watched Blood: The Last Vampire this afternoon. Amazing animation... if you're into that kind of thing.

Song for the day:
Let Your Grace Fall Down - Stephen Weaver
He said that he has a lack of confidence... but I say that this guy has a real talent for writing very sweet, poignant songs.

DDPs / Days:
.5 / 6

Sometimes I make the mistake of reading the spam emails that I get. Found this one particularly amusing. Who knew it could be so simple?

---

Minister Charles Simpson has the power to make you a LEGALLY ORDAINED MINISTER within 48 hours!!!!
BE ORDAINED NOW!

As a minister, you will be authorized to perform the rites and ceremonies of the church!!

WEDDINGS
MARRY your BROTHER, SISTER, or your BEST FRIEND!!
Don't settle for being the BEST MAN OR BRIDES' MAID
Most states require that you register your certificate (THAT WE SEND YOU) with the state prior to conducting the ceremony.

FUNERALS
A very hard time for you and your family
Don't settle for a minister you don't know!!
Most states require that you register your certificate (THAT WE SEND YOU) with the state prior to conducting the ceremony.

BAPTISMS
You can say "WELCOME TO THE WORLD!!!! I AM YOUR MINISTER AND YOUR UNCLE!!"
What a special way to welcome a child of God.

FORGIVENESS OF SINS
The Catholic Church has practiced the forgiveness of sins for centuries
**Forgiveness of Sins is granted to all who ask in sincerity and willingness to change for the better!!

VISIT CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Since you will be a Certified Minister, you can visit others in need!!
Preach the Word of God to those who have strayed from the flock

WANT TO START YOUR OWN CHURCH??
After your LEGAL ORDINATION, you may start your own congregation!!

At this point you must be wondering how much the Certificate costs. Right? Well, let's talk about how much the program is worth. Considering the value of becoming a CERTIFIED MINISTER I'd say the program is easily worth $100. Wouldn't you agree? However, it won't cost that much. Not even close! My goal is to make this life changing program affordable so average folks can benefit from the power of it.

Since I know how much you want to help others, you're going to receive your Minister Certification for under $100.00... Not even $50.00... You are going to receive the entire life-changing course for only $29.95.

For only $29.95 you will receive:
1. 8-inch by 10-inch certificate IN COLOR, WITH GOLD SEAL.
(CERTIFICATE IS PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED BY AN INK PRESS)
2. Proof of Minister Certification in YOUR NAME!!
3. SHIPPING IS FREE!!!

---

For the record... The Musketeer is a horrible movie. Some nice scenery and the fact that Tim Roth was in it were about the only redeeming qualities.

Song for the Day:
Something's Always Wrong - Toad the Wet Sprocket
\m/ o[-_-]o \m/ rock rock

DDPs / Days:
.5/5

In accordance with Murphey's Law, now that my car is paid off, it is required to start having every piece break, one at a time. My current ailments? Leaky front right tire -- nursing this along by paying fifty-cents a day to refill it... and a burnt out license-plate-illuminator bulb -- actually, I have a new one in there (no thanks to JoJo the Tireboy at Tires Plus), but I haven't actually screwed the thing back in.

Oh, but the other exciting car thing was that I locked myself out of it in my haste this afternoon. Thankfully I had the window cracked ever so slightly, so I got all Macguyver-like and managed to hook the "lock" lever with a coat hanger. Mental note: don't ever do that again.

So my days being the teacher's pet in Creative Writing have paid off a bit. I wrote a little news article for redletterproject.com today on the current state of the band. I thought it might be a little over-the-top, but it was well-received by the members of the band... so hey, who cares then.

Tomorrow I will have Chinese food. My oriental chicken salad tonight just didn't cut it. No chop-sticks; therefore it doesn't count.

Song for the day:
Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog

I missed it, J. Sorry. The rest rocked. \m/ (That's my official new "roooooock" symbol.)

DDPs/Days:
.5/4
Coffee consumption has greatly increased since I began the final Diet Dr Pepper chapter in my life. I think I'm just thirsty, not necessarily craving the caffiene or anything... but who knows.

Is pride some sort of secret cover up for insecurity? I think it can be. People who are overly concerned about their appearances and "how things look" to others... seems like it is just a big cover up for a great worry about what others think of them. I was just thinking about that on my drive home today. I'm sure I get embarrassed on occassion... but somehow I don't have one of those devastatingly embarrassing moments that is fun to tell at parties. I guess I just don't care enough about what other people think. I'm okay with that.

Okay, isn't this the sweetest picture in the world? Augh! I cannot wait to go home and see them. My little niece and nephew. I can't get used to saying that -- niece. Yay!

Song for the day:
You Make Me Feel - Pete Orta

Good tune... love the guitar hits. Nice guy, nice music, great tune. Sure to be a hit.

On the Diet Dr. Pepper issue... I'd just like to clarify that I did indeed say that I am cutting back for now... so my half a can today was perfectly legal...
DDPs/Days:
.5/3

On a more personal note... I have been putting off doing laundry for far too long. I have found myself wearing things I never would normally wear. But tonight it all ends... I refuse to tap into that "last resort" underwear pile in the back of the drawer. I think I just have a secret phobia of my laundry room or something. I have to clean my house so bad -- that it always happens when I get back from trips. I just walk in the door and dump everything on the floor. I am feeling the need for spaghetti.

If you find that my updates have a slighty crabby or harsh or scattered feel to them... it is because the withdrawl has kicked in. I've long known the side-effects for too much caffeine... and frankly, I didn't care. But that coupled with the supposed side-effects of aspartame has convinced me that I need to cut back. I have been known to drink several cans of my beverage of choice, Diet Dr. Pepper, per day... and I have decided to cut back. Maybe one or two a week until I get rid of this case, and then I'm off it. So here goes. If I make it through tonight (which I should since I don't have any in the house) it will have made two days, DDP free. I think I'm going to die.

Song for the day:
That Song - Big Wreck

~~I really love that tune... I really love that song. I love that song.~~ I think another song that I was actually listening to today reminded me of that song (or That Song)... so I'm about to go home and listen to it.

Diet Dr. Peppers/Days:
0/2

By the way, for anybody else who was holding their breath waiting to hear if I'm off to see Michael Jackson -- you can stop. We didn't win.

These are my thoughts for today... which nobody is probably reading... but that is quite fine. See, I have a friend who had a column of sorts on a webpage. He was a faithful updater and had some interesting, intellectual thoughts on life and the world. Slowly a drama started to unfold as the reader realized that his girlfriend (now ex) is also a columnist. Today I found that his column was removed, and there was a very harsh post by the ex... it felt almost voyeuristic to read, because she had some things to say that I cannot believe she left for the world (or the few of us who read that site daily) to read. Almost a soap opera really. Love, deceit, distrust. Was it an abortion? Was it a miscarriage? It has just left me feeling weird. Some people lead such different lives. I would put a link, but I don't think I want to. I don't think some people would understand... and no point in putting his and her pain on a pedestal more so than it already is.

Song for the day:
Lady in Red - Chris De Burgh

Timeless classic. I cannot help but wonder if I heard it as background music somewhere, but it has been in my head all morning.

Sometimes you just need to Kvetch about something.

Song for the moment:
Wanna Be Starting Something - Michael Jackson

The king of pop. Always and forever. My fingers are crossed -- entered in a contest to go see MJ on Friday... I will just puke if we win!

Congrats to my sis and bro-in-law -- I'm an aunt again. Yay! The first little girl in the family... sure to be spoiled to death. Now is about the time that I hate living a 13-hour drive away from all my family. I cannot wait to go home to see the little shribble. I'm sure little Karli is as sweet and as beautiful as can be!

More glowing about that later. I expect my dad will be sending some digital photos over sometime today.

Song for the day:
Time to Say Goodbye - Sarah Brightman

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I currently do not have a radio in my car. (A big sarcastic thank-you goes out to the person who felt compelled to break in and take it. Jerk.) So the 5-hour trip back to my house last night was semi-painful, as I was feeling the results of a sleep-deprived weekend. With no radio, I was singing any song I could think of in order to stay awake. I was going insane trying to think of "Time to Say Goodbye", but the words for one of her other songs kept getting in the way. So an honorary mention should go to "Just Show Me How to Love You" from the same album.

I must work now. Labor Day at its best... laboring.

Holiday weekend. Nice. Except that I work on Labor Day -- oh well... better luck next year. Though I am spending Friday-Sunday in my old home away from home. Seeing some of my best friends I had to leave behind when I moved a couple months ago and shopping at some of my favourite stores I just can't find down south.

Why does Jenna Lewis have to be so crappy on VH1? Cute, she may be -- interesting enough to be a vj, she is not.

Song for the day:
I'm Delusional - Jay Brooks

Yeah, so nobody else knows that song (yet)... but I heard him and Chris rehearsing it the other night, and for some reason it has been in my head all day today.

Peace,
D.