So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

Our newish house will most likely be on the market in the next couple of years now that we are forced to leave America and seek refuge in a more civilized region. Canada looks best.

As for Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon and Utah, we'll be avoiding you like the plague. No money spent there, no visiting, you name it. So long Atlanta, it was fun! Farewell Biloxi, we'll miss your concerts and shows! Auf Wiedersehen Butcher Hollow! Goodbye Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. Boy...are we going to cott the shit out of you.

A big thank you to all of our friends and family that helped it stay in office thus sending us packing. When (and if) you miss us when we're gone, you'll have yourselves to blame. And trust me, when we move you won't hear from us much, if at all.

Oh yes and Florida. Home for most of my life, keeper of white beaches and fond memories. Go straight to hell. I officially abhor this state. You can shove those oranges where the sun doesn't shine.

Apparently America has become one big, half-witted, corporate, straight man:

Sports above education
Fight rather than think
Pad my pockets, to hell with the poor
Bush is the best and anyone who doesn't like it, no rights for you!



The letter W: The new 666

Of Treats, Tricks and Halloween Hullabaloo

So, Halloween. It wasn't as bad as I'd expected it to be thankfully. I'd fully anticipated being in a slump because it was the first Halloween John was going to be home in a few years and then that was dashed against the rocks like some unwanted child before we knew it had happened. Luckily I filled the time with movies, games and friends. I still missed my John though :(

Halloween Highlights

Chai
Keep this nectar of the gods flowing and everything can be made enjoyable. Curse you Sarah for this addiction! I would have gotten away from it if it hadn't been for you and those meddling dogs! *cue canned laughter and closing credits music while the Mystery Machine drives off into the sunset*

New Sandwich @ Starbucks
This may not seem like a highlight to most but we eat there on a regular basis. (It's the Chai addiction and availability of literature). The have a new (limited time *weep*) honey turkey, cheddar, mozzarella and cranberry sauce on honey oat bread. DAMN. This is really good. It's like a Monte Cristo only not deep fried. I'm all over it until extinction.

City of Heroes Hijinks
You can read about this at the Phone Booth if you want. Neat pictures included!
Phred Phun Phactor: 7 out of 10

Late Night Bowling/Drinking/Eating/Debauchery
We were invited by our UPS Store friends to a charity party at the local bowling alley. The party was set up to help a local girl make it to the national cheerleading competition. Having had an ex who was a fervent cheerleader I understand the passion of wanting to go to this event, so it was a good cause. The food was yummy, the drinks were tasty, the shots were potent and the company was fun. I got a strike and 2 spares which is a record for me being that when it comes to bowling, unlike my champion brother, I suxx0r.
Phred Phun Phactor: 6 out of 10

Chai
I must reiterate my love for this liquid crack

Movies
We went to see Saw which we'd been waiting for forever. I was hesitant to go see another movie on a sunday since the previous Sunday we'd gone to see The Grudge and could barely enjoy the movie from A) The chorus of constant cell phone rings and usage and B) the apparent school-outing around us. I swear there was a busload of unattended, 13 year olds running about and laughing. Parents, either go to the movies with your pro-abortion example or rent them DVDs and keep their asses at home.

...anyhow, we lucked out and were three of the seven people in the theater. Yay! Thank heavens for hangovers and late sleepers. Saw was an entertaining film, but riddled with problems. It was somewhat fresh and fun, but really didn't meet the expectations I'd had. The funniest thing about it was the fact that not 2 minutes into the movie I'd leaned over to Myshe and sort of detailed what was going to happen without knowing I was right on the money. In the last couple of minutes in the movie where we should have been gasping wide-eyed, Myshe and I couldn't help but laugh because of my outline earlier. Surprisingly, despite everything I'd heard to the contrary, this movie is not that gorey. It really didn't have anything frightfully graphic in it at all besides a decent amount of blood which was usually on the floor, wall, door, etc. instead of spurting from an artery. I did, however, dislike the high-speed segments. While this sort of shot can enhance the disturbing nature of a scene (A la Tool videos) it really detracted from the scenes in this movie. All-in-all it was well worth the watch.
Phred Phun Phactor: 5 out of 10

Back to The Grudge since I never really got to blog about it, the movie was good. Good in an "ehh..it was good." way and not in a "WOW! That was some GOOOOOD shit!" way. As in all Japanese to American horror migrations it changes a good bit. The plus to that is that the story becomes a little less convoluted. Japanese storylines are notoriously out there and loopy and a lot of times hard to follow simply because you're just supposed to accept it and move on. American audiences find this hard to do because of lack of imagination, attention deficit, or even sheer laziness. The downside to Americanization of these films is the commerical/vanilla factor. Groovy things from the original film get processed into more formulaic versions to be spoonfed to the audiences here. It can really destroy a movie.

As I said though, The Grudge was good. We enjoyed it as much as we could with the cacaphony of hell-spawn children and cell phones and any chance to watch Jason Behr on film is an A+ in my book. Then there's Sarah Michelle Gellar. Graduate from the Kathy Ireland school of Acting, this rather unattractive woman has one expression. "Confused Chihuahua." They really needed someone else in the film.
Phred Phun Phactor: 3 out of 10

A decent attempt at a migration movie but not toally blown away. If you want to see some really good asian horror check out these that we really liked (But be ready to push suspension of disbelief to new limits)

Tell Me Something director Yoon-Hyun Chang (Bryan and I love this movie)
Audition director Takashi Miike (Probably one of my favorite horror films to date..kiti kiti kiti kiti kiti)
The Isle director Kim Ki-Duk (This is one messed up Korean movie, though allegorically a love story)
The Eye director Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang

Other Foreign Horror worth watching:

Anatomie (Franka Potente stars. I Adore this woman. She's great in everything: Lola rennt (Run Lola Run), Der Krieger und die Kaiserin (The Princess and the Warrior)
Promenons-nous dans les bois (Deep in the Woods)

Like I needed a quiz to tell me this.

You Should Vote for Ralph Nader.

Sorry - Shirts and Shoes are Required in the Voting Booth.

Which presidential candidate should you vote for in 2004?

Fehscape

WARNING: This entry might contain spoilers. For those who intend on watching Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars but have not, continue at your own risk.

Well...I really had been excited about The Peacekeeper Wars. I looked forward to seeing a conclusion to the show I'd come to love so much. Now I almost wish they'd just left it where it was.

Admittedly the last run since Zhaan left was spotty at best. In my opinion, the writing declined and the story's direction was lost in a jumble of subplots and overlapping pointlessness. Again, my opinion. Others may have liked the last run.

I did not like Zhaan's "replacement" character Jool at first, but within a couple of episodes she'd really grown on me. I came to adore her and looked forward to her contribution to the run of the show. Then they drop her off on Arnessk and she leaves the series. Sigh.

Then we get Sikozu. Ick. Never liked her. Glad she turned out to be a Scarran spy. Wish she'd died.

All-in-all I really enjoyed the first two hour part of TPW despite certain issues:

1) We're left with John and Aeryn at the end of the series being blown into little bits of crystal on some unknown water planet and we're all like "Holy hell! What next!!!???" We return to the mini-series and within a very short time of the beginning they are reconstituted and it was "all a mistake". Okay, bleh. Talk about diffusing the climax of the series ending.

2) So one little crystal piece is left in Rygel's stomach when he collects what remains of John and Aeryn off the ocean floor by eating it. Well, when they're reconstituted we find out what that crystal piece was. Was it Aeryn's ear? No. Gasp! Was it John's wang?! No. Oh...Joy...it just so happens that the piece left out was John and Aeryn's child that Aeryn had been carrying. How covenient. No, not part of the baby mind you. The whole self-contained, perfectly intact little crystallized baby. And suddenly, now Rygel is carrying the growing child as if he'd been impregnated. Um...what happened to it being a little crystal? So Rygel carries the child through most of the mini-series until Aeryn can transfer it back to her for birth. Yeah. Okay. Hokiness factor from 1 to 10 - 12.

3) Okay, I love Commandant Grayza. She's a ballsy peacekeeper bitch who apparently picked up tricks from Elaan, Dohlman of Elaas, but has a sweaty chest instead of tears. Despite that, I still liked her. So, what's the point of the pregnancy? Unless the only reason she was pregnant was so that she could issue some line at the end of the series about "for the sake our our children" then it was pretty pointless.

4) I finally get to see Jool again on Arnessk. Yay! Oh..eww...boooooo. Okay so here's this incredibly intelligent Interion female who's so academically accomplished and she's running around like an alien Pebbles Flintstone? What gives? Was it really necessary she look like a cast member of The Interion That Time Forgot? Oh yeah and getting past this, still glad to see her what happens next. Oh yeah. They kill her after 10 minutes or so. Thanks. Pointless.

5) Okay...this crazy powerful ancient Luxan ship that D'Argo got. It's "unlike anything he's seen before" and he manages to play with it through a good bit of the last run. So it's destroyed in this mini-series (blown to bits by Scarran fire I might add, but Chiana and he are left floating in space without a scratch. Yeah. Gotcha. Hokiness factor from 1 to 10 - 10). Well who suddenly rescues them from space? None other than Jothee, D'Argo's son who happens to be in a Luxan ship that has capabilities like the ancient one and is a shaped remarkably a lot like Talyn. (Make that Hokiness factor 13)

6) HARVEY. HARVEY. MORE HARVEY. I can't relay my hatred for this scenario. Overdone and boring.

So part two wasn't any better. I felt rushed. WARWARWARPEACE. Boom, just like that. Wormhole weapon presented (and might I mention by this point in the series I am sick to shit of wormholes.) and voila, truce. Next we have Scarran Emperor Staleek and Commandant Grayza stamping what one assumes to be some peace document. I find this interesting given that Grayza isn't the highest of the high in the Peackeeper ranks and that she even acted without talking to her Peacekeeper superiors before heading to Arnessk to engage the Scarrans.

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot...D'Argo's climactic death. I use the term climactic loosely. What a waste. It was like the writers felt that unless they killed a well-known character in the mini-series then it just wouldn't have any impact. Well, it still didn't. D'Argo's fate was forced, meaningless and trite. He didn't die in any explosive gut-wrenching manner and it didn't snatch my heart from my chest that he "sacrificed' himself for those he loved. It just wasn't done well. And really...we didn't see him die. So...if ever it comes back to TV or the movies, then I'm sure they'll diffuse that "climax" by bringing him back. (Hey guys! Dead? Awww, no. I took out those Charrid and Scarran soldiers and then napped a little. When I woke, I was on some person's ship and peachy keen!) Oh and at this point, who didn't know what Aeryn and john would name their baby? Vomit. Four words for you, pre-dic-ta-ble. Hokiness factor from 1 to 10 - 10.

So where does that leave everyone come the new "end" of the show?

John and Aeryn - On Moya with baby D'Argo.
Chiana - Assumed to be going to Hyneria to settle down like D'Argo wanted.
Rygel - Assumed to be returning to Hyneria to take up his rule again as Dominar
Scorpius - Who knows? We weren't really given anything about him.
Pilot and Moya - Again, who knows? Pilot got ridiculously little screen time. One of the most underrated characters on the show. Watch his episode and you can't help but agree. (Now THAT was heart wrenching)
Jool - Unfairly Dead
Sikozu - Should be dead
Zhaan - Painfully absent

I say do another mini-series to really end the show. I'll write it real quick!

Baby D'Argo meets and marries the "V" baby and the two follow in hot Pursuit of Dana and Fox's baby who's on the run and lost in time with Dr Sam Beckett. Soon they all meet up at the relocated Cheers on Jupiter where the jovian ruler Bailiff Bull performs the wedding for Ross and Rachel.

Blog reorganization day!

Added CoH to Groovy Links
Added all gaming blog links to new Vicarious Gaming section. (Welcome Josh!)
Alphabetized Remote Sensing
Updated Pete's link in Remote Sensing (He moved, doesn't blog any more often now, but moved nonetheless. Hi Pete!)

Nothing new here really. Waiting on the adjuster. Simmering over John having to be out an additional 4 weeks to change hitches. At least now he'll be home for Thanksgiving.

Added a link under Remote Sensing to my City of Heroes blog for those interested.

Super Sad

Well, I'm pretty bummed out today over the passing of a childhood idol. I got up prepared to do my running around and checked my AOHell mail and there it was on the splash page. He was only 52. That's just too young to be gone. I loved him in Somewhere In Time. I adored him in Deathtrap and, of course, worshipped him as Superman. I always wanted to be flying right next to him. I'd like to at least think wherever he is, he's still flying.

You'll be missed Christopher

9.25.1952 - 10.10.2004

I always like to join in on the fun and games of quizzes, lists and various other horse puckey on friend's blogs, so here's this one from Joshy's. Be warned, it's long, but all-in-all not a very slow read.

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink. (No)
02. Swam with wild dolphins. (No)
03. Climbed a mountain. (Yes)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive (No)
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid (No, but it is a goal before I die)
06. Held a tarantula (Held? Hell, I owned one and played with her. Her name was Babette)
07. Taken a candlelit bath (Yes)
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it (Every day I talk to John)
09. Hugged a tree-several times.. (Yes)
10. Done a striptease (Yes)
11. Bungee jumped (No)
12. Visited Paris (Will be in the next couple of years)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (Yes)
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise (Yes)
15. Seen the Northern Lights (No)
16. Gone to a huge sports game (Yes)
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (Will be doing this around the Paris timetable)
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (Yes)
19. Touched an iceberg (No)
20. Slept under the stars (Yes)
21. Changed a baby's diaper (No. And I won't be)
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (No)
23. Watched a meteor shower (Yes)
24. Gotten drunk on champagne (Yes)
25. Given more than you can afford to charity (Yes)
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope (Yes)
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (Yes)
28. Had a food fight (Yes)
29. Bet on a winning horse (Yes)
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Yes)
31. Asked out a stranger (Yes)
32. Had a snowball fight (Yes)
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier (No)
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (Yes)
35. Held a lamb (Yes)
36. Enacted a favourite fantasy (Yes)
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip (Yes)
38. Taken an ice cold bath (Yes)
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar (Actually yes, when I lived in Atlanta)
40. Seen a total eclipse (Yes)
41. Ridden a roller coaster (Yes)
42. Hit a home run (Yes)
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days (Yes)
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (Oh most definitely.)
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day (Yes)
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Not yet, two years..two years)
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment (Yes, in brief spurts)
48. Had two hard drives for your computer (Yes)
49. Visited all 50 states (No)
50. Loved your job for all accounts (Not yet)
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced (Yes)
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Yes. There are moments. Fleeting, but moments.)
53. Had amazing friends (Amazing isn't strong enough to describe the people I call friends)
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (Yes. Strret festival in Puerto Rico. Also the night little Phreddy switched his and his mothers Pina Coladas. That's probably why I was dancing with a stranger and Mother was wondering why her Colada was so weak.)
55. Watched wild whales (...with waffles wafting westwardly in the wind?)
56. Stolen a sign (Yep! A "Dean Str." sign and a "P" off Paradise Bay for my wall. Just you wait..I'll be having an Alphabet St. sign if I ever find one.)
57. Backpacked in Europe (Two years)
58. Taken a road-trip (Yes)
59. Rock climbing (yes)
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice (No)
61. Midnight walk on the beach (Yes)
62. Sky diving (want to want to!)
63. Visited Ireland (No)
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love (Yes)
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them (I think so)
66. Visited Japan (No)
67. Bench pressed your own weight (Yes)
68. Milked a cow (Yes)
69. Alphabetized your records (Yes)
70. Pretended to be a superhero (Yes)
71. Sung karaoke (Yes)
72. Lounged around in bed all day (Yes)
73. Posed nude in front of strangers (No)
74. Scuba diving (No)
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye (Yes)
76. Kissed in the rain (Did more then that in the rain)
77. Played in the mud (Yes)
78. Played in the rain (Yes)
79. Gone to a drive-in theatre (Yes)
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it (Yes)
81. Visited the Great Wall of China (No)
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog (No)
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better (No)
84. Started a business (No)
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken (Yes)
86. Toured ancient sites (Yes)
87. Taken a martial arts class (Yes. I was actually a brown or yellow belt. I want to say brown in Yoshukai)
88. Sword fought for the honour of a woman (No)
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (Can you actually get anything done in less than that?)
90. Gotten married (Working on it. Waiting for Bush to go away frist.)
91. Been in a movie (Almost. Had a part in The Truman Show. Gave it up for holiday with family.)
92. Crashed a party (Yes)
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have (Yes!)
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made you dizzy (Yes)
95. Gotten divorced (No)
96. Had sex at the office (Yes)
97. Gone without food for 5 days (No)
98. Made cookies from scratch (Yes)
99. Won first prize in a costume contest (Yes)
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice (two years)
101. Gotten a tattoo (No)
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on (Yes)
103. Rafted the Snake River (No)
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert" (No)
105. Got flowers for no reason (Yes)
106. Masturbated in a public place (Yes)
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything (No)
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug (Chai should be illegal. Curse you Sarah!)
109. Performed on stage (Yes)
110. Been to Las Vegas (Yes)
111. Recorded music (Yes)
112. Eaten shark (Yes and I love it!)
113. Had a one-night-stand (Yes)
114. Gone to Thailand (No)
115. Seen Siouxsie live (I did I did! Houston! Saw her with Skinny Puppy and some others)
116. Bought a house (Yes)
117. Been in a combat zone (No)
118. Buried one/both of your parents (No)
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off (Yes)
120. Been on a cruise ship (No)
121. Spoken more than one language fluently (Yes)
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone (Yes)
123. Bounced a check (Yes)
124. Performed in Rocky Horror (used to every weekend for 2 years)
125. Read - and understood - your credit report (Yes)
126. Raised children (No)
127. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy (I'm trying)
128. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour (Sort of)
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars (I do it all the time)
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country (No)
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did (If it's true, yes)
132. Called or written your Congress person (Yes)
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (Yes)
134. ...more than once? (Yes)
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (No. Drove it though)
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking (Yes)
137. Had an abortion, or your female partner did (No)
138. Had plastic surgery (No)
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived (No )
140. Wrote articles for a publication (Yes)
141. Lost over 100 pounds (Yes)
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback (No)
143. Piloted an airplane (No)
144. Pet a stingray (Yes)
145. Broken someone's heart (Yes)
146. Helped an animal give birth (Yes)
147. Been fired or laid off from a job (Yes)
148. Won money on a T.V. game show (No)
149. Broken a bone (No)
150. Killed a human being (There are times... )
151. Gone on an African photo safari (No)
152. Ridden a motorcycle (Yes)
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of 100mph or faster (Yes)
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (No)
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol (Yes to all)
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild (Yes)
157. Ridden a horse (Yes)
158. Had major surgery (No)
159. Had sex on a moving train (Two years)
160. Had a snake as a pet (Yes and I miss him)
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (No)
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing (Yes)
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (No)
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states (No)
165. Visited all 7 continents (No)
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days (Yes)
67. Eaten kangaroo meat (No)
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground (Okay, who makes these crack-ass questions up?)
169. Been a sperm or egg donor (No)
170. Eaten sushi (I eat sushi almost weekly)
171. Had your picture in the newspaper (Yes, a few times)
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime (Yes)
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about (Yes)
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions (Yes)
175. Gone back to school (January)
176. Parasailed (Yes)
177. Changed your name (Sort of)
178. Pet a cockroach (Yes. A Large Hissing one)
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes (Yes and they are gooood)
180. Read The Iliad (Yes)
181. Selected one "important" author whom you missed in school, and read him/her: (Yes)
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them (well, not because we needed them)
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you (No)
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Yes)
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Yes)
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt (No)
187. Skipped all your school reunions (Yes)
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (No)
189. Been elected to public office (No)
190. Written your own computer language (No)
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream (Whatever)
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care (No)
193. Built your own PC from parts (Yes)
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you (Yes)
195. Had a booth at a street fair (Yes)
196: Dyed your hair (Lord yes)
197: Been a DJ (Yes)
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal (No)
199: Written your own role playing game (And still am)
200: Been arrested (No)

Josh!!!!!! I have to know your 106! I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

The panhandle continues to slowly lift its head from the aftermath and life goes on. Still no adjuster. I'm sure it will take some time considering the amount of damage done to all the businesses and homes. C'est la vie. When one chooses to live on the coast, one must accept nature's tantrums. The saddest part of "our" damage is the loss of my tree. The one I'd look at out our sliding glass doors and just drift. I'd looked forward to staring at it before school in jan uary when I start. I'm pondering planting another. I just don't know what it was.

Onto other subjects...

I'm more than a little irritated over John's birthday. I took into consideration that it took place only a few days after Ivan, but by now calls, cards or whatnot should have already made it to him expressing birthday joy and congratulations. He received absolutely nothing. We had a candlelight cake-munching/present-opening event on the actual day here in the slightly warm house and when businesses were open again we went for sushi and so John could get his birthday hashi. I'm a strong believer in celebrating the ones you care about on the day they were born. Frankly, birthdays are the most important holiday to me and it offends me when someone can't even pick up the damn phone or shoot off a lazy e-card. It just tells me that people are self-centered even moreso than expected and while it's fine to receive, giving is way too much of a hassle.

*topic switch*

The Sims 2 rocks. Beyond playing other characters, I'm engrossed in a "Save the Aliens" project. I'll let you know how it goes. Hmm maybe I should follow the example of a former friend and set up a separate blog for City of Heroes and Sims 2. I know Sims has its own blog so that would be easy. We'll see.

"Frank Herbert doesn't know the meaning of Dune, but at least Pensacola doesn't have giant worms" - A Post Ivan Blog

Music At The Moment and VERY loud: Kierra Sheard - "You Don't Know"

Okay, quick summary as I'm in no mood to blog and have too many other things to do. We're back obviously. We were without power for about a week. Cable came up a couple days later. Water is now drinkable.

Damage:
Fence pretty much gone.
Part siding/insulation on tallest eave of roof gone; tarped and awaiting repair.
Punctures in siding of house rear.
Exterior pane of storm window shattered. Interior intact. Thank you!
Trees, trees and more trees down.
Piles of debris prepared for the eternal cleaning.

We got away very lucky. Scenic highway is a once beautiful route along the bay reduced to something from a stage production in a local theatre...Houses look fine from the front for the most part, but lack insides or backs like prop scenery or painted scrims. It's rather surreal.

Music At The Moment: The Killers - "Somebody Told Me"

Thank You:
Bless you power workers from various states and Canada. You deserve that 1,000 dollars a day. Hell, I'd give you 5K a day if I were running it.
Neighbors for coming together for the most part. At least our immediate next doors and a couple others like the marine God two doors down with the big blue eyes, incredible smile and body by greek deities.
The Military for the comfort stations, ice, water, and yummy MREs. Those things are really good.
My dad and Uncle randy for bringing us food and water when we were running low. They'd been working non-stop on the beachevery day since they're the law, but they came to make sure we were good.
For our family and friends that helped us or checked on us: Heather for a place to stay during evac. Lisa and Sam for worrying about us. We miss you two so much! My northern italian blood for trying to constantly keep in touch with me to make sure we were all safe. I love yous guys! My Mom and Grandmother for weathering the storm and making despite deciding to stay. Grrr. Pete, Josh, Rita, Ron - You guys are real friends and I cherish you deeply. Thank you for having one face.
Kittums for being so wonderful on the evacuation trip. You really impressed me you behemoth.
The Bill/Credit Card companies for being understanding and bending over backward to help everyone in this area out.
My hubby for staying safe and loving me.


Fuck You:
Generator Mongers and their price-gouging asses.
Firestone on Davis Highway in front of the mall. Return day from evac - 175 dollars for a "car battery that was hard to get because even walmart was out of them." Went to walmart right after, they had 8 batteries for our car. I've already spoken to Firestone corporate and they'll be investigating for potential gouging and we might just sue.
Rude white trash that cuts in front of people in the very long comfort station lines.
Rude Rougenecks® (Those are the local vermin that are simply white trash with money) that feel they deserve power before other people or quicker service because their manure business took off and they swim in that green paper with those alien number things printed on the corners.
Julio for being such a little penis head on the evacuation trip. Why do you emulate everything else Kitty does except behave???
Ivan for ruining our trip to Seattle in which we could have: Visited Rita, gone to neat places, seen Scissor Sisters live and attended a Clive Barker book signing. Bitch storm.

Music At The Moment: Toby Lightman - "Devils & Angels"

Wow. I guess I did have some desire to blog. Maybe it's more of as trance-like state and just spills from my fingertips like those channelers spouting woes and demands from beyond the grave. Later.