Blogthings...

Buck over in Portales clued me in to this little quiz:

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is medium. In general, you prefer to have only one love interest. But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long! There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering. Experience Level: Your experience level is high. You've loved, lost, and loved again. You have had a wide range of love experiences. And when the real thing comes along, you know it! Dominance: Your dominance is low. This doesn't mean you're a doormat, just balanced. You know a relationship is not about getting your way. And you love to give your sweetie a lot of freedom. Cynicism: Your cynicism is medium. You'd like to believe in true and everlasting love... But you've definitely been burned enough to know better. You're still an optimist, but you also are a realist. Independence: Your independence is high. You don't need to be in love, and sometimes you don't even want love. Having your own life is very important for you... Even more important than having a relationship.

The Five Variable Love Test

Most of the time, these things peg me pretty will, but this one is way off the mark. I think the problem may have been that it was a multiple choice quiz, and too many of the answers didn't have the option I would have chosen. Neither did they have a None of The Above option.

I'd say my propensity for monogamy is pretty high, since I believe in one man and one woman for life. Didn't work out that way in my own life, but that's what I get for marrying just because I was pregnant.

I wouldn't say I have a whole lot of experience either. I've only had two relationships in my life that lasted longer than 4-6 weeks. The LONGEST one was only 16 months. Well, maybe that is the kind of experience they are talking about, but I think experience at making relationships work counts for more.

My dominance and cynicism ratings are not entirely accurate either, but they got the independence one right on the mark.

While we are on the subject of love, why does everyone assume a single woman is pathetic, desperate for a man, and does nothing but sit at home crying over her situation? I certainly don't do that. My co-worker Susan seems determined to get me married off. Just last week, she was trying to fix me up with a guy from the front office. I told her he was married and too young for me besides, but she wouldn't listen. Then a couple of days ago, she came over and said, "I've got bad news for you. He's married." She was more disappointed than I was. The guy is a cutie-pie, but just not what I would look for in a man.

Anyway, she was telling me I should go hang out in some bar--I forget the name of it--and maybe I could meet someone there. "Even if you don't meet anyone, it still beats sitting at home crying."

HUH?

So why does she assume I am sitting at home crying? Maybe that's what she would do, but I don't need a man in my life to feel complete.

Heck, my life is so complete, I don't know where I'd fit a man into it if I did meet one.

Sheesh...

Dizzying Heights

Some of you may remember, she went back to India for a while earlier in the year. It was supposed to be a one way trip, but somehow she ended up back here. Last night, we got the scoop. Alex told me what she told him. I'm not sure if I believe it, because the whole story doesn't sound right to me. Anyway, apparently what happened was that her father had arranged a marriage for her and had sent her back to India to marry the guy. When she got there, she decided she didn't want to marry him, so she broke his arm and came back to the States. Boy, aren't you glad you don't live in India? Here, the girls just tell you no. There, they break your arm.

Hurricane Season 2006

Yesterday evening, as I was taking taking the laundry off the line, I noticed the wind had a strange feel to it. I remember thinking, "This feels just like the wind at the beach." Not the beach of our local lake, mind you, but the beach of the Gulf of Mexico.

I came inside to check the weather, and realized that it WAS wind from the Gulf of Mexico. It was tropical storm Alberto, which made landfall in Florida sometime last night. He didn't come close enough to us for any real storm activity. Just a little bit windier than usual.


He was the first named storm of 2006. There will be more. Lots more.

And so it begins...

Eggsactly!

A dragon's egg. One of ten more fun projects in the back of Drawing for Dummies. If I weren't such a perfectionist, I'd be satisfied with this one.

One of my pet peeves--when people type a word in an e-mail or post then put (sp?) behind it. What is that supposed to mean? Yeah, I know it means they aren't sure of the spelling of the word, but what does it really mean? I mean come on people! That's what the flippin' SPELL CHECK button is for! If you aren't sure of how to spell a word, USE SPELL CHECK, for Pete's sake!!!

Scarlett had kept her second solid meal down for 48 hours now...Hopefully, I'll have the little one back on track soon.

Baby Bird

Cody was out in the yard this evening and found this little bird on the ground. He thought there was soemthing wrong with it, so he came and got me. It is a baby robin that must have fallen out of its nest or something. We couldn't find said nest, but felt it would be safer in a tree than on the ground. So we put it here, and snapped a couple of shots, and hoped it would be ok. Since he is fledged out already, maybe he can make it back to his nest.

Meanwhile, mama robin hovered anxiously...

Scarlett has kept her pinky head down for 26 hours now. We may be out of the woods with her. But the tricky part starts with her next feeding. I'm going to increase the size of her meals. I'll give her a head and shoulder section for a few weeks.

Don't worry, though. The mice are pre-killed. There's no way I'd be so cruel as to cut a live mouse in half!

Worm Tracks

I don't know what this thing is, but it kind of reminds me of the critters Kahn put into Chekov's ear in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn.

Gonna give Scarlett her second pinky head in a few minutes.

Slider ate his mouse last night, but I've got to figure out a way to get him eating rats. I need to switch Monty to rats as well. Mice won't be enough nutrition for an adult ball python.

I have another drawing in the works from the back of Drawing for Dummies. I skipped the chapters on drawing people and went to the chapter about 10 more fun projects. I started the dragon's egg. And as always, I'll post it when it's done.

For Sale

One gently used copy of Drawing For The Absolute and Utter Beginner, by Claire Watson Garcia.

$7.00 plus shipping.

Snakey News

So it may look like Onyx is trying to eat his tree, but he's not. He was trying to get his shed started, which he eventually did.

Speaking of sheds, Slider shed last night. I completely missed his blue stage, but then he's pretty reclusive anyway. That may be why he refused his mouse last week. I'll try to feed him again this weekend.

Speaking of feeding, Scarlett left me a big, smelly poop in her tank this morning. She completely digested the pinky head I gave her. I'm going to feed her another one Saturday. If she holds it down, I'll slowly work her back up to whole pinkies. I'm going to take things really slow with her, because I don't want to get her started regurging again.

Interesting developments at the dojo...Sensei talked with James and me tonight and said that when school starts back up, he's going to quit his regular job and have the dojo open 5 days a week. He wants to have an after school program for the kids. They'll have a snack, homework time complete with tutors, and a 45 or so minute karate program. Then he asked us if we would be interested in a position as paid instructors for the karate part of it. It would be minimum wage, and he hasn't worked out the details. I told him I would consider it.

One thing I don't understand, though. He said he doesn't even make enough from the dojo to cover the rent and utilities. Now he's going to expect it to support itself and his family, and maybe rent the building next to the dojo...I hope he knows what he's doing.

Here It Is

The finished drawing.

What I find frustrating about drawing in graphite is that I can't seem to get my dark parts as dark as I'd like them. This is due to the nature of graphite, in that it gets shiny. The more graphite that is layered onto the paper, the shinier it gets. Then when I try to scan a graphite drawing, the shiny parts reflect the light, making the whole drawing appear much lighter than it is in person.

I had another nightmare about my shodan test. This time I was trying to do Tokumine bo kata. When I bowed in and started the kata, I missed the bo with my left hand. As I fumbled around trying to get ahold of it, I realized that the bo I was using was broken. I did the entire kata with one half of a broken bo!

Sigh...I'll be glad when it's over and done with.

Bits and Pieces

A drawing in progress. It is a dog's eye from the beginner lessons at Drawspace. Frankly, DAUB just isn't cutting it. So I went back to Drawspace and have started doing some lessons from the website. This is the same person who wrote Drawing for Dummies, and the lessons are really fun. It's good to be drawing again. I'll be sure and post the finished product when it gets done.

Scarlett has managed to keep her meal down for 48+ hours now. This is good. She still hasn't pooped yet, but I'm hopeful she will sometime tonight. Either she hasn't or I haven't found it. I'll try feeding her again Saturday. It'll be another head, and if she keeps that one down, I'll very slowly work her back up to full sized meals.

I don't know what Larry Dreher said to sensei, but he lit a fire under him. Ever since sensei talked to Mr. Dreher last week, he's actually been PREPARING James and me for the test. He's been letting us do sai basics while the rest of the class does upper body basics. Tonight after basics, he divided the class up into groups to do punching/blocking drills, and worked on two-man basics and kusanku bunkai with us. After class, he taught us bo/bo kumite. That's a really fun thing. I'll have to teach it to Cody so we can work on it at home.

Pine Trees

One wonders how to capture the majestic beauty of these magnificent trees.

Little Surprises

I've been missing my walk for the last couple of weeks because of injuries, illness, and inclement weather. Still, even though I walk the same route every day, I always seem to discover something new. Today it was these wild Black Eyed Susans. Just a few of them growing out in the middle of an empty field. A bright spot of color in the midst of drab browns and grays.

In other news...I gave Scarlett her first solid food in a month this evening. Just a pinky head rolled in Nutribac. Let's hope she'll keep it down, or it's back to liquid feedings.

Yes, ANOTHER Hobby

Spinning yarn. I learned to spin on a drop spindle a few years ago. There is nothing like giving a gift that you knitted from yarn you spun and dyed yourself. This yarn will probably end up being knit into a lacy shawl. I've got several other colors, some already spun, some waiting to be spun. It is my dream to one day have a traditional spinning wheel. But for now, the home made drop spindles will have to do.

The good news is this guy:

finally ate! It was his first meal since March 24. I've heard that a healthy snake can go up to a year without eating and not suffer any detrimental effects. Most can certainly go a few months without eating and not have any problems. However, when you have one that's been off his feed, it is such a relief when they start eating again.

Wow...

I've always known that I am not pretty. Jessica Simpson, Julia Roberts, Brittney Spears and the like have nothing to fear from me.

In the old days, I would have been referred to as plain or even homely.

I don't keep a lot of mirrors in my house. If I can avoid seeing myself, I can avoid thinking about it.

I was in Wal-mart doing my weekly grocery shopping. Cody had written something on my list called CleanSafe. I had no idea what CleanSafe was, but I assumed it was some kind of household cleaner. I was wandering down the household cleaner aisle minding my own business, looking for whatever CleanSafe was. There was a little girl chattering away to her mother. When she saw me, she stopped talking and her eyes went wide.

In a completely awestruck voice, she said,

"Wow, that's an ugly girl!"

Update

Well, we've got things all settled now. The test will definitely be July 15. Sensei said he talked to Mr Dreher (who is like the head of the board) himself and Mr Dreher stated that this date is set in concrete.

James finally told his parents. I told him about it Tuesday night, and when I asked him what his parents had said, he replied that he didn't tell them. So when he left class, I walked out to his mom's car and made sure he told her. She seemed a bit aggravated about it, too. All she said, though, was, "You'd better tell your daddy." John (his dad) called up to the dojo later and talked to sensei about it, and he decided that James' black belt test was more important than their vacation, so has changed their plans.

Carole has gotten her flight date changed--had to pay a small fee, but didn't lose the total cost of the tickets. She'll definitely be here. Linde on the Isshinryu Women Group is talking about coming as well and having a mini seminar that weekend. Sounds good to me. If she does that, we'll probably go into Greenville on Friday and stay in a hotel.

I did manage to get lucky and get my vacation for that weekend approved. And I mean REALLY lucky. That Friday was already full, but then someone else cancelled his day and I was able to get one. I had told Mr Tedder that I didn't know if I would be able to get that day off, and he said, "Why??? What's the problem? It's 6 weeks away, you should be able to get it approved by then." He just doesn't understand how fast those summer weekends fill up.

And it will give my pulled muscle more time to heal...

So there is a bright side to everything.

Now, from bits of conversation I'm slowly remembering, we weren't the only ones who thought the test was going to be June 17. Kevin, the young man from Mr. Christensen's dojo was expecting to test in June. Mrs. Wanker (yes that really is her name), the lady going for her ni-dan was talking about "the 17th". I find it hard to believe that 6 different people in three different dojos could have all gotten the date wrong. I think Mr. W wanted to change it because of the seminar being rescheduled, but just didn't want to admit that is why he did it.

But it's all moot now because the test WILL BE July 15th.