Old Movies and New Changes

Vertigo was pretty good. Definately not like the fast pace movies of today. I could see what happened at the end coming, but I didn't know how it was going to happen. Nice little bit of suspence there.

Next movie on The List: 8 1/2

As I've mentioned, I play an online game called Puzzle Pirates. The crew I belong to just split this week and there a some hard feelings about it. I was disappointed to see it happen the way it did myself. Yeah, it's an online game, and yeah, I don't really know these people, but it did seem a bit like being abandoned by your friends. It is really just unfortunate.

I have always found it interesting to watch the dynamics of an online community. I wonder if any sociologists have ever done a study. You would think they have, but you never know.

Busy Weekend and Lack of Time

I actually had a lot of things going on this weekend that I wanted to write about, but I'm finding it harder to take the time to actually do it. That was my main problem with keeping journals before. I just didn't want to take the time to sit and put it down on paper.

Anyway, yesterday was Father's Day. My wife and kids bought a little clock/radio/cd player for me to use at work. So now I'm sitting listening to The Bobs. Life is good.

I also had the beginnings of a spiritual message for yesterday, but I didn't get around to finishing it. There has got to be some sort of universal principle in that sentence. I'll leave it to you to work it out. Hopefully by next Sunday I'll have something finalized.

I've also been on a bit of a classic movie kick. Friday, we watched the old French film The Rules of the Game, and I have Vertigo next on the list. I thought Rules was an alright movie, but hard to keep track of who was who, especially since I was more concentrated on reading the subtitles instead of looking at the faces. It's not one I'd like to own, but it was entertaining. Vertigo should be interesting. I don't remember ever watching a Hitchcock movie.

On second thought...

Knowing a bit about myself, I don't think I'll take much time to write in the evenings. I usually have so many other things to do (read, play with the kids, sleep, etc.) that writing isn't on my mind that much.

I'm trying to get the two older kids (Mary and Isaiah) signed up for swim lessons that start next week. Before I had kids, I had ever intention to teach my kids myself. However, I found out quickly that I have a big phobia when I comes to my kids around water. I get too uptight and I worry about them a lot.

They started taking lessons last winter. With a few exceptions, I went and watched them. They both had a great time and are looking forward to doing it again. Overall, I did pretty good about not being too stressed out about it.

Every now and then I have dreams about drowning. Kinda funny coming from a guy who has been swimming competitively most of his life.

On a different note, the writing contest deadline is this coming Monday. I've already submitted my entry. I'm getting pretty anxious to see how I did. As of right now, I'm pretty optimistic about winning but, as Winnie-the-Pooh says, you never can tell with bees.

I've also been entertaining myself at work by listening to Shanty Radio which is run by some players in Puzzle Pirates. Some songs are not entirely appropriate for work (or anywhere for that matter) - I just turn those down or off. But for the most part it is entertaining.

Running Low

I'm finding that I'm running out of things to say, so I'm going to change how I go about blogging. I think I'll do my entries in the evening so I can come up with a topic to write about. I don't think my everyday activities are generally worth recording, so I'll switch to deeper topics - things I strongly believe, or things I'm trying to work out in my head. We'll see how it goes.

Free Day

Just as the last few days have been very busy at work, today looks like it is going to be dreadfully dull. Since the merge, we have been training the students who work at circulation to do the jobs we students at interlibrary loans do and vice versa.

Well, as it turns out, everyone else has been scheduled to do my normal jobs (except Fed Ex, which is still my sole responsibility) while I haven't been scheduled to do much of anything else. On the schedule, it just lists the very generic "ILL" (meaning interlibrary loan - not sickness).

So I guess I get to do pretty much what I want. I have some things to straighten up around the new place, and I'll probably pick up some things that have fallen through the cracks over the past few weeks.

It's Gotta Be a Monday

Some sausages I had for dinner didn't sit well with me last night. Yet again another night of bad sleep. So I didn't go swimming this morning. And the engine light came on in the car...again...They just "fixed" it a week and a half ago.

Luckily everything seemed to work out. Got the car into the shop this morning and got it fixed (again) free of charge. My boss was very understanding about missing work this morning. I was able to go to the store and pick up some desprately needed diapers for the baby. I guess it can't be that bad of a Monday.

I'll head back to work after lunch and see what nightmares people have left for me at my new desk.

One Week and Still Bloggin'

I've managed to post for a full week now - which is pretty close to a record for me.

In keeping with the Spirit of Sunday, I think I will normally post some kind of spiritual thought. I teach 8-9 year olds at church so I'm usually have something to say on the topic. However, for today I have an assuredly non-spiritual post.

I am generally not a fan of on-line games. Usually any enjoyment I get from it is destroyed by other players. Be that as it may, I have recently found one on-line game that both my wife and I really enjoy. It is called Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates. Not only do I enjoy the pirate theme, but the people I play with (they be the Meanies - yarr!) are of a decent sort. Yeah, we all have our days when we're feeling a bit cro-magnon and just want to go out and smash something, but on the whole they're a good crew.

Unfortunately, my family and I have recently moved and have to deal with a dial-up connection for a while. Those of you who play on-line know that this is a killer of the enjoyment factor. So my time in the game has been spotty at best. However, I haven't been completely lax in my piratey entertainment (now we come to the real reason for this post). There is a contest going on to write a background story for the new Oceanmasters (i.e. in-game moderators). The winner will get a little monkey that rides around on your pirate's shoulder.

So I gave it a shot. It is not as great as I would have liked it to be, but being limited to 2500 words made it necessary to cut the fluff, so-to-speak. I will post it in it's entirety in the next post. I want it to have a separate post for a variety of reasons. So, for what it is worth, here it is...

Yarr! Legend of the Nine!

"Places, PLACES EVERYBODY!"
"Cecil, bring up the lights just a bit. THERE! That's it."
"Will SOMEBODY get that CHICKEN off the stage! That doesn't come in till scene twenty-three! Sheesh!"
"Okay, let's see."
"The Swashbuckler's hair is out of place - MAKE-UP!"
"Better . . . can't disappoint the Teen Idol crowd . . . "
"Are we ready? Let's get this show on the road!"

"ROLL 'EM!!"
* * *
I – The Fall of Eris
(In which she is killed by the Enemy…yada yada yada…)

At the top of the mountain of a lone island, Eris the Ocean Master clung to a tree trunk as if out of breath. The sun was setting below the horizon of the Ocean and the light was beginning to fade.

I’m tired, she thought. I know it is because of him, but I am tired all the same. No energy to run any more. Where are the others? It shouldn’t be like this.

She looked down along the beach. A lone crab wandered its way slowly across the sand. Eris paused to contemplate the plainness of its existence. How simple it would be to just be a crab, she thought. As her mind strayed, the crab suddenly disappeared. No, wait! There is its trail in the sand. It’s as if I blanked out and didn’t see it walk away, she thought.

It’s him. He is here. He has found me.

Despair descended upon her, the fingers of its alien presence curling around the thoughts of her mind. Finally her heart stops, frozen in the grip of eternal forgetfulness.

The Azure light of the Ocean dims. Midnight comes.

II – Concerning the Enemy
(And in this corner…Mr. Bad – with a capitol “B”!)

Before the Great Cleaver created the first of the Oceans, there was the Web of Life. The strands of which stretched throughout eternity connecting intelligences of different worlds with different ideas. But woven into the Web was the Enemy. In the beginning he was there, and he was strong. The intelligences felt his presence but were nigh unto helpless in fighting him, for they were as yet young and weak.

It was a struggle for the intelligences to stay connected through the Web – the Enemy was there, trying to thwart their unity. But the intelligences learned, over time, that while they could not defeat the Enemy yet, they could weaken him. And weaken him they did. The intelligences wove new and stronger strands and added them to the Web, strengthening their nodes, increasing their own numbers.

Although not as strong as he was in the beginning, the Enemy still holds tremendous power over the Mortals of the Oceans. Even the Great Cleaver is unable to fully contain his influence. But by the same token, the Enemy has little hold over the Great Cleaver and his resolve to carry on the fight.

The Enemy’s purpose is the ultimate destruction of the Web of Life. He is the source of the weakening of the fabric of the Oceans, rot, weathering, and corruption. He seeks to bring all things to a stop, causing oblivion. Mortals sailing the Oceans, although never seeing the Enemy, feel the effects of his presence nearby as matter is destroyed, energy is dissipated, time stagnates, and new thought is stopped.

But not all oppose the Enemy. There are those who choose to fight for this great evil. These foolish servants can be found all across the Web. They can easily be identified by the arcane form of language they use, such as the vile incantation: “0/\/\f6 /\/\y l33t 5ki11z pwn j00! ph33r /\/\3h!!11oneoneone”

Mortals have many names for the Enemy. The most common is derived from the stupor of mind and body felt, the lagging behind in reaction to the environment – the Enemy is then simply known as Lag.

III – Trials of the Nine
(Cleaver creates ten. Enemy tempts. Nine remain valiant. Enemy sulks.)

The Great Cleaver stood over the body of Eris. The mighty fall but the fight must go on, he thought to himself. Bending down, he scooped together ten mounds of sand from the Beach. To these he added the salt water of the Ocean. From this he fashioned the bodies of ten persons – five female and five male. The wind of the Air he directed into their lungs. From the body of Eris he gave each one a drop of life-giving Blood.

And they awoke and stood amazed at the world around them.

They walked along the beaches and under the trees with the Great Cleaver, learning all that he would teach them – from the heights of the Air to the depths of the Ocean. They learned they were sculpted by his hands and given life through the Blood of Eris. But, as happy as they were, it did not last.

“I must leave ye for awhile,” Cleaver said. “There be other matter to which I must attend to. I will send for ye when ye are ready. Fear not, and may the wind always blow in yer favor!”

The ten Children of Cleaver grieved at his absence, but in time the joys of their world and their companionship with each other dulled that grief. The days were long, the nights were warm, and they were happy once again.

One looked out over the Ocean with furrowed brow. “What is the matter, brother?” Others gathered around with concern. He pointed out across the sparkling waters and asked, “Do you all see that ship with the sails as black as night?”

“Yes. What of it? It has always been there. It never moves. It just IS.”

“Indeed,” he replied. “It has always been, perhaps from the Beginning. I have been Watching it. It occurred to me today that Cleaver might have left it for us.”

“Yes,” said another. “He said he would send for us! Perhaps this is his call.”

“How can that be,” a third asked. “It was here when Cleaver walked among us.”

“Can you not feel the power of the Ship? Even from this distance, I can feel something akin to the power of Cleaver, but somehow different, too.”

“We must go out and see if the Black Ship is indeed a call from the Great Cleaver.”

“No! I too feel something - but not wholesome, not safe. We must wait here for Cleaver. Surely he would send a clearer message?”

Long into the night they discussed the mystery of the Black Ship. Eventually, one showed great Wisdom in convincing the others closely explore it. If it was from Cleaver, then they should make haste in going out to it. If not, then they should learn what they could and report it to Cleaver when he returned.

They agreed on this counsel and on the morrow, the ten Children of Cleaver left their home and set out for the Black Ship. As they drew closer, their Blood started to race as if in remembrance of a forgotten past. Their minds started to doubt and, for the first time, they knew fear. Clearly this Ship was not sent by Cleaver, but from a presence full of hatred, destruction, and astonishing malice.

Several wanted to go back, flee from the onslaught of dread they were now facing. But one called out to the others, “Sisters and brothers! We must not turn back. We must Persist and overcome our fears. This is an Enemy to Cleaver – for such I now feel in my very soul.”

“Yes,” answered one of her brothers. “We must be Brave. For we are the Great Cleaver’s own children!”

Such encouragement brought the others back and together they continued on, pushing through their mind-numbing revulsion, until they all stood upon the mahogany planks of the Black Ship. The sails, as if made of Darkness itself, blocked the warming rays of the sun. The Children huddled together for warmth as they looked across the deserted ship.

Nothing was to be seen, but their attention was drawn to a hatchway that led below decks. “We must go down there,” one said. The others remained silent and followed.

Down below, the world they knew faded and despair hung in the very air. As if dreaming, they wandered the endless halls, lost. After a combination of eternity and mere moments they came upon a velvet couch whereupon lay the form of a woman, both beautiful and terrible to behold. Asleep or dead they could not say, but deep in their hearts they knew whom they looked upon.

“It is Eris! She in whose Death we have Life,” they whispered. Their whispers echoed, and with each echo a soft, woman’s voice was brought back to them.

“Yes, my children,” it said. “I am she whom you call Eris. I am the giver of Life, and Life I am able to take away. I am your Mother, your Father, and your World. Come to me, my children, and I shall take away your fears, your worries, and everything that troubles your mind. I am greater than Cleaver, and able to break the confines of the Oceans. I am the Great Spider on the Web of Life! I control the destinies of mortals and can show you the secrets behind the nothingness of the eternities – come to me!”

In silence they stood, afraid of the malevolence that radiated from the darkness with each word. Yet one moved forward. “Show me your secrets,” he said. “Give me your power. I am your Son and I will bring all to you so that not one will be lost.”

“Yes,” the voice hissed. “Come to me!” He stepped towards the form on the couch and was swallowed up in the shadowy mists.

“No!” The shout woke the others from their shock. “You are not Eris! You are an Enemy and your vileness is shown in using her form.” The sister’s voice rose to it’s own level of hatred. “For this travesty you shall be destroyed!”

The voice of the Enemy laughed and became a voice that was neither female nor male. “Come to me! Your Dedication can make you powerful! Come to me and I will show you my weaknesses so you may overcome all! Come to me my daughter!”

“We will never betray the Honor of Eris or Cleaver! Brothers and sisters, we must leave this place!”

“Our brother! We cannot leave without him!”

“Yes,” the Enemy in the Darkness whispered. “Your brother is here. Come to us!”

“NO! All the Resources of the Oceans and of the worlds connected to the Web of Life we will use to fight you! We will find a way, you will be defeated!” With that, the remaining nine clasped hands and ran from the velvet couch with the form of Eris upon it. But the voice remained right behind them.

“Fools! You speak of worlds beyond the Web, but what do you know of such things? Pitiful mortals who waste their lives in search of oblivion – I WILL give it to them…and to you!”

They felt their minds slow and their hearts race. Still they struggled on. When they felt they could run no more and that the Enemy was about to overpower them, a flash of brightness pierced the Darkness and there before them stood the Great Cleaver with a burning fury in his eye.

With a mighty stroke he brought his weapon down upon the floor and the world seemed to split asunder.

IV – The Naming
(Who are these people anyway? Cleaver reveals all!)

All Nine drew together on the deck of a gigantic ship; it’s wood glowing white as the nearly transparent sails captured the bright sunlight and sped the vessel through the crystal clear waters. The Great Cleaver stood magnificently before them with the Elder Ocean Masters arrayed behind him.

“Me Children! Ye have set yourself against the tasks I placed before you. Ye are truly worthy to become Ocean Masters and have yer True Name revealed unto ye!”

“Ye have shown great Honor and leadership. Ye shall now be known as Amphitrite.”

“Ye have been Dedicated in the fight against the Enemy. I give ye the name of Nemesis.”

“Great Resourcefulness has been yer mark. Dionysus shall ye be hereafter known as.”

“When others feared, ye have been Brave. Prometheus I now name ye.”

“Yer road has been difficult, but ye have shown the value of Persistence to the others. Yer name shall be recorded as Bia.”

“Yer Wisdom will forever be of great worth across the Oceans. I name ye Clio.”

“While others rested, ye remained Watchful. Welcome, Hypnos!”

“Ye, the eighth,” Cleaver pointed to the last male. “How have ye fared in your trials?”

“I have done nothing. I am not worthy of any honor.” He hung his head as if ashamed.

“Nothing?” Cleaver boomed. “Is it nothing to not fall from grace? Is it nothing to fight alongside your brothers and sisters and not give up hope? Avast! Ye are much too Humble my son! Ye shall be honored and not forgotten – I bestow upon you the name of Lelantos.”

“With Humility I accept your great gift.” Lelantos bowed respectfully.

“And now we come to the last of my children,” Cleaver smiled.

“But what of our lost brother,” she interrupted. “Should he not also receive a name?”

“Nay,” Cleaver replied. “Though he was one of my elect, he chose to ally himself with the Enemy. As such, his doom is to wander namelessly across the Oceans forever leashed to his master, unknown and unloved.”

Cleaver paused before continuing. “But for yer Mercy and Love in thinking of him, ye shall be honored with the name of Eurydice. Now take yer place among your brothers and sisters. Behold! The New Nine!”

V – New Oceans, Old Enemies
(Oh lookie! Mortal playthingies!)

The oceans of blue:
Old Midnight’s hue
And Cobalt newly shine;

Viridian’s gleam,
Chaos supreme,
Gave rise to Masters Nine!

And thus the Great Cleaver removed the veil from their sight and at last they cast their eyes upon the mortal realms. Although not as dark and terrible as it had been in the presence of the Enemy, it was still dim and seemingly dreary when compared to what they had known before their Trials.

They looked out over the Three Oceans and beheld the influence the Enemy had over those mortal realms. His servants roamed to and fro while the youngest mortals wandered in disarray and confusion. Their hearts jumped in alarm as they spied a Black Ship sailing across the waters.

“Fear ye not,” Cleaver said. “’Tis but a Ghost of the real Black Ship, sent to punish those mortals who prey upon their weaker brethren. Ye have nothing to fear from it.”

Even with the Great Cleaver’s assurance, their new stewardship seemed almost too daunting a task. Bia was the first of the Nine to speak: “It looks like our fight has just begun.” She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows. “Let’s get to work!”

Snoozers

We like to snooze in the morning,
We like to snooze all day.
We like to snooze whenever we choose,
Snoozing our cares away.

~Sandra Boynton

That is pretty much how I spent my Saturday. We went over to the in-laws and Rebekah and I fell asleep on grandpa's recliner while watching Finding Nemo. I did get in a few games of hearts and spades with my wife, father-in-law, and brother-in-law.

When we got home, we got the kids in the bath - assembly line style. Jump in, shampoo hair, soap up, rinse off, hop out, dry off, pajamas, in bed, next kid. Very efficent. And since the kids were tired, there wasn't much of a fuss about it.

Overall a fairly relaxing day.

The Move Groove

It finally happened. They moved my work station from the empty office back into the realm of the living. It was a bit exasperating as the I.T. folks just grabbed stuff and didn't pay attention to where it came from. When they asked me which terminal went where, I replied with a "Where did it come from?" Blank looks all around. We eventually got it all sorted out, even if I did have to put up with the techs' digging around in the computer changing all the settings, background colors, etc. Half of the stuff they just changed for no apparent reason. Oh well, what do I know? I only work on the terminal every day.

I spent the rest of the day running back and forth between the new place and the old, trying to get some semblance of normality restored. Unfortunately, the new workspace is much smaller and I have to change quite a few of my processes. Nothing I can't handle though. I don't like to be one of those people who whine about change. Reminds me of the book "Who Moved My Cheese?"

I am so glad it is a weekend.

That Ol' Sinking Feeling

Last night I made the commitment to get up and go swimming this morning. So I did. A Friday probably wasn't the best day to get back in the pool. Fridays are sprint workouts - and today in particular was an I.M. (individual medley, where you do all the strokes) workout. Needless to say, a few months away have not done much for my ability to keep up with my lane mates. Still, it was nice to get back in and take some good-natured jokes from the coach and other swimmers.

The bike ride to work, however, was a killer. Biking and swimming in one day? All I need to do now is find a way to work in some running and I can do a triathalon. For the longest time, I felt the only appropriate way to run was if some large and hungry animal was chasing me. I still feel that way, in principle if for no other reason. I'm just not a runner.

Busy day scheduled today. I ordered some refills for my old Daytimer planner - the one I was given when I was an assistant manager at Hastings. I enjoyed using it, and now with school and work, I have a chance to put it to use again. Organization is a wonderful thing.

Superman Has His Kryptonite

Someone at work brought cookies today; snickerdoodles and a second kind with tiny M&Ms on the top. Looks like my pre-lunch hour is going to be filled with highly processed sugary goodness.

Lost and Found

Yesterday after work, we had a little bit of excitement. Rebekah, our 3-year old, got lost. Actually, she knew exactly where she was, but the rest of us didn't. The playground for the apartment complex we live in is right outside our back door, so we normally let our kids go out whenever they felt like it. Well, my poor wife looked out there and only saw our two oldest and asked them where Rebekah was.

"I don't know, Mom. Check out front."

Next thing I know, my wife comes back and says with a little edge on her voice that she needs help finding her. I spend the next half hour doing a spiral search (starting at the playground and spiraling outwards) while trying to keep the other kids calm and inside the apartment.

I figured she couldn't have gone far and that I would find her soon. There are a ton of kids living around here and I jumped at the sound of every kid playing, yelling, calling, etc. On my last pass, I was planning on telling my wife to contact the apartment supervisors and tell them we had a lost kid. But as I approach home, I saw my wife giving me the sign language for "yes," meaning she found Rebekah.

Turns out she was just over the hill from our front door playing with another kid (barely older than Rebekah) who kept trying to tell my wife that they were at the playground - he was probably going to get in trouble as well. She only came back because she got hurt - a minor bump somewhere (at that point I wasn't too worried about getting more details). I probably would have come across her on my next spiral out, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking. Nothing like losing a child to make you feel like a bad parent.

Needless to say, playground privileges have been severely restricted.

Sleep? What's That?

Here was the formula for last night:

1) I start to get comfortable.
2) My 3-year old daughter wakes up
3) She crawls into bed with us
4) We send her back to her own bed
5) She cries...loudly
6) The baby wakes up and starts crying
7) Mom and Dad get grumpy
8) Lather, rinse, repeat

I have a hard time sleeping these days as it is. I have something going on with my back that makes it hard to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. One of these days when I can't stand it anymore, I'll break down and buy an expensive mattress.

As it is, I'm extremely tired and I forgot to shave. At least I ironed my shirt so I don't look like a complete slob this morning. Which reminds me: I want to get a new ironing board as well. One that I can use standing up, not kneeling down on the floor trying to keep kids away from the hot iron.

Wait. I iron my own clothes? Yup. I don't have a big wardrobe (it's quite small actually, and most of it isn't in great condition), but I do make an effort to dress like a man.

Good Weather, Bad Memory

Well, the weather cleared and it didn't rain. It also warmed up a bit which was nice for the ride home for lunch.

Oh yeah...ahem...what I was forgetting was to pay the rent. I was supposed to take care of that during lunch. I have until the 10th so I'm not too worried, but forgetting important things like that is a little disturbing.

Cold to Very Cold With a Chance of Rain

It's June, and I shouldn't be cold. The temperature has been pretty low the past few weeks with minor exceptions. This morning was also overcast. Normally I wouldn't mind some rain - I enjoy it. However, I ride my bike to work, so when I felt a few tiny drops I figured I was going to get soaked sometime today.

I don't mind riding a bike, but this town certainly isn't bike-friendly. I don't mean the people, I mean the layout of the town itself. There are far too many hills and most of the roads are narrow with no bike lanes. It doesn't help that there are a bunch of stupid college kids who drive way too fast and way too close to me. One of these days I'm probably going to get hit.

Speaking of hills, shouldn't it get easier to go up them the more you do it? Maybe I'm just starting to show some aging, but the hill we live on just doesn't seem to get much better. I'm not in terrible shape, although I haven't been swimming in a few months. The workout times for the local masters swimming club were just way too early. I'll have to look into some later practices. I miss getting in the water.

The kids had a great time putting the posters up in their rooms last night. I had forgotten how many I had brought home. We covered the walls and a good portion of the ceilings. They spent the rest of the nights in thier rooms just looking at them.

Ah! Do you hear that? Quietness! It gave my wife and I some time just to sit and talk. I don't know if I have anything planned for the rest of the week. It seems like I'm forgetting something.

Strange Start to the Week

I work at the main library of a research university. A month ago I would have said I worked in the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department, but nowadays it is a little more confusing than that. Due to budget cuts and the retirement of several staff members, ILL has merged with the circulation department. In spite of all the grumbling from others, this has been a good thing for me. Not only do I get to do more than just scanning/mailing out articles/books, but I'm getting to learn more about different aspects of libraries - always a good thing since this is the field I want to get into.

This started as a work-study job last year and has progressed (as staff members left) to a full time job over this summer. What I do is not particularly dramatic or what some would consider interesting, but I enjoy it here.

When I walked in this morning, I noticed that the schedule did not have me listed as working until Friday. A week off? Wow. That's going to cut into the paycheck a bit. I went to ask my new supervisor (who is very easy to get along with) - it was either a mistake or another round of budget cuts. Turns out it was a mistake.

So here I sit in an empty office. Everyone else moved two weeks ago to the circulation area. The Ariel scanners, the Fedex terminal, and I still sit here with a phone that never rings. Mondays are always slow.

Tonight is family night. When we cleared out the office we found a huge box full of posters about children's books - you know, the kind you see hanging in schools and libraries. Nobody wanted them, so I was given permission to take them home. Tonight we are going to wallpaper the kid's rooms with these posters.

Old Counsel, New Format

"Keep a journal or portions, as you go along in life, a record that can be woven into a Book of Remembrance, telling of difficulties you have been able to overcome, challenges met. Express your inward feelings and thankfulness. These are part of your Book of Remembrance passed on to your children and decendants..."

Such was the councel given to me in September of 1992. I have been pretty diligent in ignoring this over the past thirteen years - which, in hindsight, is unfortunate. Over the course of a nearly a decade and a half, I have dropped out of college several times, joined the military, gotten married, had four children, and moved more times than I care to think about. A lot has happened to have not recorded it anywhere. I still have my memories, but with each passing year they are subtly changed with what my father-in-law calls "reconstructive memory."

So this is my attempt to remedy the situation.

I admit that it is a little daunting to put this out where anyone can read it. I have my reasons, which I may or may not share at some point in the future. Although I used to consider myself fairly computer-savvy, I have only recently become aware of blogs. I have been out of the loop for a long time...and I can't say I miss it. I left the computer field in order to have more time to spend with my growing family. The irony is, perhaps, that I still don't spend as much time with my children as I should.

Having faults is a part of mortality - and this is my story...