Oooo?

Hey, I think everyone on my flist is over 18!

And you guys know I hate politics, and don't like talking about them on my livejournal, but still.

Anyway, go vote tomorrow. Vote for Obama, vote for McCain, vote for whoever you want to win. Go to Starbucks, tell them you voted, get a free cup of coffee. Quit being crabby about the people you don't like, because being a brat just because your guy didn't win is unfair.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blah, already in progress.

The clam chowder from last night did wonders to improve my mood, as did the fact that the sun came out today. It's nice outside...not terribly warm, not terribly cool, just...a nice fall day. (yes, I know, technically it's still summer...)

I called someone yesterday to ask about getting that sweetgum tree in our yard removed, because Lance said it was in trouble. The tree guy called me back half an hour later and said he'd charge $325 for it and he'd also trim the maple on the other side of our sidewalk to get the branches off our roof. (SCORE! no more squirrels in the attic!) He said he'd come by within the next few days to take care of it.

When I got home this afternoon, it was GONE. Well, not GONE, it was sitting in a bunch of rotting three-foot sections in our yard, but the tree is definitely no longer standing. I will tell all my friends about him if they live in town and need a tree removed.

Also, talked to my mother this evening...she's helping me learn to sew. I told her I found a pretty fabric that I wanted to try making a dress out of, but I couldn't identify what kind of fabric it was other than it was shiny. She thinks I'm kidding. I'm not.

Mommy: I'm just going to wash your cup real quick, so you can have cold water in it. Okay?
Adrian: It won't work.

then later...

Adrian: (nonsense babbling)
Mommy: Yeah, I know! What are we talking about?
(pause)
Adrian: I don't know.

One of the news chopper pilots in town was cruising the skies last night looking for storms. Because NOTHING says "job devotion" like tooling through the unfriendly skies in high wind in a helicopter.

A number of things crossed my mind at that point:
1. The scene in Forrest Gump when they're out on the boat in a storm and Lt. Dan is clinging to the mast screaming, "YOU CALL THIS A STORM? YOU'LL NEVER SINK THIS SHIP! AHAHAHAHA!"
2. The e-mails that circulate periodically claiming a list of "famous last words", one of which is from a Civil War General, whose last words were allegedly, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist--!"
3. The Real Men of Genius beer commercials.

He needs one of his own RMOG commercials. We can call him Mr. Crazy Helicopter Pilot.

Was cleaning the parlor today (well, sort of...I was looking for my sunglasses) and found a copy of The Perspective, which is the publication my alma mater sends to alumni and, I assume, supporters. It was about a year old. In the back is the breakdown by class year of who did what, who had kids, who got married, who died, etc. I decided to have a look at my class year, which was 2003.

David Garbarino, class of 2003, was listed under the "In Memoriam" section.

Garbarino...I remember that name...

Dave Garbarino was one of the people in our class that was past stereotypical college age. He was thirty-something, had kids, had a wife...nice guy, Dave. Friendly and funny and whatnot. He's probably the only reason I passed the class I so lovingly refer to as "Architorture", because it was just that painful and my homework and lab partner was just that...uh, uncommitted.

And he died in December of 2005. He was actually the first of three of my friends to pass on that month.

I am really, really learning to hate winter.

who decided that Super Tuesday and Fat Tuesday should be THE SAME TUESDAY?

gah. whatever, people.

moar funny pictures

Leaving tomorrow. Train leaves just before 0630 so we have to be at the station dark and early.

Meh, it'll be interesting to watch the sunrise from a train.

Saw National Treasure, it was good. Just a note, though...if you go see it with someone who has a master's degree in history, don't try to debate any points with him. You'll lose.

Must call Mom later and ask her if she ever got the tea I tried to send her. I never heard anything about it being shipped....

so today, I'm going to see how long I can make it without sugar. After my orange juice, that is. It might not be very long. And I'm slightly cheating...I'm going to go pick up some Splenda for the day and the next time I decide to pull this little stunt.

We planted a tree in Ian's memory in Cody Park on Friday. Pictures are here. It went well--the tree is just off of the playground, and the other nearby trees are all getting removed this winter, so it's kind of going to stand out for a while. If any of my coworkers read this (yes, I'm looking at YOU), I can't say thank you enough for helping to pay for this.

Mom and Dad made it back from Colorado without problems...Jalane is doing okay, or at least as okay as can be expected. Matt's obituary was in Sunday's paper (the Grand Junction Sentinel, specifically).

They got home last night...and their cat could barely move. That poor cat hasn't been doing well for a while, so they finally decided to have her put to sleep. It's probably for the best, but it still bites. She was really a stray cat that kind of moved in under our porch one summer, and caught all kinds of mice/birds/squirrels/etc. and left them for us as gifts. She stayed in our garage that winter...until it got horribly, horribly cold outside and my parents brought her in. She's lived there ever since and caught mice when they got in the house. She was a great cat. Adrian particularly liked her.

Also made cookies over the weekend. Cherry almond oatmeal cookies, to be precise.

Would be much happier if I could sleep through this week.

EDIT:
I'm out of coffee filters. I think I'm going to explode.