LIFE IN GENERAL

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-02-28T06:57:00.005-06:00

Strauss Theatre has a lot going on this month. I am imagining staring at the calander in the office, so I might get a few days wrong. If my "mind's eye" isn't half-blind, then during the month of March there will be a total of 13 performances of Smoke on the Mountain; 9 performances of Bullets for Broadway; 2 performances of Corey/Lisa, and 6 performances of Mark Twain(at the Young Troupe). 30 performances, 31 days in March. But, some of the performance days overlap. There are some days we won't have any performances and some days there will be 2 or 3. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just informing. SO......if you live in Northeast Louisiana, please come and see some of the productions. Did I mention I have a 'bit part' in Smoke on the Mountain? Yeah, I get to sit in the audience and play an older member of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, who "thinks" she disapproves of Pastor Oglethorpe inviting the singing Sanders Family to their revival. It just involves saying Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord and other assorted comments at opportune moments.

Have a great day!

Visit my Web Page

2009-02-22T06:37:00.004-06:00

Well I did it! I spent a little time and a little money and created my own space on the world wide web. If you have a few minutes, take a look. It is a work in progress, and I did it mostly for the learning experience. It is a "blog" web site. I am not trying to sell anything, although that might not be a bad idea in this day and age. Let me know what you think. You should be able to comment on the articles, but you'll have to let me know if it doesn't work. If it does work, I should be able to see the comments.

You can click on the title of this blog to take you to my page or you can copy and paste the following link in your address bar:

http://cthybrgss.com/

Sad Day at Strauss

2008-11-19T07:22:00.002-06:00

The failing economy has affected Strauss Theatre. I am sad to report that several positions will be terminated because of financial issues. Several staff were notified yesterday that their positions will be terminated on Wednesday, Novemeber 26, and one employee will leave on Friday, December 11. The positions affected are the MainStage Artistic Director, the MainStage Box Office Manager, and the Bookeeper for both theatres. The Assistant Technical Director and Costumer were let go last week. That leaves Bob, Scot, and myself to take care of the MainStage and Laura Michelle and Steve Barton to take care of the Young Troupe. We will all have a significant amount of responsibilities added to what we already do. Yes, I am (as are all employees) extremely sad.

Dennis will finish directing You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, as this is a Christmas show and not part of the regular season.

Far Cry 2

2008-10-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

If you are not familiar with computer games, forgive this blog. But I have to rant.

I typically don't like sequels of computer games... Why? Mostly because they don't stick to what made the first game great. Take Far Cry for example. Far Cry has been my all-time favorite game. There are a lot of reasons I enjoyed the game; the game play, the characters, the mission, etc. Far Cry was mostly set in jungle type environments, and you played as Jack Carver, a mercenary of sorts. Jack wore a red and white kind of flowered shirt, it was his trademark. In Far Cry, you mostly fought soldiers of the Krieger Corporation and mutants (Trigens). The Krieger Corporation was trying to create a kind of "super soldier", but their experiments went wrong, hence the Trigens. Fast forward to Far Cry 2......

You no longer play as Jack Carver. When you first start the game, you have your choice of several characters you can play. None of them are Jack Carver. Instead of jungle environments, you are now in Africa. Now Africa has lots of jungle, but you are not playing in the jungle. You are playing in what appears to be a savannah type environment. Now since I haven't play the complete game, I don't know if you ever get to play in the jungle, maybe you do. There is no evil Krieger Corportation to fight against, and no Trigens. BTW, they left Val out too. What's up with that?

Weapons have changed as well. Gone is the M4 carbine, the standard weapon. As a matter of fact, the only weapon that makes a reappearance is the MP5 SMG. Gone are my favorite weapons, the AG36 assault rifle and the OIWC assault rifle. You can still get a sniper rifle in Far Cry 2, but I haven't played far enough in the game to come across one. They changed the sniper rifle too....from an AW50 to an M1903 Springfield.

And what's up with no longer being able to go prone? How can you steady a sniper rifle if you can't go prone? I don't know.

To say the least, I am rather disgusted. If you want to make a sequel, then make a sequel...keep the basics. Don't make a Batman movie without Batman. Get it?

Now, is Far Cry 2 a horrible game? No, it's actually rather fun, so my objection is not to the game play, but to the name. This game is definitely NOT a Far Cry sequel. They should have called it something else, and be done with it. Like "African Mercenary", "Savannah Soldier".

Go figure.

Attack Cat

2008-10-14T07:17:00.002-05:00

My cat Simon has been behaving badly. So badly in fact, that I am considering taking him to the shelter. His latest mission is the t.v. He will sit and watch it and then without warning, jump up and start scratching at the screen. Now if I had a CRT or tube t.v. I don't suppose I would care all that much. But I am talking LCD. I have tried several ways to get him to stop. One of the best ways to stop bad behavior is to spray the cat with water. Well, I am not about to spray water at the cat while it is in front of the t.v. because water may get inside the t.v. and then that would be that. I have gone over and just casually removed him from the t.v., and yes I have even given him a "tap" or two.

I can't allow this behavior to continue, but I obviously don't know how to stop it. So it looks like I will be making a visit to the humane society.

Politics in America

2008-10-12T08:06:00.003-05:00

I'm fed up. I have been fed up for a while, but really have no idea how to go about changing things. It's time for Americans to stand up and revolt. Change the way things are done in Washington. It doesn't matter who we elect as president, if the way laws are made and passed doesn't change, the president will make little or no impact. For example, the BAILOUT. Do you know how much stuff was added to that bill? I am sick of pork barrell politics. Maybe you know of this stuff, maybe you don't, but here's a glimpse of some of the PORK that was included in the bailout:

This allegedly critical financial rescue bill is loaded down with tax breaks (or more precisely, extensions of current tax breaks) for such emergencies as:

1. “Wooden arrows designed for use by children” This provision was put into the bill by Oregon Senators Smith and Wyden for the primary benefit of an Oregon arrow manufacturer…estimated to save arrow companies $200,000 annually.

2. “Motorsports racing track facilities” A Bloomberg article notes this “will save NASCAR track builders $109 million this year.”

3. Rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

4. Investors in the District of Columbia or on Indian reservations.

5. Building and renovating restaurants

6. Book donations to public schools

7. Recipients of settlement payments from Exxon Valdez litigation

WHAT! What do tax breaks have to do with the financial crisis? Why was this stuff even allowed to be put in the bill? Oh, by the way, there is way more than those items listed above. To read a more complete article, go to:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28851#continueA

On election day, I AM NOT going to vote for any incumbent senator or house member. It's the only thing I know I can do. I encourage you to do the same. Get those pork barrell loving folks out of there. It's time for us to stand up and let our voices be heard!

Laundry

2008-10-10T06:27:00.004-05:00

So how often are you supposed to clean under and behind your washer and dryer? They are hard to move, and the dryer vent always comes off. I don't do it very often. But as I was washing clothes this morning, I took a good look at the area in and around my washer and dryer and decided it must be time.

I don't want to do it! Who sees my laundry room anyway? Besides that, it is almost a two person job and who should I invite over to help me? Say, you want to come over for some chips and salsa? As long as you're here, help me move my washer and dryer so I can clean up? After we get them away from the wall, you could help me climb over and get behind them. Then, when I'm stuck behind them, would you be so kind as to go in the kitchen and get the broom and dustpan? Hey look, here's some socks, dryer sheets, and 52 cents! Darn it, could you go get me a screwdriver so I can reattach the dryer vent? My toolbox is out in my truck. Wait, the keys to my truck are in my purse which is in my bedrooom. Darn this dryer vent, who invented these things anyway? I can't seem to get it back on. You want to try? Here, help me over the washer and dryer and then I'll help you crawl over them and you can give it a try. What, we need to move them more? This laundry room is rather small, only 5 feet by 6 feet and if we move them more, then I won't be able to get out of the room. Nevermind, I'll keep trying to get this vent attached. WoooHooo, I finally got it. Help me back over, and let's move these suckers back in place. Mission accomplished.

The chips are in the cupboard and the salsa is in the fridge. I'll be there in a minute, I want to go ahead and start a load of laundry. WHAT is that noise? Sounds like a plane trying to land in my house, wait, it's not a bird, a plane or Superman, it's the washing machine spinning out of balance! I am going to have to move it exactly where it was before or get underneath and turn the "feet" to make it balanced. Wait, where are you going? You haven't even finished your chips and salsa! Hey! Come back.

No, I don't think I will be cleaning behind my washer and dryer anytime soon, unless I desperately need the 52 cents!

Snap, Crackle, Pop

2008-10-06T06:55:00.002-05:00

No this isn't about Rice Crispies. Rice Crispies aren't my favorite cereal, but I do like those Rice Crispie bars, Yum. No, this is about my joints. Yesterday as I was going down some steps, it seemed like every joint in my body made some kind of popping or cracking sound. Now it didn't hurt or anything, but it made me laugh. If anyone would have been around and heard it, they would have thought I was going to become dis-jointed and fall to pieces.

I got my "to do" list done this weekend. Except mowing the yard. I took a good long look at the yard and decided it could wait another week. I don't think the neighbors will get upset, most of them didn't do their yards either, so we are all pretty much on an even keel as it relates to grass height.

I can get a replacement cable for my camera for the low cost of $25, excluding shipping and handling. I went through all the checkout screens and got to the point where all I had to do was click the "submit" button, but I just couldn't make myself do it. I keep thinking that I will find the other one. Maybe tonight I will make one more concerted effort to locate the cable.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Good Morning Americans, It's Friday!

2008-10-03T05:59:00.002-05:00

Not a very original title at all, but I just couldn't help myself. Yippee, I have a free weekend! I haven't quite decided what I am going to do with the time, but that is kind of the fun of it. I may get up at 6, or I might sleep til noon. I do need to do a little clean up around the house, but it really won't take long. My vacuum cleaner is hollering my name as well as the lawn mower. At least the weather has cooled off so I won't be sweating bullets when I mow the yard.

I am going to try the "Ray's Pege" that opened up in West Monroe and see if it is as good as the one in Monroe. At least I won't have to travel 13 miles to eat at Pege's anymore! Woohoo.

I have lost the cord that connects my camera to my computer. Which wouldn't be an issue except that it is also how I charge the camera. Rats! I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and order a new one. But I know what will happen; as soon as I order a new one, the old one will magically appear in a location that I have checked a dozen times.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, gets everything done that needs to be done, but more importantly just enjoys life. Talk to you later.

It's Been a While

2008-10-02T06:03:00.002-05:00

I have been remiss in blogging. As I told someone, I have been spending soooo much time in front of the computer at work, that when I come home, I don't even turn my computer on. Besides the day job in front of the computer, I have had the evening and weekend job with The Fantasticks and Camelot. Needless to say, I have been putting in quite a few hours, so when I get home, sleep is the only thing on my mind.

As most of you know, the Strauss Theatre web site is now up and running. I had fun doing it and learned quite a bit during the process. There are things I would like to add, but we are having some sort of FTP file permission problems. In other words, I can make changes to what is there, but can't add anymore (like a photo gallery) until the FTP thing gets fixed. Our web hosting company says they are working on it, but there are still no results.

Aside from work, I haven't been doing anything interesting. Just sleeping. My house is a mess, which happens whenever we are doing shows. This Saturday will be my first day off in three weeks, so I'll be straighting up. Hope I don't sound like I'm complaining, because I love my job. It doesn't feel "like a job", just long hours sometimes. I have three weeks before our next go-round of shows start, so I will blog more often until that time.

Have a good one!

Olympics

2008-08-08T10:42:00.001-05:00

So I haven’t blogged in a while. I discovered something during the past week or so. I discovered that when I am concerned and/or worried about something, I don’t blog as much. I believe basically this is because I want my blogs to be humorous, witty, or informative, you know all that stuff. I find it difficult to blog about how I am feeling, or blog about things that are of a personal nature. I hope everyone has had a good week.

The Olympics start today and I am looking forward to watching them. I don’t really like to watch the track and field events. I like swimming, diving, gymnastics, boxing, softball. Here’s hoping the United States has a good run during these games.

Here’s some Olympic medal facts:
The United States leads in all-time medal standings with 2,197. Russia holds second place with 1,122 and coming in third is Great Britian with 677.5 (I don’t know how you get .5 of a medal).
The U.S. has a whopping 485 medals in swimming with Australia in second place with 157. In diving, the U.S. has won 128 medals with China in second place with 38. In gymnastics, the U.S. is in third place with 83 medals, with Russia in first place and Japan in second place.

You can find all this neat information at:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html

Enjoy the Games!

Plain Brown Paper

2008-07-28T05:34:00.004-05:00

Nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday. Most days are wrapped in plain brown paper, no bows, ribbbons, or glitter. That's OK. I like brown paper days. Did you ever make book covers out of brown paper bags? When I was a youngster, that's what we did. Those brown paper covers were strong and durable. And you could decorate them how you wanted. Maybe that's how our days are supposed to be, plain brown wrappers that we decorate how we want, or how we like. Since I was given a brown paper day, I decorated it. I started my decorating by going to church. It was good. Then when I got home, my day was further decorated by family and friends. Steve came bearing doughnuts from Shipley's, yum. Then I got to visit with my grandkids for a couple of hours. That was fun, as all grandmother's believe their grandkids are the best. We made pancakes, and I still have remnants of syrup on the table. I'll get it clean, but that's for later.

Enjoy your brown paper days. Decorate them how you like.

Five Common Sense Rules

2008-07-24T10:05:00.002-05:00

1. Never pick your nose after roasting and peeling chili peppers.
2. Never drink hot coffee in the nude.
3. Don't swat at flies while holding a plate of spaghetti.
4. Spit out chewing gum before eating peanuts.
5. Don't take a laxative and sleeping pill on the same night.

Please share your list of common sense rules.

FIRED! (Again)

2008-07-17T06:42:00.005-05:00

Since I began employment at Strauss, I have been fired three times! Yes, three times in less than one year. The most recent being Monday. The first firing occurred when Bob Lewis (my boss) fell off a ladder and I laughed at his misfortune. I couldn't help it and because Bob is a no-nonsense guy, he fired me. Me, being the kind of person I am continued laughing. The second firing occured when we were working on the set for Baby. We were putting pipe in the bottom of the white scrim. This length of pipe has to be longer than the scrim, and in fact is almost as wide as the stage. Those who have been in a show that uses a scrim, know what I am talking about. The pipe was so long that it reached into the rehearsal hall and one end was resting on a set of steps maybe 3 feet off the ground. Anyway, there came a time when the pipe fell off the stairs, and as it did so, the other end (which Bob was tending to) flew up in the air and almost took his nose off. Well guess what? I commence to laughing and Bob fires me for the second time. Now to Monday. I am painting the Young Troupe office and as you know all the stuff on the walls has to come down. I was removing the fire extinguisher when Bob came in. I said to Bob "It is inexcusable to hang a fire extinguisher behind a door." Bob looks at me rather quizically and reports that I was there when HE hung the thing. I quickly attempted to redeem myself by reporting that when he hung it, the room
wasn't an office. "Oh yes it was" he says. Then he says "What I find inexcusable is that an employee lets the boss do something stupid and doesn't say anything". Well that was that, until staff meeting. Yes folks, you guessed it, after telling the story, he fired me in the presence of the other staff at Strauss!

Hope everyone has a great day, and be careful what you say if you are working directly with your boss!!

P.S. Bob told me that I don't have to worry about getting fired as long as he doesn't have a PINK SLIP in his hand. All in all I have to say that Bob Lewis is the funniest boss I have ever had. It's a blast working at the Strauss.

One More Reason I Hate Wal-Mart

2008-07-14T21:05:00.003-05:00

Those who know me probably hear me rail about Wal-Mart from time to time. I avoid it whenever possible. Sometimes it is not possible and I go. Well, I made a mistake the other day and actually CHOSE to go to there. I needed to get the oil changed in my truck. So I pass up two oil change places in my quest to save a few bucks. I pull into the lane at Wal-Mart and there is only one vehicle in front of me. There are however two vehicles getting tires, so that's three vehicles total. There are at least six employees working. A young man comes out and I give him all the requisite information. I ask how long it will take and he is very non-commital. He gives me a slip of paper with a bar code on it and tells me I can check the status at any one of those "check price here" stations. So I take my slip and toddle inside. I mosey around for about 30 minutes, and then decide to locate a check price thing-a-ma-jig. I find one and of course, it can't (or won't) read my little slip of paper. So I go in search of another one. I find one fairly quickly and this one reads my paper. All it reports is "waiting". So I mosey around a little more and head back to the automotive department. I look out the window and see the car that was in front of me is still there. My truck is pulled in the bay with the hood up, but there is no one working on it. There is no one working on the car that is in front of my truck. So I sit down on one of the several benches they have for customers and proceed to play a game on my cell phone. After 15 minutes or so, I have another look-see. Hallelujah! there is someone working on my vehicle, it won't be long now. So I sit back down and do nothing. After another 15 minutes I look again. Sure enough, there is my truck with the hood up, and no one doing anything. Good Grief. By now it has been almost one hour since I put that little slip of paper in my pocket. I wait patiently. Finally an employee comes in carrying my keys and places them in a little plastic box. It's finished, it's been and hour and a half. So I pay my bill, having saved a scant five dollars, but wasted an hour for that five dollar savings. Wait.....it gets better. So I go out to my truck, and as I leave the Wal-Mart parking lot, I smell the distict aroma of oil burning. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a wisp of smoke. I look again, and smoke is billowing from my engine compartment. What the heck? I get to a place where I can pull over. I open the hood of my truck to make sure they replaced the cap and I wasn't spewing engine oil all over. They had replaced the cap, but apparently spilled oil all over my engine during the oil change. I get back in the truck and endure the burning oil and billowing smoke until I get where I was going. So there's my Wal-Mart saga. I think next time I will pull into the Quick Lube and be done with it.

Alyssa's Birthday Party

2008-07-14T06:36:00.005-05:00

My granddaughter turned 7 on July 10th. We celebrated her birthday yesterday out at Kiroli park. I think she had a good time, but it was rather HOT. Most of the kids stayed under the pavillion and didn't even go play on the playground stuff.

Apparently there is a thing going on at kid's birthday parties where the kids who attend expect to get something too. I don't know how to explain it, so I'll just say that each child that attended walked away with candy, folders, sunglasses, light sticks, etc. I am not saying this is bad, I just wonder when this tradition started? Has it always been around and I have just been clueless? Seems it costs parents enough just to throw their kids a party, much less having to then purchase party favors for all the kids in attendance. I guess I am just living in the past where kids were glad to go to birthday parties for the cake and ice cream and playing pin the tail on the donkey.

My Morning

2008-07-10T10:46:00.004-05:00

I went to sleep pretty early last night. Actually, I fell asleep at 3 p.m. and woke up at 7. I stayed up until around 10 and then crawled back in bed. Consequently, I woke up at 4:30 this morning. When I woke up, I grabbed my glasses and put them on, because all I see without them is blurry stuff. Then I go turn on my computer and go in the kitchen to make me a cup of coffee. When I go back in the bedroom and sit at my computer, there on the wall right in front of me is a big cockroach. One of those big black ones! I detest roaches. I think it is because somewhere in my little pea brain I think that roaches are a sign of a home being filthy and/or dirty. I don't know where I come by that notion. At any rate, this HUGE roach is only about 3 feet from my face and right above my computer. So I quickly devise a plan. I don't want to smash it because it is on my wall calendar, sitting right on the July 13th box. YUCK. I have some "flying insect" insecticide in the laundry room, so I move quitely and quickly (right!) to get the stuff. When I get back in the room, I devise another strategy, which I never should have done. I didn't want to smash the thing, but I didn't want to spray insecticide at it either since it was close to my computer. So I notice my trash can. I can quickly place the trash can over the thing and then use the calendar as a top to trap it, then I can spray it. Great Plan! It worked fine until I tried to remove the calendar from the wall while keeping it on the trash can. I dropped everything! Did I mention how much I detest roaches? So off it runs behind my computer. Well, now I have to spray it. I wonder if "flying" insecticde will work, but I spray anyway. Mind you, I can't really see the thing since it is somewhere in all the wires and stuff. After spraying liberally (GASP, I can't breathe), I go get my broom and dustpan. I decide I will diligently watch the area until it moves and I can see it. But when I come back with the broom and dust pan, it is in the middle of my floor writhing in agony. YESSSSS! So I sweep it up and put it in the trash can where I had orginally trapped it. So that's how my morning went. Sorry I blogged about cockroaches. Not a pretty topic or one I am sure anybody would want to read. How do those big things get in a house anyway?

I created a picture so you can see what I am talking about. The roach in the picture is not the actual varmint. I found it online and inserted it.

Armed Forces

2008-07-09T10:54:00.004-05:00

I received a link to this video from my brother-in-law who served in the army for over 20 years. I may not always agree with our government's decision to go to war, or to provide peace keeping troops, but I do support our service men and women. If you also support the troops, have a look at this video.

New Bed

2008-07-07T09:16:00.002-05:00

So, I'm off to Sam's club in a few minutes. It's 9:15 and they don't open until 10. I am finally going to bite the bullet and buy a mattress and box springs. Wait, they don't call them box springs anymore, they call them foundations. I thought a foundation was what buildings were built on, but I guess that applies to beds as well. See, I have been sleeping on this futon bed for about 3 years. Originally I got it because I could use it as a couch as well. Time has taken its toll however, and the darn thing is literally falling apart. I don't relish spending $500+ on bedding, but I look at it this way. It will probably be the last bed I buy. I mean, it should last a good long time. Oh, I have to buy a bed frame too.

I should go eat a bowl a Wheaties because I am going to need some energy to tote the old bed out and bring the new stuff in. I suppose I could wait until the weekend when help would be available, but I don't really like to impose that kind of stuff on others. There will come a time when I won't be physically able to do something like this, but at least right now, I can. It wouldn't be so bad except I have to carry (maybe I should say "drag") it up some stairs. Once I get it all set up, I'll go buy some new bedding. I only have two sets of sheets, and they are on their last leg as well. At least I'll have a nice new bed for recuperation after the work.

Wish me luck. I know my brain age is 25, but my physical age is 55, and I know this will make me tired and sore. It's a shame isn't it?

Happy Fourth

2008-07-04T08:27:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to say that in my previous post, I was not trying to be sarcastic or mean. I really thought the whole event was rather amusing. I was trying to be funny, just in case you didn't get that. I was just stopping by to wish everyone a happy Friday July 4th. I am a work right now, but if reservations for The Death of Dr. Pepper and Blather, Blarney and Balderdash are slow to non-existant, I'll only stay til lunch. Ya'll have a happy 4th.

Guess the Brain Age of This Person

2008-07-03T12:22:00.002-05:00

First, a disclaimer: Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Today I get a call at the box office. Mrs. BrainAge bought tickets to see Blather, Blarney and Balderdash. She has the tickets in her possession. She called because the name on the tickets wasn't Mrs. BrainAge. The name on the tickets was Mrs. OtherGrandmother. Since Ms. BrainAge bought the tickets she was concerned that Mrs. OtherGrandmother was getting credit for the tickets. She was also concerned that if Mrs. OtherGrandmother found out her name was on the tickets that she would want them. She was also concerned that when she presented the tickets for entrance to the play, we would know that she wasn't Mrs. OtherGrandmother, and not let her in.

I assured Mrs. BrainAge, that Mrs. OtherGrandmother was not getting credit for the ticket purchase, that she would have no difficulty getting in to see the show, since we don't ask for identification, and that the only way Mrs. OtherGrandmother would know the tickets were printed in her name would be if YOU told her.

Mrs. BrainAge was not the least bit consoled. Therefore I told her that she could come to the theatre and we would reprint tickets with her name on them. She is stopping by sometime next week.

In this day and age, I would understand if this was a plane ticket, or a traffic ticket, or some other kind of ticket that HAS to have a correct name on it, but Stauss doesn't play like that. If you have a ticket, you get in. When it was all said and done, the real problem was she didn't like the Other Grandmother and didn't want her ticket to have Mrs. OtherGrandmother's name on it.

Here's hoping all of you have a wonderful 4th! Eat lots of BAR-B-Q, and pop those firecrackers.

Brain Age

2008-06-22T09:34:00.004-05:00

First, as you can tell, I haven't been posting much lately. This usually occurs when we are doing a show at Strauss. Right now Baby The Musical is what is we are doing. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. The singing is great, the music is catchy. There is one song that keeps running through my head. I would say that it may not be appropriate for youngsters, becuase it is about three couples having or trying to have babies.

I ran across a web site that measures your brain age. It was kind of fun to do the little tests. It doesn't measure intelligence, it seemed more to do with reaction time. My brain age is 25! I should be glad that my brain is 25 and the rest of my body is 55. hahahahahahaha. If you are interested in testing your brain age, here's the link:
http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2008/06/Brain-Age

Just so you know I am not crazy, here's a screen shot of my results.

Take the test yourself and let me know your brain age! Have fun. Baby is over in a week, so I should be back to more regular posting. Have a great day.

Vocabulary

2008-06-03T07:06:00.002-05:00

I spend a little time on Facebook. It's a pretty good application for keeping in touch with folks. Lately I added this application called scramble. It's kind of like "Bog", or "Boggle". You have to find words. Well, I quickly discovered that my vocabulary is limited. I picked out a few of the words I have NEVER heard and gave them a look-up. Here's a few, see if you can come up with the correct definition:
1. Obol
a) silver coin of ancient Greece
b) distant kin of an oboe
c) lobo spelled backwards
2. Squeg
a) sound a baby meerkat makes
b) fragrant balsam of a tree in South America
c) to produce an output that oscillates between a certain maximum and zero
3. Nidi
a) shortened form of needy. used often in text messages to save time
b) a nest, esp. one in which insects deposit their eggs
c) A stylized octagonal motif in Oriental rugs

If you need help in picking the correct definition, I'll use all the words in a sentence:
The archeologist was looking for obol using a squeg, but all he found was a bunch of nidi.

Five Reasons I Haven't Blogged Lately

2008-05-29T05:37:00.002-05:00

I often find it difficult to blog everyday or even every other day. In general, it is not in my personality to talk a lot, or often. I will talk more if I am aggravated or excited. Therefore when I don't blog for a while, it's generaly because I don't think I have anything interesting, thought provking or humorous to post. 5 reason's I haven't blogged in a while.
1. I just didn't want to.
2. I spent most of my free time watching TV.
3. Work is quiet right now, but I can't make myself post a blog while I am supposed to be working.
4. I found an new "Level" for the game Far Cry. It's called Normandy, and it is difficult. I have been playing that for a couple of days.
5. Bob Lewis hasn't been on a ladder lately! At least not in my presence. I have my camera at the ready to document such events.

Five FAV Sitcoms

2008-05-23T05:55:00.003-05:00

Now it is time to reveal my favorite sitcoms. I suppose if you didn't know my age, you might be able to tell simply by my choices. I really do find it interesting that I like the "oldies".
1. I Love Lucy. Absolutely wonderful. The slapstick, the facial expressions of the cast, the predicaments Lucy got herself into.
2. The Cosby Show. I don't remember many "belly laughs" while watching this show, but it was funny and there was always a moral to the stories.
3. Three's Company. Here's another example of a show with a little slapstick involved. Misunderstanding was probably the biggest form of humor. Filmed in front of a live audience. No laugh tracks on this one.
4. Friends. Yes, I liked Friends. I don't know what made it funny, probably just the interactions between the characters.
5. The Dick Van Dyke Show. The antics of Rob Petrie. Another show that involved physical antics. This show included humorous takes of subjects not usually seen on sitcoms, including religion, race, death, infidelity, and psychiatry.

It was difficult to narrow my list to 5. So I will give honorable mention to the ones that didn't make my top 5, but I sure thought about them. Happy Days, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanine, Home Improvement, and dare I say The Beverly Hillbillies.

What are your favorite and why?

Five Sitcoms

2008-05-21T07:31:00.002-05:00

Continuing with the five theme. Today I want to list five of my "least" favorite sitcoms. Over the years hundreds of sitcoms have been aired. So it will be hard to pick only five. I do not usually like sitcoms anyway. Except some of the older ones. But I'll save my favorites for another post.
1. Night Court. Not even funny, I think they threw in more laugh tracks than usual. People can't really be that stupid. To me, stupid doesn't equal funny.
2. Roseanne. I am not a fan of Roseanne Barr. Maybe that's why I didn't like the show.
3. Married with Children. uhmm, I don't remember laughing anytime I watched this show. I remember me thinking "how stupid".
4. Harry and the Hendersons. Horrible premise. Family runs over creature with car. Family brings creature home. Creature turns out to be bigfoot. Family tries to keep bigfoot a secret.
5. Wings. Small airport, small airline company (sandpiper), small brained people.

There you have it. Five of my least favorite sitcoms. I certainly dislike more than five, but those are the ones that just leapt out front. What are your least favorite sitcoms and why?

Coming soon: My top five FAV sitcoms.

Five Usless Things

2008-05-20T08:44:00.002-05:00

My truck is a mess. I haven't had it washed in about 6 months. The inside is dirty too. I normally take care of my vehicle. But in the past months, it has been low on my agenda of things I need to do. That being said, as I was driving to work this morning, I must have felt a pang of guilt. I actually opened the console and looked around inside. I noticed things that I needed to throw out. Five useless things that have been hanging around simply because I have not taken the time to get rid of them.
1. A car charger for a phone I no longer own. I haven't had this particular phone for 2 years or more. Why would I still keep the charger?
2. Two mechanical pencils that don't have any lead in them. I know I can go buy refills, but I haven't. Those pencils have probably been in my console for 2 or more years. I used to use them when I was teaching computer basics to the girls at Youth House. They are kinda pretty though, all sparkly. Maybe that's why I kept them.
3. Two Cobra walkie talkies. I purchased four of them a couple of years ago. Needed them to work a show at Strauss. I only have two of them now, and I don't have the charger. The charger didn't make the move when I moved into my mobile home. I have been there a little over a year.
4. Two fliers from a company called Aspen Alert Centre. They will be glad to install a security system in your home for absolutely no money. All you have to pay is 34.95 a month for 36 months. Call them at 343-5053 if you are interested!
5. Last, but certainly not least, a tube of lipstick. First I need to say that I can't even remember the last time I wore lipstick. I can't stand the stuff. Secondly I have to say that I don't even remember buying lipstick. So this tube of lipstick is mysterious to me. Perhaps someone other than myself left it in my vehicle. Let me open it up and see what color it is. Just a sec....it's kinda pink and is called Satin Shimmer.

Well there you have it. Five useless things. You will be happy to know that all items are now deposited in file 13. I bet if I look under the seats in my truck, I will find more useless items, but I will spare you the details. What's in your wallet, oops, I mean vehicle?

Ever Had One of These Days

2008-05-18T19:48:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had a day or time when you felt irritated, but really had no reason to feel that way? That is how I have been today. Just irritated. It happens to me from time to time. I have tried different things to "get over it". Playing games, watching TV, mowing my yard, cleaning the house, eating chocolate, etc. I even took a nap this afternoon. It feels like I need to be doing something, but nothing I have done has made me less irritated. Maybe I have that restless leg syndrome, except it's all over my body. Ha! That would explain it. I guess if I had that, it would be hyperactive disorder. When I get this way, I get a little gruff with people. Thank goodness there hasn't been anyone around. Not exactly true, Steve came over today and stayed for a while. I think that is when I took my nap. I wasn't good company. Enough about me. Now for something interesting, at least to me:

The Triple Crown. Big Brown has won the Derby and now the Preakness. In three weeks he'll run the Belmont. There hasn't been a triple crown winner since Affirmed in 1978! I didn't watch the races last year. I don't know what I was doing, but I missed them. Last great horse I saw was Barbaro. Barbaro won the Derby in 2006. When the started running the Preakness, he broke his right leg, and eventually had to be euthanized. Anyway, here's a pic of Big Brown and his win.

Big Brown ridden by Kent Desormeaux crosses the finish line to win the 133rd Preakness horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 17, 2008, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Kid Pictures

2008-05-12T07:41:00.003-05:00

Well, I haven't posted many pics of the grandkids lately. I finally took some new ones. This is when they came over to visit me on my birthday. Here is a link to esnips.

I don't have the time right now to edit any of them, or add captions, but I will. Have a great day!

1 Thing in Your House Dirtier Than A Toilet

2008-05-06T06:34:00.006-05:00

THE KEYBOARD YOU ARE USING RIGHT NOW

Your keyboard can be an incredibly accurate representation of what’s in your nose and your stomach. Of 33 randomly sampled computer keyboards tested by a British consumer group this year, four were dirty enough to be considered a health hazard, and one harbored hundreds of times more bacteria than your average toilet seat. Of course, not everyone’s keyboard is this dirty; contributing factors include not washing your hands after using the bathroom, picking your nose, and eating at your computer, as the crumbs left behind tend to become little bacteria factories. Experts recommend regularly swabbing your keyboard with lightly-dampened alcohol wipes on a regular basis — and be sure to shake those cookie crumbs out, too.

Did you know that keyboards can be washed? You can put them in your dishwasher, or soak them in the tub. It is a good idea to have an extra keyboard laying around the house. When the one you are using gets dirty, just wash it. Of course you have to use the extra one until the one you wash dries out. I usually let them dry out for a couple of days. By the way, if you put it in your dishwasher, don't use the "heated" drying option, as that could cause problems.

Using alchol wipes is also a good idea. But don't try to use them while you are posting a blog, or your blog will look like this:

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MyHotComments

OOPS, I forgot to mention something: DO NOT wash your keyboard in the dishwasher or tub if you use a laptop, or if you have a wireless keyboard!

Carly Simon

2008-04-30T07:19:00.004-05:00

Have you ever had trouble coming up with a name for a family pet? I recently (3 days ago) accepted the gift of a kitten. I don't know why I couldn't say NO. The kitten was so cute, that's probably why the word NO wouldn't come out of my mouth. With all that said, I now have the kitten. Coming up with a name is a whole other issue. See, first of all, I don't have any idea if this cat is a girl or a boy. I am not experienced in determining kitten gender. My granddaughter wanted to call it Carly. Well, that is a good name IF it is a girl. See, I'd hate to call it Carly and then it turn out to be a boy. I suppose I could shorten Carly to Carl and that would be that. But a cat named Carl? That just doesn't sound right to me. So I decided to call the cat Carly Simon. If it turns out this is a boy cat, then I'll drop the Carly and call him Simon. Actually, I don't know why we give cats names anyway. They don't come when you call them, they don't respond to their name at all. Here's some pics of my new pet. Mind you, Carly Simon would not stay still for the pictures. You can't teach a cat to pose!

A few free hours

2008-04-26T10:46:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a week. I have been busy, or working, whatever. There are a total 120 hours in a work week, Monday thru Friday. This week I have spent 69 of those 120 hours at the theatre, leaving only 51 hours for doing the rest of the stuff I need to do, like sleep, wash clothes, etc. Posting a blog was not on the top of my list.

Several things happened this week at the Strauss. Try as we might, we CANNOT keep our fearless leader from climbing ladders. This time, I am happy to report that he did not suffer any accidents, and did not destroy any property. Next time you are in the lobby, take note of walls. Bob went around the entire lobby removing staples, nails, and screws from the walls. Oh, I forgot to mention Bob was on the ladder with a knife! I bet if his mom saw that behavior she would have something to say hahaha. I have provided pictorial evidence.

On Wednesday, the Monroe Police Dept. and the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Dept. had a joint training session at Strauss. They were doing some sort of hostage training. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera available to take pictures. They "practiced" at both the mainstage and the young troupe. So, have no fear. If a hostage situation ever develops at Strauss, law enforcement will be able to handle it. If you happened to drive by the theatre last Wednesday and saw the parking lot filled with law enforcement vehicles and SWAT, now you know why.

Thank goodness we will get a few evenings of rest after today's performance. Break a leg!

Swiss Family Robinson

2008-04-20T07:21:00.002-05:00

If you didn't get a chance to see Swiss Family at the Young Troupe, you missed a good one. Steve Barton did a marvelous job directing the show. The set was wonderful. Joe Branson did a great job on the set. Anyway, I really enjoyed the production. For years, I never took the time to walk across the parking lot and watch many Young Troupe productions. Shame on me! Every show I have seen over there this year has been great! These kids are wonderful! Next season has already been approved, and there are some great shows heading to the Young Troupe. Please make a committment to walk across the parking lot and show your support to these young people. I am probably preaching to the choir. You won't be disappointed!

Too Much Iced Tea?

2008-04-17T07:06:00.004-05:00

I do find amusement in small things. This picture for example. I conjure up all kinds of reasons folks would be running to the restrooms. The sign is politically correct and shows compassion; the handicapped person is given precedence. This is as it should be. Enjoy!

Facebook Applications

2008-04-12T09:15:00.002-05:00

I haven't been on Facebook very long. That being said, I find most of the applications are rather dull. There are thousands of these applications. Those of you on Facebook know what I'm talking about. Applications like:
What kind of eyes do you have?
What is your 80's song?
Are YOU Interested?
Name Analyser

I think someone should develop a "What Kind of Trash Bag are You?" application. That could be fun. It could classify people as ForceFlex, Draw String, Quick Tie, Odor Shield, Gripper, and Cinch Sack. Yeah, that works. Have to come up with personality traits for each of the bag types.

The Odor Shield--You take pride in your appearance, but may overindulge in the use of scented body products.
The Gripper--You are afraid to let go of past relationships, as well as old boxes. Getting rid of the junk in your life is a looming necessity.
The Draw String--You are quick and easy, not messy. Maybe a little too casual. The opposite of a Cinch Sack.
Cinch Sack--You prefer clothing that is too tight and revealing. A call to TLC's What not to wear may be an important step for you to take. Might need to hook up with a Draw String, just for balance.
ForceFlex--You tend to take on many projects. Unfortunately, your strength can be your weakness, as too many projects will cause you to break.

OOPs I forgot about Lawn and Garden trash bags-- A lover of the outdoors. You probably have a thirty-ought-six (.30-06), and a fishing boat. Be sure to buy a gun safe if you have children in the house.

Yes, I really do think comparing people to trash bags would make a wonderful facebook application. Come up with some of your own. It could be fun!

Man on a Mission

2008-04-10T16:25:00.002-05:00

Bob Lewis is a man on a mission. Yes folks, for the last 3 days, Bob’s latest mission has been to replace every burned out light bulb he could find in the theatre, including EXIT lights. Now you may think this a noble endeavor, and it is. It is no small task. Bob has made several trips to Stuart Irby Lighting, which by the way, has moved location to West Monroe. Stuart Irby supplies us with those hard to find bulbs, like the ones that go in the fixtures in the hallway. This mission began when Joel Willer called to Bob’s attention, a burned out light in the auditorium. Mind you, the auditorium ceiling height is probably between 20-30 feet. To remove the burned out bulb and replace it, Bob had to stand on a 6 ft. ladder and use one of those poles that extend and have some sort of apparatus on the end that grips light bulbs for easy removal and/or insertion. The removal of the burned out bulb came off without a hitch. The fun began with the insertion of the new bulb. See, somehow the apparatus became lodged in the fixture. Bob was able to get it dislodged; however the bulb came crashing to the floor. Fortunately (because it was a flood light) it did not shatter. Bob sends me on a quest to locate another flood lamp. Upon inspection of the light bulb changing apparatus, we determine it to be malformed, i.e., broke. Bob decides that a little duct tape will alleviated the problem and off he goes in search of duct tape. Unbeknownst to Bob, I just bent the darn thing back in place. We give it another go. This time, as Bob ascends the ladder, he asks me to go get a flashlight so we can see inside the fixture. Well, the flood lamp goes in without a hitch until Bob starts “screwing” it in. The apparatus again becomes lodged in the light fixture. This time as Bob is trying to dislodge it, pieces of the ceiling start pelting us. Then Bob gives it another good tug, and the fixture itself comes out of the ceiling! At that point, I howl with laughter because not only is the fixture hanging loose, the light bulb retrieval tool is still stuck in the fixture. Bob lets it go and casually asks me if I think theatre members will notice if he just leaves it like that. The pole is bright yellow. Now we both start laughing. After our bout of laughter, Bob finally gets the bright yellow pole out of the fixture. So when you come to the theatre and see the hanging fixture, please remember what fun was had in creating this masterpiece.

GHOSTS

2008-04-10T04:46:00.003-05:00

So, I wake up this morning at 4:00 am. Wide awake, not one of those "I'll just roll over and go back to sleep". I tried that and it didn't work. So I got up, made a cup of java, and decided to read blogs and update mine. I have been remiss in posting on a regular basis. Seems when I get home, I just plop myself in front of the TV and veg. It's Thursday, and I haven't been on my computer any evening this week.

Speaking of TV, I have lately began watching a show called Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi channel. My son asked me last night if I believe in that stuff. I had to say that I do. The video evidence that they show is pretty compelling. Not to mention personal experience. I lived in a house in El Paso that was haunted. I say haunted, because I don't know what else to call it. Strange things occurred on a regular basis, not scary, just strange. I never gave much thought to it being a ghost until: Something woke me up one night. I laid in bed and listened. There was someone in the kitchen rumaging through drawers. I distinctly heard the flatware being moved around. Then the kitchen light came on. I think it is a burglar and got really scared. I didn't move. After a few seconds (it seemed liked minutes) quiet ensued. I lay there for a little longer and not hearing anything, got up to investigate. Sure enough the kitchen light was on and the drawer I kept the flatware in was open. I need to say at that time, I did not have children, it was only my husband and me in the house. I check all the doors and they are locked. Until that night, I never thought of the wierd things that happened as being a ghost. One thing that happened on a fairly regular basis was that "pocket change" would go missing. Jay (my husband) would put any change he had in his pocket on the dresser. Next day, it might be gone. He would ask if I took the change. Never really gave that much thought until we were moving out of the house. We found change piled up on a shelf in a closet in the spare bedroom. Explain that. The other things that happened were noises that couldn't be explained. Like hearing the front door open, and when I check, it is closed and locked. Hearing sounds like someone walking on the roof, and upon investigation, finding nothing.

These things didn't happen everyday. In fact, they happend rarely enough that I never gave them much thought. Until the kitchen incident. Then things I heard, or thought I saw took on a whole new meaning. Jay and I didn't live in the house very long. He got orders to go to Germany, so away we went!

I Dance for Hope

2008-04-05T06:59:00.002-05:00

Today at Strauss there will be a special program. The program is: I Dance for Hope. Hope Anderson (many of you may know her) is sponsoring this event for the Children's Miracle Network. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Children's Miracle Network. Local dance companies and dance schools are involved. In addition, the Young Troupe will be opening and closing the program with High School Musical numbers.

Ticket sales are not occurring through the Strauss Box Office, therefore, I don't have any idea what they cost. They will be available at the door. It could be that they are already sold out. The program starts this afternoon at 3 p.m., and will last around 2 hours. If you need something to do this afternoon and would like to attend, please do so. You might want to call Strauss first to see if seats are still available. It will be a very entertaining show, and is for a good cause.

Weather

2008-04-04T06:45:00.006-05:00

I decided I must like English. Or better stated, I find it amusing when people use it incorrectly. Have you ever heard weather forecasters use the term "ponding on the roadways"? It makes me laugh when I hear it. Perhaps weather people don't know the definition of pond. Now that I think about it, with the state of roads in Louisiana, you could definitely have a pond in the roadway. Wonder if weathermen in other states use the term, or is it indigenous to Louisiana? I do understand the word pond can be used to convey temporary accumulation of water from runoff, but that is not normally accepted use. In that case, I have ponds all over my yard after a rain. Here's another term weathermen use: variable clouds. Variable clouds? Come on, tell us what you really mean. Does it mean there are going to be cumulus, nimbus, cumulonimbus, stratus, and cirrus clouds all mixed up together? Or maybe it means they will all make appearances at different times, like marching across the sky in waves. Like a marching band. Don’t really know what weathermen are trying to convey when they say variable clouds. Perhaps I need to take a course in weather forecasting. That way, the terms used by weathermen will begin to make sense. I encourage you all to avoid ponding on the roadways, and if you see any threatening variable clouds, get into a sturdy building away from windows! It is always helpful to have a battery operated weather radio so you can stay informed of any threatening conditions.

VARIABLE CLOUDS?

PONDING?

Dishwasher Practices

2008-03-30T07:51:00.003-05:00

For years I did not have a dishwasher. I had to wash dishes in the sink. I didn't mind it at all. Now that I have a dishwasher, I am wondering if there is a proper technique. For instance, I don't unload the dishwasher after it is finished it's cycle. NO, instead, I open it up and take out dishes as I need them. Now I don't think this is necessarily WRONG, but it means that I can't load dirty dishes until I put up the clean ones. Consequently the dirty dishes get piled in the sink. Then when there is a plethora of dirty dishes, I unload the clean ones and start loading the dirty ones. I think it would be better to unload the clean ones as soon as I can after they are finished washing. That way I could immediately start loading dirty dishes. That seems like a much better plan. If I did it that way, I would always know whatever is in the dishwasher is dirty. I wouldn't have to think about getting one of those magnets you stick on the dishwasher that says "dirty" on one side and "clean" on the other. Just a thought. I also don't use the dishwasher until it is fully loaded. Why waste soap, electricity, and hot water on 1/2 a load? I don't know why I am posting this, but I was just thinking about getting up and unloading the dishes I washed last night, and then thought NAH, I'll do it later. My life is much more interesting than my little known dishwasher techniques, but that is what I was thinking about this morning. I guess I will get up and unload the thing, won't take me more than a few minutes. Hope you all have a great day, and GO UNLOAD YOUR DISHWASHER! It'll give you a sense of accomplishment. Hahahahaha.

New Office

2008-03-28T06:15:00.004-05:00

Well, Laura Michelle and I have been working on moving into the board room of the mainstage. I guess I need to call it the new Young Troupe office. It has been slow going since there is so much other stuff going on. Setting up new computers, running around getting props and things like that for Reality Bites Back, helping Joel Willer with the lighting scheme for Sugar, and manning the Mainstage box office. Suffice it to say, it is three days after we started the moving process, and the place looks like it did on day one. Oh well, I guess it will eventually get finished. Thanks to the Midnight Monkey, who came to help, and to Dennis Mitchell who took time away from building the "train car" to lend a hand. Just so you know, moving the table that was in the board room was a 2 day job! That is one big piece of furniture; it is now in the lobby of the Young Troupe. I took a few pics to document the change, but once I uploaded them, I noticed they were blurred. I guess I don't have a steady hand anymore. But I have posted them anyway.

Email Problem

2008-03-26T07:39:00.004-05:00

Well I feel like an idiot. I was sending an email this morning and after I clicked the send button, I got a pop-up that I actually took the time to read. This pop-up told me that my mail wasn't sent. So I do some checking and sure enough, my email was set up to receive mail, but not send mail. Upon further investigation, there were around 8 emails I thought I had sent, but there they were sitting in my outbox. So I had email that I had sent to my mother, my sisters, Joel W. and some others that never got sent. I guess this occurred when I got my new system put together. I never thought to check my email settings because I was receiving mail. Now that I think about it, I got those pop-up messages, but never took the time to read them, and never thought they were connected to sending email. OH Well, it's fixed now. Now I know why Joel Willer told me he never got the email I sent, because I didn't actually send it. And no, it wasn't a dongle problem at all, all my dongles are working as they should........

Other news. Laura Michelle and I are moving our offices over to the Mainstage. Boy is that going to be some work, but it will be worth it when it is done. We are moving the Young Troupe box office over to the room that is currently the "Board Room". It will save tremendously on the utility bill. Won't have to heat and cool the Young Troupe during business hours. Hopefully it will also help with our networking problems. Often, the Young Troupe looses connection to the server. If any of you need to kill a few hours, come help us! We could use the help and hopefully have fun at the same time. Oh, another thing. We got a computer set up in the sound booth. From now on, we can run sound effects and music from the computer instead of the mini-disk and CD players. Yahoo! Everyone have a great day, gotta go.

Nifty Application

2008-03-24T06:46:00.008-05:00

Nifty= very good; fine; excellent.

Etymology of the word nifty:
1868, perhaps theatrical slang, first attested in a poem by Bret Harte, who said it was a shortened, altered form of magnificat (q.v.).

How about that? The word nifty is theatrical slang! Who'd have guessed? But I digress. You know how I like to post about all things computer. This post is no different, except for the nifty reference.

There is a nifty program available that is free to download and use. If you are concerned about software security issues, you need to try this out. It is the Secunia Personal Software Inspector. This program will scan your computer for vulnerabilites. It doesn't stop there though. Once scanned, it will list all the software installed on your computer that are potentially insecure, and if available, provides a direct link to download a "patched" version.

Just so you know, Secunia is a corporation that specializes in security threats. I copied this from their web site: Security is our business and our passion. Our mission is to work for higher levels of security. We will not keep quiet as vendor standards slip and vulnerabilities go unchecked, resulting in security threats to individuals and corporations.

Here is what Secunia detected about my system. I have one program that is insecure.

If you are interested in this program and want to give it a try, go to Secuia.com and on the left side look for "Software Inspectors" and click on Personl (PSI).
Here's a screen shot so you can see what I am talking about.

After you install it, have it scan your system. It will list all the software that has vulnerabilites and will provide a direct download link if a patch is available. Have fun, and Happy Computing!

My Idle Mind

2008-03-19T13:05:00.004-05:00

This morning I spent 4+ hours putting labels on a mailout for Reality Bites Back. In so doing, I came across several hyphenated last names like Allen-Bell. Because this particular job didn't require any thought, I started thinking. Thinking about hyphenated names. My first thought was, Why? Personally, I think it rather strange. Then I got to thinking about what names would cause one to decide not to use a hypenated name. Here are some of the ones I made up:
Nichols-Quarters
Chandler-Lear
Wold-War
Mosley-Pleasant
All-LaBorde
Cummings-Goins
Coffey-Perkins
Goode-Nabors
Maxwell-Smart
And my personal favorite:
Worley-Byrd
Have a great day.

Improv Musical

2008-03-18T07:38:00.003-05:00

All my theatre friends, go here and watch this video:

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/

You can also view it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Okay, lunch bunch, you have got to do something like this. With all the talent in this group, it would be a hoot. Well, maybe after Sugar is over.

Enjoy.

My Computer

2008-03-17T07:18:00.003-05:00

I finally got my new computer stuff put together, and got everything working as it should. Or maybe I should say that as far as I know everything is working properly. I am happy about all that. I can also say that it can play any video game you can throw at it, as well as multi-task with ease! I only wish I had the moola to put all this in a new case, but alas, I did not. Not that it is any big deal, the case I have is fine. although it kind of reminds me of putting a brand new engine in an old car. For all it's power, it is relatively quiet. The enery saving feature is great. My CPU only uses about 2 watts of power under a normal load!

I realize that most people don't get excited about computers like I do. It is my hobby, I think. Fixing and building them. I enjoy that kind of challenge, and learn a lot in the process. By the way, all my dongles are intact and functioning. Yeehaw!

Dongle

2008-03-15T08:16:00.003-05:00

A dongle is a small hardware device that connects to a computer, often to authenticate a piece of software.

I can't help it, this post is for Steve Munz. You see, one of the words he likes to use is the word dongle. Now he doesn't use it everyday, and as a matter of fact, doesn't use it often. But when he does use it, he uses it with vigor and conviction. There are other words one can use in the place of dongle, but they are either hardware specific or vague generalizations. Dongle is much more fun to say than "thingy" or "whatchamacallit". Steve would never use whatchamacallit. It just doesn't carry the "umph" of dongle!

I encourage everyone to use the word dongle when necessary. It will make you sound educated and knowledgeable. If you feel uncomfortable using the word, talk to Steve. He will be able to expertly explain when you should or should not use the word. When you do use the word, use it with conviction.

Dongle losers and abusers beware! It is absolutely necessary that you take care of your dongles. If you lose one, or abuse one, they could be costly or impossible to replace. If you do not know the correct name of your dongle, then it will be harder to find a replacement. Imagine calling the manufacturer of your web cam or other computer hardware and requesting a replacement "thingy" that (insert description of what the dongle does here).

There are multitudes of dongles. Go to google and do an image search on the word dongle and you will see what I am talking about.

Smiley Face

Reality Bites Back

2008-03-13T06:15:00.005-05:00

First tickets sold yesterday!! The word is out. Folks are starting to call for information about the dinner theatre. It's still a few weeks out, so we are mostly providing information. Those I talked with are very interested, and will call back. We have to know what kind of dinner they want (chicken, fish, steak) before we can actually book seats. You should hear us reading the menu to them.
Chicken: Grilled chicken breast over fettucini alfredo, green beans,....
Fish: Redfish Amandine, green beans, baked potato....
Steak: 6 oz Filet Mignon, green beans, baked potato....
I was getting hungry just repeating the menu.

Sorry I missed the Lunch Bunch. I had to stay in the Box Office since Elana was out. Perhaps next week, but I think not because I just remembered that Elana will be out the next 2 weeks on Tuesday and Wednesday because her daughter is undergoing a medical procedure.

Hey, if any of you know anybody who might be interested in working backstage on Sugar, let me know, or ask them to give me a call. We already have a light board operator, 2 spotlight operators, and 1 floor crew. There are going to be a couple of big set pieces that will need to be moved. The train car, the band platform and the hotel corridor, plus several smaller wagons. It is going to be tight backstage! I can't determine how many fly rail operators until the show gets staged. It is entirely possible we will need 2 people up there. OH, in case you haven't heard, I am going to be making a "cameo" apperance in Sugar as the cab driver. It should be fun.

This is for Mark, aka pard1959.

MySpace Comments

Daylight Savings Time

2008-03-12T06:40:00.004-05:00

I admit it. I can't stand daylight savings time. My body seems to be aware of daylight and darkness. It wants to sleep when it is dark and be awake when it is light. Daylight savings time messes me up. Why do we do it? It must be for the "night owls" and not the "early birds". Think about it, you really don't get any extra hours of daylight, you don't really "save" daylight. I don't like it when it doesn't get dark til 9 p.m. There is something wrong with that. I guess all the little leaguers like it though. They can play ball late into the evening and still have light. I guess the farmers like it cause they can work in the fields late into the evening. I guess there are lots of other folks who like it, but not me!

BTW, did you ever wonder why we use the terms "night owls" and "early birds"? Why is the time we arise in the morning or retire in the evening associated with fowl? Let's think of some new names in other genre's. Like the insecta genre:
"early fly"
"night roach"
Or the mammilian genre:
"early squirrel"
"night coyote"
Nevermind. You can come up with your own. I still dislike daylight savings time!

Stage Painted

2008-03-11T06:24:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, Bob, Joe and I painted the stage floor. It was fun, and kind of relaxing. It sure needed it. However, the stage floor is in need of repair, that's for sure! I imagine that it will cost a lot to get it fixed. If you have been on stage lately, you know what I am talking about. But at least it looks nice. Paint only covers the flaws (a little). Of course in a couple of weeks, you probably won't even be able to tell that it has been painted.

Getting the set ready for Sugar is in full swing. We found a gentleman who has agreed to paint "drops" for the show. His name is Tony. I don't remember his last name. He basically just walked in off the street and applied for the Technical Director job. Dennis Mitchell is building the set pieces and Tony is going to help with that as well. Say "hey" to Tony if you see him, and thank Dennis for volunteering his time to get the set pieces done.

We have 8 drops we have to paint. They are going to be black and white. Black is the background color and the details will be white. This will be more difficult than it sounds. First, we have to paint the background black. It is going to take a lot of white paint to cover the black. At least it seems so. I don't think that one pass of white paint is going to cover the black, so it will have to be painted multiple times for the white to look white. We shall see.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Myspace Comment Graphics

Random Thoughts

2008-03-09T07:58:00.004-05:00

Streetcar closes today. When shows close, it is always bittersweet for me. On one hand I'm glad it's over and ready to enjoy evenings with nothing to do. Then on the other hand, I know I'll miss seeing the people that have been involved in the show. Streetcar was a good run and the audiences enjoyed it.

High School Musical has a couple of performances left. Each performance is/was "sold out". What a great show! Unfortunately, several people have become angry when told there are no more seats available. According to these folks, it is always the theatre's fault that they can't see the show. You know, it's our fault that they didn't get their mailer, or they got it late. It is always our fault that the phone is busy and they can't get through. It's our fault when they show up at the 5 o'clock show when their tickets were for the 1 o'clock show. It's our fault when they show up on the 8th and their tickets were for the 1st. To be perfectly honest, I got sick and tired of hearing all the reasons we were at fault. Can I help it that your mailer was late? Is it my fault that you can't read the date and time on your ticket? Is it my fault that you were unable to get through on the phone? I can't help it the phone lines were always busy. Yes, a lot of folks left messages on the answering machine, yes, we were unable to take care of those in a timely manner because we couldn't stop answering the ringing lines. Well enough of that, but you get the picture. If there is one thing I can say about Laura Michelle and myself, we are NOT slackards, nor incompetent! We didn't sit in the office all day and refuse to answer phones or refuse to make reservations. If I remember correctly, there were 3 days last week that I stayed in the office from 8:30 to 4:00, never leaving, never taking a lunch break, literally running to the bathroom (so as not to miss many calls), you get the picture.

I get extremely aggravated when people refuse to take responsiblity for their actions and place the blame on others. Do we make mistakes? Yes we do, but both of us admit when the fault is ours. If you haven't worked with the box office software, it is easy to choose the wrong day or time, but both Laura Michelle and I go over the information with the people. OK, you have 3 adults and 3 student tickets for the 8th at 1 o'clock. Are you paying attention to what I am saying? If you wanted the 5 o'clock show and I said 1 o'clock, why don't you tell me? Is it my fault when you book 5 seats and then call back 3 days later and want to add another seat next to the seats you already have and nothing is available?

I guess you can tell that I am ranting. I do have to say that the majority of people are very understanding. It is only a few that act like idiots. I need to focus on the positive folks and not let the negative ones get to me.

Opera...Again!

2008-03-08T08:41:00.009-06:00

I have posted several times about Opera. I decided this time that I would demonstrate the security of Opera compared to Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Please don't misunderstand this post. I am not bashing IE or Firefox. I am ranting about Opera. Opera has been around since the early 1990's. You could get it for free, but it had a lot of banner ads attached to the free version. If you wanted to get rid of the banner ads, you could purchase it. I did. Anyway, now it is free, and I encourage you all to download it.

Now on to the security. I visited a web site after someone told me about Ruby Reds. I was considering ordering some. Following are screenshots of the web page taken in Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera. A picture is worth a thousand words. Click on the images to see them in a full page.

Here's what Firefox reported:

Look at Internet Explorer:

Now, let's take a look at Opera:

I could go on and on about the benefits of Opera. After seeing this, if you are interested in getting Opera, please click on the download box in the upper right corner of my blog. If you would like to learn more about Opera, you can also do that by clicking on the download box.

Have a great and SAFE day!

Great Discipline!

2008-03-07T09:54:00.005-06:00

I can't remember how I found this story, but I like it. Wish more parents did this kind of thing. I am sure there are multitudes of folks who think this cruel and unsual;some probably think it constitutes some form of child abuse, but I say WAY TO GO, MOM!

'Mean Mom' Sells Son's Car After Misdeed
Wed Jan 9, 8:45 PM EST

DES MOINES, Iowa — Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "meanest mom on the planet." After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone — by placing an ad in the local newspaper.

The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet.

If you would like to read the complete article, you can find it here:
http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/odd/2008/01/09/ODD.Car.Ad/

NIHT

2008-03-04T20:22:00.004-06:00

I am a huge fan of the X-Files. One of the shows was NIHT or, Nothing Important Happened Today. That's how I would describe today. It's quite tonight, except for the sound of the dishwasher. My son is at work with the W. Monroe Police Department. He is a communications officer. This is where he works.

Steve was unable to come over because he had a rehearsal for the dinner theatre show. When I got home, I looked at the dishes that needed washing, the clothes that needed washing and politely sat down and watched TV. The mess will still be there tomorrow. However, after a while, I couldn't stand it and got up and did a load of laundry, made a grilled cheese sandwich and then loaded up the dishwasher. I guess you could say it is boring, but it has been relaxing. I hope everyone has a NIHT from time to time. When you do, enjoy it.

Mistake

2008-03-02T07:39:00.002-06:00

I forgot to roll up the window in my truck. Now this could be a big deal in Louisiana, if starts raining. It didn't rain last night, so what's the problem? A cat decided it would use my truck for its litter box. If any of you have ever had a cat (especially a "tom" cat) you know what I am talking about. I got in my truck this morning, and the smell was very distintive. YUCK! It's a nasty thing to have happen. The paper mill smell is bad enough, but add cat urine and you got the double whammy! A word of warning, never, never, forget to roll up your windows. Unless you have a garage in which to park your vehicle. I need to go buy some Febreeze and hope that helps.

Yesterday was good. Both performances of High School Musical were sold out! Streetcar was pretty close to full. I think there may have been 4 or 5 seats open. Many people were entertained at Strauss yesterday. Young Troupe seats around 240 and Main Stage seats 274. So if I can do the math correctly (in my head) that means 700+ were in attendance for the days shows. Not bad at all.

Time to go shopping for Frebreeze.

Agenda

2008-02-28T07:51:00.002-06:00

Today's work schedule involves cleaning and/or straightening up backstage. If any of you have been back there lately, you know what I am talking about. I am amazed that Streetcar has been accident free with all the stuff that is laying around back there. I will take my camera and show what progress was made. It will be better than working in the shop because I can turn on the heat if it is cold. Come by and say HI.

MySpace Comments / Glitter Graphics

Computer Upgrade

2008-02-27T13:24:00.008-06:00

I finally went ahead and "bit the bullet". I ordered some new components for my aging, non-working computer. This one should last me a good looooong time. As long as I take care of it.

First, the brain: It's a dual core processor that runs at 3.0 Ghz and has 6Mb of L2 cache! This baby should SCREAM!

Next the motherboard to put it in. From Gigabyte, it supports the new Intel 45n architecture and is also "green" or energy efficient, which was a big selling point.

Next, the video card. I ordered two of these. Each card has 512mb of video memory and runs in a PCI-e 2.0 slot. If I wanted to, I could hook this up to an HD TV and get my picture in 1080p. They should be great! Unfortunately, they are not energy efficient.

And last, but not least the memory. I got 4 sticks of DDR2 memory. Should be enough to do whatever I need.
Although WinXP may not be able to recognize that I have 4 gigs.

I apologize if this little blog is boring, but I am excited. After 2 months I
will finally have a decent computer! Wish me luck when putting this thing together!
I probably won't be able to do it until next weekend.

Running on Empty

2008-02-24T22:01:00.003-06:00

No, this is not about the Jackson Browne song. Nor is it about me not having enough energy to get through the day. This is about the gas gauge in my vehicle. In the past month, it has started acting up. Sometimes it stays on E, even though I know I have gas in the tank. What makes it funny is for a split second, I think "man someone siphoned my gas." I think this because I lived through the gasoline crisis in the 1970's. The one I remember the best was the one in 1979. Back then it was almost an all day affair just to get gas. You had to wait in lines that were blocks long, and then you could only buy 10 gallons. If you needed more than 10 gallons, you could go wait in another line at another gas station. It was horrible! It was also a time when you had better have a locking gas cap, or what little gas you had in your vehicle was likely to get siphoned. It happened to me. The gasoline crisis in 1973 wasn't as bad (as I remember), but President Carter and his entourage decided one way America could curb its huge appetite for gasoline was to lower the speed limit to 55. Can you imagine driving 55 miles an hour on the interstate?

Back to my gas gauge. Sometimes if I whack the dashboard just right, it will move. Sometimes is starts creeping up slowly on its own. Sometimes it behaves as it should. Maybe my gas gauge is alot like people. Some need a kick in the pants to get them going, some have to warm up before they start working, and some just do what they should do!

Tagged

2008-02-22T08:44:00.003-06:00

I have been tagged by several folks. I posted on myspace, but I'll follow pard's example and repost here. I will admit to adding more information than the one on myspace. For some reason, I find it difficult to talk about myself, especially "feelings".

1. I am blind in my left eye. I don't remember the event, but according to my parents, when I was 3 or 4 I was running with a stick in my mouth and fell. It poked me in the back of my throat. I was taken to the doctor and given a tetnus shot. The next morning my left eye was "turned out". I had surgery to straighten it.

2. In my youth, a group of kids (including myself) from the neighborhood would sometimes go to new home construction areas and turn over porta-potties. YUCK. When my dad found out, he was extremely upset!

3. I dislike going to the doctor, and have to be extremely ill, before I even consider it. I have this rant about the health system. If you want to hear it, just ask.

4. I wish I could sing well. I don't sing in the shower, and very rarely sing while I am driving. This is because I don't want people to hear me!

5. I lived in southern Germany in a town called Swaebisch Hall. I would love to go back, it was beautiful there. Got to see lots of neat stuff like the "Burning of the Heidleburg Castle", the place where they held the Nuremburg trials, etc.

6. I once lived in a haunted house. Very unusual things would happen, but I was never scared, and I never saw the ghost. Lights would come on, doorknobs turn, kitchen drawers opened, pocket change missing, etc.

7. My mom passed away when I was 13. After all these years, I can still remember what happened and how I felt.

8. Even though I love theatre, I don't take time to get to know plays. Sometimes
I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't heard of a certain play, or that I have heard of it, but don't know a thing about it.

9. I wish I had the money to travel the world, heck, even the United States. I have dreamed of just being able to get in the car and go where ever the road takes me. Anybody want to go the the Mall of America?

10. I love to go fishing. I haven't been in years, and miss it. It is so peaceful sitting in a boat out on a lake. I bought a truck instead of a car because it was my intention to use it to pull a boat. 10 years later, and I still don't have a boat, and probably never will. Anybody want a fishing partner?

French Fries, Coffee Cups and Motherboards

2008-02-21T07:35:00.004-06:00

I hate to admit this. But if you were to go look in my truck right this moment, you would see spilled french fries, a motherboard, 2 or 3 coffee cups, some junk mail and an umbrella I borrowed from the "lost and found". I like to keep my vehicle clean. But there are times I let it go, like right now. I kinda like the smell of the french fries; maybe someone will manufacture an air freshener with that smell. See, here's what's happened with the french fries. Tuesday evening I ran to Burger King to get something to eat before the preview of Streetcar. On the way back to the theater, I guess a took a turn a little to fast, and there go the fries. Of course, the bag would not have turned over if it hadn't been precariously perched on the motherboard I have in the front seat. Well, by the time I got back to the theatre, it was almost time to open the house, so I didn't have time to clean it up. I didn't do it yesterday either. As for the coffee cups, I take a cup of coffee with me when I leave for work every morning. Sometimes I leave them in the truck instead of bringing them back in the house. When that happens, the next morning, I put the used coffee cup on the floorboard. So far this week, I haven't brought any back in the house. I have been getting home around 11 pm, and by that time, coffee cups are the least of my worries.

There you have it. I can be a slob! Especially when a show is in progress. I end up spending 12-14 hours at the theatre and cleaning my vehicle is the last thing on my mind.

Volunteers

2008-02-19T08:39:00.002-06:00

I should have left for work 30 minutes ago. Lucky for me though, I don't have to punch a time clock. Truth be told, I'll probably spend a minimum of 12 hours there today. I am not complaining, I love it.

One of the things we talk about at Strauss is how to recruit and keep volunteers. Besides Bob, Dennis, Elana, Laura Michelle, Kyle, Joe and me, everyone else you see in the theater is a volunteer. Lately, it has been difficult to find people who want to work crew. More and more of the tech (floor crew, fly rail, lights and sound) are being done by actors. Case in point is Streetcar. Most of the actors are also serving as the crew, and I believe it was the same in Oscar and Felix. I am at a loss, I don't know how to recruit crew. I have not done a good job. I think back to the time I first volunteered. We had a core group of "techies". There were 5 of us who would work almost every show. Strauss needs another core group of techies. I don't know how to find them. Those who stay usually do so because they love it. It's the friendships too. One of the things that kept me coming back were the people I met and the friendships I made.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved at Strauss, whether you were on stage, backstage or both. We would not have this venue if it were not for your love of theatre!

MySpace Comments

Operator in Your Pocket

2008-02-18T06:08:00.005-06:00

Here it is Monday morning. A lot of folks (city, state & federal) don't have to go to work today. Ain't that nice? I, on the other hand, don't have that luxury. But on the other, other hand, I don't consider going to the Strauss theatre work!

The first job I had that wasn't part time was as a long distance operator for Mountain Bell. This was in El Paso, Tx. I worked what they called split 10's. I would work 10-2 then 6-10. Back in the day, if you wanted to make a long distance phone call, you had to call the operator and they would place the call. This was also before 911 or 411. So us long distance operators took those calls too. Each station had a direct link to the police and fire stations. If we took an emergency call, then we would connect the person directly to the appropriate department. We had to monitor the call, i.e., take notes on the emergency. If someone wanted a phone number, we transfered them to another station. The poor person working that station had mounds of phone books and would have to physically open up the books and look for numbers. If they wanted a phone number out of town, we would call that town and they would patch them through to the "information" operator.

There were things we could do that were frowned upon by management, and were just wrong. We could "break" into conversations, listen in on conversations, disconnect people, etc. If a paricular customer was annoying or rude we could do things like not release their line when they were finished talking, then the next time they picked up their phone, they wouldn't have a dial tone. LOL! We could connect family or friends and let them talk to each other for free. We had to be careful with that one though. Our work was always monitored; a supervisor randomly listening to everyone. And yes, I have to admit to participating in some of those activities.

What's the point of this you may ask? Just letting you know how things have changed. You hardly need operators anymore, and if you do, they are in your pocket, clipped to your belt, or in your purse. Look at this picture and you can see just how much things have changed. Just think in another 50 years, you youngsters will be showing your kids and grandkids pictures of the Iphone and laughing at the outdated technology.

Have a great day!

Computer Update

2008-02-16T08:04:00.002-06:00

I really don't want to sound geeky, so I'll just say that the motherboard in my computer appears to be the culprit. I don't have many choices at this point. Fixing what I have is virtually impossible. But that's OK. I have been wanting to build a new system for a couple of months, and it looks like that is the direction I will be taking. However, instead of getting everything new, I will use parts that I already have. So basically I'm looking at a motherboard, processor, ram, power supply and case. I can use my current hard drives, video cards, sound card, dvd drive, and cd-rw drive. I really enjoy building my own system, so instead of being upset, I am excited. I will be extremely happy when I get this done because this compter I am using right now is so slow! For instance, I can go make a cup of instant coffee during the time it takes just to open my web browser, or clip my nails in the time it takes to load a web page. As I am typing this, I get about four letters typed before they actually show up on the screen. The faster I type, the worse it gets!

On another note, I usually have difficulty thinking about what I want to put on this blog. Mostly because I want to post something informative, funny, relavant, etc. I am going to attempt to post more often and just talk about my day, what I am feeling, what I am thinking about etc. It'll be something new for me that's for sure.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Looks like it is going to rain most of the weekend.

Glitter Graphics & Comments

About Valentine's Day

2008-02-13T06:56:00.003-06:00

It is interesting that many of the holidays and "special" days celebrated in North America have roots in the Christian religion. Valentine's day is no exception. The following excerpt is from Wikipedia:

Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Happy Valentine's day to all. May you spend it with someone dear to you.

More Comments at pYzam.com

Computer Woes

2008-02-12T07:07:00.000-06:00

I have been having problems with my computer.  It is setting dismantled on the floor.
I am using an old computer that I got years ago.  I was going to give this one to the
grandkids.  I still am, but I'm glad I have it around, otherwise I would not be able
to get online. I enjoy working on computers, and fixing problems. Problem is I have been unable to figure out what is wrong with mine. I do have it narrowed down to a couple of things. It's either the motherboard or the video cards. I ordered a cheap video card for testing purposes. It will be here Thursday. If I plug it in and it doesn't work, then that means my motherboard is bad. If that is the case, then I will need to get a new computer. I suppose I could replace the motherboard, but the kind I have has been discontinued. Better stated, the processor that I have has been discontinued, so there are not many motherboards available that will fit the processor I already have. This is not a life altering event of any sort, but it is frustrating! Have a great day!

How I Spent My Saturday

2008-02-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Steve and I went to Vicksburg. We went to the Ameristar to eat lunch. Some have commented that it is a long way to go for lunch. But it really isn't about the eating. Whenever Steve and I go, we have the time to talk.....uninterrupted. If you haven't been to the Ameristar lately, they are doing a big parking additon. I think it might be 5 floors, but I didn't count.

Later in the evening, I went to visit my grandkids. As always, I was thoroughly entertained! Aylssa was quick to show me her report card; she made S+ in all subjects. Alyssa told me that she liked science, and then began to give me a lecture on the weather. Jeanine says that Alyssa listens to weather on the radio and often watches the weather channel. Jeanine also said that Alyssa will (at unexpected times) provide everyone in earshot with weather predictions. My "grandma-vision" saw Alyssa as the meteorologist on a local TV station. Aaron had a friend over, so he was otherwise occupied, but he did show me how well he can navigate the computer. He and his friend were playing games on-line. Then, if you can believe this, we watched High School Musical #2. Unfortunately, the DVD was scratched and we had to skip chapters. All in all, I had a wonderful time yesterday. Hope everyone else had a great day too!

I'm #2

2008-02-07T21:19:00.000-06:00

I hate to admit it, but I have finally discovered someone who is better than me when it comes to injuring their self. This person is none other than my boss Bob. You can see his picture in the post just under this one. Ok, so I have been employed at Strauss Theater 4 months. In those four months Bob has achieved the following:

1. While hanging rope lights for "Forever Plaid" Bob impaled his head on some bailing wire. This mind you when he was on a ladder at least 12 feet in the air! Funny thing is, Bob didn't even know it until I saw the blood running down his face after he descended the ladder.

2. Bob inadvertently stabbed his left hand with a pair of scissors whilst trying to open a package.

3. One afternoon, Bob and I were taking some clothes racks from the costume shop to the place where we were having the masquerade ball. After we got them out of the bed of my truck, the one Bob was handling suddenly began collapsing (it's a long story). Anyway, one side of the rack fell and smacked him right in the middle of the chest. Later his chest began to hurt, and he ran to the bathroom to examine the wound.

4. During the process of cleaning the scene shop, Bob and I were removing 4 by 4 pieces of lumber that were stacked, oh I'd say about an arm's length above our heads. Unfortunately for Bob, we were unaware there were pieces of 3/4 inch plywood setting atop the 4 by 4's. In the sudden avalanche of plywood, one piece struck Bob on the head.

5. This one also involves cleaning the scene shop. Bob was only walking. He suddenly says to me, "Is there a pair of pliers around here?" While searching for pliers Bob told me he had stepped on a screw. After I found the pliers, I pulled a 1 inch screw from the bottom of his shoe. You gotta figure the screw was standing on end, and how often does that actually happen?

I know there have been more incidents but these are all I can remember right now. So please keep Bob in your thoughts. Strauss Theater would hate to lose such a fine General Manager to a loose bolt, a piece of MDF, or heaven forbid, twinkle lights!

Here's a better picture of Bob, he's on the right, that's me in the middle, and Dennis Gleason on the left.

Scene Shop Clean-up, A Work in Progress

2008-02-02T07:23:00.000-06:00

I mentioned before that I have been involved in cleaning out the scene shop at the theatre. This first picture is of Joe, Bob and Kyle standing in front of the "trash trailer". So far we have filled up 3 of these. This one is the 4th, and we are still smiling.

More junk that is waiting to go into the now empty trash trailer.

This is how the rear of the scene shop still looks. We have tons of stuff to clean up back here. I still think it is going to take us another three or four days!

Joe and Kyle fooling around. We found this horrible thing buried in the back of the shop. It was the first item to go in the trash, after I took the picture, of course.

Web Browsing

2008-02-01T06:49:00.000-06:00

I have stated in other posts about my preference for the Opera web browser. I understand people have different tastes in web browsers just like they do in cars, homes, furniture, or a plethora of other items. So with "taste" issues aside, let's just talk about security. In today's age of browser hijackers, identity theft, spyware, malware, etc. I wonder why people would choose a less secure browser. That being said, which browser is more secure, less apt to be hijacked, etc?

I often visit Secunia, which is a company that takes security to heart. In their words:
Security is our business and our passion. Our mission is to work for higher levels of security. We will not keep quiet as vendor standards slip and vulnerabilities go unchecked, resulting in security threats to individuals and corporations.
Secunia collects, evaluates, verifies, and analyses security information. This security information is available through our databases and is distributed to our customers, segmented according to their specific business needs.

Let's compare Secunia advisories for 2007 on three browsers: Opera, Firefox, Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer
Secunia has issued a total of 17 Secunia advisories in 2007 for Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.x. Currently, 24% (4 out of 17) are marked as Unpatched with the most severe being rated Less critical.

Firefox
Secunia has issued a total of 15 Secunia advisories in 2007 for Mozilla Firefox 2.0.x. Currently, 20% (3 out of 15) are marked as Unpatched with the most severe being rated Not critical

Opera
Secunia has issued a total of 9 Secunia advisories in 2007 for Opera 9.x. Currently, 0% (0 out of 9) are marked as Unpatched.

So, if you are concerned about security, or if you often transmit sensitive information over the internet, I strongly suggest you give Opera a try. Bells and whistles aside, Opera is by reputation the most secure browser available. In additon, it is the most innovative. Don't believe me, check this out:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9005614&pageNumber=6

Well, enough of my Opera rant. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Writer's Strike

2008-01-31T04:52:00.000-06:00

I am beginning to get tired of the writer's strike. While I really don't watch that much TV, there are several shows that I like, and watch each week. I miss them.

Bob (my boss), Kyle (technical director) and myself have spent a couple of days cleaning the scene shop at the theatre. None of us can remember the last time it was done. So far this week we have filled up two trailers. The city of Monroe provides the trailers free of charge as a part of "Beautify Monroe" or something like that. That doesn't include the regular dumpster we have for trash. It's hard work, but it is kind of fun. Mostly for me because I remember what plays a certain piece was used in. Like we found the platform we used in "The Foreigner". It was distinctive because of the trap door. During "The Foreigner" one of my jobs was to go underneath this platform, throw open the trap door and raise a fistful of sauerkraut. I had forgotten about it till we ran across the platform. As we found different props and flats, we had fun remembering the shows and the people that were in them. Alas, it is probablly going to take another 3-4 days and another 3-4 trailers to throw out all the old and broken stuff.

This weekend, the theatre is having a fundraiser. It is a masquerade ball. Don't know exactly what I will be doing at the ball. Probablly taking tickets or something. Before the ball, there is a party at the home of one of our members. At that party, I will be driving a golf cart to ferry people from their cars to the house. Should be fun, unless it is cold, raining, or both. I have to dress up. That is the only part I don't like. Since it is a masquerade ball, I'll have to wear a mask. I am going to get a mask today during lunch, if there are any left in the city.

I'm baaacckkk

2008-01-29T06:34:00.000-06:00

Forgive me for not posting in quite a while. For the last 3 weeks, I have been busy with "Oscar and Felix, A New Look at the Odd Couple". When a show is on stage, I am at the theatre almost all the time, including weekends. Anyway, the show is over and I will be able to take it easy until February 22 when we open "A Streetcar Named Desire". Other than working, not much is happening with me right now. I am in the process of learning Joomla. It is a program for developing web sites. Strauss theatre's web site has been down for a long time, and my boss wants to get it up and running as soon as possible. Another person is going to actually develop the site, but after that, I will be designated to keep it current. Therefore, I must learn Joomla.

A cast member of "Oscar and Felix" took some photos and gave copies to everyone, so I thought I would post a few for you all to see. It was a great show.

LSU WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

2008-01-07T23:56:00.000-06:00

My New Workplace

2008-01-06T05:49:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a few pictures (with my new camera!) of my new workplace. I actually took more photos, but they didn't come out that well.

SPAM

2008-01-01T08:15:00.000-06:00

No, this is not about spam in a can, but rather spam emails. I have taken a few minutes to gather some spam email "subject" lines. These were actually sent to me. I know you know what I mean, because you get them too. Here are a few and my comments about them:
Your email has Won in our Sweepstakes!
Wait just a doggone minute. I did not give my email permission to enter any sweepstakes. I am going to have a talk with my email!
Amazing new products Launch.
Where did they lauch to? If they actually launched, where would I have to go to buy them?
Medications that you need.
Are you psychic? If you are able to predict what medications I need, I think your talents would be better used helping the police solve crimes.
Men health Pharmacy.
I'm a woman. I don't need men's drugs. Maybe you should hook up with the psychic!
discover best priced white with blue speckles to...
I don't know about you all, but I have been looking for white with blue speckles. In fact, I wanted to give some as Christmas gifts, but didn't.
Anxiety Drugs
Isn't it bad enough that people are anxious, now we have drugs that are. I wonder if you can recognize them by tell-tell signs.
drop 20 pounds in a day
Now this email was from World of Quizzes. I have never heard of losing 20 pounds in a day by answering quizzes. If my answer is wrong, do I gain weight?
licensed pharmacy supplies engravings
I don't think a licensed pharamacy should also be in the engraving business. I mean you have to wait long enough just for regular medication. Seems to me that engraving would extend your wait considerably. Why would you want your medication engraved anyway? It's just going down your gullet.

Thankfully my email program is very good at recognizing spam and redirects it to another folder. I only glance at it once in a while just to be sure it hasn't redirected something that wasn't spam. Have a great day!

All Things LSU

2007-12-26T22:06:00.000-06:00

I admit it. I am a fan of LSU football. It just so happens that this year, they are playing in the BCS championship bowl on January 7th, against Ohio State. Woohoo! Around the house there are several items that demonstrate just how much LSU football is enjoyed.

I couldn't find my LSU coffee cup, and I forgot to take a picture of my LSU bracelet. Anyway, here's wishing the LSU Tigers a win on January 7th!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T06:26:00.000-06:00

Wishing all a Merry Christmas!

Free Rice

2007-12-17T21:04:00.001-06:00

Check this out. It is fun, will help increase your vocabulary, and will help feed the hungry. You have to click on the words free rice right above the banner. For each word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

The "W" in Christmas

2007-12-12T19:14:00.000-06:00

I got this as an email, so you might have seen it, but I had to share it.

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.
I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.
Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old.
For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."
I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation.
All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.
Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.
As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.
So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads.
Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up t he letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".
The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.
In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.
For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

HAVE A BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON!

Plaid Tidings

2007-12-08T07:13:00.000-06:00

I thought you might like to see and hear the guys who are performing at the Strauss. We are doing Plaid Tidings. Below is a video clip recorded off a TV show they did for publicity purposes. Hope you like it.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-02T11:37:00.000-06:00

Here's the link to the Thanksgiving pictures.

Plaid Tidings

2007-12-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

Sorry for not posting much lately. I have been busy (who isn't). We are in the process of getting two Christmas shows up and running. Both start this Tuesday. The children's theatre is doing "Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Mainstage is doing Forever Plaid presents Plaid Tidings. My knee is slowly getting better, but I am still walking with a limp. Besides work, not much going on. I adopted a cat. I have named her Chrissy. I said I would post Thanksgiving pictures, but haven't as of yet. I really didn't take many, as my camera works when it wants to. Maybe I should put a camera on my Christmas list. I am in the process of posting the few Thanksgiving pictures I took. Hope everyone is doing well. Well, I see I only got four pictures posted. Let me try some more. Maybe four is all I can do at a time.

The Battle of Wounded Knee

2007-11-21T06:35:00.001-06:00

Contrary to the title of my blog, this post is not about the Battle of Wounded Knee in South Dakota in 1890. Instead it is about my own wounded knee situation. I was prompted by my boss to go have my knee looked at, since I am still limping around. So I went to the doctor yesterday. I do not like going to doctors, hence the wait of 6 days. Well, Doc manuvered my leg around and took 3 x-rays. NO broken bones! NO hairline fractures! NO torn ligaments! Just a very bad bobo. He said that it will probably take a couple of weeks to heal. I am getting around better, and it doesn't hurt as much, but it is still gimpy. I have been staying off of it as much as possible, keep it elevated as often as I can, and take ibuprofen for the swelling. Doc did say I busted a blood vessel cause I am black and blue halfway down to my ankle. Well, it's not black and blue anymore, it's kinda yellow. Oh, and I can't leave Steve out. He has been after me to see a doc since the day it happened. He even gave me a couple of pills to help ease the pain. I knew Steve was right, that I should go have my knee checked out. But it was about insurance, or the lack thereof. He suggested since it happened at work, perhaps Worker's Comp could be used. I asked my boss about Worker's comp and he got it all set up for me. I am grateful for good friends.

On a new topic. Hope everyone has a happy turkey day. Steve and I are going over to Jeanine and Jeff's to celebrate. I'll take my camera and take plenty of pictures. Matt has to work, so he won't be able to make it. I'll take him a plate.

Warhawks beat Crimson Tide!

2007-11-18T08:23:00.000-06:00

Louisiana-Monroe shocks Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's fans were subdued to start Saturday's game. They seemed restless to shove little Louisiana-Monroe aside and get on to Auburn. You know, the matchup that really defines a season for the Crimson Tide.

This might just have become that game for Nick Saban's reeling team - a stunning 21-14 upset to the 24 1/2-point underdogs from the Sun Belt Conference.
The WarHawks had nothing to apologize for in a rare win over a Southeastern Conference team for their school and their league, both of whom have been bullied by the big, bad SEC.

"This win means everything to our program right now," tailback Frank Goodin said. "It's the biggest win as far as I know for this program."

It was the WarHawks' first victory over an SEC team since beating Mississippi State in 1995 and their third in 33 tries, improving their record to 3-29-1. The Sun Belt had been 0-11 against the SEC this season.

YeeHaw!

Seasoned Corn and Black Beans

2007-11-16T11:24:00.000-06:00

From time to time, I like to make home made soup. I use ground meat, canned tomatoes, potatoes, and a bag of seasoned corn and black beans. Makes for a pretty good soup. In the last couple of days, I have been using the seasoned corn and black beans for an entirely different purpose. They have served in the capacity of an ice pack. See, I took a fall the other day. Or maybe it is better stated that the fall took me. Took me straight home. I banged up my left knee. So, not having an ice pack handy, I used the corn and beans. They worked particularly well. I could of used frozen peas, but I didn't have any. I tried frozen okra, but it was too lumpy! Ditto for the broccoli. So if you are ever in need of an ice pack and don’t have one, a bag of frozen vegetables will do the trick. My knee is doing better thanks to its daily diet of seasoned corn and black beans! Have a great weekend!

Misery

2007-11-11T09:53:00.000-06:00

Three weeks of Misery will be over today. For the last three weeks, Misery has been on stage at Strauss. Today is the last performance. It is a play that is based on Stephen King's novel. It is not as intense as the movie, but it is still a thriller. The actress playing Annie Wilkes is wonderful. I have heard comments from the audience that "she is crazy", "she is psycho", etc. However, I will be glad to put this one to bed and get on to the next show. Our next show is Plaid Tidings. Anyway, at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon I will have completed my first run as evening Box Office Manager. I did OK, and it was enjoyable. I sincerely miss not being able to work backstage. I will eventually get used to it. I took a few photos of Misery. I was at the back of the auditorium, so they are not close ups. Hope everyone has a great week!

Oil of Olay

2007-11-04T08:08:00.000-06:00

Those who know me well, know that I do not like to wear make-up. I only put it on when I must. In my new job as House Manager for performances I will wear make-up. I usually carry it to the theatre and put it on at the last minute. I also have this habit of putting lotion on my face before putting on make-up because make-up makes my face feel really dry. Last Friday evening I rush to the bathroom, dig out my supplies and get down to business. First the lotion. When I put some lotion in my hand, I notice that it seems different. Must be really old, I think. I put it on. It seemed real greasy and was rather thick. On goes the make-up, and away I go. Saturday night, same procedure. I think: I need to some more lotion, this stuff isn’t real good. Move forward to yesterday. I am at home getting ready, and out comes the lotion. I put it on. Of course it looks and feels the same. Since I am not particularly in a hurry this day, I take a look at the bottle. Lo and behold, I had just slathered my face with BATH SOAP! YUK! How in the world did I make this mistake? Have I suffered any permanent damage by rubbing bath soap in my face and leaving it there for hours? If I had bath soap on my face, why didn’t my face lather up when I washed off the make-up? Why do the containers have to look so similar that one may make this mistake? And the biggest question, why did I have to go through this three times before I noticed? Anyway, once I discovered what I had done, I fell out laughing. It was too funny, to me at least. I have posted some pictures so you can see the similarity in the containers, and maybe why I grabbed the wrong bottle.

Febreze

2007-11-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

I am not particularly creative. I am not really a talker. I am more of an observer and a listener. Why am I telling you this? Some things I observe and listen to make me laugh, others make me groan. The latest thing that makes me groan is the Febreze commercials. There are three of them that come to mind. One where the guy is helping his kid with homework and throws things on the floor just so he can get down and smell it. Or the one with the therapist whose client is sitting in a chair and she is laying on the couch and won’t get up because she is smelling it. Or the one where the guy comes into his house and sees and hears what he thinks may be unsavory behavior occurring on the couch. When he goes to investigate, it is two kids who are laying on the couch smelling it. Viewing those commercials does not make me want to get up and run to the store to buy Febreze. I personally like Febreze and have some in my laundry room right now. I even have Febreze air freshener. You can come to my house anytime and you will never see me or any of my family and friends doing things that will cause us to get on the floor just to smell the Febreze scented carpet. Most of my friends may be able to get on the floor, but they sure wouldn’t be able to get up! I think the Febreze people need to find someone a tad more creative to write their commercials.

Alyssa Making Funny Faces

2007-10-30T06:53:00.000-05:00

Alyssa wanted me to take pictures of her while she was "making funny faces". We had fun.

Maytag

2007-10-28T10:31:00.000-05:00

It's true. The commercials about the Maytag repairman not having much work to do. I have a Maytag washer and dryer that I purchased in 1995, so they are 17 years old. In the 17 years I have only had someone out to repair two times. Both times it was the dryer. Both times a fan (that blows the air out to the vent) had to be replaced. One time it broke because one of my grandchildren (don't know which one) stuck a toy in it. If I don't count that time it would be one repair in 17 years! Lots of folks have used my washer and dryer over the years. So I figure a minimum of 5 loads a week. Over 17 years that is 4,420 loads of laundry, and only 1 repair. Cant' get much better than that! Even though I am not having any problems with the washer and dryer, I want to get a new set that is "energy star" certified. The set I have now is not "energy star" certified. So, what brand of washer/dryer do you own? Is is good? Are you or have you had much trouble with them? Should I stick to Maytag, or is there another brand out there that is just as good? Let me know what you think.

2007-10-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to see if I could add Myspace graphics to this blog. It works! Hope everyone is doing good. Have had a busy weekend at the theatre. Still enjoying it. Met Jeanine and Jeff at Kyoto's (a Japanese restaurant) for a late birthday celebration. I ate some sushi. It was good. It wasn't raw fish, it was shrimp, avocado, cucumber and something else. I liked it, but I still prefer Tacos!

Clothes

2007-10-17T07:23:00.000-05:00

I hate to admit it, but choosing what to wear is a chore for me. I really do not enjoy getting up every morning and deciding what to put on. Am I the only one with this problem? Do you enjoy choosing what to wear? Do you have a closet full of clothes? Is it easier to pick what you want to wear if you have few clothes, or more clothes? Maybe that's my problem. Perhaps I don't have enough to choose from. Anyway, it's not fun for me. That being said, today I am going to dress down for work. Jeans and a shirt with loafers. If I had a job that required a uniform, I wouldn't have this problem. I am not a clothes maven. Well, it's time for me to get dressed . Hope you all have a wonderful day.

1960

2007-10-03T07:15:00.000-05:00

If you were around in the 1960's, you might enjoy this slideshow:

http://moreoldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.htm

WORK

2007-10-02T06:22:00.000-05:00

I finally got a job! I have been hired at the Strauss Theatre Center. Can you believe it? I guess the 16 years or so that I have spent volunteering have paid off. As of now, it is part time, 30 hours per week. But I can live with that. It is going to be great, working at a job that I love! I will not be making the money I made at Youth House, but the fun factor will make up for that. The new general manager told me that as soon as he can, he will make me full-time. I really don't have a position title yet. My responsibilites will be night house manager (during performances), volunteer recruiter and coordinator, and various other tasks. Thanks for all the prayers that went up in my behalf. This to me is the perfect job. I understand that being on staff is going to be quite different than being a volunteer, but I should be able to make the transition. Well, after a month of doing nothing, I am off to work! Everybody have a great day.

I Can't Help Myself

2007-09-30T07:29:00.000-05:00

I really can't help myself. Anytime I am with the grandkids, I have to take pictures. I was fortunate to watch them a little while Friday evening, so I grab my camera and start shooting pictures. We had a good time. Aaron loves to help clean. He vacuumed the house for me. I have one of those Shark sweepers, and it is lightweight enough for him to use. Then we went outside and took a walk. They wanted to look for flowers. Click on the link below to see what fun we had.

Commercials

2007-09-28T09:34:00.001-05:00

Since I have been spending an inordinate amount of time at home, I have been spending more time in front of the TV. When commercials air, I usually get up and do little things like empty the dishwasher, make coffee, look in the refrigerator, etc. Now that I am home so much, after a few commercials air, I really don’t have that much to get up and do. So I watch them. I have decided that I don’t like commercials. To be perfectly honest, I have never jumped up and rushed out to buy any product because of a commercial.

Just how many products does Billy Mays tout? He does OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom. He also does Zorbeez, Lint-B-Gone lint brush, Samurai Shark knife sharpener, and more. Am I the only one who thinks that Billy Mays shouts? Who is Billy Mays anyway? Why does he get to tell his name? I would really like to know the names of the Angel Soft Angels, why don’t they tell us who they are?

The commercials I like the least are ANY about medicine, such as:

Enough about commercials. Do you have a favorite? Which ones do you detest? I like the funny ones such as:

FedEx - Don't Judge

Posted Feb 04, 2007

FedEx advises us not to judge a book by its cover.

Another Update

2007-09-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a couple of days. I don't have any reason for it, because I am certainly not doing anything. I guess that is the reason. I've just been staying home, watching TV, cleaning the house, and playing on the internet. I went Saturday and took the Civil Service test. I have to wait 10 days or so to get the results. If I have an acceptable score, I can start applying for state jobs. I did qualify for unemployment benefits, but don't know exactly when that is going to start. I have been applying for jobs on-line, but as I probably mentioned before, that has not produced results.

I finally got a picture of Alyssa with her first tooth gone. It's kind of blurry.

Hope everyone has a nice week. Oh yeah, I watched the Cowboys trounce the Bears!! It was a good game.

My Picture

2007-09-19T22:21:00.001-05:00

I have to tell you all that Alyssa took the picture I posted on my blog. She was standing in the back of my truck and asked if she could take a picture of me. I think she did a pretty good job. Since the picture is not a "close up", and you can't see all my wrinkles, gray hair, age spots etc., I decided to put it in my blog. Anyway that is the story of my picture.

I got a phone call the other day and it was Alyssa. She says, Nana, guess what? I lost my tooth. She was so excited! She wanted me to come over right away to see it. Unfortunately, when I went to see her (on Saturday), she had spent the night at a friends house and was not home. I had taken my camera so I could take a picture and post it, but didn't get the opportunity.

So far no luck finding employment. But it will happen, it is just a matter of time. I keep looking everyday. I usually use Louisiana Works (on-line) but haven't had any responses to my resumes. OH Well. I am going to take the Civil Service test on Saturday, so hopefully that will bear fruit. Not much going on with me right now. Been spending too much time in front of the TV. My next post will be about commercials. Hope everyone has a great day.

Junkie

2007-09-13T00:33:00.000-05:00

I admit it. I am a “home improvement” junkie. Not that I actually do home improvements, but rather watch home improvement shows like Design on a Dime, Designed to Sell, Color Splash, Toolbelt Diva, Holmes on Homes, etc. There are so many shows, it would be to cumbersome to list them all. The other day I was watching Designed to Sell. Now this is a show where people have put their house on the market, and for some reason, they are not getting offers. So, this woman and her daughter gladly show up at the house in question and proceed to tell the owners things they can do to expedite the sale of their home. Interestingly enough, most of the fixes involve the removal of most personal items like pictures, refrigerator magnets and snow globes. Then remove all clutter. You just can’t expect to sell your house if you have old magazines on top of the toilet tank. One of the sayings the mother and daughter team often use is: Buyers want to see square footage, they want to be able to picture their belongings in the house. If you have too much clutter is says to the buyer that there isn’t enough storage. Wonder why it doesn’t say that the owner is a pack rat? Another recommendation involves painting walls a neutral color. So, if you happen to have any color on your walls that isn’t some shade of brown, you might as well go take the “For Sale” sign down. And don’t forget curb appeal, if your front yard looks like it belongs to the Munsters, you are in big trouble and it’s a miracle that no one has called the garden police (that’s another home improvement show). Woe be to the owner who has pets, no matter what kind, you have to get rid of them too, at least when showing the house. Oh, and if you have children, get rid of them too. Oops, I mean get rid of their toys, or most of them. And then last, but certainly not least, you must bake something when showing your house, so that the aroma wafting through the house will further entice buyers. I guess you could go pick up a Sara Lee coffee cake if you don’t know how to bake.

So there you have it. Tips for selling your home in a timely manner. Just tune in to Designed to Sell if you need more information. And call me when the coffee cake is ready!

Alyssa and Aaron

2007-09-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

Friday night I went to Jeanine and Jeff's to watch the kids for a little while so they could go bowling. I took my camera to take pictures. I don't know what all the "hand raising" is about. You'll see what I mean when you look at the pictures. The kids were very good while I was there. They were in a good mood, always smiling. That is good, that they are happy. So here is the link. Enjoy!

Employment (again)!

2007-09-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

I had said in my last post that I wasn’t going to mention my job situation anymore, so I apologize for posting this. Things have changed. I went to work on Tuesday and around 9:30 the new management let me go. It didn’t have anything to do with job performance, as a matter of fact, they expressed regret that it had to happen. But as previously mentioned, no girls means no money coming in, and they had to start somewhere.

On a brighter note, at least I am no longer in limbo. I know now what I need to do, except I really don’t have the option of being choosey when it comes to finding employment. CenturyTel is still an option, as they called yesterday. It was actually a friend from the theatre who works at CenturyTel. She said that she would do anything she can to help and is even forwarding my resume to her friends at Chase (bank). There is a position coming open that I am going to apply for, but not until September 12th. Several people at the theatre are encouraging me to apply for the general manager position. I will do that too. My good friend Steve has also found me a “possible” position working for a buddy of his at his auto glass shop. That would be fun, and he is willing to pay me a salary I can live with. So, all in all, I don’t feel bad or worried. I figure I can remain unemployed until the middle of October, and then things (money) will start getting tight. I remain optimistic, I just have the feeling that everything will work out. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!