On the road again. Gonna be Home for a week. Always good. Leaving the house in 'show' condition. Maybe we'll get an offer while I'm gone. Maybe the builders will make some progress in the desert. Playing loose with the schedule. I love being there but some of my current difficulties make that inconvenient/uncomfortable for me. So, depends on how the bod behaves.

Besides the 4th and all the fambly gathering that entails, my sister and I will get to help Mom with the planning of her wedding ;) She and Dad will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year (Nov 23rd) and they're going to have a wedding ceremony. It promises to be a big party, big family fun. We've started on things already, partly because you have to do a lot in advance and partly because we get to stretch out the thrill of the journey.

And speaking of journey... I need to finish packing and spiffing up the house. Later!

Going Home for 4th of July.
I need a new ass.
I want the sell/build/move over with.

LOL Blog Warz! FYI, the person who threw me over the cliff's edge into the abyss about those words I hate... has no blog. Or if they have, I don't know about it. I don't like those half-words. Ain't gonna like those half-words. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and since you're reading my blog, you get mine. *grin*

High on my list of pet peeves are these two 'words': hubby, puter. GAH! Both actually piss me off. I HATE them. I want to bind and gag people when they use them.

Husband, spouse, spousal unit, mate, whatever, but only trailer trash would use 'hubby' imo. Too much like bubba or sissy (vs brother or sister) or other stupid words used by lazy uneducated people?

Similarly, it's called a COMputer or PC or machine or system, etc. It computes. It does not pute. If something in your house putes, I recommend you take it to a doctor or set it outside. Sounds like maybe it smells.

Obtuse: geometrically, an angle exceeding 90° but less than 180°. Of course there's the linguistic meaning, ala 'difficult to comprehend, unclear...'.

You know I'm into patterns and the hoodoo boogity patterns have generally concerned angles and that's what I've been looking at to find a Why for being shuffled to NM. I thought I ran it every way possible, but found nada.

Well... I'm not 100% sure this is it, but it makes more sense than anything else I've seen so far. In fact, it's about the only thing I've seen that falls in with the other patterns I discovered at previous locations.

There are two factors, geometry and geology. I don't think it's coincidental that these two are interwined linguistically and logically.

So, I was checking Google News. I do that now and then. One of the keywords I lookup is 'earthquake'. It's one of the things you could say I've been tuned into.

Anyway, top returns were articles reporting the impending release of accumulated stress on the San Andreas fault in Southern California. Yeah, it's a cyclical thing the media does, comes around and goes around fairly often. BUT, it prompted me to look at an angle I hadn't reviewed before.

I checked LA. Not a hit. I checked San Diego. I'll be 90°, ie due east. Interesting. As the crow flies, it'll be 606 miles. Hmmm... that's about 55 x 11 or 60 x 10. (55 to 60, and multiples thereof, have been a marker in the past.) Interesting. Possible link, but needed another point to confirm.

I know that one of my major connections is in Iraq. Probably no help there. The other of course is the Shroom. Well, I already knew she was aligned with San Diego on a 330° angle. I'd forgotten the mileage, but looked it up again... 605.

By golly, isn't that an interesting coincidence? I'm not entirely pleased with the angles. We've worked from due north and due south together and that was quite strong. We've worked on a straight line together. However, 330° and 90°, equidistant from a center point of San Diego, one of our focal points on a previous 'mission'... It has distinct possibilities. Two points on the same circle, quite a large circle, with San Diego at the center. I'll be at 3 o'clock. Da Shroom at 11 o'clock.

Could get exciting. But of course, if this is the Why and we do it right, nothing much will happen, or what happens will be less than what -could- happen. *shrug*

We'll see. I'm gonna cook this for a while and see if it's still stew.

Damndest coincidence? or Synchronicity? or What?

This has happened to me before. I'll think of a movie I haven't seen in a long while and it will show up on one of the movie channels. Sometimes I've wondered if I've 'drawn' it. OR, have I just heard an ad for it while sleeping with the TV on and the reverse happened, ie, it was put in my head and it only seemed to have crossed my mind out of nowhere? Well, this time cannot be due to that, I think.

Yesterday I watched one of those silly E! shows about the top sexiest bad boys. Johnny Depp was of course on the list. He's one of my personal favorites, not only for his sex appeal and interesting body of work, but because we share a birthday. Later last night, I decided to look him up on IMDB, just for fun. I usually just read the main stuff, but this time I read pretty much all that was there about him.

Buried in the lenghty verbiage was a quote from Depp recounting one of his favorite experiences. He was shooting Edward Scissorhands with Vincent Price and had a chat with him. He'd brought along a book of Edgar Allan Poe. Depp said that Price recited a passage from "Tomb of Ligeia" from memory.

Now, I am a big fan of Poe and of Price and of Price doing Poe. However, I didn't recall "Tomb of Ligeia." I sort of vowed to look it up.

Turns out I didn't have to. Early this morning it actually showed up on the Mystery channel on cable! I -happened- to be channel flipping and -happened- to catch the title on the guide. Yeah, "Tomb of Ligeia" was playing, starring Vincent Price.

Of course I watched it. I never miss a chance to watch Vincent Price, especially when he's doing Poe.

It's just the damndest thing, I tell you. Certainly makes me wonder. I swear I don't ever remember anything about "Tomb of Ligeia" previously. And, even if I'd somehow picked up a preview for it while sleeping, I for damned sure wouldn't have gotten there by way of Johnny Depp triggering it consciously.

Maybe I'm crazy, but it looks for all the world like I wanted Poe's tale and it was delivered. *shrug*

Length of Days
As the Midsummer Solstice approaches, the lengthening of days is noticeable. It's nearly 8pm here now and still there's sunshine in the sky. Of course, a day is 24 hrs no matter how much or how little sunshine graces it, but somehow it's comforting to have the light last a little longer.

I'm enjoying the forest that surrounds the house. I know I will miss it in future, so I'm trying to burn this mystical vision into my brain. Perhaps after the move I'll find desert vistas that delight me as much as the emerald kingdom in which I live now, but I know I will want to remember the cool green light and shadows, the soft sounds of breezes or raindrops through the leaves, the gentle chorus of birds and frogs, the occasional bounding of white tailed deer... I'll want to be able to recall all of this when the days in the desert seem too hot and too dry for habitation.

I still want to know... Why?

Irony: I feel like crap, but can't. wheeeee

Money is flowing again with Spouse's employment, but somehow that seems to cause moneysuckers to appear outta the woodwork. Just in the last couple of weeks, got notice of BIG increases in current house payment due to property tax catch-up (because AR does it bass-ackwards), escrow catch-up due to same, mortgage interest rate increase, and income tax increase for 2004 tax year due, incl penalties and interest, not our fault (very late 1099) but we owe it all the same. The house payment is going up almost 40%. We are not happy, but powerless to change it. Good thing we're trying to sell.

And then yesterday while I was out and about, my car's check engine indicator came on. It's in the shop now and awaiting a part to fix a seal something on a fuel whatchamacallit and that's gonna cost a couple hundred bucks. Thankfully I'm in a loaner so I'm not stranded. Supposed to get my car back by Friday.

I'm supposed to be grateful that we can pay this stuff. I am, but of course I'd rather be allowed to keep that money. Oh well.

I'm baaack. Well, it's deserty. It's hot. Was unusually hot last week. Yet, in the high 90's and over 100, when the humidity is about 10%, it ain't all that bad. Plus, there's air conditioning, thank goodness! Summer will still be my least favorite season. I crisp too easily. But I'm sure I will appreciate the 70/50 Spring and Fall weather, as well as the very mild Winters. Got to see some thunderstorms in the distance. Pretty amazing light show. I like that too. I'll miss the rain in the forest, but have to admit that a lot of sunshine is a nice thing.

There IS green in the area, at least near the Rio Grande which winds through the valley. I stumbled onto an older area of town along the river that looked almost like Home. I plan to go there when I'm missing green grass and abundance of trees.

Fortunately, our lot is also very near the Rio Grande, just further north. That makes for a much more rolling and slightly greener landscape than I was expecting. I couldn't see the terrain in the photos Spouse had sent. I was afraid it was dead flat. But, our lot actually has a lot of up-and-down to it. The house will sit on the high spot and we're positioning it to overlook acres of pecan trees on the property behind us. Since that property is a 26 acre commercial pecan grove, our green view should be well-preserved.

Our lot also has a couple of arroyos and a retention 'pond' area between us and the pecan trees. That should provide us with some natural watering during the 'wet season' since such places are preserved to allow rainwater to flow naturally from the mountains to the Rio Grande. Whatever we plant may get to make use of that water on the way. We'll need to get a trusted landscaper to help us figure out what works in that environment.

Had fun picking out the house details with Spouse. Kinda cool to make choices of this counter material over that, this tile or that, where we want recessed lighting, what color to use for stucco and trim, etc. I'd never done that before.

Now we hope the builders will get a move on... so we can get a move on. Our contract says we're supposed to have a completed house by August 30th. I'm not sure I believe that, given the slow startup, but sometime in September would still be acceptable... and none too soon.

Great to be with Spouse again. Even better when we are once again inhabiting our own house together again. He took me out to dinner all week, but especially for my birthday. We also walked the mall where he insisted I pick out a birthday present, since I hadn't given him even a single idea. I picked some really comfy, albeit ugly as homemade sin shoes ;) You may have seen them. They're like rubbery clogs with holes. I love them. Spouse doesn't. Hey, it was my choice. He was trying to get me to buy jewelry or something, but I just don't go in for a lotta bling. hehe

Anyway, I'm back in the current homestead and, for now, waiting on builders and looking for buyers and trying to keep my body in check until all these machinations form a cohesive life again. Whew.

Flying to NM later today. Will be there for a week. Gonna see the building site for myself. Gonna sort through the color and upgrade choices that need to be made. And of course, I get to see Spouse for the first time since he drove out of here at the end of March.

Well, well, well... Hello, Stranger. TMI to follow. You have been warned. But it's coded. ;) I am being visited by a 'calendar' event, which hasn't happened since December. To be honest, I thought maybe I was finally done with that. But looks like I was just on haitus for five months. It's not officially recognized as menopause until you've been without that special blessing for a year. So the count shall begin again (in 5 to 7 days? hehe). Wheeeee Hey, if I had to do this again, I'm glad it's now instead of the week I'll be in NM.

I dunno why I'm telling about this in a blog, but hey, there it is. At the moment, I have no one to bitch to IRL, so I'm venting here.

Oooo! Spouse went to the house lot today. The builders have cut the driveway, staked the footprint and run the water line! We're on our way! Also, I have plane tickets for a trip there to see the progress myself and hopefully to pick out all the options. Will be there for my birthday! Will be nice to be with Spouse for that.

house model front and back
So far, I've only done the exterior.

I am insane. This is, of course, old news to most of you. *grin* My current insanity is being expressed by modeling the house we're trying to build in NM. I've already made a 3D floor plan out of card stock paper, but now I'm mocking up elevations in full-color detail. Working on a 1' to 1/4" scale, so the thing is about 14" square. I'll pretend it's my way of applying positive energy toward getting the real build done. Yes, that's the ticket.

All garbed up at the Castle ren faire in Muskogee, OK
Sunday, May 14 2006

Today's Topic: English as a butchered language.

I'll cover that in a minute, but first... I seem to be on a series of rants lately. Maybe it's my aggravating physical condition? Maybe it's the stress of the sell/buy/move? Probably both. Whatever. It's not my favorite mode. I'm trying not to get mired in it, and yet, it wants out. And so...

nuclear
realtor
Two examples of butchered spoken English.

Nuclear is NOT new-cue-ler. Just because powerful people like George Dubya can't pronounce it properly, doesn't change the correct pronunciation. See the word? NUCLEAR... NEW-CLEE-ERR... not NUCULAR, dumbass.

Realtor is another botched word. No, it's not easy to say properly, which may explain why people don't try. I'm disappointed that Merriam-Webster actually lists the incorrect pronunciation as an alternative. That's total crap. It's not realator, it's realtor. RE-AL-TOR. Same is true of realty vs realaty. There ain't no fuckin' A after the L, so stop saying it.

And here's the other thing, butchered English in print. I see a growing cancer in written text, ie newsprint, online, and on TV. You know the new habit of popping up crap on the bottom of the screen to say what's Next or what's on Tomorrow? I think it's the USA channel, or another primary cable network, which consistently shows what's on Tommorrow. No. That is just plain wrong. This is a basic English word and that is WRONG. One M, two Rs. Period. Go back to elementary school, dipwads.

There are more subtle but equally aggravating offenses, like choosing the wrong homonyms. Granted, spellcheck doesn't catch those, but if you're profiting from prose you should damned well know the words and their usage.

It has to be laziness. The folks involved in these endeavors have surely completed at least a rudimentary education. So, they're just too lazy to use it? For shame.

You are in your car. It's a bit old and persnickety. You turn the key and the engine is reluctant. You're trying to will the thing to turn over and you're fairly sure it'll happen, but it just makes that choked groaning and sputtering sound while trying to get up the gumption to actually kick in.

This is my experience with the house in NM so far. I/we are doing all the right stuff at the right time, but the build hasn't started yet. I'm growing more leary of the builders with each incident. We ask for info and get half-assed answers, slowly. Meetings and deadlines are set but blown off without communication.

We are assured by the realty people that these builders are good. They've worked with them before. We are assured that once the thing gets started, we'll be happy with the progress and results. It's just that they've grown so much recently they're having a little bit of trouble managing this front end of the business.

I hope the realty people are right because we really want the lot and floor plan and the building philosophy that goes along with these guys. However, my skeptical self reminds me that the realty company has a vested interest in the deal hanging together because they get a commission out of it.

In the meantime, I'm sitting in the car, turning the key, rocking, and half praying, half cussing --- COME ON! LET'S GO DAMMIT!

Of course, I am virtually devoid of patience, so it could me mostly me?

Finally over an initial hurdle on the house buying end. After a rather jerky start, we now have a contract to buy the 5+ acre lot and get a specific floor plan built on it. On with sorting (aka fighting with the builder) over the details! The builder is now surveying the lot to propose house placement. We've been told they can complete construction within 120 days. This could be a real adventure, but the weather there helps. There are very very few rainy days to impede progress.

Here's a thought...

First, we're working a deal on a 5+ acre lot and new house to be built on it. We don't need that kind of acreage but the opportunity for the package is there at a price we should be able to afford. We wanted at least an acre or two for privacy. The rest would be a bonus.

And the idea? Using a couple of acres in the back of the property for a mini solar farm! I'd love that. We could maybe have a small array of panels on the ground which would supply our electricity and feed the excess to the power grid for a little extra income?

Of course there's a significant capital outlay but I would think there are loans available for that sort of thing and I know there are state and federal tax incentives to defray the costs. It would do my heart good to play even a small part in getting us off the freakin fossil fuels. *nodnodnod*