December 2008

MONDAY – DECEMBER 1, 2008
– –
Unadodaquonvhi – Vsgiyi saquu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏌᏊ

1:04p – I am off to work again. Those three days off sure go by quickly!

1:05p – Wow... I just looked outside and there is snow on the ground!

We worked in the annex again today. I finished watching "Wall-E" when I got home. I had to watch it on my computer though, since it would not play on the DVD player in the living room.

WALL-E meets E.V.A. for the first time...

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 2, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi tali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵ

I got up at about 11:30a. Fixed some bean curd and left over fried chicken in a soup. Watched some of the John Hancock movie, and headed off to work at about 1:25p. Got to work right on time. We were in the annex again today, so I did floor support all day again. I had a couple of slices of pizza lunch. Oh... I screwed up my first break and accidentally signed out to lunch instead. So I ended up taking two break later in the evening. I hope that was okay and I don't get yelled at. And they had a test of the fire alarm system at about 12:20a.

I finished the book, "The Mammoth Hunters" today. I want to get the next book in the series now. I am hooked!

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 3, 2008
– –
Tsoine-iga – Vsgiyi tsoi
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏦᎢ

3:50a – I finished watching John Hancock a while ago. It was a very good movie. I really enjoyed it.

Getting up this morning was ... very difficult. I still managed to get up at about 12:10p, cook something to eat, shower, shave, dress, and even watch the tail end of "The Invisible Man" series (on a video tape).

In the Convergys parking lot today, the police were have a field day giving out tickets
to people who constantly park in the handicapped spots. We in floor support were
cheering them on as we saw the rules being enforced

THURSDAY – DECEMBER 4, 2008
– –
Nvgine-iga – Vsgiyi nvgi
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏅᎩ

6:52a – Up too late, but off to bed.

1:43p – Just got up, but still groggy.

1:51p – Skip just called. He wants me to go buy him a small Christmas tree for the office... and bring it to him. I need to wake up first!

Before leaving the house, I checked the oil in the car, since the "check oil" light came on. I thought we got all this fixed and I was not going to have to be checking the oil and replacing it all the time. I guess not. The oil check had NOTHING. No oil at all! So ... I drove immediately to AutoZone and filled it up with oil. I also got some deicing fluid and fill that up too.

Then I went over to the Dollar Store and picked up a $12 tree for Skip (it included lights). I drove to St. Louis and delivered the tree to him. Then we drove home.

I spent much of the evening trying to create an instructional video for creating my date headers (as you see here in this journal). I had to create the entire thing from beginning to end with no ability to edit! I was unable to get a complete production that I found acceptable tonight. I will have to try again tomorrow.

I also cooked another of the pork loins. They are so tender and delicious!

FRIDAY – DECEMBER 5, 2008
– –
Tsunagilosdi – Vsgiyi hisgi
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᎯᏍᎩ

I slept later than I wanted to, but enjoyed the time in bed. I got up and checked email. Fixed a pork & noodle soup (heavy on white pepper), then took a shower. I headed off to Jay International, but I past the Grand Avenue exit and had to exit on Clayton and circle back. I had a pleasant time shopping at Jay's and ended up spending only $18.54 total. I bought jalapeño pepper, shiitake mushrooms, dried chili pepper, Udon noodles, rice vermicelli, Chinese noodles, rice vinegar, and some smoke chipotle peppers.

It was about 4:30p when I drove home again. I got home, check email again, and headed out again for my Esperanto Konversacio Rondo at the Galleria Mall. However, I ran into a snag. I LOCKED MYSELF OUT OF THE HOUSE! That is the FIRST time I have ever done that in the FIVE years I have lived here! I had to call Skip and find where he had the spare key hidden. Thank the gods he did that! I got back in the house ... and then I could not find my keys! I was disgusted. Even more disgusted when I finally found them sitting right out in the open in my office chair. So ... all is cool now? Nope! I needed my Esperanto dictionary.

It took another search to find that, but I finally found it under a stack of items in the OTHER office chair. Next problem, common this time of year, was getting through the holiday shopping traffic. That was ... not pleasant.

I got to the Galleria Mall at about 6:05p. Amazingly close to "on time" considering all the obstacles thrown in front of me. Meanwhile, during all of this, I had been in off and on communication with Skip. He made it to the Mall before me and when I arrived, he was at Game Stop.

Then only members in attendance tonight were Ron and Jerry. Ni parolis pri diversaj temoj, kaj mi kredas ke mia Esperanto estis pli bona kiel antaŭe. Mi aĉetis iom da suŝi por manĝi.

Our meeting dispersed sometime after 7:00p and I met Skip near Dillard's, and we head over to his destination... Randall's Liquors. I thought I might buy some beer there more cheaply. I am currently drinking Milwaukee's Best Light. It was $10.57 for a 24 pack at Randall's. That's not a bad buy, but Schnuck's has it on sale now for $9.58. So I declined to buy beer there. I did buy 3 little bottles of liquor for $1 each. Skip probably spent $20 or $30 or so dollars. I spent $3.

The first hard liquor I have bought
in a LONG time

SATURDAY – DECEMBER 6, 2008
– –
Unadodaquidena – Vsgiyi sudali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏑᏓᎵ

3:07a – I am so tired, and I dread this weekend. I have to work, and a certain person will be there and I am sure she will make life miserable for us.

I dropped Skip off at Wal-Mart on the way to work.

Work was more bearable today than expected. The person in question began ranting the moment they arrived, even before taking off the coat or setting down there bags. But, it was not at me and I managed to stay out of any conflict.

I began reading a new book. "The Snake Oil Wars."

SUNDAY – DECEMBER 7, 2008
– –
Unadodaquasgv – Vsgiyi galiquogi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᎦᎵᏉᎩ

12:40p – I am still barely awake and need to get up and going for work. My last dream was disturbing. I was of Skip. As usual in my dreams, he was only about 4 or 5 years old in the dream. He was mad about some and kept grabbing me. His little hands had nails like claws. Then he kept trying to punch me. I was screaming at him that "it wasn't my fault" and that some decision he had made was HIS decision and NOT mine. There was no reason for him to take out his anger on me. But the more I pointed this out to him, the more angry he became. Weird dream!

1:11p – Wow... time flies! And now I must...

On my way out to work, I stopped by Rally's for a bite to eat on the way. I got the crispy chicken sandwich for a change and it was really good. Skip rode along with me and I dropped him off at Block Buster.

I took only one call today before I was summoned to do floor support again. I spent the remainder of the day doing floor support.

At lunch, I freaked out to find my lunch, carry bag and all, was MISSING from my locker! Apparently I must have had a "brain fart" and left it either hanging on a hook in the men's room, or maybe hanging on the front of a locker. Someone turned it in to the security guard at the front desk. I really thought I had put it in my locker, but it was locked and secure... so I guess it was just another "senior moment."

MONDAY – DECEMBER 8, 2008
– –
Unadodaquonvhi – Vsgiyi tsunela
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏧᏁᎳ

4:56a – I made a really good supper & lunch of spaghetti, with sausage. Very garlicky though! Up too late. Off to bed now. Tomorrow will be rough.

1:15p – Headed off to work again. I have tomorrow off, then have to work 2 more days ... then I have EIGHT days off! I know they will go quickly though.

Again I had no time to fix anything to eat, so on my way to work I stopped at Rally's and had to get another of the delicious chicken sandwiches (and some spicy fries).

It was another slam-dunk busy Monday. Debby V. moved us to the annex around 3:00p and we remained there. It was exhausting, but ... it went fast. Christine (the new person) was there. She is very good. I am glad they chose her.

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 9, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi sonela
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏐᏁᎳ

3:20a – I have caught up on email, and am catching up my journal entries.

3:53a – I got some bills paid up, and records updated. I still owe too much, but at least I've got some things taken care of. I owe Skip more than anything though, and I hate that. We (I) still don't know what's going on with the new house. Skip has not up dated me, and the last I got from him was that he did not know. I am starting to think it's not going to happen now. I hope we find out in the next 3 days. I will have 8 days off from work, and if we ARE going to be moving, I want to start getting as serious about packing to move as Skip is.

3:56a – Meanwhile, I think I will be off to bed. I made no supper. I am not really hungry.

4:39p – I've just been lounging around, doing nothing, and enjoying not having to be at work today. I got a couple of my WOTD graphics done, and will work on some more. I am SO far behind ... nearly a month.

Skip never called me to pick him up from the train. I expected him to. He got home around 5:30p and I thought he had received a ride home. He did not. He had tried to call my cell, but it went to my voice mail. Never rang. He called the house phone and it says it is disconnected. What?! Oops. I just paid that bill (a little over) last night after getting home. Apparently I was a bit late. I wonder how long it has been out? I have not had an annoying solicitous call in days. Yet the DSL is still up and running. (Oh ... and I paid them too, last night ... I had over paid them previously).

Damn... I do miss the days when I received a bill, paid the bill, and that was it. Now it is a damned financial juggling act.

11:18p – I've been watching "Wanted" with Skip. Not bad. Been cooking boiled peanuts too, with extra spices. Very piquant! I have a pork roast in the oven. It should be done by now, so I have dropped the temperature very low. I also have a huge pot of rice cooking. I am only going to eat part of it. The rest I will mix up with sugar & seed for the birds.

THE coolest shot in the movie! ... WANTED

Oh crap. I just dropped the $1 bottle of Mango liquor which I had in the freezer. It crashed and shattered on the floor in front of the icebox. I am so disgusted with my self. Grrr! I can't believe I did that. I hate to waste. I am just so disgusted...

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 10, 2008
– –
Tsoine-iga – Vsgiyi sgohi
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏍᎪᎯ

12:09a – I have the pork roast cooked. I made a huge batch of rice, most of which is for the birds. I mixed that up with sugar, salt, and bird seed. I finished watching the "Wanted" movie. It was better than I expected, and I was not even planning on watching it. HIGHLY RECOMMEND to my sci-fi friends. I especially like one seen where the protagonist storms out of the office with his ergonomic keyboard under arm. He takes the keyboard and smashes it into the face of his "best friend" (who is dorking his woman). The keys fly through the air, with splatters of blood and a tooth... spelling out a profanity in the processes. Tacky, but amusing! I hope to get a screen shot of that moment.

12:14a – I put some of he rice & seed out for the critters. I fear my gourds are going to all be a loss. It's raining tonight. I know... I am babbling.

12:43p – I need to get in the shower, and get my butt to work. Just barely awake now though.

1:18p – I am headed off to work again. It's "dress up" day.

Steve told me today that his cruise down to Key West may be cancelled. His mother is sick and he may have to go to Connecticut instead.

I had to swing by Wash U on the way home and pick Skip up from their annual Holiday party.

I loaded Office 2007 on the computer tonight. I am going to try to convert my email all over to Outlook 2007, but it is going to be a long process, and an ordeal. Already I am down to about 150 Mb on my C: drive.

THURSDAY – DECEMBER 11, 2008
– –
Nvgine-iga – Vsgiyi sadu
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏌᏚ

This is it. The day has finally arrived. The day before my eight days off. Skip did not go to work today. (It was planned). I did not get out of bed until about 12:20p ... which was VERY late for me. I dropped Skip off at Block Buster, then I ran by Rally's for yet another of their "Crispy Chicken Sandwiches." I've really come to like them. They use a huge chunk of juicy chicken breast, and it's just delicious.

I took a few calls at work, then moved over to floor support. Steve was not their today. Sadly, his mother passed away last night. He cancelled his cruise and has gone to take care of family affairs. Very sad.

FRIDAY – DECEMBER 12, 2008
– –
Tsunagilosdi – Vsgiyi talidu
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏚ

5:20p – I did not get much accomplished (as usual) today. I wanted to go to Soulard Market, but I just could not get motivated early enough. I spent the morning working on getting acquainted with Outlook 2007, and trying to figure out how to move my mail files off the C: drive.

Skip called around 3:00p and had me go pick him up. I was at 5th&Mo at 4:11p and he got there at 4:23p. I stopped by the dollar store on the way home and picked up some lard and olive oil.

10:03p – Skip has been on the phone most of the night with a realtor trying to get something done on buying the 408 house. I am not sure where he stands at the moment, but the bits & pieces of the telephone conversation did not sound hopeful.

Meanwhile, I am cooking some chicken strips, using lard. I know it is not as "healthy" as so many other kinds of cooking oils, but the taste is much better, and I don't think the health issues are as bad as they are made out to be.

SATURDAY – DECEMBER 13, 2008
– –
Unadodaquidena – Vsgiyi tsogadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏦᎦᏚ

12:43a – Skip and I just got into a huge argument. I am so sorry we argued, but I cannot changed the facts.

I need to make more money. I *WANT* to make more money. I am capable of making more money. However, that does not mean that I will be hired for making more money. I wish it were so. I am now one of the top few percent in my current job. There have never been more than 15 peoples doing floor support as long as I have worked here.

But ... it does not really matter. Our economy is in a depressions. The unemployment rate is ridiculous. I cannot change that. All those who are applying job for a job in front of me... they are waiting for the same miracle I am. Many of them are smarter, younger, and more skilled than I... but they are unemployed too.

I remain grateful I have a job at all. As much as I hate it... at least I have a job.

1:56a – All that aside... I am craving something sweet. I am going to go down to Quick Trip and get some ice cream...

I did not get up until about 12:20p. I was not feeling very good this morning. I went to the kitchen and started making some tea, but started coughing and gagging... and ended up running to the bathroom. I thought I was going to puke my guts up ... but I ended up just heaving with no result. This left me with tears running down my face, and out of breath. I finished up my tea and tried to let the sick spell pass. I chatted with Jack for a while. This Skip and I had to head out to South County to do some shopping. As we were leaving the house though, I realized I was feeling a low grade fever. That did not bode well.

We stopped at the BP here in Cahokia first. I put in $5 of fuel at $1.69/gal.

Skip wanted to go to some smoke shop before going to Costco. It was supposed to be off LeMay Ferry Road. We started down that route and I saw a shop called "Smoker's Friend" and suggested we stop. We stopped. They must have had good prices, since he bought his cigarettes.

Then we continued on to Costco. I thought we were going to find a place to eat first, but Skip was on the phone constantly with his realtor, and/or the bank, so I just drove on over to Costco. I was feeling worse, but trying to ignore it. I stopped to get more fuel before going to the store. Skip walked on over to Costco and I dealt with trying to get the pump to work again. Just like last time, it was refusing to pump to gas. The attendant came over, before I even realized I was having a problem, and took over pumping the gas for me. H asked me, "Do you have a quarter tank or less?" I explained that I had just put in $5... so I had right abot a quarter tank. He insisted that was why I had the problem filling the tank. I had not even realized I had a problem filling the tank! lol! I told him I had a problem filling the tank (possibly on this same pump) the last time I was here. He continued to insist that it was because my tank was under a quarter full (was it? ... not sure). I just let him keep on pumping for me while I got my jacket. The wind was whipping and I was getting a chill, which was not what I needed with a slight fever. I don't know what this guy was trying to prove. In over fifty years I have not had that kind of problem filling my tank, except for the experience (at Costco) last month. I am confident that my tank being a quarter or less full had nothing to do with the pump constantly stopping and starting. That was just plain silly.

The tank was filled at about $17.00. I pulled out, parked, and went inside. I bought another 3-pack of pork loins, a saddle bag of boneless/skinless chick thighs, and a tray of hamburger. Skip bought another tray of burger, and a huge slab of beef for about $23.00.

We munched on samples around the store once again. Skip seemed to take it on himself to make that his meal! He had several samples from the many stands around the store while I only had one from each. I feel kind of guilty eating the samples and not buying the product. So Skip was actually full by the time we left the store, and we decided not to stop anywhere to eat. This was fine with me, since I need to save money. Besides, I was feeling horrible by this point and just wanted to go home and make some soup.

We stopped at Schnuck's on the way back. There was the MOST beautiful sunset in progress. The sky was on fire with amazing colours. I tried to grab my camera and get the picture, but the geese had moved on to a less picture-perfect position by the time I could get the camera ready. I still got a couple of "okay" shots. I picked up some carrot strings & bean sprouts for my intended hot & sour soup. I wanted to got some tofu also, but ... it was about $4.00 and I decided not to waste the money on that.

Once home, I started cooking my soup right away. Even before getting out of my travel clothes. I didn't even take off my jacket at first. Very unlike me. The soup seemed to take forever to finish. I finished watching the remainder of Batman (The Dark Knight)... and that too seemed to take a long time. Once it was over, about 7:00p, I went to bed. I dozed fitfully, not really sleeping well, until about 9:20p. I finally got up and heated up the remainder of my soup. I ate that while watching another episode of Charmed ("Brain Drain").

SUNDAY – DECEMBER 14, 2008
– –
Unadodaquasgv – Vsgiyi nigadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏂᎦᏚ

1:35a – The journal is pretty well caught up. I am still sick. My ordeal with getting Office 2007 installed and changing over to Outlook 2007 continues... "in progress." I have save a lot of data to DVD and removed it from the computer. I have even moved the entire "My Pictures" folder from the C: drive to the F: drive ... and that appears to be a success.

3 pork loins, 8 packs of boneless/skinless chicken thighs
and several pounds of hamburger meat. Total was about $48.00.

1:43a – Skip just said the words, "I think I am pretty much safe on the house..." ... That is a good thing. I think he has managed to get his deal done and we will be able to live in his own home. I am pleased.

3:36p – I slept horribly last night. What little I was able to sleep. My throat is sore and my mouth keeps drying out. I was have to get a sip of water nearly every 15 minutes. I did manage to sleep fairly sound from about 3:00a until 7:00a (then the beer wore off).

10:49p – I made some yummy enchiladas for supper. I goofed and bought harrina tortillas instead of masa, but ... they still came out pretty good. I am off to bed now though. Skip is still up playing games, so this is a rare instance. I am going to bed before him.

MONDAY – DECEMBER 15, 2008
– –
Unadodaquonvhi – Vsgiyi sgigadu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏍᎩᎦᏚ

12:47p – I thought I would be up by 8:00a, but I stayed in bed until about 10:00a. I got up about 2:00a this morning and my throat was in a lot of pain. I made one of those Theraflu mixes and went back to bed. Around 4:00a I woke up in a sweat. My hair was drenched and the bed had uncomfortable wet spots. However, my throat felt much better and hardly had any pain left at all. At 6:00a I got up again. My mouth was dry, my hair was wet, and my throat was starting to hurt again. I dozed off and on and finally got up around 10:00a. I made a pot of chicken broth and watched the remainder of the "Horton Hears a Who" movie. Dr. Seuss was always my favorite as a child. I remember back in third grade when the book mobile would come out to our little remote "annex". There was always a competition to try to get the the Dr. Seuss books first.

There was ice all over when I got up this morning. I thought it was snow, but I think its ice. I will know for sure in a few minutes, if there is any left. I am getting ready to go out to the store. I've taken a shower and feel better at the moment... except I am very sleepy. Getting up and doing something should help.

1:24p – My departure from the house is delayed. The car is so frozen over it will have to run for a while and defrost everything. It is currently 15°f out there. I was going to wear my light jacket, but I think I will switch to the heave coat after all. I did not realize it was so cold out!

2:31p – They did not have what I was looking for at Goodwill. I will have to try another place later this week if I am well enough to go out in the weather. It's not bad... just cold. Everything is frozen over and slippery. I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way back home and picked up a few items. I bought some beer and set it on the back porch to chill. I hope it doesn't freeze. It has now warmed up to 18°f outside.

Now I am going to make a cup of Theraflu and put a DVD in.

I watched most of "The Wickerman" and then went to pick Skip up from the train. We stopped by the Dollar Store on the way home. Once home, I finished watching Wicker Man. It was a very depressing movie.

Bush gets the shoe(s)!

This just in from the news today. An Iraqi report threw shoes at President Bush, a serious insult in the Arab world. One must give credit to Bush's reflexes, but his verbal response left me in stitches (although I am not certain what he was saying).

BUSH: "So what if the guy threw a shoe at me? Uhh... It is one way to gain attention. Uhh... it's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down a street and have people not gesturing with all five fingers. It's a way for people to draw... you know... attention... I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about him."

I keep reading this over and over and it seems to make a different sort of nonsense every time. I must admit though, it had me laughing so hard I could have pee'd on myself!

10:28p – I am cooking "something" for supper. Not sure just what. I was going to cook hamburger meat, but Skip had some small beef steaks which were going to go bad and he told me I should use them. I've mixed that with jalapeños, onion and such.

11:27p – I am off to bed early again. Skip has conked out, snoring, on the sofa. I was so tempted to record him, since he criticizes me for snoring so often. But that would just be bad form, so I refrain.

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 16, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi daladu
ᏔᎵᏂ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏓᎳᏚ

11:46p – I slept for nearly 12 hours. Or rather, I was in bed for nearly 12 hours. I got up at 6:00a and drank another cup of Theraflu. It helps a little. I am now on day 5 of my 8 days off and still sick. I hope I am better by Saturday for work at least. I am enjoying not having to go to work, and I am fortunate this did not strike me when I had to work. On the other hand, I may get worse before I get better.

As usual, I had some wild dreams last night. One of them was, for me, a nightmare. It's already becoming vague, as dreams are wont to do, but let me see if I can remember some of it...

I was at some kind of club. Marty and JR were there too. They had these open public showers and I was trying to wash something off of my hands under one of them. Then Penny Ensley came in. She was wearing a white dress with big black polka dots, and a full skirt (like something from the 1960's). She had been partying and was sweaty from dancing.

She and someone else got under a couple of the other showers, clothes and all and began to clean up. Meanwhile, they were getting me all wet from splashing around, and I only wanted to wash my hands. Things become very vague, then I remember I was eating something and my right, top, front incisor broke in half. I caught it along with food I was chewing and again found myself washing my hands trying to separate the broke half of my tooth from the partially masticated food. It was not very pleasant, and I was freaking out over my tooth breaking. I kept trying to see myself in the mirror, but my reflection was very obscure. After washing off the broken tooth, I began to study it. There was artificial material in the tooth. Some crumbling plaster-like material, and a plastic foam. I figured this must have been done back when I was in the Navy without my realizing it. Further investigation of the remaining half of my tooth revealed that it was very loose and would probably fall out soon. Then things became even more unreal as I tried looking up into my broken tooth in the mirror. The enamel was thinner than an egg shell and then it seemed to be made of clear glass. The glass was in chambers, and as I looked more closely, I could see what appeared to be a black mold growing inside the chambers. I think I woke up at about this point, around 4:00a. I got up and actually check my teeth. The dream was very disturbing.

My car ... trying to thaw itself out...

5:11p – I just got back from a trip to the Antique Mall. I was looking for a certain item to get RD for a gift. I found several possibilities, but none I liked. Mi volis aĉeti por ŝi etan lignan keston en kiu ŝi povus formeti ŝiajn ringojn aŭ aliajn juvelaĵarojn. Anstataŭe, mi trovis Indianan geedziĝan vazeton kiu mi ŝatas, kaj kiu mi kredas ke ŝi ŝatos.

With permission, I took many photos at the Antique Mall today.
This collage includes a few of nearly 80 photos taken. Click-the-Pic to view the album.

Also, I think I am feeling a little better. I am not 100% yet, but so far I've been able to keep this bug from reaching my chest ... that is what will do me in.

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 17, 2008
– –
Tsoine-iga – Vsgiyi galiquadu
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᎦᎵᏆᏚ

I slept horribly again. This bug is wearing me out. I was up and down several times during the night. I got up around 2:00a (I think) and fixed another Theraflu drink. I also poured a shot of Skip's Fekkin Irish Whiskey which I downed along with it. That not only soothed my throat immediately, but helped me get to sleep.

I got up around noon. Again, I was hoping to get up earlier. I had planned on driving out to the mounds with RD's gift to take a picture of it with the Temple of the Sun in the background. Actually, I thought I would climb to the top, but my lungs convinced me that would not be a wise idea. But the time was gone so quickly. I got up, checked some email, and fixed a bit to eat (hamburger, rice & fried tortillas). I also cooked a pot of rice which I mixed with birdseed and put out for the critter. I only saw a squirrel eating any of it, and I had starlings all over the back porch yesterday. I watched some of the movie "Evolution" while eating, and then finally got around to getting RD's gift wrapped up and packaged. By the time I got to the post office it was about 4:00p and Skip was expecting me to pick him up from the train. He had to wait for me for a few minutes, but I got there about 4:25p. We ran back by the house and picked up some videos, returned them to Block Buster, decided we did not need anything from the store, and came home.

Meanwhile, in he "real" world, the Madoff
investment scandal is the big news...

I think Madoff should be executed as a traitor to the Country!

8:58p – I finished watching "Evolution" (for about the third time). Skip cooked something a bit ago and smoke up the house. My sick sinuses are really complaining. Mi sentas kiel feko. I am so disappointed in my "paid time off." This is just so wrong. I should not get sick. As soon as we can get moved, I think I must really get serious about seeking SSDI. I am not getting younger or healthier and although I seem to have been "lucky" so far, my health factors are NOT in my favor.

9:44p – I know it is not going to help my cold-flu-bug, but I want to take a picture of the house, with snow, at night. I am going to wrap up and go out with my tri-pod and see what I can create.

9:55p – Pictures taken! Now... to see how they turned out.

This may be one the last night time photo I take of this house... if we are lucky.

10:21p – Not too bad. Funny ... it took 11 minutes to take 4 photographs, and 26 minutes to process this one photo for my web page.

THURSDAY – DECEMBER 18, 2008
– –
Nvgine-iga – Vsgiyi neladu
ᏦᎢᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏁᎳᏚ

12:39a – I am not even trying to go to bed early tonight. I have been trying to do so for the last few days, but I just stay up all night. I am going to just do what I want and crash when I must tonight.

Meanwhile, I have fried up some chicken. The batter consists of an egg, shoyu, Worcestershire, oatmeal, and other seasonings. Shall I make pasta, potato or rice to go with it? I have cabbage too...

12:55a – I decided to use potatoes, with cabbage and onion. It is cooking now.

2:00a – I should have left the Worcestershire out of the mix, but otherwise it was not too bad. I am off to bed now. I expect I will not sleep well, but I will do my best.

6:53p – I stayed in bed until noon again. I am feeling worse today, with a low grade fever coming and going most of the day. My head remains stuffy and is producing ungodly quantities of mucous. Jeez, I hate bodily functions. This "vacation" has been a disaster. The only good thing is that I have not had to go to work while sick, but at the rate I am going, I will be at my worst when I have to go back on Saturday.

Well, Skip has granted the seller of the house an extension on the closing date, so it looks like that will be taking place around January 12th. I picked him up from 5th&Mo tonight in the cold drizzling rain and took him directly to the Classic K where he met with Sharon and got the paperwork done on that. At least he got the seller to pay for the inspection. I suppose I need to get started packing, but I feel so crappy. I still need to get laundry done too.

8:33p – I just saw lightening flash in the office window.

11:35p – Skip has gone to bed. I have a pork loin warming in the oven, and some cabbage on the stove. I feel so sick and I hate it. I should go to bed, but I know I will feel so awful during the night, that I dread going to bed. I am grateful I have one more day off and don't have to work, but ... I am not going to get miraculously cured in a day.

FRIDAY – DECEMBER 19, 2008
– –
Tsunagilosdi – Vsgiyi soneladu
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ

1:08a – I've finished my supper of cabbage and pork. The jalapeño I cooked in with the port made it spicier than I expected. I am watching "Charmed" at the moment. There is a mild storm with lightning flashing outside. That should help me sleep. I am going to take a couple of Tylenol PM's, have some chocolate ice cream, and go to bed. One more day off. This has been so depressing.

1:28a – I am off to bed now. I plan on going to Soulard Market tomorrow. I hope I feel good enough to get up early. I am not expecting it.

6:35p – I did not get up until about 1:15p. So much for getting up early. I still managed to check email, then drive over to pick up Skip from work, and then to Soulard Market. I picked up 9 pounds of onions ($3), 6 pounds of potatoes ($2), 2 containers of peels garlic cloves ($2), 3 bunches of broccoli ($2), a bunch of fresh cilantro ($1), 5 pork steaks (@ $1.89 lb.), a bunch of celery ($1) and a few spices, including chili power, oregano, and a new spice to my kitchen... "ground jalapeño powder" ... ! A test taste proved it to be very piquant!

We stopped back by Block Buster on the way home. Once home I fixed my first food of the day (rice & pork) and watched another episode of Charmed. And now its dark already, the day is over, and I feel like going back to bed. But, I have laundry going. Got to try to be ready for work tomorrow, despite being sick.

11:02p – I am so sick. This totally sucks. Work is going to be rough tomorrow.

SATURDAY – DECEMBER 20, 2008
– –
Unadodaquidena – Vsgiyi talisgohi
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪᎯ

1:19a – I am off to bed now. My supper, consisting of a port steak and broccoli was pretty good and will make a good lunch tomorrow. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's around 1:00a and now I am having a Theraflu cocktail. I took a handful of vitamins as well, and now I am off to bed. Seems like just a little while ago that I was getting OUT of bed. Tomorrow is going to be bad having to work and being so sick. I just don't know how long i can keep this up.

I got up about 11:30a. I was not feeling very good, as expected. I made a very nice pot of soup with leftover pork loin, jalapeño and noodles. I used broth from last night's cooking. It came out really, very good. I ate that while starting up the movie, "Narnia - Prince Caspian." I only had time to watch the beginning few scenes before having to head off to work. I dropped Skip off at Wal-Mart on the way.

I made it to work on time. It was a long day. I felt pretty rotten all day, but I did not have to go on phones, so that helped.

I talked to Chris about the fact that I needed to attend the Zamenhoff Banquet on Sunday. I was hoping to swap time with someone. He said to call him at 1:00p tomorrow and he would see what he could do.

SUNDAY – DECEMBER 21, 2008
– –
Unadodaquasgv – Vsgiyi talisgo-saquu
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏌᏊ

This is the smallest turn out of EASL for the
Zamenhofa Bankedo since I moved to the St. Louis area.

I got home this morning and watched the remainder of the Narnia movie. The "bug" is starting to move to my chest, as expected, despite all my efforts with the Theraflu, vitamins, and hot & spicy soups. I fixed another of the 5 pork steaks I picked up at Soulard on Friday.

Sleep was sparse and horrible. My throat is sore, my sinuses stuffed, my lungs congested, and I am trying not to cough too much.

I slept in way late. Rather... I lay in bed dozing fitfully having weird and disturbing dreams. (A little more weird and disturbing that my usual ones). Every time I dozed off I would have to get up again to go pee, or to wet my parched throat with water (which meant I would have to pee again). It becomes a tormenting cycle of sleep, wake, pee, sleep, drink, sleep, wake, pee... ad infinitum. I guess I should be happy for the "wake" part before the "pee" part, eh?

I finally got up, hoping that my call to Chris would be fruitful. I was hoping to go back to bed, then get up later and go to the banquet this evening. Unfortunately, Chris said that the service level "sucked" and he was not going to be able to get anyone to cover me for floor support. I told him I would come in, but I would be late. I fixed another pot of spicy sausage soup, and drank some more liquids while watching Chevy Chase and the Griswald Christmas movie (I forget the title). My racking cough which was causing me to choke and heave finally subsided enough that I felt capable of going to work. I clocked in about 4:45p and the fun ensued. I was very disappointed that I did not get to attend the Zamenhofa Bankedo, but hoped my coming in to work, despite this event, and while very sick, would at least earn me some respect along the way. We will see how that works. Usually I just get burnt on these "loyalty" excursions, and I expect no less in this case.

To top it all off, I don't know why, but I was not even scheduled for work in the IEX system at work. I could have (in theory) taken the day off and not be penalized for it! Except, I am only scheduled for 30 hours all week, so I would lose a day of pay.

Anyway, still sick, I held in there until Becky and Ren showed up. We had Yolanda Green working with us in floor support today. I have chatted with her many (many) times before, but only met her today.

Then I left, going out in to the cold, cold night. I say this because it was !@#$! COLD! The temperature in East St. Louis according to my Firefox weather add-on was about 5°^f. Becky said that when she came in the temperature on the bank sign was 1°^f. (That would be -17°^c!). Oh ... and now I seem to be getting a cold sore on my lip. Just lovely.

MONDAY – DECEMBER 22, 2008
– –
Unadodaquonvhi – Vsgiyi talisgo-tali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏔᎵ

2:29a – I have been trying to catch up my poor journal. I have been so sick lately, I just have not had the energy. I have forced myself to catch up, but

3:20a – I should be in bed already, but I am trying to fix something to eat. I have not had anything to eat since the sausage soup I made this morning. I have sliced up some jalapeños and boiled them. I had some tapioca pearls soaking in a jar in the fridge. I strained them off and poured the boiling jalapeño juice over them to soak. I cut up some chicken thighs and have them soaking in a bit more of the spicy juice along with some shoyu, sugar, fish sauce and rice vinegar. I am think in Vietnamese recipe terms, but I am still not sure just what I will do with it. I can't spend a lot of time on this. I really need to get to bed... but I think I am stalling because once I will be so sick again by morning.

3:54a – I can't believe it is this late and I am not in bed yet. I came home early. I should have been to bed early. Food is cooking. It is in a vaguely Vietnamese style with cabbage, chicken, onion and carrot. Seasonings include rice vinegar, shoyu, toasted sesame seed, olive oil and even a splash of beer. I have bean sprouts and fresh cilantro to follow.

It was not too bad, but I need to work on and perfect this recipe.

4:24a – I am (finally) off to bed. The food was not too bad, but nothing to write home about. So now... I am off to bed... dreading the ordeal which I expect to go through.

12:06p – I am out of bed and feeling horrible. I slept better than expected. Not good, but better than expected. I had the usual barrage of wild dreams. In one of them I was with about 5 friends, one of whom was Marita. We were going out to eat lunch I think, and got split up. Marita went with one group and I was with another person (or two). I kept trying to find her, and ended up getting separated from those I was with. I saw Marita in a pale yellow, older car, several times, but could not get her attention. Eventually, I did find Marita and company. They came driving up in that old yellow car. I came running up to the car. Marita was sitting in the back eat and she and the others were all dressed up in Navy whites, and I heard Marita comment to the driver, "I thought we were supposed to be in an unmarked car?" I called out to her, "I saw you several times, but I could not get your attention!" She was out of the car and walking toward a nearby building with her friends and seemed to be purposefully ignoring me. Suddenly realizing that I had been intentionally avoided and feeling a bit hurt and insulted, I commented mostly to myself, "Looks like it's continuing..."

I could not get myself off to work on time. I felt awful this morning. This "cold" (or whatever) is wearing me out. I called in late. This is the first time I have called in late since the new attendance policy went into effect, but ... what can you do when you get sick? This place has no sick leave. You just have to go to work and if you get sick, you don't get paid and may lose your job. No mercy. They do not care a bit about their employees. Those days are history I guess.

I finished re-watching M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" while having some chicken noodle soup (my way ... with tapioca pearls and boiled jalapeño strips). I finished it and rushed to get ready for work. I felt a little better, though still coughing badly. The water is frozen up in the bathroom, in the tub only, so I could not take a bath. I had to get creative with a lot of hairspray! Then I was in the kitchen and my nose starting bleeding profusely. I had to spend unexpected time dealing with another damn nose bleed. This dry weather makes that a more common problem. I was trying to hurry and leave a bit early. I was due in at 4:15p and wanted to leave the house no later than 3:15p so I could run by Wal-Mart and get some more of that Equate version of Theraflu and some cough drops. I pulled out at 3:19p, not to far behind, but I still had annoying twists of fate ahead of me.

First of all, I made my purchase and got out of the store fairly quickly. Then I realized I had forgotten two things. I was going to pick up some sodas to take with me (I could forgo those); and I need to get some cash back since I did not have a dime on me. I expelled a few expletives, and headed back from the car into the store. I quickly chose some Pepsi Colas and got in ... a long line! I finally got through the line and got my cash back and rush off hoping to make up time. Next obstacle (you knew it was coming) was the train. A long train. Had to sit and wait and fret. finally it passed. I think it was now about 3:45 already. Then traffic was heavy crossing the bridge. Not too bad though. At least not in comparison to the traffic in Hazelwood trying to get from 270 to Dunn Road. That took another 15 minutes, and I was in walking distance of the office! So, I finally clocked in at about 4:30p or so.

We (floor support) were in the annex today. This will be the last time for that as a new project will be working in there after tomorrow. Meanwhile, it took me another 30 minutes to get all my profiles recreated on this machine, install Pidgin (since Meebo has been blocked), and bumble my way back on line. Work was fairly light today, especially for a Monday.

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 23, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi talisgo-tsoi
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏦᎢ

Yuletide Blessings!

Once off duty, I headed out to the car. I had left 3 plastic bottles of Pepsi in the front seat, and a case of beer in the back. I was really worried that they would all be frozen, and possibly "exploded" in the car. I was relieved to find that they were not even slushy.

3:55a – I have been catching up email and adding some pictures to my FaceBook tonight. Just got my journal updated and now its 4:00a almost. I should go to bed. I don't have to work tomorrow, though I was kind of thinking about going in for a few hours to make up some time. However, Skip needs to go to Belleville to take care some something to do with getting the house inspected. As it stands now, he should be closing on the 12th of next month. I guess I need to be packing!

Soon to be our new home!

5:30a – I hear Skip's alarm going off. And ... I am off to bed!

1:45p – I could have stayed in bed, but it was after 1:30p and I don't want to piss away the entire day. I am still coughing, but it's a little better. I got up around 7:00a and drank another Theraflu.

I just had a wild dream. There are many parts I did not get, but the main theme, up until I woke up a little bit ago, revolved around the abduction of a child. A little girl I believe. The kidnapper decided to make it a contest to see who could find her, and made it known that her life was in peril from a huge bear. If she was not rescued in time, the bear would get her. I somehow tracked the clues to this home out in the woods. I went inside carrying my rifle...

At this point I want to mention some pieces of the dream that happened earlier, but I don't remember the bits and pieces clearly. Maybe because there were several decades of experience crammed into this small dream segment. Early in this dream I had been a little boy and I was with other children. We were all being taught how to use rifles and were at "sniping school." With me in that childhood scene was a little girl, also being trained as a sniper. We could not have been more that 7 years old.

Fast forwarding through the dream I recall being left in a room with 3 women who were being interviewed for a secretarial position. The interviewer left, then the 3 women left, and I was left alone. Then 3 new women came in and sat down (on a bed) waiting to be interview next. I tried to speak with them, but they were aloof and regarded me with disdain. Skipping further along, I am at some kind of business party sitting at what seemed to be a long banquet table. There was some kind of strange drinking contest going on. Then we skip way into the future and I am now an old man and searching for the lost girl. It is night time and I am at the home of the little girl who was with me long ago in sniping school. I ask her if she still has her rifle and would join me. She said, "The bar is letting out next door. C'mon, it really gets my blood boiling!" I looked at her and asked again about her weapon and abilities, but she looked kind of sad and said that it had been a long time. She did not know if she could still fire the weapon. I went on alone, and eventually found myself in the house, stealthily making my way through the front room. I came to a door way which had some obstacles of furniture blocking it, then I saw the bear. It was a huge grizzly.

It saw me and roared and charged toward me. The furniture in the doorway was surely not going to contain this monster, but my mind was working fast and as I looked around I noticed a black cat curled up sleeping on a pillow in the room with the bear. There was also a dog in with the bear, wagging its tail and barking. It seemed happy to see me (in typical doggy fashion). The charging bear looked very clean and shiny. Nothing like one would expect from a bear in the wild. It's roaring I realized was more a bellow and not all that threatening. Nor was it quite as big as I first thought. It came up to the blockade and, instead of vaulting up over the furniture as I was sure it could easily do, it put its head up and continue to cry.

Like the dog, it too seemed happy to see someone. I reach over and began to pet the big brute, who was actually fairly young. He began to blubber in pleasure at the attention and I realize he was just a big baby who was spoiled for attention. I pushed my way into the room and sat on a sofa. The cat raised it's head and look around at us, disgusted and annoyed by all the noise and having it's nap disturbed. The dog was somewhere in the background. The bear was pressing up against me for more rough petting and was blabbering away making sounds that I could almost identify as words. In its simple way it was communicating with me and I understood something about everyone being afraid of him and how he didn't want to scare anyone. Speaking as to a child, while scratching into his deep fur, I asked, "Is every one afraid of you?" To my surprise, the bear held up his paw and bawled out more laments. The paw ended in long, curved, and razor sharp claws. I took his "wrist" and pushed the dangerous implements down to the floor and gave the bear a big hug, saying something lie, "Yes, they are all afraid of sharp claws... let's just put them down here out of the way before somebody gets cut..."'

Then, on a lark, or a hunch, I asked the bear if he knew where the real bear was. The bear I was supposed to find? He seemed to understand me and got all excited. He jumped up and down on his front feet a couple of times and then head off around the corner into another room. There was a box on the floor and the bear went to the box and began to snuffle the contents. I looked and found several toys, including a rubber polar bear with a note attached to it. The note said something like, "The chances are that no one will get this far. But if by some miracle you are reading this, then here is the next clue for finding the girl...." ... and wouldn't you know it... I work up. Just when it was getting good!

1:52p – Skip called. I am barely awake yet, not to mention starving. I have to throw myself together and head out to Belleville to meet him at the train.

Just before leaving the house there was a knock on the door. It was the postman. He has a package for "Shaman" and was a bit confused and not sure if it was supposed to be for me or not. I smiled and assured him he did indeed have the right house. It was my Yule gift from RD. She blessed me with many things including a couple of books...

Books from RD

I was especially charmed to get a gift from RD's daughter (who I will simply call *A* for privacy). *A* sent me a troll to add to my collection! What a sweetheart! And all this arrived (quite by accident) on Yuletide day.

Thank you *A* !!

Meanwhile, I have not really been in the season spirit this year. What with having to work, being sick, being broke, bills and an ongoing recession, and dealing with the prospect of moving very soon. I did send out one holiday card, but even this year I have so far only received 5 cards. So I guess I am not the only one in a holiday slump and financial crunch.

The first card I received was from Clara, my former sister-in-law and mother of my nephew, Scott.

Card from Clara Moran

Next I got a card from my nephew and his wife.
This is from Scott, Rachel, David and Dylan.
From Tucson, Arizona

Then Scott's Dad, my brother Ken, sent us a card.
From Moyock, North Carolina.

Today I receive a card from Chuck
my very dear friend of 30 years
(as of this year!)
In Tampa, Florida.

And finally, as of today, I got a card from RD
along with the gifts mentioned above,
from Southampton, England.

The trip to Belleville to pay the inspection fee was a bit of a fiasco. Rain was pouring down off and on. I dropped him off in front of City Hall an then found a place to park and wait a block away in the YMCA parking lot. He calls me a moment later. The cannot accept his debit card or Visa, so he needs me to take him to the bank.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, and we are afraid they will close before we can get this done. I pick him up again, and we make it to the bank.

He gets the cash and I drop him off at the official building again (actually not City Hall, but next door). I wait for him in the car and video another little snippet for the archives. He comes back out to the car shortly and says, "They don't accept cash!" What?! lol... it's true! They only accept checks or money orders. Wow... how primitive! So, I convinced Skip to give me the cash and I wrote them a check for the $60 (not $40 as we were thinking) for the inspection. Wow... they really and truly do NOT accept cash! That is the basis for SO many jokes.

10:53p – This has been a very emotional evening between Skip and I. We discussed a lot of feelings about family and friends, what they mean, who they are (or are not), and he shared a lot of his personal stories from times when we were apart. Meanwhile, I had been having a similar personal discussion with my older brother, Kenneth, online. I ended up leaving our chat sitting on the screen and by the time I got back, over an hour later, he had signed off. Too much in too short of a time!

Meanwhile, back at work ... Merl laughs himself out of his chair, hits his head on
the floor, and here he is, trying to collect himself and regain his dignity...

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 24, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi talisgo-nvgi
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏅᎩ

Happy 45th birthday to my best friend,
Jack LaPlante!

12:07a – I have to take a bath, so I am heating water up on the stove. This will be a primitive bathing ordeal in a modern plastic tub. I just hope I don't scald anything!

12:24a – Okay! I am bathed and feel "clean" again! It was a bit of a challenge juggling the freezing cold water from the tap, with the pot of boiling water in the pot at my feet, but ... it can be done. I even shampooed and conditioned my hair. And there is plenty of hot water left in the pot. I might should sit that out of the critters who are finding it hard to find water when things are frozen.

12:30a – Done. I filled three containers with hot water in the back yard for the critters to snuggle up to. Or ... at least to get a drink from before it freezes over. This came to mind for me yesterday when I saw some sparrows flocking around a splatter if ice and snow, pecking away at it like it was food. I realized they would be having a hard time finding water with the freezing conditions. I am surprised that I have not thought of that before. I feel kind of guilty at how self centered I have been regarding that issue. Maybe the bath I just took mixing cold and hot water trying to attain a level of modern civilization that I "expect" brought on this mild guilt.

Anyway... I hope some of the varmints find and appreciate the warmth and the unfrozen water (while it lasts). I will put more out when I can.

I love this video of the dogs fixing up the tree. It's really cute...

1:41a – A few minutes ago, I logged on to New Egg and ordered a new mouse. It will be $18.98, but ... I need a new mouse. My optical mouse started "double clicking" on its own, so I switched to a "ball" mouse which I had here in the house. It keeps on sticking and, considering all the fine and minute artwork I do, I just could not deal with it. I had to have a decent mouse.

1:44a – I am cooking some chimichangas and a pot of rice.

My chimichangitas ... in a paper plate... and with chop sticks...

2:01a – I just had to go out to the car. It is 38° and raining. I had to get my cell phone and a bottle of Pepsi which go left in the car. Amazingly, the Pepsi never froze as expected. Meanwhile, I have just cooked up a batch of chimichangitas and have a pot of rice cooking. I've been taking pictures of my cooking (as I am wont to do...).

I just barely made it on time to work today. It was a very light day at work, as expected. I was on floor support all day and was able to read a couple of chapters of Thirteen Moons.

THURSDAY – DECEMBER 25, 2008
– –
Nvgine_iga – Vsgiyi talisgo-hisgi
ᏅᎩᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᎯᏍᎩ

On the way home, I was going to stop at the QT for some beer, but I forgot. So I decided to stop at the Route 3 store, but they were closed. I ended up going to the other liquor store down the road from there. I don't know the name of it. They were raking in the business though. Then got home and never drank any of them, went to bed early and without anything to eat. I did not sleep very well due to the coughing. It is very tiring.

12:26p – I just got an animated card from Lisa K. and Farzan. Very cute. Here are some scenes from it...

Before going to work, I ran Skip over to Q-Mart and back home. I still managed to make it to work on time, but it was tight. However, the work load was fairly light. Michelle donis nin konsidereman donaĵon ... ŝi ne laboris hodiaŭ! Tial, kiel hieraŭ, ni ne laboris malfacile. Mi nun legas la libron "Thirteen Moons." (Post recivanta la aro de 5 KD-ojn de Tamili en la Ĉerokian lingvon. I am up to about page 80 now. I look forward to reaching page 173, 'Book 2' ... where the Cherokee translation begins.

I made it through another day of work. Ten hours plus 8 hours of holiday pay. Lots of chocolate, too much sugar, and I am still coughing my head off. The coughing is really tiring me out.

FRIDAY – DECEMBER 26, 2008
– –
Tsunagilosdi – Vsgiyi talisgo-galiquogi
ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᎦᎵᏉᎩ

After getting home, I made myself a hot toddy with some of Skip's Feckin whiskey, some juice from my gari (pickled ginger), lime juice, honey and boiling water. It actually helped almost immediately, if short term. I stayed up working on some Cherokee language material until way later than I should have. I did not get to bed until around 5 or 6 this morning. So, when I got up around 12:30p I was still pretty tired. Being sick, not getting enough sleep, and drink a bit more beer than I should have is not a good combination.

I fixed a bite to eat – left over chicken & vegetables in gravy over rice with egg, sizzled in olive oil and a liberal dose of ground black pepper. I ate this while watching "Little Miss Sunshine" (which I started watching yesterday with Skip before work).

At 2:00p we started getting ready to leave and were out of the house by 2:15p, headed to Belleville for Skip's home inspection. We met Kevin, the inspector at the house, and Sharon (the realtor) joined us shortly thereafter. The inspection went pretty well. There were a lot of points that need to be taken care of, but nothing really extreme, and ... well, it could have gone far worse. However, he still needs to have the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical inspections completed, so its not over yet.

After finishing up the inspection, I ran Skip by the bank so he could deposit his coins. Then I took some time for myself and (after running around in circles) went to Bethany Place to meet my new counselor (Paulean) and introduce myself. I learned that Dameion left and went on to work with the Police Department. (It would have been nice if he had told me... but, whatever). I have a "formal" appointment with Paulean next Friday. I need to see about getting some blood work done, trying to get some medications, and eventually working toward seeking SSDI. It will be an ordeal I suspect, but one I think it is time I dealt with.

From there we went to Target. I did not buy anything. Skip was looking at prices of smoke alarms and such. Actually, I did buy a coffee and 3 packets of specialty blend teas at the Starbuck's counter. Skip then walked next door to Home Depot and after I got my coffee, I drove over and parked and waited for him. And waited... and waited. He really took a long time! I was about to fall asleep.

When he finally got out, we headed back toward home. By now it was about 6:00p and completely dark out ... but unseasonably warm! We went to Schnuck's first, once getting back to Cahokia. I picked up a bottle of cheap brandy ($7.99) and some fresh ginger and lemon juice with which to make hot toddies. Then we went to Block Buster, where I again spent a long spell of sitting in the car wheezing and coughing, waiting for Skip to finish conducting business.

Eventually, by around 7:00p or a little after, we made it home again. I changed into some comfortable clothes and started making my hot toddy. It tasted like stale piss, but ... I think it has helped.

8:47p – I am just finishing up making my journal current. I just comment to Skip that I have not coughed in quite some time now. I do not presume I am "well" ... but I am feeling a bit better at least. That's good. This bug is really wearing me out.

SATURDAY – DECEMBER 27, 2008
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Unadodaquidena – Vsgiyi talisgo-sudali
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏑᏓᎵ

1:03a – I just finished watching "Little Miss Sunshine." Not the best movie I've ever seen, but ... very endearing. You have to love it, despite it's mediocrity.

12:02p – I had a fairly decent night's sleep for a change. I wouldn't call it "good" ... but it's the best I've had in about 3 weeks. Skip gave me some pills that he had left over from when he was sick and either those, or the hot toddy, has really helped. Or, maybe I am just finally starting to get over it.

Meanwhile, I have some water boiling for tea. I am having one of the Tazo teas I bought at Starbucks yesterday called, "Wild Sweet Orange."

9:23p – We left the house at about 1:30p and headed out to Alton. It was raining and as we traveled, the rain became even worse. However, we made our way to Alton with no major incident. Our first destination was to be "Fast Eddie's Bon Air" restaurant. Skip had heard a lot of good things about his place and wanted to check it out. We took a few wrong turns trying to get there, but all-in-all we did not have much problem finding the place. I must say, given the current recession and global economic slump, that this business seems to be thriving outside of rest of the world economic crisis. Even though it was raining and most of the establishment is "outside" ... and there is a "no smoking" law in Illinois ... they were packed. I would have taken more pictures, but ... well, as I mentioned, it was raining and not conducive to photography. We found a table outside in one of the plastic "tent-like" areas and claimed our seats. There were all kinds of heating units all over the place, and we sat right next to one of them. We were also at the opening of the plastic "causeway" of seats, so the furnace unit was welcome. It was not really cold, but it was cool and constantly drizzling rain.

Our waitress, as it turns out, only brings drinks. We had to go inside and order our food, then wait for the number to be called and post on digital displays, located around the premises. This was a odd system, but it seemed to work.

Our personal "furnace on a post"
at Fast Eddie's

Skip went in and ordered some of their shish kabobs. One beef (which I though all along was pork!), one chicken (which turned out to be the pork!), and one "chicken on a stick" ... which were skewered chicken wings. I got them a bit mixed up and just learned (10:10p) which was which. Oops.

I asked him to get me some fries too, but he forgot. His beer and my soft drink arrived while he was inside ordering, so I paid for those. He came back with a snack of peel-n-eat shrimp. They only cost .29¢ a piece, and they were jumbo shrimp, so that was not a bad deal.

I ate a few shrimp, then went back inside to order the French fries. It seemed like a mad-house and I comment to the counter girl that it seemed pretty busy. She looked at me like I was an alien and said, "Not really... the line often wraps around the entire bar..." That would mean that about 100 people in line would not have been uncommon for her. We only had about 5-8 people in this line. I did not get my receipt for my order... being a bit confused. It was #419, but I thought I would just go pick it up ... after all, it was just an order of fries. Apparently that would be about a 20 minute wait! Okay...

Anyway, I got an order of 20 twenty shrimp and a fry. I took the shrimp back with me to the table to eat. They were great, though they left my fingers all fishy smelling. Eventually, Skip's order (#400) came up) and he went in and got them. The food was tasty and cheap. The environment was very strange and different, but I think we could get used to it. I did manage to get my fries, despite not having my receipt, but I could not find any mayonnaise to go with them, so I had to get ketchup. I detest ketchup with French fries, but it is well known that my tasted is a bit outré.

We will really have to go back to this place in the Spring or Summer during "nice" weather. Today was a bit of a fiasco and downer as far as "ambiance" goes. What with the rain and all.

Finally we left and splashed our way back out to the car. The three of us (that would be me, Skip and Rubydancingmoon "in spirit") head out to try to find the famed "Piasa" Native America Petroglyph. Unfortunately, all three of us were disappointed that we failed to located the site of this ancient Native American symbol.

I will have to try to find the Piasa "monster bird" again in the future when I have better directions and less rain!

The drive home was not as bad. The rain was not so heavy, although it was much more dark. From our furthest point out I set the mileage counter and it was right about 40 miles from there back home. I calculate we drove about 90.2 miles to and from today.

We got home and Skip put on a pot of coffee. I had a cup, with brandy and milk. Also took one of those pills Skip gave me. (They have NO brand name on them... oddly).

I am very saddened to hear of my old Navy buddy's sad problems (Brad Oesch). His wife, Nancy, is going through some horrific times. I am so saddened by his news and wish them only the best.

SUNDAY – DECEMBER 28, 2008
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Unadodaquasgv – Vsgiyi talisgo-tsunela
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏧᏁᎳ

1:11a – I have some food fixed. Pasta, meat, gravy ... just a general mix. Off to eat... then off to bed.

1:38a – I am off to bed now.

I wanted to get up early this morning, but I woke up around 6:00a and could not get back to sleep until around 10:00a (about the time I wanted to get up). I did not get out of bed until after 1:00p. I watched the end of a the episode of Charmed I started last night. An episode I had not scene where The Charmed Ones vanquished The Source (and apparently Cole gets his demonic powers back).

After checking some email, we drove to Belleville back to the house. Skip wanted to re-check some measurements. Once done there, we found our way back over to El Cerrito for dinner. Again, we both had the combination platters. We finished up eating and headed out. The sun was nearly down. Skip was getting a violent chill. We made our way back to Cahokia and stopped by Q-Mart. I worked much of the evening on WOTD graphics.

I called Calisa just before midnight and chatted with her from about 11:50p to 12:30a ... roughly.

MONDAY – DECEMBER 29, 2008
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Unadodaquonvhi – Vsgiyi talisgo-sonela
ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎯ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ-ᏐᏁᎳ

1:32a – I have supper cooking.

2:12a – I've eaten, and I am stuffed. Off to bed now.

3:00a – Okay ... NOW I am off to bed.

5:03a – I am up for a bit, then back to bed.

11:27a – I suppose I am up for the day now. I could go back to bed if I did not have to work.

What a beautiful day! I did not even need to wear my jacket, although I took it with me of course. Sunny and cool ... almost warm. This would have been the better day to have gone hunting the Piasa bird!

Today they had us (floor support) sitting in the "CoF Row." The phones don't work over there, and we do not need the phones. They day went by slowly. Once Jay and Cindy left it would have been just me, by myself, on a Monday night, but Chris was able to get Yolanda and Ronny to help, so the work load was not too bad.

I was so tired when I got home. I had about 1½ beers, watched some "Charmed" and went to bed without fixing anything to eat.

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 30, 2008
– –
Taline-iga – Vsgiyi tsosgohi
ᏔᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏦᏍᎪᎯ

I slept reasonably well. The pills Skip gave me have been really helping to keep the coughing down. I am still sick, but improving.

Among my jumbled and chaotic dreams from last night, I can only recall two fragments. One has mostly faded, but I remember that I was arguing with Mom. It's amazing how often she is in my dreams. I still miss her so much. The other dream fragment had something to do with a party at work. I was taking only sliced carrots as my contribution and I commented to someone about how once I would have made a nice cooked dish, like a rice casserole. But with today's economy, all I can managed are some carrots. When the economy is so bad that I have dreams about it... then you know it's bad!

I got up around 10:30a this morning, giving me more time to spend to myself. I also filled the big pot with hot water and took another 'pour bath.' It's a pain, but I feel so much better being clean. I felt grimy at work yesterday. I've call Blake about the hot water problem

12:51p – Almost time to head out to work again.

6:47p – This day ended fairly quickly. I discovered that I had miscalculated my PTO usage. I was going to end up losing about 4.5 hours of PTO at the end of the year if I did not use it and was able to get the rest of the day off (paid). So I came home at 5:15p. Skip was not home yet. I called him and he was over at Block Buster, so I drover over and picked him up. He has been dealing with the fiasco of trying to close on this house and I think he is a bit stressed out. It looks like the sellers are trying to pull some fast ones on him and he is about ready to tell them "no" ... and just forfeit his earnest money and walk away from the entire deal rather than get sucked into something that gets out of control. I won't go into the details online, since that is his personal business, but it's a major headache so far.

11:59p – I have spent a lot of time tonight rendering Myrtle Driver Johnson's translation of page 173 (from Thirteen Moons) into my own presentation in the Cherokee language. I know I have some mistakes, but I think that over all (as a non-fluent speaker) my rendition is not too bad and should be comprehensible by a fluent speaker.

Click me to hear me!

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 31, 2008
– –
Tsoine-iga – Vsgiyi tsosgo-saquu
ᏦᎵᏁ-ᎢᎦ – ᎥᏍᎩᏱ ᏧᏍᎪ-ᏌᏊ

12:08a – Skip is still up, watching the latest "Mummy" movie. I am cooking. Not sure what I am making yet, but I have hamburger meat cooking, Mexican style, on the stove.

12:09a – Correction - Skip is on his way to bed now.

12:20a – I plan on watching the Mummy movie he just watched, but I have another movie I am going to watch first. It is "The Day the Earth Stopped" ... which sounds a lot like my old favorite "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Over 50 years apart however. We will see if there is any similarity.

1:42a – Well... my movie, so far has a good story concept, but the acting and production are crappy. It was probably a good novel at some point, but the movie version has gone to crap.

1:55a – Early (for me) but... I am off to bed.

11:42a – I woke up around 5:00a with a case of acid reflux. I recovered from that, but then I suffered from heart burn for a couple of hours. I took some Tums, and eventually the heart burn subsided. However, the Tums left an awful metallic taste in my mouth.

Parts of two dreams stand out in my memory this morning. In the first one I was just outside of what I think was Orlando City Hall. There was some kind of huge storm coming. It was not a natural storm. It seemed to be like a tornado, but it was horizontal rather than vertical. The wind was blowing so hard I could barely keep my balance. I was trying to make it back to City Hall where I might be safe inside. I was not confident that City Hall was the safest place to be though. I could see what appeared to be Firefighters lined up on top of the building with water hoses. For some reason they seemed to believe that spraying water at the oncoming storm would stop it. I was not too sure about that. The storm seemed to be some kind of entity, not just an act of nature. I continued to struggle through the blowing wind and stinging sand... and then I woke up.

In the second dream I was with my sister, Darlene. We were in a stable and she led me to a stall where there was pregnant horse. The horse was in labor and for some reason it was wearing a saddle. Even more strange was that the horse was laying on it's side. I commented on this to Darlene who explained that the horse had been given some kind of pain killing drug and could no stand up. About this time the mare lifted her left hind leg into the air and began to strain with a labor contraction. We encouraged her and in moments she pushed out a new born colt. Darlene was attending that end of the horse, while patted her head and comforted her. I woke up then, but at least this dream seemed to have some kind of end to it. Most of my dreams seem to end right in the middle of something.