After mowing the front yard, I then mowed the much larger back lawn with no problem, and them mowed the front lawn again a week later, and part of the back lawn. Then I parked it. The next time I went to use it, it would not crank. Frozen solid.

Skip began reloading his computer, once again.

Skylar and Denise came by about 7:00p and we went out to Landry's Seafood Restaurant for a lovely dinner. I took lots of pictures and they are temporarily on-line on the Catch O'The Day Album.

SUNDAY - MAY 9, 2004

OLD DIARY ENTRY... 1994: Transferred from Central Florida Regional to ORMC

I got up kind of late to day. Marty called and offered to bring JR over to mow the lawn. They got that done. I paid him with some of my rolled coins.

7:06p - I have been busy! I have almost all my laundry done and fold/hung & put away. Doing some sheets & such now. I put my last corned beef brisket on to cook earlier and it is done cooking. It is cooked thoroughly! I almost could not get it out of the pressure cooker it was so loose and "fall-aparty". I am not sure what I am going to fix to go with it. Probably more rice! (Speaking of which, I sent some of my crop 2002 Lady brand Thai Jasmine rice with Marty for his Mom; hope she enjoys it!).

7:20p - Darn... my recipe reminder just popped up. I still have not done my recipe for this weekend!

8:33p - I did a "Raspberry Poppyseed Muffin" recipe.

10:51p - I ate only a little of the meat & rice (and gravy). It was much too briney. I have all the dishes done, including Skip's plate with microwave hardened cheese (which was ignorant, since there were dispoable plates & bowls). My laundry is done, the bed clothes are clean, and I have showered, shampooed and brush my teeth (and I have the satisfaction of knowing the lawn is mowed and trimmed!). I am all ready to go with gusto into this next week... which will likely be very, VERY long for me since I only worked two day last week.

11:02p - I am headed to bed now...

MONDAY - MAY 10, 2004

Birthday Wish - En Memoriem to our belovéd Mother Daisy Colleen (Dabbs) Lewis May 10, 1937 - April 29, 1984

Happy Birthday to Stephanie Selfridge! my niece in California May 10, 1986

Happy Birthday to Laura Ruhrwien! my Director May 10, 1958

7:50a - I thought I would get a better night's sleep than I did, but Kira kept me awake off and on all night with her breathing problems. I think it might be more "digestion" problems. I fed her some fat scraps from the (very salty) corned beef last night. Not very much, but just a taste. She loved it and kept licking her bowl long after it was gone (obviously longing for more). I swear... I am going to love her to her death. I must stop giving her scraps for her own good! I think I should also see about getting a better brand of dog food for her too. I have been feeding her that cheap stuff from Q-Mart and she has been on a diet of of Iam's for years. If they had Iam's at Q-Mart, I would buy it, but they don't.

7:55a - I just realized how late it is! I may miss my bus!

8:05a - Damn! Now the shower is messed up too! I still may make it though...

The shower did not work this morning! I was almost late. I would have been if I had not taken a shower and such last night. At about 8:30a, I called Skip to ask him if he had a problem with the shower. Strangely, he was calling me about the same thing at exactly the same instant!

9:55a - LZ is out sick today! It is already hectic. And someone has unplugged my camera... AGAIN! This is really pissing me off. Once was a prank. Twice was irritating. I've lost count of how many times now and it has gone beyond a rude violation of my space and personal property!

I think I know who is doing this now. Logic has pretty much narrowed it down to one person (JB). I am not amused. A big convex mirror was put up (possibly due to my "security concerns") during my recent vacation, but it is basically useless to me since I cannot see it! (due to my eyesight). I hope they don't think this is an answer ... and if so, there has not been a response to my email to LR yet. Also, I am not crawling under my desk in my expensive white "jubchuQun" shirt to plug my camera back in either! I think it is time for me to consider some drastic action of some sort. I am being violated and my space intruded upon. This is not right and if I let it continue, I only look bad. I don't care who it is at this point. If they cannot be forthright enough to confront me in person about it, or "official" enough to approach management with whatever concern they might have, then they will be dealing with the consequences of their actions.

3:25p - This has been a very busy day. I took some time at lunch for myself and bought a new book. The first page mentioned a faerie princess who is homesick for her hometown of Cahokia, IL, which intrigued me. Then I splurged nearly $30 and bought sushi & sashimi for lunch.

3:28p - The new person, JD, started work today. He is going through his HIPAA training now. I hope he is managing to stay awake!

5:48p - Time to go. There is still a huge amount of email in the HD email ... but I just don't have time to get to it. I will miss my train.

10:16p - Came home, got the trash set out. Got my Mother's Day cards & letters all fixed up for my three chosen Mom's for this year (Calisa, Darlene and Marlene). I used my new laminator for the first time and made them a special laminated "hand made" card as well as a Wal-Mart gift certificate. Sorry I can't send a card to every mother I know. Especially today on Mom's 67th birthday. Wow... she would be 67 today... that is awesome. I am missing her a lot today (go figure...).

TUESDAY - MAY 11, 2004

OLD DIARY ENTRY... 1994: Had 2nd surgery on leg. 1997: Went to movies w/Nikki & Tom. Watched 5th Element. This was my "favorite movie" for a long time. I think "Men in Black" finally usurped it position in my "favorites" list.

12:28a - Skip and I just got through watching the movie, "Shallow Hal." It was a comedy, but it left me with tears in my eyes. Great movie!

12:39a - It's late, but I am off to bed now. I don't know what I am going to do about showering in the morning. The shower is messed up!

1:44a - Oh boy... I have sat here writing a letter to Carl M. for the past hour! Must go to bed!!

8:05a - Skip just called. His back is in pain and he is coming back home from work. I am going in late and will try to figure out something with this plumber situation.

8:29a - I called a plumber and someone should be out this morning.

9:07a - Now I can't get in the shower! I wasn't thinking. I have to wait for the plumber to get here. Which means I can't bathe until he leaves... which means I will be even later than I was thinking I would be.

9:38a - The plumber, Dan, arrived.

11:05a - The plumber just left a bit ago. That cost $287.61! Ouch.

12:27p - It is so late now we decided I will just take the remainder of the day off.

12:58p - I am so sleepy. I am making some chicken & pork soup with left over pork shoulder bones & some chick en wings at the moment. I think I will eat a bite, then go lay down.

3:35p - I've been trying to nap. I dozed off for a bit, but can't sleep.

8:45p - Jeez... I've just been eating and sleeping all day. I don't feel good, but can't be more specific.

9:18p - Skip just ordered us some pizza from Pizza Hut.

Went to bed after eating the pizza, about 10:30p.

WEDNESDAY - MAY 12, 2004

7:21a- I got so much sleep last night. I should be well rested, but for some reason I am so sleepy I can barely function. I almost feel hung over (but I had nothing to drink since Monday).

7:23a - Skip is calling in sick again today due to his back. He slept on cushions in the livingroom last night. I warned him about this when he bought his futon, but he insisted on getting it.

I took my webcam down this morning. I am tired of having my work space invaded and my property violated. I wrote LR an email telling her to disregard my previous email inquiry about the legitimacy

5:40p - I have been so busy help Jeff (out new person) with all the things he will need to know to function over the weekend, that I did not make many entries today.

I fixed some cabbage and beef for supper. Had one small glass of wine. Chatted some with Skylar about the upcoming conoe trip. Tad came over and borrowed my old DSL modem.

I created my GUEST BOOK tonight! Neat idea that I got from RD.

THURSDAY - MAY 13, 2004

12:51a - I am up WAY too late (early) again! Been chatting with Skylar on-line. Iihe sh'armchaengy' aim' azh' aafye! Fye Y'ond' iib' erkulfe, Y'iib' ogeingy' uut' aalfe ny'uvle thw' ime! I haven't felt this way in so long... it's a bit irskeir' uut' iime. Nyenewe... iiw' ilw' iise...

7:25a - I did not get to sleep until after 3:30a! I just lay in bed awake. Kira's rapid breathing kept worrying me again (I MUST get her to the doctor! ... this is starting to scare me). I woke up again around 4:30am and let Kira outside, and I woke up a couple more times after that. In between I had some very strange dreams. In one of them, I had to stand and read outloud in German from a circuit board. I was in some kind of language class. German is NOT one of my better languages, and guess who is sitting in the class next to me? Marita! (She's from Berlin, incidently). I was on about my second word when Marita scolded me and corrected my pronounciation, saying something like, "I taught you better than that!" ...as usual... strange!

I over slept and feel like crap, I want to go and take a nap. I hate it when I get no rest, I speak the truth, 'n do not jest!

O, why can't I just get my sleep? Sawing logs in darkness deep... Lost in dreams I won't recall, Waking fresh and on the ball?

... I have know idea where all that came from!!

8:03a - I am dressed and as ready to go to work as I can be. My caffeine& vitamins may have kicked in a bit. That won't last for long!

8:34a - I am sitting here on the bus; we are waiting for the train to cross Mildred Street. It is a long train! I just looked up and see the last car approaching. It's not a caboose though, but some dull white car. I was noticing some of the graffiti spray painted on the cars and wonder who did this and what was their motivation? One line of graffiti started off with a Star of David follow by some ugly symbols which looked like a cross between Runes and Angelic Script.. I wonder if anyone actually *reads* this stuff and/or if it has any significant or relevant meaning?

The bus was too late and I missed the 8:46a train and had to catch the next one. At least seating is plentiful on that train.

I stopped at the Olin Hall Cafeteria and got a bowl of fruit for breakfast instead of my usual biscuit & gravy with two eggs over-easy.

I seem to have woke up some. I did not get much sleep last night though, so this may be a long day!

12:35p - I brought my lunch with me today. Left overs from last nights beef & cabbage. It is starting to sound good (I am starving!).

1:07p - LZ is still gone to lunch... and I am HUNGRY!

1:08p - That was wild... she must have been reading my mind; she just called from the build room and said she is on her way back.

The RENTGN tape back up is ALL screwed up! We have been putting in tapes from set #20 all week, and it should be set #30! Then I put the tapes in the drive and they won't load; nor will they eject. This is crazy!

4:10p - I finish bunring 2 sets of 20 CD's that I have been working on all day, including printer and applying label.

4:32p - I am getting a headache... just took some Advil from the office stash.

5:06p - Larry reinitialized the tape drive and released the locked magazine. I know how to do this now, for future reference.

5:33p - Skylar just called. He is planning on coming by for a few beers tonight.

5:55p - Time to split!

9:11p - I have been waiting for Skylar to come by or call, but he appears to be a "no show." That is very disappointing. I bought some beer, even though I had not planned on drinking tonight. Now I will probably feel like crap in the morning all for no reason. This is very upsetting, distressing and aggravating... and depressing. Oh well... I should just get used to being alone and be done with it.

FRIDAY - MAY 14, 2004

5:45a - I got up to let Kira out. I don't think she is feeling good. I have to set an appointment for her to see the Vet. She continues to have labored breathing and it seems to be getting more pronounced. Now she is starting to add little gasping coughs every now & then. I hope its nothing major, but I have a bad feeling. She is eleven years old this month, and that is getting up there in years.

8:27a - For the second day in a row, we have stopped at the tracks on Mildred to let a train pass.

8:29a - The train is finally passing. It always seems longer than it really is.

9:53a - I left a message for Tad and now I am on the phone with the Vet.

9:57a - I got an appointment for next Tuesday, the 18th, at 10:00am. Now I just have to coordinate with Tad.

1:08p - I was "in the field" until about 12:30. It was fun to go around and help with computer problems; especially when I got everything right!

2:48p - Just got back from lunch. I brought my lunch from home again today. Rice & stir-fry from supper last night. I feel stuffed and sleepy.

2:58p - LZ's daughter, Hanna, was just in the office and I printed out a picture of her puppies for her. RD tells me her daughter's Garden Party is going smashingly well. It sounds festive with a gazebo, hors d'oeuvres, music and amazingly polite young ladies!

4:27p - GV just left the office ... I am about the only one left now! It's a ghost town in here. JB is still here.

5:13p - I just tried to call Skylar again and still no answer and his voice mail is full. I text paged him again. If I don't hear from him tonight, I am canceling on tomorrow. I have to have more reliability than this. I just hope he did not get in an accident or jail or some such....

5:29p - Skylar finally called! (He had dozed off and woke up the next morning). We decided to cancel the canoe trip anyway since the rain has the water level too high.

5:46p - Time to go! YAY! The weekend is here! YAY!!!

9:13p - Having a pleasant evening at home. Cooking some beef at the moment... going to add some collards & onion to it in a while...

9:29p - I got the collards & onion chopped up and added to the cooking food, along with a can of beef consummé and one can of palm hearts (the palm hearts are an experiment....).

10:04p - OOPS! I left the burner on high and came very close to ruining the food I am cooking! Skip noticed and brought it to my attention, thank goodness! I turned it down and poured the second can of beef consummé in and will let it continue to simmer for a while.

10:09p - Skip is watching "The Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise. I want to watch it too, but not now. The segments I caught so far were very captivating.

10:59p - After entering some bills into "Where's George" (I now have $7,178 an 11.25% hit rate and a total of 131 hits!) ...entered into the system, I sat down & watched some more of the (above) movie. I ended up with tears in my eyes.

SATURDAY - MAY 15, 2004

I got up about 8:30. It's sunny but cool day today. We were supposed to be going on our canoe trip today, but I guess it is probably for the best that we did not. The river will be swollen from the rains and too fast. The air is too cold and water will be colder. Ah well... we can do it later on I guess. Much of the morning I spent playing around with pictures from this site. I created my own versions of the "blended" pictures and had a blast doing it!

Devon called me this morning. She took second place in the rodeo event. I talked to Dar, she received my Mother's Day card and was suitably thrilled. She was getting ready for a trip to Wal-Mart to buy clothes for her trip to Calais' graduation in July.

Skip and I walked over to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I picked up some vases, a new toilet seat, some mix flower seed (hummingbird attracting kinds), new under shirts & shorts and socks, an envelope to mail Garner's picture off in and some other stuff.

I've been working on scheduling my trip to San Antonio. I got the train ticket purchased and rooms reserved for everyone. Now I just need to figure out how I am getting home again!

Confirmation Number	Name	July 1, 2004 Price	July 2, 2004 Price	Beds	Smoking	Comments
183MS15676	LEE LEWIS	34.99	49.99	1 Queen	Non-smoking requested not guaranteed	Lee's room
183MS15677	CALISA SELFRIDGE	40.99	55.99	1 Queen	Non-smoking requested not guaranteed	Mitch and 'lisa
183MS15678	CALISA SELFRIDGE	34.99	49.99	2 Full	Non-smoking requested not guaranteed	Darlene, Devon, Keri and Stephanie

I was planning on just taking a bus. It's not too far.

SUNDAY - MAY 16, 2004

I slept in until about 9:24. I felt gross this morning. I drank a lot of beer last night. No beer tonight, or maybe for the rest of the week. I fixed some egg drop soup to help clear my system out.

12:46p - I feel much better now.

I cooked the turkey breast in the oven today while skip cooked some burgers on the grill. I sat down and got all my pills & vitamins portioned out for another 5 weeks! What a tedious chore that is! ... but, its worth doing.

Marty came by this afternoon with his pictures from the camping trip. Lots of pictures from a cave tour that looked very fun! Then he took me over to Wal-Mart and I picked up some heavy bags of dog food for K dog, and new fan (like the one Skip bought), more bird seed, some soda, and other "heavy" items. I spent over $100 without really meaning to!

MONDAY - MAY 17, 2004

12:21a - Skip is sleeping on the sofa again. His Futon is hurting his back. I am off to bed now. Up late, but no drinking on a work night!

7:38a - I feel fairly refreshed and as ready for a Monday as I can be expected to be. Kira's breathing issue was continuing to be bad last night. I wish her Vet's appointment was today. I spoke to Tad yesterday, and he said tomorrow's appointment would be no problem. I just downloaded the "Smiley Central" program to add thousands of smilies, emoticons, and such to my IM's and email. I haven't tried it in email yet, but the YIM smilies are working okay.

2:01p - This has been a busy morning. I was heavily involved in getting the new PACSKEY mail-in database set up. That was a mess! Had leftovers for lunch today of last night's turkey, mashed potatoes & giblet gravy. Good lunch!

3:33p - I am working on getting my retirement papers finished! Just called Calisa and got her SSN from her to put her down as my Secondary Beneficiary.

3:44p - I think I have all the paperwork filled out, but now I will have to walk it over to the HR Dept.

3:52p - Just getting back from the HR Dept. I am standing on the front steps of my office building. I turned my paperwork in (finally!) to get my retirement benefits started. Then I called Calisa and Calais to wish Calais good luck. She leaves for USAF Bootcamp on the morrow!

5:49p - Monday complete (work-wise that is). It was not a complete waste either.

8:01p - I am trying to get motivated to do some house work... its not happening! I did confirm with Tad for our ride to the Vet in the morning.

9:44p - I made turkey salad with walnuts & tarragon out of some of the leftover turkey and had turkey salad sandwiches for supper. Very good! Now am going to bed early.

TUESDAY - MAY 18, 2004

Calais leaves for Lackland AFB to begin basic training today!

I got to sleep in a bit late this morning. Tad picked me and Kira up at 9:30. We arrived at Gateway Animal Clinic at 10:05a (traffic was very heavy, but flowing reasonably well). I was going to take my camera with me, but left it (and my phone) sitting on the TV by mistake. Oh well. Kira really enjoyed her outing and even got to chase a squirrel. The strangest thing was that she noticed Bruce's (glass enclosed) showcase containing a menagerie of stuffed (toy) animals and a miscellany of veterinary paraphernalia. She was fascinated by all the critters. She could only see on the bottom two shelves, but she kept looking at the higher shelves with a curious look in her eye.

She is pooped now though!

11:50a - Just got back from the vet. That was over $200... ouch! (But Kira is worth every penny!). Bruce did not find anything specific, but he took some blood and will run some tests. Her heart seemed to be fine, but (as expected) she did have a case of tape worms. I got some pills for the tape worms (she has to take all 5 of them at one time). I also got some Clavamox (antibiotic), more as a precaution that anything; and he also provided some bronchial dilators to see if it helps with her breathing problem. So... here's hoping the blood work comes back favorable.

12:04p - I just finished off some miniature turkey salad sandwiches made with leftover turkey salad from last night (which came out fantastic!), and left over biscuits from breakfast.

1:11p - I am headed out the door for work. Umbrella in hand, since it is starting to sprinkle.

1:25p - Damn! The bottom dropped out of the Sky! By the time I was almost to Armand Street (the first intersection as I walk to the bus stop), I was already soaking wet! That was enough. I turned around and headed back to the house. By the time I walked that short distance, rivulets of water were already rushing along side the street. My shoes were sloshing and I was soaked through to my underwear. I didn't mess up my hair though. That's about all the umbrella managed to keep dry!

4:07p - It's thundering & lightening out. Kira was running around the yard chasing thunder ("boom-booms") a few minutes ago. Skip is trying to take a nap before packing. He leaves for Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the morning and won't be home until Saturday. I am sending my camera along with him to take pictures. (I am going to feel naked without my camera!).

6:12p - I just got back from the store. It quit raining, but its muggy out. Calisa called me as I was on my way back and had bad news. Calais DID NOT make it to bootcamp today! She had some kind of rash and her entry entry date has been postponed until June 8th. Which means her graduation date will also be later. Which in turn means my hotel reservations have to be changed, my train ticket rescheduled... etc., etc.,! OMG... what a mess! Even worse is that this has completely blown Calais' plans out of the water and she may decide not to enlist at all now. That will mean canceling everything. What a mess... but it doesn't end there...

The trial IS OVER! Apparently there was some girl on the jury (juror #3) whose boyfriend was in jail with the defendants. He convinced her to do everything she could to cause a hung jury and get them off. So now, one of these guys is free and walking the street. The other two have to serve several years in prison... but John IS STILL DEAD DEAD DEAD and his family will never get to see him again, and Calais' future husband who might have been the father of my niece's children... is no more. I am even further disheartened by our aptly named "CRIMINAL" Justice System. [END RANT]

6:20p - Calisa just called and said DON'T CHANGE ANY PLANS... yet. It is possible that Calais can still get in under the wire and stay on the same schedule... I will keep my various body parts overlapped in the practice of invoking superstitious omens and good luck!

10:14p - Skip aondf' ums' aatp' aany' iith' aids' aavy' iith odre, uutede. Y'ustj' ukt' ey' ith' aavye che. Orf' iith' erstf' aimte nye yaotbe 2 irzhe!

10:17p - I am cooking some turkey-noodle-veggie soup.

WEDNESDAY - MAY 19, 2004

10:04a - I did not sleep well at all last night. Kira's breathing problem was part of the problem. Then it began to thunder, and Kira barked a few times at that. I dozed in and out of strange dreams as I sometimes do. In one dream I was on a roller coaster, but there was no place to hold on properly. The "cars" were just plain plastic tubs, and I was concerned about how I was going to keep from flying out. The ride turned out to be kind of fun as I went swooping and spinning smoothly along the track. I finished the ride and then went looking for someone (I think I was looking for my brother, Ken. I have no clue what induced me to dream of him).

Skip left for Minnesota this morning. I hope he has fun and takes a log of interesting pictures! (I sent my camera along with him).

11:41a - I still don't feel very good. It has been a hectic morning and LZ has been on floor calls most of the morning.

12:58p - LZ just got back from lunch. Nearly my time to go to lunch now. I hope I can stay awake!

1:57p - I just had a cheeseburger, a bottle of Mr. Pibb, and a small side dish of potato salad for lunch and it cost over $9.00 !! ... The prices are getting ridiculous!

2:38p - This place is really getting to me today. I feel like I am surrounded by idiots, assholes and incompetents.

4:39p - I just talked to Skip. He is at some Mall in Minneapolis, which has a roller coaster and other carnival-like attractions. Sounds like he is having fun (except that they goofed and he almost had to pay for his room!). He also told me about our friend Greg R. in Deltona. He was arrested and put in jail for DUI.... and he HAD NOT BEEN DRINKING! In fact, he quit drinking eight years ago. It was 9:00am and he had an accident on his motorcycle. The breathalyzer test showed 0.00 every time and they said the device must be malfunctioning. I hope Greg fights this... that is just WRONG.

5:21p - Well... JB came and told me that they are letting him go. His last day will be the end of this month apparently. Times change.

5:22p - I have actually been sitting here reading... something I almost NEVER do at work. It has slacked up though. No phone calls coming in, email is empty, backup done, billing links run... etc, etc.

5:33p - I should not have commented... the phone immediately rang and my pager went of alerting me to incoming helpdesk email!

5:46p - Time to shut down and go home. It's going to be strange being at home alone these next few days...

8:14p - I have the living room rug outside; I am going to beat it later. I have Carpet Fresh (French Vanilla aroma) spread all over and will vacuum later. Dishes are started and some laundry is going. I am going to get this place cleaned up while Skip is gone. Not that I think he will help keep it clean when he gets back, but I just want to live in a clean house for a day or two! Well... back to the grind!

8:58p - All the dishes are washed! Not dried & put away. The cabinets still need to be cleaned. The first load is out of the washer in the dryer and if the hot water is adequate, I will wash another load shortly. I think I will try to vacuum now. I still need to fix something for supper, but I am really tired. I did not sleep well last night as it was. At least it already smells better in here!

9:40p - Dishes are all finished up, vacuuming done, rug beaten and brought back in. I think I will fix some supper now and watch some TV or something. Tomorrow there is more to do. The kitchen, laundry and bathroom need to be stripped and waxed. The bathroom needs a SERIOUS cleaning! I need to do some dusting too. I will try to do the floors tomorrow night.

9:45p - I lit one of my big Hazelnut Cream 3-wick candles (and one small one). Combined with the smell of the laundry and the French Vanilla smell... the place smells 100 times better already!

10:03p - I just cancelled the rooms at Motel-6. Thankfully, there was no charge incurred. Now I have to cancel the train ticket, but that will be a different matter since I have already PAID for that one. Maybe I can just have the date changed if Calais still goes through with this. I hope she doesn't just give up on it entirely.

10:28p - I made chicken stir-fry for supper; and everything is washed and put up except for what I am eating out of at the moment. The bugs are going to have slim pickin's tonight!

10:59p - Ahhh... supper eaten, chores are done and I am going to bed. I should sleep good tonight! I was already tired. All the physical effort this evening should help, plus one Tylenol PM. I should have a lot of energy to scrub the floors tomorrow night!

THURSDAY - MAY 20, 2004

6:54a - I slept great last night for a wonderful change! I got up early at 6:45a. Kira was all perky this morning too, rolling on her back and snorting at me; trying to coaxed me into scratching her belly. I think she slept better... I am not sure. I did hear her breathing rapidly for a bit, but I conked out and don't really know. I walked into the living room this morning and was immediately struck by the LACK of odors! I have some heavy duty bug spray I am going to apply soon; probably tonight. I need to get some Dursban or Diazinon and spread around the outside of the house like I used to to in Florida too.

7:00a - My alarm will be going off any moment and here I am, already up!

7:38a - Wow... I have Kira's pills all sorted and organized for up until Sunday, my clothes are laid out for work and I am ready to get in the shower. I feel so alert and clear-headed today. And well rested.

Barnabas is wondering where Skip is. He sulked in the bedroom most of last night. Finally he came out to get a drink and spent some time (in the background) with me and Kira while I ate supper. I noticed him on the back of the sofa looking out the window at one point and I know he was looking for Skip. I am trying to give him some extra attention... he seems to be okay with it. Not as leery and stand-offish as he usually is.

8:04a - All dressed and ready to go!

10:16a - I just got back from two quick floor calls in the building here.

10:57a - I am getting bored and sleepy. Time for coffee I suppose...

4:16p - I am just too ready to go home. I don't know if I am going to be motivated to mop the kitchen or not; and a cold beer is sound very good.

4:22p - I was just reviewing my entry for this date two years ago. I was packing to go to California.

4:28p - I must remember to add James' birthday to my May 4th entry above.

5:38p - I am already BORED... I don't want to do house work tonight. I got all gung-ho on it last night. It is fairly clean already though.

5:41p - I think I will pick up some beer and relax instead tonight; but that's not really what I want to do either. And I want something INTERESTING for supper tonight. Though, at the moment, I am still fairly full from lunch and not hungry for much of anything. That's that bad thing about living in Cahokia. There is not much to do.

5:43p - I got the framed picture that I made for garner in the envelope and addressed. However, I want to put some more pictures in it for him. This will be a good time to use my laminator. That will be a project I can work on tonight. Maybe that will be sufficiently interesting.

5:45p - there went my shut-down alert/siren. Time to close shop and get out of here. One more day! What a long, dragging week. There must be more to life than this. I am starting to simply "exist" and get in a rut. I need something to liven things up. Something that doesn't hurt or break me financially!

7:09p - I just sat down at my computer after getting home, changing clothes, feeding Barnabas and Kira, giving Kira and myself meds & vitamins lighting my candels for the evening. RD has apparently just signed off at 7:08p ... I just barely missed her!

8:20p - NOPE! I didn't miss her. We had a nice little chat about her trip to visit Jen, Lisa & Chris' wedding, and my friend Nikki before she finally had to crash; after all, it is 2:20am in over in England now! I don't know how she does it! I think Ectomorphs require less sleep that Mesomorphs or Endomorphs. (body-types)

Skylar was online tonight and we had a chat...

... and I made this collage of our webcam images...

FRIDAY - MAY 21, 2004

12:25a - Y'one Y'iibe' aalfaengle orf' ime...What to do....

8:04a - I am up and off to work. I have had perkier mornings, but its not too bad.

10:13a - I just had a light (but expensive - $4.19) breakfast of fruit this morning. I am getting so bored. I want to go out and DO something tonight... and not be dependant on someone else to drive me somewhere.

12:03p - This has been a rough morning, and I have been manning the "Customer Support Center" alone, for the most part. So many people are out today, and LZ is on floor calls. Which is strange, since it is my day for floor calls. Wha' Evah!

12:04p - I know I am getting hungry though, since I did not eat my usual heavy breakfast with biscuits and gravy.

12:05p - I am irritable and not in a good mood today. I am aggravated with both myself and those around me.

1:03p - Finally time for lunch.... I am more than ready...

I had braised beef rib-tips, mashed potatoes & gravy, and spinach for lunch. It was a nice change from my usual old standby "hamburger" ... which gets to be a tiresome meal.

4:17p - I two hours I should be on my way home for the weekend. I can wait. Getting sleepy. Skip should be out of his last class and free to "party" in Minneapolis by now. He will return home tomorrow. I know a certain black cat that will be happy to see him!

4:48p - I had to clock-watch... but I am really wishing this day would get over with so I can go home. I don't know if I am going to go out somewhere or not, but I am giving it some serious consideration.

4:51p - I am getting another cup of coffee and now I will go clean out the caraffe.

5:38p - Coffee cup is washed and I'm straightening up my desk; getting ready to leave soon... FINALLY!

5:47p - Time to send this email on ahead of me and HIT THE ROAD! .... YAY!

8:39p - I find myself too tired to deal with "going out" tonight. I knew this would happen. I am just having some beers, updating some web pages, listening to TV in the other room and ... not much else.

10:08p - Acabo de leer la letra de "Rubí de la luna que baila" a su amiga, Jen. La letra era muy emocional. Muy me honraron y muy fueron adulado que ella compartiría esta letra conmigo. ¡Espero que su amiga, Jen, la aprecie las palabras tanto como yo!

10:12p - Skip todavía está en Minneapolis, pero él debe haber salido de su clase final muy temprano hoy. ¡Espero que él esté tomando muchas fotografías con mi cámara digital!

10:16p - Ich muß überprüfen, um zu sehen, wenn meine Nahrung jetzt bereit ist. Jedoch bin ich nicht diesmal sehr hungrig. Ich werde sehr gebohrt. Ich habe Lose Geld, aber ich habe nichts, mit diesem Geld zu tun.

10:29p - J'ai juste mis quelques roulements de pain dans le four pour faire cuire au four. I was going to order pizza, but change my mind. My cooking (even of left overs) is très bon. (Merde... J'ai manqué de bière encore!).

10:42p - The biscuits are done baking. I sprinkled garlic & cheese powder over them. I hope they are as tasty as the look! The turkey-noodle soup from last night is done also. I cooked in some extra Chinese veggies with the soup.

SATURDAY - MAY 22, 2004

12:10a - I just heard my voice mail message from Bruce (Kira's Vet). He said to call him and he would "go over the results with me." This is never a good sign! If nothing is wrong, they tell you. Only if there is a problem do they ask you to call so they can explain any bad news in person. Very respectable, but now I am suddenly sick with worry for Kira. I wonder what it is? Cancer? Leukemia? ... what? I know she is reaching the end of her life expectancy, but its not easy to deal with. I love her with... with ALL that is left of me to love. I think, if I were allowed the choice, that I might give her a few years from my own life to live longer. Just so we do not have to go so longer without each other. Now that Doug is gone, I don't have a lot of reason to care anyway. (Not to sound morbid... just true...).

12:20a - Barnabas just went running up & down the hallway like a crazy cat. That is the most "active" and "normal" I have seen him since Skip went on his trip to Minneapolis. Friggin' "pets" ... lol!

12:23a - I am off to bed now. I don't know what I will learn about Kira, but I will deal with it. I know she is mortal, as am I (or, much more so I suppose...). If her time cometh nigh, then I shall accept it and move on. If it is something "treatable" ... then I will treat it. What more mayest one do? I care not to lose her sweet presence from my life, but I know 'tis inevitable and shall surely come to pass in the breadth of time. I must brace myself to be strong of spine and deal with my heart's most dire vision. Mayhaps I am but being silly. Or mayhaps not.... at least not upon the long run. Ne'ertheless, I fear for the well being of my sweet Kira who succored me through the most heinous of times and whom without her, my very own spark of life may have been long ago extinguished!

7:45a - Egads... that last entry lapsed nauseously poetic! I am tempted to delete it, but I won't. That was my mood at the time. So be it.

7:48a - Skip should be home today. I am, at the moment, trying to decide if I want to go on a "Soulard Safari." (That would be a trip to the Soulard Market in St. Louis to buy spices, meat and veggies). Since it requires catching a bus, a train, and another bus, just one way, with a wait for each ranging from 10 minutes to an hour, you can see why I hesitate.

10:10a - I talked to the Vet (Bruce). Kira's test results were all very good... except for two elevated enzyme levels. They indicate early onset of a liver disease. I have begun giving her Alpha Lipoic Acid. I will see if I can find Milk Thistle too. I hear good things about these products. The pills Bruce said she could take do about the same thing. He described the function of the the "supplements" to me and they are basically antioxidants which help to protect the liver and promote healthy cell growth. However, the pills cost $45 per 30 pills. That would mean about $100 per month, or more, after taxes and postage. I can get Alpha Lipoic Acid (which I already have on hand, since I take it myself) for about $10 for a bottle of 75 (200mg). I've already scheduled it into her regimen.

"Alpha Lipoic Acid is rich in "glutathione," which is an antioxidant found in large amounts in the liver. It has also been found to have detoxifying abilities. In his book, Dr. Earl Mindell advises that all dogs who have been on medications for an extended period take this antioxidant. He recommends a daily dose of 50 milligrams for small dogs, 100 mg for medium breeds, 200 mg for large dogs, and 300 mg for giant-sized dogs. But as always, before starting your dog on these or any other natural supplement, it is best to check with your veterinarian for advice."

At least I have caught this extermely early so I can begin treating her for the right thing immediately. She is not show any of the typical symptoms

11:29a - Skip call about 15 minutes ago from the airport. He has about a 45 minute delay. I just sent a text message to his phone with the bus schedule from 5th&Mo today. (Cahokia/Sat/Outbound: 3:18p - 4:32 - 5:48 - 7:05 - 8:03).

11:50a - I just read an article which mentiones "Fenugreek." I have a huge containter of that for seasoning (but I don't really care for it much. I wonder if Kira will have a problem with it?

Fenugreek: This is an annual herb that's native to the Mediterranean. It's officially known as Trigonella foenum-graecum or Greek hay. Research indicates that Fenugreek has the potential to help in the regulation of blood sugar (through its active component known as 4-hydroxyisoleucine), in addition to reducing blood cholesterol. It's also known to improve insulin and glucose response to glucose challenges (eating an entire box of Twinkies) and it may increase appetite. In short, fenugreek is good for keeping your cholesterol in check, stabilizing blood sugar and promoting muscle growth through efficient uptake of glucose into the muscle cells. The typical therapeutic dosage is 1.5-2.0 grams per day of the extract, or 6 grams per day of the whole seed.

I think I will give her some in some 2% milk and see how she likes it...

...she liked it! She licked the bowl clean.

12:42p - It doesn't look like I am going on my "Soulard Safari." It's too late. I did spend some time dusting. A major layer of dust has built up on everything in the living room. I rearranged and polished everything nice & shiney

I was able to find "Milk Thistle extract" at Wal-green! I got Kira a pill container like my own and lined her up for supplements of Alpha Lipoic Acid and Milk Thistle extract for the next week. I also picked up some flax seed oil for myself, for the Omege-3 fatty acids.

4:26p - Skip called a few minutes ago from Forest Park. I just called a taxi to meet him at 5th&Mo.

Skip got in about 5:25pm. Skylar and Denise came over around 5:30p. We had a nice visit.

SUNDAY - MAY 23, 2004

Happy Birthday! to my niece: Katherine E. Terrell May 23, 1997

1:13p - JR is out mowing the lawn now. It's amazing how much it can grow in 2 weeks!

3:22p - JR and Marty just left. We are planning on going to Six Flags on June 6th. I purchased tickets on-line today.

9:20p - I took a long nap earlier. Kira was in the room with me and woke me in her usual fashion by standing with her front paws on the side of the bed and staring at me. I glanced at my clock... it was exactly 7:00pm on the dot! Feeding time. Boy is she accurate!

11:57p - What a boring day this has been. I should consider more about getting a car. I hardly ever get out.

I was going to fix some pork (some how) for supper, but ... I am just going to bed. This has been a not-so-good weekend. Over-shadowed by Kira's liver problem.

MONDAY - MAY 24, 2004

12:00a - It is precisely midnight and I am headed off to bed. I took a nap earlier, which might make sleeping a problem, but I had a few beers which should help. I didn't drink much though. (I am still trying to keep it down).

7:32a - I feel fairly well rested this morning, even though I had lots of bizarre dreams last night. They were all blended and jumbled; however, a few scenes stand out in my mind...

* It is dark and I enter a house. Possibly the house we lived in in Garwood, TX. I think I am getting something from my room, or a drawer. Someone, maybe my sister, Calisa, is trying to sleep. I hear her voice yelling a complaint to me from another room. I have some goal and I cannot be bothered by her complaining. I get aggravated and yell out, "Bite me!" ...

* I am walking west along a road with both of my sisters. They are young again, maybe 8 to 12 years old. The road reminds me of Elkam Boulevard in Deltona, Florida, except that there is a lake on the north side of the road. Something big and silvery splashes through the shallows toward deeper water as we approach. We all get a glimps of it before it submerges and agree that it looked like some kind of weird shark! We walk a little further and another shark-like creature flounder away from us for deep water. I saw its nose... it was very pointed. I looked more like a giant-sized Arrowanna fish.

* I am trying to catch the bus. Again, I am in Garwood. Unfortunately, I am also only wearing a bikini bathing suit! I realize I must put on more clothes and wonder if I have time to run back to the house (the same house mentioned above). It is still dark outside, but now I realize it is the dark before dawn, and not early evening as it seemed. I see the bus coming around the the bend and I run for the house at hight speed. "Big Mama" (Erlene?) our Cahokia bus driver is driving. She is laughing and yelling something out the window at me as she passed and I do a forward backflip (just to show off) and keep running... and wake up...

7:52a - Yikes! I have not showered yet! Must hurry!!!

10:02a - I am being extra healthy again this morning and having fruit for breakfast.

11:28a - I just mailed the package off to Garner and Chuck with the framed picture of Azul, Garner's dog that passed last August; and other pictures. Also a CD full of pictures for Chuck.

11:29a - Kira's illness is weighing on me heavily this morning. It's just starting to hit me emotionally that this is the beginning of the end. Hopefully she will be with me another year yet to come; or maybe two. I dare not hope for more, and have to accept that she could get very sick and be gone much sooner. I will just do the best I can for her as long as I can, but she is equivalent to 60 years old this month. No amount of vitamins, supplements or treatments will cheat the Grim Reaper forever. She has been by my side since I was 35 years old. It will leave a huge empty place in my life to lose her. I dread this so deeply there are no words.

2:42p - LZ started working out again today. I had a tasty lunch; maybe because I was much hungrier not having eaten a heavy breakfast.

4:35p - Nothing out of the ordinary to report. Just a very busy day.

5:47p - Time to go home!

TUESDAY - MAY 25, 2004

3:37a - Thunder boomed loudly and woke me up. Kira started barking, and then she starting whining. The wind was whipping branches against the side of the house and my window making an awful racket and rain was beating against the windows in a pulsing roar. I turned the TV on and let music play to dull the noise. Kira quieted down and I got back to sleep and continued to have a wild stream of dreams; too fragmented and complicated to put into writing.

9:50a - I is cool, cloudy, rainy and windy today. Completely opposite of yesterday! I got up a bit early. My computer had rebooted during the night again. I ran scandisk on it this morning while getting ready for work and then launched defrag which I left running. I finished, "A Kiss of Shadows" on the way in to work. I have now started the 5th book in the Harry Potter series.

10:42a - I brought my train ticket, which I received in the mail yesterday with me today. I need to see about having it cancelled and refunded. There will be a fee.

10:48a - Ouch... the fee is $30!

2:34p - I got the envelope in the mail with my refund request to Amtrak. We will see how that goes. However, since I had to go over to the post office, I decided to go ahead and eat lunch over there, even though I brought my lunch in with me. I put my lunch in the fridge. I will either take it home for supper tonight, or save it for tomorrow's lunch.

2:35p - It is DARK outside, and raining. Wonderful weather... NOT!

3:05p - I just learned a few minutes ago that BW had a hail storm, lost power, computers down, maybe even the phones.

3:34p - It has lightened up a bit outside, but still looks bad.

4:16p - I am getting a major case of boredom lately. Since I am not drinking beer in the evening, I am finding the boredom factor an increasingly bothersome issue. I am going through another slack period for web site designing. I have things I could do, but just don't feel like it at the moment. Besides, very few people even seem to be interested in my relentless efforts, nor will they probably never get me anywhere. Even my old friends in Florida seem to be fading out and don't care to stay in touch (with a couple of exceptions). Of course, I hardly have any friends here (again, with a couple of exceptions). It is becoming very depressing. I think people only want to be my friend when I was young and handsome. Maybe I am just being too cynical, but I am getting tired of it.

5:03p - I am really leaning toward having some beer tonight. I know I should not. I need to stick to my resolve, but I need something to DO! The PC and the TV can only occupy my mind for so long, and my mind requires constant "stimulation" ... or numbing... one or the other.

5:40p - It still looks nasty out, but not QUITE as bad as it did earlier. Maybe I wont' get soaked on the way home. I am probably going to pick up some beer tonight. The boredom is getting to me. This is becoming a nuisance.

5:41p - Time to send my daily comments home...

9:56p - I have been over at Tad's for much of the evening. I am reloading his PC from scratch. He got some kind of virus. At the moment it is going slow, so I came back home to cook supper. I started my supper (prepared it) before I went over there. It is leftovers from last night, with ground up Doritos on top and a bit of Pepper-Jack cheese on top of that. I expect it to be reasonably palatable.

9:58p - When I left Tad's house, there was a horrendous thunderclap. Then, seconds after I got inside, it started pouring down rain. It is still raining and thundering out. More storming...

WEDNESDAY - MAY 26, 2004

12:19a - I am off to bed now. Tad's computer never would connect to the internet. There are problems still. I will return tomorrow.

7:30a - I got up late, but Kira has been out, had her (complex array of) pills, I have had my 3 fistfulls of pills & vitamins, and I washed the few dishes that got left last night. Oh, and emtied the cans for recycling and tossed some boxes out. ...and shaved...

8:31a - I am just running too far behind this morning and had to call in late. That has not happened in a while.

8:59a - It is so dark and gloomy this morning. It's not raining (at the moment), but the clouds are roiling above in a thick black blanket of sooty cotton.

9:04a - I am about to leave, so of course it is now pouring down rain I think. I hear thunder and I think I hear rain hitting the house. I think it is time to break out my $1 rain slicker/coat/thing.

10:51a - It was raining when I left the house, so I pulled out the cheapy little red rain coat that I bought at the Dollar Store a few months ago and used it. It helped a lot. My legs got a bit wet, but that was about it. Fortunately, it was not a downpour. I was so hungry by the time I got to work and decided I wanted a biscuit & gravy with a couple of eggs! To my dismay....

11:46a - ... they were closing and all the food was put away. I ...

12:33p - ...had to get a bowl of fruit again anyway. That's okay. It's much healthier and better for me.

12:44p - It's still rainy out. This has been a very hectic day and LZ has been on field calls all morning. I don't know where she gets them all.

1:02p - I call Darlene a bit ago trying to get her SSN, but got no answer. I called Calisa to see if she had it, but she was not 100% sure of the two middle numbers. I don't want to "guess" so I will wait until I can get the information confirmed. I am getting hungry... where is LZ?!

2:15p - I just had a burger & fries for lunch. The burger was over cooked. So were the fries. Oh, well... it filled the void.

4:13p - I finally reached Darlene, or actually Devon, and got Dar's SSN. Apparently their phone line was cut. Devon said she had just tried to make a call minutes before and it was not working. She wanted to know HOW I got through?! I guess it was repaired during that short interval.

5:48p - Once again, time to go home. Hope it's not raining out there... it may be...

7:04p - I just checked out at Walmart and am standing at the front door. It is pouring down rain (again)! I got off the bus a few minutes ago and walked over to Walmart for a few things and the bottom fell out of the sky! I thought it was night time, it was so black out (though the sun is still up at 7pm). A deluge! Lightening... which even *I* do NOT like when I have to walk out across open parking lots!! I had my rain coat (my $1 on)... only got sopping wet from the knees down.

8:04p - Kira is fed & dosed. Now I need to put a few things in the washer, then head over to Tad's to work on his computer again.

11:00p - I did not make much headway with Tad's PC tonight. I don't know what the problem is. I may have to try loading Win98 instead of WinXP. I left it running overnight for an installation. It kept saying "approximately 12 minutes remaining" ... and it said that for at least 20 minutes. However, it seemed to be doing SOMEthing. I don't think it is loading though. What pain. I was just too tired to stay any longer though, plus I had food cooking at home.

11:03p - Kira is outside... I am going to let her in now and then I am going to bed.

11:34p - That dragged out longer than intended. I am about to fall asleep now... but, off to bed finally!

THURSDAY - MAY 27, 2004

7:38a - I didn't drink any beer or take a sleep aid last night, so that means my dreams ran at full volume with nothing to dull them. I can't even remember anything specific. It's like trying to remember a loud static that you were forced to listen to for hours. I wake up feeling tired, like I never really quite managed to get to sleep. I am glad this is a three-day weekend. Maybe I will be able to catch up some sleep.

8:08a - I bought some new shirts at Walmart last night and am wearing one of them this morning. It's funny how wearing something new can give one a sense of security or vitality... or something. It helps one's ego in some non-specific way. Anyway... time to go!

As I was walking to the bus stop, I noticed what a beautiful day it was. The sun was shining for a change, at least. Its very humid though, after all the rain in the past day or two. It was hot on the bus and I was getting my new shirt all sweaty (yuck). The A/C was either not working, or just not turned on and most of the windows were closed.

I really wanted my biscuits & gravy for breakfast this morning, but my will power held out and I just had some fruit again.

12:20p - It still looks relatively nice outside, but I hear it is supposed to be rainy this weekend. I think we should grill out anyway (under the patio... rain or no), since it is Memorial Day weekend and that is sort of the custom in this era.

1:15p - My job queue, HD email, voice mail... everything, is all caught up. I just have 8 items in my personal email inbox to "file" away. I just contributed a container of coffee to GV which I picked up at Walmart last night.

1:17p - I hope LZ gets back soon! I am getting hungry. All the food is going to be gone again.

3:31p - I just got a call from Walmart a few moments ago. They say my lawn mower is repaired. They replaced 3 parts, but they did not indicated what these parts were. The main thing is there was NO CAHRGE. I can pick it up at my leisure.

3:32p - Even though I had a light breakfast of fruit, I had a bit too much for lunch. I had...

3:40p - ... BBQ beef, potato salad and cole slaw (typical Memorial Day fare); plus a side bowl of broccoli & cheese soup.

5:43p - RD paged my phone for the first time! Cool. I don't think I've ever had such a close friend, so far away! I mean, I have had several good on line friends, and still keep in touch with many of them and will even be meeting one of them this fall... but RD is a gem among them! (a "ruby" to be more precise! lol...)

11:22p - Such a storm let out on Cahokia tonight. I was at Tad's (continuing to work on his computer) when it hit. Sirens for tornados were sounding in the distance it was so bad. The sky was black, and then the rain poured down. Deana's hunky boyfriend (can't remember his name) drove me home. He bypassed the short way (due to the RIVER of water) and went WAY around the block (which I thought was less than logical... and moments later, so did he).

I was very upset that I could not resolve his computer problems! His system is seriously messed up! I may have made it worse with my experimentation...

FRIDAY - MAY 28, 2004

8:17a - I am up late (but on time). I was hoping to see someone on line on SameTime to confirm if I come in 1 or 2 hours late today. I will assume it is just one hour as GV told me. It is all bright and sunny outside; completely innocent of last night's dark storming.

10:34a - It's a bright and beautiful day out this morning. Of course, that's how we started off yesterday too. I am just finishing off another plate of fruit this morning.

11:46a - It is quiet this morning, thankfully. It's going to be a boring day I fear.

12:34p - LZ must have gone to lunch... I didn't notice. Speak of which, I am getting hungry already!

12:47p - We got our tickets to the Wash. U. Employee Appreciation Day event which will be held on June 11th (11am-2pm). We also got a new "ID hold" which I think I will try out. I like my little springy one, but its getting old. This new one has a wind and zipper pouch. I have my bus pass in with my ID. This can save me the hassle of having to cut a hole in my bus pass to hang it from every month. And I can carry my computer memory vault in the zipper pouch. I will try it for a few days and see how I like it

1:15p - Skip stopped by my office and paid me rent. We walked over to the cafeteria together.

3:41p - LZ left nearly an hour ago and now LW is leaving. I am almost the only person remaining (as usual before a holiday).

4:00p - LR just left, and DK left a few minutes ahead of her. I think that leaves me practically all by myself. I have been amusing myself by taking pictures of my cubicle, of all things!

4:11p - ...now THAT is being bored!

5:08p - I thought I would never get past the 5pm mark!

10:45p - The bus runs about right this moment. I know because I was going to catch it and go out tonight. However, Skylar called just as I was about to leave the house. Plans changed, and now we are all going out to Key West in Union Station.

SATURDAY - MAY 29, 2004

3:15a - We just got home. Skip, Skylar, Denise and myself spent some time at Key West in Union Station. Skylar, as we were leaving, had to climb up on some trampolines and jump off. Security was there as we were leaving! It was a strange scene! I am off to bed. I had quite enough beer for this evening!

10:06a - Ick... I am wiped out this morning. I finally got up around 9:30a. Had a glass of milk. Trying to give my body time to get back on track.

I finally got up the energy to take a shower and go get some things done. I walked over to the Dollar Store and picked up a few items, including some grass & weed killer and a pair of cheapy $3 sun glasses. Then I went to Schnuck's and picked up a pork roast (only .99/lb). Next was Wal-Mart where I got several items, including vitamins for Kira and I got my lawn mower and brought it home.

3:40p - I just put the roast in the over. I am baking it on a rack so the juices & fat will drip out of it. Then I sprayed some of the weed killer in the cracks of the front steps & side walk.

3:55p - It's starting to get more cloudy, I expect it to rain. Hmmm... I may have wasted the weed/grass killer that I spray a few mintues ago. The rain may wash it away!

I walked over to Q-Mart to buy some beer this evening and there were Lightening Bugs flying around, all over the place. I thought about catching one... and I thought about Cat Springs, Texas, where we used to have a lot of live things and where we were so much more in touch with nature than we are today. I think they (the fireflies) were thinking about capturing ME however! As I was walking along, one of the fireflies got entangled in my hair, buzzing loudly in my ear. Then, as it got free, it landed in the front of my shirt. I walked up to the store waiting to see if it would burst into its fairy glow, but it was not in the mood. I understand. Afterall, this is sexual foreplay for fireflies! lol...

10:46p - Something went drastically wrong with my DreamWeaver settings. All of my websites just "vanished" from the 'edit sites' menu. I have ran a complete scan disk on my system to no avail. I will have to recreate every single site link from scratch. What a friggin' pain! I have the "Journal" site already re-created.

SUNDAY - MAY 30, 2004 Happy Birthday! to my brother: Kenneth Terrell Moyock, NC May 30, 1955 12:50a - I am glad it is a 3-day weekend, but I am sorry I am wasting it away. I should be out partying with Skylar tonight, but I was too tired. 1:31a - I am off to bed now... 12:09p - I slept until about 9:30a again. It's overcast today, but was sunny this morning. We're suppose to BBQ on the grill this evening. I am still so sleepy and lethargic. I had some soup, but that just made it worse. I need to get my butt over to the store and buy some stuff for this BBQ before it decides to rain. 12:12p - I think I will take a caffeine pill and a shower. Maybe I can get motivated. I bought some Selsun Blue yesterday. I have been having some scalp problems. I hope the Selsun Blue helps to alleviate this issue. Skip and I walked over to the Dollar Store where I was going to some more of the $1 raincoats to keep handy. Of course, they were out of them and the store clerk did not even know for sure, so we had to walk around the entire store to see if there were any hanging from one of those "impulse purchase strips" in one of the aisles. There were none. I did pick up a cheap bottle of an "Armor-All" knock-off to clean the chairs on the patio. I also picked up a $1 table cloth (that patio table is tacky). RD sent me a text page me while I was there! How amusing... all the way from England a friend can just casually say, "hi"! Technology is amazing! We left there and went over to Schnucks to get the food for the cookout. I got two packages of ribs at about $7.60 each, and Skip got a pork loin. He is going to make shish-ka-bobs with it. We also got ingredients for a Caesar Salad, fresh corn on the cob, baked beans, and I picked up a small container of pre-made potato salad. I was surprised the bill was a low as it was. Mine was about $24 and Skip's about $16. Skylar called me while we were in the check-out lane to find out how much charcoal we needed. Then we walked over to Block Buster and I picked up 3 movies for the first time in a long time.("Kill Bill," "Stuck on You," and the third Matrix moved, "Matrix: Revolutions." Skylar called again as I was paying for the movies (he seems to have a knack for calling just as I am paying for something! lol...). As we were leaving the video store, Skylar & Denise walked in! Surprise! That was cool... we had a ride home and did not have to carry it all back to the house. We even made a side trip over to Q-Mart and picked up some beer. Once at home, we decided to fill the big red tub that Marty gave me full of beer & ice. Skylar & Denise made another run to the store to get a couple of bags of ice. Skip was already preparing some of the food and had the corn shucked, broken in halves and in my pressure cooker (without the lid) to boil. However, I needed another big pot to boil the ribs in before putting them on the grill, so Skylar ran me over to Schnucks again. As we were parking and getting out of the car, it began to rain. I picked up a big stock pot for $16+ (I am sure I paid too much for it there). We also got 4 more bags of ice. By this time the rain had turned into a deluge! It was coming down in torrents and sheets of water were being driven by the wind... and we had to run out to the car in this! We were both laughing and wet, but it was actually kind of fun. When we got to the house, if possible I think it was raining even HARDER! We got out and ran inside the house, but at the last moment as I was going in, we had to pass through a small waterfall running off the roof of the house. This totally soaked us! I am surprised my phone (in my shirt pocket) did not get ruined! The grill was already going by this time; thankfully the patio is covered! Everything was soaked, but we were expecting this, so it was no major problem. I found Skylar and myself some dry shirts and we hung our wet stuff over the shower curtain rod (which of course, later collapsed!). It took only a couple of hours for my keen intellect to come up with the ingenious plan of putting the wet clothes in that device sitting next to my washer; called a "dryer." It was sometime during this mess that Skip tried to do something on the computer and discovered that our ISP was brought down by the storm. No ETA on when they will be back up again. I got the ribs but into chunks, boil them for a bit in the new stock pot, and on the grill with some BBQ sauce. They got a bit over done maybe... kind of black, especially on one side! But this carcinogenic enhancement only added to flavour! Skip's 'ka-bobs were already cooked and eaten by this time, and what with the beer I was drinking, I was not really very hungry yet. However, Skylar & Denise chowed down on some ribs and raved about them. We ended up eating piece meal like that all evening. I got the salad made (eventually) and it came out excellent; and I rarely make salads. The corn was fresh & juicy. Even the potato salad, which was not homemade, was delicious! Skip never did make his baked beans though; however, I am not much of a fan of baked beans, so this was no great loss to me. Meanwhile, our internet connection is still down. I am not amused. Technology sucks. We finally retired to the living room and were going to watch "Rasputin" ... but we were all getting a bit tired and the beer was taking its toll. Skylar opted to head home, so I had him run me over to BP where I picked up some more beer (like I needed more beer!). Then Skip and I put in the "Kill Bill" DVD and I started to watch it. It was not very good, or I was not in the mood for it, or too tired or something. I stopped it part way into the movie, which in typical Tarrantino style, had begun in the middle and worked its way back to the beginning.... I think. Very confusing and not something I wanted to watch while drinking alcohol! At this point, the evening, which had been very pleasant, took a nasty turn. One of the animals, I am still not sure it was kira, pooped in my bedroom and I stepped in it! This did not make sense for Kira since she was outside with us nearly the entire time S&D were here. If *this* were not bad enough, I then discovered that Barnabas had pissed all over my bed! I was so angry I could spit nails. I ripped all the covers off and put them in the washer. Fortunately, it did not soak all the way through. I flipped the mattress over anyway. What a nasty end to a pleasant evening. MONDAY - MAY 31, 2004 6:45a - I finally got up after laying in bed awake for about an hour or so. My dreams were extreme again last night. Not unpleasant, but "loud." The first thing I did after getting up was to check the DSL connection. They are STILL down! I put the stuff from the washer in the dryer, gave Kira her pills and then spent about 80 minutes catching up my journal. 8:16a - I am rebooting the server PC. Strange... its is coming up abnormally. I am having to boot up in SAFE MODE. 8:20a - I am also rebooting the DSL modem this time to see if that makes a difference. 8:22a - Okay.... got all 3 green lights on the modem. 8:24a - Nope... all that was for naught. The ISP is still not responding! They must have taken a major lightening strike or something in that storm. 8:32a - I just let Kira outside. There was a big fat squirrel in the back yard and she got to chase him up the fence. I am starting to worry she will hurt herself in one of her frenzied chases. 8:35a - Skip is still sleeping on the sofa, but I think I am going to go fix some leftovers from last night and watch one of the movies I got yesterday. I am not sure I really feel like trying to watch "Kill Bill" any further. I am very disappointed in it... so far. The previews looked promising, but they apparently showed the only interesting parts of the movie! 10:52a - I just finished watching "Matrix: Revolutions." It was intense! I very good end to the trilogy. 10:53a - The DSL line is STILL down! This is VERY AGGRAVATING! Skip call HTC and they confirm the line is still down and supposedly someone is working on the issue, but even that was vague. 12:39p- FINALLY! The DSL connection is back up! 4:32p - We watched "Stuck on You" a bit ago. It was a excellend movie. I really enjoyed it. Very funny too. I walked to the store around 7:00p and bought few items. It was a very pleasant walk. It is beautiful outside this evening! Not too cool, not warm, no rain and not too breezy. Just "perfect" weather. I have had the windows open all day to enjoy the fresh air! I love this weather. 11:20p - I never got any laundry done today, but I still have a couple of new shirts and I have several trousers which are still freshly washed (and about 4 pair of new underwear!). I think I can manage a day or two without doing laundry.