Now, as I've been listening to every reporter talk about this, I've been trying to stifle my own cries of "bullshit," "moron," "panderer," and such. Does he seriously think this will work, or is he just trying to convince voters that he's going to somehow save the economy even before he takes office?

And does anybody believe it will work? Do they?

First of all, the savings will be pennies. PENNIES. Secondly, he's also asking that we stop putting oil in reserves. WTF? Those are there for a REASON. Third, and this is the one that actually struck me first... $0.12/gallon? Is he retarded? Our gas varies up and down that much over the course of a day! Do you think anybody would notice? And do you think oil companies wouldnt find a way to charge that extra $0.12 themselves?

I wanted to like McCain. I wanted to be able to say "wow, we've got 3 candidates who all sound pretty decent" and until he spoke up about this, I really thought he might have a chance. Now I just keep thinking "turdhead."

You're grasping at straws, aren't you, McCain? I can't wait to see what's next.

Crime in the area is up, with disappearances and shootings, not to mention full-on beatings as people get mugged and carjacked. The buildings are already visibly deteriorating. And the bars all smell just like the "dirty" south campus bars used to.

Way to go, Campus Partners. You sucked the neighborhood-ness out of that area, and replaced it with a bright, shining turd. I hope you're happy. I also hope your vacancy rates increase and it falls apart into the very thing you were trying to avoid.

I actually found myself driving through that neighborhood (I missed a turn), and past what used to be a hardware store, and is now quickly becoming a multi-million-dollar police station. The one that's replacing the other one at the north end. I got angry.

I'm still angry, even though I havent lived there for almost 7 months. The police quit patrolling the north area about 4 years ago, anyway, even though crime kept going up. It just makes me more angry that they'll be focussing further south, instead of expanding and adding new patrols.

Yes, I know that costs money. Everything does. Everyone knows crime is up all over, so why arent we doing things about it? And I'm also pointing fingers at the stupid students who don't ever talk to your neighbors other than to yell or fling beer bottles at 3am.

The downward spiral will continue, as our culture full of consumerist, "entitled" children grow up. Paying for the shiny and new, instead of embracing and fixing the old.

I was on the way back from moving ten 18 gallon bins of toys from storage to the house, and realized I was starving. Hey, my brain said, you can get grilled chicken at BK.

And then, on the sign, I saw the Loaded Angus Steakhouse Burger. You know, there's a limit to how much artery-clogging one should do on a daily basis, and I think this is probably beyond that limit.

Let's start with a nice Angus burger. Ok, put it on a corn-dusted bun. Now add bacon. And onion straws. And A1 steak sauce. And cheese. Sounds good so far, right? Mmm, fatty goodness. Now, add mashed potatoes. "Loaded" mashed potatoes, I assume. I couldn't find the details on their website, but from the menu board, it taunted me. "YOU CANT RESIST! You want to know how bad it really is!"

Yeah, I got one, and it wasn't as horrible as I originally thought. However, as I was eating it, I realized they're just doing the same think KFC does, in sandwich form. You could easily swap out the steak sauce for a thick, savory gravy, leave off the bacon, substitute onions for onion straws and make a "cottage pie burger". And somebody would eat it. Probably some bloke, who like me, was curious.

Now, I'm not curious. I won't go down that path again.

What I did find odd was not with the burger, but with the cup my diet soda came in -- "Designed by Sean John". Really? Do we need that shit? Who the f*ck cares? It's a cup of ice with about 2 oz of coke in it. Does anybody but me read the cup?

Ugh.

A new laptop would be $800 minimum, and the software I need to do my homework at home is $300+. That's $1100 I don't have. Glasses (lenses) are $120, so now that's $1220.

I've got three trips coming up, quickly -- Cinci -- $250, Athens, $250, and Chicago? Chicago, I've already spent $150 on concert tickets, with another $225 coming, at least. I can see those canceling each other out. All three are conference-related. At least one is tax-deductible.

I think I'd better plant a big garden full of lettuce this spring if I'm going to afford to take Nala on vacation this fall.

I'm not really known for desserts. I bake cookies, and I'll make a quick trifle in the summertime. I make a decent pound cake, and I can doctor up a mix to make a decent birthday-type cake.

I'm tempted to try flan. Or rice pudding.

Or pina colada cake, since I have coconut and coconut milk.

Ok, maybe not uncontrollable, but it won't subside. Whenever a line I collect goes dormant, my eye wanders and something else catches my eye. Sometimes, characters I have NO care about-- example: Iron Man.

He's pretty, and I WANT ONE. But, no, I don't. BUT HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL! MUST HAVE! But no, that's silly. Irrational. I've never read an Iron Man comic; I barely know anything about the character; outside of video games, I've never really paid much attention. Plus, I'm a DC Comics guy...

But he's so wicked sweet. And the 6" is just as good as the 12". I'm considering the 12", when NOTHING I COLLECT is in that scale? WTF.

IRRATIONAL. ILLOGICAL. MUST HAVE.

See, this is why I need to get that new website up. The one Despotes, Evebird, Spectro, and I have talked about. The one that spun out of my writing on Trusty Sidekicks.

I'm taking a class this quarter in Flash. Interestingly enough, the first few projects could lend themselves to a site such as that. Hmmm. The last project is something completely different, which MIGHT be able to be integrated, depending on what features I think Flash would be better suited to.

And, I think I want to buy a little turntable for the lightbox. I'm sure Nala wouldn't mind.

I could not for the life of me remember his name. For weeks (maybe months), whenever I would see a kid with that hair, I'd think of this kid and go "damn, why can I not remember his name?"

Well, because I'm old. But that's beside the point.

Today, I remembered his first name. Roger. I know no other Rogers, nor have I met any, that I can remember. It's such a normal name, but I know none. Maybe that's why I couldn't remember it -- after decades, I've had nobody else to associate that name with.

Never knew what happened to Roger. I assume he moved away after kindergarten.

Maybe KC knows. I'll have to email her and see.

Of course, then I remembered I had to take the garbage out. And scrape my windshield.

Tonight, I'll make sure I get everything together for tomorrow morning, so all I have to do is grab stuff and run. Although, I won't get home till 8:30, and then I'll need dinner, and I'll need to read a chapter for tomorrow's class.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are more "regular" in schedule, but those are the days I have to take the time to do the readings and do the Flash homework. UGH. Seriously... I should just invest in a license for Adobe CS 3 Design Premium. It's about half the price of regular academic if I buy through school. (Watch the spam flood in on this post, too. Wow.)

Today, at lunch, I'm going to try to buy some new khakis and a new pair of shoes. I know I have a new pair somewhere in the house, but I need 2 pr to alternate. The ones I'm wearing today are disintegrating, and should be used as my working-at-home pair. And, I need a few more sets of gym clothes.

Tomorrow, I have an eye appointment -- after which, I'll order my new glasses lenses -- the first new pair in 9 years. Of course, it'll be right before lunchtime, and I'll be dilated. Hopefully lunchtime will be long enough for me to recover and get back to work.

It's going to be an exciting quarter. I just need to figure out how and when to eat and study. Sleep shouldn't be an issue.

iz lent.

Hope ham iz ok.

Yeah, well, picture me with only 4 people to feed, but with pastels and bunny cakes. And ham-related food items that I wanted to make "better". I've got a list of things I want to get done, and I'm really cutting things close, time-wise. I have no fear, everything will be fine. Gotta make sure I have antacids on hand, tho.

SO, anyway, happy belated St. Pats, happy Easter, happy new job to Kelmeister.

(And happy birthday to the SwedishElf, who turns 28 on Sunday).

Now, how much liquor will I need to make Ghost Rider bearable? Eh, who cares, with Kelmeister there, I'll be laughing so hard I won't hear the movie! :)

And before I forget, happy birthday to Naladahc! Whether he's grumpy or not :)

5k? That (according to MW) is about 3.1mi.

3.1mi? I can do that!

Seriously. I can. It should be an easy training goal to go from a comfortable jog on a flat treadmill to a (faster) jog over hill and dale.

So, my training goal in the next month or two will be to get so I can run 5k easily. Then, as spring approaches, start running with Hawk's Mom and Chloe's Dad. And maybe Jamie and MW.

You heard it.

I've been trying to eat healthier this week, and so far (aside from yesterday's pizza) have been doing much better, making healthier choices at work and at lunchtime. Of course, that goes out the window tomorrow, when I'm making Easter dinner.

i feel like i'm spinning wheels, not getting anything accomplished. and for the most part, that's true. i tried to get a lot done this morning, but ended up not getting anything tangible completed. i tried to get more done at lunch, and failed there, too. i couldn't find the piece of the puzzle i needed to be able to complete a project, so i wasted a trip home.

...

I've only ever caught glimpses of myself laughing. 3 years ago, in California, someone took a picture of me and Fab J. I thought the wrinkles were a fluke.

I was wrong.

This morning, while shaving, I made a similar face, and much to my horror, I caught elephant skin looking back at me. Laugh-lines, sure... I can handle that. But this? This is more serious. I've seen it in my hands, too. My mom fought it off for decades... me, it seems I've either got to fight it now to "hold the line" or just give up.

Frankly, I'm set to just give up.

...

Mr. Pickles and Kelmeister are coming over tomorrow to celebrate Kel's new job. Hooray! Bad movie night! And, since it's Easter, potatoes and ham, and a cake! Mmm, cake!!

...

Work crap has got me upset, too.

Dammit, I just want to get something done.

i've had a bad day today, that every minor bad thing has compounded against my mood till i was an angry, rage-filled mess by noon. and then i alternated between that and just wanting to go home and try to adjust back to what I consider "normal"... but that is not to be.

i lost my whole lunch hour by running an ill-fated errand based on what a technician told me to do to fix a problem.

i nearly lost it there, and then i screamed and stewed all the way back to work. and then my mood went from anger to sadness because i realized i was helpless to fix the issues which kept compounding all day.

i haven't yet vented about the last thing, because i seem to be readjusting to the levels of adrenaline coursing through my veins, and I'm in a current state of relative calm.

and my day is only half over.