Maybe the Best
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: books
Tired of memes yet? This one is hilarious. Just keep reading! Made by Topic Drift.

What is your full name?
Baba Ganush's mom

What is your date of birth?
The Summer of Love

What four cities have you lived in?
Los Angeles, El Dorado, Gotham, Skid Row

What four TV shows do you love?
I only watch Fox News, 24 hours a day

What four credit cards do you currently use?
CitiScrew, Discardyourmoney, American Indebt, and MasterSlavewage

What are four credit account numbers assigned you, and when (month/year) do they expire?
1234567890, they never expire

Do you have four credit card pin numbers, and if so, what are they?
1234
1111
2222
ABQF

What does your mother's maiden name look like if you type it four times in a row?
If I write in cursive, it looks like a noodle trying to hump a hotdog

What are the first four digits of your social security number?
The same as my birthday! What a coincidence!

What are the last four digits of your social security number?
My lucky lotto numbers!

What number did you leave out of your nine-digit social security number? (That's your lucky number!)
Oh, that's the age I lost my first tooth!

What are the first four lines of your mailing address?
1600 Pennyslvannia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

What are your four favorite banks?
WaMu, TrustMeWithYourMoney, FeesInstitution, Enron Credit Union

What are your four favorite bean dishes?
Crispy Fried Tofu and beans
Wet beans
Hot beans
Cool beans

What four people do you wish to tag with this meme?
George W. Bush (he owes me)
Bill Gates
that guy I sent some money to in Nigeria
the guy down the street with the mini Cooper

Blogness
Mood:  special
Topic: blogness
Argh. I think I'm spending way too much time blogging and not enough time writing my novel! I actually get great ideas for blog posts in the car, in the shower, and while I’m out shopping or at work. Stories from my childhood, funny little remarks about new products or things I’ve seen.  It doesn’t hurt that I’m making a little extra spending cash for some of my posts. I’ve definitely drawn the line with certain products, sponsors, or blog ads, so I’m not completely selling myself out. In fact, I relish in a well placed link or anchor text, blending in nicely with what I was trying to write anyway. 

With the 3 day weekend, I’m hoping to get a bit more done. For instance, get some sewing done. I have some swaps I need to finish up, since I’m about a week or so late. Maybe I’ll take a look at the short story that is the beginning of my novel. Then there are all the poems I need to look at. Certainly, I’ll get something done. We spent Friday at Rahim’s aunt’s house. I played a game of spades, which I haven’t played since I was young, with my dad and brother and mom. My partner and I won, too, so it was quite fun. That’s one accomplishment.

Push Me
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: family
Can you believe how cute this little rain slicker is? Not that we find ourselves in the middle of a rainstorm these days. I mean, it’s never too far to the car or the door.


One of my exercise plans is to push Ishmael in his stroller in the evenings. I might start tonight, to get this stress off my mind. I’m trying not to wallow, but we will not be getting the house. I know. I’m sorry I even let myself think about it. Well, after filling out 15 freakin’ pages and faxing it in, I couldn’t help but be a bit excited. The seller is not as negotiable as the realtor made out. I actually think the realtor girl sucks – she misled us and really did a bait-and-switch with us. Instead of a ‘lease/purchase’, the seller really just wants to sell his house. Good luck with that! The house is worth it, but in that area and this market, he’ll be lucky if he sells it in the next 6 months for close to what he wants. The house next door to my MIL has been on the market for a year, overpriced and over-renovated.

I’m disheartened. But R has a renewed interest in moving, so we may start looking at rentals soon. I promise myself not to get heartsick over a house again.

Big Shot Blogging
Mood:  loud
Topic: blogness

Everybody's got a blog these days. Even Glenn Beck has one. I was reading a few of the posts and it was interesting enough. A bit of his sarcasm along with political revelations and ribbing. I guess ranting about child molesters is a universal subject. I wonder if Beck has supported one of the presidential candidates. He probably hasn't yet, sinc eit would give him less fodder for jokes and rants.

Will I be shelling out $10 to see him in movie theatres on July 17th? That's pretty close to my birthday. I think I'd rather see the new Batman movie - mmm, Christian Bale - or anything else really. I'd love to go to a comedy show though. It's been a while since I've been to one, and never to a more well-known comic.

One More House
Okay, so this house... It's for sale, but the owner is ready to get rid of it, considering the housing market. So, he's offering it as a lease, with the option to buy. Of course, at the end of the lease, you can change your mind about buying it or not. He owns the house outright, so he is flexible on the lease amount (or so we hope).

We saw it on Sunday, with the owner's realtor. First, the house is being completely renovated. It was like someone had ripped off the security seals on a crime scene. Except inside wasn't any tampered evidence, but completely ripped out floors and freshly painted walls. The owner is waiting to install the applicances and carpeting when the house is leased out, since the A/C unit has already been pillaged. You may have heard stories recently about the price of copper going up, so A/C units have become hot items (literally hot), especially at abandoned or vacant houses. Any house with a for sale sign in front is really at risk.

Wait, I didn't mean to make the house seem bad. The house is gorgeous. Even with the bare floor, it is simply lovely. A sunken family room, a 2-car garage, 4 bedrooms, and a beautiful patio, deck, and fenced backyard. Sigh. Here we go again. I'm afraid just blogging about it will bring us bad luck. We had to submit an "offer" for the lease, which was just a bit under the owner's price range. I should hear this evening or tomorrow afternoon about the owner's counter-offer. Let's hope we're on the same page.

Jokester
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: politics

I won't go as far as watching Fox News, but I have been watching more news lately. It's definitely frustrating at times, with all the bad news lately, but I'd rather be informed and angry, instead of the alternative.

First, where has Anderson Cooper been hiding? I love that guy! He's cute in his way, too, besides being a good journalist. I don't quite ask myself that about Glenn Beck. He's a political jokester, but leaning toward the conservative end of the spectrum. He's going on a political tour this summer, with the Dallas show being broadcast live to movie theatres on July 17th.

In terms of politicla comedy, I prefer the likes of Margaret Cho and Al Franken. R even wants to get tickets to see Lewis Black. That would be a fun night!

In Local News
Topic: random
A boy was recently killed at Six Flags Atlanta. Read the story. He climbed over 2 fences and passed many warning signs, before ultimately being hit by a roller coaster. The details are too horrible to write about. My heart really goes out to the child's family. They were visiting from South Carolina, with a church group. I'm glad my summer camp is not going to this amusement park this summer. Last summer, at a Six Flags in Kentucky, a freak accident on one of the rides severed a young girl's feet.

Some people don't like to watch the news. They say it's too negative. A coworker of mine hadn't even heard of the boy dying at Six Flags. Working with children and being a social studies teacher, isn’t the news a bit relevant? I guess some people's version of local is a very small world after all.

On a different note, here’s some good news. About 150 dogs, including 40 pure breeds, were rescued from a puppy mill and brought to the Atlanta Humane Society. . Hundreds of people, hearing the news, lined up to adopt them. The dogs won't be available until early next week, but I'm sure all of them will be able to find their forever homes!

Bling Baby
Mood:  lazy
Topic: random

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(These are my attempts at capturing the inner bling gnome!)

I admit to wasting plenty of time on computer games. I'm not talking about playstation or nintendo wii. Though, I've spent hours playing Super Mario Bros in my day. It all started with the ancient Commodore 64 we used to have. We soon upgraded to an Intellivision machine. Our first family computer was the Tandy 1000. Man, the hours I spent on there! I really shouldn’t pay for online games, though, because I go through phases where I play them all day and then forget about them. It’s so cool that so many games have free downloads and free game play online. Sometimes the games are limited unless you pay, but I either lose interest or I fork over ten or twenty dollars.

I stumbled upon dungeonrunners.com, a new MMO game, and their Bling Gnome. The graphics are interesting and the game itself action packed. The weird little bling gnome says three “hip hop” phrases – word, your mama, and yeah, boy – and finds gold that will help you in the game. The bling gnomes obviously are adorned with various "bling" items - gold teeth, assorted jewelry, and more. They are not the gnomes from Tolkein's The Hobbit, mind you. These guys are virtually thugged out, with the appropriate knit cap and baggy pants, and mimic much of the behavior of today's youth. It takes the temperament of a young person to deal with the frenetic visuals and energy of this game!If I had a bling gnome, I'd probably be a rich woman, since they dig up gold and such. But I'm sure the bling gnomes are quite scarce in the real world. Meanwhile, there's dungeon runners to fill your bundles and bundles of free time. It’s a free game to download and great for a few minutes here and there. Maybe you are an all-day gamer, so you'd get pretty far in this adventure. Man, computer games have come a long way from Pong and Dig Dug. But they’re still just as fun!

Choose
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: fiction
As if I didn't have enough to do, to read, and to read online! I just heard about this website called Protagonize. Users not only write and share stories, but the readers can choose the twists and turns in the story, called branches, like in the old Choose Your Own Adventure books. Cool, eh?

I actually am going to try logging off for a while and knit or just sleep. But I'll spend some time Sunday indulging.

Safety
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: politics

A new law just passed in Georgia allowing people to carry concealed weapons in restaurants. A lot of cities have continued to ban the guns in restaurants, in opposition to the law. Well, the gun law supporters are up in arms. Get it? They're not happy. Dozens of them came out to a restaurant in one county, showcasing their Blackhawk holsters and personal firearms. The restaurant owner is one of the supporters of the new law and invited all the gun toters down.

You could guess the rationale and reasons the folks have for wanting to carry their guns around on their hips. There was even one man with his newborn baby at the restaurant, who talked about wanting to protect his family. Luckily Rahim is actually level-headed about the subject. Though crazy times often want him to get his permit to carry a concealed weapon, he leans more towards wanting to get rid of his gun, since Ishmael has been born. Thank goodness.

Have a safe holiday!