A Different Drum

Subject line is a quote from a star wars book that is a particular favorite of mine.

I should be going to bed, but I just wanted to hop on a point out that for once, a school board from an uber conservative southern state got it right. Apparently, a woman in Georgia was trying to get her local school board to ban the use of the Harry Potter books in the class room because they quote "promote witchcraft". Well, the school board told her to take a hike, fortunetly. I don't have the link to the article handy, I closed that window, sorry.

I really don't understand the problem some folks have with HP. The same folk who rail against HP are the same folk who embrace Narnia. Maybe the fact that Narnia is a Christian allegory somehow makes the magic in those books more palatable, I don't know.

And the folks who claim HP causes kids to question authority and defy adults...? Have these people never HAD kids of their own? Kids do that without any help from HP, thank you very much. So Harry, Ron and Hermione break every rule in the book, and Fred and George break rules that haven't been made yet. So what? Just about every kids book out there has somebody breaking the rules.

I didn't mean to rant...well, actually, i did. I just didn't mean to go on this long about it. My higher brain functions shut down about, oh, say, six hours ago. I'm off to bed.

Catch you all on the flip side

I just wanted to drop a little note to say "thank you" to all the veterans out there, for making the world a better place.

I had a long thing I was thinking about writing, but in the end, I think "thank you" works just as well, probably better.

It's been a while since I've updated about anything besides my new website and NaNoWriMo...oh, there was that post about HP questions, and all of them have since been answered.

Life goes on, I suppose. I'm still subbing. Day in, day out, I have no idea where, who, or what subject I'll be. Monday, I taught sixth grade math. I made a mistake while subtracting, and I'm fairly sure there were 25 sixth graders laughing at me behind my back. Okay, so they weren't doing out loud, but still. Math was never my strong suit, and I was pretty much ad libbing in a subject I never cared for. Still, I was beet red.

Today I was a computer teacher. That was easy, I sat around while the kids did their computer things, and worked on NaNo. Tomorrow, I'm giving a history test. Friday? Who the hell knows?

My kingdom for the slightest peice of permanance. I NEED A JOB!

There's that Christmas wish meme going around, and I'm probably going to do it eventually, but number one, numero uno Christmas list? A HISTORY TEACHING POSITION.

And of course, the whole time change thing is throwing me off, although it's probably in a good way. I've discovered through the years that I'm a very sunshine oreiented person. If it's up, I'm up. When it's not up, I feel like sleeping. It means I find it very easy to get up in the morning, but I'm finding it really difficult to stay up much past 10 these days. Not that I should be anyway, but I'm really starting to feel tired much earlier in the day. Like now. It's six thirty. I could go to bed now.

On the plus side, the subbing thing gives me lots of time to Novelize for NaNo. And also I'm reading an incredibly facsinating book on the construction of the Panama Canal. The Path Between the Seas, by David McCullough. HIGHLY reccomended. I want to go see the Culbera Cut (Gailliard Cut) now. Unfortunetly, Panama vacations are really expensive. Trust me, I looked.

There are 50 some odd days until wedded bliss. Crunch time! With a little bit of luck, it won't fall apart, and we'll both still love each other when it's over. Okay...*WE'LL* still love each other. The chances of our families getting through this without killing each other is getting smaller...can't wait to get to the Bahamas the Monday after Christmas.

Oh, what the heck, I'll do the Christmas meme now. I've got nothing better to do. I just feel like a heel doing it, because I've searched and searched through my f-list, and I couldn't find anything for me to do for anyone else. I feel guilty posting it knowing that I can't find anything to do for someone else.

( Christmas Wish Meme )

See, now I feel like a complete stodge because someone will probably find something the can help me with, and I've not been able to find a single thing to do for someone! Somebody go do this meme and list something I can help you with, so I don't feel so bad!

So, the 'Rents went away for a night or two. (I think it's only one night, but I'm not precisely sure). Meaning that tonight, I'm here alone. Tomorrow night, I'll be up with Sara, so it won't matter if the 'Rents are here or not. Did I mention I'm alone at the moment?

I hate being in the house alone at night. I suppose that makes me a big ol'wimp. It's just...the house is big, and I can't hear from one end to the other, and there always seem to be more noises (like the house settling, etc) when I'm here by myself. God, I'm such a dork. I'm 23 years old, and I get unnevered by the thought of being alone in my own home.

Oddly, staying alone in my apartment at school never bothered me. In fact, sometimes, I prefered it. (Big git of a roomie...) Of course, I was never broken into twice at my apartment at school. That might have something to do with it.

I've discovered a wonderful thing in the past several days. DosBox. It's a computer program that simulates a DOS interface, and allows you to play all those old, glorious DOS based games on your suped up Windows computer. Carriers at War, oh how I missed you! TIE fighter, my old friend! Oh happy day!

On a sour note, I've discovered these things because my muse has abandoned me. DTR has unfortunetly, for the moment, spun into a talespin of awkward phrasing and stalled ideas. I've got multiple characters screaming for time on the page, and new ones creeping in like invasive water vines and choaking out the rest. Hopefully, Sara will get me straightened out over the weekend.

Anyway, I'm off to see if I can get SimFarm running on DosBox. Later all!

That's actually tomorrow. Today would more appropriately be refered to as "loading day'. Loading what, you ask?

A large, commerical Chevy pickup, currently loaded with: Washer, Dryer, Queen size matress and box spring, bed rails, two end tables, coffee table, four kitchen table chairs and the wheeled dolly to unload same.

A HUGE-A$$ white trailer that's wider than the pickup by a signifigant factor and just as long, currently loaded with: sofa, loveseat, kitchen table, recliner, rocking chair, desk chair, large TV, DVD/VCR, componant stereo, several lamps, fans, boxes upon boxes of books, kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, posters, pictures, games.

Left to pack: Desk, A/C units (2x), computer supplies, Sara's clothes, more boxes of books, more kitchen supplies, more pictures, TV, and other assorted sundries in packing boxes.

Did I mention that I get to drive this behemoth? Adventures in momentum! (Also in REALLY lousy gas milege)

Sara picked up the key to the apartment yesterday. THings are not off to an auspicious start. The blueprint we obtained online is *not* quite accurate. It appears that the original stove in this apartment was one of those smaller, narrow jobs, that has since been replaced. Unfortunetly, the new stove didn't fit in the space alloted to it, apparently, so they put in extra counter space, and put the new stove where the washing machine is *supposed* to go. And if you put the dryer where you're supposed to, where the plug and vent are, the backdoor won't swing open. Go figure. We have a major jigsaw puzzle ahead of us in the kitchen.

That, and the whole place is wall to wall linolium, living room and bedroom included. I see area rugs in our future. They waxed the floor this week too, and the sign on the door said it was supposed to by dry by 9/1...Well, with all the rain and humidity, it wasn't. Sara said she was sticking to the floor, and the smell was awful.

And she couldn't even open a window, because they painted the windows shut, because someone was too lazy to do it right. She had a screwdriver in her car, and managed to pry them open, but then they would only open 4" because there were safty locks on them. How are you supposed to get air? Safty locks are the first thing commin off on Saturday.

But it's ours, and we'll make it work. It's only for a year. I'm begining to understand why the building is scheduled for demolition in June.

Meanwhile, back to packing.