Moopie's my big sister....
But mom says we have different dads....
OK not the first sunset of 2010 but a real nice one and it is only Jan. 4! When I first started getting into photography the sunset photos were my favorites. Now I hardy ever take a sunset photo...oh I took one or two last week..but I hadn't taken any in a while.
I've missed taking sunset photos and the sun is going down a little later now. Tonight, I was watching the clouds and as it looked like we could have a great sunset. After I feed the horses, I checked the setting sun and decided to take a road trip. I drove down on of the main roads that runs west to east.
As I drove, I was looking towards the sunset and checking out good views. I pulled over and tried to see if there was a shot and no there wasn't. Tried again and no lucky. I think people on the road thought I was having car trouble or was a little crazy.
The third try was a good one...so I got out of the car and took a couple of shoots. I liked this one the best. It was shot at F 8, IS0 100, White Blance of Tungsten and here is what I got.
Then I got back in the car and looked for another good spot. I tried a few more and then found this great giant saguaro and got out the tripod and took a few more shots...this was one I liked. Shot at F 8, ISO 400, WB Tungsten.
I sent both photos to the TV news...the last several photos I've sent haven't been shown on the weather....maybe these will make tonight's show.
It's a new twist on my Resolution Challenge efforts. I figured by mooshing my goals/resolutions/to-do lists together, this may keep me from thinking about my impending turn of 40.
Yes, yes, I know turning forty is fabulous, according to those of you who have entered that age already. I remember the relief and joy I felt escaping my twenties and moving into my thirties. Ahhh. That was nice.
So here's my list. I decided to include some stretch goals (S), fun goals (F), good-habit goals (GH) and some general to-do (GEN) items I should get done within a year. As I'm starting to type, I'm only up to 33. Maybe I'll leave some blanks so you can come up with some ideas or vote for your favorites. It'll be like American Idol, but not. We'll see what I come up with when I get to the bottom of it.
Without further ado:
1. Pay off my car. (S) This would be one year early on the loan and free up my income. Wouldn't that be nice?
2. Try acupuncture to rid myself of nasty teeth grinding/clenching habit. (F/GH) I've always wanted to try it, but never thought I had a good enough reason to. I clench my jaws to the point the apparati from my dentist stand no chance of success.
3. Eradicate the magazine pile. (S/GEN) It's massive and needs to be dealt with, but there are mags I really want to read in there somewhere.
4. Deep clean the house once a quarter. (GH) It's a small place, but I still don't clean nearly enough.
5. Eat more fruits and veggies. (GH)
6. Lose two inches from my waist and the Buddha. (S/GH) I'm giving up on weighing myself and I think this is a better way to think about it. That's where I gain all my extra weight and it's also a heart disease trigger, from what I've read. I'd like to stick around well past 40, thank you very much.
7. Rid closet of all unflattering clothes. (F) I do have some things I need to stop wearing out in public, but they are sooo comfy.
8. Reduce cable subscription after March Madness. (GEN)
9. Update resume. (GEN) Remember when this used to be on my list for the last few years? Yeah, I still never did it.
10. Paint the living room. (F/GEN). Blue. I think I'll paint it blue.
11. Save $$ for Amy's Argentine Adventure/40th Birthday Bash. (S/F)
12. See FamilyH at least once before Christmas. (S/F)
13. Read "7 Habits" again. (GH) It's always inspiring and I need a kick in the pants.
14. Compete in another triathlon. (F) Looking at one in October with my friend A.
15. Spend a night at a B&B in Globe. (F) Saw it in the Nat Geo Traveler and it's only an hour away. May as well! Plus, the Mexican food in Globe is phenomenal. Yum.
16. Vox Peep-Meet! (F) Whenever it is, I'll make sure I'm there!
17. Throw out old cosmetics. (GH) I have eye shadow that's at least three years old.
18. Run eight miles by end of February. (S) If I can't, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble for my race.
19. Organize back room. (GH) It's a mess.
20. Attend to 'In box' on desk. (GH) I don't even know what's at the bottom of that.
21. Stop overthinking. (S/GH) I can't control other people's thoughts or reactions, only my own so I need to relax.
22. Try one new recipe a month. (F)
23. Retrofit road/racing bike. (GEN) That thing is a death trap the way it's set up now. Gear shifters on the frame and Pedal Clips of Death.
24. Do one nice/thoughtful thing a day. (GH) Instead of thinking "I should send that person a note", I'll actually send that person a note.
25. Listen more, talk less. (S/GH)
26. Touch up yellow paint in kitchen and hallway. (F) This will entail me buying more paint, but will be an easier job than the living room.
27. Fix guest bathroom toilet. (GEN) I tried to pay a friend to do it, but he and his wife moved to Mexico. Ay Carumba!
28. Organize photos. (GEN) Stop laughing! I will! Fine, I'll recatagorize it: (S)
29. Make a photobook or print out the Grand Canyon trip photos. (F/GEN)
30. Create one painting. (S/F) Yes, that would be the same painting goal as last year.
31. Sell/use the timeshare. (GEN) Anyone interested in renting a week of timeshare at cost? Seriously, let me know and we'll work something out.
32. Return glances and/or smiles. (S/F/GH) This shouldn't be as hard as I make it out to be.
33. Don't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. (S/GH) I'm bad about putting off doing dishes, but not so bad that I'm going to buy a dishwasher.
34. Cook rest of the lamb that's in my freezer. (F)
I could use up the rest of my goal slots with "Use up/toss out" just about everything, but that's kind of cheating. Let's see what else I'm forgetting but will be obvious later...
Like...
35. Practice the piano so it's more than just a piece of furniture holding up picture frames. (F)
36. Cut myself some slack once in a while. (GH)
37. Improve flexibility. (GH) My hamstrings are going to shatter one of these days, I need to loosen them up.
38. (This space intentionally left blank) - How could I miss this? Visit Grams in Wisconsin, preferably in summer. (S/F) Stretch only because of time and money. Which probably makes almost everything a stretch goal, really.
39. (This space intentionally left blank)
I might come up with two more after a good night's sleep.
Fiction: The Comings of Cousin Ann by Emma Speed Sampson (1923).
Set in Kentucky in the early 1900s. Cousin Ann is the family Matriarch and she's had to go "visiting" on all her kin ever since the end of the Civil War when the Plantation had been burned to the ground leaving her homeless. Needless to say, her visits wear thin on the family after all of these years... Enter Judith, the sweet, peppy girl from town. Judy wins the hearts of the townsfolk and saves the day by saving the whole the Cousin Ann Family from themselves.
This was a phenomenal look into the Southern culture from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Outstanding book. Emma Speed Sampson was such a good writer that she was even allowed to write under L. Frank Baum's pseudonym of Edith Van Dyne.
Non-Fiction: A Confederate Girl's Diary by Sarah Morgan Dawson (1913).
Transcriptions of the diaries of a young woman living in the South DURING the Civil War. An engrossing read detailing what it was like to "live" in the South during Federal occupation and under constant fire. I am only into August of 1862, and based on her writings I wish the South had won and I can see why Southerners are so proud and protective of their heritage.
Movies:
Judge Priest (1934). Internet Archive: "Judge Priest depicting life in Kentucky after the Civil War and Reconstruction Period. It still shows the stereotypes and prejudices which existed at that time in a somewhat humorous manner. Based on a story by the noted Kentucky humorist, Irvin S. Cobb, it presents life as one would have imagined it at that time period." I gave it 5 Stars *****.
It's a Joke, Son (1947). "The first Eagle-Lion film stars Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, his "Allen's Alley" resident-character heard on Fred Allen's radio program. Claghorn was a blustery, one-man-Chamber-of-Commerce for all things Southern, who had no tolerence for anything north of the Mason-Dixon line, although he made allowances for South Philly. The character inspired the creation of one of the most popular of the Warners' cartoon characters, Foghorn Leghorn, who re-worked most of the originals material and style. The title of this movie is a stock line- "it's a joke, son"---he would feed a befuddled Fred Allen each week. In the film, Claghorn gets into some financial difficulties and is forced by a machine-political gang to enter a race for state senator against his wife (Una Merkel) who appears to have a good chance to beat the political hack backed by the machine. Claghorn is in to siphon votes and ensure his wife's opponent will win and is expected to run a campaign that will defeat himself and his wife. But, he runs to win and the machine's henchies abduct him." Written by Les Adams on IMDB.com. I only gave this one 3 stars, I wish I could recall why - and I remember liking it quite well. Oh well.
Hoosier Schoolmaster (1935). After the Civil War, a young man takes a teaching job in a small Indiana town. Another good look at everyday life at the end of the Civil War. 4 Stars.
There are lots of other Southern, Civil War and Reconstruction books on Gutenberg, and books/videos at the Internet Archive - as well as tons of general knowledge websites to visit. Don't overlook Annenberg Media although every single video I tried to watch skipped awfully and there's always the beloved PBS.
I have had it with all these motherfucking icicles on my motherfucking truck.
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A friend passed along this deodorant commercial and thought Bobavey might want to add to his collection. I can't tell if it comes in tropical scents.
And yes, it's a real product.
Not a big surprise, but there you go.
While all of us average people can join miscellaneous internet dating sites if we're so inclined, thankfully there's a special website for the more attractive segment of the population: www.beautifulpeople.com.
Oh yes, because dating isn't full of enough pitfalls, this website allows its own members to vote on whether an aspiring applicant is attractive enough to join. Just recently, the website dumped several thousand members who apparently had gained some weight over the holidays.
I think this is good news for everyone. For the remaining members of beautifulpeople.com, well, they don't have to worry about accidentally hooking up with someone of sub-par physical beauty. For us normal looking people, we're less likely to accidentally end up with anyone shallow enough to join a website devoted to the pursuit of appearance above substance. And for the people who've just been kicked off the site...they've just learned an important lesson. Not all of them will learn the same lesson, but they'll learn one all the same. Maybe lose weight or you'll be a loser. Maybe looks aren't everything. Maybe all those jerks who voted you off are just jealous.
Either way it's interesting and it reminds me of my post from back in October about how "high-quality" birds are attracted to other "high-quality" birds.
As for my on-going dating saga ... I had a doozy on Saturday. I thought it would be casual. Dinner, some chatting. Oh no. It was more like a job interview. I'd met the guy a few times here and there, and he seemed nice. Not a hysterical crack-up like the Blurter, but nice.
Turns out, he's looking for his Soul Mate*, and he seems to think the best way to find her is to corner some unsuspecting woman and grill her relentlessly about her Goals, her Ambitions, What She's Looking For. Several times, I tried to tell Mr. Soul Mate that I didn't want to play that particular game, but he wouldn't let up. It was like he had a mental checklist that he had to get through, including making additional lists of Things We Have in Common. At last, the check came.
Guys, let me just tell you, if a woman insists vehemently on paying her half of dinner, let her. She's not just being polite. It's not just that she's a feminist. It's that the date is over and she doesn't want to feel that she's beholden to you for anything. Mr. Soul Mate could not be deterred. He bought my dinner and then he said, "What would you like to do now?"
Go home. Which I did. I extricated myself as politely but as firmly as I could. I thought I made it very clear that the date was over for one very simple reason: I wasn't interested.
Turns out, that wasn't enough, because he was interested. That free dinner has now turned into 36 hours of stalking. Polite, non-threatening stalking, but stalking all the same. Text messages, emails, voice mails, you name it. The only saving grace is he doesn't know where I live or what department I work for. I've now sent off a very firmly worded email to indicate he should give it up. We're not going out again. I'm not his soul mate. Done. Over. Enough.
*I don't believe in this notion of a soul mate. How depressing would that be if there were just one person who was meant for you? What if he got run over and killed before you met him? What if she was already married?
Oh-Ten? Two-thousand and ten? Ten? What will you say when you have to say 2010 aloud?
Bruce
