tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131029512011-10-10T20:12:52.398-05:00Inhabiting a world of sharp edges and hard surfacesJ. Starnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1147362313075517762006-05-11T10:39:00.000-05:002006-05-11T10:45:13.416-05:00

So it's probably pretty obvious that my interest in blogging has come up short lately. Probably has to do with the fact that photography has taken over. Really.I'm not calling it quits, but I am taking a hiatus. I'll still be around to visit you all. I've just got a finger in too many pies right now to blog.Want to visit me? Come see me at Flickr.Maybe one of these days I'll come back and post a

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1146307564795352792006-04-29T05:30:00.000-05:002006-04-29T05:46:06.186-05:00

The camera drama...oh, the camera drama.What I have learned about myself this week: I am mentally unstable when it comes to my camera. Ha ha! No, seriously.Long story short, my beloved workhorse of a D50 is at Nikon getting a new sensor and will not be back for God knows how long--estimates range from 6 weeks to a couple months. I more or less lost my mind over it. I knew photography had

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1145707873874136222006-04-22T06:50:00.000-05:002006-04-22T07:11:22.780-05:00

I bought a bag of stuff to use in an art project the other day and I can't find it *anywhere*. The stuff was not expensive and I can do the art project without it, but I can't stop thinking about where on earth I could have put that bag.It is driving me batty.Which isn't a far trip.I had a fit about the camera being gone that long and called the shop back and asked them to instead clean it

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1145317050475603712006-04-17T18:36:00.000-05:002006-04-17T18:38:16.406-05:00

my camera will be at Nikon getting fixed for 6-8 weekscrycry

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1145147469844672812006-04-15T19:23:00.000-05:002006-04-15T19:31:09.893-05:00

I wrote a post earlier this week, but Blogger crashed while I was trying to upload it, and then my life got all busy, and long story short, I didn't get back to it.But the big oops is that I scratched the sensor on my camera trying to clean it tonight, and now it's useless. Pretty cool, eh? It's a good thing M is the most thoughtful person on earth and when he purchased the camera for me, knowing

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1144636696677449622006-04-09T21:33:00.000-05:002006-04-09T21:38:16.786-05:00

Moods running the gamut lately...earlier I felt just awful, but now okay. Ah spring. My state of mind is as fickle as your temperatures, my anger like your tornadoes and my peace like your teasing sunshine. Wheee.Frustrating with the arm. The silly arm. I didn't think it was going to be this bad. This big a deal for this long. Sooprise!I see the surgeon Tuesday. We'll see what he says.I haven't

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1144380387042961142006-04-06T22:18:00.000-05:002006-04-06T22:26:27.140-05:00

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1144208341718648032006-04-04T22:06:00.000-05:002006-04-05T08:41:38.693-05:00

today I was flat on my back on the table, a position I have to get into every time I go to therapy. My therapist stood next to the table, holding my arm, trying to get some life back into it, stretching it. She holds it at an angle I can't move it to yet. It is odd to have to trust another human being so completely. Should she let go of my arm, just for an instant, my muscles would not be able to

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1144035710871609432006-04-02T22:23:00.000-05:002006-04-02T22:41:50.956-05:00

I know this blog has been suckin' lately. I know. I have not been in much of a writing mood. Plus sitting at the computer is not all that comfy because of the arm sling. But hey, only like, 20 more days of that...sigh...That lip thing I was complaining about a month or so ago, I got that taken care of Saturday morning. Lip surgery. Almost as much fun as shoulder surgery! In addition to the busted

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1143773052914157342006-03-30T21:43:00.000-05:002006-03-30T21:44:13.010-05:00

Want to see a picture of M?Click here.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1143343870719621462006-03-25T22:27:00.000-05:002006-03-25T22:31:10.886-05:00

There is this tendon in there that keeps getting caught on something, snapping, feeling so eeew....eeeew....Okay. Since I can't take a lot of pictures right now I am editing some older ones. I made this tonight.My personal favorite is the praying mantis. He reminds me of Zorak. Or maybe it's a she. Who knows the gender of the wild praying mantis...It snowed today. It's spring, dangit! What the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1143166826822190532006-03-23T21:18:00.000-05:002006-03-23T21:20:27.073-05:00

I just found this old picture of Steve and got a laff from it. I think it's posted on my old blog, but here it is again, because not a whole lot is making me smile just now, but this did:I think I might be headed for the upswing.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1142991788668517082006-03-21T20:33:00.000-05:002006-03-21T20:43:08.813-05:00

You know those days you'd like to recall? The ones where stuff goes wrong all damn day? Yeah that was today.I borrowed my Grandma's car because I can't drive my own since it's a stick shift. Yesterday I left the headlights on in the parking lot while I was working. Needless to say, the car was dead when I came back to the parking lot. A coworker and I tried to jump it to no avail; it was dead as

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1142610735699640662006-03-17T10:44:00.000-05:002006-03-17T10:52:15.840-05:00

So I tried to go to work yesterday and only made it an hour and a half before I had to crawl out of there and come home and have M wrap me up in my elaborate plug-into-the-wall cooling system.My physical therapist says I can't pick my camera up with my right hand for 9 weeks. Well, one week down, so 8 to go. I took this picture yesterday with a tripod and the remote I bought (which I am a little

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1142262049826743322006-03-13T09:56:00.000-05:002006-03-13T10:00:49.956-05:00

Warning: There is a really gross picture at the bottom of this post, so if you cannot stomach really gross pictures, you might not want to scroll down.Some things they don't tell you before surgery but should:This is one of the most painful surgeries one can have. It also take a very long time to recover from it.You will be under the knife for 2 1/2 hours. During this time your eyes will be taped

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1141996623492002462006-03-10T08:16:00.000-05:002006-03-10T08:17:03.583-05:00

Holy sweet mother of God, ow.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1141878388978117592006-03-08T23:01:00.000-05:002006-03-08T23:26:29.336-05:00

Or whatever the kids say these days.T minus twelve hours and counting 'till The Knife. Sigh.There was one nice thing today. I ordered a remote for my camera earlier this week, thinking that I can hold the remote and use it with my right hand while holding the camera and composing with my left hand. I didn't expect the remote to arrive until next week, but lo and behold, it was in a box by the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1141758206881473492006-03-07T13:28:00.000-05:002006-03-07T14:03:27.676-05:00

Entertaining names attached to spam emails I have gotten recently:Pursuable I. CrescentsTrappable R. HighEntity E. PresentConstantine C. FogyWillamette Q. IncarnationWitold RudnickiCharalampos HutsonForegoing U. RetracedBeavis CharlandJesus HowardSpookiest E. FlunkyInhumanely S. CaptiveHistogram M. RemotestHannibal FlanneryWho are the people who come up with these things? Do they get paid for

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1141477273606296482006-03-04T07:59:00.000-05:002006-03-04T08:01:14.286-05:00

When I am all glum and down about my shoulder surgery, M sure has a way of putting things in perspective for me.I had scribbled "Dr. Cha, Feb 21st 2:00" on the whiteboard so I remembered my next appointment. After that was over, I didn't bother to erase the message, so M modified it slightly. And then I laughed. Hysterically.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1141189995910892342006-02-28T23:29:00.000-05:002006-03-01T00:13:16.223-05:00

Life has been so full of petty annoyances lately that I do not even know where to begin, so I just won't. I know that doesn't make for good blog reading, but do you really want to hear about how I had to work late and the neighbor was pissed that Ruby was barking and how I got a $163 bill from the radiologists for my chest CT scan and how I'm worried that I'm going to get two more big bills like

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140999538335085202006-02-26T19:14:00.000-05:002006-02-26T19:18:58.816-05:00

Mmmm, alcohol.I put a sheet of blue tissue paper over my big-ass 500-watt light to get this effect. My drink is on the right. M's is on the left. :)Yesterday I took Ruby to the adopt-a-thon for HART and they had the most gorgeous cat there. Her name is Desi and she weighs about six pounds--she's an itty bitty thing, but her whiskers are enormous. Check her out:Ain't she purdy?My daffodils are

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140841217275710452006-02-24T23:19:00.000-05:002006-02-24T23:20:17.496-05:00

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140757105818204322006-02-23T22:33:00.000-05:002006-02-23T23:58:25.976-05:00

My ma had her ear surgery today. They took out her stapes and put in a fake one. Technology! Wow! I went to see her tonight after she got home. She was dizzy, but slowly getting her bearings back. Apparently to do this operation, the eardrum must be punctured. The one time I did that, it was pretty agonizing, unsettling, and all around suckey, so I feel bad for her. My dad had to help her sit up.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140707353335258882006-02-23T10:08:00.000-05:002006-02-23T10:09:15.380-05:00

"You, my friend, have just walked into a hornet nest."

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140630929658701462006-02-22T12:46:00.000-05:002006-02-22T12:55:29.746-05:00

I get to go under the knife on March 9th. I take back what I said about not caring if I have to have surgery; my right arm will be strapped to my body for four to six weeks after. Dangit! How am I gonna drive my stick-shift, or take pictures, or do anything? Grrr.Oh well, I am not the first person in the world to be right-armless, and I won't be the last. I was in a snit yesterday when I came

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140493792395793172006-02-20T22:44:00.000-05:002006-02-20T22:49:53.236-05:00

Apologies for the lack of posting lately. What is there to say but Ow, shit, this really hurts?Here is my right shoulder. The orthopedic doctor said the ball of the ball and socket is too high. Perhaps that is what causes my angst. Or perhaps it is something in this region:Which, I guess that is my shoulders viewed from above my head, but I don't know how that works. I guess that thing in the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140150003713809872006-02-16T22:59:00.000-05:002006-02-16T23:20:04.020-05:00

Grr, ow. :(Had the dreaded MRI and CT scan this morning. The CT scan wasn't dreaded, actually, just the MRI. I had to get up at 4:30 a.m., too! (whine, whine, whine, I know...) But, it's over with, and I was able to convince my freaking-out mind not to tell my body to start screaming and pounding on the inside of that little tube they stuff you in. I could only have pounded with my left hand,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1140014198734570232006-02-15T09:22:00.000-05:002006-02-15T09:36:38.900-05:00

I got my MRI and CT scan scheduled; gotta be at the hospital at a blaring 5:40 a.m. tomorrow. That'll be lots of fun. CT scan I don't mind, since I know what to expect after having so many on my lungs, but MRI, well, let's just say, J. Star is a tad claustrophobic.This world is really set up to accommodate right-handed people.This morning as I was attempting to gather my stuff to get off the bus,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1139868499256242212006-02-13T16:18:00.000-05:002006-02-13T17:10:38.003-05:00

So, I fell down. :(I think it's really dumb that I can do black diamond slopes full of moguls with ZERO TROUBLE but the damn bunny slope is what gets me.The orthopedic surgeon I saw today says that the x-rays showed my shoulder dislocated in two places--where my arm connects to the body and where my clavicle connects to my sternum. There is also some nerve damage going on. My grip is weak and

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1139546546587448882006-02-09T23:24:00.000-05:002006-02-09T23:42:26.986-05:00

Ruby oh Ruby, you darling beast.Seeing as M and I and one of my brothers (not the one with the crazy wife) are going skiing this weekend, I thought it prudent that I find alternate arrangements for Ruby while we were gone so that my brother's wife, who is dogsitting for us, would not rip her hair out in the third minute of being here with four dogs and all. So I sent an email to the network and

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1139285915845056922006-02-06T23:17:00.000-05:002006-02-06T23:22:00.216-05:00

So about a week and a half ago, I was attempting to chew gum and talk to my boss simultaneously (and there are human beings on this planet who *should not* attempt to do things simultaneously, whether they be drive and talk on a cell phone, bathe and read, cook and watch the news, or chew gum and talk, all of which might result in disasters varying in intensity from a fiery hulking wreck on the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1138980319683727472006-02-03T09:53:00.000-05:002006-02-03T10:25:20.840-05:00

I went to refill my bird's food dish the other day and found her dead in the bottom of the cage...it seems that she became panicked in the night, which she sometimes did, and flailed around in her cage and broke her neck against the bars. Sad. My little nacho whore, little noisemaker, sweetly picky snuggler against fingertips and shirts, tormenter of dogs, early-morning squawker,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1138549295563263962006-01-29T10:16:00.000-05:002006-01-29T10:41:39.600-05:00

Woke up at 4 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep...I just laid around waiting for M's alarm to go off at 5:30 and then I got up and made us egg sandwiches. It's warm and windy and rainy outside. I have all the windows open (just a little, so the wind doesn't blow the rain in). Not bad for January.Last night I thought I'd give some night shots a try with my new camera. I drove over to

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1138301734933226932006-01-26T13:28:00.000-05:002006-01-26T13:55:35.383-05:00

You know those random days you have? Yeah.I got nothing but lol from the utter weirdness of this Honda commercial. (Thanks Hu.) Worth checking out.So, dogs, oy. Having four dogs in the house is not that much different than having three dogs in the house, except somehow the amount of FUR everywhere seems to have multiplied itself by a factor of eight. I don't know how this is possible. Ruby is not

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1138072852303939272006-01-23T22:06:00.000-05:002006-01-23T22:20:52.646-05:00

That ex of mine that I spent so much time bitching about over the summer when I was doing that book index for her called me today and asked me to be the executor of her will. I've never been the executor of somebody's will before. It makes me feel all grown-up and like I should be much more mature than I am. But I told her I would be honored. She has a very strange (bad) family situation and the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137942814575543002006-01-22T09:49:00.000-05:002006-01-22T10:13:37.360-05:00

Meme number one: List five idiosyncrasies of your character, from Deputy's Wife:1) I have a serious aversion to certain single-digit numbers. Like, I won't get out of bed if they're on the clock, I won't breathe in while thinking of them, if I have to drive under a sign with that number of letters on it I feel all weird, etc. I'm not even going to say what the numbers are. It's just lame.2) I

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137902505608689202006-01-21T22:56:00.000-05:002006-01-21T23:01:45.736-05:00

I am so proud of this one, y'all:...even though I have no right to be, because I literally shot it from the hip while I was rushing to cross the street. No composition whatsoever. And it turned out *so freakin' cool.*Lol, I guess I can only be cool when I am not trying.Anyway--I have been tagged for two memes, which I intend to complete tomorrow. One asks me to list five eccentricities of my

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137641017062953872006-01-18T22:02:00.001-05:002006-01-18T22:23:37.690-05:00

Even though they are a bunch of stinkers.The damage to the blinds was apparently done when the big bad scary DHL delivery-man was delivering my new iPod. I was pleased with Apple's quick service--I sent the busted one in and three days later I had one that looks brand-spankin' new and works a whole lot better than my old one did. Flippin' thweet.All at the cost of two sets of blinds,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137435034439647582006-01-16T13:07:00.000-05:002006-01-16T13:10:34.520-05:00

Four formerly loved doggies are now VERY HIGH on my poopie list. >=(On the big, custom-made expensive blinds, too!Grrr.....

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137359992196358992006-01-15T16:18:00.000-05:002006-01-15T16:19:52.266-05:00

I was a picture-takin' fool this morning. More later, but here's one I particularly like:There are days when I am tempted to say the heck with content and to focus entirely on the art of photography on this blog. This is one of those days. :)

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137124584510175662006-01-12T22:30:00.000-05:002006-01-12T22:56:24.636-05:00

I meant to post some photos of Ruby, the dog we're fostering, but it's hard to get pictures of her because she is so terribly, painfully shy, and will only come near me sometimes and M not at all. But I managed to get two decent ones this evening:She was trying to play with me in her "I'm terrified but will you please lavish me with love because I'm starved for it" way, where she comes up to me

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1137076419424223832006-01-12T09:32:00.000-05:002006-01-12T09:33:39.610-05:00

I promise I have not abandoned blogging. I am just having the doopidest week multiplied by the power of a thousand fiery suns, plus two.I hope you all are having good weeks. Or at least weeks that are marginally less doopid than the one I am having.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136987820310277772006-01-11T08:52:00.000-05:002006-01-11T08:57:00.376-05:00

does all the annoying shite have to happen ALL AT ONCE? WHY?

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136828113181522982006-01-09T12:21:00.000-05:002006-01-09T12:35:23.286-05:00

You know how sometimes, you just have that stupid day, where nothing is going right?This morning I got up early to catch the early bus so I could get to work on time for the meeting. I pulled up at the bus stop five minutes before the bus was due to arrive and watched it drive right past without stopping. Stood in the cold waiting for the next bus (35 minutes later). I was late for the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136646608641812582006-01-07T10:07:00.000-05:002006-01-07T10:10:08.710-05:00

Lol, I am so endlessly amused by birds in flight.That one right in the middle is like, you ain't landin' on this branch, biznatch!Lol!Okay, enough procrastinating, I must go clean my messy house. Just had to share. :)

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136582685351792452006-01-06T16:15:00.000-05:002006-01-06T16:24:45.353-05:00

Just for the hell of it.There sure is a lot of Who-Dey going on in this town right now. Today at lunch I saw three women walking together wearing orange-and-black feather boas. Lawd.Cara is coming by again; she'll be here tomorrow and Sunday, when I'll drive her to the airport. Sunday, we're getting a new foster dog, a female mix named Ruby. I'm not sure how big she is but she looks pretty

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136432872148099912006-01-04T22:27:00.000-05:002006-01-04T22:47:52.253-05:00

A friend at work asked me to take a photo of a certain highway sign for the blog she's setting up, so at lunch we drove around Northern Kentucky looking for a good place to take the photo, which turned out to be the passenger seat of her car as we drove under the overpass the sign she wanted the photo of was stuck to.I'm half-drunk; please excuse my terrible sentence construction. I am also

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1136217750961017572006-01-02T10:58:00.000-05:002006-01-02T11:02:31.190-05:00

Maybe it's just because I'm the puppy parent, but when the dogs are actually calm and quiet and even *gasp* snuggling on the couch I go all wooshie wooshie woo and take a godzillion pictures...And the icing on the already sugary-sweet cake:

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135963452012753452005-12-30T12:11:00.000-05:002005-12-30T12:24:15.980-05:00

There is not much that is sadder than the funeral of a miscarried child.The weather today is cold and damp and grey, and it suited the occasion. I got to the cemetery and my mother was standing outside the chapel. We talked for a few minutes, waiting for everyone to arrive. When my friend and her husband came, they were crying. Her husband was holding a very small wooden box with Chinese

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135891836001071982005-12-29T16:12:00.000-05:002005-12-29T16:30:36.096-05:00

A sad day.My good friend called me last night to tell me she had a miscarriage on Christmas. I saw her at church Christmas morning and she was glowing and happy, and it seems the day ended in such awful tragedy for her. She was so excited to have gotten pregnant; her and her husband had been trying for more than a year to have another baby, without success. When I saw her on election day she had

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135799438102010902005-12-28T14:43:00.000-05:002005-12-28T14:50:38.196-05:00

M was very proud last night when he used the new camera to take this picture of Steve:

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135663324888845282005-12-27T00:33:00.000-05:002005-12-27T01:02:05.150-05:00

A random orchid photo I took a while ago.Santy Claus was more than generous this year.I am now the glowing and ecstatic owner of a Nikon D50, thanks to M. He gave it to me on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, because he knew I'd want to use it (and of course he was right). He got me the kit with two lenses; I have an 18-55 lens and a 55-200 lens. Both are amazing.I laid awake all night on

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135434568485389742005-12-24T09:07:00.000-05:002005-12-24T09:29:29.060-05:00

That is the sound I made last night as my skis left the snow and I was suspended for a brief moment and then I came down on my bottom. Wahoo!M and I went skiing last night on a whim. It was lots of fun. At one point we were going up a rope tow to get to a lift and he pulled hard on the rope at an angle to the direction it was going, and let it go with a *fwap.* I was behind him and didn't know

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135211987226775292005-12-21T19:10:00.000-05:002005-12-21T19:44:40.200-05:00

I took this photo out my office window yesterday. Beauty, eh? Some warehouse down by the river. Kaboom. Shoulda heard the sirens, you'd have thought we were under a missle attack. That's I 75 in the middle of the picture, there.I don't have any pictures of the mosque bombings that happened in town today. I was kind of surprised that it didn't make the national news. Politics and the transit

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1135028893534093922005-12-19T16:44:00.000-05:002005-12-19T16:52:20.560-05:00

A semi actually fell off the elevated part of the highway and burst into a ball of flaming wreckage in someone's front lawn. The crap all over the highway where the dude is walking is, apparently, iron nuggets. Who knew there was a need to transport iron nuggets via the nation's highways?Guess I better find another route home from work tonight.Photo credit: Some dude at The Cincinnati Enquirer (

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134881726906779872005-12-17T23:15:00.000-05:002005-12-17T23:55:27.510-05:00

My good friend Cara has come (from New Mexico) and gone (to Dayton). It was great to see her. I'll get to see her again in a couple of weeks when she comes back through Cincinnati on her way back to New Mexico. While she was here, we got drunk and played a whole load of old Nintendo games--including Bubble Bobble, Tetris, many incarnations of Mario, and something called Caveman Games, which I had

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134588772968808432005-12-14T13:08:00.000-05:002005-12-14T17:45:36.820-05:00

I've been listening to music all morning while I've been working, which I sometimes can do and sometimes can't. And I've been thinking about the experience of music, and why it appeals so much to us. I guess there are a few notable exceptions, but in general, animals don't seem to enjoy it the way we do (my dogs, in fact, seem downright annoyed whenever I put anything on at home, from Ani

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134448249139915162005-12-12T23:00:00.000-05:002005-12-12T23:30:49.550-05:00

I got tagged for the same meme twice, from Deputy's Wife and Aquarelita, so I guess I'd better get up on this bad boy. The meme requests bits of information people aren't likely to know about me. Aquarelita wants twelve and Deputy's Wife wants five, and since I've been awake for a long time, I'm going to go with five and call it a night (sorry BG!).1) I live in a house that has something like

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134319140778229582005-12-11T11:21:00.000-05:002005-12-11T11:39:00.846-05:00

The EX hall of shame. I can't believe I'm posting this, lol...These are pictures of pictures, since I don't have a scanner, so the quality is terrible. But here are some of my exes.First girl I kissed.Crazy Hungarian. Didn't last long. I got a trip to Budapest out of it though. Ended messy.Ah yes, senior year of college. I miss this gal.First years of college. This guy had gorgeous hair and liked

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134230571637242982005-12-10T10:58:00.000-05:002005-12-10T11:02:51.733-05:00

I had the *worst commute ever* on Thursday, and *almost* thought about taking back everything nice I ever said about snow.But I still like it. It's purdy.I am plannin' on posting the storie of the worst commute ever, if I can thaw my fingers out long enough to type it up.Also up on tap for a future-soon post: The EX HALL OF SHAME. I was going through photo albums the other night and took pictures

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1134057000154965562005-12-08T10:35:00.000-05:002005-12-08T10:54:51.843-05:00

So at work, I've been asked to proof a new-business pitch to a company that sells a certain kind of food. A food in the meat group. As you may know from the shameless propaganda slathered all over my sidebar, I am a vegetarian. And I have pretty strong feelings about being a vegetarian. Believing also in a Buddhist philosophy, I try not to judge others for eating animals; I will never eat animals

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133905714348932202005-12-06T16:40:00.000-05:002005-12-06T16:50:48.603-05:00

Don't let the geeks have free time at work.Recent pictures:A snowflake. There was paper, there was scissors, there were a few folds and snips, and then... there was a snowflake! Rumor has it we're getting a few inches of snow on Thursday--yee-haw! I (heart) snow. Except when I have to drive downtown in it. But it's still purdy. It makes me sing real loud.Aaaaannnd...The geek and the cop. Ain't we

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133760624953045602005-12-05T00:12:00.000-05:002005-12-05T00:30:46.513-05:00

you wake up with a hankering for an egg sandwich at five in the morning you wake back up at nine with a hangover you find a Christmas-tree ornament that says "1986" on it in your pantry, complete with teethmarks from one of the dogs you go in the living room and notice there is a silver garland wadded up and stuck to the Christmas tree like it's been thrown at it Steve the dog is

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133716195137838502005-12-04T12:06:00.000-05:002005-12-04T12:10:02.860-05:00

Ice storm last night. Everything's frozen. When I go outside, the air sounds sharp and crackly, as if there are ghosts all through the neighborhood, chipping away at the ice. But it's just the wind cracking it off tree branches and telephone wires.Better post comin' soon...

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133540286090182652005-12-02T10:55:00.000-05:002005-12-02T11:39:37.853-05:00

Thank you all for the compliments on my trumpet photos. :) If I don't watch it, I'm going to wind up with a swelled head here.I now have artwork up at Ciani's Cafe in Ft. Thomas. Any of you locals, feel free to stop by, have some coffee, look at some pictures.So I did this meme that Adeline tagged me with. Here are my answers:Three things that you wish you were good at but are either not good at

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133326314425677082005-11-29T23:38:00.000-05:002005-11-29T23:51:54.536-05:00

Adeline of ChezWhat? has tagged me with a meme that I'm going to get around to doing hopefully tomorrow, but in the meantime, here are the promised pictures. They were done on commission for the woman who is helping me out getting a gallery show. There's also a cafe owner who has asked me to call her ASAP about getting my work up in her cafe. I called and left a message. Exciting, and

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1133240035010098512005-11-28T22:52:00.000-05:002005-11-28T23:53:59.353-05:00

I've been so moody lately you'd think I was fourteen again.Recent dream themes and events: Mongolian men on horses wielding scythes Suley's blue-green quarter-sized irises A four-foot tall room made of peat moss, lined with small square windows Climbing up a green hill in the woods to get away from men with guns A blonde whore with a sullen mouth and fur-lined boots Thanksgiving

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132891699378612162005-11-24T22:24:00.000-05:002005-11-24T23:08:19.633-05:00

as told to me by meI clean the house all morning. Rearrange things on the walls. Laundry. Vacuum. Scrub toilets. I fall asleep on the couch waiting for M to get home, dream briefly and wake. We drive to my parents' house.My cousin is dating someone who is her cousin by marriage. Her mother's sister's second husband's kid? I don't know. I can't keep track. They're at the house, as are Grandma and

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132728309187446142005-11-23T00:22:00.000-05:002005-11-23T01:45:09.356-05:00

So.It's funny how nothing can really happen in your life that anyone outside your head can see, but you can just wake up one day and think, boy, I am really fucked. Or, boy things have got to change. Or, boy, if I keep having these goddamned dreams, I'm going to kill someone else or myself.This was that day. I'm up late now, because sometimes if I only sleep a little, I don't get The Dreams. They

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132667896646490282005-11-22T08:44:00.000-05:002005-11-22T08:58:16.696-05:00

the dreams are getting worse. today was a bad one. it wasn't a bad dream. well it was. but mostly it's the transparency that was bad. i can't even write about them here, i can only write about the ones that--aren't so bad.i got up two hours ago. i think i might be starting to feel normal again nowi don't knowscissors saltcryptic cryptic crypticwe have this running joke up here in my department.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132417570911602012005-11-19T11:00:00.000-05:002005-11-19T11:26:19.440-05:00

Does a body good. I no longer feel like smashing expensive things to bits, anyway.I had a very extended dream last night that I was having an asthma attack and couldn't convince anyone to take me to a hospital. It was horrible. In the dream, I was lying in bed, in the dark, and realized my breath was coming in suffocated chunks instead of an even flow, and I tried to wake up M but he had to go to

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132344775893874312005-11-18T15:11:00.000-05:002005-11-18T15:12:55.950-05:00

is sitting at his work desk and he picks up his keyboard and just starts whaling on his monitor with it and then sweeps the whole flaming contraption onto the floor?That's me, today.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132285326361169182005-11-17T22:38:00.000-05:002005-11-17T22:46:42.860-05:00

I think I may have found a template that does what I want it to.Further tweaks ahead.I'm drunk.The photo show thing went well. I did better than breaking even, which was better than I hoped for. People seemed to like my work.And *gasp*--I got invited to do a GALLERY SHOW. And I got some stuff to do on COMMISSION.Wow.It's like--wearing a new me. My little life and world are different as I'm going

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1132203118528861212005-11-16T23:51:00.000-05:002005-11-16T23:51:58.683-05:00

I've been walking at lunch. I have an hour and I'm surprised at how much ground I can cover. I think I'm walking between 3 1/2 and 4 miles but I can't really be sure. I keep a fast pace except when I stop to take a few pictures now and then.Monday when I was walking I saw a drug bust on the Veterans Memorial Bridge that goes over the Licking River, which flows into the Ohio River between

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131982132810226432005-11-14T09:50:00.000-05:002005-11-14T10:28:52.973-05:00

Oh yes--here. Right.The strange dreams keep coming. Last night's featured an ex-girlfriend, some cockatiel eggs, and a lot of black leather. There was also a bowling ball and a tea party involved. And a large boat.Saturday night, into Sunday morning, I dreamed about Alaska. I dreamed I was trekking across a field of snow at night, under cold, bright stars. Everything around me was a hard navy

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131732678691173242005-11-11T12:56:00.000-05:002005-11-11T13:11:18.746-05:00

I've been having the strangest dreams. Last night I dreamed I was riding a giant (three stories tall) camel through a forest searching for beetles. I mean--what?I was emailing Nathan about the strange dreams I have been experiencing. He noted the gap yesterday, when I couldn't remember any of them. I tried to explain to him about how when I wake up in the morning, if I'm having a dream I don't

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131549691591838822005-11-09T09:53:00.000-05:002005-11-09T10:21:31.813-05:00

So the city might be headed in the right direction, but the state's circling the drain. Every ballot initiative I voted for except one got the royal shoot-down, and the one that passed was one I waffled on mightily. Ah, local politics. I heard a funny quote on NPR this morning regarding democrats winning elections. A guy said, "It's kinda like the dog chasing the car, you know; what do you do

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131384014893418612005-11-07T12:11:00.000-05:002005-11-07T12:20:15.096-05:00

M's interview went well for him. The house is nice and clean now. We'll see how long that lasts. We did so much yardwork this weekend. So much raking. Raking is fun to do for about the first half hour. Then you get the blisters and the aching muscles and the stuffy nose and it ain't so great.If he gets this position, it will probably be second shift, and I'll be spending a lot of time alone. With

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131236291760938622005-11-05T19:07:00.000-05:002005-11-05T19:18:11.806-05:00

M is a massive bundle of nerves. A road patrol lieutenant called him about half an hour ago to ask him if he was available for an interview tomorrow. At our house. This is a position M has wanted for almost five years now, so for once, he is cleaning the house and I am not doing a darned thing to help, which is a welcome switch (big point of contention between he and I--M = slob, me = likes

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1131059911372345272005-11-03T18:18:00.000-05:002005-11-03T18:21:40.200-05:00

Someone please tell me that this stupid week is going to be over soon.Oy.*update--M is taking me out to dinner. Maybe not such a stupid week...

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130881053886119682005-11-01T16:14:00.000-05:002005-11-01T16:37:33.943-05:00

So I seem to have hit a patch of utter and complete disorganization, which has a lot to do with the shitty blog posts of the past, say, week or so. Today for example I got up twenty minutes early for work, but still left twenty minutes late...and I don't even have the excuse of having kids! It's just me! Of course, I put the dogs out when I first got up when it was all dry outside, and then got

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130734829372011692005-10-30T23:45:00.000-05:002005-10-31T00:01:26.760-05:00

I am frustrated. My template will not look how I want it to look. It looks just fine in Firefox, but for some reason in Explorer the background image won't even show up. If I fiddle with it and get it looking right in Explorer, the sidebar gets all messed up in Firefox. So, it's still this same old one, which I have grown tired of. Poop on you, html. And Explorer. Poop on you both.This weekend, I

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130562253205496372005-10-28T22:59:00.000-05:002005-10-29T00:04:13.263-05:00

at least it's up there. Jukebox Two has a new (not entirely polished) look to it, as well as a re-edited story I had up on my blog.com writing repository (which is about to be defunct). If you have the time or inclination, read the new version here. It's long, but it has some juicy bits.New look in the works for Melodrama as well. Gotta play with it a little longer. Thanks, S, for having a

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130532671943837862005-10-28T15:49:00.000-05:002005-10-28T15:51:12.020-05:00

that i unfortunately cannot write about.So instead a survey:Are you using Firefox or IE right now?

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130369235603323162005-10-26T22:59:00.000-05:002005-10-26T23:29:14.706-05:00

What a day.As I write this right now, I'm still at work. 7:20. I haven't gone home on time yet once this week...but as things to bitch about go, that's pretty lame. I'm waiting to get back some designs so I can check the changes on them. Again. And I really want to be home with M right now.M is having a rough week. Yesterday, he and a coworker were dealing with some guy who went nuts in PES (

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130297064168472962005-10-25T22:24:00.000-05:002005-10-25T22:36:44.326-05:00

A lil' too sleepy to post anything of substance.Before I begin thtubbing out some bumbley words that don't mean much, here is a link to an excellent post Suley wrote about Haibane Renmei (the anime stuff I was glumphing about in my last post). I am too tired to think of the right words so I'm making some up. Oh also Suley's post has good pictures.Today I had an experience that highlighted my

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130210072216762022005-10-24T21:29:00.000-05:002005-10-24T22:14:32.403-05:00

Our dog Nancy has recently become a hellion. We don't know what's wrong with her. Just in the past couple days she has developed some heinously bad behavoirs when in proximity to food and our dog Steve at the same time, or when we're touching her while Steve is around. There have been knockdown dragout dogfights in which she has been headed for Steve's jugular. Though she is only half his size,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1130084523387647292005-10-22T23:18:00.000-05:002005-10-23T11:28:02.476-05:00

The Renaissance Festival was pretty fun, and it didn't rain--which was a nice surprise. (Silly weather forecasters.) At times, the sun was even out. It was darned cold though and even with four layers I was chilly the entire day. Since my camera has a nifty little flip-screen, I can sometimes easily take pictures of people without their knowledge, since I can aim the camera without looking in the

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129953700725476322005-10-21T22:52:00.000-05:002005-10-21T23:01:40.756-05:00

Playing with photos. Cleaning the house.Tomorrow I'm going to this fabulous outdoor event with friends. Check out that great flash! Ha ha ha!It's supposed to be cold and rainy all day. Maybe I shouldn't bring my camera.HA HA HA HA HAOn that note, I'm going to bed.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129915720009481292005-10-21T12:22:00.000-05:002005-10-21T12:28:40.043-05:00

-----Original Message-----From: NathanSent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 1:47 PMTo: JSubject: J,I appear to have won some money in the lottery just now.------------------------From: JSent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 10:50 AMTo: NathanSubject: RE: J,How many dollars did you win? At work a bunch of people pooled their money and won 12 dollars, which had to be split among 125 purchased tickets.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129779973768166562005-10-19T22:45:00.000-05:002005-10-19T22:46:16.283-05:00

Each night exists as a piece of a season. By itself it isn't anything, it's just a link in a chain, but you bring to each night what you have in yourself and turn it into more than a piece in a chain. You make it something. You take the darkness outside the rooms you light up, the darkness you go outside to look at, and you turn it into something that's yours.Today was the last day of the warm

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129728393874798552005-10-19T08:22:00.000-05:002005-10-19T08:26:33.920-05:00

Apologies for a) not reading y'all's blogs as religiously as I usually do, and b) only posting silly posts about dreams and the moon lately. My body is doing some sort of annoying thing where it can't decide whether or not it's coming down with the plague, meaning I am not sick enough to stay home but not well enough to do much of anything. And, crap has been busy at work lately, so I haven't had

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129638896838111462005-10-18T07:21:00.000-05:002005-10-18T07:34:56.866-05:00

I fell asleep on the couch at 7 last night and stayed in a sleep daze the rest of the night...dreaming so many different dreams I've forgotten ninety percent of them, but the ones I remember are vivid and clear like memories instead of imaginary dreams. I remember a city, a crowded city, so full that cars were stacked like piles of pancakes in parking lots, and to get yours out from the bottom of

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129435532921403212005-10-15T22:57:00.000-05:002005-10-15T23:05:32.966-05:00

We took the dogs for a walk at Glenwood Gardens tonight. We got there around 7, when the sun was setting. The moon rose higher in the sky as we walked, and began to cast shadows with its brightness. By the end of the walk we were following the gravel path only by the light of the moon, the luminescent gray and white rocks beneath our feet leading us through the woods...

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129385314154978832005-10-15T08:50:00.000-05:002005-10-15T09:08:34.156-05:00

I got another flat tire, driving in to work on Tuesday. On the highway. In morning rush hour. Genius! I decided that I'd rather bend the rim and pay to replace it than try to change the tire in the gutter of I-75 in traffic, so I kept going to an exit and pulled into a Speedway, where I managed to change the tire. Sadly, I had to call M (and it was his day off! Doh!) to give me a hand, and he,

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129257186168788032005-10-13T20:45:00.000-05:002005-10-13T21:33:06.170-05:00

What is this that I feel? Am I tapping into something bigger than me? Though I only know my own feelings, my own sensations spreading through me when I hear these sounds, see these sights, I know the universality of this silent sadness...not a painful sadness but a quiet one. I don't experience this sadness. This sadness experiences me. And then it goes.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129146325361863492005-10-12T14:41:00.000-05:002005-10-12T14:45:25.600-05:00

I've been working on this project for a while now, and I finally had enough down time this week to finish it...click here to see "Yellow means please."

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1129059850263298302005-10-11T14:32:00.000-05:002005-10-11T14:45:26.070-05:00

There's a really good article on Slate about how dogs think. It questions the assumption most people make that dogs think even remotely similarly to humans, pointing out that dogs are existential beings. It tells the story of a woman who went back to work after being at home for several years, and the troubles she experienced when her dog started destroying her home after she went back to work.

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1128912178302033242005-10-09T21:42:00.000-05:002005-10-09T21:42:58.440-05:00

It's cold again.In February, three days in the mid-fifties will be a heat wave. Now, it's...an awakening, of sorts. Right up to Thursday of the past week, it was in the mid-eighties and humid. Summer weather. I went skating at lunch on Thursday and I got all sweaty. Today, I don't think it got above 57. The sun hasn't been out since Thursday, either. Friday it rained some, downtown, but not where

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13102951.post-1128782249521295972005-10-08T09:32:00.000-05:002005-10-08T09:37:29.600-05:00

I would encourage anyone who stops by here today (or any day), if you don't already, to go visit Jenelle. She is going through an incredibly tough time right now and is handling it pretty damn well, in my opinion, but words of encouragement never hurt. Pump the girl up--or offer her your couch so she can get away from her jackass emotionally-abusive crapheap of a soon-to-be-ex-husband.Kudos to

J. Starnoreply@blogger.com7