So, with my 26th birthday just two days away, I have come to the disappointing realization that there will be no way on earth that I can possible afford the giant Canon 350D/XT that I wanted. I have too much debt and not enough income to even begin to pay for said $900 camera. 
This makes me really unhappy, actually. The more photos I take with my Sony, the less satisfied I become with it. The lens is great, but the actual camera sensor on the inside just isn’t as nice as anything in any of the Canon models. My old tiny S400 took sharper photos, but it didn”t have any manual settings at all. I also need a manual focus for hummingbird shots, because auto focus just doesn’t cut it for blurringly fast wing beats. I could get a nice Canon G6, but it doesn’t have interchangeable lenses or manual focus and I”m afraid I wouldn”t be happy with it within a year. One thing is for sure though, no matter what I manage to save up, I’m going back to Canon cameras and staying there.
On the upside though, Larken is having a birthday party for me Tuesday night. It seems she’s invited everyone we know, which will make it the biggest birthday party I’ve ever had. It makes me feel all squishy inside. 
I won’t be able to drink though, as I’ll have work the next morning at 8:30am. Oh well. A night in with good friends will be great fun without booze and new cameras.
I got paid today, for my first week on the job. Let me tell you, having an income again is wonderful. I felt like I was just sponging off of everyone I knew. I still don’t have a bank account of my own right now though. I deposited my check in John’s account. He’s now managing my money for me/us. It sounds terrible, but I seriously feel much better handing him the financial reigns and walking away. He may get all of my income right now, but he also got all of my debt. I have to work out how to pay a few bills in my name that cannot be transferred, but I should be okay for now. Still saving for that camera! Heh, fat chance I’ll get it though.
Work has been great so far. It’s been almost two weeks, but I’m already quite settled in. A few things to work out and many parents’ names to learn, and I’ll be set! I’ve been decorating my room this week. That’s right. MY room. I have my own room. To dress as I please. I’m doing a fish theme right now. I have foam kelp hanging from the ceiling and fish stuck everywhere. I even have a big pink and purple octopus on one of my bulletin boards. It’s quite festive in there! The only things I don’t really enjoy is the communication gap and the diapers. These kids are two, so most of the day consists of “Take that out of your mouth. Take that out of your mouth. Keep your lips to yourself. Take that out of your mouth.” I’d really prefer to be in with the 4 year olds, where conversations are actually two-sided and make sense. It’s quite fun though. I come home tired, but I can’t wait to go back the next day. I never even consider calling in sick, even when I feel like poo. I can’t ever picture myself doing anything else.
‘These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of biting their lip to stay calm while these exchanges were taking place.
Q: Are you sexually active?
\r\nA: No, I just lie there.
————————————————–
Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.
————————————————–
Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
n————————————————-
Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
nA: Yes.
\r\nQ: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you”ve forgotten?
————————————————
Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can”t remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?<
A: Forty-five years.
———————————————
Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.
——————————————–
Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.
——————————————-
Q: Now doctor, isn”t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he does not know about it until the next morning?
A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
——————————————
Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
——————————————
Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
——————————————
Q: So the date of conception of the baby was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?
——————————————
Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?
——————————————–
Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?
———————————————-
Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male, or a female?
———————————————-
Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
———————————————-
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
——————————————–
Q: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK?
A: Yes.
Q: What school did you go to?
A: Oral.
———————————————-
Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
——————————————-
Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
——————————————-
Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive, practicing law somewhere.
Well, today was my first day at Cornerstone Preschool. It’s a full-time job working in a two-year-old classroom. Beginning August first, the room will be mine to do with what I please. This pretty much kills any plans I might have had for taking off on my birthday. The current teacher in that room is moving up to the four and five year-old room, and I’m taking her place. I’ll be my job to see that the kids get changed and taught the correct stuff during the day. I went in today from 7:45AM to 4:45PM, and now I have a monster migraine. The heat and too much information all at once is what got me. I have eleven children’s names to remember, a curriculum to plan for, a room to decorate, supplies to purchase and organize.. etc. All in two weeks!
I’ll be teaching the A Beka Curriculum, which is a religious teachings curriculum. In the actual schedule, I am required to teach Bible stories and songs.. etc. I don’t really have a problem with this, but it will be ALL new to me. I spent today’s nap time listening to Christian Public Radio (”Where was the Church when prayer was taken out of schools?” and “We now have a program for homosexuals who want to live a straight lifestyle.”). I think I’ll be tuning the radio to something less God when I’m lead in that room. It’s quite enough for me to teach something I’m not really a believer in. Anyway, I wasn’t overwhelmed with the religion in there, which is what I had worried about. I don’t shove my beliefs (or lack of) up people’s noses, and I expect that they don’t do it to me.
The people there are stunningly nice though. People took time out of their classes to come and introduce themselves, even that Pastor came in and shook my hand. He’s a very friendly man. He even looks like a pastor. Very very warm eyes. The school director is wonderful too. She answered all of my questions and took time out to makes sure that I knew what was going on at the school and how to do things that were outside of my room. I’m even allowed to bring food and drinks into the classroom, which is great for someone with too high of a metabolism like me.
Overall, I think I’ll be a bit overwhelmed for a while longer, but I’ll get the hang of it soon. I’m sure I’ll love it within a few days though.
Every year for my birthday and Christmas, my Mother complains that I haven’t sent her my wishlist yet or soon enough. Last year, she suggested that I prepare one about a month in advance, but I forgot.. again. So, two weeks will have to do. I’ll be 26 on August 2nd. Make sure not to drop ANY hints, as I am way too good a figuring the gifts out ahead of time.
MOST WANTED, IN ORDER
1. Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Silver)
2. Canon Powershot SD500 7MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
3. CrystalVue LX, 8x Tele Conversion Lens Set for Digital Cameras.
4. A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Sheri Williamson
5. Creative MuVo TX FM 1 GB MP3 Player by Creative Labs
6. Women Before 10 a.m. by Sean Penn
7. Mulan (Special Edition)
8. The Rescuers Down Under (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
9. Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)
10. Shogun
11. Sin City
12. M.Night Shyamalan Vista Series Collection (The Sixth Sense/Signs/Unbreakable)
13. Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)
17. Geisha by Liza Dalby
18. Trivial Pursuit Vol. 6 by Hasbro
19. Robin Hood (Disney Gold Classic Collection) by Wolfgang Reitherman
These are the 19 things I want MOST. I know the first ones are pretty pricey, but I’d honestly rather people pool funds for #1 rather than buy many cheaper items. If you’re just dying for cheaper items anyway, my Amazon Wishlists are a font.
I watched Titanic again today. I know, before you all groan and quit reading, I’ll tell you that I was obsessed about the ship itself years before the movie ever came out. I saved my allowance for months to buy a giant 15lb book on it, a book that I still have to this day. Anyway, I watch the movie every once in a while. I really dislike DiCaprio, but it’s worth watching him for three hours because of Kate Winslet. I think half the movie is simply devoted to showing the audience how beautiful she is. I remember wishing fervently that I looked like her. Her makeup man was a genius. Anyway, this inspired me to throw together a quick list of the actresses that I find to be stunningly beautiful, to the point that I will watch a movie over again just to see how pretty they are again.
Kate Winslet - Stunning in Titanic, but I don’t find her all that attractive elsewhere. I love her long red hair and eyes.
Milla Jovovich - Love the sassy red hair in The Fifth Element, plus she’s quite lovely in just about everything else. Her eyes are great.
Liv Tyler - She makes me swoon. If I were a man, I think I’d be stalking her before I could stop myself. To die for in Lord of the Rings, and almost as stunning in everything else she’s been in. Plus, I’ve been told that I look a lot like her. Whee!
Lucy Liu - Playing in Kill Bill gave her a chance to dress up in a kimono, much to my delight. Oriental women are lovely, and she’s one of the best.
Zhang Ziyi - Yet another gorgeous oriental woman, this time Chinese. She looks great in both Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers. She makes me want to be Asian. Love the almond eyes.
Jennifer Connelly - Loved her in my childhood as Sarah (Labyrinth), but she was also beautiful in the comic adaptation The Rocketeer. Her dark hair and wide eyes always get me.
Moira Kelley - The movie that makes her look the best is The Cutting Edge. Again, dark hair, wide eyes. She has a very cute face too.
Laura San Giacomo - I don’t much care for her in anything but Quigley Down Under, but she take my breath away in that movie alone. She’s short, but sweet and sassy all in one. Dark hair and a compact face make her beautiful.
Catherine Zeta Jones - I first came to love her looks in Mask of Zorro, then she appeared in ‘The Haunting’ and ‘Chicago’. Dark hair, pale skin, dark eyes.
After compiling this list, I found I tend to go for the same look in almost all of them. Long, dark, wavy/curly hair, large, almond shaped eyes, full lips and pale skin. I have no idea why this is though. Who do you like?
You may recall that I planted petunias in my front flowerbed some months ago. They’re quite dead now, thanks to some men with bleach water. They were hire to clean the mold/algae out of the apartment gutters. This would have been fine if they’d managed to keep the bleach water off of my plants, but they failed utterly. The petunias withered and died a long drawn out slow death. They were damn pretty while they lasted though. Nice and red. I was complaining to Larken‘s mom yesterday about how the nice gutter-cleaning men with the bleach murdered my petunias. I told her I wished I could buy some more, but I couldn’t afford it. She surprised me with $20 yesterday evening, just for plants! Whee! Since hurricane Dennis is making everything cloudy and breezy here today, I figured that it’s be a good day to do some gardening. First I did my research on plants that will survive the hot southern sun. Roses, petunias, and begonias all do well here, but wal-mart was out of red petunias. I talked John into helping me haul around 120lbs of garden dirt, and I planted. I bought a tree rose (angel face), and two begonias (dragon wing). It was hot even with the breeze, but I got it done. John insisted I buy some garden gloves, after the blisters I got last time, but I still got one on each thumb. Owie. My plants look great though. I just hope the rain we’ll get tonight doesn’t come with insanely heavy winds. The rose is staked up, but the begonias are not.
I normally stay away from world events and politics, but after the recent London bombing I thought it fit to post at least something that shows my readers how I feel. This list is the product of my friend Charlie, who posts almost exclusively about politics. I vote in major elections, but that’s about as far as my care for government goes. My very core belief system is that all humans are humans, and equal in different ways. Hurting another human based on a difference of skin color, religion, country, education, language or any of the other multitudes of reasons people think up is just plain obscene and stupid. It’s an invasion of basic human rights. Lack of tolerance and understanding for fellow humans is one of the few things that really make me angry. I mean, why do we need to hurt people that look or think differently than we do? We don’t bomb or enslave people who have lost limbs in accidents, so why do we do it to people whose skin color isn’t the same as ours? Anyway, I don’t like to rant, so here’s Charlie’s list, used with permission.
-Religion in government-
Al Qaida/Taliban: One and the same
American Religious Right: One and the same
Liberals: Separation of church and state*
-Schools-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Religious indoctrination. Run by clergy.
American Religious Right: School prayer. Religious indoctrination (creationism and “intelligent design”). Private religious school system.
Liberals: Leave religious teachings to parents and sunday school.
-Women-
Al Qaida/Taliban: No school, must cover entire body, no rights
American Religious Right: Government control over reproductive freedoms, hostility to Title IX, hostility to working women
Liberals: Equality of the sexes
-Religious Freedom-
Al Qaida/Taliban: ‘Think like us, or we’ll whip you and/or chop off your head’
American Religious Right: ‘Think like us, or we’ll condemn you to hell’
Liberals: To each her own’
‘-Homosexuality-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Eradicate them from society
American Religious Right: Eradicate them from society
Liberals: Equality under the law
-Torture-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Torture them or chop off their heads
American Religious Right: Torture them or homosexually rape them.
Liberals: No torture
-Medicine and Science-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Faith-based world view
American Religious Right: Faith-based world view
Liberals: Reality-based community
-Foreign Policy-
Al Qaida/Taliban: World domination - do it our way or we attack
American Religious Right: World domination - do it our way or we attack
Liberals: Peace and international cooperation
-Executing Minors-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Executing Minors OK
American Religious Right: Executing Minors OK
Liberals: Find this to be a barbaric and embarrassing practice
-Pop Culture-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Hate it… kill it
American Religious Right: Hate it… ban it
Liberals: Laugh at it… boycott it*
-Self-image-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Belief in their own infallibility
American Religious Right: Belief in their own infallibility
Liberals: Willingness to consider other viewpoints*
-God-
Al Qaida/Taliban: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
American Religious Right: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
Liberals: God may or may not exist and will not help us kill anyone
-Stem Cell Research-
Al Qaida/Taliban: No Stem cell research
American Religious Right: No Stem cell research
Liberals: Stem cell research
-Leaders-
Al Qaida/Taliban: God choose Osama Bin Laden to defeat the Great Satan
American Religious Right: God choose George W. Bush to lead us
Liberals: God didn’t choose anyone
-Use of Force-
Al Qaida/Taliban: As a means of propagating a world view
American Religious Right: As a means of propagating a world view
Liberals: As a last resort
-Bush’s War in Iraq-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Love it!
American Religious Right: Love it!
Liberals: It’s a disaster
-Press-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Control of the Press
American Religious Right: Manipulation of the Press
Liberals: Freedom of the Press
-Free Speech-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Anyone who disagrees with us is an infidel and must be silenced
American Religious Right: Anyone who disagrees with us is a traitor and must be silenced
Liberals: Anyone who disagrees with us is in for a spirited discussion
-Individuals-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Conform or else
American Religious Right: Conform or else
Liberals: Embrace diversity
-Cooperation-
Al Qaida/Taliban: You’re either with us or against us
American Religious Right: You’re either with us or against us
Liberals: We’re all in this together
-Tolerance-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Death to the infidels
American Religious Right: Kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity
Liberals: Live and let live
-Conscience-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Obedience to authority
American Religious Right: Obedience to authority
Liberals: Critical reflection
-Origins-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
American Religious Right: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
Liberals: The Universe began as we know it at least 14 billion years ago, maybe more
-Leaders-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders
American Religious Right: Subservient to will of its leaders
Liberals: Will served by Representative government
-Fear-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
American Religious Right: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
Liberals: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in accepting that respect for our fellow man and the individual choices he/she makes is eminently moral
-Women-
Al Qaida/Taliban: A woman’s place is in the home
American Religious Right: A woman’s place is in the home
Liberals: A woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be
-Marriage-
Al Qaida/Taliban: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
American Religious Right: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
Liberals: Marriage is between any two people who love each other
‘On the TV, there have been all these commercials of women shaving their armpits in the shower, talking about the Dove 7 day test. Dove’s new deodorant claims that because it’s 1/4 moisturizer, it makes your armpits feel and look nicer after shaving. After seeing these commercials, I thought to myself “WTF? What would I ADD moisture there, if I use an anti-persperant so I don’t smell bad?” So, a few weeks later, my regular deodorant ran out. I was at the store looking at my normal stuff (Secret), then I noticed the Dove stuff nearby. The Dove product was significantly cheaper, so I said “What the hell.” and bought some. I’m on day 6 of my own little 7-day test, and so far, I LOVE it. My underarms look better, feel better, and smell just as nice as my other stuff. Any woman who don’t like armpits (namely her own) should seriously try this stuff. I keep getting consistently surprised by the quality of Dove products. I’ve used Dove soap for ages, but I also recently switched from Pantene to Dove shampoo and conditioner. I have to fight the temptation to go buy everything they make. I will have to check into some leg lotion though. If my legs felt as nice as my armpits do now, I’d buy stock.
Benjamin Jeffery Carpenter, born July 1, 2005 at 6:39PM.
He is 21 inches long and weighs 8lbs, 15oz.
He has steely-blue eyes and dark brown curly hair. Mom and Dad are both doing fine, and Munchie has met his brother for the first time. Benjamin is a very calm baby, only crying for his footprints and his first bath. They’re keeping Christine overnight tonight and hopefully tomorrow night. I’ll be going back in for some more photos tomorrow, to add to the 100 I got tonight. I have put up only 10 photos on my page for you to see him (poopy connection tonight), but there will be more later. Baby Benjamin Photos Here
