Book of Lost Things

I just finished a lovely book, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It was a great book with much taken from myths, folklore, and fairy tales. I have to admit that the ending was my favorite part. I won't share it, but will tell you that it has elements of well dressed talking animals [one of my bigger fears]; twisted fairy tales that end not quite like you expect yet the tales all end in some way that you some how did expect; the ending is sad and yet you smile by the shear happiness of it all. I recommend it indeed. On that note, I also think that @ibificus, @Emmet, and @FrankieP would rather enjoy it. First, well dressed talking animals. Second, great imagery for the mind that I think the likes of those fellas would appreciate. Third, it's twisted, and those three seem to like that which is twisted [or I assume since that what I gather from Twitter]!

WHERE AM I?

I am a North American city in the Rocky Mountains.

I am a stylish ski resort for the rich and famous.

I was once a rich silver mining center.

I am in Colorado.

I am located on the Roaring Fork River.

I share my name with a variety of tree.

I am the site of a music festival each summer.

John Denver moved here in the 1970s.

[Not quite so easy today]

WORD

passel: a large number or amount. [This word is similar to the words cuss and bust with respect that it comes from a "linguistic idiosyncrasy" where there is a loss of sound of "r" after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word. curse-cuss; burst-bust]

Nightmares...Again

I’ve been having nightmares again. They seemed to lessen for a period of time for a couple months at most, but a couple of months is far greater than you can imagine when it comes to impeding my sleep. They are back and I don't know why. Stress? Lowered immune system? Actual fear? I just can't figure it out. Here are some of the details, perhaps you have some insight.

Often times my nightmare consists of me looking for something. After awaking, I rarely remember what it was that I looked for...I just know that in my dream I am looking for something. In this process I walk into rooms and become startled. Take a moment to follow this thought with me...you walk into a room that you think is empty and suddenly realize someone is in the room; or similarly let's say you have a large doll/mannequin/masks/human-sized-cardboard-cutout...sometimes you might catch this out of the corner of your eye and it startles you because you think someone is there for the briefest of moments. Whatever the case may be, it is momentarily frightening, causing your heart to feel as though it's pounding in your throat along with the confusion that comes along that causes you to glance back every now and again to be sure! In my dreams, while searching, I will catch something out of the corner of my eye. My heart races and I am consumed with fear but when I glance over to see who or what is there, it usually turns out to be a mask. There are several masks I see over and over again, though my mind has seen many in dream form. I can only show you one of the masks by photo but the others may be mere figments of my imagination as I can’t recall where I would have seen them in the real world (one appearing to be a human face simply peeled away from the body and limply laying right side out; the other is a very fine porcelain mask with feminine features but painted in a sparkly blue paint. Think pretty Blue Man Group with cats eyes. It ties in the back with light pink satin ribbon).

Last night’s dreams were much different than my typical. There were two distinct dreams I awoke from startled. The first that I can’t quite recall much about had to do with my teeth. My teeth had been wired shut and the moment I took the wiring off, my teeth cracked and fell out. While very little was left in my gums, what remained were shards of bony tooth that cut the inside of my mouth.

The second of dreams I had was about water, one of my biggest fears. I was in charge of getting a ’63 split back Corvette (black and white with smooth dark grey interior…so nice I could have licked it if it were real) overseas. As part of the transport, I was to follow the shipping container that contained the most beautiful car known to man. As it goes, I was on a ship outside of the cabin. The sea was rough and I didn’t have a life preserver. I was holding onto a post for dear life as the ship rocked to and fro with water splashing all around. The water was a dark green that couldn’t be seen into, and the last memory of that dream I have is being startled awake as the ship tipped over to its side. When I awoke my hands were cold and clinched so tightly into fists that my fingernails had dug into the flesh of my palms.

[As a side note, I want to send many thanks to Drew for making a donation to my 5k! Awesome support! Thanks so much baby bro, you rock, and I still have your birthday present in my backpack!] [Also, if you are wondering, donations can still be made]

I Always Say Too Much!

Okay, I have an agenda of topics, so pardon my "bulleting"...I've had a magners, some chocolate, and a long effing week...buckle in and hold on to your britches!

ONE...I've decided to be Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween. I'd love to have the whole berry gang too, so if you feel compelled to dress up, and if you feel compelled to hang out with me [for plans yet undecided], then please, by all means, pick one of the gang and dress up with me! I plan on making my costume, but if I fall short on time I'll be dressing up in a premade sleazy Shortcake costume. Mike, you'd make a cute Huckleberry Pie. If we were talking in person I'd use my smirk to charm you into to it! ;)

TWO...this story was boring, I deleted it...I will assume you are grateful. Please save your thanks for later! [Had to do with me using power tools is all]

THREE...I was going to complain about going to the girly doctor. I even had it all written out. But, then I felt like it revealed too much medical information that I shouldn't share. I will assume you are grateful. Please save your thanks for later!

FOUR...So yesterday I got home from a really long day of work. I walk in to find out that my beautiful bully Bella was grey. You may not see the alarm in this, but you should know that she is a white furred doggie....covered in ashes from rolling in the burn pile. To say the least, I was not pleased, but this did mean that she and I had to shower together [the only real productive way to bathe a dog]. Here are some snapshots!

the bait	the beast	smile!

FIVE...Just a few things to some people who may or may not read any of this...Shane posted on Facebook today, he IS alive, I am completely elated with this knowledge, I hope to hear more! I am hoping @ibificus is enjoying his Friday that is leading to a hangover for Saturday...which is sure to be "impressive". Those boys in Ireland worry me sometimes! Speaking of boys in Ireland, another I'm sure I should worry about is @FrankieP. If there were ever a human that enjoyed scaring themselves, it would be him. I could see him dressing up in frightening costumes and then jumping in front of the mirror for the simple pleasure of the heart racing fright he might get! He inspired a nightmare I had about a masked person. To @sheehanpaul, I hope you are enjoying your trip to the west coast of the US. You inspired a dream I had about a Tommy Gun [see nightmare link above]! To my sis Holly, I've not heard from you in days. Yes I am aware I should sign into MySpace more often, the phone works both ways, etc; anyway I hope you are well. Becky, I got the invite, I plan on attending the shower. Brandy, I got the invite, I plan on attending the party. Mike C., your birthday is approaching, what would you like to do? Kelly G., your birthday is approaching, I have some gift ideas! Kelly P.-F., we need to get together sometime for tea, popcorn, and board games!

Phew, that was a lot...now, your words...
peep this: similar to "check this out".
anysexual: One whose sexual preference is not limited to man or woman or both. Targets include dinosaurs, rocks, fish, plankton, and balloons. To see an anysexual, please peep this!

Your Mask Gave Me A Nightmare!

Today's foot wear of choice...

Yippee Kay Ya

So last night I had a dream that involved three things. Riley in an aquarium, me shooting a Tommy gun, and masks. I don't know if these were separate dreams or one congealed blob of blur that had me waking in a sweaty panic, but this is how it goes...

I'm at some type of public aquarium, were turtles and schools of fish are on display. There is a pool with a hip height railing around it so that viewers may stand and look down into the clear open water. The far wall was a giant glass tank with much larger creatures, one of which was a squid. For some reason I had Riley with me. While I was preoccupied with trying to keep a turtle from eating my bare toes [why was I without shoes?], Riley jumped into the water, started swimming around and ducking his head into the water trying to eat the schools of fish! Once I was able to get him out of the water, we went to dry off and that is when I learned we both had the flu. Yep, that's right, me and Riley had the flu!

While Riley and I are "quarantined" in an old abandoned office space [that just happened to have old drafting tables set up in a classroom type setting], I found an old Tommy gun inside a desk. Having always wanted to fire one to hear the onomatopoeic "tat-tat-tat", I recovered it from its hiding spot, loaded her up, and took aim at a wall opposite me. I shot right through the wall and freed myself and Riley from our "prison". The movements in this segment were exaggerated and larger than life, much like films portraying the Prohibition era [imagine Bonnie and Clyde hanging out an old Ford V-8 firing away behind them in an erratic chase]!

At this point it gets sketchy. I don't know if I was in the Australian outback where I presume my subconscious led me or if I was just in an arid and dusty plains somewhere in the middle of the US. In any case I was now alone. In fact it seemed to me as if having Riley with me was a dream [a dream within a dream?].

I skulked along peering around boulders and patches of tall grasses having the feeling of being chased by something. I knew I had to get out of this location but I didn't know where to go. After what seemed like countless hours I peered around a boulder to see a man wearing a mask. It was in fact THIS MASK [thanks to @FrankieP, it is in fact him in that creepy mask]. The entire time this was happening, I felt as if I carried knowledge of something very secretive. The masked person was after me. I only got as close as 50 feet before I startled myself upright in bed with a sheeny dew of perspiration to sheathe my face and neck.

I've told you before, and I will tell you again, I have mask and painted-face-aphobia! Does it to me every time!

I have reasons why I think I dreamed all of this, and perhaps later I can elaborate, but for now, work beckons [in its bastardy whiny voice]!

Word...
pancake:

1. To end a relationship suddenly.
2. To get dumped by someone and remain clueless to the reason.

Quotes, Stories, and Other Things

Some quotes and stories, perhaps for your amusement!

• "Well, if you take that away, it's gone"-nameless engineer
  [Really?]

• Person 1: "...decontam?"
  Person 2: "Deacon Dam? What's this?"
  Person 1: "No no, DEE-CON-TAM..."
  Person 1: "Hmm, Deacon Dam, I don't know where this is."

• One fine summer day, Eva and I ate lunch at a place called Johnny Rocket's [or something of the sort], where they have really cool jukeboxes sitting on every table. Place a nickel in and choose a lovely 50's-60's genre tune with lunch!
  
  As it always goes with the two of us together, a small child was drawn to our power. [It happens often that children are drawn to staring at us, creeping over seats or under tables to look closer, have a chat, or even steal some food. We've grown accustomed to this behavior, so this incident here was no big deal]. A small boy, maybe 3-4 years old decided he wanted to play music. Of all the tables in the diner, empty or not, the boy chose to venture towards us with his nickel. He braced himself against our table doing a slight heaving motion to reach the box. He was literally hovering over our food and drinks struggling with all his might to get to play a song. His mother finally notices and gathers him up with much effort. He was determined to play a song, and not on any jukebox, our jukebox! I do not recall if he ever got to play a tune!

• Eva and I were eating dinner at a lovely place called Noodles & Co. one fine afternoon before catching the English Beat show. As we are minding our own business having a conversation Eva notices a small child creeping ever closer to us. We both began doing the side glances by the time he was sitting next to us staring. I turned to say hello to find the boy, Damien, very chatty. It didn't take any time to jump onto the "oddity" boat by asking me, "why is your head so small?", to which I could only laugh and cry a little!

• "..For the rest of us who generally live vicariously through the interactions of our 72 dpi avatars..." -@FrankieP

• "Gramma was hot....but that baby...uh, well not so much" -Amanda

• ...the past few years I had to tone down because of sexual harassment issues, but I used to be the kind of guy that would flirt with every female I worked with except for one. One day she called me on it and said that she'd use the excuse 'not my type' except usually 'not my type' means I think the husband looks like the kind of guy that would shoot a naked guy in the back if he saw him running away..." -anon

• "Yesterday we were talking about MPR calculations for a person taking a drug therapy. Basically its to measure a person’s adherence to their medication. Well the calculation is a rolling calc and is constantly moving.
  
  So we were talking about the Depression Medication Adherence and how the calculation is always moving. So Bobby is trying to explain how “the window for it is always moving”; Pete looks at me and says “that’s so they can’t jump out of it!”...-anon
  

• In reference to my loading diagram plans..."your work is pretty, but it tells me absolutely nothing" -Jim [thanks buddy, gave me a good laugh]

• A doodle...

--------
word...
Dirty Third: A synonym for the Dirty South; derived from the terms "Dirty South" and "Third Coast".

SheepDay

Today is going to be about sheep! It's going to be about sheep because I like sheep! It's also going to be about sheep in an effort to keep my mouth shut about other things! Grrr kind of things! I do however have a quick question before I move on...is there a word to define eavesdropping with the eyes? And by this I do not mean "to spy"...so, what is the word? If there isn't one, I'll be making one up!

Sheep video by people I do not know, except two of them are twitter cohorts @ibificus and @frankiep


A picture from the lovely Kelly Schmickle


This is a sheep at my desk!


A party sheep from Skweak


A picture of a picture of Irish Sheepeses


[Added later in day]
My dream job listed on sheet of paper I was doodling on while my boss was at my desk!



Words...
paper stack: Money
go Huxtable: To settle down, find a good job, and start a family.

...A Continuation...

...to finish where I left off yesterday, poor Dave and Eric are trying to figure out who would change the locks while they were both away and also clean the backyard. Come to find out, there was a house down the street that had been foreclosed. The bank sent someone out to change the locks on the house and clean the debris from the backyard. Mistakenly, they got the wrong house. I find that stories like these only happen to people I know some how.

SO, what is your crazy story??!!??

Also, Kelly's mom, the lovely Ms. Tina Fisher, is totally up on her evil paybacks by knowing what an upper-decker happens to be. So for those of you that do not know, an upper-decker is when someone takes the lid off the tank of the toilet, does their business (a nasty number two), and puts the lid back! It's weird and evil!

Today was a long rough day of meetings that resulted in yet more bad note taking!



Favor time, I have a social media acquaintance, that for the purpose of this blog I am claiming as a friend, who has a poll on his site. It's a simple single question that I hope you will take the 30 seconds to go answer. It does me a favor and it does him a favor, and he is good people! So, go here, and thank you! If you have already done so, thank you so very much for being awesome!

Now, lastly I want to say thank you to Steph(aka Ironstef), Amanda, Mike C., Sharline, and Tina F. It is very rewarding when people comment on things I have written. It means you read! So thanks for checking my stuff out, I check your stuff out too! [Ed. Note, that sounds wrong...]

I'll have to give you today's word tomorrow!

Twitter Tea

So today is going fairly well! I rode my bike into work (rather to the bus stop); I've been getting loads done; my mania is a bit less severe today; and the best part of my day so far . . . I got to join in for Twitter Tea!

So for those of you that are unaware, I am on Twitter. It's a sort of micro-blogging/status feed that a whole lot of people are doing. I have an acquaintance on Twitter that (seems to me randomly) has Twitter Tea Time! Those involved talk to each other with hash tags and @replies [both twitter things]. We post pictures of us and our tea. It's a real great time. My favorite tweet to me was this one from @FrankieP: @stephysite I'm horrified at how you have to make your #TwitterTea

My favorite pic is this one! Must be some GREAT tea Allan!


Yea, so thanks to the following people for allowing me to join in today! Can't wait to join in again! @FrankieP @jamesgallagher @DaveJ @eolai @AllanCavanagh @CormacMoylan

A quick happy birthday to Skweak!

Word...
cash and prizes: Your junk, privates, twig and berries.

Another Word For the Book

Another word for the Special Stephy Dictionary...

probbortunist: It's not a problem, it's an...
[via @FrankieP on Twitter]