Picture Whore Goodness

And since I haven't posted any pictures (anywhere) of Tori recently...

Siggy Banners!

Because I'm bored...some banners I've created recently!


I loved this cynical kitty, and so I saved the pic after I found it. Then, I thought of this quote for it and created a background. I likee.


My sister and I used to have matching shirts with this phrase above a picture of Mr. Potato Head. When I saw this pic, it made me think of that...so I had to do it.


A pic from one of my favorite anime, Pretear. The girl is Himeno, the main character, and the guy is Hayate, the love interest (obviously). I loved this picture (the full image is a wallpaper).


I wanted to put the word 'Deadly' on this photo without it being too intruding. I think the barely-there aspect of the word worked out extremely well.


I've had the phrase in my signature on Moonwings forever, and I decided to make it an image to use to link to my blog, instead of just text. I started looking for photos of a cat or kitten with its paw over its mouth, and this was the only such picture I found while searching. I cropped the picture and made the background.


My favorite anime ever...Witch Hunter Robin...Robin is a witch whose power is to create and manipulate fire. She wears glasses to help her focus while using her power.

Duh-na-nah-na Duh-na-nah-na BATMAN!

<.<

^.^

>.>

V.V

Nobody saw that, right? Okay. Didn't think so...

So Micah (<3) and I went to see 'Batman Begins' last night. It was really good. Coincidentally, his sister, Rita, and her boyfriend, Josh, also showed up (we had no clue that they'd be there). Micah held my hand for almost the whole movie and that was nice. He didn't even laugh at me when I'd jump at something scary/sudden. Over all, though, I thought it was the best Batman movie I'd seen, although I've not seen the first 'Batman' movie. Actually, I think the only one I've seen all the way through is the one with Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. However, I really liked the movie.

We're doing interviews for a position in my office today. Reggie, the big boss, wants all the Sr. Administrative Assistants to meet with the candidates for awhile, after their search committee interviews. It will definitely be interesting. Anywho...gotta run for the first meeting...more later! <3

Random Quote: "In God we trust. All others must pay cash."

My Kitties!

Because I'm bored...a very lovely picture of my two furry children.

Spell Cheque!

Did you know, that, when used by the blissfully ignorant (and those who cannot or choose not to spell correctly or reasonably correctly) spell check can become a weapon of mass...irritation? Yes, folks, it's true, as my test newbie for staff training is proving, spell check can often be more of a hindrance than a help. Take, for example, her mispelling of the word 'you' as 'yoo'. The spell check at MW likes to suggest 'wye' for this. Of course...Tattlinewb likes to just pick a suggestion at random. So now, besides the mispellings that previously made her posts hard to read (of course, sounding words out worked just fine!) you can't even begin to figure out what she was trying to say because the spell check has messed it up! Yay!

Sorry...I just had to gloat!

In other news...there is more news!

Okay, I lied. My life has been extremely boring lately. I promise, however, to post a larger update soon. Either later today or tomorrow. ...

Staff Training...

Well, I've been playing a newbie for the staff training at Moonwings, the forum I'm a moderator at. It has been fun, and we're gearing up for our second week of training, which should start today. Last week, we newbs managed to divide and conquer, since the trainees lacked some very necessary communications skills. It was loads of fun. This week will be a little different, since we have someone who has been through staff training before doing the training again. So, I need your help. If you see any good topics for debate, discussion, or just plain silliness, let me know! If you have any other ideas for evil goodness, let me know those, too! <3

Kittens?

I was amused...the little guys in the background are Domokuns, a rather popular Japanese video game (I think...) character.

Reasonable Doubt?

So I went to court for my ticket yesterday. Let me just say, I hate small town judges who are all buddy-buddy with the police officers. The cop who gave me the ticket (who also swore, in court, that my navy blue Neon was 'a lighter green, not very dark') spent ten minutes in the courtroom with the judge before I was called in. Then, after everything was done, the judge said that if I'd raised the issue that the officer didn't have me in sight the entire time he was supposedly following me (a whopping 5 miles, at least, according to officer Caudill) it would have given 'reasonable doubt' that it wasn't my vehicle that he'd originally clocked at 77 in a 60. However, since I didn't bring it up (and neither, for that matter, did the prosecutor, so I feel they didn't prove it) it didn't affect his decision and he found me guilty anyway. What a crock of shit. Some more interesting facts:

The officer followed me for over 5 miles, to 'see how fast [I] would go', and tailgated me half of that time.

He did not verify that I was in fact me when he pulled me over (that is, he did not ask me to verify my name with the name on my license).

He did not verify that I was wearing corrective lenses, which is listed as a restriction on my license.

He swears the car he pulled me over in was 'a light green, not very dark'.

He did not note my hair color or my license restrictions on the ticket.

He made sure I knew how easy it was to pay by mail when he pulled me over.

The judge decided he must have clocked me when I (allegedly, I don't remember a damn truck) pulled out to pass a truck (Hello? Aren't you supposed to speed up to get around people in a timely manner) that was doing 60. I had my cruise set at sixty five, and the judge assumes I would have sped up to at least 'ten miles faster than the other vehicle' and that my 'speedometer might be a few miles off' so I was probably doing at least '75' so, instead of finding me guilty of 75 in a 60, which would have lowered the fine by at least $40, he found me guilty of 77 in a 60. But, might I note that his own calculations put my speed at 73, not 75 or even 77?

The judge told me that if I'd raised the doubt that he might not have had the vehicle he alleges was travelling so fast in sight the entire time, I would have won. If the judge had that doubt to begin with, and the prosecution didn't prove it, I don't have to disprove it, do I? Prosecution bears the burden of proof, not me. However, I could be wrong.

But I'm still pissed. I find small consolation in the fact that my fine of $166.50 couldn't possibly have covered the cost to get the county prosecutor to the courthouse and have the officer in question and his supervisor there as well for 2 hours.

...

Check out this article

12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull
Mother had shut son in basement to protect him from dog

The Associated Press
Updated: 2:40 p.m. ET June 13, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO - The mother of a 12-year-old boy killed in his own home by one of the family’s two pit bulls said she had been so concerned about one of the dogs that she shut her son in the basement to protect him.

Maureen Faibish said she ordered Nicholas to stay in the basement while she did errands on June 3, the day he was attacked by one or both of the dogs. She said she was worried about the male dog, Rex, who was acting possessive because the female, Ella, was in heat.

“I put him down there, with a shovel on the door,” Faibish told the San Francisco Chronicle. “And I told him: ‘Stay down there until I come back.’ Typical Nicky, he wouldn’t listen to me.”

Nicholas apparently found a way to open the basement door.

Faibish said she felt compelled to call the Chronicle Saturday to defend herself against widespread public outrage directed at families with children who own pit bulls.

“My kids got along great with (the dogs),” she told the newspaper. “We were never seeing any kind of violent tendencies.”

Some neighbors said the dogs were friendly and well-behaved, while others said the animals could also be mean, according to the newspaper.

Faibish found her son’s body in a bedroom. He was covered in blood from several wounds, including a major head injury. No charges have been filed.

“It’s Nicky’s time to go,” she said in the interview. “When you’re born you’re destined to go and this was his time.”

Ella was shot to death by a police officer the day of the attack. Rex was taken to a shelter, but Faibish said she wanted him put down.

“I think of Rex as someone who ... murdered my child,” she said.

(Emphasis mine)

Who the hell leaves their 12 year old alone with a dog they're worried is going to hurt him? And who locks their kid in the basement for hours? And blames the kid for his own death? Talk about stupid, negligent parenting. This woman is 100% responsible for the kid's death. She should have shut the DOGS in the basement, not the kid. Or taken him with her. Hello? What was she doing, visiting a whore house? If you have reason to believe that your child's safety is compromised by your pet, you need to get rid of the pet. Period.

I Remember

I can see you
In my mind’s eye
Standing there
Your head tilted just so
A mischievous half-smile
Playing at your lips
And lighting your eyes

I recall
The wonder in your eyes
As you first gazed
Upon your newborn niece
And watched as she took
Her first halting steps
Toward you

I remember
All the times
We screamed
And fought
And all the times
We giggled
In the darkness

I recall
The day you told me
You were engaged
I have never
Seen you happier
Or been happier
For you

I remember
The little things
And the big things
And all the things
You were to me
And all the things
You were to others

I can see you still
Even though
I’ll never
See you again.
My sister
My friend

I remember.

If I was more creative, this would be a title...

So this weekend was good, mostly. I got to see Micah (<3!) lots, and I saw my mom and I had Tori. Also, I got my house somewhat picked up. But eclipsing all of that was the disaster that befell on Saturday evening: I asked Scott to show me how to set up a network between my computers, and it wouldn't (read: it got very upset and made lots of loud noises and froze up) let me create a network without using the set-up wizard. Okay, fine, blah blah blah. "You must restart your computer for these changes to take effect". Okay. Restart teh computer. Except it never rebooted. It got as far as the little 'HP Invent' screen, and it all went to hell. Eventually (an hour later) it decided to tell me that I needed to reset the time/date in the BIOS. So I go into the System Utility to do that, and I'm flipping through the options, changing the time and the date, spittin' teddy grahams...er...preparing to exit, and I finish looking at the list, and the last item catches my eye: Hard Drive: [none]. WTF? This thing has a hard drive! It's right there! Except...it died. Dead, gone to the great beyond, passed on, deceased, pushing up daisies (or rather, it will be soon, unless someone wants it), no more, it is an ex-hard drive. I just spent a LOT of money on that goddamn hard drive, and it came with a thirty day warranty, but I've had it 33 days (as of today. This damn thing died on DAY 31!!!). Ah well. A friend has a lappy they've been trying to get rid of (for FREE), and hopefully the hard drives are interchangeable. Knowing my rotten luck, they aren't. Well, if they aren't, I'm going to be earning some extra money and I can hopefully purchase a new one.

Other than that, the weekend was pretty good. Tori was very well behaved mostly, and I got to see Micah lots (as mentioned above). We're starting a new WarCraft D20 game (sort of like D&D but with a different setting). He has been appropriately reminded of how lucky he is to have a gamer girlfriend. And he admits his luck. I'm such a lucky girl...I've got a wonderful guy. And that wonderful guy has wonderful parents who like me. ^.^

Not much else going on...Robbie's frustrating me (apparently, reminding him that if he doesn't have his schedule to me by 10 pm on Saturday I have the right to ask for set visitation is threatening him...yeah, I don't get it either) but there's nothing new about that. Staff training is over at Moonwings for a few days...we'll do it again next week. I get to be evil for a week, while pretending to be someone else. ^.^ Major funness!

Random Quote: "Some people say that I must be a terrible person, but it’s not true. I have the heart of a young boy in a jar on my desk" -Stephen King

Migraines Suck

Yes, folks, that's right. Migraines are teh suck. I had one last night, and maxed out my migraine pills (it started about 4, and I didn't have my pills here, so I took two - which is allowed - at 5 as soon as I got off, and then one each hour for another four hours, for a maximum of six in a 24 hour period) before I went to bed. And I woke up with it this morning, and I'm technically not supposed to take more, but I took one anyway because the Excedrin Migraine I took at 6:15 wasn't helping anymore (at 8:15 after I got to work) and now I'm all woozy and sleepy. My arms feel very heavy and all that. But the headache has retreated for now, although it is not completely gone and I'm still slightly motion sick if I get up and walk around or move my head too quickly. And I'm also slightly hyper. All in all, it's a rather nasty combination.

In other news, my friend had her twins. A boy and a girl and cute as buttons, I'm sure, though I haven't seen them yet. I'm going to go visit after work today, and then I'm going to take her two older boys to the pool for an hour or two. Should be fun... Of course, it could be the stupidest thing I've done in a long while.

Mysterious Credit Card Update

Well, I received the first set of statements for the mystery card yesterday. Apparently, the card was closed because the membership fee was not paid in 2003. However, that's all the information I got. I'm curious to see if they're going to send me a copy of the original application. Hopefully, the 2001 and 2002 statements will arrive today.

How Lonely

So lonely, missing you each day I pray if only
For a moment I could see your smiling face
You'd take away this emptiness inside of me
But I'll be strong until we meet.
I miss you, long to hear you laugh again
To kiss you, let you know that life begins
When I'm by your side, holding you tight.
You give me strength to brave it all
Faith and hope when darkness starts to fall.

When the wind blows cold and threatening
Nobody's there to comfort me.
Someone somewhere hear my pleas.
Until then please let me know how long till
I hear your heart singing that sweet song.
Will I be there to sing along in harmony
Just you and me?
The music stops when you're not here
But my heart sings until you're near to me.

Oh can you even hear my cries
That call your name beneath the stars tonight?

When the wind blows cold and threatening
Nobody's there to comfort me.
Somehow, someone hear my pleas.
Until then I hope you know I need you
To chase away the clouds so I can see you.
And run through fields of flowers
Like we used to do, just we two.
Hold onto the memories until that day
I'm holding you again.

Goodnight my friend, goodnight.

Identity Theft IS a Crime!

That's right. Finally, something in Kansas is a crime! OMG.

Okay. To be serious...I ran a credit check on myself out of boredom last week, and guess what I found? I apparently have four credit cards. One is mine. One is my credit account with HP. One is the one I had with Robbie. The other, opened one short month after my 18th birthday, is the reason I have such a poor credit rating. Unfortunately, I have no memory of ever having a credit card before Robbie and I got our card - when I was 20! I especially do not remember missing at least three payments on that card before they closed it (due to returned mail) in December of 2003. Yes, folks, that's right: my identity was stolen. Yes, you say, but by whom? Well, that is the mystery of the situation. Friday I called the company (before the babysitter called and my weekend went to hell in a handbasket) and they are now sending me all the statements from the mystery account. I found out it was billed to my previous home address, but it was not billed to my mailing address. Very interesting, no?

An Apology...

...to all my devoted readers (both of you) for not updating recently. I have, unfortunately, had the weekend from hell.

My weekend started as most weekends do: on Friday, with me looking forward to 5 (except I was getting off at 4). I was planning to attend my cousin's graduation in Minnesota, and Mom wanted to leave at about 5. At 2:30, the sitter called. Tori, she says, has a fever. 102.3. She's asleep, when do I want to come get her? Umm...no way can I leave before 4, so I call Mom. She can get Tori at 3:30 and she'll meet me for the 4 pm doctor's appt. So we go to the doctor. Tori's kitty is rather wet, as is her shirt and shorts. Apparently, Mom had just got her settled in the exam room when she puked all over. About ten minutes after I show up, she pukes again. The doctor sees her and she has stomach flu. Scratch one trip to Minnesota. She threw up on and off all night. And woke up fussing once. I think I got about two hours of sleep. Saturday, she woke up and puked some more. She finally started feeling better after her nap, about 6:30 on Saturday. At this point, I've had no sleep (I tried to nap with her, but I got twelve (yes, twelve!) telemarketer calls in two point five hours. And I couldn't find the portable phone to turn the ringer off, so every time it rang it woke me up (it was, apparently, under the bath tub, and no, I don't know how it got there). I also had two wrong numbers and one correct number on my cell phone, but they'd dialed me on accident and didn't actually want to talk to me. u.u;; I was, in short, in a rather gritchy mood.

And from there, the weekend got worse. Sunday sucked. Tori still wasn't feeling the greatest, although she was better, thank heavens. She wanted nothing more than to argue and scream at me. Monday we spent mostly at my mom's. We borrowed the van to bring some stuff from my house back to Mom's, and the battery was dead. So we jumped it, drove around for 20 minutes or so, and loaded up my stuff. I get Tori buckled in, and the damn thing's dead again! I was not a happy person. So I call Micah, who is still in bed, and tell him to go back to sleep, never mind. I ended up calling AAA, and their guy took over 30 minutes to get there, all of which were spent with Tori throwing a fit and wanting to go back to Grandma's. She finally took a nap while I did laundry and cleaned out my storage-type-room in the basement and put everything back so the door closes.

At least yesterday was better. I only ended up staying an extra two hours at work, instead of the four I was expecting, and Bob told me the only other time they think they'll want me there is next Friday for the trip. Maybe, with that. Also, I got a raise, effective today. ^.^ Of a whopping .$25. But hey, it's a raise, right? And it will help (very very slightly) to offset the whopping pay cut I'm going to take in August when I go back to school. w00t!