I've started posting pictures of our trip on my flickr.com account. I've got about one day's worth up now. They are all loaded onto my computer, but it takes awhile to label and upload them to the web. Keep checking back.

Molly and I are heading to a concert tonight: Loreena McKennitt!!! We are very excited! If you haven't heard any of her music, do listen to some! I recommend The Mask and the Mirror and The Book of Secrets (esp. "The Mummer's Dance") for starters!


"You should respect other religions... the essence of all religions is basically the same: to achieve a true sense of brotherhood, a good heart, respect for others. If we can develop these qualities from within our heart, then I think we can actually achieve true peace." -- Dalai Lama

Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)

Your home is a Futuristic Wizard's Mansion Your kitchen is manned by a team of Keebler Drow Elves. There's a Chocolatessen, which is rapidly becoming your favorite room of the house. Having one is also becoming a trend among your wealthy neighbors. Your master bedroom is decorated to look like the treetop village of the Galadhrim. Your study has every fantasy novel ever written, including multiple editions of the Silmarillion and advance copies of Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. One of your garages contains a life-sized X-Wing fighter, and KITT. (KITT was a gift from a well-meaning uncle.) Your home also includes a roost for griffons. You've never actually seen a griffon, but you keep the roost ready anyway. Your guests enjoy your home theater with hi-def plasma screen TV, and the thrones you watch it from. Outside is the moat that protects your home from goblin invaders and extended family. And, you have a pet -- a unicorn named "Shadowhooves". Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream Home!

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken. — Thomas Wolfe

All human life has its seasons, and no one's personal chaos can be permanent. Winter, after all, does not last forever, does it? There is summer, too, and spring, though sometimes when branches stay dark and the earth cracks with ice, one thinks they will never come, that spring, that summer, but they do, and always. — Truman Capote

"How do you want to spend your life? Would you like to be adored by the masses or known by your children? Because you can't really do both." Rosie O'Donnell

We're are back from our trip around Lake Erie, camping in Ontario. I will post pictures and an account of the trip later, but tonight we are tired and trying to wade through email and such. Maybe tomorrow. So much to say, so little energy!

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're
actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd
be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

You Are Romanticism

You are likely to see the world as it should be, not as it is. You prefer to celebrate the great things people do... not the horrors they're capable of. For you, there is nothing more inspiring than a great hero. You believe that great art reflects the artist's imagination and true ideals.

Thanks for your kind comments about the tree. The worst part now is knowing that there isn't anything I can do to bring it back. Plus I feel bad for being angry with the office staff at the rental office when we went to ask WHY?

The ash trees around here were taken down because of the emerald ash borer infestation. There was no good reason to take down this tree. The rental office emphasized that it is the owner's property and he can do what he wants with it. They might notice if we planted a new tree (or put dog doo on their doorstep). Sigh . . .

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 10% Conservative, 90% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Well, I found out yesterday that I didn't get a job I applied for on campus, primarily because one person in the administration didn't want me to have it. The staff people where I would be working all wanted me, but another candidate was chosen over their preference. To add insult to injury, the announcement about who was getting the position was emailed out before I had heard anything from anyone about not getting the position. I got a hasty form email after I made a little noise about that. GRRRR. . .

Plus then I got a bunch of crud from my insurance company (provided by the school). Now that they are finally looking at my claims instead of vaguely requesting information and looking like illiterate morons, they are paying minimally. Turns out instead of me paying my deductible and them paying the rest, they pay their maximum benefits of $25,000 and I am left with the rest, which is so far over $80,000, which I obviously don't have. Which is partially why I was applying for the full time job on campus -- so I could stay in school part time and get a semi-living wage in a job I KNOW I would do great in. Now I am not sure what to do. My medical bills are so huge. Fortunately the largest bills, the hospital bills, are covered under a program called HCAP, where the hospital will write off 100% of what my stupid insurance won't cover. That is some relief. But what kind of insurance is it that only covers up to $25,000???? Who has little catastrophic illnesses? Now I am having catastrophic medical bills! I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll have to drop out of school and work full time to try to pay the bills. Then student loans come due. They've already been rustling at my door because I wasn't enrolled this semester, so I had to do MORE paperwork to show I wasn't having any income while I was in the hospital and recovering and that I plan to re-enroll in the fall. GRRRR . . . The job on campus would have been great, because I could have still taken 1-2 courses a semester (one of which would have been free) as part of the benefits of the job. But someone got it in his head that I needed to concentrate on my degree and academics instead of survival or, golly gee, knowing my own mind and life, and decided despite all evidence to the contrary that I shouldn't have this job.

I am so tired of having to call the insurance, call the student loans, call the medical billers, etc. It is never ending and frustrating. Now I have to go back to work as a student employee and have my new supervisor be the one who got the job instead of me. Slap on a brave face.

Anyway, sorry for the rant . . . not much else I can do.

Blech! GRRRRR!!!!!