Apartment deck

My new apartment deck, posted directly from my camera phone.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I just signed up for the Flickr photo service. This is a picture from the summer when Bob and I climbed up to Camp Muir. I can finally post my own pictures to this site. Cool. Here is a link to the picture.

We had the last chapter test tonight and I think that I did well. I didn't have to guess on many at all, and I was able to fill in all the extra credit questions. Now we have the final cumulative test on Monday... and that is it. How many days has it rained lately? I think the answer would be "every".

I have two more tests left; Thursday and Monday. It was bad enough that I had the race a week and a half ago before a test and all the moving stuff also, but this coming weekend there is the motorcycle show.

... mmust ... study....

Damn. Bright, shiny, new motorcycles.

Ok, I'm back online. I have my new Qwest phone service and all my stuff is in the apartment. Whew. What a weekend. I bettered my half marathon time by a little and I got an 84 on the test Monday. We got to cut open a cow's eye on Tuesday. Don't underestimate the toughness of the sclera. It looks as though I am pretty much where I need to be in the course. I hope so because I'm signed up for the second course in the series for next quarter. It will be so much easier now that I live so close to school. And everyone is so happy that I have a focus. How many people are so concerned out there? It makes me wonder how I seem from the outside. Just a thought. Oh yeah, now I can google what Mt. St. Helens is doing, (you can see here) because that is currently a popular question in New England, and I can look for a Red Sox World Series hat. It still seems strange to type that. I want this one too.

The Space Needle has its hat on, just as Poets Seat Tower I'm sure has it's own. Is there a Christmas tree in the Connecticut River this year, or am I going back too many years? Later.

I just checked the weather radar and it looks as though the latest shower has passed. I'm going to hook up the trailer this morning and take it with me to the Saturday morning run. After Larry's I'll unload it at the new apartment. I can't get the new hard drive CD to install the driver I need to run the thing. I need to spend time with customer support. Tomorrow is the race. I think that I am better prepared than last year. I'm still studying for the test Monday. I have to take these three tasks sort if in bites. I hope that the bite tomorrow is faster than 1:35:00.

Here is a belated Thanksgiving message and another about the day after.

Not quite like Santa, Shiva has been to my house.

Happy Thanksgiving. I used up the whole morning drinking coffee and going through the newspaper. I finally got a lot of sleep. That always helps. I think that tomorrow morning, extremely early, I'm going to brave the crowds at Fry's in order to buy an external hard drive for the computer. They are running a one day sale on a 160GB drive station. The rest of the week will include moving to Bellevue, studying for the test Monday and running the half marathon on Sunday. I found out Thursday that Bally's has a pool. I get to use a free 10 day trial membership for moving into the apartment complex. The lure of finally getting back into the water may outweigh my thrifty impulses. My Thanksgiving includes me finishing off the pumpkin pie I bought last night and later I'll have some cranberry sauce. I'm thankful that I have my school, recreation-and-more options open for me. I wish you all the best.

Go and read this (I know it sounds incongruous) comic strip about cancer.

Read this and tell me whether Colin Powell is smoking crack, or drinking heavily, or whatever.

I found out last night that the questions on the comprehensive final exam will come from the questions from the previous exams. Now I know how to study for it.

Not much news this morning other than about me fretting over the test tonight and how I was able to run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I also got the bathroom and kitchen cleaned in preparation for my move in two weeks. I need a 3.0 in this course and I'm not exactly straight about what the midbrain, medulla and and the rest of the stuff in the brain stem does. And it looks as though today will be a wet one and I have a lot of properties to do. I hope that all of this works out some day.

This asshole thinks that he and his buddies can "restore morality to the population."

Today I signed the new lease and then went directly into the office here at Archstone and signed the notice to vacate, or whatever they call it. I could bring up all the bullshit about their defective carpet and their (in my opinion) less than honest manager but I think that I covered that ground well enough last year. I've just found out that we don't work the day after Thanksgiving and that is my get the key day, the apartment is ready day and now I have to move in day. I feel tired already. I have a little more time to move but I also need time to study for the test the coming week. I'll figure it all out.

To get to the new place I tried taking 405 from 520 to SE 8th to Lake Hills Connector but it took too long. 405 was backed up. They look like they are finishing up with their construction on 405 but I don't think the traffic will ever flow any better through Bellevue.

This will probably be one of my last words on this election. It appears that the vote might have been hacked. Not that I work on stuff like this, it is just that it doesn't need my attention like the time leading up to the election did. I have other things right now to pay attention to. If this is indeed true then there is a cancer out there that needs to be excised.

Paul Krugman:

"I don't hope for more and worse scandals and failures during Mr. Bush's second term, but I do expect them. The resurgence of Al Qaeda, the debacle in Iraq, the explosion of the budget deficit and the failure to create jobs weren't things that just happened to occur on Mr. Bush's watch. They were the consequences of bad policies made by people who let ideology trump reality."

Jane Smiley:

"The Republicans have sold their souls for power. Must everyone?"

Ellen Goodman:

"John F. Kerry was a Vietnam vet and the Swift-boat veterans wounded him anyway. John F. Kerry came out against gay marriage and got tarred with it anyway. He shot a goose and the NRA hated him anyway. He said life begins at conception and the Catholic Church came after him anyway. He could barely utter the L word and he got tagged as a "Massachusetts liberal." He won the debates and it didn't matter."

Ted Rall:

"A dictator had put himself up for 'reelection' and declared war on gays and pregnant teenagers. An Administration whose principals built concentration camps, lied us into two wars and fleeced the treasury to further enrich themselves and their campaign contributors is getting four more years rather than the forty to life they deserve. Florida 2000 became Ohio 2004, complete with its own Katherine Harris, discarded voter registrations and Jim Crow-style assaults on blacks. Most of all, the whole thing stunk."

The training run this morning from Seward Park took us on a twenty mile route, covering most of the Seattle marathon (minus the portion running through downtown). My previous furthest distance was fifteen miles. I held up all right but the last mile was hard on the soles of my feet. I should be ready for the half marathon at the end of the month.

After my application gets approved I'll be set to move into my new apartment in Bellevue at the end of the month. It will be a busy time because I think we have a test around that time and as I wrote above, that is the half marathon weekend. It isn't as nice as where I live now but I need a change and I need to be closer to school. There is no fitness center and I'll have to find another place for my trailer. Even though the apartment was under repair the agent showed it to me and right away I knew it would do. I look forward to settling in. No more long lines on 520 going into Redmond anymore. Woo hoo.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a writer, thus avoiding traffic, living anywhere and getting up in the morning only when your body wants to? That would be my version of the American dream. A house would be nice but to not have to get up at a vertain time for someone else would be absolute heaven.

A little bit of home. I can listen to streaming UMass radio on my computer. Saturday and Sunday mornings they play Polka. I know that Polka gets a bad rap but it is fun to listen to. Mom, when she remembered, liked to listen to the shows on the weekend mornings.

I have apartment news when I have more time to type. Right now I'm headed to Seward Park for a training run. Dzien dobry.

Tom Tomorrow's morning thoughts. Here is Boing Boing's concession thoughts. Good night.

Oh, and I almost forgot, that thing I wrote a few days ago about being good to each other, it still holds. I don't mean just nice. I mean good. Nice is polite. Good is what we really are.

What can I say? As Red Dirt Girl wrote, after everything and all the lies he still gets elected. I think that John Kerry would have made a good president, a real president, but the right wing in this country has many believing that liberals steal babies and knock over old women. Why don't we just open up the national treasury to his buddies now? The ballot didn't show that part.

Thank you Andrew Tanenbaum. You have done us a great service. And thanks for letting us in on the electoral-vote secret.

"The extent to which George Bush emerges the victor on Tuesday would be the extent to which his politics of fear has triumphed. Fear is a most powerful human motivator, far more powerful than reason, Kerry's chief weapon. But fear almost always trumps reason." Let's hope not.

Who benefits from this war?

This editorial by The New Yorker says it all. It is all there. I don't have to write about this anymore after reading this well written piece. What may come up here will be the election after-effects; the vote counting, the voting problems, intimidation and thinly veiled dishonesty. I was living in West Palm Beach in 2000. There were so many problems in so many counties for so many different reasons. Had all the people who had intended to vote for Gore had their votes counted, then it would not have gone to the Supreme Court. Gore would have won and history would have been different. But this is the line of probability we ride, not that other.

The neocons still think they are in power. It has shifted. I can feel it and the Bush campaign can feel it too. Yes I am originally from Massachusetts and yes I am astounded, relieved and awed by the Red Sox victory the other night. What does the Red Sox have to do with this? The neocons have been clawing their way to power and knocking anyone out of their way for years now. This zero sum mentality started with the secrecy surrounding the nuclear bomb and this fear and secrecy is now palpable in the Patriot Act. The communists were the Other then and now it is the terrorists. The way in which you view the world will to a certain degree dictate your options. The bleak fear mongering of Dick Cheney, for example, has colored our world as a sort of alternate version of what it could be. Yes there are dangers out there in the form of the hunted terrorists, but past their immediate and future dangers what have we let ourselves become? This is identity. Are we going to live in this alternate universe which, dark around the edges, forces us to think in zero sum, black and white, good and evil terms? Or will we work out another way for ourselves that involves much more light?

The Red Sox won, and better than any celestial sign it sort of elbowed me in the ribs to remind me that anything is possible. If you are not from New England then you'll have to believe me when I say that if the Red Sox can win a World Series then anything can happen. We needn't keep in this direction. Vote the bums out. Refute the neocon bullies and their dark, simple mentality of fear and empire. I don't want to live in that world anymore. If like them you are fixated on the other, then look at it this way: Will you allow them to dictate what kind of world you make? They don't make your world, you do. We all make our common world and I don't want any more of what has passed as the status quo. This is no way to live. Bring some light to your corner of the world. Share it with friends and send it further out. Y'all have a great weekend. Aum Peace Peace Peace.

I woke up to a world where the Red Sox won the world series. Anything is possible. I hope that would include me doing well on the test last night. I missed the series because of this and I've developed a nasty tension headache usually reserved for the most stressful times in my life. I hope that studying the next sections on the nervous system will not be done in futility. We'll find out next week how we did. Gotta go to work.

Mr. Dr. Instructor just told us tonight that we no longer have the weekend to study the chapter on cells and the chapters on the muscles and how they work because he thinks it would be all right to have the exam on this Thursday instead. And you know that we are all looking at each other in almost* disbelief ("maybe someone else heard him differently or can make sense of why he would do such a thing"). I don't think he should be playing so fast and loose with the (printed) schedule. Maybe he is trying to thin the class. And I did so well on the last one too. Damn.

*I've learned that almost anything can happen in his class.

This is why this election will be so close.

Bravo.

It is no secret where I stand, but Ted Rall gives us ten reasons why we need to vote Bush out. Here they are. And the Republicans will be challenging voters on election day. It seems they assume that most of the recently registered Democratic voters are illegitimate.

I don't have time to type anything about the Supreme Court, but here is a link to electoral-vote.com. This is important. And as always the rude pundit is amusing.

Congratulations Red Sox. When I was home in the summer, all of New England was geared up for this season. And now I know why. It was worth it in a sense just to have knocked off the Yankees. Woo hoo.

"By suffering a 10-3 pummeling at the hands of the Red Sox in American League Championship Series Game 7, the Yankees recorded arguably the most humiliating loss in their charmed existence, while providing their hated rivals their finest hour in generations."

Generations. This is not an exaggeration.

Let me put a few things down here so that I can flesh them out later. One is that there is no functioning left. Shitheads like Hannity and Limbaugh talk of the left but there is none, not in respect to this election anyways. Two, we should vote Bush in for another four years because I would love to see the republicans go into civil war. Other than the stark assuredness of more dead American soldiers this would be highly amusing and that election would galvanize anyone to the left of the religious right. (sort of the way Somoza galvanized the whole of Nicaragua). Right before we run Bush out on a rail he'll start shelling the blue cities and states. Just a few thoughts, but not as thought provoking as this.

Do you have some time? Read this.

This is what it has come to.

As a straight link and I did this today blog I've made it on a select list. I'll try to write more now, especially since someone left a comment here yesterday or this morning saying my blog "sux" and something about no writing. This thing started out as a journal and as a way my family at home can read about what I am doing. Also, all these political links won't get sent out as political e-mail to said family, something I'm sure they are happy about. It will continue to be an I did this sort of recount because, really, how could I write like this?

Ha ha. Dave says:

"Seriously, if you vote for Bush and he wins, we're going to blame you for what happens in the next four years."

Not much to report other than trying to keep up with the class reading and deciding that I'll try to find another apartment this coming month. That means I will be paying the month to month price for rent. The weather this week will be good but chilly in the AM. I get to ride my bike this week. Y'all have a good one.

Go and read these letters from the war zone.

Read the rude pundit.

I'm too busy to post much else. I did really well in the Issaquah Salmon Days race, I still haven't found a new place to live and I have a test tomorrow evening on tissues, membranes and related things. I'm having a very difficult time getting myself to study. This is not the course to do this in.

Did you know this about the debates?

"Why We Cannot Win" in Iraq.

"George Bush writes in crayon." Ha ha.

Way to go Jimmy: Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote (washingtonpost.com)

"It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided
ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida."

New things start at the same time for me lately. I started this landscaping lead job the same day I started school in the spring. Today I started my 8 hour days, on a single route, the same day as I start class again. I was late getting there because: 1.) 148th in Bellevue is a different animal at 5pm than it is at 7:20pm, 2.) There was an accident on said street right before the college, and 3.) I guess I didn't leave early enough. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed because literally I am not,(only one lecture so far, and an introductory one at that) but the whole thing can seem to be so much. I won't even touch upon the age difference other than to say it isn't like the rest of my day when I'm raking out beds, spraying for weeds and picking up leaves. I have a little more control over my work day now and since the owner isn't going to pay a parking ticket I incurred with his truck while I was doing my job for him, I'm going to make sure that I have plenty of energy for school. (I had parked there all the time, honest)

I was able to get ahold of John and Scott today. I found John in Sarasota and Scott and Chrissie were in their condo in the Hypoluxo area. Scott's "category 5" roof tarps held up to the punishment of hurricane Jeanne. John's fence was damaged but he was told that his house is secure. That is good because he lives where the bottom part of the eye-wall came through. The Palm Beach Post's website must have been knocked out because I can't link to their site. Try this link later on.

Today I thought it would be a good idea to run up Tiger Mountain. I can't say that I ran the whole way, not by any means. It took me 42 minutes to get to the top. Many times roughly past half way I had to completely stop to catch my breath. Later on my legs joined my heart and lungs in their very loud complaint. What a workout. Coming down was kind of fun, and fast.

I have to go to work tomorrow. While the rest of them are working 4 - 10 hour days I'll be working some combination of 5 days so that I can go to class. School starts tomorrow. It should be interesting.

Does anyone know of any cheap apartments in Bellevue?

In The Seattle Times Today: "Arrival of nice cars seen as a bad omen by Maine islanders." This is an article about Peaks Island, Maine. It seems that the yuppies have found the island. As the article points out, they are the only ones who can consistently afford the ferry fee.

"So, do not despair. All is not over."

This site follows the presidential election polls: Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004.

I ran the Fremont Oktoberfest almost 5k race this morning in I think a best time for myself. Of course then came beer. They give you a little cup so you can try the different brews in the beer garden, but I don't think that the entry admission makes it worth it. Just my opinion.

Tomorrow is my last Monday off because we will be going to a 5 day, 8 hour work week instead of the 4 - 10's we work now. School starts the next week and I'll have to start the 5 - 8's for that. What I haven't done is find a new apartment yet. I need to get that nailed down before the 10th of October, then I'll be able to concentrate on the class. That is most important.

Good bye Johnny. I saw the Ramones at UMass with Tim a number of years ago. I can remember the sound of the drum sticks hitting together for the "one! two! three! four!"

MSNBC - It's Worse Than You Think

Dodie has her own web site: Welcome to Dodie's Embroidery

I ran 15 miles this morning/afternoon and it kicked my ass. I felt much better after the race a week ago than I did after my run today. Some of the people I run with think that I'll be able to run a marathon in a few months. To me there is a big difference between 13 and 26 miles. For me it happens at about mile 10. For mile 9 today I ran a 7:33 and must have used up most of what I had left. I got back ok and felt pretty good until the endorphins wore off an hour or so later. It is fun to see what the body can do.

Here is Dave on Seattle and why this city kicks his ass. He doesn't think too much of the present administration and here is why.

Garrison Keillor isn't happy with the Bush camp either. The Rebublican Party has changed since it was the "party of Lincoln and Liberty" he explains. This isn't just another election but what is the issue is that "[t]he Union is what needs defending this year".

I figured that one more post would push the post from Sunday, August the 8th off of this page. Still work and no new apartment. I'll have to go to month to month unless I make some sort of other decision before the end of tomorrow. ...And tomorrow is almost here. Y'all have a great weekend.

How we got here.

The Issaquah Salmon Days Rotary Run is next.

John called me from Virginia for some weather information. He fled Florida for Philadelphia to attend a wedding and to get away from Frances. Presently what is left of the storm is soaking northern Florida, much of Georgia and some of South Carolina. Being a contractor this will keep him busy for a while.

It's official. I ran a 1:37:22 this morning for the half marathon. I ran a 1:44 last year. This year I ran 47th and in an older category. I don't know where this puts me overall (199). I'm happy I ran a good race. The pace turned out to be a 7:26. I ran some of them as fast as 7:04 to 7:09 and 7:13, so maybe there is still room for improvement. Running with the Eastside Runners has helped push me along. The Seattle Half Marathon is next I guess.

The Super Jock and Jill race is this morning. Wish me well. I had an entry typed up in here until I lost it yesterday. I had written about my failed attempt to get a good picture of the Space Needle for Evan. Bumbershoot is this weekend so traffic and parking were difficult. The weather isn't what I had hoped for this morning. Clouds until the end of the race would be optimal. What we are going to have is sunshine but the temps will stay in the 70's. Y'all have a great day off.

"The important thing is that the GOP is trying to quash criticism of the president simply because it's criticism of the president. The election is becoming a referendum on democracy."

"Someday there will be people speaking languages vaguely resembling our own but indecipherable if we could eavesdrop. Their maps will not be our maps. And they will look at our wars over half-forgotten gods the same way you and I look at the struggles between the tribes of Ur, very possibly while killing each other in the name of gods which do not yet exist."

Friends and family in Florida have a category four heading toward them. Take care and godspeed to you all down there.

Here is a source for government documents: http://www.outragedmoderates.org/

"...with some 140,000 troops in Iraq, the richest 1 percent of Americans about to get a five-figure tax windfall and millions of urbanites worrying about suitcase nukes, it's surely worth asking how George W. Bush's mind really works."

I've been looking in the online classifieds and I have a few leads in the Bellevue area. I'm thinking Bellevue because of school at the end of next month. It is also close to 405 thus the commute to the new shop at the end of 405 in Mukilteo.

No running tonight. I ran with the Monday night Eastside Runners at Redmond Towncenter and it was supposed to be an easy run. The route took us down to the Sammamish trail and then up the powerlines to the high school and then a bone-jarring down the hill back to the start. And they went fast. I lost sight of the leaders but kept my eye on one of them long enough to follow the (unknown to me) course. I'll take tomorrow off too.

My nephew Evan is now in a rehabilitation hospital in Boston, pretty much pain-free, learning to function with with his new challenges. When Elissa was sick all those years ago I spearheaded an effort to get the family a computer, and now Evan has his own. I knew that e-mail would be instrumental in keeping everyone abreast of the latest news, as it has in this latest emergency. Evan has his own e-mail now and he can IM his friends. Good. Take care y'all.

Aum Peace Peace Peace.

I wasn't sure how I would do, but I was able to complete a 14 mile run today. It took me just under 2 hours. Now I know that I can again do the race in Woodinville on the 6th. I'll try to add another mile on next week's big run. Not much other news than that. Peace.

From a blog that was linked in my referral list:

"Perhaps Kerry should just stand up and say, in effect: listen, this is the kind of people we are up against. Such people are unworthy of holding power in America. A vote for them is a vote for a country run by lies, propaganda, and character assassination. If that's what you want, then vote for them. But if you want a fair, decent and honest government that tells you the truth and lets you make up your minds on the basis of the facts, and if you want fair, clean, respectful and sane political campaigns in which the facts are laid out plainly for your consideration, then vote for us."

We had a nice run past Bill's house this morning. I broke away from the pack to pursue the leader, and to my surprise I caught him. Maybe I'm ready to race. I ended up doing a 47 min (more or less) 6.2. And The Eastside Runners' summer picnic was held today north of Redmond on Cottage Lake. The rain may have dissuaded a few from attending. Between the two events I registered for the Super Jock and Jill Half Marathon to be run in Woodinville in two weeks. I wasn't aware that it was coming up so soon. I'm going to try for a long run tomorrow and maybe put my apartment back together, even though I'll be looking to move. Wish me success.

Just the apartment itself and its location might not be enough. I was told that I should consider moving, even though at face value it may not seem the best thing. I was finishing Jane Roberts and Seth's The Unknown Reality, Volume One, and ran into this on the last page in the epilogue:

"It is obvious that when you move from one place to another you make an alteration in space - but you alter time as well, and you set into motion a certain psychological impetus that reaches out to affect everyone you know...Such messages are often encountered in the dream state. Empty houses are psychic [underlined] vacancies that yearn to be filled. When you move, you move into another portion of your selfhood."

-pg. 259, from the 742nd session, April 16th, 1975.

So, what might happen in New York for the RNC? Ted Rall has an idea,

"Anti-Republican sentiment is rising to a fever pitch here as the dog days tick down to the dreaded affair. A poll cited by the local ABC affiliate shows 83 percent of New Yorkers don't want their city to host the RNC. And many of them are planning to do something about it."

I haven't read the whole thing, but any thoughtful person should find this piece enlightening. Step back from what you might think of how the world works and then consider what this person has to say, such as:

"Or take the notion of 'political correctness'. It is true that movements of conscience have piled demands onto people faster than the culture can absorb them. That is an unfortunate side-effect of social progress. Conservatism, however, twists language to make the inconvenience of conscience sound like a kind of oppression. The campaign against political correctness is thus a search-and-destroy campaign against all vestiges of conscience in society. The flamboyant nastiness of rhetors such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter represents the destruction of conscience as a type of liberation. They are like cultists, continually egging on their audiences to destroy their own minds by punching through one layer after another of their consciences."

Political theory is what I enjoyed so much in school.

Now that my apartment is quite clean, I thought I'd have my own little margarita toast to it. Maybe I can toast a new television. Sonya is having a party this Saturday. Will she be toasting her television? I doubt it. She'll probably be toasting her motorcycle. That is an appropriate toast if I ever heard one.

Sarah B. got published!

I entered the temple and there they were. Dressed in saffron robes, sitting on either side of the great hall I could feel they were more than friends. They lend a quiet stability I forget about. Their life there has made them tough and I am humbled by their work. They are a true part of a thousand points of light. Thank you. Aum, Peace, Peace, Peace.

I was just looking at the classifieds and I might broaden my search....but I like the eastside.

G'night.

Y'all shouldn't miss Sue's entries:

"It's time I started writing about this."

"That night I sat through the first of what would be more than four hundred humiliating Open Meetings."

"Everything Not Forbidden is Compulsory."

and

"why go home?"

I'm sitting at "home" now with a sunburnt face and a sore body. Bob finally talked me into climbing a portion of Mt. Rainier. It took us four and a half hours to climb from Paradise to Camp Muir. We had to trudge up a 4,600 ft. elevation gain which ran through a particularly long snowfield. ... Not ... easy. It is best to bring something you can slide down on. We think we did all right but poor Bob has to go to work tomorrow.

I put home in quotations because Archstone is raising my rent and I haven't started to look for an alternative in earnest. I'd like to live in Issaquah but that would make my commute even harder. I don't want to live in Bellevue even though it is closer to school. I like the eastside so anything across Lake Washington is sort of out of the question. Lee seems to think that my place is just right. Tracy is supposed to visit next week but I'm not sure what will transpire and the apartment still hasn't been put back together. She had looked here for our bump last year but I usually don't add that sort of personal stuff. I think we are bumpy again, so Tracy, do what you think you have to do. I'm past being concerned about the outcome or much of anything else.

I think I got some good shots of the Muir Snowfield and the scenery up there. Y'all have a great week.

I can publish from e-mail now.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They
never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and
neither do we."

"The D’s all think Boston is a swell town and are happy as clams, which so infuriates right-wing commentators who insist it’s all a charade. According to them, liberals are not allowed to be cheerful, friendly or patriotic, and anyone who is can’t be is a liberal."

I've joined the Eastside Runners. We ran last Saturday in Bellevue and yesterday on Mercer Island. Maybe I'll get to one of the Monday night runs in Redmond too. It is strange but good to be out among other people for a change. How does that sound to the family back at home? I'm actually out in public! I can't act like a yankee for ever.

"What an asshole."

I just found this on Dave Winer's site.  I also found out this evening that I can download Bushisms as ringtones for my phone.  I don't really want him on my phone.

Do you remember what Sunday was like?
 
So what should I do today?  Joe says to take the bike up Rt. 2 and over the Cascades to Leavenworth to see the Icicle Creek fire.  I could use another run today, and the apartment needs an overhaul.  My modest deck needs more potted flowers too.
 
The Captain saga is over.  Lee had been gone for more than a week so her cat, Captain, thought he'd find another neighborhood to hang out in.  I went out looking for him after someone called saying they had him but that he had then gotten away.  He did the same thing to another neighbor the following day.  Lee found him the day after she returned.  He looks a little bedraggled and he might not be happy about now being kept in.  Lee now has two new friends in Captain's adopted neighborhood. 

Do you remember the picture of the flag draped caskets on the plane coming back from Iraq?

"Before this, I had blind faith about my government,' she said. 'But I don't believe in this war. I believe in our troops, but I don't believe in the reasons for being there."

I got a B+ in the biology course. I went over to assessment and they need a transcript with the name of the college on it. UMass didn't put their name on it. I also picked up a practice test in math. I think I can remember all that stuff. For radiation therapy, the courses have to be done by spring term but I have to apply to the program by a certain date in February. That gives me another term to get anything else done I might need.

When I was ready to leave the school my bike was not. I had to push the heavy thing up a hill and jump start it. After a few minutes it was normal...until I came to the end of 520 near Avondale Road. There it quit. I had to leave it, walk back to the apartment to get my car and trailer and then haul it home. It started when I needed to get it into the trailer, so I'm hoping it is only a loose battery cable. If it starts tomorrow morning will it get me all the way to the shop?

I finished Ben Sherman's book, Medic!. I used to read these sorts of Vietnam books and I enjoyed this one immensely. The only problem was that it wasn't long enough. It reads fast. It puts you as well as any other book I've read -boots on the ground- within his story. I'm glad I never had my boots on the ground there. I was 5 when my brother went there and then returned and 10 when the U.S. pulled out. If you like this sort of story, go and read it.

I spoke with Elissa on the phone today and she filled me in on Evan's condition. His kidney began working again, so now he has two . His liver was damaged but they are hopeful that it will be able to mend itself. And to my surprise the doctors aren't 100% sure he will be paralyzed. He has a 10% chance of walking. They don't know yet and he is still sleeping. I'll just be glad to hear his voice again.

I got a phone call this morning from Edju and he told me that the night before my nephew on the Cape was in a bad motorcycle accident. I learned later in the day that he has lost a kidney and that he is paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors induced a coma to keep him still and he'll probably be kept sleeping for a couple more days. After hearing this I rode my bike to work anyways. I tried to be extra careful. God speed Evan. I can't express how much this sucks.

To all you motorcyclists out there, be careful.

After work today I went to The University Bookstore in the U-district for a book reading. Ben Sherman didn't do a reading but he did something better. He gave us the story behind his story. It has taken him over twenty years to present us with his book, "Medic!". You'll have to wonder how he got the picture on his book, how many editors he went through and all of the serendipity and strange chance that went into the whole long process. I love writers' stories. The only Steven King book I've read is his on writing, aptly titled, "On Writing". I mentioned to Mr. Sherman that I would too like to write something someday. He urged me to not throw anything out and to keep at the task. The perseverence he showed in working on his book was tremendous. And the story behind the story was much better than just a reading. He was concerned that we were there for just a reading. Not to worry. You had the "crowd" in your hands.

I need some sleep now. It is my turn to deliver Lee to the airport, and I have to get going wicked early, hey.

One week of work after my trip. Needless to say I am tired. I need to shop for groceries, go to the bank, swing by Tully's for some coffee and also make my way to the Wooden Boats Festival down on Lake Union when the weather clears. We're socked in right now. I had perfect weather at home so I can't complain about a little drizzle and fog here. Joey Jo Jo says it is the onshore flow.

What I can comment on is how much I appreciate all those at home and here who made my little vacation so pleasant. Thank you Lee for tending my plant and providing the important drop-off and pick-up at the airport. Thank you Becca and Abby for your generous hospitality that went beyond family ties. Mark, Annie and Clara came through in a big way with the use of Clara's car. Thank you Tracy for your company and your use of transportation to Boothbay Harbor. I knew you'd like the resort. And Ron and Jess, thank you for your generous hospitality at the resort. You went above and beyond what I hadn't even expected. It was great to see the rest of you, of course. Please don't feel slighted if I don't acknowledge you in this entry. Time now to figure out the school thing and to join the running club. I still need new shoes. I'm still searching for a girl too...

Hi. I've been here in the northeast for almost a week now. I'll post pictures of Maine and Montague later. It is nice not working, of course. The new picture phone is fun. When I get back I'll have to figure out how I'll get my studies started again and how I'm going to test out of math. I don't want to get the equivalent of Sonya's sweatervest guy. Like I wrote a while ago, no more being lazy. It will be nice to get back to the bike too. Later...

I had a big entry typed up but before I could post it my computer froze up. Work was terrible last week so if there is anyone out there who knows of a job which would match me then I'd be eternally grateful. I typed out my long story that ended with me getting a new phone. It's an Audiovox 8900. I can take pictures with it and it holds a myriad of other functions. After today there are three more days until Massachusetts. Y'all have a great one.

I like this woman's site. She's a cook. "god speed your soul, you black emperor."

Well, the class is over. I don't want to make a guess so I'll find out how I did when Jeff mails me back the scantron.

On the work front, I now have more properties with even less time to get them done. Pain in the ass doesn't approach what it is like. I'll be home for a week so maybe then they'll get an earfull of just what an impossible task my routes have become. Friday's isn't bad but I end up heading back to neglected properties then. Aaaargh.

How is it that I can go for a run three days in a row, for about 17 or 18 miles all together and still be heavier today, Monday, than I was on Friday after work? That's just not right.

"Nigritude Ultramarine"

"Worried White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home."

"The walls haven't collapsed around George W. Bush, but the pillars are buckling, the floorboards are rattling, the inspectors are probing, and it doesn't look good."

I went back to this blog to a year ago and read this timely quote from Jane Roberts and Seth:

"The great emotion of love has been thus far poorly used, yet it represents even the biological impetus of your being. Your religions in a large measure have taught you to hate yourselves and physical existence. They have told you to love God, but rarely taught you to experience the gods in yourselves."

I wish I had more time to read this sort of stuff.

As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to redesign this blog template and upgrade my account to a paid one so that I can post my own pictures. I'll just have to learn the code better now. I want to put some northwest trees and hills as a top border, change the font and increase the font size. With a change to a northwest motif I wonder whether I should leave mattampash to the northeast, along with the river rocks at the top of this page? I picked this blog template because it sort of correlated with the Pocumtuck and Norwottuck name for the area I grew up in. We lived about 100 yards from the Sawmill River. The mouth of the Sawmill empties into the Connecticut River near Mattampash Island, though no one calls it by that name. I can't use the name Sammamish even though it sounds similar. I don't have anything to do with that town. What to do, what to do?

My theme lately is: n-o-t e-n-o-u-g-h t-i-m-e. Why is this happening now? I don't get it.

I'm sort of all set to go home on the 18th. "sort of" because I got the time off and I have e-tickets. I still have the last test next Thursday and then I'll feel like I'm getting there, or anywhere. I haven't set an itinerary yet, but I'd like to go to Maine to see Ron and Jess at the Resort, and then there is the whole Deerfield Massacre shindig. Abby would like to go to Monica and Jane's new restaurant in Newport. There is always the option of doing little and drinking beer...hmm...beer. What to do? One thing I can get done will be to mow the cemetery where I already have a spot for myself. Creepy or not?

Read this from This Modern World:

"Meanwhile, the Red Cross gave the Army a detailed catalog of sexual and physical abuse at Abu Gharib -- last November 6th.

As far as I can tell, you had to read both the NY Times and the LA Times to get both stories and see the dates line up. But now we know: six months before the world recoiled in horror, the Pentagon absolutely knew what was going on. All of it. And nothing changed."