Tonight

I cried tonight
I cried so softly, so gently and pure
I cried until my tears ran dry
My heart ached, and crushed inside

I died tonight
I died a slow peaceful death
I died until I could not breathe
My chest felt like I was suffocating

I left tonight
I left this world so swift
I left until I saw no more
My thoughts of this world hazing in bliss

I was born tonight
I was born to something new
I was born until I could not remember before
My life has just begun


-Originally written 13March03

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Dying Love

Please save your tears and wipe your eyes
It's death, my dear; I've only died.
Please be safe, and step aside
I'll be fine; you're by my side.

Save our love for the rainy days
And I'll walk with you in the bright sunrays.
Your love for me let slowly fade
Kiss me now; take my final breath away.

With your strength you'll carry on
Think of me and then move on.
I gave you my love, so thick and strong
I'll be watching from above, helping you along.

It's okay my love, I've only died…
Please wipe those tears from your saddened eyes.
Remember one thing before I go:
I'll love you forever, with my undying soul…


-Originally written 12October00

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Our New Sky

We stand and look up to see if things have changed, but they haven’t.
Consumed by it, the ocean now surrounds us.
We can only look to the light from afar as it shimmers down through the water.

It has been 17 years since we were forced down below.
Only under the surface are we safe from above.
The world we once knew no longer exists.

Our pompous ways, and arrogant actions, they are what led us here.
Once great and powerful, we’re now at the mercy of the sea around us.
And now, we cannot escape from the next hell we create for ourselves.

We thought we had it all, and took everything without care.
We raped and pillaged our land with little regard, until it was too late.
Our once-abused resources had finally burned us for a change.

We ruined our world long before we were able to find a new home.
Now we, the few that remain, are fortunate enough to have made it below.
Fortunate to survive, yet it’s terrifying to realize we are forever bound below the surface.

Now, we are self-made sea creatures; endangered like those we once tried to protect.
Our new sky protects us from the damage and the desolation we left above.
We look to our new sky, the sea that surrounds us, and to the foreign light as it shines from above.

But now we cannot leave again… and I fear that we still cannot change.
The ocean which sustains our new life…
cannot forever protect us from the very thing that will eventually end us:

Ourselves.


*Note: Inspired by Theme Thursday, topic: Light

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The Light

I fling myself awake.
My eyes open,
and panic sets in.

I look around, scared and dazed.
Holding my breath,
I swim towards the light.

I swim and I swim.
The light still there,
but so far away.

I’m panicking and frightened.
My lungs tighten,
and stars appear.

My final try:
I grab at the water around me,
but I’m barely swimming; I’m sinking!

Nature takes over.
I reluctantly give in,
and I gasp for air.

The light begins to dim.
My system's in shock,
and water fills my lungs.

I’m drowning, but see the light.
It’s dimming,
yet growing bright.


*Note: Inspired by Theme Thursday, topic: Light

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Murder Kitten, Vampire Kitten, Cyborg Kitty – BEWARE!!!

I suddenly realized that I haven’t posted about cats lately and feel it’s about time to do that again. Thus, in continuing my pseudo-pursuit of “getting the word out” and “warning” about cats and highlighting the “curiosities” of the existence of cats, here are a few things to consider:

--BEGIN SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT--

Kitten Thinks Of Nothing But Murder All Day (see links below)
From:
- Sassy’s Scene From A Marriage: Here, Kitty, Kitty
and
- The Onion

And also:
- Cyborg kitty watches you sleep
and
- Vampire kittens
(From: I am your Canadian boyfriend)

…It’s clear that I’m not the only one concerned about this.

Fortunately though, I haven't heard anything about zombie cats... yet.


And of course, in case you haven’t seen my other discussions on the topic of cats:
- Cats are unique in a strange way, not a normal way…
and
- It’s natural to be wary of a cat… of any kind


-- END SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT --

Thank you.

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Sometimes simple…

…is the best way;
I love you
I want you
I miss you
…is all we should say.



*Note: Visit One Stop - Where Poets and Writers Meet and their One Shot Wednesday for poems & stories from others.

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Dear, good time: I had you. (aka: The String Cheese Incident)

Welcome back!

It’s Tuesday and I’m back as well; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights were spent at Red Rocks Amphitheatre at The String Cheese Incident shows. Knowing ahead of time I’d need a day to recover, I took Monday (yesterday) off, and last Friday for good measure as well.

I hadn’t seen SCI before but had a good idea of what to expect going into the weekend: good people, good music, and a good experience. Everyone I met was friendly, fun, and downright cool. I can’t complain about anyone or anything from the weekend.

Here are some highlights from the weekend:

- Skydivers TWICE on Saturday (once with smoke trails during daylight, and again late into the night with sparkler trails)
- THE best chicken burrito I’ve ever had (RR now has both a burrito station AND a nacho station!!!)
- Sore calves and back
- A pseudo-broken toe (post-Saturday show back-at-home-door-jam-slamming event)
- Sailor Jerry’s spiced rum (beats Captain Morgan any day of the week)
- A slew of beer and water
- The guy with a hat similar to mine (2 nights), the girl who offered me whiskey (2 nights), Simon & Kris (Simon was from England and has been here since ’91, namely due to the availability of skydiving in America), and the guy with the birthday Sunday night
- The best light show I’ve seen
- Great music
- Nonstop dancing, boogying, and grooving all night long (all nights)

Now that I’ve been indoctrinated, I can’t wait to see SCI again. I also wonder why I haven’t given them any attention until now… clearly I’ve been missing out!

All in all, this should sum things up nicely: after last weekend’s “Incidents”, I’m adding The String Cheese Incident near the top of my favorite live bands list. I look forward to seeing them again, and to downloading (legally) as many of their shows as I possibly can.

Well done, good time… well done.

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When in the park

Lie on the grass
and look to the sky,
watch the pillowy clouds
as they pass on by.

The birds, they float
on without care.
Feel your breath escape,
and bring in fresh air.

The sun is shining
while children play.
With arms outstretched,
you decide to stay.

Roll onto your stomach,
remind of the fact,
the park is much better,
“I don’t want to go back.”

When hard at work,
it’s safe to say,
you’re not allowed
to lay and play.

But when in the park
on your break, your lunch,
you’re like a child:
you “like it a bunch.”

“Oh, what can I do?”
you hear yourself say.
“Call in to work?”
“I won’t be back today?”

Now for the moral
of this little poem:
spend time in the park,
you’ll feel at home!


*Note: Inspired by Theme Thursday, topic: Park

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The Cold

It’s cold, very cold,
snow’s falling faster than fast.
Ice is building atop the bridge,
not slower than the last.

My breath is cloudy
as it floats through the air.
My ears are red,
fingers frozen when bare.

I don’t like this feeling,
these feelings from past.
We’ve done this before;
though this seems to be our last.

My heart is breaking
yours is frozen and feisty.
Mine won’t stop aching
it seems you don’t like me.

We’ve been here before
not long in the past.
This isn’t the same though,
I know it’s our last.

Your stare is chilling,
right to the bone.
Your smile is cold,
and so is your tone.

It’s cold in here,
snow’s falling faster than fast.
Your ice starts toppling,
our bridge begins to crash.


*Note: Visit One Stop - Where Poets and Writers Meet and their One Shot Wednesday for poems & stories from others.
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The Saltshaker Magicman

Over the weekend, I had the fortune of experiencing a barroom magic trick. A young gentleman sitting at the table across the aisle kindly interrupted to ask if we had a quarter. We didn’t, but gave him a nickel after he said it would do the job as well. He started back at his date, included us to watch along, and began his act while his lady friend cautiously observed.

He placed the nickel onto the bar table, knocked it a few times with his fist to prove that the table was indeed solid, and proceeded to try and push the nickel through the table with his hand. After several attempts, it was quite clear that the table was indeed solid, and the nickel was not magic-like.

He then grabbed a glass saltshaker, covered it with a few napkins, cupped it from atop in his right hand, and hit the nickel with its bottom five or six times, pausing a moment or two to focus between each hit.

His goal was to obviously A) bang the nickel through the table, B) I had no idea what he was trying to accomplish, or C) things would go horribly wrong as he broke the saltshaker and sent glass shards and salt flying into the air. Thankfully though, he had the napkins to protect us.

After several attempts of hitting the saltshaker on the nickel to no avail, he refocused and took one last try.

His right hand lifted and slammed the saltshaker down, collapsing flat atop the nickel and crushing the napkins beneath. Seemingly astonished, he looked at his date while his left hand rose from under the table, presenting the glass saltshaker intact for all to see. Surprised ourselves, we applauded his seemingly impossible feat.

The Saltshaker Magicman put on a good show that night; his barroom magic trick left me intrigued and with a desire to know the intricacies of his act.

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Chasing a squirrel on caffeine…

I just received an email at work containing the following line: “getting them pinned down has been like trying to chase a squirrel on caffeine.”

I promptly forwarded the email to my boss and asked if he has ever chased a squirrel on caffeine. His response leads me to believe he has not. Neither have I. And chances are, I don’t know anyone who has.

After hearing this, I have a few questions:

1) Where did the squirrel get the caffeine?
2) Why would you be chasing a squirrel in the first place?
3) How high can squirrels jump after consuming caffeine?
4) What happens to tortoises (torti?) when they consume caffeine?

If anyone can answer any or all of these, it would be greatly appreciated.

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The Ish Clause and PainterMan

I enjoy the Ish Clause. For those who may not know, when someone adds “ish” to the end of a word, most frequently regarding a time, they’re giving you a guesstimate or loose estimate (side note: somehow guesstimate is a real word according to Microsoft – you learn something new every day).

I don’t like to overuse the Ish Clause, and I certainly don’t like when others overuse it… that’s just outright abuse. And I don’t stand for abuse… in most cases at least.

Anyway, utilizing the Ish Clause allows for a window of opportunity, which I think is still pretty firm. In regard to time, when someone says “ish”, I don’t think that goes beyond 20 minutes in either direction; there’s definite boundaries for the Ish Clause.

Last week, a coworker told me he would have his PowerPoint slides to me around Wednesday-ish. It is currently Friday. I haven’t encountered a day-“ish” before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. The jury is still out, but I would say that in day-ish terms, there is a one-day window there; certainly, 20 minutes wouldn’t be appropriate, and 20 days is entirely too ridiculous a timeframe.


In other news, I got home after work yesterday to find painters hanging on the side of my house. Apparently the HOA had contracted them to repaint all the units in my area. I knew about this ahead of time, but they didn’t give a specific date they’d start painting.

So I walked inside, let the dog out, walked back into the living room and saw this, which doesn’t seem too safe to me:

















I was expecting PainterMan to come crashing through the window after I took his picture and really didn’t want to deal with that.

Fortunately he didn't.

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Poker, the Stove-and-Pot Team, and my FeedBurner angst

I sat down on the couch the other night, had the TV on, turned lappy on, and logged into Full Tilt for a little online poker. About 20 minutes or so into the tournament, I hear some splattering and general destruction coming from the kitchen area. Turns out I was boiling something on the stove. It also turns out that I forgot I was boiling something on the stove.

I quickly jumped up from the couch mid-hand of the tournament, unplugged the power source from lappy, ran with lappy in-hand to the kitchen, threw my glasses onto the counter, and set lappy next to the stove. I proceeded to the drawer, grabbed two potholders, moved the pot off the burner it was on, turned the burner off, put the potholders down, played my hand in the tournament online, and proceeded to clean up the mess that the Stove-and-Pot Team had created. Crisis averted.

I ended up winning the tournament, and my food was thoroughly cooked.


Topic change:

I’m frustrated with FeedBurner. I don’t understand how such a simple concept of tracking RSS feeds can be so challenging of a task for a company such as Google. I understand there’s various avenues RSS feeds can take and the magic that needs to happen to come up with a final “subscriber” number… but really… why the issues?

What I don’t understand is why there is a departure between the quantity of “subscribers” in FeedBurner and the quantity of “followers” from Google. Seems to me that feed aggregators still ping an RSS feed, including Google Reader, even if you’re “following” a blog. Yet, the quantity reflected in FeedBurner “subscribers” is nothing close to the Google “followers”.

Needless to say, every time I think about FeedBurner, I want to fix the issue; every time I try to research and fix the issue, I get upset at FeedBurner.

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A moral and/or ethical dilemma – or not

Last night I went to Walmart. I don’t ever enjoy going to Walmart. I don’t know many who do.

I try to be as quick as possible when I go into that store because I know that I’m going to have to stand in line for what seems like forever – it always seems like forever. Always.

As I make my way to the checkout area, there is a very short line with only one person at the register. Needless to say I was pleased with this and proceeded to that register.

The young woman scanned my first two items, and then the third. The third didn’t scan properly, or at all, and the register didn’t recognize the product. She cleared the machine rather quickly and proceeded to scan it one more time. Again, it didn’t recognize the product.

She then cleared it again and put the item into the bag and announced my total. Being the quick grasshopper I am, I knew the total included only the first two items and not the third. I swiped my card, signed, thanked the young lady, took my three items and walked out of the store with receipt in hand – verifying I was correct.

So there we have it: I was given a free item at Walmart. I knew she didn’t ring it up, and I still went with it.

Here’s the thing: under other circumstances, if they had missed an item I would have pointed out the error and have them rescan so I can properly pay for what I’m walking out the door with. This time, however, was different.

She clearly tried to scan the product, but it couldn’t be found. She made the executive decision to place the item in the bag for me to take home. What was I supposed to do? Argue with her? Insist she call a manager to come figure out the situation? Stand and wait, causing the line behind me to grow continually for who knows how long?

I chose not to mention anything because it was apparent that I was in the clear, ethically and morally speaking of course.

Or was that wrong?

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Standing on the edge

I look down, standing on the edge.
With cool breeze brushing my skin,
I close my eyes and clear my mind.

I lift up my arms from my sides.
With body shaped like a ‘T’,
I breathe in deep.

My senses heightened.
The sweet smell of flowers,
and waves crashing consume me.

I raise onto my toes.
Butterflies form in my stomach,
my nerves begin to swarm, and I wait.

I open my eyes to the ground below me.
I can finally see clearly,
this world is for me.

I rest my heels firmly on the ground.
My body relaxes,
my nerves slow down.

I struggle to step back.
My mind urges me to stay,
but my heart fights me from the edge.

I am safe again.
I will live to see another day.



*Note: the "I" in this poem is not me. Although this can be interpreted as thoughts of suicide, these thoughts are not my own.

*Note: Visit One Stop - Where Poets and Writers Meet and their One Shot Wednesday for poems & stories from others.
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The continuous pursuit of food

In conversation today, much like conversation from every other day, I realized that my life, along with a friend’s life, is a continuous pursuit of food.

Virtually every day the conversation goes something like this (via email, BB Messenger, or IM):

Con Lee: “What should I have for lunch?”
Me: “Beef sammich.”
Con Lee: “No, I don’t want that.”
Me: “How about pizza? Mmm, Lou Malnati’s… That was the best sauce ever.”
Con Lee: “No, I don’t want pizza. Go to GrubHub.com and search for something around 60613.”
Me: “OK.”

Time goes by as I search and I eventually return with the results:

Me: “How about Thai?”
Con Lee: “No.”
Me: “How about Chinese?”
Con Lee: “Nope.”
Me: “How about Chicago dogs?”
Con Lee: “No, I want something different.”

By this point I’m probably tired of figuring out what someone else should eat for lunch, and as my interest wanes I tend to let the topic pass. Sometimes, however, the conversation is so intense that a phone call is warranted to discuss the topic further… and after a few moments of that, my waning interest continues.

These conversations happen almost daily, including weekends, and also take place during dinner and late-night hours as well.

And also (this just in):

Jennifer: “Do you find it concerning that I eat a king size box of Junior Mints daily while at work and have been since April?”
Me: “Yes. Do you mind if I blog that?”
Jennifer: “It’s fine with me, but more importantly should I be worried about my wellbeing because of this? Diabetes perhaps? I can’t stop.”
Me: “Yes. Stop.”

…We (yes, WE, including me, because I'm not exempt from said what-should-I-eat discussions) seem to have issues with food.

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PB & BB

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Following suit with yesterday’s post:

Apparently my blog post is the #2 search result for 'listening to Playboy Radio at work'. Someone out in internetland actually searched that and opted to click on my blog – how fun! I doubt it’s what he/she was looking for (probably he), but that’s alright. Unlike yesterday’s interesting tidbit, I don’t think I mind cornering this part of the market.

In other news:

As you may or may not know, I have a BlackBerry. And on that BlackBerry is BlackBerry Messenger, a neat little application that allows you to chat with other BB users without using text messages. This saves you from racking up your text plan and, ideally, saves you money… assuming the people you want to chat with have a BB as well.

My friend and his wife both have BBs, thus they’re on the contacts list in the app. I have another friend whom I text with regularly, but for some reason he’s not on that contacts list, and it doesn’t seem right to chat with him through BB messenger. I added him once and tried to converse through the app, but it didn’t seem right, it actually felt a little awkward. I’m not sure why... I could save some text messages if I chat with him through the app, but what’s a few text messages for the sake of comfort?

Anyway, in the BB Messenger you can populate a profile. I like to change my name in the profile every once in a while to spice things up, even though I’m chatting with only two people there. I’ll usually change my last name to their last name, but right now I have it changed to her maiden name. At least I think it’s funny…

I haven’t started branching out into crazy names yet, but I will. In fact, I might just do that right now.

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Let’s build a ‘wich!

Slice the tomato, three-eighths-inch thick.
Slice the cheddar cheese, quarter-inch thick.
Toast the English muffin, brown on the edge.
To both sides of muffin, spread mayo, spread.

Lay muffin down, mayo-side-up.
Put on the cheese, one slice is enough.
Put on tomato, one slice is enough.
Put on the top, now time to clean up.

Try garlic, try onion,
these powders are good.
Oregano, try salt,
even pepper you could!

Now it is time
to eat your sand’.
Put napkin on knee,
and eat with both hands!

*Note: Inspired by Magpie Tales, picture:

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Interesting tidbit

Interesting tidbit: at the time of posting, anyone who searches “motion sensing faucets for zombies” on Google will find my blog in the #2 spot. If another person searches “zombies, motion sensing faucets” on Google, they’ll find my blog in the #1 spot.

While I enjoy the posts I’ve written about zombies (here and here), and the one about motion sensing faucets, I’m not so sure anyone would ever search for them together, thus leaving Workspace Writings low in the search results otherwise.

However, “motion sensing faucets for cats” lands the blog on the second page of results, which is undoubtedly higher than the outcome of separate topic searches described above, and seems to be a more viable search phrase, especially since someone has already searched for “motion sensing faucets for cats” at least once and managed to land on my blog.

I don’t know that I want to corner the zombie-cat-motion-sensing-faucet search result market; I doubt there’s much value in it, and few probably think to search of those topics together.

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The Human Spirit and Opportunity

There is something to be said about the human spirit – it takes a lot to break it down, and it takes a lot to keep it on the ground. More times than not, it’s up again in due time.

It’s tough to stay positive when it seems that nothing good is happening, and I understand that. I also know that it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when our eyes are closed.

I propose we keep our eyes open, ready, willing, and able to see the slightest of opportunities – the opportunities of our tomorrow: the opportunities we are given, as well as those we create ourselves.

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Friending, announcing, commenting.

Two things –

First: What is the protocol for Facebook friending? There has to be something somewhere to tell us what to do.

If someone request your friendship on Facebook, and you accept, who is obligated to send the first note? If no one sends a note, how awkward is it really to not have at least a micro conversation? And also, after what amount of time can you wait without it being awkward anymore and send a note that is actually technically still the first note? Sometimes people friend me, I accept, and hear nothing from them. My personal opinion is that they should send the first note, not me. I think that makes the most sense.

Second: Which is better? To announce something, or make a comment about something?

Let’s say you have something to say, should you draw attention and formalize your opinion, or is it best to make a comment in passing? I understand that this may be situation-based, but… well I guess I just answered my question. And so I guess my new question will be: how do you determine which is best in a given situation? Sometimes I like to announce things, sometimes I’d rather make a comment; I can’t say with any certainty which is right or best in a situation. I sometimes find myself thinking ahead about the best way to communicate, weighing an announcement vs. a comment. Sometimes this results in me not paying attention, primarily because I’m thinking too loudly.

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With Yellow Sympathy

Embark! To win!
Return! Succeed!

It yelled and it screamed
It bellowed with greed
It sang its battle tune
And of yellow sympathy

(With ravage and rage,
it WILL see another day)

With bellows of greed
With desire and need
The big horns a’glare
“To battle with speed”

By hands or on knees
The battle proceeds
Flames in the air
“Our home land’s in despair”

For land, they fight
For families, show might
Its resources they need
Not simply their greed

They cut and they battle
Overcome with their might
Refuse to give up
This is their fight

The dust then settles
With life on their side
Raised hands in air
They roar and they sigh

The march begins home
As townsmen reap & sow
They finally get inside
And look back with worried pride

Once inside
They silently cry:
“Our need and our greed,
with yellow sympathy”


*Note: Visit One Stop - Where Poets and Writers Meet and their One Shot Wednesday for poems & stories from others.


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Firecrackers & works

Two things:

One: back when I was in the Air Force, there was a night filled with soju and silliness. Or maybe it was Coors Light and craziness. There may have actually been two different nights here… I’m not so sure anymore.

Anyway, one night in New Mexico we had a little house party. At present, there are a few pictures of me walking, laughing, and I happen to have one of those Coors Light cardboard cooler boxes in my arm. The fact that there is a Coors Light box doesn’t actually help determine whether or not this night was filled with soju or, in fact, Coors Light.

There is also a video of the evening. It’s mostly dark, has few words, but there’s plenty of snickering going on. Unfortunately for me, I was the one IN the video – not on the other side snickering along with the others.

The video just to happens to be of a few people throwing firecrackers and a couple other slightly-larger fireworks at me while I sit on a patio swing, slumped over the Coors Light box.

Now, had I been of proper state of mind and mental capacity, I probably would have jumped, ran, swam, or flew from my seat when I saw the group peer around the corner, light a fuse, and throw it in my direction. Instead, I sat there, said something like “oh, come on guys, what the hell”, and allowed the firecrackers & works to explode at my feet.

Fortunately nothing bad came of this.

Two: when I was young, watching the town fireworks around the 4th were always standard, as were firecrackers & works set off at home. One 4th of July we happened to have an M-80 or two… possibly three, I’m not so sure – I was pretty young.

We (including my mother), thought it a good idea to light these in the yard at home. Of course, we did this away from the house and other structures, however it seemed appropriate to do so at the base of a good-sized tree in our yard, which was also on the yard-line with the neighbor. And their house happened to be within striking distance if the tree happened to topple over from the fireworks.

We set it off, a loud bang, small explosion, and it actually damaged the base of said tree. For a short while there was real concern for the tree falling over and onto the neighbor’s house.

Fortunately, again, nothing bad came of this.


*Note: Inspired by Magpie Tales, picture:

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Shout-outs & thank-yous

To the visitor in or near Lusaka, Zambia: Hello. Thank you for visiting. How in the world did you come across my blog?

To Betsy: Welcome!

Garth: Don’t let it stop flowing.

Ms. Amy: Keep up the good work.

Everyday Goddess, Jingle, & Berowne: Each time I visit, I enjoy your offerings.

Julie: Your photo’s are beautiful and inspiring. Thank you.

My dear Tadders: Get back on the wagon. You know you can.

Conly: Yes, you too have inspired, and we all thank you for that.

To the email/RSS readers and those who happen upon my blog: Welcome, and thank you for visiting!

And last, but not least: To those who visit from Theme Thursday and Magpie Tales – thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate them. Many times, your words are what inspires me to continue the writing.


Thank you

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