Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

This is a show/musical that Joss Whedon produced during the writer's strike just to prove that it was still possible to create good entertainment without the big name companies. Enjoy! (Run time is 42 min and 26 sec)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog


As a side note, Joss Whedon's new TV Series "Dollhouse" begins to air in January 2009 with Eliza Dushku (Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as the main character, Echo. It will show Mondays at 8PM on FOX (believe it or not, Joss forgave them for Firefly)

The Joys of House Sitting

Isn't it incredible that the tiniest particles that are contained within a cats fur can cause such discomfort in some of us? It seems so unfair that some people are completely immune to the ways the feline species have evolved simply to torture our poor bi-ped species. I'm inside and sick as a ...well, a dog... and then I step outside and everything is fine. Amazing! I've lived with cats in the past but it seems that I have to develop an immunity them over the course of a few months before I can breathe easily. But if I house-sit for only a few days, I have to resign myself to the fact that I'm going to miserable with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose for however long I have to be there.

Ah! The joys of being homeless.

Passing the time

I was bored so I filled this out...

Four places I've lived
1. Colorado Springs, CO
2. Boulder, CO
3. Hancock, Maine
4. Glenwood Springs, CO

Four favorite books
1. Wheel of Time Series - Robert Jordan
2. Mistborn (the first book only)- Brandon Sanderson
3. Enchantment - OSC
4. Ender's Game - OSC

Four Favorite Movies
(these are just some that popped into my mind... I don't really have "favorite" movies)
1. Princess Bride - You really can’t argue with the classics
2. Serenity
3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (I know, its tacky but, hey!, I won't judge yours if you don't judge mine)
4. Return of the Jedi

Four embarrassing facts about me
1. I can't do arithmetic without a calculator but I can do vector calculus.
2. I can't focus on a conversation in a group setting so I always end up embarrassing myself when I say something completely unrelated to the topic on hand. Of course, in my mind it was right on cue with everything around me. :) Mostly it's just cause I can't focus for any length of time.
3. I tend to be lazy if someone doesn't give me anything to do. My self-motivation starts lacking when I think no one is watching.
4. I feel like I've fallen behind in life. So much so that I've been lapped several times by my friends. Of course, going back to school didn't really help with that...

Four dreams of mine
1. Be part of an interplanetary mission of some sort to advance mankind's understanding of the universe.
2. I want to be a great mother. Not OK, or sufficient, but great! Fantastic! Outstanding! I want my kids to be strong and independent and able to make the world a better place for everyone around them.
3. I want to make my Heavenly Father proud.
4. Finding a husband who is my best friend, is motivated, loves to travel, likes the outdoors, is practical, loves to laugh and who embraces my weird sci-fi/fantasy side.

Four pet Peeves
1. The dumb buttons on the front of a device such as a DVD player that require more force to push then than it does to push the whole device across the table. Seriously! Its a simple calculation that gets ignored by those dumb mechanical/electrical engineers.
2. People who don't even try to become self-sufficient and who think that the world owes them something. Whether they leech off their families, or their friends, or the government, these people should be locked up in a community of their own for some kind of social experiment and never let out again.
3. The crazy drivers that own the fancy cars that go from 0 to 60 mph in some unspeakable time and think that they have more of a right to be on the roads than me and my car that will get to 60 in about 2 minutes. The worst is when you're driving over mountain passes and they honk at you to go faster when you're just praying to reach the top.
4. Obesity. Seriously! How hard is it to not take seconds at dessert, eat veggies and run around the block everyday! Have a little respect for yourself, please!

Four things that make me really happy
1. A productive day. Sure its nice to kick back once in a while, but its also very fulfilling to come home and know that the world just got a little better because of me.
2. Playing in a symphony. Never in my whole life have I found something that requires more team work and coordination than creating music with 50 other musicians. Its an unbelievable feeling.
3. People who are naturally witty. They make me smile. :)
4. If I had a dog, he/she would be listed here. There's nothing sweeter than the pure love of a pet. I saw a bumper sticker once that said "I long to be the person my dog thinks I am." I second that quote. When I graduate I will get a dog and I will love it unconditionally.

Catchin' up!

Ugh! The idea of trying to catch up with all that's happened is daunting. I'll try to keep it in a chronological order but no promises! As I sit here and type I can only hope that Elgar's Cello Concerto outlasts my typing...

I headed down to Boulder a few weeks ago and behold! Skeeter (my car) flipped over to over 200,000.0 miles. Pretty cool, eh?



While I was in Boulder, I found an apartment!! (Feel free to cheer here!) It's in the same area as I've been living in for the last two years but its a different building and its a two bedroom instead of a three. I'm currently on the hunt for a roommate. Its considerably less stressful then trying to find a place to live. The only drawback is that the lease doesn't start 'til the First so I'm going to be homeless for the first week of school.

(Speaking of school, it starts in less than a week. I can't wait simply because I can't wait to be done and graduated. Wish me luck!)

I was also lucky enough on my trip down to say goodbye to a dear friend, Angela, who has now moved to Houston to get a doctorate degree in Environmental Engineering. I hope she's doing well. Which reminds me, (and only I know how :) ) that I got contacts for the first time in late July.


One other note about my trip to Boulder. Lindy and I went to lunch at this restaurant called Bimbamboo on Pearl and it was fantastic! You make an effort to go if your in the area.

On the 9th of August, I went to the Glenwood Caverns (Fairy caves) with my roommate Ope. While we were taking timed photos with the sites as our background, my camera decided to commit suicide off of the table I placed it on. Therefore, I will be saving my money to buy a new one (assuming I can't fix it with some nitrogen and IPA). So the pictures you see here might be the last ones for a while.

As far as the actual caverns go, I was not terribly impressed with the caves UNTIL the very end. Of course they would save the best for last in interest of good tourist business, but nevertheless, I was impressed. Some of the pictures below were taken with Ope's camera phone...







At my house in Glenwood Springs there was an apricot tree full of fruit. So I decided that I'd try my hand at canning and see if I was any good at it. I picked enough fruit to fill 7 quart-sized jars. As I was canning, I ran out of syrup so I had to take the time to make more. Of course this was just enough time to let two of the jars cool down enough so that when I put them in the boiling water, they broke. So I ended up with 5 jars of apricots and an experimental apricot pie I threw together with no recipe. The pie was actually quite good! Even though I think I could have put a little more sugar in it.

So of course with the end of the summer comes the end of my experience at Fiberforge. I had a good experience and I'm glad I did it. However, I'm just as happy to be going back to school and finishing it up. I'll miss some of the people but not some of the things they had me doing.

I have now moved out of my $700,000 mansion in the mountains but not a day too late! The ceiling in the living room collapsed during my last night there. All of the insulation everywhere made quite a mess and at that particular time, I was glad that I didn't own the place. On the other hand, it was nice because I got to spend some time with the landlords, whom are quite nice, and share my apricot pie. I wish them all the best!

Something I'm looking forward to this year is being a seasonal sub in the Longmont Symphony. They've got a great season lined up and I'm excited.
http://longmontsymphony.org/FramesHtml/SeasonSchedulepg1.html

I will also be playing in the Boulder Chamber orchestra again this year. The season isn't quite as exciting but its string music which has its own level of class. I rather enjoy not having the brass and the percussion threatening to deafen me further.
http://boulderchamberorchestra.com/concerts.html

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this catches me up. Hope all is well and happy with all of you!

The Nightmare Before School Starts

I need an apartment.

And there's no easy fix to that. All the places I have found are either A) girl households who are lesbians or 420 friendly (marijuana for you non-Boulderites) or B) guy households with no problems except they are guys or C) too far from campus.

So here are my options.
1) Live a cheap life in a good place with guy roommates (that I know and trust from school)
2) Get a one bedroom apt which would be twice as expensive when you factor in utility costs
3) Commute to school and spend time and money every day to get to and from school.
3) Live under a bridge (which I don't fancy in the winter time)
4) Live at school (since I spend most of my time there already...and there are showers)
5) Forget school altogether

It just so happens that I will not be taking George (long story). I thought that it would make finding a place more simple. But that's not the case. I still am homeless. And time refuses to obey my commands to stop until I've found something.

So if you hear of anything in Boulder. Please let me know.