Aidenn <3

Tiny Town

2007-10-17T08:32:00.000-05:00

I am in love. Can I fit 3 cats in there?

See also:
Living Small - Dennis Fukai
Little House on a Small Planet - Shay Salomon

Furburbia

2007-10-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

I think this is worth checking out. If I could sustain a living starting a place like this, I would do so in a heartbeat.

"From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America"

2007-09-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend this book:

I'm only about 20 pages in thus far, but the stories that the book shares, as well as the history of one of the most controversial Constitutional amendments is nothing short of fascinating.

I have typos in my texts like you wouldn't believe!

2007-08-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't been writing lately due to the travesty that is my vehicle. Long story short, I made a mistake whilst driving in the rain and it cost me $2600 for a new engine and a radiator fan. Not an easy task for a car that is an '03 and still financed. :( Fortunately, everything is much better now thanks in a huge part to my family's help and now I am back on the road and back to being much happier!

Not a lot has happened in the interim, but some noteworthy items would be:

(1) I saw Ratatouille with Tom's family and fell in love with Pixar all over again. They had me at Toy Story, but between the short film ("Lifted"), the actual movie, and the new "Wall-E" movie coming out in 2008, I have renewed my love affair with the digital animation company. So much so that it has spawned a new idea for me.

I have long been keeping my left arm tattoo-free in the hopes of getting a full sleeve done of all one theme. My right arm of course has the children's books and one music reference, and I seek to complete the arm with the illustrations from the remaining books I love (i.e., Skippyjon Jones, My Dead Girlfriend, Angry Little Girls, etc). My left arm however, has posed an considerable quandry for me - what do I love unabashedly enough to fill an entire arm at once? Feeling the magic of my childhood fun surge through me as Ratatouille played on the big screen, I hugged my knees in simple wonder and joy. "That's it!" I thought. That is the sleeve for my left arm. So the current idea is to combine images from the Pixar shorts and/or movies that I enjoy best! Think of the sheep/jackalope from the short, "Boundin", or even the musicians from "One Man Band". Of course, it would have to include my dorky misplaced alien from "Lifted" and would not be complete without Luxo, the lamp. To capture the magic of these misfit characters that try at life and are forced to have fun with their sweet mediocrity, that is the greatest thing!

So the moral? Wall-E will have a special place on my Pixar'ed left arm when I eventually get my tattoo.

(2) Big changes happened at work. I worked in the children's department for a year, but due to some personnel changes and thinking about what is best for furthering my career, I made the switch to work in the circulation department. My job is a lot more stressful now, but the important thing is that I am placing myself in a better position for promotion for office-related tasks since I am not pursuing my degree any longer. I still would love to complete a degree in photography, but I am going to hold off on this for a little while.

(3) I am the happiest I have been in a long time. I have a wonderful boyfriend, the best family, and a good job. I think this is pretty noteworthy. :)

I wish I had cheaper daydreams...

2007-07-18T18:00:00.000-05:00

I have been developing a growing obsession/interest in kooky Japanese-influenced toys, like those from Munky King in LA's Chinatown. My current favorites are Moofia, ScaryGirl's Treehouse, and Adios & Ciao Ciao from tokidoki. I have also daydreamed spending lottery winnings on an insanely-priced Blythe doll.

For now, I will dream of my next tattoo (thinking of the Pigeon or Skippyjon Jones to add to my sleeve....)

It's as easy as ABC...

2007-07-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

A - Apartment Therapy - Apartment decorating tips & tricks, along with neat submissions on all thing apartment!
B - Book Mooch - Swap books you've grown weary of for points to spend on books you REALLY want!
C - Craftster - One of my favorite pretending-to-work sites. Loads of ideas that end in a trip to Michael's Crafts.
D - Daddyo's - Loads of cool dresses with no practical application whatsoever.
E - eBay - I feed my new obsession for board games here.
F - Fred Flare - Cute merchandise? Check! Awesome blog? Check!
G - Good News Network - When I had to quit watching the news 'cause it gave me nightmares, Jill suggested this website
H - How Stuff Works - Aside from the fact that my former roommate now writes for them, it's a great site to figure out how all that weird stuff is formulated!
I - I Can Has Cheezburger? - The folks who started the lolcat revolution, which has now led to the ever-fun lolcode.
J - I have no idea....no Js here...
K - KDL What's Next - A database hosted by the Kent District Library, it allows you to easily search for what is next in a series of books. I use this constantly at work and it's pretty handy for those fiction series you can't keep track of!
L - Library Thing - I don't just use this 'cause I work for one, I use it to catalog all the stuff that I wish I remembered in my head!
M - My Paper Crane - I really adore her kawaii plush. :)
N - Daytona Beach News-Journal - Our local newspaper. Get all the crazy news that happens in Volusia County!
O - Ohnotheydidnt! - You pay money for People magazine? Psh, get with the times!
P - Post Secret - Some pretty artistic and insightful personal confessions. Such a voyeur!
Q - I didn't have any Q links either...
R - Religious Tolerance - A great resource if you're looking to understand different basic aspects of religions and belief systems. They have been around forever.
S - Something Awful - Forums for geeks and general societal nerds. Great fun!
T - Toothpaste for Dinner - Obscure webcomic done by an ex Chemistry lab nerd! Nothing to do with Chemistry though, I promise.
U - Urban Dictionary - The word of the day for Urban Dictionary has so much more relevance than the word of the day through dictionary.com!
V - Venganza.org - Homepage for the Church of the FSM which I consider myself a devout follower of.
W - Wikipedia - I spend more time looking up random things here than I probably should, although I have yet to write or edit an article.
X - Xkcd.com - It started out as a guy doodling, but has grown into a twice-weekly webcomic
Y and lastly, I failed at Y as well. :)
Z - Zappos.com - If you don't know that shoes here rock, then get with the program!

Give: to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow

2007-06-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

As an athiest (well, Church of the FSM anyhow) left-wing vegetarian, I know that a lot of my ideals are compromised in children's songs and activities, but in researching stuff to do for our upcoming "Farm" program, I was pretty appalled at this one...

The Giving Farm
By Vicki Witcher

Hens give eggs.
Pigs give ham.
Cows give milk.
Strawberries give jam.

Bees give honey.
Goats give cheese.
Farms give food,
I'd like some, please.

I am pretty sure pigs do not "give" ham, according to the definition. They would not do that "voluntarily".

I has an education.

2007-06-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

Reading about this college makes me excited about going back to school one day. They have whole workshops in the summer about writing books and printmaking!

Lolcode, a code for the rest of us that found VB to be tedious...

2007-06-18T10:07:00.000-05:00

You know, if my Intro to Computer Programming class was done in lolcode instead of Visual Basic, I might have reconsidered dropping out.

Lolcode was graciously shown to me by George. A new development initiative, its basic commands are humorously based on the lolcat memes, replete with poor grammar, compound words, and the most atrocious spelling of anywhere. Miraculously, all of this crap amounts to actual lined code. A business in LA even teaches a class on lolcode for the bargain price of a 12-pack of beer (not PBR either!)

All this leads up to the awesomeness that is this shirt...

Playing the memory game

2007-06-13T18:15:00.000-05:00

Notes to self:

~~add How to be a Happy Cat to my LibraryThing~~
bid on Zombies! game on eBay
find a good dentist in Volusia county
buy toothpaste at the store
buy needles at the store

Project Everlasting review

2007-06-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

One of the better perks of working at the library is the Preview cart. The preview cart is this French-onion soup colored cart parked in a little-used corner of our processing area that holds all the books that have been processed that week. Normally, when I peruse the Preview cart, it's full of stuff that holds no interest for me, such as "How to Crochet Doggie Clothes" or "Coin Collectors' Price Manual 2007".

About a week ago, I was jonesing for something new to read and came across this book called Project Everlasting by Mathew Boggs and Jason Miller. This book aptly describes itself as "...a written form of the When Harry Met Sally-styled couples". Aside from being one of those cutesy how-we-met type books, it addresses a much more serious point: with all the failed marriages that surround us each day, how do we make love last? And more importantly, do the key ingredients to a successful marriage span from generation to generation?

When I began reading this book, I was just as hopeful as the next person about the longevity of love, but after watching my own marriage collapse, as well as the failed marriages of parents and trusted friends I wanted viable proof that relationships can last; that they can go the distance beyond a simple 5 years of tumultuous craziness before they explode into a fiery blaze of anger. This books fit my need to see relationships succeed without all the foo-foo "soulmate" stuff, but with plenty of commitment, love, and respect that I idealize in my own future marriage.

Orlando Fringe 2007

2007-05-27T12:09:00.000-05:00

I had the fortune this year to go to the Orlando Fringe Festival on David's recommendation and really had an enjoyable time. I saw the following shows:

- Dishpig
- Sport: REMATCH
- Fool House
- Out of Pocket
- 52 Pick Up
- Jesus in Montana
- Love Isn't Black & White

----

And now, for my haiku...

Orlando Fringe Shows
Complexities and laughter
Mirror my own life

It's always a work in progress...

2007-05-21T09:14:00.001-05:00

I realize the following is nowhere near the concise argument that it needs to be, but it addresses the subject of my tattoos. Anyone who knows me will tell you how important my tattoos are to me. I read a posting from a blogger who was thrilled about the appointment of a new head of the Brooklyn Public Library System (Dionne Mack-Harvin) and praised her view of the library as a "vibrant community center" rather than a vault of books.

The reason why this struck me as so quotable today? Our summer wardrobe time is coming up here at our library. I have worked here for about a year and have long been frustrated by the complete lack of a written dress code. In fact, the only way to know that one would know that they are violating the dress code is when a supervisor asks that you go home to change. I have three tattoos on my right forearm and when I chose to get my tattoos in such a prominent place, it was one of the most liberating experiences I have ever known. No longer was there any question in my mind that I became more beautiful by the mere presence of my artwork, but I feel it really conveys what I hold inside of me each day. Some people ask questions from curiosity, and others ask questions of disparagement, but every time I look at any of my tattoos, I feel happy; I can't help but to smile!

Since most of my jobs have been in a corporate environment, there has never been any doubt in my mind that long sleeves would be required in any position I sought. This is the first job I have held that I thought otherwise. I work in a children's department and we do many programs outdoors in the summer. The current understood requirement is that I must wear long pants (to cover the cat tattoo on my leg) and long sleeves (to cover my arm tattoos) all the time. Until this point, I never questioned that policy, despite it's lack of backup in writing. But two days ago, I took the plunge and requested from my manager that if they were going to require me to cover my tattoos that they put it in writing so there was no question or unintended violation.

In light of the impending layoffs our county is likely to dole out (reduction in property taxes means reduction in force, and I am one of the low people on the totem pole!), I hesitated to even bring it up to her, but did so anyways. At this point, what do I have to lose? :)

There has been no solid reply, save her approaching me and saying that I can expose them one day a month, on a Saturday, but then re-analyzing and telling me that I am under "special consideration".

The reason this strikes me as odd is that if we consider the library a community center for all representations to feel educated and safe and involved, why do we ask people to hide that? All within reason of course. I am not advocating that we allow people to expose racially/gender/sexually insensitive materials (be it tattoos, t-shirts, etc etc), but I don't see the problem with hair that might be a bright color or tattoos being exposed during casual dress days. If we are a place to promote tolerance of all different lifestyles and community, why do we ask the employees to shun that for 40 hours a week?

I don't expect things to change, and I am very familiar with the counter-argument that as tax-funded employees, we must present a professional look to our customers, and if I worked anywhere other than the library, I would accept this as fact and not bother to question it (despite the lack of written dress code), but Mack-Harvin's quote sums up my point in a critical way. I am vibrant, I am part of the community, and I am proud to be who I am, even when I receive the disparaging questions.

To me, the snarky humor of the situation is that 2/3 of the tattoos on my arm are from children's books. I work in a children's department. :)

Ebert & Roeper got nothin' on me

2007-02-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

Thumbs up:
- The Rentals
- Universal Studios trip is a mere 2 weeks away
- the Owly comics I ordered came in the mail (next tattoo?)
- found a copy of Hooray for Diffendoofer Day at the bookshop, marked down to $6!
- I made a Stinky Cheese Man out of clay this weekend. He rocks.
- The 2006 BBC Jane Eyre can be preordered off of Amazon.com
- Reno 911 movie is coming!!

Thumbs down:
- no more MeowBerry Poptarts
- the tornado damage on the south end of town is horrendous. WTF Florida?

One of those things that makes you stop and think...

2007-01-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

"Why is it, that as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

Voldemort can't stop the rock!

2007-01-09T07:11:00.000-05:00

10 things that made that Harry & the Potters/Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin show last night:

1. going to Wendy's and watching the depravity of an employee vs. her baby
2. crazy white man dancing down the sidewalk
3. meeting some awesome people while standing in line and starting a conversation
4. the parents that had the 10-year olds dressed in school robes
5. the first song that SSLYBY played was "Oregon Girl" (!!)
6. the drummer for SSLYBY/H&P is so sweet in that innocent way. <3!
7. Nicole bought me a shirt. It rocks.
8. the amazing crowd interaction of H&P made it almost like a music/comedy show centered around this fantasy literary world. Wow, what multitasking!
9. Nicole freaking out over her red balloon that she got from the concert. FREAKING OUT.
10. singing along to the CDs we bought at the show on the ride home

I know you're dying to see what this show looks like. I got smart and brought my camera and took some photos and videos for you. The photos are labeled with dates, but the videos actually have names referencing their content. Anyways, it's all here.

The warm and fuzzies

2007-01-06T00:51:00.000-05:00

I don't really have a lot to say, other than everything has been going my way lately and this makes me very happy. Lots of things have been making me smile lately, and I have a partial list.

Things to be happy about:

Harvey Birdman on DVD
rocking the house at one of the mini-games on Rayman's Raving Rabbids for the Wii
black nailpolish
sleeping in
my upcoming trip to Universal Studios
grocery shopping with my MP3 player
listening to Oranger on Pandora
new beginnings
used bookstores
Daria (the old MTV cartoon) on DVD

This made me laugh today! :)

2007-01-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

by way of Heather...

Definitions

The Washington Post asked readers to take any word from the dictionary... alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter... and supply a new definition!

1) Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2) Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

3) Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

4) Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

5) Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

6) Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

7) Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

8) Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Simple things to be happy.

2007-01-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

This is stuff that is important to me; stuff that keeps me grounded. I hope that by posting it right at the new year, I will remember to do these things more often and without apology!

Smile. Laugh out loud. Often!
Go to sleep when you're tired
Read children's books. I recommend Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Drink more water
Teach a child something neat
Spend time by yourself
Learn something new. Do this willingly, and be okay with mistakes
Always eat some of the cookie dough when you're baking
Slide across the floor in socks
Dance in the living room with the stereo up. Bonus points if you use your hairbrush as a microphone
Make a picnic and share it with someone
Walk into the ocean with your pants rolled up. Splash!
Ride your bike to the park after work and play on the swings
Sing. Be okay with a mediocre voice
Wear jewelry made from macaroni

And David, if you read this, thanks once again for the best Solstice present I could ask for. I heart my domain name! Well, second only to the best Christmas day I've had. :)