My precious...

I woke up a bit before 11am, Micaela crawling back into bed with me. She had been up since 8, and wanted to take a nap. So, she is sleeping. I however, slept to long, getting 6-7 hours of sleep, and am now wide awake, and have much to do.

Ship two items that I sold on ebay
Relist the Super Snark I have for sale-done
Weedeat someones lawn if I can
Go to the Grocery store
Go exploring with Micaela
Price check something
Go to the Library
Make out my list of wedding planning stuff
Clean out the refridgerator
Do dishes
Get fabric for curtains
Make a few phone calls


So, stuff to do, places to go, and such.

All in all, a decent day for it I suppose.

My brother is moving to New York this weekend. A pretty good deal for him, I think, but it will be sort of odd not having him around at all. Oh well. He was over last night and today, spending some time with me before he leaves. Decided to get some stuff done while he was here, so the lawn was mowed, I put in a walkway from the deck to the front door, and various other odds and ends as well.

Caela has been gone all day, I haven't seen her since I went to bed last night. I think she went to Fairfax with Kazim. Hopefully she will get home soon.

Sliced my finger pretty bad, right on top of the scar from the time the tip of my left index finger was almost cut off. That is what put a stop to working in the shop today, lots of blood and and not being able to use the hand very well is not conducive to doing anything really.

Hopefully that heals up halfway decently in a few days time.

Went to the library, cleaned out the truck, except for the bed, and am now burning DVDs. Should be done with those in a few hours, then off to bed and such. Bleah.

Well, my teeth are bothering me again, although different teeth than usual. I am hoping that they stop hurting with the simple help of sleep, but I am not sure that that will do it. So, I am preparing to have yet another visit to the dentist if the pain persists.

Oh well, it isn't really bad yet, just bad enough to prevent sleep from coming very easily. That being said, I really do hope for sleep soon, because in the a few hours I need to up and rested enough to learn yet another trade, one that I am only semi proficient with. I am starting with an electrician doing freelance work for him, and that ought to be pretty good.


The True item of note is that today is the 5th anniversery of a drive I took with Micaela that resulted in, well, us. For which I am very grateful and do not have a single regret about. Much more important than anything else in my book.

So, maudlin as it may be, Micaela, when you do read this, I love you, and hope that the next five years are even better for us.


And of course the weather is preventing me from logging into the net, so I am typing this out in notepad to paste into LJ as soon as the weather permits, as long as it does so before I finish my drink.

Gah...still down, although it is blinking on and off every two seconds.

Damn these clouds. It is night time, I have little use for them. No sun to hide, so why do they persist?

Finally!

Today nothing happened. Well, almost nothing. Read a little, looked online for a job a little, got no phone calls, nothing really important happened, watched a movie or two. Decided that Payback is really a great movie, and should definitely be watched every year at least once. Caela and I went for a 20 minute walk at 10 pm, but that was about as much hullabaloo as we could really muster today.

Maybe tommorrow will be better.

Maybe it is bedtime.

Well, the weather is about the same as it has been all week. That is to say, dark, gloomy and lots of overcast skies, coupled with the sound of thunder and intermitent flashes of lightning. All of them following a morning that I slept through that seems to have been sunny and bright. Chance or a good sense of timing?

I decided that I would attempt to learn how to use dreamweaver today, so it is open in the window behind Firefox. Not sure what I will do with it, but it looks somewhat promising. I have been thinking fo some time now that my future is tied up with technology somehow, though I have not been able to figure out exactly how it all ties together yet. There are to many web designers out there, and to many programmers that are better than my knowledge of BASIC, so I don't think that that is it. Eh, I will figure it all out eventually.

It is 5 o'clock pm, and I have been thawing hamburger to make biscuits and gravy for Micaela when she finally wakes up. Eventually she will wake up from her nap, by which time she will most likely decide that she really doesn't want biscuits and gravy, but has her mind fixed on skittles and tortoise stew, at which point I will have to inform her that she is shit outta luck.

Maybe I should procrastinate the whole Dreamweaver thing and watch a movie.

Today has turned out fairly nice, somewhat sunny, warm, with clouds intermittently blocking the harsh rays of the evil ball of gas...and no rain so far. Which is nice, because I need to go mow a few yards.

Other than that, I need to do a few things around the house, list an item or two on ebay and craigslist, clean up all the misc computer parts I have sitting around, and take the trash into town, burn a few dvds, and make the front yard a stuff-free zone.

I may be picking up some work for an electrician pretty soon, which is good, and hopefully I can get some more contract jobs soon.

So, not very exciting around here. Rather dull, actually. Which is not a bad thing, but I am running out of reading material. Bleah. I am thinking of bringing my brother back home with me to help out with a few things, namely moving logs and building a table and such. Might even give him dinner.

Not much happening really. I have cleaned and organized the workshop, but still need to work on a few projects down there.

LJ has been sort of dead lately, making me sortof wonder about it. I post more now than I used to, although not as much as I did at first. And when I do post, it is mainly things I need to get done. Most of my friends here have deserted the LJ scene almost completely however. Micaela still posts, but it is fairly rare nowadays. Makes me wonder, I guess.

Micaela is going way for a day or two to new york with Kazim, to go see her former boss get hitched, which means that I will be home by myself. Most people might think that that sounds like fun, but not really. I plan on keeping busy if possible, but I highly doubt fun will enter into it anywhere.

Well, time to get back to doing stuff. Like, oh, say unloading the truck, taking a shower, going into town for a little bit, getting something to eat, etc.

Maybe I will do/write something meaningful soon. Or, more likely not.

To confirm the Ruth sighting, yes, she was here. Yes we had fun. Yes, we need to see her more often.

In other news, I am currently looking for a job, somewhat halfheartedly, because I do have a job already, although not one I could call consistent. Hence the looking in the first place.

So, the resume is updated, the first few applications have been sent out, and I will continue to make a few phone calls and stuff like that.

I have a few things on my list to get done, but not til later. For now though, I think I will play a game of age of empires, which I have not done in quite some time.

How do you feel about having a child homeschooled (would you hs your child...y/y not)
A: Home schooling is closest to what I feel is a good education with the childs welfare and future in mind. Not everyone is cut out for home schooling though. In cases where the parent cannot or will not home school there are other options available. Home schooling puts the parent in the role of teacher as well as parent, and lends a little more ability to instill a respect for learning and authority. Today I agree with it, though I think that since the text books are still provided or censored by the state there is still a lowered standard.

how would you feel about enrolling your child in a private school? hypothetically
A: Many of the same things I think about both public schools and home schooling apply to private schools. There is the states almost invisible touch on the approval of materials, the tests are still there, the fact that there is not a good way to garuntee that the child is getting a decent education, and the fact that the students are not seeing a trade performed. Also, there is the fact that the majority of private schools are small, run by poorer sects of a religion, and the students are taught (often) that the only religion that is feasible is the one they adhere to. For instance, an Episcopalian student being sent to a Baptist school is taught that they are on par with the Roman Catholic church, which is an evil institution, bent on subverting the souls of men through an outward show of godliness. Oddly enough, the more “strict” or orthodox sects of Christianity tend to relax this a bit for students that are of a different franchise of the Christian religion.
Yes the standards are higher in most private schools. No, they do not still teach Latin and Greek (a prerequisite for being well educated). No, they do not allow free thought. All in all, I would be more inclined to send a child to a private school, but there are not many that I would send a child to, and the number gets smaller each year.

How do you feel about public school? Why do you feel this way? What things are you most impressed with? How important is the role of education recieved? How important is socialization to you? What are you the most unimpressed with?(this really applies to all 3 subjects)
A: Public schools should not exist in the same way that they exist today. I firmly believe that there are schools that try to do the best they can for the students but it is not enough. Most people do not need to go on beyond reading writing and simple arithmetic, and some grounding in history. Forcing a child to learn beyond what they will use is not right. Better to instill a sense of work ethic in them early on.

How do you feel about fine arts and music??? Where do you think a child would most benefit who was creative? Y?
A: Fine arts and music… I am very much attached to both of them. Without them we as a race do not record all the aspects of life to look at and analyze at leisure. Museums and art shows, concerts, shows, history lessons… all of them help give a child a better understanding of the concepts behind art in all forms. The lessons can be taught in a classroom, but other things cannot be. All systems fail when it comes to this as well, but home schooling tends to have a better batting average, due to being able to schedule out times to go and take children to the events they need to see, places you found interesting, etc.

WHAT WOULD YOU DOOOOOOOOO?
A: And here it is. I do not have children, nor do I ever plan to. If I did have a child, I would home school them until they had a firm grasp on the basics, then where I would go from there would largely depend on the child. If they were more receptive to the idea of becoming a skilled tradesman, I would get them an apprenticeship, much like the old way of training went. Apprenticeships still exist, though there are very few in the United States. If they seemed to show an aptitude towards scholarship, I would continue their studies at home, but start taking them to some of the older centers of learning to hear lectures, take them to debates, start having them think for themselves. If they showed signs of neither I would most likely have to combine the two, which would be difficult to do, but still doable. I myself am more of a jack of all trades, and it would stand to reason that there will be people like me, so why should I prevent that? Taking them to work with me and continuing lessons while at work would be good in that instance. Letting them see how things are done, letting them see that work, while still work, can give one a sense of enjoyment, if only though giving one time to think, or letting one be creative. At the same time, I would open debates with the kid, seeing how well they could form their own opinions and defend them.


Back to an earlier question, it was asked about the social aspects of schooling. Speaking as someone who went through early home schooling, then private school, then public school, I think I can safely say that while people skills are necessary, they are not learned any particular way. Being around other children is good, yes, but not being around them constantly. Being around adults is good as well, and it is just as important for children to have time to them selves. It does vary child to child, and there is no set way to go about things for all children.

A short post. Not much going on. Went to see Xmen III last night with Micaela. I was dissappointed in the lack of decent acting, the compression of the plot that seemed to take place, the uneven transitions between scenes, the changing of characteristics of the characters throughout the movie, etc. While the movie was not a complete flop, I think the first two were much better. Oh well.

I have to go to work today. No clue how long I will be at work, but I am hoping it is not to long. I am going to put in a bid for finishing a retaining wall that the home owner started. I am hoping he takes me up on it. If he does, I get to put in a retaining wall with the first courses under water. Fun.

Well, About time to go. Before I do, I need to write out a list of stuff that I need to do very soon, some of which I have been putting off. This stuff needs to be done in the next two days.

List:
1. Clean Gutters
2. Make out fliers for Yard mowing
3. Sweep house
4. Finish cleaning out workshop
5. Post an ad for yard mowing in the paper
6. Pay the cell phone bill
7. Start selling computer parts I have
8. Get ahold of a copy of a disk bootable Linux OS
9. Clean out truck
10. Wash/stain deck

Been a long couple of days. Or maybe it just feels that way. Not sure. In any event, I am fairly busy working, and the next day off is either going to be on friday, or on sunday. All depends on the weather and schedule I suppose. I am rather impatient about the whole home phone thing, this whole not having reception out here is not making me all that happy. The good news about it is that the woman I spoke to to set up the phone thought that the long distance included calls to Canada, at no extra charge per minute. If she is wrong, then it is only going to be five cents a minute, which still is not all that bad. Well, time to go jump in the shower and go to work.

Well, with Caela being gone yesterday, I got a few things done around the house before heading into fredericksburg.

Done:
Flushed radiator and Motor
Changed oil/radiator fluid
tidied up the truck(not to be confused with cleaning it)
Dishes
Mowed lawn


Not as much as I should have gotten done maybe, but oh well.

Today was pretty short at work. Two hours. It would not have been worth it really if I didn't know that I get more work out of it eventually. Ah, such is life, eh?

I am enjoying the whole new place. My preffered method of relaxation is, for the moment, standing out on the deck and firing stones I took out of the yard intop the treeline. It does not take much to keep me happy I guess.

Today I called in the order for a house phone. Although I have the number already, it won't be connected for quite some time. 10-15 days in fact. Reason? I refused to go through Verizon, because I really do not like them as a corporation, and I have to wait for them to release the line to the new provider.

Reading a series I had not read before. It is pretty good. Definitely a product of Heinliens effect on literature. Thinking about it, as that most people have the impression, not entirely wrong either, that I am somewhat of a prude and a conservative, it seems odd to me that I enjoy many books that deal with some rather liberal concepts. If you ever read Heinlein, you know what I mean.

Well, all that being said, time to get into the shower and head out to fredericksburg for a night of carousing and revelry.

I have gotten a lot accomplished here at the new house. Listing, for my perusal purposes, the stuff I have done, and the stuff that I need to do yet.

DONE:

1. Painted the kitchen, Dining Room, Living room
2. Moved all belongings into the house
3. Cleaned all kitchen cabinets, put down shelf guard
4. Put everything away in the kitchen
5. Put up bookshelves, put up books, arranged livingroom/Library
6. Hooked up computer, internet etc.
7. Put up two curtains
8. Cleaned the fridge
9. debugged the house with pemethin and Boric acid
10. Put up pictures
11. Hooked up washer and dryer

STILL TO DO...

1. Do floors in closets. (the owner put in floors, but didnt bother extending them into the closets?)
2. Put new floor in master bathroom
3. Clean Gutters
4. Pressurewash deck
5. Stain deck
6. Put trim in house
7. paint ceilings/put up wooden panel ceilings(havent figured out which yet)
8. Clear wood out of the backyard.(going to be an ongoing process)
9. Repair hole in the shed roof
10. Mow yard, spray for bugs
11. Take down dead tree that leanes over deck
12. get rid of tacky crap in yard
13. fix railing on stairs
14. install curtain rods/curtains in office, bedrooms, kitchen, downstairs
15. install shower curtainrod/shower curtain
16. Sealcoat driveway
17. get faceplates for lightswitches/outlets(there were almost none that matched, and all of them were tacky as hell)
18. organize workshop area
19. Put up large vanity style Mirror in bedroom
20. put in overhead lights in entryway, bedrooms
21. Paint bathrooms, one of the bedrooms

Stuff to make for the new house:

1. Trim
2. Trim for kitchen that doubles as pot/pan hanging rack
3. jewelry hanger for caela
4. Workbench for workshop
5. Trash area outside
6. wooden shelving for kitchen pantry
7. drafting table for drawing and sush
8. bead table for caela
9. Deck furniture
10. table for folding clothes in laundry room
11. Walkway to back yard

It is 8:20 am. The neighbors dog has been barking for a while now. Today is the last day I am going to have to deal with that. That makes me happy.

ok, now to see how much shit I can move before taking caela to work.

So, 7 o'clock pm. Loaded the stuff into the truck to take over to the new place, planning on making a second trip this evening as well, decided we needed to stop at the grocery store for a few things, and to tie down the mattress a bit better. And, as I step up onto the bed of the truck, I notice steam coming from the passengers side of the truck, near the engine, as well as hearing a hissing sound, and the sound of liquid rushing out of the truck. Rushing to turn the truck off, I then popped the hood, took a look, and couldnt figure out what the hell the problem was. There was a reddish brown liquid everywhere, soit made narrowing the problem down rather difficult. I deduced that it was one of the following things. 1Head gasket, 2 Radiator, 3 Water Pump, 4 A hose rupture. Take a guess at which one I was hoping it was...

Caela and I went into the grocery store to get a few gallons of water, came back out and filled the truck up with water, and we limped home(which was only a few blocks away). I looked at the hoses, and where I could finally see liquid dripping, as that the extra had evaporated. It turned out to be a hose! Great! But, it is also sunday, and advanced auto closes at nine intead of ten, and it is about 5 miles away. Now that it is 8 o' clock, I am thinking there is no way I can get there before they close and such. Until I remember the bicycle upstairs. Yes, its tires were flat, and it was a bit small for me, and not the type of bicycle I used to ride, but it would be quicker than walking...Since no one returned my calls at all, I filled the tires of the bicycle with fix-a-flat, and off I went. Since the trip was mainly uphill, not steep hills, but insidious slight inclines that make you think they really shouldnt be that bad, by the time I was 3/4 of the way there I was beat as hell. I made it though, despite not having been on a bicycle in almost 8 years. I am out of shape.

Got the part, a kind gentleman gave me a lift back home, and then Andrew and I started to try to change the hose. On the bottom of the engine. And on the bottom of the radiator. with shit in the way all over the place, and the hose clamps being rusted on very badly. It took a few hours, ending with one clamp unrecognizable as such, because we had to destroy it to get it off. I am hoping the hose clamps are tight enough to stay on.

Well, tommorrow is going to be the big moving day I guess. Going to start early, or I wont get it all done. Bleah.

Well, I got up a bit later than I had planned today, and though I am awake right now, I really wish the coffee and cigarettes would kick in. Today marks the big part of the move, I think. I still need to do some painting at the new place, but the kitchen is done already. The kitchen is the room that I thought would take the longest, due to the amount of counters, cabinets, sinks, etc. that I had to paint around, so I am hoping to be either done, or nearly done, with the painting today.

Tonight SHOULD mark the fist night that Micaela and I actually spend at the new place. I need to move a lot of the bigger items, i.e. bed, desk, bookshelves, couch, today but I am not sure that I am going to get to all of it. Ihope so though.

Other things to do include replacing my alternator, changing my oil, changing my brake pads, and pricing out a windshield for my truck.

Caela is now up, showered and semi awake at least, and lurking like a vulture, albeit a short one, waiting for her computer to be free, and glaring at me as I type this, so I am going to get off the computer now.

So, what have I been up to lately? Good question. What I should be up to is getting the new place ready to move into. Unfortunately, that seems to have taken the back seat, because I have been working damn near every day, and whats more, I have to ferry people to and from work, so that after I get off of work, I have no real ability to get a days work in at the new place.

It sucks. Not that I don't like making money, but I really need to get the new place all set and ready to move into. Today is the 26th, and by the st we not only have to be moved out, but have to have the old place repainted as well. Bleah.

Today ended on a soggy note. Well, a bit more like soaking, to tell the truth... Yeah, as Andrew and I were trying to get the fence we are putting up finished, a bunch of thunder off in the distance, getting closer and closer, we looked at each other and said something to the effect of "We are going to get wet..." And we were right too, although I do not believe that either of us anticipated how wet we were going to be. We got soaked, the ground, the fence, everything in the vicinity got soaked. There was a mad rush to get all the tools to the truck and get going before everything was waterlogged. The only success we had was keeping the tools semidry, but Andrew and I could probably have shaken our heads and turned a desert into a....soggy desert?

Right. So that is about all I have been up to lately. Carry on.

Well, Lots of things going on lately. I am moving, yet again, since my landlord is selling the place I am living in now. I am trying to get the new place ready to move into right now, but it has been sort of difficult due to working and taking people to work. I am hoping I can start moving stuff in on wednesday afternoon. Any one who wants the new address may email me, and I shall fork it over.

Aside from that, not much going on. But, this will be my last post on my laptop. I have sold it on ebay, and it will be shipped out tommorrow. I am going to miss it, but I need a desktop more than a laptop, (though caela might be able to get by better with a laptop), and I think it is for the best. I also sold, and have already shipped my PDA.

So, Caela and I will be sharing a computer for a few days, possibly longer. I am not sure about that one yet. I may wait until next month to get a computer, depending on work and things. Caela and I both need glasses and she needs a dental checkup before I get a computer. We also need a few other things as well, so I may put getting myself my own computer on the back burner for a bit. I am not sure yet though. It all depends on the money situation, I suppose. I really think I should save up enough that Caela and I can visit her Dad first as well, so it might be a few months(I hope not though).

Anyway, last post on the laptop.

*sniff

1. Get paper look for the following items - looked, called, no luck
-washer and dryer
-chainsaw
-Mitre saw
-piano
-tablesaw
-router
-weedeater

2. take apart a computer
3.check ebay items- done
4. go to library print flyers
5. take in change
6. call amy, set up time to finish furniture repair and moving stuff
7. get 5 gallons of paint, and two gallons deck stain
8. pressurewash deck-pending the morrow
9. take ladder to new place-pending the morrow
10. clean gutters-pending the morrow
11. paint kitchen in new place-pending the morrow
12. put down vinyl floor at new place-pending the morrow
13. count face places and covers @ new place-pending the morrow
14. sort clothing for goodwill and packing-done
15. see exactaly how much trim is going to be
16. clean truck
17. mow yard

Yeah, so most of the day is going to be a bit different than I planned. Tommorrow I will be changing oil and brakes at the new place, and getting to as much of the shit that is pending tommorow as possible. meh. I will be trying to get to goodwill to drop off all the sorted crap today though, as well as packing up the rest of the book collection.