Wednesday the 9^th of October 2002 CE @ 21:53 hours MST.

Currently Playing: Celtic River

Wow!  The whole hard drive is gone!  So much for asking about State Fair plans on the PFF board before the fair opens tomorrow.  I can’t believe that it’s here already.  I miss the days when the fair was actually in town during Holloween.  It’s just not the same when you’re going to the fair in temperatures which average in the high nineties or low hundreds.  I guess I’ll be using this temporary log on my computer in the meantime again.

I just got back from Hallmark.  It was my first chance to pick up the new ornaments that debuted over the weekend.  I missed out on double points, but I’ll survive.  It looks like there will be some more ornaments which will debut next month.  I broke down and bought another non-Star Wars ornament, the Christmas Fairy.  She was so beautiful, I just had to pick her up.  She’ll probably look just as out of place as the Incredible Hulk ornament I picked up a few years ago. 

Last night Bill and I went to an advanced showing of Tuck Everlasting with tickets supplied by Jay.  Wow!  What an awesome movie.  I can try blaming the goosebumps on drinking soda in an air conditioned theatre, but I don’t have any excuse for the tears that welled up in my eyes.  The brilliantly crafted constant sense of doom was countered by the beautiful scenery and inspiring coming of age story. 

Monday, Chris and Jon slept in until 8pm-ish, and Kristie was tired enough that she was falling asleep after 10pm.  With only an hour and a half of gaming, Chris asked that we get the chance to play one last session on the fourth Monday of the month.  He’d be willing to pick Wayne and I up this one time, and Jon could take us home.  Yesterday I spoke with Bill and he claims to have Mondays off like Jon and I, so he’ll try making it to that session as well.  We’ll see. 

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Thursday the 10^th of October 2002 CE @ 22:04 hours MST.

Currently Reading: Star Wars: Jedi Quest–Path to Truth

Wow!  I’d forgotten just how much I love The Nightmare Before Christmas.  I mean, I remembered that I’d loved it, but I’d forgotten much of the movie in the five or six years since I must have last seen it.  It makes me want to pull out my soundtrack and listen to it again, but I only have it on cassette.  My step-father has my only working cassette player.  I really need to get the other one fixed, but I never get around to it. 

I got a call this morning that my great uncle Gene wouldn’t wake up this morning, so he was rushed to the hospital again.  This time it is pneumonia.  That man has all the luck.  I really hope that God is able to comfort both him and great aunt Lucy during these times. 

The guys at work were all trying to convince me that the Arizona Mills IMAX had closed its doors for good.  They claimed it was in this morning’s paper and on the news last night.  I put up a brave front and told them that they weren’t going to fool me, but their united front and continued insistence made me call IMAX when I got home.  They’re still listing show times and offering ticket sales, so I’m confident that Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones will still open the 1^st of November.  I hope so, I took the day off from work.  I didn’t take enough time off for an out of town trip for IMAX Star Wars.  I’d jump on the PFF board to see if anyone else had heard the rumour, but as you can see I’m still trying a temporary log here at my computer.  Who knows when they’ll fix their computer.  I hear they’re going to try and get a grant for two new computers, so they may never fix the one they already have. 

Currently Reading:  Fairy Meat

Hey!  Three TV dropped Earth:  Final Conflict from their schedule before airing the final episode.  That's uncalled for.  Luckily I was able to read the episode synopsis on the official Web site. 

Our parish dedicated our new O'Carrol Hall, Conference Center, four additional classrooms, Youth room, outdoor Mosaic Shrine of the Holy Family, kitchens, Hospitality Center, and sunken garden.  At first I thought it was a bad idea to get rid of our sand Volleyball courts for the new parish hall, but having done the walk-through tonight I must say I am impressed.  We should be able to stock much more food for the St Vincent de Paul Society, have a real Youth Group for the first time in our parish, and are now capable of holding major events such as concerts, lectures, Paul's Cafe, and host our diocesan synod.  The first event our new hall held was a special presentation of Late Night Catechism in coordination with the Scottsdale Centre for the Arts to celebrate the fourtieth anniversary of our pastor's ordination into the priesthood. 

So Saturday I ran the Fairy Meat game I was asked to run a couple of weeks ago.  Considering how I hadn't played since HexaCon X in July 2000, I was amazed at how smoothly the game ran.  I ran the Breakfast scenario from the main book, and everyone but Jackson who had a headache all weekend and hates fairies had fun. 

In fact, my Xanga image was a surprise photo of me taken while I was playing my first game of Fairy Meat the Sunday of that convention.  That's why I have the measuring string in my hands.  I really need a new picture taken of me, even though I usually avoid having pictures taken of me.  That one makes me look extra fat. 

Woah, am I tired.  I guess I should go to bed and recap the rest of my weekend later.  Suffice it to say that the clerics weren't killed off by the rest of the party and that the succubus escaped.  I had my PTO OKed for the 1st of November.  I watched and enjoyed All the President's Men.  More details may follow, but I should be well rested for tomorrow night if it is indeed the last session of our MSHAG campaign.  Night.

OK, they've left the computer on for me tonight.  Yay!  Yahoo! and MSN are still causing IE freezes.  Boo!

It turns out Cheyanne's only night off from work is Thursday, so that's why Bill ditched Who last Thursday and will be ditching Who tomorrow.  It sounds like we'll be needing a new Doctor Who night.  I wonder which night it will be, or if we'll stop having it for a while (again). 

At the Sales meeting tonight we found out that we're switching our work uniforms to include bright yellow polo shirts with our logo.  They'll supply two shirts for free, then charge us $6 for each aditional shirt we desire.  I'm not doing laundry every other night, so it looks like I'll be spending $24 for a full wardrobe.  Oh well.  They also have asked that we start using Month/Day/Year for our shop work forms.  I'm not sure I'll be able to handle that.  It just seems so awkward to not go in order.  Sometimes I just don't get Americans. 

I see that another round of weblog get-to-know-you posts has begun.  If that's such a popular thing, maybe it should be made a separate page, much like Reviews, Events, and the Guest Book.  Then people could post in their weblog entry a notice to re-read that page whenever they update it. 

Tuesday the 1st of October 2002 CE @ 21:08 hours MST.

Currently Playing: Ragtime: The Music of Scott Joplin

Ugh.  Where to start.  Maybe something positive so I don’t sound all whiny.  Great-uncle Eugene is doing so well in the rehab centre that he may get to go home soon.  I’ve apparently been getting daily updates in my HoTMaiL account, to which I was able to easily login at the Maricopa County Library.  I haven’t used their library in a couple of years so I was surprised to see some thirty units in their computer lab.  I guess only the first handful have MS Word and printer access, while the others are Internet only.  I’ve always liked their system best for Internet usage, out of all the library branches at which I’ve used the Internet.  You take an available terminal number from the rack, signin (hey, that should be a word if login is) with your first name and time, and go to your terminal.  You have only thirty minutes, unlike most other libraries which give sixty minutes.  However, unlike most other libraries, when your time is done you can stay at your computer until some asks you to leave.  You’re only asked to leave if there is some who wishes to use a computer, there are no terminal numbers available in the rack, and you are the person signed in for the longest period.  It’s a very fair system for all involved. 

Jon’s also doing better.  I’m not sure what kind of stress he’s under from work, but I figured it best not press him for answers just in case in might cause more cardiac troubles.  I did wish him well.  All of his coworkers with which I am friends think he’s not under any stress at work, but if you’d seen the look on his face last night when his work was brought up you’d have to disagree with that assessment.  I think something’s going to give, and I hope it’s not Jon’s life.  I hope he’s smart enough to make the right choices, no matter how tough. 

I’m typing this temp journal while they figure out what’s wrong with their computer.  Now they must have the power switched off to that outlet completely. Everything’s plugged into the power bar, the power bar is plugged into the wall, and yet nothing will turn on, not even the power bar surge protector light.  I’m just not going to ask. 

I received some further bad news from my parents today.  They’re house may not begin construction until the 5th of November.  They found this out today when they showed the builder where on the property they wanted the home to be constructed.  I guess they wanted their house to have water piped from the well.  They’re also going to have a security system installed, Direct TV, and Direct TV satellite Internet access.  It sounds like they’re be paying for the satellite modem for over a year.  But they’ll need it for their business, and its not like they have any other option in the nether reaches of Pinal County. 

As you know, Bill ditched MSHAG last night without ever communicating what he wanted done with his character.  Now I find out that Wayne’s made plans to hang out with his sister and brother-in-law next Monday.  The following Monday Chris and Kristie will be at Knott’s Scarey Farm.  After that, Monte will be on the road doing his trucker internship.  So it looks like I won’t be able to have everybody all together for the finale.  Disappointing, but that’s life.  So it looks like we’ll play next week without Wayne (and who knows about Bill) and try to wrap it up then.  I had a blast, and I think most of the others did too.  Chris told me that he’s been following my plots even if his characters couldn’t use his player knowledge.  He even guessed what I was doing with the YETI plotline.  That’s gratifying to see that they’re enjoying the storylines and grasping the clues I toss them.  I just wish I’d had the chance to finish up several of my subplots.  If I begin any other campaign sometime in the future, I’ll forget this one.  I always do.  Most of my plotlines and ideas remain in the subconscience so that I can refine and adjust as things occur in and out of game over time.  It’s never really committed to any sort of memory which might lock things and prevent creativity (on both the players’ part and mine).  I’ve totally lost all but a few fragments from my Star Wars d6 campaign from years ago.  At least I got the chance to wrap some things up since Monte started his trucker classes.  It’s better than nothing. 

Tomorrow I have a Sales meeting after work, so who knows when I’ll get home.  I don’t even know what they’ll be feeding us for dinner.  We haven’t had one since the big department shuffle which began early this year.  So we’ll have plenty to discuss.  I bet we won’t even cover everything with this first meeting.  Tomorrow’s also my two year anniversary with Wide World of Maps.  While that seems like a lot to my friends, I keep having to remind them that the average employment time of the current lot of employees is seven years.  Thus, only four people within the entire company were hired after my training class.  And none of them are in my department (the Phoenix Map Gallery).  They may heap a lot of responsibilities on me because I am competent, but that doesn’t give me the seniority that some of my friends expect me to be able to use to their advantage.  I doubt they’ll ever accept that, working for high-turn over companies like they do, but that’s their problem. 

We got a prayer card at mass on Sunday for our Phoenix Diocesan Synod which is coming up, and I’ve already lost it.  I was trying to keep it in good condition so that I could laminate it at work today, but I couldn’t find it this morning while packing for work (nor this evening after work).  I guess I’ll have to see about obtaining a replacement on Sunday or Monday. 

A character in The Image of the Fendahl whistles "The Entertainer".  I love ragtime.  I’ve actually got "The Entertainer" on two different CDs by different ensembles.  I was listening to American Music a lot last week, so I tossed on Ragtime tonight.  I really like "Elite Syncopations" and "Easy Winners" off this album.  I wonder if anyone does live ragtime shows in the Phoenix Metro.  I might just have to check them out if they do.