Archive for September, 2009

2009
28
Sep
20:26

and i shall call her cirrus

   Posted by: arcanai    in pix

so last thursday, i broke down and bought a netbook.  i’ve been eyeing her for a couple of weeks but i was hesitant because she’s about the only netbook out there that comes with vista instead of xp.  to be fair, i’ve never used vista but i’ve also never heard good things about it.  when we stopped at walmart for groceries after the bridge run, i decided to go back and see if they had any in stock.  they had one.  and then i noticed the little sign up next to the price tag that said computers with vista on them get a free upgrade to windows 7.  and so i bought her.  unfortunately, we had a lot of errands to run on our way home so, by the time we got there, i was about ready for bed.  i opened the box to look her over but that was it. 

friday morning, the first thing i did was go to windows’ website to read up on this free upgrade deal.  i found that my model, acer aspireone 751h, was indeed eligible for the upgrade so i went on to filling out screens to pre-order my copy of 7.  a couple screens in, it asked for the serial number so i got her back out of the box, gently turned her over, and entered her numbers just to be told by the website that her serial number is ineligible for the upgrade offer.  what?!  so i got to looking around more and found that the upgrade was only eligible for three versions of vista and that the vista basic was not one of them.  i was hurt and angry on behalf of poor cirrus.  and i was confused because, from what i can tell, this model only comes with vista basic so how can the model be eligible if it only comes with an os that is ineligible?  regardless, i felt like i had been duped and was saddened to find myself thinking of returning her. 

there was another model at walmart for the same price but it was 1gb memory and 160gb hard disk.  cirrus has 2gb memory and 250gb hard disk.  not to mention an extra inch and a half over all other models and a full size keyboard.  i really, really liked her.  i looked and looked and couldn’t find any other make or model of netbook with those stats for anywhere near the $300 price range. 

i struggled for several days with the decision:  to return or not to return.  fortunately, i have some awesome friends with much more computer knowledge than myself and dc was able to assuage my concerns about vista. 

feeling much better about the matter, i booted cirrus up for the first time tonight.  and, though i fully acknowledge her drawbacks – inadequate processor seems to be the biggest to me – i am smitten.  she has the most gorgeous screen.  and her keyboard is so easy to type on.  she is white (okay, i would have preferred red but this was the only one they had in stock and white was my second preference  – but i won’t tell her that because i don’t want to give her a complex) and quiet and cool and light as a cloud (yes, these are the reasons for her name).  she’ll even fit in my old purse.  i will say that vista is every bit as frustrating and crappy as everyone says but i’m good.

so, without further ado, i introduce cirrus:

1001091554-00

and posing with my work pc to show off her svelteness:

1001091601-00

1001091602-00

2009
26
Sep
16:05

W.A.R.

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy

good grief, arcanai!  are you ever going to get back into a routine?  you know all this laziness isn’t helping matters!

  morning lunch evening
sunday      
monday      
tuesday      
wednesday      
thursday     3 mi bridge run
friday      
saturday swam 40 lengths of pool    
2009
20
Sep
13:18

lobster sub sand-wiches

   Posted by: arcanai    in creatures in the backyard, pix

last year’s lobsterfest sand sculpture contest seemed to be a much bigger event than this year.  this year, there were less than ten sculptures, easily half of what we saw last year (although, sadly, i didn’t have a camera with me then).  we met up with scooter and sunny to hang out for a while.  we toured the piles of sand and waited for the first lobster weigh in.  it made for a fun, but super-freaking-hot, afternoon. and i had to cut it a little short for a girls-nigh-out dinner with panda and her friends.

first up, the amateur sculptures.  we had a buxom mer-lobster and seashell:

lobster01
lobster02
lobster03

followed by a mer-lobster dude with a wicked six-pack:

lobster10

of course, there are a few that did not pass my standards for posting but i had to include this cute little punch-bug.  these pix don’t really show all the details but there are windshield wipers, a vw emblem on the front, a peace sign on the back, and door handles.  i think it’s cute, i reply.

lobster11
lobster12

 this was the winner of the day.  i’m guessing not only because of the excellent execution and difficulty of technique (lots of arch pieces in the legs) but because it also did the best job of sticking with this year’s theme of “lobster sub”, which, by the way, was also exemplified by the world-record seventy foot lobster sub sandwich that was made and eaten earlier in the day.  anyhow, the winning sculpture also included a small replica of the restaurant which doesn’t seem to be in the pix i chose to post.  i loved the smile.

lobster08
lobster09

here’s the professional sculpture for this year.  while it is pretty cool, i don’t think it’s nearly as impressive as last year’s

lobster04
lobster05
lobster06
lobster07

and here was the first weigh-in of the tournament.  i think he was like 9.3lbs or so.  a friend of ours, stretch, has the winning team every year.  i think he said theirs was 10.8lbs.  that’s a lot of lobster.  moreover, have you ever noticed how freaking ugly these things are?  seriously, who wants to put that in their mouth?

lobster13
lobster14

2009
20
Sep
0:14

W.A.R.

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy

and the sloth continues. what can i say? it’s been a tremendously low week. every time i thought about being active, i sank into despair and could hardly seem to breathe. there are just days like. and mother nature apparently sympathized since we’ve had more rain/storms this week than we have all year. the weather was a convenient excuse.

  morning lunch evening
sunday      
monday      
tuesday      
wednesday      
thursday     3 mi bridge run
friday     2 mi run and
swam 60 lengths of pool 
saturday      
2009
20
Sep
0:05

edge of seventeen

   Posted by: arcanai    in pondering the past

you know how everyone looks back at their high-school/teenage years and says “i sure wouldn’t want to do that again”? 

not me.  looking back, i really think seventeen was my favorite year.  other than the almost dying part, of course.  i was reckless and self-destructive but i was free.  my future was literally opening up before me and the paths i could take were infinite and of my own choosing.  i was responsible for myself and nothing else.  i was strong and confident and went after whatever i wanted.  i wielded power and had fun doing it.  sure, there was heartache but it never lasted long because possibility was around every corner.  

and really, the drama… i’ve come to learn that the drama doesn’t go away as we get older… the stakes just get higher. 

i learned that year how to hurt others the way i had been hurt and i learned that i didn’t want to be that hurtful.  i learned that the past can always come back to haunt you.  i learned that others cared about me as much as i cared about them.  i learned that forgiveness goes both ways.  i learned that i could rewrite my future at any time.

back then, i had the world figured out.  i was going to do great things.  i knew no fear.  i believed in love and happiness.

 

 

 

i’m a very different person today from who i was then or who i thought i would be.  most days, i know that i’m a better person.  some days, i really wish i could be me again.

2009
12
Sep
23:02

W.A.R.

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy

so much for being more active with my cousin here and her training.  i’m such a sloth.

  morning lunch evening
sunday      
monday      
tuesday      
wednesday   40 min open water swim  
thursday     5 mi bridge run
friday      
saturday      
2009
12
Sep
17:18

the rest of the week

   Posted by: arcanai    in creatures in the backyard, family time, pix

so, as is to be expected when you live at the beach and have visitors… most of the week was spent in or around the water. 

hubby

hubby

img_0640

CIL/sherlock

img_0678

cousin/writersblock

my cousin’s friend and her son came down from ‘bama tuesday night and they stayed through thursday.  wednesday, while we labored, they went to pensacola to see the blue angels train.  sounded like they had a lot of fun.  they spent thursday on the beach and touring town so as to leave us a nice, quiet work environment and then we dragged them to the bridge for some much needed torture.  happily, it was a much better run for my cousin than our midnight run and i think she had fun (in as much as forcing your body to drag itself over a bridge can be fun).  for me, it was my first time ever doing two laps over the bridge!  granted, i had to start thirty minutes before everyone else in order to finish with the rest of them and i was ready to die at the end, but i did two laps! 

friday, we took another day off and went to the state park so that they could do some fishing from the jetty.  while they were out in heat fishing, i found a nice shady gazebo and grabbed a nap.  until i was awoken by the naval hovercraft coming through the pass.

cool breeze + shade + beach sounds = naptime

cool breeze + shade + beach sounds = naptime

hovercrafts are noisy

hovercrafts are noisy

but still pretty cool - how do i get me one?

but still pretty cool - how do i get me one?

after doing some more touring of the park, we came back home where i started on dinner while hubby kayaked and cousin and CIL fished in the backyard.  apparently i missed quite the catch by my cousin when her fish decided to exact revenge by covering her in a healthy coat of blood.  obligatory in-mouth-spurts included.  blech!  sadly, this is also when she discovered that her brand new waterproof camera (same model as my cobalt) had died a watery death.  very, very, very sad, that.  after my fabulous dinner of bacon-wrapped fillets, asparagus, and cob corn, we all headed back down to the beach for some night fishing.  sadly, my cousin did not have any more spectacularly bloody catches but both CIL and hubby managed to reel something in.

writersblock assembling the perilous pink pole

writersblock assembling the perilous pink pole

sherlock's big beef stick strikes again!

sherlock's big beef stick strikes again!

sherlock's haul

sherlock's haul

hubby's proud catch

hubby's proud catch

sherlock eyeing hubby's big fish

sherlock eyeing hubby's big fish

before leaving this morning, they took one last fishing trip to the beach.  i’m glad they enjoyed it so much but it’s a shame they didn’t get their fishing licenses earlier in the week so that they could have had fishing fun every day.  after a good breakfast, they got on the road around lunchtime.  it was a wonderful visit with my favoritest extended family!

2009
9
Sep
23:31

it all comes crashing down

   Posted by: arcanai    in heartache, prayers needed

i’ll admit that i was feeling pretty darned good after the midnight run the other night.  i felt like i was really turning a corner. 

today, my world was crushed.  and something that i never ever imagined myself considering crept into my mind.  i’m not going to talk about it but prayers are welcome. 

2009
8
Sep
12:05

fish-mongering

   Posted by: arcanai    in creatures in the backyard, family time, pix

my cousin is part fish so sunday, monday, and today have been mostly water days.  we did go to a neighborhood mixer that tat and o’neil invited us to on sunday but it’s been primarily about the water.  there was some kayaking and a lot of swimming and snorkeling.  CIL and i pretty much held down the umbrella chairs while cousin and hubby explored the backyard.  hubby got some great shots!  i especially love the rays.  they’re my favoritest pets these days.  my cousin is more into videography right now.
kinda artsy, no?

kinda artsy, no?

reach out and touch someone

reach out and touch someone

whispers out of corner of mouth: don't look... but that guy is totally checking us out!

whispers out of corner of mouth: don't look... but that guy is totally checking us out!

make sure you get my good side!

make sure you get my good side!

rays in stealth mode

rays in stealth mode

rays in flight mode

rays in flight mode

what?  you didn't believe me that my cousin is part fish?

what? you didn't believe me that my cousin is part fish?

toe nibblerz

toe nibblerz

i don't know what this little guy is but he sure is cute

i don't know what this little guy is but he sure is cute

circle of life

circle of life

2009
6
Sep
19:22

i go running… after midnight… in the moonlight…

   Posted by: arcanai    in family time, getting healthy, pix

after thursday’s bridge run, tat talked me into a midnight 5k race that she thought was happening friday night.  since i knew my cousinwould be arriving late friday anyhow, i figured i’d mention it to her and if she just wanted to come watch, that would be fine.  when i went to get more details online, i realized it was actually happening saturday night.  this made writersblock much more interested in the event.  so, after a day of resting, wine-tasting, and feasting with my favorite cousin and cousin-in-law, it was time to go run a 5k race together.  i’ll be honest, around 22:00 i was doing my best to talk her out of it.  “bed sure sounds nice.”  “i won’t be upset if you don’t want to do it.”  “we can just run tomorrow if you’d prefer.”  but she dragged me, kicking and screaming, off my comfy couch at 23:00.  we got there, got registered (what?!  no shirt?!!! what a ripoff!!!), and still had several minutes to stand around and take pix. 
pre-race photo op

pre-race photo op

how far past my bedtime is it again?

how far past my bedtime is it again?

finally, just a few minutes before midnight they started lining us up.  this was the starting line but you can’t see us since we’re waiting in the back of the pack.  don’t want to get in the way of the runners afterall.
the real start

the real start

this was the start of the back-of-the-pack.  look at how awake we looked at midnight!
OUR start

OUR start

the run… was great.  i actually had a lot of fun with it.  i kept a slow and steady pace so as to not leave my cousin by herself.  frankly, it was a bit scary running down some of those downtown residential streets in the middle of the night with nobody else around.  as for her, she wasn’t enjoying it nearly as much as me.  before we had reached the one mile marker, she already had a screaming leg.  she’s much stronger and more dedicated than i am… when my leg hurts, i stop running.  anyhow, as the run continued and i still felt good, i started allowing myself to get up ahead of her a good piece and then circling back behind her.  my guesstimate is that i actually ran between 3.4 and 3.5 miles instead of the 3.1 equivalent of a 5k.  this makes my average pace much more acceptable given my finish time.  we didn’t get into a more safe-feeling and populated zone until the last half mile.  once we did, i gave it my all.  i was quite pleased with how much i had in me still.  i really felt like i made a strong finish and it was nice to have the cheers pushing me through. 
my finish

my finish

shortly thereafter, my cousin made her finish.  i am so proud of her for running through that pain.  i just couldn’t.  she totally rocks!
my cousin's finish

my cousin's finish

i would do it again.  although i would probably just bandit it because it really was not worth paying $15 when i didn’t even get a shirt.  they could have at least offered to mail one to me.  i really wanted the stupid shirt.  the nice thing about running at midnight is that it’s not quite as florida outside.  although i was still sweating like crazy by the time we finished.  so… next year then?

2009
6
Sep
10:38

bringing new meaning to “home office”

   Posted by: arcanai    in pix, playing around, work schmirk

bossman and coworker hs were here last week.  this made for a completely weird spin on the home office dynamic but that’s okay.  the days were far louder than usual and, well, the nights were too…

hubby drumming, bossman strumming

hubby drumming, bossman strumming

add in hs on bass

add in hs on bass

look at them rock!

look at them rock!

racking up the points

racking up the points

bossman tries drumming

bossman tries drumming

2009
6
Sep
10:01

W.A.R.

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy

with the bossman in town, there was too little activity and too much eating out.  i did accomplish the mile of laps which made me very proud so it wasn’t a completely forsaken week.  with my cousin visiting next week and her being in training, my activity should greatly increase. 

  morning lunch evening
sunday      
monday   swam 38 lengths of pool  
tuesday    swam 60 lengths of pool!!!  
wednesday      
thursday      3.2 mi bridge run
friday      
saturday     3.4 mi midnight run 
2009
1
Sep
21:55

mile long club!

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy, happy things

i did it… i swam a full mile today!!!  that’s thirty laps in the pool in just fifty-two minutes.  i have been so stinking proud of myself all afternoon!  and, strangely, a little bit sore.  go me!!!