Good Morning!

I forgot to close my door when I went to sleep... so I was woken at 9 am or so, mostly by accident. maybe a nap is in order? hmm...

After talking with my sister for a while, I turned on the Husky softball game and watched nearly all of it, keeping it on, but silent from when it started at 10am to when it got over... gee, I think that was around 3pm. They lost it in extra innings to Georgia with a walk-off walk. Final score 9-8 in nine innings. But I did get to see the Husky grand slam live! That was "very exciting"!

The family came over at noon for lunch and visiting, and after the Husky game ended and the food was put away, my sisters and niece and nephew headed over to the neighborhood pool. Oldest sister swam with her kids and other sister was very kind to time me as I swam eleven 50-yard laps (roughly 550 yds - our pool is just short of 25 yards long) in 11:03 time... and that's with being interrupted once by a floating pool noodle! yay! The lifeguards were kind enough to allow a cord for a lap swim lane. :)

And just for fun, a self-portrait after getting home and cleaned up:

Jen says, "Hello there!"

Jp

[The rest of the day was occupied by laying down for a moment, taking the Dingo for a walk (a slow one as his knee is stiff), taking the bike out for a spin around the neighborhood and then watching two episodes of MASH (the first one was the Dreams episode, so it was rather necessary to watch another one.) And we were in bed by an astoundingly early 10:30!]

In Addition

.
[to make mention of other happenings today: I went to a friend's wedding at 11 am. While I thought I'd be all alone (no one else from my family came), three good friends from the University Christian Fellowship were there as well and we had a wonderful time catching up.

I thought I would keep the dress on for the photography end-O'-the-year party in Seattle, but it came off about 15 minutes after coming home from the wedding and I couldn't get the gumption to put it back on. :) I'm not what you'd call a dress person. lol

And then while I was kinda tired from running around all day already, I had a fabulous time at the photography party. It was on a rooftop of an apartment complex right above the Puget Sound waterfront. The sun was brilliantly bright, it was in the upper 70's, the Sound was simply gorgeous with the light blues and peaches of the setting sun. Ships and ferry boats were coming and going and everything was very peaceful. I really love my classmates and teachers, and had a lovely time talking with them and some of their spouses.]

From Earlier:
WHAT A DEVIL DOG.

A pic of my brother! It's a screen shot from the platoon video.

And the link to the video where it comes from. He's in 1027.

Poor U.S. Army soldiers have to survive being called Doughboy, Dogface and GI, while the Marines have Leatherneck (dating back to the leather collars they wore in 1775 to avoid cutlass strokes to the neck) and Devil Dog (a name earned from the Germans in World War I... Belleau Wood, if I'm not mistaken. [ahh, I was right.])

(they have 3 battalions with 4 companies each, containing 6 platoons each in San Diego! whoa.)

WOW!!! (Jen is very proud)

Jp

Fun in the Sun

It's cooled off now, but earlier today it must have been in the high 80's.

After work the girls and I went out to our favorite spot to eat, Coho Cafe in Redmond, to celebrate and say goodbye to a coworker who was retiring after 19 years in the office. We sat outside in the brilliant sunshine (my face is already a little red now), sipped a little wine and talked for a long time while our food was coming. It was a busy day for them. I found that I actually liked the wine... for the first time in my life. It was a very light Chardonnay. I just tasted it though, as I was more interested in my strawberry lemonade. I had light, Mediterranean chicken tacos and a seafood bisque... my staples at this place. Hey, once you find something you like... why bother with anything else?

I put more of those patches on my curtain today... 9 from different places I've been with the band. And in the middle of that, Dad had the TV on and from all the way back in my room I recognized the sounds of softball. And I was right: it was the 5th inning of the UW's second game of the series. They beat Arizona State 1 to 0 in the bottom of the 8th inning (that's an extra inning game for softball, as they usually only play 7). It was a nail-biter! The pitcher I mentioned earlier was pitching (and was all she was cracked up to be - allowing only 2 hits and no walks the whole game), there were spectacular plays, and in the end, we got a base hit with two outs and a runner on first and third... it just doesn't get any better than that!

I just returned from a walk with the dog... I think it might be time for a little Phase 10...

Ah, school's out.

Jp

Ending Thoughts, Part Three

Well, now! I have finished class work for photography. After nearly eight months straight of it, I guess I'm ready to move on. Way back in October, I remember being completely ignorant about all things technical... aperture what? Shutter speed? Huh? And then the crash course in Photoshop beginning in January... Adjustment layers? Layer masks? Help!

The teachers have been absolutely fabulous! Certainly, I was blessed to take this from them. Carla and David: Thank you!

I feel much more able to continue my learning at this point... my horizons have been expanded far beyond what I imagined before. Making art? Selling art? What on earth?!

Over the course of these classes we've covered the history and beginnings, we watched and listened to great artists, and this quarter we met some of them...

Last night a successful Seattle gallery owner, who has been friends with the teacher for quite some time, came in to critique our work. I didn't know what to expect, but in the beginning she went around the room and asked us what we photograph, how long we've been doing it and where we're going. I felt quite at ease talking about myself, contrasted to other times I've done the same thing this quarter. She is very smart, but listened and cared about what people said. In critiquing my work, she thought my pictures were more about color and shape than anything else. She was very kind.

Where to from here?

Jp

Should Have Been Expecting That

Last night, the actor's group that Meggan goes to had a presentation on radio theater acting. I didn't know if I wanted to go or not, but I ended up doing it with her just to experience it. It was put on by one of the group's members who happens to be a radio drama enthusiast. He had been around for a couple of those golden days... he described one experience where he was able to see his uncle's radio station in South Dakota where the announcer would take a play-by-play of a baseball game and fill in the lines with color, making it feel like he was describing it firsthand. Another time that same uncle had the cast from Tom Mix Ralston over for dinner once, and our speaker got the pleasure of meeting his heroes.

With him last night, he had a 1940's black telephone and a squeaking contraption that were actually used back in the 40's on CBS. They're the property of his association, the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound, or REPS. He then played for us snippets of old and new radio shows. For the very first time, I heard Matt Dillon and Our Miss Brooks... and Mr. Boynton. (Let's just say I didn't see this coming :) Some of the younger people were shocked to learn that these shows started on the radio... while I agreed with the speaker about the casting differences of Mr. B. from radio to TV... although I had never heard or seen the program before! LOL! A friend sitting next to me said, "Oh, does radio interest you?" (smothered laughter)

We then did a little script reading, everyone taking a turn at characters from the pilot episode of "Father Knows Best" from 1948. There was then a little talk about getting into voice acting, which is not exactly my cup of tea, but was interesting, nonetheless. Some resources were mentioned, along with REPS's upcoming convention next month where the group brings in people who were ON those old radio shows and they perform (mostly the younger actors - by necessity). Whoa... This year they're going to have a Jack Benny impersonator.

I can't believe I almost didn't come to this.

Jp

Well What Do You Know... Part Two

I happened to peek at the sports section of our actual paper newspaper this afternoon at lunch, and there was a headline story about a UW softball pitcher who is rather incredible this year. She's been named the NCAA Softball player of the year for her incredible performances.

She's opening the rotation for the University of Washington at the NCAA Softball World Series six-day tournament tomorrow against the University of Georgia, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (small world).

I suppose that makes sense as the National Softball Hall of Fame makes its home there. But gosh darn it! That would have been a lot of fun to go to... I grew up on softball (1992 - 2004). I also suppose there is a pep band going if they progress to the final round. Softball band was rather fun.

Go Huskies!

Jp

Thanks!

To our vets...

Today, Mom and I took the Edmonds ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula. We drove through lush green woody places to end up at the Keyport Naval Undersea Museum. Officially a U.S. Navy museum, this place was full with great displays: they had lots of torpedoes & mines along with a great walk though of undersea history of exploration and warfare too. I was impressed that they had a room dedicated to the science of the ocean... plankton, salinity, oxygen, pressure, buoyancy, light, sound, geology etc. Very impressive for a military museum! And they even had a little sit down theater with short films on the history of submersible warfare.


Mom and I spent around three hours in there... it was very worth the time! And they even had a souvenir patch in the gift store... along with a very inexpensive Navy t-shirt. We both learned new things about the Navy, and I walked out of there even more inspired about what I want to do.

The trip back was also pleasant, and we ate a very belated lunch in Poulsbo, and made the 3:10 ferry while we were at it.

Back at home, a friend was over talking with my sister. We ended up watching a movie together... Twelve O'clock High with Gregory Peck... in honor of the day. He had never seen it before, so it was a good time.

What a way to spend a Monday! It so doesn't seem like one.


Jp

Marriage on the Mind

:)
Today Mom and I actually *went* to church! It was kinda nice for a change! The topic was the difference between true saving faith and religious faith. Very scriptural, and very good to listen to. I am going to make it a point to read in Hebrews this week, as some of that which we covered was very interesting, and I need to read the Bible more often in general.

Afterwords, the family was already over for lunch (build your own taco) and they had it ready to go when we got back!

We then all packed in the car and headed for our long time family friend's wedding a little after 2 o'clock. It was simple, beautiful, and meaningful. They had little white flowers and candles in the aisles, and the part I liked best is when they shared five words that they each thought described the other person... aww! It was a rather short service, and then we all headed from the church in Kirkland to Golden Gardens in North Seattle, where the reception was held at the beach in a meeting house.

It was so crowded, because of the gorgeous weather, but by the grace of God someone pulled out as we were heading out to find parking up on the hill. The food was great! They had cheese and fruit to start, and then a catered dinner, complete with spicy shredded pork and glazed salmon! Wow! The toasts were touching, especially since Jon's brothers were the groomsmen, and we've known them for so many years... they and my brother did Boy Scouts together all the way from Cub scouts to Eagle scouts... and then there was the dancing! I've never been to a wedding where both the bride and groom actually knew how to dance! It was lovely to watch. For practically the rest of the day they kept the music coming in all different styles: modern, classic, swing... they did it! My sister danced with my oldest sister's 4 year old daughter, who had never been to a wedding before and who LOVES to dance. She was so enthralled with the bride that she thought for sure the bride was a princess. LOL! What fun!

As for myself, I had a great time watching, and I did way too much thinking about marriage for one single day :) We dropped my sister and niece off at their new place that I hadn't seen yet... what an improvement! a swimming pool in the apartment's courtyard even! and then we came back and watched a single episode of MASH... Wowee, am I tired!

Jp

Merrily We Walk Along

What Spiffy and I generally see on a walk:

After I finished this pencil drawing this afternoon, I showed it to Spiffy and then he looked at me strangely. "Can we go again?" LOL

Jp

Friday Afternoon!

Whoo-hooo! And still gorgeous sunshine!

After work I was feeling a little lazy, even though I went back to sleep after waking up before my alarm for Jazzercise this morning... and then I woke up right on time to be able to just make it to work by our Friday - 8 am start time. Back at the house, my room was a mess, so I decided to put off being lazy and pick it up instead. And then the dingo came in and looked up at me with adorable brown eyes... and then we went for a walk after I put the flag out. Who can argue with their doggie? :)

Mom took me out for lunch today. We had fish & chips at a local place in Kirkland near the Juanita waterfront on Lake Washington. It was so warm in the sun, we both opted for the much cooler and shadier inside the restaurant.

What a lovely day!

In Other News...

The weather has changed back to brilliantly sunny; we've been watching MASH rather regularly; my Dad just left again for another weekend trip to go fishing, and I finally got the judgment from the court today about that ridiculous speeding ticket. No luck there; not even a reduction. Darn. At least they let me appeal by mail instead of wasting my time driving 30 minutes down to Renton in the middle of a workday. The ticket said the state needed to provide a "preponderance of evidence" against me. The cop's word against mine... hmm. Oh, speed limits! How they interfere with my comings and goings :)

Third to last class tonight. David (one of the teachers) will be showing us his work.

Sunny days are here again...

Jp

Statement of... Science

It may appear that I accepted the creation model, based on my belief in God.

But I reply... While I did grow up in a Christian home, I had natural doubts about God's existence and the truth of the gospel. Every person should consider what they believe and know why they believe it. But when I doubted, I also remembered the world. In looking at it, I am convinced that there is no other possibility for how it works other than it was created. It screams that it was designed. The tilt of the earth, the distance from the sun... the list goes on.

I believe in the creation model because it makes more sense than its evolutionary counterpart. Believing in God requires much less faith than believing in trillions of mutations and chance over unimaginable lengths of time.

As the psalmist put it, much more eloquently than I, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the works of his hands... There is no speech where their voice is not heard."

Jp

Angry & Annoyed

5/21/09
[PS... I added a link to a site that well describes how scientific theories cannot be proven... and then they make a stupid observation themselves, about how "creation scientists are not talking about scientific knowledge". Sigh. I wonder how evolutionary scientists are different? Since they take their presupposed (non-scientific) ideas about the world (such as... there is no God) and apply them to their scientific theories. Hmm... sounds the same to me... People just think they're better because they are assuming and trusting in natural processes from the past rather than God. We can't observe either (it's historical science)... so what's the difference?]

Comments are welcome.

From Yesterday:
How long will it take people to realize that Historical Science (like the new "missing link" found yesterday in Germany) can never be Empirical Science?

Someone asked me once what it would take for me to be persuaded to believe the theory of macro-evolution. They wondered if a "proven missing link" would do it. I replied with something like, "I'd have to be shown how the theory works on a detailed level." For example, learning how mutations could make Dinosaurs take flight; how they could take a monkey and give it a soul and a conscience, not to mention a completely different backbone and all the other differences we have. And let's not forget the earth-shattering complexity of a mere cell, or about explaining how everything started in the first place. The very idea requires a limitless amount of earth history, and that is one thing we all know is surely false.

No, I think speculation about a single fossil animal will not help me forget the glaring and gaping holes in a very shaky theory. I will not be taken in for worrying about sticking out. Thank the Lord I am not in my old physiology class today. I think I would have been bombarded with unclear thinking. I was nearly laughed out of the 300 person classroom once for trying to explain and defend the other side of the story when it was being miss-represented. Discrimination? Well, the Lord did tell us to rejoice. So, thank you, classmates and professor; it was an honor (said un-sarcastically, but with a twinkle in the eye). God bless that one girl who thanked me afterwords... surely she was heaven sent.

Oh, and once in a discussion during Oceanography class, a student claimed that there was a full set of transitional forms that had already been discovered. They were taught this and saw the picture in their textbook in high school, so it must be true, right?

And people are calling this "missing link" amazing new evidence! BROTHER!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: It's all about a person's perspective on history.

An idea: an infinitely intelligent mind created infinitely complex beings. I was amazed in Physiology how much we still don't understand about ourselves. What does not make sense is the idea that science is abandoned with this belief. On the contrary! Science itself begins to make sense when considering that everything was done with a plan and on purpose!

(sigh)
Jp

Yesterday

Tuesday, May 19th:

I did nearly one task at work yesterday, catching up with the paperwork end of our rejected hardware, but it sure kept me busy!

First letter from Zac in quite a while... he'll graduate in a mere three weeks! YAY!!!!

Gee, the rain just kept pouring down in torrents! I actually got wet between leaving my class and getting in my car. It was what my Grandpa refers to as "crooked" rain... where it comes at you at an angle. We only did two things in Photoshop: Web Galleries and Lens Correction, and then the teacher let us go an hour early.

The sun poked out of the clouds to the west as it was going down. Overhead was solid rain, and nearly the entire world was gray. But with the combination of soaked streets and bright rays from the west, there was a dreamlike atmosphere to the world as I drove home. It seemed like I was driving on sheets of silver.

Upon arriving home, we watched a couple MASH's and then I worked some more on a little project that might become published on a possible future website of mine someday... hmm.

I really have awful self-motivation when it comes to getting out of bed some mornings... nevertheless, here I am at work.

Jp

And the Rain Returns

Gorgeous weekend... brilliant blue skies... a touch of warmth, reaching the 80's...

This morning on the way to Jazzercise, the mist lay low in the valley. Mt. Rainier to the south, covered in snow, was lit with the rays of the sun and glowed in the cool blue of the morning. I think I live and work in the most beautiful place on Earth.

And then when work was over, it started to rain. I think I live in the wettest, most beautiful place on Earth.

Jp

Night Night

Blasted alarm! I had forgotten to turn it off before... and it woke me up at Eight O'Clock! *Way* too early! LOL

But it turned out to be a good thing, as our guests were leaving, and they needed help finding a gas station. I went with one of them to fill up their tank prior to their leaving. And then I had a bite of breakfast, as all I had had for dinner yesterday was strawberry shortcake, and I was very hungry! My sister and I then listened to a podcast of a sermon, and then it was back to bed! She had to wake me up four hours later. Yikes! I had arranged to meet a friend, and 2PM was much later than I thought I would be. When I got up, Mom and Dad and Spiffy were safely back!

So my friend came by and we took off for a visit to the Tacoma Museum of Glass, which I had never been to. We only had an hour and a half before closing, but we fit in a demonstration of glass blowing, a short film and the galleries. It was great, incredible work! My favorite was a four foot structure of thin glass threads that were woven together to form a fly... but it was all quite amazing, all the fine artistry displayed.

The museum is on the Tacoma waterfront, so afterwords we took a walk and stopped to sit down at a pier to drink in the cool breezes, the smell of the sea and the golden sun. Mt. Rainier loomed huge on the horizon with the pure blue sky; it was a very fine evening. When we got home, we watched a movie that she brought called "I am Sam". Very touching story about a father and his daughter that was rather well done.

I took the doggie for a walk after my friend went home, as this week there were times I thought "Ooh, right now would be a good time for a wal..." and then remembered he wasn't here. He's pretty worn out from the trip, but bounced right up when I said "walk?". He went a little slower tonight, but picked up the pace, like usual, when I asked him if he needed a walk cookie when we got home. :)

Upon returning, I found myself singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. LOL!

Time for bed! :-)

Jp

Fun & Games

Yesterday after work I took it into my head that I'd like to try out my shelter halves (pup tent) from eBay because it was so darned nice outside... (I've been doing things impulsively lately)... so after washing our mountain of dishes from a week and a half (lol) I set it up in the backyard. Yesterday was pretty much a cleaning day after work. It's the first time I had time to myself in a while. After taking care of the kitchen and bathrooms, my sister and I scrounged up things to eat for dinner. For lunch I had a great sandwich: sourdough bread, humus, lettuce, Tillamook cheddar cheese, sliced turkey... Yum! Dinner was a little more hodge-podge. Nachos, Avocados, Egg Whites (lol), Pillsbury croissants, and candy cane cookies. LOL!

We then watched lots of MASH. In the middle of our third episode, Dad and Mom's friends came over (they needed a place to stay for last night and tonight). Very nice ladies! They knew them from their college days, way back when. The last time I had seen one of them, I was around 6 yrs. old. So we entertained them for a while and then they retired downstairs.

We finished the episode and then put in a Wallace & Gromit short from Netflix and then went to bed! I was wiped from a long day's work.

Camping in the backyard was so much fun! Even though the ground was a little hard, it really brought back the ROTC stuff we did at Fort Lewis. I woke up a couple times, but didn't have too much trouble sleeping. I woke up at 5:30am with the birdies! I always do wake up early when I sleep outside... and I feel rested and more refreshed when I do... odd. It's as if I got closer to nature and it rejuvenates me.

So after a fabulous quite time finishing up Galatians, which I got more out of than I usually do, I took some pictures of the lilacs, brought my gear inside, did 12 push-ups & 20 sit-ups, and then decided to go for a run around the block. As I was starting out I settled on only doing one lap, but as I circled around, I kept going and did two in 11 minutes. I drove the distance afterwords and found that once around is exactly half a mile. Not too bad, I guess.

Everyone else woke up after I got back inside. We all had some oatmeal and a nice conversation, sharing with each other how we found the Lord.

How this history major has fun:
















$23 for a new tent kit on eBay.
$10 for an old steel pot from the Army/Navy in Woodinville.
$? for a Korean War era jacket from my grandparents for Christmas in 1994...

One night in the backyard: Priceless :)

Jp

[later in the day, my sister and I went out to Panera Bread for lunch - our favorite spot! - and also stopped by Value Village. We both had a Mediterranean veggie sandwich and a rich tomato soup - and I found a nice softball bat at the store, good for playing in the park. But I left all the toys there this time... I'm running out of room in my room for toy dinosaurs and sea animals. lol! Back at the ranch, I cleaned a little more and prepared the strawberries for the evening dessert with our guests, between lying down for a quick half-hour nap.]

Mats & Frames

I didn't mention yesterday yet, because I stayed up late last night (after MASH... lol) to put my prints and mats in the frames. And then I remembered I still had to cut the acrylic myself... So after an hour or so and a couple cuts on my fingers, I finally put it all together. My! Does it look nice!













At this point, this is what I will display as my prints for our show. The tail and the eye pictures are cropped, so they couldn't go large. They have 12" sq. frames, with 6 & 1/2" of the print displayed. The wavy lionfish is full frame, in a 20" sq. frame with nearly 12" of the print displayed.

Tonight was our critique with a couple of program graduates who started their own photography business. I put my frames down first on the table, so I got the first critique. They loved my big pretty picture... and I do to. They thought that the one on the right doesn't quite go with the other two, but that's their opinion. They were reading movement into the group, but my statement is more about the form and beauty in the details of sea creatures.

It was a great class, to see everyone's hard work come to life.

Jp

(Images copyright Jennifer Payne, 2009. Web use is permitted.)

Brightening

Last night before class I hopped on Facebook to check things out. Jon Foreman had written a note on his page, so I checked it out. He was lamenting our nation's lack of caring for the people of Darfur compared to our willingness to freak out and spend billions if 3 Americans die from the flu. It made me wonder if I should do something else with my life... if serving in the military is even worthwhile. So along with being tired, or because I was tired, I was very confused about what I should do.

Sometimes I can forget that while our nation has lots of serious problems, it still is a great thing worth protecting and serving. We can be pretty hypocritical about freedom, but we do help lead the free world. We are grounded on freedom of religion. We believe in the freedom of everyone, no matter their background. Darn it, that's awesome. We can all tell our representatives that something should be done about Darfur. And we can continue to support organizations that are doing something.

And then there's the fact that a person should do what they feel they would do best. I'm not feeling quite so uncertain any more.
God bless America.

Jp

PS - Thanks for bearing with me on a little self-discussion.

I Hope That's Why

So these last couple weeks I've been enormously tired. Even if I get a little recovery sleep on the weekends, I am still worn out by Tuesday morning. This week is much better than last (knock on wood) as I literally felt like I was sleepwalking at work Wednesday and Thursday.

My scientific mind concludes that it must be the time and pressure of photography class. At least, that's what I hope! Only four classes (two weeks) left after tomorrow. I got the invitation for the certificate ceremony in the mail yesterday! Yey/Yay!

I really do love the program and the teachers, but I am looking forward to having my time back. I hope I can slow myself down and catch up with some rest when I get there. Knowing me, I probably won't. I'll find something new to keep myself up late :)

Jp

The Nature of Things

I picked up my frames and mats yesterday evening in downtown Woodinville. As I was stopped at a stoplight (what else do you do in Woodinville?), I saw what looked like a crow nose-diving and circling something that was obviously a great bird perched on a telephone pole. I could only see it's outline because it was back lit with the setting sun. I didn't hope to guess what I knew it could be... and what it turned out to be... a majestic bald eagle, trying to ignore its constant pest of a companion. Unfortunately, I was on a road with other cars (darned shame) and I had to keep going once I drove beneath the pole.

Saw a squirrel in the backyard today at noon... live it up, fellas! Your nemesis isn't coming home for another five days.

Jp

Success!

Got up at 9, straight up. Why? I don't know... I just woke up, I guess.

I went and sat on the porch with my Bible and read and prayed in the sunlight. Ah, refreshing. I didn't really want to go looking for mats and frames blind, like I did yesterday on my way home from the U, so today I called Aaron Brothers in Woodinville to learn that they could get it done today! Holy cow! That made me happy! And while I was there, I found the Plexiglas I needed for the frames (no glass in the medical center), stopped by Payless Shoes for a new white pair, and Barnes & Noble... found a small atlas and an autobiography from a girl who grew up in Nazi Germany.

Pizza for dinner, MASH for dessert. WENN for a topping. :)

Jp

Life Goes On

My sister and I have really enjoyed this weekend! Yesterday I did almost nothing at all... except for watching tv shows for several hours and messing around on Facebook.

Today I felt a little more productive, getting some cleaning done, getting some mail mailed, eating out at Denny's for breakfast, and then printing my final prints for class this week. Now I only need to figure out how to get them matted and framed by Thursday... heh. We'll see.

Very, very odd being alone in a large, quiet house, but also enjoyable. I hope my parents are having a good time together as well.

Jp

It's Official: It's Quiet

I've never heard the house so quiet. Mom and Dad took the dog with them, so when I got home from work yesterday, it was as quiet in the house as the night before Christmas. No jingling collar tags, no clickity-click on the linoleum, no whining and of course, no barking. I straightened my room before my sister got home, and then ate a stand up dinner in the kitchen with her while she was cleaning the new model horses that she brought home.

Yesterday I felt like I was asleep all day long... until my recruiter emailed me at around 4PM, and woke me up. He's trying to get me to sign up right away, and I didn't like it. I had to work longer because of sleeping in, but that meant I had time to clear my desk. Everyone else left early, so I had time with the scanner all to myself.

Last night I got distracted with Facebook, but still managed to make some decisions about which prints I'm presenting tonight. And we watched another two episodes of MASH as well. I stayed up a little later than I wanted, because I have lousy self-discipline. But so far this morning, I'm doing fine and not feeling at all sick. Yey!

Jp

Wild Dreams

I stayed late after class last night to scan old negatives of Minnesota. I was already worn out from a long day, and it just got an hour longer I guess. Didn't get home until 10:30, and then spent a half hour or so sitting down and talking with my sister and mother. Ate a quick snack... and went to bed, somehow convinced that if I just set my alarm, I'll be able to wake up for Jazzercise (it worked on Monday morning).

My dreams seemed pretty odd. It was more of those "I'm late for my first day of school" dreams, except I dreamt I was in the navy. That's all well and fine, but then I dreamt I was assigned on this little yacht... and I was late every single day... and then, all of a sudden, we were being chased by Nazis. They chased us to this island fortress, where they found me after an intense game of hide and seek. And then I woke up... with the phone ringing from work. LOL

Let's just say I have to make up an hour and a half.
It's just been that kind of week.

Jp

A Couple Finds!

I see Amanda Naughton is still at it: she's doing some vocals in a show opening in the New York Musical Theater Festival this September... (from the music tab on this site, she's listed on the first two numbers) What do you know... set during the "golden age of television" :)

And JBL is also ready to start a play this summer... "Offices", playing off-Broadway in New York. Here are a couple pictures... #2, #6.

And Kevin O'Rourke has a blog running since March for his production companies.

Glad to see they're busy, busy, busy.

Jp

In Anticipation

Because my parents are going on their own little trip this week and then some, they'll be gone for their anniversary this Thursday and for Mother's Day, this Sunday. So last night my sister and I treated them to a fine Italian dinner to celebrate and to thank them. Mmmm, good.

When we got home, we watched MASH downstairs while they indulged in 24. It was the start of season 6! Goodbye Frank! Hello Charles! Holy cow, Hawkeye! LOL! A great pair of episodes! I was especially tickled when Radar got the purple heart and Hawkeye said something about the president getting fresh. He says the most random things about the army, and then I literally cry with laughter.

It also started to rain last night; and it was the real kind: the kind you can hear on the roof. So that's what I fell asleep listening too. And this morning, it hasn't let up. We'll see how long it goes...

Jp

Ahhhhh! A Fishy Day!

So another day passes... and I didn't do much. Except for playing with my niece and nephew, visiting with the family... and making travel arrangements.

(yawns)

I did do more push-ups this morning, while listening to last week's sermon - both of which were refreshing for my mind and body.

Most of the day was taken up with my sister and her family, which I hadn't seen in a long time. It was great to see them again. My niece brought out my stuffed eagle from my room all by herself, so in order to keep both of them happy - and out of my room, LOL! - I brought out all of my bigger sea animal stuffed animals... orca, octopus, manatee, walrus, harbor seal, sea horse, halibut, red fish, northern pike and walleye... the last four of which are all life-size from this company. We watched Finding Nemo and instead of doing my work, I simply watched it. Even though I saw it four times in the theater back in 2003, it still holds my attention. :)

I took the dog for a walk in the afternoon, along with my camera. We're just getting our first whiffs of spring... the bees are buzzing over the sweet-smelling flowers on our laurel bush in the front, and the lilacs are just popping out in our backyard. Ahh... sweet smells. So I have a new series of spring pictures and a smile on my face.

Right after lunch, a thought came to Meg and I, that with a small extension of a couple days, we could see Oklahoma as well as Atlanta in August. And it turns out that it'll work out! Yey!

I am now thoroughly distracted from all forms of work.
Jp

Yankee Doodling

What sun yesterday! And what rain and wind today!

It was brilliant sun outside... so I went with a friend to the theater. :)
We saw Disney Earth, which was fabulous! I hadn't seen Planet Earth... and I hear this was just a rehashing of it, but it was narrated by Darth Vader. It was just great! "Polar bear... I am your father. It is your destiny."

Afterwords we took real advantage of the sunshine and took a walk on the Sammamish River Trail and talked about our futures.

Back at home after dinner we had a very rare family discussion with a little bit of understanding. And then a little bit of MASH, and then a great episode of Mission:Impossible, with William Shatner, where they messed him up by making him think he was back in 1937. The usual 1970's show was much improved, I thought! :P

Today I thought I might be getting sick, so I thought I'd stay home from biking in the cold weather... I ended up feeling fine, and my sister went out to Carnation to drop something off and I went to ride my pony.

The rest of the day was spent sorting through my room that has gotten over-abundantly out of control. Mostly organizing books and sheet music, expanding a little into our extra bedroom.

And I finally saw 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'... and loved it! I even had a proud little American tear the first time they went through "Over There". :)

(sigh! just like when I was a kid and got teared up over "I'm Proud to be An American" at 4th of July shows at church - and promised myself I'd join the military the first day I turned 18 - LOL)

Jp

ps... and I forgot to mention about finishing up the story of Don Malarkey from the famed "Band of Brothers". His autobiography "Easy Company Soldier" was a very well told war story. I was riveted while on the road, listening. JBL did the honors of reading, and he was outstanding.

It's May!

So the year is already a third over...
(As I realize it will only continue to speed up.)

I'm doing (or sorta doing) push-ups! My recruiter suggested doing a couple every morning and adding on slowly. I started with sorta 6 on Wednesday, did sorta 10 yesterday and did better on my sorta 10 today. I think this might all work out.
(As I realize how cool this is... Holy cow!)

And then I did another browse through the ALA (Amer. Library Assoc.) list of schools, and I am very interested in Pittsburgh. Never mind it's "America's Most Livable City" a couple years ago... (differing view)... never mind the program is rated in the top 10 by US News & World Report... never mind it has one of America's richest traditions in librarianship... never mind they have the most inviting web site... never mind they don't require the GRE... Hey! That's where my favorite TV show was set... 10+ years ago. LOL! I think I might consider avoiding mentioning that last one when I apply.

I'm thinking of doing this after the Navy, because it costs 30K a year... (only for a year though... if I was reading this right). Gee, the Navy would pay the whole thing along with 100% of living costs while in school. (As I realize I'm getting much too excited about this for now, and that I'm using italics way too much on this post.)

Classes this week were great! We learned more retouching on Tuesday, and yesterday we had a guest speaker who knew all about the business aspects of photography... copyrights, money, laws, bartering... and he was a nice person who wanted to get to know us. Pleasantly surprised!

And I showed new prints to my teacher, from my Bellingham/ Vancouver trip (which he liked - and I agree) after being totally shot down last week. Gee, last Thursday I was so mad, I was going to switch projects again, then and there. But I went home and told my folks about the Navy instead, which let me think about something else. And then I printed new pictures, which I knew from the start were better. Stubborn? That's me.

Jp