last updated: Thursday, 28-Dec-2006 01:04:47 EST
12/25/06, 11:50pm-
Christmas update!
So much has happened in the last few days. I guess I should start with the happy announcement that Karen and I are getting married. I gave her a ring on Friday night and asked her to marry me, and thankfully she said yes. Much excitement ensued.
Saturday was a party for our mutual friend Karen, who was back in town for the first time in a long time. 20ish people packed my house for many hours of partying, including fire juggling, babies (in attendence, not conceived or delivered), and drunken debauchery. It was a total blast. Karen had a great time telling everyone about her new jewelery, and congratulations were made by all. Even my sister showed up! Pictures are in the usual place.
Sunday night was Christmas Eve, which was a party in and of itself at Amy and Roger's, with the entire DuMez clan in attendence. Roger's Chicken Molé was amazing, and kept me plenty warm while we ate outiside (remarkably warm for 12/24...the small fire was plenty). More congratulations and oogling and screeching ensued as Karen showed off her ring to more folks who weren't yet in the know, as expected. Presents were exchanged, and much fun was had by all. I got some brownie points for the things I bought, and some really really nice gifts from others who were way too generous (D&B, I mean you). I left the party a little early to be with my family for the rest of the 'eve, and much fun was had at my parents' house, what with conversation and fire and food and the general goodness that can only come from family at the holidays. This morning brought with it the usual bounty of gifts, and after a break to play wth my Legos, I went and got Karen, and we went back to my parents for more presents, relaxation, and dinner, which was wonderful. We spent the rest of the evening looking into venues for the wedding. Our target date is remarkably soon, all things considered, so we're trying to stay ahead of the curve. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. After a few hours of that, and a nice chat with S&T, we headed back to my place, for what we both hope is a very restful night's sleep.
12/22/06, 12:33am-
This blog has been offline for a while....I'm a refugee here for the last few months. I'll continue to be a refugee there until I can get Drupal or MT or whatever installed here and the site upgraded.
10/13/06, 9:36pm-
A very special Fridat the 13th indeed today. It's the first time since 1520 that the date has added up to 13! (101+0+1+3+2+0+0+6). The next time won't happen for another few centuries. Mark it down y'all.
9/21/06, 10:21pm-
The news is woefully out of date, I know. I've been blogging elsewhere. Stay tuned to this channel for more information. Hopefully that will include a new content engine, or at least a return to normal blogging.
6/2/06, 1:38am-
It's a fun game. Open iTunes and set it to shuffle. Let it answer the following questions for you, just like I did. Then blog your answers. I'm doing it now because the cold medicine and the antibiotics I'm on are conspiring to make me insane by f'ing up my sleep patterns like nobody's business.
What do you think of me, iTunes?
Bored & Extremely Dangerous - Bad Religion
Hmm...well, at the moment, it's not far off the mark, but as loopy as I am, I'm not sure I'm dangerous.
Will I have a happy life?
Misery - Green Day
Right now, yes. Forever? I sure as hell hope not.
What do my friends really think of me?
All Mixed Up - The Cars
That's not very nice.
Do people secretly lust after me?
Castaway - Green Day
I guess not.
How can I make myself happy?
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Plain White T's
Love is indeed a many splendored thing.
What should I do with my life?
Why Do You Love Me - Garbage
That one just doesn't make any kind of sense, unless I'm supposed to say F convention and just be myself, taking what comes....
Why must life be so full of pain?
Think Twice - Eve 6
Right on. Think twice when you touch my girl. Come around and you'll feel the burn.
How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?
Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode (Schizo Remix)
So I should become a schizophrenic nymphomaniac? That sounds bad.
Will I ever have children?
Just What I Needed - The Cars
Eventually yeah, I can see how that would make sense.
Will I die happy?
Franco Un-American - NOFX
I suppose I should get used to disappointment and disillusionment then. Damn.
Can you give me some advice?
Complicated - Avril Lavigne
So I should relax and let it be?
What do you think happiness is?
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
Um....I'm not sure how to respond to that one iTunes. I think you may have me confused with someone else though.
What's your favourite fetish?
Kick Him When He's Down - Offspring
Abuse? You're wrong there iTunes. I think maybe you need a vacation or something. You're not doing very well today.
What's one thing I should change about myself?
Everywhere - Michelle Branch
See above. Damn, I just don't get it.
Oh well. It is just a game after all.
5/29/06, 9:51pm-
The tally of the last 4 days:
+2 sheetmetal induced injuries to my person
+1 nice dinner out
+1 late night conversation with Karen in my backyard under the stars
+1 recurring random illness
+3 blog updates, since I forgot to upload for a while
+1 getting a project done....
+1 ....for work
+2 really nice weather days
+1 front lawn cut
+1 back lawn not cut due to recurring random illness
+4 for the weekend. Yay!
5/21/06, 8:57pm-
Pictures!
The wedding was a blast. Karen and I had a great time, and there was much rejoycing by all. Beth and John were adorable together, and it will be a night not soon forgotten. Good times. There was dancing, and resting, and Thriller, and me withMrs. Green, the dancing queen!
Come on, when have you ever been to a wedding where the wedding party performed Thriller? I didn't think so.
Unfortunately, I only took about 8 pictures of the night, a few were unusable, and none of them contained the cuteness comprised of myself and my date. Mea culpa. I also managed to not take pictures of:
- B's mom while she was vogue-ing
- How awesome everyone looked
- Anything from the ceramony
- The cake
- Any of the many prompted kisses
- The amazing chocolate mousse dessert
- The kooky DJs
- Any good pictures of the groom
- Any well-lit pictures of the happy couple
- Any of the über cute photo timeline pictures that were projected up on the wall before the reception got going
- How cute baby Mia was as the littlest flowergirl
- Everything else that was photoworthy that I forgot
Holy cow, B finally got married! There was eating and singing and dancing and all sorts of fun. Pictures will be posted soon, both of yours truly dancing like an idiot, and of the lady mentioned in the first sentence.
4/30/06, 9:59pm-
Wow, what a whirlwind the last 2 weeks have been. A pile of late nights at work, long nights at home cleaning or fixing or gardening, and stress out the wazoo has made me a little nuts. Thankfully, I got some answers to some tough questions on Friday afternoon regarding some hard stuff I'm working on at the office, and this weekend was much more happy and sedate than last. Lots of Farscape with Karen, Kung Fu Hustle with KP, and some shopping for B's wedding gifts, and some essentials for che Dave, and all was well. I did get a chance to mow my lawn already. With all the rain we've been having, it grew a little. A properly cut lawn is wonderful I think. Don't you agree? (click to big-ify)
I love it.
My friend Christine is getting married this fall, and she's been stressing about her dress for a week or two now. Thankfully it was easy for her, and she picked a winner. I'd post a link to her pictures, but I'll let you dig them up on your own. There are enough links in this entry already.
4/14/06, 9:22pm-
Al Gore 2008!
4/18/06, 9:55pm-
Two 13+ hour days in a row, and the project from hell at work have kept me from blogging this week. Similar things, along with life, my yard, my house, my garage, Karen, friends, family, and the unseasonably warm weather have kept me from blogging for the balance of the time since the entry below. I'd blog more, but I'm tired, having gotten up at O-dark thrity this morning (5:45 really), and I need sleep.
3/30/06, 11:41pm-
I'm not blogging much, and it'll be a little bit before I get back to it. Those of you in the know will understand why there aren't enough hours left to blog in.
2/27/06, 6:53pm-
Pics are here, but only on a temporary basis. I'll be redoing everything later. Warning, these are only the ones from my digicam, and aren't as faboo as the scans from my slides and negs will be. Also, they're in reverse order, because iPhoto does that. Scroll to the bottom, read upwards, and enjoy.
2/26/06, 1:19am-
Back from vacation. Pics and words to follow.
2/16/05, 10:50pm-
I know, no updates for weeks. Tough. I've been working and moving and packing and not much else, and now that I finally have a break, well, I'm only blogging because I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Pictures and details when I get back.
1/31/06, 9:18pm-
Big update time!
In the last 16 days a lot has happened. I turned 27, my house is 99.95% ready to move into (+sink, + trim, -low voltage wiring), S&T had a son named David (shown with T and H, and nope, not named after me), I got some proper treatment for my back/neck/shoulder thing (that will continue for many moons to come) and I finally changed the oil in my car, among other things. All in all, the last 2ish weeks have been busy. Oh yeah, and I'm going on a cruise in a few more weeks. And I'm still not moved in. I'm working on it though. My drop dead date is 2/16, so I can spend at least one night at my house before the cruise. Good times.
1/14/05, 10:18pm-
Blah!
This week was less than fun. Bugs in code at the office, a persistently pinched nerve in my neck that took out my left arm, and severe issues with baseboard trim at my house threatened to make it finish on a negative. Thankfully, movies and lunch and drinks with friends (and video games) balanced it all out. Yay for that. John asked me what I was doing tomorrow to celebrate by 27th year on this wet blue rock, and my answer was "installing trim." Not the most traditional birthday activity, but since mom went out of her way to make cupcakes, I think it'll be a pretty good day. Assuming that is, that my neck and shoulder are OK and my crushed hand allows me to squeeze things again. Home improvement is a dangerous passtime. I think once the trim and the soft wiring are done, I'm going to move in and not worry about improvements for a little while. It's just not fun any more.
As an aside, it's a little odd getting email birthday wishes from forums I haven't posted on (or even visited) in 6 or 7 years.
1/5/06, 10:44pm-
Well, the reservations for OSH 06 are made. Dad and I will be fully immersed in airplanes from the evening of July 27th until the end of July 30th. I called around to all the hotels in the greater Oshkosh area, finally finding one that had a room. The last room in town I suppose, though I can't be sure. At $100 a night it's not the cheapest one there, but convention rates are never that cheap, and they have cable TV and air conditioning. It's going to be fun.
1/2/06, 10:17am-
I must have been secretly partying much, much harder than I thought, because last night I fell asleep around 6. I woke up around 9:30 this morning, with only a 10 minute break to take off my sweater and jeans and make it properly between the sheets around 2am.
So why am I still tired?
Since KP was nice enough to show off her list of 7 resoltions, I feel obligated to make a list of my own, in no particular order:
- Stop losing things, like my 3 tiny USB drives, or my XLR adapter bag.
- Work out. Be less skinny.
- Sk8! There's a good place less than 3 blocks from my house.
- Move. I bought my house on August 5th. On Thursday it'll be 6 months of work, no slept nights there. Grr.
- Be less messy.
- Pay more attention...to everything.
- Eat less fast food.
1/1/06, 1:01pm-
Happy new year everybody!
Ok, big update post, since it's been almost a month.
The house is really close to being done. I love it. Trim, CATV/Phone/Enet, and a sink and I move in. The carpet is awesome.
I also made a tour video. It's lame, but what the hell, it's fun. 14.7MB. NSF56k. Christmas went swimmingly. Thanks to thoughtful relatives, I'm all set for house accessories, portable music, games, cold weather, work, and auto maintainence. It was fun. As a byproduct, I now need a USB 2 hub for all of my devices. Check the wishlist.
Karen had a holiday party, which was pretty awesome. There were lots of people, and a good time was had by all. Note to self: check recipes before making drinks for people. That one needs work.
There was an excursion to the Millennium Park ice rink and to MSI the next morning, which was wonderfuly entertaining. Christine was kind enough to lend me skates, and I only fell once. Not bad for not having skated in more than a decade.
New Year's was back at Karen's, with a smaller group, but just as much fun. Yay for fireworks and Buckingham Fountain!
And now, on the 1 of the 1 of the 06 as it were, I'm relaxing and plotting a full day of work for tomorrow. I'm hoping to get some trim painted and installed. I think that would be good. Don't you? I thought so.
For news from 2003, visit the Old News '03 For news from 2004, visit the Old News '04
For news from 2005, visit the Old News '05
