Don't Like This Trend

Eww, I have been in a testy mood for more than a few days now. I normally don't stay testy for very long. Funny thing is that I find myself saying things to myself that I used to hear my former roommate say, like, "Do I have to do everything around here in order to do it right?" or "Am I the only person here who knows how to turn off a light?" At least I can laugh at myself and recognize that once again the thing that bothers me in someone else is a flaw I just might share, a wee bit. I am sure all this grumpiness and impatience with the frailties of others will pass. I am ready for it to pass NOW, dang it! Oh, that is impatient, isn't it?

Luckily the kids and Lee know I love them anyway.

And the Time Warner people know I do not love their poor customer support, incompetence and inability to communicate. Let's just say I managed to lose email access by upgrading my cable service. HUH? At one point some dude assured me that every time you change your service, for any reason, they take away your email accounts. Now, why on EARTH would they do that? Turns out that, no, that was not true. Someoen screwed up. I helped the final tech support person figure that out and how to fix it. Instead of eating dinner and visiting with aforementioned ever-grumpy former roommate (who is always pretty nice now that he just visits every so often, and brought me a bunch of new CDs).

So let's all think "Suna get tolerant" vibes. Let's end the trend NOW.

As for those new CDs:

Jeff is right--the new Bruce Springsteen, Magic, is mixed really oddly. Everything is all compressed and mushed together, so it's hard to tell him from the band, and the backup singers sound miles away. I will listen to it again--I didn't get to hear all the lyrics. What I did here seemed to be really sweet love songs. Better than Tom Joad. And yay, the whole band is there. I love that band.

The new John Fogerty, Revival, is a MUST buy if you are remotely tired of Your US President or That Britney Tramp. He has some really fun/funny/apt songs about them that are well worth listening to. And the first song. "Don't You Wish It Was True" is a lovely, lovely hymn to a vision of the future that should go in the UU hymnal. He still sounds strong and unique as ever. And there is killer rockabilly guitar. What's for Suna NOT to like?

The third one I have listened to most of the way through is the new Karen Mal CD. She is local (note prominent link to the Austin Connection podcast on her home page--she's been in my house!). I like her breathy Celtic stuff and her musicianship. And she's so ... pretty. But who cares, I like her songs and her interpretations of other people's songs. If you like Emmylou or Linda Ronstadt, you might want to check her out. I've heard most of the songs already live, so it's neat to hear how they come out on CD.

I still have two more CDs to listen to: Patti Scialfa ADA Mrs. Bruce and Beth Wood, a folkie I enjoy. More on them later.

Hmm, I thought I had nothing to blog about today. I'll practice not blogging LATER.

Randomness and Moth ID

Random Topics for the day...

1. Good Work, Lee! I am proud of how Lee keeps plugging away at looking for work, and doing his best at interviews. There's another one on Friday! Yesterday's sounded hard, but like he did a fine job on it. And he is taking care of me and the kids as I hyperventilate over paying for things like roof deductibles, insurance, and cars (the latter not bought yet, thanks to all the other bills).

2. Grr to the Irritating. There's a lady on an email list I am on who thinks that she has every right in the world to insult people who's opinions differ from hers. I like how others on the list are simply modeling ways of stating opinions that don't put others down.


3. That Darned Bug. Yesterday I had fun showing two little girls the pretty moth I had found on the corridor to the work parking lot. As I left, I heard their dad or granddad telling a group of other people walking down to come see the cool moth. I think my moth is famous now. And this morning I saved another little warbler who was beating her wings at the glass doors. I had to scoot her out with my hands, but she's free now. I realize that she is probably endangered, so I did a good thing (we are in golden cheeked warbler habitat, which is one reason why all the woods around here were preserved). I sure like all the wildlife around here.


Anyway, hooray, here is the moth's bio:

Common Name: Great leopard moth
Scientific Name: Hypercompe scribonia (Stoll)Order: Lepidoptera
Description: The great leopard moth, Hypercompe scribonia (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), with a 3-inch wingspan, is white with black open-circular spots on the forewings and a metallic blue abdomen with orange markings. Caterpillars grow to about 2 inches. The caterpillars are fuzzy black caterpillars with the underlying body color of red to orange.

Teamwork. I finally figured out that the reason work places do United Way is so that people can actually talk to each other and have some fun, for official purposes. The official employees are having great fun planning things, selling each other raffle tickets, and on and on. Heck, even the rest of us are getting to do some of the stuff! This afternoon I helped the other department tee pee my boss's office in retaliation for some humorous thing she did to their team. That's what she gets for going off on a boat ride with the visiting dignitaries, I guess. Nice to see these people loosening up a bit.

Thanks for all the good thoughts for Lee: he has another interview Friday, so be ready with good thoughts then!