O.K. Then.

Do you ever have days that start out pretty O.K., but the closer they get to the end of the day the crappier they get?  Yeah, me too.

Today was kinda one of those days.  Well, sort of.  

I was up late last night looking for a job.  I was hoping against hope that I might procure a sub job.  Usually on the day back from a break there are not very many jobs that come up.  So, I was not terribly optimistic.  Still, I was up late, just to make sure.  I also got up early this morning with the hope of obtaining the unlikely job.  While I waited, three jobs came up for tomorrow, the sixth.  

I took the first one, but Cora reminded me that I can't take a job for tomorrow because we have a nine o'clock appointment to go in to USCIS to have our finger prints taken for the immigration documents for the adoption.  I could take a job in the afternoon, but the likelihood of one coming up and me actually being able to take it are remote. 

I did a lot today.  I went to town looking for a few items.  I managed to get a few.  I got the oil changed.  I got an item at Target, and then some stuff at Costco.  Between all that I bought a pair of gloves and stopped at the county court house.  Why did I stop at the court house you ask?  

Well, I think I mentioned that I have found mention of a bombing range near Zillah, Washington (A town about fifteen miles distant).  As many of the wrecks I'd like to investigate are MUCH further away, this potential historical treasure has potential for me to investigate at my leisure rather than making plans ahead of time.  

My previous experiences at the court house have been negative.  Of course, much of it comes from my parents paying property taxes and an appearance for a ticket that I had to pay years ago, so who knew that when I walked in and asked about information on something so strange that they would be so helpful?  The first lady (records) helped me boot up a Microfiche reader and find what I needed.  Only, I quickly discovered I did not have enough information to help me find what I was looking for.  She suggested I go down the hall to where they keep the maps (assessor).  The lady I found there was most helpful, until we discovered some of the land is still under Bureau of Land Management and she had no information on it.    Still, I now know how easy it is and how friendly they are, so I won't hesitate to go back...also, I did not have to go through a strip search, that's probably a good thing.

It was at the court house that I saw something I had to share with you...you'll need to scroll down to see it, but first, read on.

I then got Cora a coffee and saw her for a little while.  She always puts a smile on my face.  After I left her I came home and began work on the house, although I made little visible progress.  I remembered I had a dentist appointment.  

And here is where the afternoon went to hell.   I decided I had time to do a water change for the fish tank.  So, I did.  I also cleaned out the filter.  While I was doing that, I found that the florescent light has made the plastic brittle...it broke.  I should be able to fix it, but, for now, we are relying on the little pump inside the tank for water movement.  

I also needed to get the dog licenses.  According to the letter we were late.  That means they assess a 5 dollar charge on the five dollar fee.  For two dogs that is 20 dollars( I did the math for you slow people out there, you probably know who you are, but if you don't, send me an e-mail and I will tell you).  I made out the check and left the checkbook at home.  The clerk said, "that's too much."  Much as I hated to, I told her, "Well, we're late and the late fee is $5, 4X5 is 20, here you go."  She said, they are not charging the late fee.  She can't give me change for the check.  "Do you have any cash?"  No.  Damn it!  I didn't have cash.  And I didn't have time to go back to the house.  With my luck they'll charge me a late fee tomorrow when I walk in with a ten dollar check.  

When I got to the dentist, they invited me in and gave me a shot.  I immediately got very jittery and shaky.  I mentioned that, since that has never happened before.  They said it may be because it had epinephrine in it.  The dentist began his drilling and we all found that the numbing solution had not done its job.  They gave me more.  Now I am having trouble speaking without sounding impaired.

Well, I am O.K., but I will probably be dining on something liquid.  

I was looking our photos over when we got home yesterday and I found that in one of the photos, there was a honey bee on the flower that I had not noticed!  Have a look!  Cool, huh?

As mentioned above, I found something in the court house parking lot that I thought you needed to see.  Below you see a picture of a vehicle with "THE CLUB."  You know, that late night infomercial thing guaranteed to keep people from stealing your car!

Now, you might expect this to be in a very styling vehicle.  Something with panache.  Perhaps a sports car or something expensive and new, maybe a Hummer?  Nope.  What you see equipped with "The Club" is... 

(by my best estimation) a 1983 or 1984 Ford Escort.  Powder BLUE.  Surely that Chrysler PT Cruiser is more deserving of "THE CLUB" than that Escort!  Ah, the irony.  I should also point out that this is IN the employee parking area of the Court House, which is pretty much surrounded by video cameras.  Also, I saw a few on duty officers while I was there, I am sure the place is pretty much crawling with cops.  Why would a thief steal that?  Gotta love it!

Hopefully our appointment with the federal government goes well tomorrow.  Wish us luck!

Business Time!

So, the other day I was listening to Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 21, Altnation. I heard the funniest song! It was from Flight of the Conchords...the song you see above. I think it is funny, I hope you do, too.

We went to town for awhile. We came home dejected. We did not spend much money...we like spending money...seems so easy.

I need to get more done...does anyone want to come over and clean house? We need to figure out where the house cleaning gnomes are and capture us a few.

Gold Medal Sunday

We began the day with watching the Olympics. This evening, we are still watching them. Cora worked on her blanket. I cleaned up the back yard a little. And Cora did some other house work. We went shopping. We also went on a most interesting geocache/scavenger hunt.

My dear dad left it for me. Well, my mother worked hard on it, too. We started not far from our house and ended up 11 miles away just outside Cora's office. She rolled her eyes when she realized we were on the way to her plant. I liked one of the legs of the hunt, in that it ended up right next to my favorite winery. Piety Flats. Not one to pass up an opportunity to taste wine, Cora and I went inside. I tried their Pinot Grigio, not normally a fan of white, I actually think it was drinkable...and might, on hot evening try it out. I went ahead and bought a bottle of their Mercantile Red before heading off to finish the scavenger hunt (the blend is Cab Sauv, Syrah, and Merlot. Last year's had some Cab Franc in it...I liked it, too). Cora helped me with the entire thing, and actually found the clue on first stop, which was buried.

I had apparently stepped on it and dislodged the noise maker that was inside. We kept hearing a siren going off and I walked off thinking it was somewhere else...she pointed out that the noise was centralized. I came back with the spade and out popped the clue. We mistakenly attributed this feat of magic to my dad's genius. We later found out it was more a freak of gravity and my foot placement than my dad's strangely prescient planning. When we got to the end, just outside Cora's office window..., we found something well worth the trip...a few dog treats and some chocolates...and something trully important to us both: a Starbucks gift certificate!!! My parents rock!

I took the dogs over to the school to let them get some energy out and I have some video of them with their tongues hanging out. Unfortunately, I still have some work to do on learning how to edit video on Cora's Computer. She generously offered me the chance to practice with it whilst she worked on her blanket. I need to use another program, because the one I tried today sucked.

We bought several things today. I got a head light...not for the car, for my head. There is a cave on the south side of Mt. St. Helens that was created by the volcano. It is what is called a lava tube. It is the world's longest, I think, about 2 miles...forgive any mistakes, my info is from memory which is close to 20 years old. What happened was lava was flowing out of the volcano and it cooled and hardened on the sides and top of the flow, while the flow continued, then the eruption stopped and the lava ran out, leaving a hollow tube, which was later buried. My family and I went inside it many years ago. It was an awesome experience, which I want to share with Cora. Hence the head light...

We also bought baby clothes and a couple DVDs. One of the DVDs was a Chris Farley flick, may he rest in peace. It is Tommy Boy...a classic. Chris Farley, nevermind his drug problems, was a comic genius. My favorite part is the deer...oh, and the Bees...if you know the movie, you know what I am talking about. We also bought Stardust...I read the book because Cora said it was good...it was. The movie was good, too.

We also bought a couple camera cases...we couldn't decide! Nah, we got one for the video camera and one for the Elph...we have one for it, but it is a bit bulky, so Cora decided we needed one that was more...thin.

without a reason or introduction, here is a picture of the deck of the USS Hornet...

And while you are still here, I mentioned my dad's devious spirit earier, it isn't just him. I have done things to him, too. For instance, take these pictures below. My parents visited us in California and I took my dad to the USS Hornet and Mare Island Naval Base.

Here, we see my father in one of the drydocks at Mare Island. See how tiny he looks? He decided, in his brilliance, to see how long the dock was. He decided to pace off the distance. I walked along behind him, listening to him count. Up on the walls of the dock were numbers. I, rightly, comprehended these to be the distance from the mouth of the dock. I did not mention my assumption to my counting and somewhat silly-looking goose-stepping father. We got to end and he pronounced it to be 770 feet long, I tried to whistle softly and nonchalantly (didn't work), and said, "how about 785? He looked at me and asked how do you figure? I pointed to the numbers on the side. Fortunately, my father is NOT a violent man.