So... http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/ ...there's a masterpiece hidden underneath all my imperfections... en Copyright 2007 Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:17:43 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss In True Chuck Fashion So.. my favorite dog on the internet, besides my own of course, is Chuck. I always have said when I have a dog, I am going to torture her as dooce does. And so it begins. Chloe's first attempt at Chuckism, featuring Christmas cookies for dogs, which look so good humans want to eat them, too.

We started out small.

Waiting patiently for a treat.

She kept trying to grab the cookie.

]]> http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/in_true_chuck_fashion.php http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/in_true_chuck_fashion.php Chuck Style Chloe photos Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:17:43 -0800 Number One So.. lately I've found myself bored out of my mind at times. It's weird because I have so much I can and should do, but sometimes you just don't want to do what you have to do and you want to do something just for no reason at all. But you can only watch nostalgic movies so many times, even I can only clean the kitchen so many times. And then what? So I am working on a list, a list of things you can do when you have nothing you want to do but you don't want to do what you have to do.

Try Not To Think About Flamingos
(Really this can be not thinking about anything, but I love flamingos.)

The tricky thing about this is that if you try too much, you remember you were trying to avoid the topic and that brings it up. If you don't try at all, somehow flamingos come up in your mind anyway.

Time-wasting potential: about 5 minutes

]]> http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/number_one.php http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/number_one.php Things To Do When You're Bored fun Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:52:45 -0800 Christmastime So.. Christmas is just around the corner and I'm still not really feeling the holiday spirit. It has been an interesting year. Last year about this time was one of the hardest times I have dealt with, and in some ways I'm still dealing with. Instead of the happy glow and warmth of the holidays, I feel an emptiness, a loneliness and a longing for something I can not have.

I did my Christmas shopping this week and found some really good and fun gifts for my family. It's hard being poor, but I did pretty well considering I have seven brothers & sisters, two brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, three nieces and a nephew. But, even the happy spark of finding the perfect gift (or several, actually) is diminished.

I don't want to be a Grinch, because I have always loved Christmas. The lights, the smells, the "peace on earth" feeling that makes everyone just a little bit nicer. I just think it'd be so much easier to celebrate if things last year had gone differently, if different choices had been made, if I hadn't been the one left behind.

I still have thirteen days, who knows what they will bring.

]]> http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/christmastime.php http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/christmastime.php Life holiday j journal entry! Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:54:24 -0800 The One Where I Complain So.. you walk into a home improvement store (read: Home Depot), in search of irrigation drip system items. You have a basic idea of what you need, based solely on the bits and pieces of the original drip line that your dog has (lovingly) left all over the yard. You walk to the sprinkler aisle and you look around. Very quickly you realize you need assistance so you look for someone in an orange apron. "I will get one of the plumbing guys for you," the first one you see says. You walk back to the sprinkler area and continue looking as you wait. An unusually long period of time goes by, so you walk back out to the main aisle, and look around. Multiple orange aprons walk by, one finally asks if you need help ("Um, no. I just like to stand in the middle of your warehouse looking confused.") and you say someone was calling a plumbing guy to help.

Ten minutes later..

He shows up, you explain what you need and he picks up items to complete the project.

You go home, take out the items, find the pipe to plug the drip into, and discover... none of the items he gave you are correct. None of them.

Ok so is it just me, or would you think that 1) if someone is working at a home improvement store (read: Home Depot) they should have at least a LITTLE BIT of an idea of the products in their department? and b) if you have to wait 10 minutes for assistance, shouldn't the guy they send be super experienced with what you need?

After digging out the piece that needs replaced, and taking a brief look at what remains of the old hose, I quickly discovered that he sold me something COMPLETELY wrong and I got a good idea of what I did need. Back to the store I go, fuming at the time wasted. Then I get there only to stand in the returns line for 15 minutes because they only had one line open and a really dumb Asian man trying to return paint was at the front.

Eventually I made my way back to the sprinkler aisle and looked around. An orange apron came by and offered to help (NOT the same one, luckily for his sake) and this one actually knew what he was talking about. Finally with all items in hand, I got home to begin my project.

Because of the late start (curse you, first orange apron!) I didn't finish it today as I had intended. Hopefully tomorrow will go better, as Chloe will make a complete mess of things if muddy areas are left until next weekend.

]]> http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/the_one_where_i_complain.php http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/the_one_where_i_complain.php Life Chloe complaining repairs Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:17:32 -0800 Dream So.. not everyone remembers their dreams, but I usually do. Not only that but I have dreams regularly, almost every night. Sometimes I only remember them for those brief moments between sleep and awake, and then when I open my eyes they are gone. Other times if I'm fast enough, I can grab a pen and paper and jot down every bit before it slips away from me. And still other times, I remember them and they never leave me.

When I was little, I had a recurring dream about the next street over. Everything about my dream was true-to-life; everything, that is, until I got to the part about the woman who lived in a doghouse with her children. She would bark at me as I passed and it scared me.

Ok, now that you are done laughing, tell me that a barking woman in a doghouse wouldn't scare you!

I also had a dream that took place in the church building we attended. The chapel was two stories high; along the back wall the second floor had a closed off room/hallway, where people could take their crying babies so they wouldn't bother others. I dreamed that I was up there, except the glass wall that separated the Cry Room from the chapel was gone, and a man from the church came and pushed me off and I fell onto the pews below.

Not all my dreams are scary, but it seems the most memorable ones are.

I've dreamed about people I care about, people I've lost, and people I don't even know. I've dreamed about things happening, going places, being different and yet still me.

Lately I've had one particular dream repeatedly, although not always exactly the same. The end result, the meaning is all the same, though the situation and setting are different. And although I have tried not to, I've started to wonder.. Is there meaning to dreams? Can a dream be a version of reality to come?

Maybe I've just thought that because I want this dream to be true. I want it so badly, more than I've wanted anything for a long time. I always wake up with the same feeling: first, a sense of peace and calm, and then a touch of sadness when I let myself realize it did not happen, and maybe never will. Every part of me aches for that dream to be real and it stays on my mind all throughout the day, this longing for what could be. But, wanting something doesn't make it happen, and dreaming something doesn't make it true.

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartache
Whatever you wish for you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true


]]> http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/dream.php http://www.twenty-eight.org/so/2007/12/dream.php Life dream j journal entry! Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:30:29 -0800