aced it

myriad mermaids

there was a headline in the paper yesterday... something to the effect that several local charities could have used the trashbag full o' cash that pacman took to that las vegas strip club with him. well, duh. what the hula kind of headline is that? i'm pretty sure we can all think of myriad better uses for that money than throwing it at a stripper.

that would be myriad uses. not a myriad of uses. the word myriad like the word several just stands alone without "a" and "of". you wouldn't say a several of uses -- you'd say several uses. same with myriad and its myriad uses. that's its -- no apostrophe on the possessive.

just glanced over that last 'graph and thought myriad was mermaid, and those two words are not really even that close at all in the way they look, so perhaps ol' ace needs to be gettin' more sleep, eh?

headcolder

not sure if this thing is a cold or an allergy... how does one know? sniff-snuffly, sneezy, watery eyes - okay, it's an allergy. tired, coughing - well, that's a cold. feels better outside running or inside showering, but they won't pay me to run & shower all day long.

had one of those particularly annoying mtgs today -- went for 2.5 hours. that's right -- two and a half hours. by the end of the session, i was squirming in my seat and making snide remarks to all those within earshot. basically acting like a 4 year old, but criminy! 2.5 hours? that's too long to sit through anything but harry potter.

the say hey program is coming along well at the office, but has been unexpectedly called into play with ol' jerky macjerkelheimer. been all see ya later in the mornings... have a nice day... and then in the afternoon with see you in the morning. ol' jerky says not word one, and for that matter, nor does anyone else. not sure what to make of it, really. why is no one speaking to me? they used to... you know... like -- last week. criminy. what happened over the weekend? not sure about that, but can tell you this -- i'll not knuckle under. i might just get even more cheerful. hellooooo!


already had 3 showers today and contemplating a 4th. this coldallergyheadthing just feels so much better in the steam. but, my skin's starting to rebel, and kind of... you know... crack and peel off. here's a solution to that. ha! crack creme! that's just funny, eh? don't care who you are....

headcold

ut vs florida tonight -- bradshaw's the only senior on ut's team, so tonight's senior night is bradshaw night. pat summit is supposed to be showing up in a cheerleading outfit, to counter bruce pearl's showing up in orange paint for the ut women's game against duke. it'll be nice to have pat there for bradshaw night... not that i know bradshaw, but he seems like a nice guy.

having a cold is like having mittens on the brain. it's taking way too long to type this drivel. i'll just have to get back to you with more when i can think clearly. like, maybe in 3 or 4 months. yeah....

manic monday

if you mean to get up at 5:15am, it's best not to set your alarm for 5:15pm... although nothing really gets the adrenaline flowing like a leap out of bed.

just say no to turbo tax

there's nothing quite like looking at a bank account that you thought had a certain amount of money in it, only to see that the money is not there. well, having someone call you and wake you up and ask you about just such a situation... that's probably worse.

finished filing the fafsa, and as filings go, that one's relatively painless. it's nice how the forms remember you from last year.

applied 12/27/06 for a $150 rebate from circuit city for a toshiba l35 purchased over the holidays. circuit city doesn't have the rebate on record, which means now we have to track it down. they're probably hoping we'll just forget, but criminy crickets -- it's $150, and that might not be much to ol' circuit city, but it's a lot to us.

intuit still holding our income tax hostage in the turbo tax site, asking for 29.95, and still sending emails telling us we can file for free. so, i am still sending them emails telling them 29.95 isn't free, but they are at this point no longer responding to those emails. but, they seem to be able to continue sending those other promotional emails.

fafsa -- good.
circuit city -- maybe.
turbo tax -- bad.

whuzzup

how 'bout them vols? uh-huh, that's right. rolled over the razorbacks today. now, lsu is leading florida, and that would be another sweet upset... but would take away some from vandy's win over florida. vandy plays kentucky tomorrow at vandy, so there's hope for another vandy win there. bob costas is coming to interview vandy chancellor gordon gee b/c vandy's got 7 teams in the top 25 of their sports: men's & women's basketball, baseball, women's tennis, women's golf, women's bowling, and women's lacross. hmm... lots of women's sports, there, eh? interesting. don't know when or where costas' interview will be shown -- more info to come on that.

today's accomplishments: ran 18 miles and took a nap. still hoping to add a trip to blue coast to the list.

saturday

pacman jones is in trouble. the oscars are being awarded sunday. ut basketball today at noon. the weather report for this weekend -- this morning, cloudy and 45º... tonight, perhaps severe thunderstorms. all i know is that if i don't get a blue coast salad sometime soon, there's gonna be a thunderstorm, buddy. oh, yeah.

tired of talking about myself but too tired to talk about anything else... perhaps you will hear from me later, and i shall enlighten you on myriad topics of interest.

or, perhaps not.

just. so. tired.

once a month, i am reminded of my femininity. add to that a cold or allergy or whatever the hula you want to call it, and the zinc that's supposed to help the cold messes with the stomach. swallowed the spider to catch the fly.... bottom line - despite the large quantities of samoas -- and other items of all description easily within reach -- that were consumed today... bottom line, i'm just tired.

need to make a decision tomorrow about the income tax and related paperworks. gotta do some soccer shizzle. gotta this & gotta that. add to those -- my ol' man just informed me i'm running 100 miles in the morning. could'a swore'd it were 18, but if he says 100, must be 100, and 100 miles is a long way, so maybe it's time to get some sleep.

cookie time!

you know how the girl scouts will be out in front of walmart or wherever, peddling their wares... i like to walk right by their shiney little faces and say, really loudly -- do you know how much freakin' fat is in one of those hydrogenated fructose tidbits?



make 'em cry.



then, i push them down and steal their cookies.

license fees

they say that these are not the best of times,
but they're the only times i've ever known -
for we are always what our situations hand us:
it's either sadness or euphoria.

through argument and compromise -
our separate conclusions are the same.
we choose between reality and madness:
it's either sadness or euphoria.

how thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies,
holding our respective similarities.
standing on the ledges of our lives:
it's either sadness or euphoria.


with most sincere apologies,
but no regret,
for poetic license taken with the words of
the inimitable,
the incomparable,
the incommensurable,
mr. william martin joel.

wired, a little?

standing in line at the mapco -- trying to purchase the only kind of gum i like but which no one has anymore anywhere anytime, so i was buying substitute gum and lotto tix, and the woman in front of me was buying 4 monsterstyle drinks although they were called something like kronik, and also she was buying a large'esque bag of tortilla chips, and a pack of ciggies.

concert in town tonight... p.s. i am not going

green eggs & ham

meant to say that last night's words were courtesy of the fellows of spandau ballet. took a little liberty with the punctuation, but seriously doubt they are checking up on me.

today's agenda - meetings all day, including 15:00's big presentation. my former boss used to make a much bigger deal of big presentations than does my current boss. not sure if it's because this guy now is more comfortable with the big presentation in general, more comfortable with the material for this afternoon's dog & pony show, or simply too busy right now to fret over any of it.

tonight - ut v someone playing basketball on tv. don't remember who... but we'll just trot on home and make some pizza and watch the game. you're welcome to stop by, but if you want pizza, i need to know by... well, i need to know right now, b/c you know how i am about people stopping by. it's one thing to say you're welcome to stop by, but it's another altogether to be hospitable. you are welcome to stop by, but if you want hospitality, you've got to give me at least 12 hours notice.

true is much this know i

so true. funny.
how it seems. always.
in time, but never in line for dreams.
head over heels when toe to toe.





this is the sound of my soul.
this is the sound.





i bought a ticket to the world,
but now i've come back again.



why do i find it, hard,
to write the next line.








when i want the truth to be said.
i know this much is true.

i like to grab brass rings

do not ever imagine that you have a grip on life in general or a grip on your own measley existence or even the chance to have a grip. it is impossible to get a grip on something that has no handles. there's no gripping life. you can't hold it, look at it, examine it. you can take pieces, grab pieces, remove them from the stream, the context... and hold onto them. these aren't handles - they are unattached rings, circling back on only themselves.

when you grab the brass ring and make it your own... what's changed more - you or the ring?

votive days

today - 6 in 58:40.
tonight - ut v lsu women's basketball.
tomorrow - rain.

today - no mail.
tonight - grilled chicken salads.
tomorrow - mardi gras.


today - cookies at 15:00.
tonight - 24. heroes.
tomorrow - english muffins for breakfast.

today - vandy baseball #1, basketball #17.
tonight - headlines on leno.
tomorrow - tomorrow... tomorrow...

tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
creeps in this petty pace from day to day
to the last syllable of recorded time,
and all our yesterays have lighted fools
the way to dusty death. out, out, brief candle!
life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
and then is heard no more; it is a tale
told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing. (macbeth)

getting it together.
and, you're feeling happy.
you've made some progress.
you're stringing together the normality.
you're gaining focus.
you're gaining strength.
then, the phone rings.
and, for a split of infinity,
you think it is her.
then, you realize -
it never will be her again.
and, you're back to square one.
looking for the happiness.
seeking the joy.
climbing out of the hole again.
and, again.
and, again.
and.
and.
again.

happy presidents day

not all of us get a holiday.

another shipwreck movie

last night it was castaway, and tonight it's that one with anne heche & indiana jones. is it shipwreck weekend or something? this movie has pirates in it.

do not. repeat. do not use turbotax to prepare your taxes. they will tell you it's free, and then charge you 29.95 and hold your return hostage. see, the filing is free, but using their software carries a charge. really a classic bait & switch. refusing to pay, i shall have to complete my return another way. bummer bel grande. here's what i told turbotax: i will tell everyone i know to avoid turbotax and its deceitful practices. pirates, they are.

ran the 8 mile road today and talk about taxing. had to do a little walking. during one walking phase, were approached by a 77 yr old running man wearing shorts who for some reason thought it was okay to slow down, put his arm around my shoulder, and chat about running. odd, to say the least. tried after the run to get a smoothie, but the smoothie king was closed, so we ended up at cracker barrel. hmm... oatmeal, peaches, muffins, pancakes... or a smoothie? well, chewing really can't be beat, can it? no pirates there.

did you catch the daytona 500? can you believe they didn't throw the caution on the last lap? seriously, they always throw the caution as soon as a wreck occurs, but they didn't on the last lap. a veteran driver like mark martin has got to have a subconscious reaction to a wreck and let off the gas at least a little, and all it takes is a little, fraction of let off to drop that little, fraction of an inch that he dropped back. so, kevin harvick took the checkered flag, but martin was cheated. pirates, they are.

wilson!!

tried to do the taxes, and followed all the online instructions, and then right at the end, they rooked me and won't let me submit the taxes or print a copy unless i pay 29.95. turbo tax. they sent an email saying i could file for free, but then they trapped me into their web of lies. i sent them an email saying 29.95 is not free, so we'll see what they have to say about that.

if you ever sent someone a pkg by fedex, and maybe it's delayed or doesn't get there at all. maybe you wonder what happened to the pkg, but if you've ever watched the movie castaway, well then maybe you can figure out what happens to the pkgs. they are stranded on a desert island with tom hanks. duh.

tomorrow's assignment: 8 mile road. up the big hill & back. supposed to hit it at 08:00, and it's bound to be cold. forecast - 21º, feels like 10º. yipe.

sleepyhead

went to bed last night at 17:30 and got up this morning at 08:00. musta been a wee bit sleepy, eh? did i mention yesterday i ran 6 in 59:53 including stopping for traffic lights, and then gave blood, so it's not a big surprise i was sleepy, eh? supposed to be doing the income taxes right now, but stalling is more fun. checked on the rebate from circuit city, and still nothing there, which is a bummer bel grande since it's a $150 rebate. also, wondering why staples doesn't know i got a staples reward card. started a new book. so far this year, have read:

night work - laurie r. king
glass castle - jeannette walls
cross - james patterson
the kite runner - khaled hosseini
just started with child, laurie r. king

enough about me, though. how are you?

in the news... local -- chemicals used to make laquer found in creek, laquer plant blamed. emergency rooms overworked, try to find poor folks preventive care. [duh on both counts there.] weather -- snow here. sports -- vandy plays florida at noon, and ut v south carolina at 14:00. daytona 500 tomorrow. watched the truck race last night, and here's a cool pic from that. the driver was a-okay, making the pic even cooler. or... hotter! hahaha...

did you see gray's anatomy the other night? not really possible they are going to let the main character, for whom the show is named, expire. really not. also farfetched - there's a ferry boat disaster with hundreds of trauma victims, and all the doctors in the hospital are treating one, single victim. okay, it gathers them all in the same room for izzy's weirdly trite & practiced speech and dr mcdreamy's sobs... but c'mon folks. all the dr's in one room with dozens of trauma patients in the place? really -- no. just... just no.

fee rye day

bank of america is allowing illegal immigrants to open accounts. all the immigrants have to provide is a tax id number. okay, firstly, what the hula is bank of america thinking? what would be their motivation for doing this? most likely, the scheme is monitarily motivated, unless b.o.a. is in league with the fbi/cia and is going to rat on all the illegals that open accounts. but wait... hang on there a minute, cowboy... the illegals have tax id numbers. that means the govt already knows about them. what's the deal with that? if they are illegals, why is the govt handing out tax ids when they should be handing out mug shot ids?

plans for today: meet w/ bossman to educate him on systems issues at 08:00, attempt to focus for the next coupla hours, run 6 miles, eat [no hummus, but perhaps a baked tater, oh yeah!], more attempted focusing, wrap it up for the day and come home, perhaps to a lovely blue coast salad. yes, the food is the highlight of the day, the 6 miles are to support the eating, and everything else is simply an attempt to focus between the meals.

of nascar & tots

there is a 72 yr old guy trying to qualifiy for the daytona 500. he was winston cup rookie of the year in 1966. he was champion crew chief in '65, and runner up to the cup in '66 and '71. i'm not even convinced a 72 yr old guy should be driving to the market, much less goin' 180 mph around the daytona track. criminy crickets.

this is not the 72 yr old guy. this is zach braff, and he's here to be a part of the next bit. read on....

separated at birth... zach braff & david reutimann....

michael waltrip got hisself in a wee bit of hot water with some kind of jet fuel additive in the new toyota corolla. he's denying knowledge, and he's still in the driver's seat, but toyota said that's 2 strikes right there, and there's only one more strike, and they'll pull out altogether. the season hasn't even started yet, and already with the two strikes. criminy crickets. the crew chief and the team manager are suspended, and michael's driving reutimann's car, but he made the field today in the qualifier, so he'll be in the 500 on sunday. you go, mikey!

in addition to the nascar season starting up, college basketball is really heating up, and you know what good thing happens during basketball season? don't bring that weak tot action! oh, yeah -- one of the best commershals ever returns to the telly!

snowbird

jerky mcjerkleheimer, van driver extraordinaire, does not drive the van in when schools are closed, which is the case today, so ol' ace has to find another ride to work. stop on by & pick me up on your way, eh?

we can talk about the 23 yr old woman in new mexico who tied up her boyfriend on balingtimes day so that she could drink his blood. she cut his leg, and drank some of his blood. firstly, what? secondly, why the hula did she choose to drink blood from his leg?

mr romance

we went to the grocery tonight. doesn't sound balingtimes-y to you? shows what you know about balingtimes if you gotta manufacture romance... blind to it in the everyday.

speaking of romance, we saw the original mr romance there doin' a little shoppin'. here's what he was purchalizing:

- one 5 lb heart-shaped box of chocolate
- 2 boxes rose petals
- a half dozen long-stemmed roses
- 3 packages of incense
- a sixpack of corona

oh, yeah. that's a recipe for romance all right... if your date is high. criminy.

it's snowing here, but just barely

went to bed last night at 17:00, and wondering if i'll feel the better for that today. 'tis a wee bit early yet to determine the full extent of the goodness & light that shall be shined down upon the day for having rested. today's agenda includes the thinkingpizza lunchtime event for which materials have not been distributed in advance. the thinking materials, ya goofball, not the pizza materials. put on yer thinkin' cap! criminy. one hour alloted, with pizza, to think. how much actual thinking will be done, if the materials all need to be introduced while all participants are busy wipin' the sauce from their chinny-chin-chins?

and, a happy balingtimes day to you, too!

pearls & hearts

you know if you hit one wrong key, the whole post distapeers. criminy. i shall try to recreate it although you won't know the diff since the other post was lost.

was gonna do a separated at birth with bruce pearl & an oompah loompah, but could not find comparable pix. bruce is definitely one of the orangefolk, though, as exemplified in this pic here. and, yes... it's the jacket, but the man also has an orange face, and you might know that if you watch him on the telly as we do here. for prigzample, we watched him tonight - coaching ut to a win over uk. go vols!

could not go outside & play today b/c of the rain - had to run on the track. much of the boredom ensued. managed 20 mins on the track and 10 on the steps. tomorrow, probably won't run b/c there's this creative lunch thing w/ pizza, and although i am a pizzafan, i'd really rather go run.

the ladies who work on my floor had a baelingtimes tea party today. that's right -- a tea party. and, they had a tea party; i did not have a tea party. does ace look like a tea partier to you? no, ace doesn't do the tea party. pretty sure they exchanged baelingtimes cards, too. what are we, in the 4th grade? criminy crickets.

you are correct -- i did not attend the party. they will think i am antisocial, and while they are correct about that... really, in this case... what a colossal waste of time. seriously - my apologies, folks, but you are not my friends. so, i doubt they missed me, which is also fine by me. and, for the final fine-by-me -- they returned bearing copious necco hearts. oh, yeah, hearts de necco. stellar!

okay, look at this pic of a candy heart. that is just funny - i do not care who you are!

disquiet

in the middle of the night you hear a sound,
but the air is too quiet for perspective,
so you can't tell if it's a loud sound far away or a soft sound close by.

magnetic attraction

someone changed my magnetic poetry. this is not a problem, per se, since mag poetry is intended to be moved & changed. the problem is that i had the same poem up for probably a million years now, and someone changed it... and i don't know when they did. i noticed it today, but did they change it today? they moved it, and it's slanty instead of straight, and they changed the poem. but it's not random. it's still poetic. and, it's still kinda my poem, but it's skewed. skewed in meaning, and in layout. and, it's just a freakout b/c my whole world is skewed right now, and the poetry is just a symbol of it all. but mostly -- when did it happen? did it happen today? did i notice it immediately? or, has it been this new way now for so long that it's now the old way?

to the followers of natalie maines

do you really believe natalie wants to let it all go and be done with it? then explain why she is the one who continues to dredge it back from the depths of public memory. she says in the same breath that she wishes people would let it go and that she wants people to remember. she is playing you for a fool, and you are playing along.

there are those of us who have forgotten, natalie. we don't care anymore. you are wearing us out with your bitterness & anger. why do you think you have to keep reminding us that you are still there and still feeling the same old way? because we have moved on.

dandy

16 miles - overall pace 9:09. dandy. this sniffle or cold or whatever it is seems to be fading. also dandy. the banana bread is gone, and that's not dandy. went to cracker barrel tonight, and ate all the ham & biscuits & hashbrown casserole on my plate. dandy!

people seem to think you can eat whatever you want if you run 16 miles, and that's not actually as true as one would hope. had someone ask me last week if running 11 miles burns like 5000 calories. yeah, buddy, if 1100 calories is like 5000 to you, then... yeah. otherwise, hulahoops - no! running burns 100 calories per mile, so it's not like you can just eat like a mongoose. criminy.

5:34AM

up too early to run too far. 16 miles and 20 degrees. big brother-man called yesterday to ask me to stop by the house in town... pick up the mail & a trinket left on accident in the rush to leave. we can stop by the house in town today, but see... being in a rush to leave isn't always a bad thing... and stopping by again isn't always good.

soon there will be other topics to discuss, but for now, there is only this one thing.

tiresome blather

looking for the fun side of life... what's on the docket for today? docket is a lawyer term, and in case you didn't catch on there is one less lawyer in the world. criminy. shut up already. say something good, fun, nice. everyone is sick of your pitiful blather.

* taking banana bread for snack
* planning an 8 mile run for lunch

that's it so far, but this is the official notification that i am on the lookout for the uplifting. fingers & toes all crossed.

crazy eights... plus 5

boring little updates on life...

sleep. rise.
shower. eat. ride. work. run. shower. eat. work. ride. eat.
fall. sleep.

the basic cycle of a day.
up & down. smile & frown.
nothing much changes
... day to day.
things roll along the
... same, same, same.
little joys, little pains.
little goals with little gains.
until one day,
when something happens,
and everything changes.
there's no going back, and
time is henceforth measured as
before
or
after.

[dreamcatcher]

if i dream that i fall...
will you dream
that you catch me?

if i dream that i jump...
will you catch me still?

if i dream that you push me...
then...
where does that leave us?

it's i who must turn back...
on my own...
by my will.

[5/9/2006]

new

new blogger finally snagged me. i am not a fan. mostly b/c it was against my will - i am therefore determined not to like it.

new chuck taylors. went for the black high tops. all they had of black hightops at this particular store was the doubletongue, and really not sure i'm a fan there either. perhaps i shall return them and purchase a different pair, but i got them tonight so as to not leave with nothing.

new issue: difficulty making simple decisions such as shoe purchases. wandering around in a basically foggalized state. looking forward to the time when the fog burns off, but knowing also when it does, there will be a price of realization to pay.

getting a little tired

blogger is determined to move us all to the new blogger, which means having a new login, which is really stupid b/c they should just let you use the same old login. probably will have to do this tonight b/c it's becoming a menace -- it's there at every login and getting harder to bypass. but on the other hand, who really gives a shizzle?

i am well aware that people go through difficult situations... hrm... more difficult than changing from blogger to the new blogger... .... ... people go through difficult situations all the time every day. so, suck it up and put on a brave face and muddle through and carry on.

but, i only want to sleep.

normal

not sure what that means... normal. life's a little geewawed right now. also, not sure geewawed is actually a word. the say hey program is still in effect, although it's plateaued for now, and the no-snooze-no-looze program is progressing nicely. time now to do the dishes, then head out into the world. the world, which is still all the same and turning... around me... who has changed.

up & at 'em

coming back to work after being on vacation is difficult -- so much work can pile up. not only was this not a vacation, and not only will work be piled up, but depending on how many people ask how are you doing? i could possibly be throwing things by 9:38am. trying to pretend it will be a normal day, but knowing full well that it will not.

29 may 1940 - 27 jan 2007

65 yrs 8 mos

there is stuff, and there is Stuff. stuff is the simple, impersonal this-&-that of everyday life. Stuff is comprised of the things that are uniquely owned. there's not always a clear delineation between stuff and Stuff. a gallon jug of laundry detergent would seem at first thought to be stuff, but when it's a gallon of fragrance-free hypoallergenic laundry detergent... well, it's closer to Stuff. it's not so unique that it's not available at the local kroger, but it's not so common that everyone uses it. and it was possibly specifically and carefully purchased for use by one with sensitive skin. stuff can cross the line to being Stuff simply for having been used by an individual. is it "just yogurt" anymore, after having inhabited that refrigerator? is it "just a lightbulb" after having been in that pantry? every single item takes on great, perhaps unduly great, importance. every piece cannot realistically be kept, so the labor of deciding which pieces are stuff and which are Stuff becomes serious business.

and, in the end, you don't want any of it - the stuff or the Stuff.
all you want, all you ever wanted, was their owner.