Just What I've Always Wanted...???

This weekend I received a surprise in my mailbox: the “Pyramid Collection: A Catalog of Growth and Exploration." I wasn't sure exactly how I was placed on the mailing list of this fascinating company, but I thought I would go ahead and take a look anyway.

Among the fine offerings of this esteemed establishment are: a t-shirt that reads, “I feel sin coming on” (also available in a wall mounted canvas), the Lady Moonbeam velvet cape (“reversible!”), and a wonderful array of costumes (my personal favorites are the Dark Faerie Dress, complete with tights “striped in a sprinkling of glittering thread,” and the Lady Capricorn sorceress hat). The Pyramid Collection will also outfit your home, with high quality items such as skull paper weights, dragon glass ornaments (with ruby eyes), the scent of sage kit (“everything you need to perform the aromatic smudging ceremony of purification”), and, of course, a crystal ball.

Now, don't be sad because I have landed on this mailing list and you have not. I refuse to be stingy with my new catalog. If any of you fine folk out there have a hankering for, say, paten leather pointy-toed witch shoes, I can totally hook you up.

Life Goal #4: Accomplished

Two posts in one day? You bet. I have to do a little dance of joy because one of my "bucket list" goals has been accomplished: #4: Get published.

Shameless plug? Of course. To view my grandiose piece of fiction, see the "Links to Other Things About Me..." section to the right.

(Actually, it's not really all that grandiose. It's only a two minute script. It's not much. But it's mine. And that makes me happy.)

Jury Duty

I spent yesterday waiting around in a courtroom to see if I would be picked to serve on a jury. Definitely not anything like tv, because it was the MOST BORING DAY EVER.
We weren’t allowed to read when the judge was in the room, which was at least 65% of the day. The prosecuting attorney was really young and seemed to not always know what he was doing. The defense lawyer was kind of a condescending jerk, asking the exact same question over and over because he thought we might not have understood the first 10 times he asked (I actually overheard the lady behind me say, “Get on with it already,” which made me giggle). There were so many sidebar conversations between the judge and lawyers that I was tempted to start counting the lines in the ceiling to stay awake. Also, the chairs were really, really hard. My behind is not happy.

I did learn something, though: I am very naïve. I was a little surprised, and somewhat disturbed, by the sheer numbers of people who have been arrested, think drugs should be legalized, and/or are in general distrustful of police. The girl next to me was arrested for something so serious that she requested a sidebar with the judges and attorneys to explain her story. I kind of stayed away from her. Just to be safe.

Other things I learned: I am addicted to the Internet, which I really missed yesterday. I am a fan of the jury dress code (jeans allowed – yeah!). The location of the Civil Courts Building, in case I have need to return (hopefully not as a defendant). And I am way too much a product of the always-doing-something-must-constantly-be-entertained generation.

Anyway, after a full day of questions, in which I actually only answered one (my occupation), I was not selected to serve on the jury. Good thing, too. Otherwise, I would be breaking the law just by writing this blog. Also, I now officially get 2 years free before I can be called again. That makes my behind (and internet addiction) feel much, much better.

Camping Fun

I went camping this past weekend, which was a lot of fun, in addition to being a learning experience. Here are a few things that I now know:


•Never hike on a trail that is shared with horses
•Ex-flooded areas of Missouri still smell like dead fish
•My camping buddy Val is extremely patient when I take 100 photos of the same thing
•Barges must go through locks and dams in pieces
*The No Stealing Camping Code apparently does not apply to marshmellows, graham crackers and chocolate
*Do not leave marshmellows, graham crackers, and chocolate on the picnic table while you walk to the bathroom
•No matter which campsite you pick, you will inevitably be surrounded by campers who disobey park rangers so many times that the cops must be called to the scene
•There is a man just outside of Troy who sits on his lawn selling pocket knives (in case you are in the market)
•It is in fact possible to be almost killed by a speeding house
*Picking the most gorgeous weekend of the entire summer for your camping trip more than makes up for fishy smells, horse trails, stolen S'mores, obnoxious campers, and speeding houses.

Patience Rewarded

Spent the better part of last night leaning out my living room window watching/photographing the storm. Here's what I came up with:



Things I learned from the experience: photographing lighting is much harder than it looks. The lighting must a: be exactly where you point your camera at any given time, b: be spider lightning, and not that hiding-behind-the-clouds-and-just-lights-up-the-sky lightning, c: snapped at the exact second it appears. Also, towels keep your camera dry for about 30 seconds, until they are soaked through, your cat will always attempt to dart through the open window screen when she thinks you are not paying attention, and wood floors are very, very hard to sit on for more than, say, 30 minutes at a time.