reason #290

having her in bed next to me when we stay at each other's place.


(i woke up from a bad dream last night and remember rolling over to cuddle with z or wanting to tell her about it but she wasn't there.)

no long pose

z and i went to a ball game instead. we had actual seats rather than bleachers but we were pretty deep in enemy territory. our team beat them. yay! it was fun to see z get snarky toward the other fans (not to their faces, just to me).

z and i had a pretty deep discussion on monday night about how we felt regarding marriage. it seems that most of her close friends are married and of course, there's a few bloggers doing it as well so it was interesting to hear her views on it and what she's looking/hoping for. in that regard, i think we're both at the same point in our lives and that's nice.

new music

i like to hear new music. i'll try to post bands/singers that i'm currently listening to. let me know what you're listening to!

most recently:
tegan and sara - so jealous (video for "walking with a ghost")(dancing in the dark cover)
mates of state - bring it back (video for "fraud in the 80's")
regina spektor - begin to hope (video for "fidelity")
feist - let it die (video for "one evening")

...i'm not saying the videos are great, but they'll give you a little taste of the music.

cover songs

i don't know why i find cover songs so fascinating but i do. i think i like the new take on something i've heard so many times like looking at something with fresh eyes in a way. some aren't really that far off from the originals but hit a certain nerve in with a new vocalist.

what are your favorites?

i just found this one (mp3 here) and i think it's pretty fun.

late to the party

swiped from hemlock.

TECH-OLOGY:
Number of contacts in your cell phone? a whopping 8.

Number of contacts in your email address book? i've never looked. personal addresses, maybe 20 or so. work addresses, over 800.

What is the wallpaper on your computer? pics of my gf. at home. at work.

What is your screensaver on your computer? both my computer at work and at home still have the default screensavers. i rarely use them so i don't bother changing them.

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? sure. if i'm on a computer, there will probably be a naked picture of someone one it within a few minutes. :)

How many landline phones do you have in your home? techically 3. one is hardwired. and 2 are wireless (one base, two handsets)

How many televisions are in your home? none! okay, i confess, i've taken my only television over to z's house. originally, it was for testing purposes but it seems like it wants to stay so who knows. i'm sure she'll tell me soon to take my tv home or get rid of hers.

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? let's see, i own a sorbet maker that i've never used. i really mean to but it never seems to work out that i have the time. and for the moment, z's breadmaker is over here, collecting dust. :)

What is the format of the radio station you listen to most? they've got this new format sweeping the area, called the mix (or something like that). it's got a mix of 60's, 70's, 80's, & a few 90's. i listen to that station or a top40 rock station when i'm in the car. it's funny because i can pretty much just set the station and leave it while z flips through stations like pages of a magazine! it's cute, really.

BI-OLOGY:
What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? i wish i could say it's my ripped muscles, my giant... um... legs, or my smoooth silky hair, but it's really just my eyes.

Are you right handed or left handed? right for most tasks.

Have you had anything removed from your body? i hope they're asking about surgery so i'll say my appendix. 3 of 4 wisdom teeth. i've never had close contact with gerbils or other odd objects.

Would you like to? hmmmm. if i could get that one thing in my brain that's keeping me shy then that might be nice.

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? i think my sense of smell is pretty good. then maybe taste and touch and hearing, last place is my sight.

When was the last time you had a cavity? well, everyone has cavities. but as far as tooth decay, i'd have to say it's been a few years. since i've been with my current employer, i've had good health insurance which translates to taking better care of myself.

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? i lift a 60lb box multiple times in my day to day work

MISC-OLOGY:
If it were possible, would you like to know the day you're going to die? nah, i like like without pressure and stress. but i agreee with running42k, i could get a great deal on my life insurance.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? why do they say, "if you could"?? anyone can change their name... duh! but i have no desire to change my name, i like the one i have.

How do you express your artistic side? drawing, oil painting, pumpkin carving, acrylic painting, clay sculpting, stone carving, woodworking, block printing, metalworking, flameworking (glass), singing, egg coloring (pysanky), writing, blacksmithing, designing, photographing... you name it, i want to try it or already have. i love to create.

What color do you think you look best in? hmmm, that's tough. i know blue makes my eyes stand out but i don't really know what other color i look good in. lately, i've been into browns and tans and such.

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? as long as i had to. i'm sure my attorney would be working fast.

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? what exactly do they mean by "non-food"? i'm sure as a kid i ingested all sorts of things that weren't meant to be swallowed but as i got older and wiser i'm sure the number of incedents went down. okay okay, short answer = yes.

If we weren't bound by society's conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? nah. wait, how close of a relative are we talking?

How often do you go to church? anytime i go to a wedding.

Have you ever saved someone's life? not in the sense that i would know about it. i'm sure we all touch other people's lives in some way that alters their course.

Has someone ever saved yours? not directly but i'm sure i've been affected by other people in positive ways.

DARE-OLOGY:
For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? k, here's my rates: in broad daylight $125,000. down a busy street $127,000. at the beginning of a parade $140,000. at night $30,000. during winter $150,000. during winter in canada $500,000.

Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? just a peck? sure. like i kiss my girlfriend? $10,000 or more.

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? no amount of money would be worth it for me. i like my body parts.

Would you never blog again for $50,000? sure.

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? for an art magazine? sure. for playgirl? i guess. for a porn mag? mmmm, maybe. for a gay porn mag? i doubt it.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? i usually have to pay for that.

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? if i ever saw someone hurting/killing any defenseless animal for no reason other than for their own enjoyment then sure. if it were a pet of mine? i'd do it for less. if it were someone i loved? i'd pay. and i'd enjoy it.

Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? jeez, i already shave my head so this is hardly a dare. of course i would.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? if only i could get cash for all the time in the past when i haven't watched tv!! i would gladly give up tv for money. listening to music? never.

long pose

we changed up the pose from last week (same model this time) so we could all concentrate on doing a portrait. i got pretty close but think i've made her a little too pointy and made her eyes too squinty. her hair was a mess so i didn't even want to try it (kinda dreadlock/curls). i'm fairly happy the way it turned out.

uuuuh. okay.

Don't Marry Career Women via forbes.com

"Why? Because if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage. While everyone knows that marriage can be stressful, recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner."

haunting

i just spent a while looking at all the photographs this guy has developed from film that he (and others) found in old cameras. kinda creepy, kinda sad, kinda neat.

sex dwarf?

there's a dwarf prostitute on the street i drive to work. this is the second time i've seen her.


...just weird.

reason #425

the way she tastes after she works out.

friday, saturday & junk in my trunk

i had the opportunity to see the feel good hit of the summer last night but decided i'd rather spend the evening with my beautiful girlfriend. we had some leftovers as well as some st. andré's cheese and crackers while we watched this weeks episode of project runway. we discussed how great and terrible the different personalities were as well as what designs we thought were good and bad. i think we were both a little surprised with who got canned this time, probably me a little more than z. it's a fun show. we watched a little bit of an episode of what not to wear but i think we both were a little bored with it so we got ready for bed instead of finishing it. i can't wait for jeopardy! to start up again.

we were able to sleep in a little bit this morning and that was nice. usually her kittes like to stomp on us to let us know they're hungry. it's cute but sometimes it's nicer to sleep. after we got out of bed, z hopped in the shower while i made some scrambled eggs. we ate them quickly then headed out to get z to her hair appointment.

while she was getting her hair cut, i swung by target to pick up an iron (so i can finally get rid of my wrinkly clothes!) and some tupperware. those cheap rubbermaid and ziplock containers are not spill proof and my messenger bag has suffered many ttimes from the result of carrying messy foods. while at target, i also grabbed half a case of our favorite cheap wine (yellowtail shiraz) and a few other small things.
z was done pretty quick so she grabbed a hot chocolate for me at starbucks while she was waiting for me to pick her up. from there, we drove to a yuppie shopping area because i needed some candles. the same store had a few things on sale so z cleaned them out of a bubble bath that she likes. after that, over to c&b outlet to grab a few replacement wine & martini glasses. i really like shopping with her, we were both done at essentially the same time and we have fun discussing all sorts of products.

i wanted to hit rei to check on a bicycle rack and trunk and she wanted to look at tents and other camping gear so we can go out star gazing one of these evenings. the tents were really expensive and we found more and more things we'd need to be comfy so she just took down the info and said she research it a little online before we bought anything. i did end up getting a rack and a trunk for my bike though so now... i can have junk in my trunk.




that's the weekend so far. whee!

ice cream quiz

swiped from pandax.

even though i hate coffee, that's what my personality seems to be like...

You Are Coffee Ice Cream

Energetic and lively, you are always on the go. You're doing a million things at once and doing them well. You tend to motivate others and raise spirits. You are most compatible with chocolate ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

humph!, i so wanted to be chocolate...

replacing the cracked lcd screen on my SD500

this is how i replaced the cracked lcd screen on my canon sd500 digital camera. i knew i just needed the lcd screen by the fact that the backlight still came on when i powered it up. it wouldn't have been any more difficult to replace both, just more expensive.

step 1. i've got a cracked lcd on the camera and a fresh lcd screen from canon. i made sure i discharged any static electricity i had by touching a grounded piece of my desk.



step 2. i removed the 7 screws from the outside case. 2 from each side and 3 from the bottom. i gently pried the case apart (starting at the bottom) enough so the side panels can be easily removed. underneath one panel, i remove the last screw holding the case to the frame.

i gently removed the front half of the case away from the frame, being careful of the tabs on top that hold the 2 case halves together.

when removing the rear half of the case, i had to lift a small tab over part of the plastic frame to get it to come off.


step 3. i removed the lcd screen from the backlight by gently prying the metal side tabs while gently pulling up in the screen. the lcd screen was still attached by it's wiring harness so i folded it down to access the backlight.


step 4. getting to the wiring harness was the hardest part. only because i really didn't want to break anything. first, i had to very gently pull the backlight's wiring from the connector at the top of the camera. with that disconnected, i had 2 screws to remove. one holds the backlight in place while the second holds the button circuit board in place. if i was just replacing the backlight, i could stop here and put it all back together.


step 5. to remove the lcd screen i just had to pry up the plastic lock that held the connector in place and pull the harness out.


step 6++ putting geverything back together was just a matter of reversing what i had done and it went really well. i had the camera back together with a couple of minutes and yay! it worked! i'm so glad canon will sell these to the consumer! i would hate to have to send in my camera to a repair shop and pay ~$150 to do the same thing i just did. now i just hope i don't sit on it again!

well, there we go.

swiped from zerodoll

Your Personality Is Like Marijuana

You're laid back and easy going, so much so that taking a shower is often too much trouble for you! Nevertheless, you're quite popular, and many people enjoy your company. You're rarely turned down. You're prone to giggle fits, paranoia, and forgetting where you are exactly.

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

damn

i should have bought one of these instead of my cruiser...

project runway

since z tivo's all the shows she watches, we just got around to project runway last night (while eating our indian take-out). i think in this episode, it was too difficult to choose who designed the worst looking outfit. i didn't like vincent's version of twiggy, it had too much black and ended up looking like a smock you wear at the hairdresser. i hated angela's but z thought it was fine and all the judges seemed happy about it. bradley's was almost in the realm of cher but it just wasn't interesting enough. robert's jackie was really gross, what was up with the rope belt? the winners were obvious. the middle folks? i guess, but it seemed there were a bunch of bad outfits this time around. next week should be interesting...

old quiz

finally getting around to this one. swiped from the lovely miss zerodoll

What is your favorite pen color? probably black. i'm not really stuck on a single color but i think i tend to use black in most cases. ballpoint, rollerball, gel, they all work for me. the one thing i don't like about ballpoint pens is when the ink globs up at the tip. that always leaves a mess and i end up smearing it with my hand.

What time were you born? um... i think it was 8-something pm.

Do you know how to change a flat tire? sure. i've even had to do it!

Who taught you how to make meatloaf? uh, i don't know how to make meatloaf. i knowit has ground beef and oatmeal or something in it, right? ketchup on top too?

How much was gas when you began driving? i think it was a little over 1.25 or somewhere around there.

What is the funniest thing a kid has ever said to you? hmm, i can't really think of the funniest but the other day, one of my nieces told me i need to be patient. that was pretty cute.

How many junk drawers are in your house? bah! why let your junk be stuck in a drawer!?? use your entire home like me! yes, one of the sad things about living alone is that my whole house is a target for a junk pile. and i take advantage of that all the time.

Do you know what Dippity-Do is? duh. i grew up in the 80's. and back then, i even had hair!

Would you ask a complete stranger if you had food in your teeth? no. why embarrass us both?

Do you bite your nails/fingers/lips? no. i have been known to bite other people's lips though (sorry z!)

How many jars of pickles in your fridge and/or pantry? uuuuh. zero. peppers? a couple. olives? one. i do have a jar of sweet relish though. does that count?

Toy you'd like to have back from your childhood? too many to say. though i currently have more lego than i ever thought existed when i was young.

What's the last concert you went to? oof. musta been the benn/ben/rufus one.

Is your Christmas tree still up? nopes. if it was, i'd be single.

Have you ever eaten paste or glue? of course. in elementary school, that's how you get the girls to like you. besides, it tasted like peppermint back then. okay, it smelled like peppermint.

How long since you went to the Dentist? two days ago. i'm getting a crown redone.

Ever been on jury duty? nope. i've been in the holding area once but never called. i'm perfectly happy with that too.

What is your favorite kind of hat? the kind that fit well. i did go through a hat phase once. i had a top hat, a 3-corner, a pith helmet. actually, i do really like my villager's hat i got from china.

Are you a good speller? more often than not, yes.

What is the last thing you dressed up as for Halloween? that would be a hula girl. yup. coconut bra and everything. i got so many whistles that night.

Whose wedding did you go to last? z's friend r78

And finally... Last time the top of your refrigerator was cleaned off? goodness. it had to be at least 9 months ago. i know i've done it since i moved in but i don't usually see how much dust is up there.

long pose

not much to say about this one. i spent most of my time trying to get a good likeness of the model and i think i did okay. i even moved up from my ususal HB pencil to a 2B. it definetly gets things darker.

monday monday

in spite of the gas company shutting off gas to the building this afternoon/evening z came over tonight and we made dinner. there was apparently a gas leak in a shop downstairs so everyone got the pleasure of no hot water/stove usage. luckily, i was at work so it didn't impact me too much (just made planning dinner a little more difficult).
we had the edamame lo-main again and it was superb! you all should try it if you have a pan big enough to hold everything. of course, we added two serrano chilis (as we seem to do with most all of eating well's recipies) to spice it up. had a nice wheat beer with it and some fresh strawberries, raspberries, & blueberries for dessert (with chocolate, of course!).

for lunch i went to the 4th intro to acrylic painting classes. it's pretty cool learning techniques and things but i always seem to get stuck when it comes to color. i mix all sorts of paint but it never seems to be what i want. i guess it's just a matter of practice but it sure is frustrating. and no, you don't get to see what i'm working on. we only have 2 more sessions (one is uninstructed since the teacher is out) so i don't know if i'll be happy enough with the final product to even show it to anyone. we'll see...

z is in my comfy chair trying to get further along in her bookclub book. she's looking very nice tonight.

well poop

ya know, i've carried this camera around in my back pocket forever and just this weekend, it decided to break. that'll put a damper on my picture taking for a while. i'll call tomorrow to find out if it's cheaper to get it fixed or just buy a new one. or if i'm better off just carrying around my big-honkin' dslr. they'd totally fix this for free, right guys? ...uh, guys? (yes overread, i know the newest version of this camera now has image stabilization and a nice fat screen. :P )

i had a great weekend otherwise! whee!

links

a few things that have my interest this week...

cute! maybe my nieces need one? woollyhoodwinks:


intricate! how the hell do they have the patience for this? pencil carving:



i think i might try to pick up an old kodak duaflex to try this stuff out. fun!
through the viewfinder photographs:



great idea! squid soap:



okay, i think these are just funny. buddah pudding molds:



i would have loved having one of these as a kid! the cocoon:



industrial design is fun! towel rack:

long pose

well, all the fretting over whether or not to continue on last weeks drawing was moot when i got to class and realized i had brought the wrong sketchpad. oh well. i scooted over a foot or two and did a fresh drawing. this paper is more rough than the other so it will let my 2b get a little darker but also not as detailed. i think i definitely like the other pad better. not much to say about the drawing itself. i think i can work a little faster if i've already drawn it once and i also think i get a little closer to getting the correct proportions. still, plenty for me to nitpick but i'll save that for another time.

lunchtime

it's past lunchtime and i'm not hungry. do i eat anyway? nothing sounds good to me right now. do i skip lunch and snack later?
bah. guess i'll walk around and see if i can conjure up an appetite.