Goings on

I got a new cell phone. I decided to move boldly forward into the 21st century on Monday. Got myself an LG VX8100 with Verizon Wireless. Hot dog. It's got a 1.3 Megapixel camera, bluetooth, VCast (not enabled), and lots of other doodads that I'll probably never use.
But the Bluetooth rocks. My intention is to get a Parrot 3200 color car kit so that I can have rockin' conversations with my car stereo. Also quite groovy is the software I have on order that will allow me to synchronize my Outlook phonebook with my phone. No longer will I have 2 or even 3 separate databases to maintain. Rock!!!

Amanda went to and safely returned from Canada. I met her at the airport with roses. She rocks. She is my rock. Amanda rocks socks. My time without her was miserable. I walked around the house with no particular direction and had trouble figuring out how to do basic things like eating. I don't deal well with separation.

I got a really freakin' cool part for my car. A new(ish) company called Um-Nitza started manufacturing carbon-fibre strut braces for MINI's. The first review was glowing and the part was gorgeous. So I bought one. It doesn't fit. After first fitting it into place, the bonnet wouldn't close. I pushed a littler harder and buckled the hood. Doh! Fortunately, the dents aren't very serious, and are barely noticeable. It looked so beautiful in place, and really brought me down.

That's about it for me. Ho hum.

( had a lot of energy when I started writing today, but had to take a long break, and it sucked the life out of me.)

Archimedes Death Ray

I want 127 mirrors.

Johnny Cash makes me cry

Amanda and I went to the 67th National Folk Festival on Sunday. What an experience. We watched Ralph Stanley (wow!!) and the Clinch Valley Boys, a group of under 18's called "No Speed Limit", and a bunch of other Southwest Virginia groups. What struck me was the amount of Johnny Cash and Carter Family music that was played. Of course, there were also several songs from the "O Brother, Where are thou?" soundtrack, but the whole thing got me in the mood to pull out the Johnny Cash album we bought.

I'm listening to it right now, and it's just amazing. At least two songs have actually gotten my tears flowing (which is potentially embarrassing at my desk), but the worst of all was "If I Were a Carpenter". Egads, just thinking of that song makes me cry.

Johnny: "If I were a carpenter, and you were a lady, would you marry me anyway? Would you have my baby?"
June: "If you were a carpenter, and I were a lady, I'd marry you anyway; I'd have your baby."

It's a neat song about the power of the love they shared, and it just turns my thoughts so strongly to Amanda.

I love my wife.

(By the way, if you like bluegrass, check out "No Speed Limit". They rock, and their guitarist is the national flatpick champion.)

I've been internalizing

So I keep forgetting to write. I read other people's posts all the time, but constantly forget (or just don't find time) to write my own. I've returned to my instinctive mode, which is to internalize everything, allowing the rotting fruit of discontent to fester with the good stuff, effectively ruining everything in the storehouse of my mind.

The Bad News:
1. Tomorrow is my annual review, and it's been a soft year.
2. House preparations are not moving quickly enough; I'm getting edgy.
3. Monday is a useless federal holiday, and I might have to lose 8 hours of accrued vacation or personal time for it.
4. Next Friday is a company meeting, which will further erode my work hours.
5. Last month was a bumper month for overtime, which means taxes next year will be hell.
6. Amanda is going to Canada in less than two weeks.

The Good News:
1. We've chosen a name: Alastair Paul Ramsey Amos. Alastair is the Scottish form of Alexander, a name we liked, but was over-represented in the family. Paul was my maternal grandfather's middle name, and Ramsey was my paternal grandfather's middle name.
2. Amanda is doing very well.
3. Work has started to get busy again.
4. House preparations have begun, and furniture is being picked out.
5. With a little luck, we'll own a new washing machine tonight, and we'll finally have good reception for watching Lost.

When I try to list things, it seems that the bad out-weighs the good, but that's only because the bad has been clouding my thoughts. I'm actually happy, but need to remember that the bad stuff only goes out of the tub if you open the drain. Writing accomplishes that task. Stifling does not.