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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
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Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
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Friday, August 17, 2007
Hello, Mr. Looper!
Your Score: Big Bird
You scored 72% Organization, 60% abstract, and 72% extroverted!This test measured 3 variables.
First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.
Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.
Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.
You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and more extroverted.
Here is why are you Big Bird.
You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Big Bird is never sloppy and always under control... pretty good for a 6 year old bird living without a family.
You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Big Bird can be quite dreamy at times and has no problem using his imagination. At the same time he is also practical and can be methodical in his search for answers to questions. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.
You are both extroverts. Big Bird gets along with everyone. He makes friends easily and always has a positive attitude. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.
The other possible characters are
Oscar the Grouch
Bert
Snuffleupagus
Ernie
Elmo
Kermit the Frog
Grover
Cookie Monster
Guy Smiley
The Count
Hey, don't be a grouch! If you liked the test, let others know by rating it below. Feel free to vote for your favorite character too.
5:48:00 PM
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Insult to Injury
This man was fired after he was robbed on the job. After reading the article, I could understand the policy, but it seems excessive. I guess someone could fake the robbery. What do you think?
11:26:00 PM
Wedding Bells
Jenna Bush is engaged to Henry Hager. According to this article, 29-year-old Henry Hager is the son of John H. Hager, who is a former Virginia lieutenant governor and Virginia’s first director of homeland security. The elder Hager is the U.S. Education Department assistant secretary. Henry started out as an intern at the White House for Karl Rove, then moved on to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. Henry will be completing his Master’s Degree in Business Education at the University of Virginia’s Darden School this fall.
And so it continues ...
7:58:00 PM
"We're Havin' A Heat Wave"
Let's all sing along! That might not be the actual song when you think about the lyrics, but the title of it certainly applies. Here's what we've been having here for a while now - temperatures over 100 but not the high humidity that usually goes along with whatever weather we're having. In fact, this is a drought. Oddly, our humidity is lower than it is in Flagstaff, Arizona, now. Yes, I obsessively check the weather in Flagstaff which usually has temperatures 15-20 degrees cooler than we do in the summer. Now it's more. Ours is 99 right now, and theirs is 73 with 44% humidity which is very high for them. Wish I were there!
We really need some rain and some relief from this heat. I'm looking forward to fall as I always do.
Nashville,Tennessee
Currently: Clear 99°F 36°C
Humidity: 25%
Dewpoint: 57°F 13°C
Barometer: 30.02 inches and steady
Heat Index: 96°F
Normal High: 88°
Normal Low: 68°
Record High: 104° in 1954
Record Low: 54° in 2004
11:35:00 AM
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Microwaves
Even though we would never, ever do such things, some of us have wondered what would happen if certain objects were put in a microwave and nuked. Now with this site, we can watch in the safety of our computer and satisfy our curiosity! Is this cool or what?
I thought the tomato would explode. The Christmas lights are pretty. I knew about marshmallows. I might know about some other things intentionally and accidentally.
I learned about this site from Chris's blog. And also saw this t-shirt from a link from his blog, too. He's a bad influence. Thanks, Chris. :-) I used to have one of those Darwin fish with feet on my car but changed cars. When I get my Honda Fit, I might put one on it.
6:21:00 PM
Friday, August 10, 2007
Plight of the Polar Bears and Walruses
Paige, Linda, and I went to an advanced screening of An Arctic Tale at Opry Mills tonight. It was well-done and effective and very depressing since it focused on their uncertain future because of global warming. The main difference between this and March of the Penguins which showed what sucky lives Emperor penguins have is that this showed what the changing environment is doing to them. There is a narration by Queen Latifah which personifies a polar bear cub and baby walrus as they grow older. We get involved in their lives and then despair at the hardships they endure. The lives of penguins are incredibly torturous and challenging. I guess that's true of all animals in their natural habitats.
What's amazing is the photography shot by the National Geographic photographers. They do incredible work.
Decision
I'm going to give up and call Comcast to install my wireless router and network it to my desktop. I'll go on and pay the rental and be able to get upgrades and quit driving myself crazy with all this. Otherwise, I might become violent, and we can't have that, can we?
12:11:00 AM
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Techno Woes
I bought a laptop during the no-tax weekend and have been attempting to connect it to a wireless router. It was obvious some time ago I don't know what I'm doing. I followed instructions, read online advice, got phone help from my massage therapist's son who bought a computer and router just like mine, had a frustrating conversation with an outsourced technical support assistant, and spent way too much time and energy on this. Now I can't even connect the laptop to the internet and was able to when I first got it. Yes, I tried different cables, and they work on my desktop but not the laptop, so maybe it's the connection on the computer. I'm frustrated and don't even want to touch a computer again for a while. Now you know.
Since you'll ask, I got an HP Pavilion dv9410us. It's 17" and I think I'll like it once I get to use it. For now, my trusty Sony VAIO desktop is still plugging along and works fine. Vista is interesting, isn't it? Quite on hand with the questions and permissions and advice.
I have a lot to do in the next several days and just won't think about it for a while. I worked yesterday and took it with me to play Spider Solitaire and watch a DVD. I've been out and about all week. Paige, Linda, and I are going to dinner and to see the polar bear movie tonight. Brendan is coming Saturday for the night, and then Sunday I'm going to Paige's for birthday festivities for her son-in-law and daughter Rebecca. It will be good to see Virginia, Becky, Ken, Rebecca, and Scott again and to spend time with all of them. The girls grew up with me around so much that it's like I'm their aunt. It will be a fun weekend, and then another week begins with more appointments and things to do.
This is why my house hasn't gotten organized and cleared out. I barely get started and then leave to do fun things ... or I don't get started at all! Sometimes I haven't felt that good and other times I wanted to read, watch TV & movies, play on the computer, visit, travel, have lunch with friends, and just relax. So I did.
2:39:00 PM
Friday, August 03, 2007
Awesome RV
Have any of you gotten that email about the "garbage truck camper"? It's a real vehicle that was never a garbage truck but is made by Unicat. Here are some of them. Check them out. I'm not even a man or have great desires to go RVing but think these are amazing. They make me want to take to the road and explore, but there's no possibilty of that ever happening since they START at half a million dollars! It's fun to fantasize, though, and doesn't cost anything.
  
  
11:05:00 PM
Answers to Comments
I decide to answer the comments on my latest post here instead of in the comment window. First of all, thank you for the comments! :-)
Chris, XM has Bob Dylan and some others I'd rather listen to than Howard Stern (long list ahead of him since he reminds me too much of junior high boys I tried to teach). Besides, I'm not going to give money when I know they label me as the opposite of a patriot. I hope when they merge, that part will change. They said the merge is supposed to take place late in 2007, which should be soon. I want one of those portable receivers since it's more versatile and will have to get the car and home kits for it.
We're planning to go to Boston while we're there, so I hope we can meet. That would be great! I have friends who live in Andover I visited before and also hope to see. We want to walk the Freedom Trail and do some other things I did before when I was there. I saw Blue Man Group there last time. We'll be in touch for suggestions and plans. One thing for sure is staying outside the city and taking public transportation to the city. No way I could drive there - just riding was scary enough!
Terri, thanks for stopping by! I'm looking forward to going to New England in the fall. We have beautiful, colorful leaves and crisp blue skies here, but it seems to be even better there. We're going to drive and will stop in Pittsburgh to visit our friend Jackie and then carry on to Boston where we hope to do some major sightseeing. Then we're going to Maine to visit my friend Charlie who has recently retired from teaching. From there, we'll explore and see as much as possible. We haven't planned much yet but are working on it. Tina's fall break is during the first two weeks of October, so we'll go during that time and get back in time to rest and then go to the Southern Festival of Books. This trip is different from the others since we'll stay with friends during part of it and get to enjoy visits and the experience of being there.
Next time we go to Cedar Key, it would be nice to stay in your vacation home. The photos of it look great. We'd enjoy meeting you and talking about books, Cedar Key, movies, etc.
Ell, I'm glad to hear about your positive experience with the GPS. I really want to get one now, especially a portable one like that one you used. I knew you'd agree with me about the labels. :-)
If you'd like to feel inspired and humbled, read Ell's posts about going to fitness boot camp! She's amazing!
Marilyn, sorry but thirty-seven years - count them, THIRTY-SEVEN - of teaching! I get to be thrilled I'm not there. But you also have the right to tell me to shut up. It doesn't bother me. Why? Because I'm giddy with retirement!!! (I've made it worse, haven't I?) I can't help it. Dinner Thursday sounds great. You and Tina work it out at school during lunch and let me know when and where to meet you.
Tell Les and Will thanks for the reviews and suggestions. I like that price and am off to Google Land now!
8:05:00 PM
ADD Blogger
I'm lagging behind with the blogging again. You might have noticed.
I've been researching satellite radios and am definitely NOT getting Sirius. In their talk radio section, they have Talk Left and Talk Patriot. Good grief! That offends me.
What do you know about GPS systems? As you can tell, preparations are already being made for our next trip in October to New England.
There is no sales tax on many items this weekend, so I'm going to take advantage of it this time. With our sales tax being so high, the almost 10% savings helps. They do this in the fall and spring. Here's the list of non-taxable things we can buy. It's set up to help families out with school supplies and clothes and is a good idea.
I do have to say that I've been giddy with retirement again now that another school year has begun. Going out in the middle of the day doing whatever I want rules!!! I love being retired!
I was sad to hear that Tom Snyder and Ingmar Bergman died this week.
The bridge that fell in Minnesota reinforced some deep-seated fears some of us have. See? We knew they could fall! Those logs can fly off those trucks, crash into windshields, and kill people, too. So far I haven't heard of cigarettes thrown from car windows blowing up cars behind them, but I am afraid that will happen.
The money spent on this war could have repaired all the faulty, dangerous bridges, levies, and schools as well as many other needed problems we have here like healthcare. Of course, the fact that the money was borrowed from China, etc, makes it worse. The people killed, injured, and traumatized when the bridge fell, Katrina happened, and other tragedies occurred could have been avoided. I'll leave it at that since you know how I feel about all this.
Hope you had a good week and will have a good weekend. Any plans?
1:11:00 AM
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