Writers
who influenced my writing:
funny that i should be bringing up this topic? maybe. being that it's been a few years since i've really read (and now i'm just the Engineer). but i know rofrodo'll have a lot to say (do, control yourself, this is not the place for a full bibliography!).
[This is about writing STYLE by the way, NOT favorite books or great authors]

here are a couple of my near-and-dear:
truman capote. it's been a while since i've read anything of his, but there was a time in high school when i couldn't get enough. i don't think he wrote a single thing of extreme importance, really, but he was one talented writer. The way he said what he said, mmm. (That's a deep, appreciative mmm.)
clive staples lewis. you knew this one was coming i know. but how sweet was Narnia? and his sci-fi trilogy was great. very inspiring, very smart man.
some other british authors. i got into british writing a bit late, but with c.s. and roald dahl and George Eliot and all, sometimes i catch myself writing british (and saying things out to myself with an english accent!). oh, and Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) - Out of Africa. Beautiful.
that's who comes to mind right now.. i never much got into Russian. And there were many more that stick out that were really powerful, but more for content than for writing style (George Orwell comes to mind...man, he was something else!)..

hello friends.
i called in sick today - elway made me.
i was still going to stubbornly go in cuz of all the stuff i have to do, but she's like, "it's just work.. and you're going to get your coworkers sick. get some REST." It's a good thing she talked some sense into me too cuz i'm realizing now how much i needed it.
hm..what to read today? I think if i'm conscious enough, i'll read something more substantial like one of those VanGemeren books i bought..
or maybe just watch movies..
...it would all be so much more fun with a buddy...

sad sad. i've linked friends to my homepage, but none have linked me to theirs :(
extra sad sad that i'm blogging here after work hours :(( <-- double chin

there's a gym opening up in our building, and all my female coworkers were talking about it. i'm thinking about it too, but all this gym-talk has made me hungry. gonna get some pizza :)

hm, h o u s e s eh?
Nicely toned walls (None o that eh just paint it all Eggshell White if i can help it).. maybe with white molding. and maybe have fun colors in a couple rooms.
Nice big kitchen of course
Lots and lots of cupboards and a nice big pantry and humongo walk-in closets and all kinds of other storage space.
Fro's attic for crafts sounds wonderful. but maybe just one uncarpeted room for a studio/ crafts & projects room would do.
Rocking chairs and lounge chairs and a fireplace.
A big backyard with a treehouse and a tire swing
an orchard of different fruit trees would be very nice.

// Hagerstown?? I didn't know i was going to Hagerstown..!

// S. Heehee: HAppy BIRTHday! (we went out to Matsuri's yesterday..forgot how good sushi was :) - i bought myself a sad sad imitation of sushi for lunch today.

// Enlighten me, what does this mean exactly? (I saw it in the window of a nearby cafe-- they always have these three cute pig figures holding three little chalkboards with a new saying every week)
Pig1) Never place a period
Pig2) where God has placed
Pig3) a comma.

..oh, ok. i think i get it now. (excuse me, i'm kind of slow-in-the-head esp these days. probably coughed out a whole lung by now too)

// I couldn't get onto the page either..still can't..
Ok i'm in now and YEAH, that kitty litter's reallyreally gross. EAACCK. I cannot believe they tell you to go buy a kitty litter pan and pooper scooper. I don't care if it's new, those things should never touch human food..!!!

my dream house has:
*a wonderful, sunny kitchen with the latest gadgets from williams & sonoma; a nook to sit down, eat, knit; a desk where i can take care of bills; lots of food and storage for it
*a cushy laundry room where i can wash, dry, separate, and iron to my heart's content
*a reading room or little library where i can of course read but also write my children's books. it will have the friendliest windows and armchairs
*a bedroom which makes sleep more divine. a california closet! (those walk-in ones)
*cream-colored carpet with scotchguard
*lots and lots of grassy lawn and sturdy, shade-giving trees
*a garden next to flo's and de's

hey...i can't see our blog page. i feel like i'm dancing in the dark.

iwl = like eww. yes, and it does look too real!

that sounds like a lovely house frodo. sounds like a hobbit house to me :) i'll live next to you, in a big shoe.

by the way, what's sarah cho's email? thanks

IWL!!! kitty litter cake?!

it's a new day :) you are all so chivalrous, offering to fix the catastrophe that was yesterday. same thing happened to my boss, and adobe can't even resolve it...further complicated by the fact that i work on a mac...we will never know. but i started over again.

frodo, are you still going to be in dc on saturday?
de, are you guys still going to hagerstown?

some sad sad news. one of our crf sisters will be away this weekend, and another lady only wanted to go apple picking, and gsue and cindy will be at the college retreat -- so we're not doing anything.

side note: i had no idea i had so much stuff up my nose. i go through kleenex after kleenex. i'm on box two at work, boxes three and four at home.

i just want to say that i despise pagemaker. i just lost something i was working on the whole day. the WHOLE DAY. ok, i want to cry.

hold up. for the record, i'd like to state that i LOVED prince of egypt. the animation, the story, the songs -- all gorgeous. the problem i had with joseph was that besides the nonsensical lyrics, there was one scene where he RUNS LIKE A HYENA. yes folks, like a hyena, on all fours, and frothing at the mouth. it scared me. if you don't know what i'm talking about, go over to flo's and watch the scene in slow-mo.

EW. Freakish.

Corned Beef and Cabbage has got to be one of my favorite foods. YUM. They actually had it at my lunch place today (i'm eating chopstickfuls of it as I write).

Some things I'm thankful for (and I'll leave off most of the obvious ones):
1. My job. It's not the most glamorous, and it's definitely not all fun-and-games, but I am genuinely thankful for it.
2. AMC. I know this is an 'obvious one' but I'm so very thankful. I love the way God loves our Body.
3. Stories and storytelling. ..So I finished reading all about the adventures of Huckleberry Finn yesterday. (It was all I could manage to do all day...no eye exam, no contacts, no voting, no studying my insurance options like i wanted to. When the time came, i drove myself to Tues Nite but was all shaken up whenever anyone passed me, or water splashed my windshield..)
4. Cruise control. I use it excessively, every chance I get. :)

wait, are you seriously going to the spy museum? that's in my neck of the woods! {:-) <-- that's me giving you the eye. can you tell?

i am thankful for
-frodowhodo and sisters in Christ
-the miracle of salvation
-the republican victories
-leftovers from a bountiful potluck
-the not too cold weather
-i'll continue this...

good morning. the ball is in the republicans' court now. and on that note, fro! let that be a lesson to you: don't go in there anymore. i can't blog as much as i used to. my boss is back!!!

fro, this should cheer you up old chap: HOORAH, our potluck lunch was a success! my vision was fulfilled as my coworkers ate till their buttons popped off. oh, sorry, that would be me. i know it's hard to believe, but i just don't eat like i used to. we're attempting to have this sort of lunch every month :) we'll see.

de, i wish i was reading and drinking lots of tea with you. i had a lot of tea yesterday. being sick makes you thirsty.

on roomies. oh CINDY. she came home last night with chinese food and monsters inc. to make me feel better :D

help me!!! i am not doing or saying anything right. i am half here, half not. my coworkers are all asking me, "are you OK?" one coworker commented, "ronnie, you're walking around in circles." another said, "what's wrong with you?!" still another said, "are you drugged out on meds?" should i just go home? :( *sob*

it's so weird being home alone during the day. reminds me of high school or something when i was sick (or skipping!...did i used to skip? I'm pretty sure I did..) and stayed home.
It's surprising how many phone calls you get. Loads and loads of telemarketers of course... makes you not want to answer the phone. Then someone who used to live here (one of the dozen women who have rotated through this house, from back in the TMB days). Then my mom (i almost didn't answer this one, it's a good thing I did).
Anyway, keep me company, so as i don't get too lonesome (I've been reading Huckleberry Finn, and sipping on hot lemon tea.)

i made the brave trip outside today, but i can't smell anything and i wonder if i'll enjoy today's potluck. i mean, i'll enjoy watching everyone eat, but i won't be able to really *taste* my food eh?

Dodo! Hullo!! :)
Fro, you're so cute. i guess i was like 10% of the reason you fell? me sorry. BUSY day - i didn't get to check the site again til now. i ended up staying every last minute of the work day and then some, and even had to bring a couple things home with me! <:O
Ro, y'know, i get a bunch of random holidays but i don't get veteran's day off. (How Columbus Day or Election Day got precedence over Veterans beats me.)
Hm. I've been wanting to buy a guitar too.. i wish i could afford one... Where are you thinking of going?

i have veterans day monday off. frowhodo, are you free too?

fro, i'm glad you got your cheesecake :) i'm really really hot right now -- H.O.T. -- as i research guitars. and for all the time i've spent in front of the computer, this is what i've found: where to buy good guitars in india. a place where you can ask, without embarassment, "where i could buy, say, a strat in india."

do, you've been busy :) i know that your cell phone's been problematic, but what's wrong with your car? if you stomp into the automechanic's with one heel of your boot missing (remember that?!), maybe you can spare them *atTItude?* i hope it works out.

ok, i'm ready. does anyone want to go guitar shopping with me? nothing fancy, just something real to offer my Lord. helpful tips would be appreciated too. (e.g. is there any disadvantage in getting a smaller-bodied guitar?) maybe friday night?

you guys would flip if you saw me now. i'm making a mess in the living room with my tissues, blanket, mug...and yet, i have no desire to be neat today :D

i would like some chicken soup and roasted chestnuts too. my guess is that you place a handful of chestnuts (or popcorn) in a big old boot and hold it over the fireplace. ok, not really. but if you test out the fireplace, please call me as i want to be there to help you clean up the soot afterward :)

can you order contacts online? isn't everything cheaper online? i just finished watching emma. that movie always makes me feel better. plus i get to admire gwyneth's golden hair and lovely costumes, and stare at jeremy northam's pinnochio nose, hehe.

we have our annual institute potluck tomorrow. i am the one in charge, so i must regain strength to administrate and eat like the strong man that i am. i talk to you soon. fro, send nother funny story. de, go home and rest big eyes. i blow nose now.

ohh, i'm sick and should be at home too. But here I am at work. I would've called in sick but i had to go to a mtg at city hall this morning, couldn't bail out of it. I'm considering going home early (i feel awful :( ) but they kind of frown on that.. it seems even sick days you're supposed to get advanced approval on (which makes no sense.). We'll see how long I last.
Of course, I do get tomorrow off, for election day. :) Are y'all voting?

Also, Do you know a good (cheap) place to get contacts & an eye exam? My contacts are probably two years old now. If I don't feel awful tomorrow I was thinking about going to get new contacts.. somewhere.

:( I want a nice warm backrub and lots of hot Citron tea. And maybe one of those great big lounging chairs I can fall asleep in (in front of a toasty fire).

de: oh nyo (remember that from hopkins :), larryland is closed? the crossroad and city light sisters were going to go this weekend too. i suppose that means most farms are closed. we will default to plan b...
fro: it's so cute how you find elisha so cute. i saw pastor jason trying to *scare* him at church yesterday, and that was cute too. i laughed so hard when he talked about his boy falling into trash cans!?! clean ones, i hope.

oh girls, i'm sick and at home. i felt this coming over the past weekend at the set free conference. you can keep me company by blogging, ok? fro, this reminds me of the time you and estee nursed me back to health when i had food poisoning. you spoiled me with gatorade and matza crackers :D

*** According to Ms. elway, LarryLand is closed for the rest of the season :(
..no apple fritters and cider. Must be too cold. Sad sad, verry sad.