Gee, living with my parents isn't the fun and games I was expecting.  I so wish it wouldn't be an hour and a half commute between my two brothers' houses (the one I want to live with and the one I work for).  I have had a taste of living with people I hang out with and I miss it desperately after just one week of being gone from it.

And my car is dead for the time being.  Dad was trying to straighten out this overheating issue and in the process drove it on a test drive with the radiator cap off.  After it died and was towed home, he checked the oil the next day and found there to be water in it.  So either blown head gasket or outright motor death.  Either way it is getting a new used motor and in the mean time I am driving my parents' truck every day.

My oldest niece started high school Thursday, and it looks like I will be getting a rundown on the gossip and her opinions each morning between the time her parents leave for work and the time the bus comes for her (not a bad thing despite my general pissiness of tone).  Monday will be interesting as it will be The Boy's first day of preschool and Baby Girl is already giving me a ten minute plea about wanting to go to school when her big sis leaves on the bus in the morning.

Yesterday some genius plan was implemented on our dirt road which involved digging out the ditches and redistributing all that dirt (along with large masses of clumped grasses) over the road.  Road was fine before yesterday, now it is shite.  And it'll be nasty muddy next time it rains since it is now topped off with dirt rather than just being the regular sand.

Good things:  I saw a badger and then three deer within about 3 miles on my morning drive this week.  I got paid (with a slight raise).  I am finally getting a haircut next week.  *can't even remember the last one*
It seems that Manic Panic wants to use pics of my hair for various advertising purposes (yay blacklight pics).  And I will be receiving some sort of free merchandise for this.  Woohoo
Two more weeks until the big Labor Day weekend roadtrip to Colorado.

And now for the major poo, it may be 3 more weeks til I can get online again. :(

Oy, less than a week til I return to the nanny gig and reside during the week at my parents'.  Internet, I will miss you dearly all those five days out of seven that we will be separated.  On weekends I will be trekking back here to be with my roommates and most of my things which I plan on leaving here... in my room.

*will miss living like a mildly responsible adult*

And then there is the big road trip to Colorado on Labor Day weekend.  Five adults stuffed into a car for a 12 hour drive -- good times, I'm sure.

In between now and then my brother/roommate starts his machinist classes which will occupy four evenings a week for him.  And his birthday is next Monday.  He is streeeeeeeessed.  The man can't find any time for us to go out for his birthday dinner because he is helping other brother work on his house Friday followed by a family reunion hosted by our parents on Saturday and my moving some amounts of my things somewhere in there.

Then the lease is up on this place at the end of this month or next and he and his girlfriend are kind of desperate to get a different place.  Which leaves me I don't know where.  If they move in with our friends that will suck loads because I won't really have a place in that living situation.  Plus it could cause major problems in their relationship since she can only stand the friends in doses due to their flakiness and bickering.

I am stressed too apparently.  There is way too much stuff happening at once here.  I may have to give up on my ideas of what my living situation was gonna be... which sucks.

*did not know about the moving thing til tonight*

Perhaps I am just very late in hearing about this and maybe everyone already knows but...  Today, after being gone from the internet for 3 full days, I get online and click on the Launchcast to listen to some music as per usual.  At the top of the page is a box proclaiming "Help save internet radio...  ...The future of internet radio is in danger..."  So, curiosity piqued as internet radio is the only radio I listen to when not in a car, I click on the link for savenetradio.org to find out what all the drama is about.

Apparently some money grabbing idiots have decided that internet radio stations should pay royalties at the same high rate as satellite radio.  This would, according to the site, increase their rate a whopping 300%.  And, from as well as I understand, the government people in charge of such things agrees.

This is all a big fat pile of poo.  Internet and satellite are far from the same thing.  First off, satellite is a paid thing whereas most internet stations are free to listen to just like broadcast radio.  Second, and what I find a more relevant point to those concerned about their moneys, is that internet radio often links you to a way to buy the music you are hearing which is something not so much happening with the satellite radio.  Free/cheap internet radio is far better for promoting new groups and selling music to the consumer.

Good freaking gawd.

Woohoo, I'm home for the Fourth this year.  There have been two years when I have not been home for this momentous holiday and both of those times I pretty much did not care at all about it... at all, not one bit... really.

But this year, once again, I am home and this is one of my top 3 holidays.  I don't really understand why.  I mean, yes, I enjoy blowing up stuff in our yard but not hardly as much as getting crappy thoughtless presents or fighting with my sisters over how to prepare the turkey.  There isn't even any surprise element to it either.  Every year it's grilled burgers, corn on the cob, baked beans and some salad.  We sit around the living room and outside talking about nothing.  After it gets dark we saturate our skin with bug repellant and find some uncomfortable area to sit in the driveway while Dad and middle brother take turns retrieving various fireworks from those of us watching and telling them which one to explode next.  Occasionally we spot a burst or two from neighboring farms.  And when the big go-booms are all done we get out the sparklers and burn 'em til they're gone... whether people want to do them or not.

But I love it.  I have been looking forward to this for days.  I will curse God if we git hit with more rain around sundown.  At least this year we don't have to worry about setting the pasture on fire.

I saw this bit in the magazine I get about two days after I joined up here and found it somewhat amusing.  It's a map of the blogosphere (gotta love those abstract maps).

The relevant bit:



3) Show Me Your Friends
This isolate, close-knit online community of bloggers uses LiveJournal, an online host that primarily serves as a social networking site.  This blogging island is just barely in touch with the rest of the blogworld.

So there we are on the raggedy edge with #6, the jocks and #5, the porn guys.

poaching more stuff from Cab...

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 movies on this list. Put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, copy, and re-post. Have fun!

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Here we Go:

This is the house:  3 bedroom, finished basement, one and a half bathrooms,,, decently big