Every spammer on the globe!

Yes, EVERY single last one - has me on their mailing list!!
I am certain of it, for in a typical 24 hours' time, I receive 300-500 junk mails.
Buy this, try that, meet her.
I am reasonably certain it's because I have had this email adress since late 1996, and my address has been distributed so many times since then. I don't give out my email address very often, or request information (especially for some of these crazy things!)

I get offers for quick loans, opportunities to invest in (what seem like) stock market scams, invitations to view singles of various ethnicities & religions, and hot deals on everything from cheap (legal) drugs to fake watches to foreclosed real estate. Of course, those are the printable/repeatable offers I get!! :O

I wish I could tell them that I have enough money (at least to the point I don't need a loan), that I've been scammed by "hot" investments, and prefer to find my own methods, that I'm not interested in meeting a romantic stranger, whether she (or he!?!) be local, black, Jewish, or LDS, that I have what I need (possession-wise, at least), and prefer to avoid the "good deals" as they are often cheap merchandise, or a at least come with strings attached.
But, I have heard that if you make contact with these individuals, even if only by clicking the "unsubscribe me" button, they know you read their email, and that the email address is valid, and then sell your name to several (dozen/hundred/thousand) other emailing companies, and you end up getting your junk mail increased ten-fold!
At least Yahoo! has decent spam filters - I have enough to do, online & off!

listening to

The Fray - Look After You
Daniel Bedingfield - Never Leave Your Side
Neil McCoy - No Doubt About It

Short break from work...

Today, I got up earlier than normal, and due to the below zero (Fahrenheit) weather, the locks were frozen on my car. After some effort to thaw them with a hair dryer, I entered the vehicle, only to learn the engine was too cold to start. I placed a small heater under the engine/oil pan and sat down in my recliner in the living room & promptly dozed off. Being outside at -10F (-23C) for almost an hour is quite wearing on the human body, I guess! I awoke an hour later, started the car to let it warm up (before driving it, I wanted the oil & other stuff to circulate & warm up), then got a call from a co-worker who was wondering if I was starting soon. He started bragging about how he had started at 5:30am and how I'd have a long day ahead of me, when he was nearly finished. Apparently, he was telling everyone at the store that he had to wake me up. Come on, I told one fellow (who is my co-worker at another job), I was up at quarter to 5, but had car trouble. I work all day anyway - the other guy only stops at one store - I have 4!!! For two soda companies, as well!

Well, SuperBowl weekend is here. Pepsi products are on sale at every store, and perhaps because the Packers' long-time rivals, the Chicago Bears, are playing, or perhaps because of the weather, no-one seems to be buying much soda. Oh well, I won't have as much work to recover from after this weekend.

The other evening, I went with my mom and younger brother to Green Bay to look for some things.
They are remodeling their kitchen & dining room, while I was in search of an "oceanic" background for an aquarium I maintain at a local nursing home. The owner wants it "remodeled" from a freshwater planted aquarium to a saltwater fish tank. Originally, I had set the tank up as a saltwater exhibit, but had no luck getting the tank, fish, and other inhabitants to grow & thrive, and finally, after losing at least $300 in fish, plants, and other life, I switched it over to non-salt water.
I thought it all through, and designed everything to be low-maintainance, and despite some original ideas ;), the tank thrived. After 6 months (during which I spent maybe 1.5 hours taking care of the tank), the owner decided he wanted a marine view aquarium. That was last summer, and as I had a lot of stressful stuff going on, I set it on the back burner of my mind.
In the meantime, I have not put much effort into the aquarium, since it will soon be taken down & totally redesigned, and at times, they have complained about plants growing in the aquarium. I think that is a natural thing for plants to do, if they have adequate conditions, but I go there & trim the plants anyway.

So, after much thought of a successful, economical design, and much more procrastination, I have figured my way through most decisions, and have decided to accomplish this task in the next month or so. First I will need to get a check for the past year & some months that they owe me for, as this project will not be inexpensive!!

Back to the Green Bay trip... :D

At Menards', I found wallpaper sample books, containing wall murals (a possibility I had considered), but none were very workable. I didn't find anything that jumped out at me, like - "This is it!", so I have recommended to them a plain shimmery blue background. It will give the effect of open underwater views, without detracting from the actual aquarium inhabitants, and it will be quick, easy, & cheap for me!

While searching for a pet store that apparently has closed its doors, I checked out the used CD selection at Lighthouse Christian Bookstore, and walked away (after paying) with 3 --- Uthanda - Groove, Vigilantes of Love - Audible Sigh, and the Roaring Lambs project. All for less than $15 total!!
My supper was a Skor bar that my mom bought at Walgreens. She had a Hershey's chocolate bar, and my brother grabbed the Butterfinger. So much for a nutritious meal!

listening to...

Tegan & Sara - You Went Away
Reliant K - Must've Done Something Right
Aaron Shust - My Savior, My God
The Cranberries - Dreams

I eventually got around to it...

Yes, I upgraded my blog.

I was hesitant because I didn't want any major changes, especially in how it all was displayed. I do like my privacy... :)

I also switched my hit counter, since the previous service I've been using pretty much from the start has apparently disappeared (haha - didn't forget the "s" this time :D).

So, I have joined the masses, a bit late, but better late than never, eh?

Back to work I go, hi-ho, hi-ho...

Lots of time - little actually happening...

Well, due to over-tiredness, stress from a friendship that has taken a weird turn, and my own puzzlement over what to say on a blog when it's the same old, same old... I had taken some time off from blogging. Not a conscious decision as much as a sort of falling into a period of blog-less activity.

I feel I lead a pretty boring existence, and realize I tend to rant & ramble quite a bit on topics, rather than let others vicariously partake in my lifestyle.
Oh well, perhaps we are not all meant to lead exciting, movie-star lives, huh?

I've done a fair share of catching up on sleep, watching movies when I'm too exhausted to do anything other than vegetate, and thinking about where my life is leading.

For now, I am plugging away at my day job(s). Yeah, I have 4, which total about 65 hours a week currently (all together :) ).
I'm expanding & focussing my reptile/snake breeding project. I don't have the really big bucks to invest in new morphs (interesting new colors and/or patterns (or lack thereof)), but I do have 4 potential breeding females for next season. I will have to feed them lots of food & feed them often, but for $30 or so, I figure I should have all the food I need for them (soon - my rats are still getting started).
If all goes as planned & reasonably expected, I stand to have at least $10K in profits about this time next year.

I don't know if I'll always have all these guys, but for now, they are my pets - a bunch of big babies that get more like family members every day (in a good way :D).

I've decided to get back to selling things on eBay - I have lots of stuff sitting around that I'd rather have the cash for.
I've sold a couple DVRs recently, and it went better than I expected, so I guess I did something right :) So many people supposedly earn their living doing just that, why can't I be one of them, right??

After hearing "Just Like Heaven", the old The Cure song covered by Ketevan "Katie" Melua, and having it stuck in my head for several days (beautiful beautiful beautiful :) ), I was browsing DVD titles at the library, and saw the movie of the same name (wonder if they got the title from the song??), starring Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo. I looked it up on imdb at the library, and sure enough, that song was on the soundtrack.

Being a guy, and therefore feeling a little self-conscious renting "chick flicks" (though I wanna watch more than I'll ever tell :) ), I also checked out with Munich, National Treasure, & New World (you can see I stayed in the same section alphabetically - hah!).
Of course, I watched JLH first, and liked it quite a bit. Short synopsis including some possible spoilers = Mark's character moves into a cozy San Francisco (!) apartment following his wife's untimely death. Reese's character, following a severe car accident which left her in a coma, returns to her apartment to find a stranger living there. They determine she is not entirely there, and as she has amnesia, set out to discover who she is. At first, they seem to have nothing in common, and are constantly at odds, but as they work at their goal, they see each others' good sides & begin to enjoy time together.
As the movie continues, they work through some difficult situations, drawing closer, and finally reach what they both hoped to find.
It reminded me that while we may never reach what we long for & may even struggle to find, we should not give up hope, as the journey is worth as much as the destination. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
I think I am still struggling to lift my foot from the ground (or my rear from the couch :)), but now I know I am not comfortable where I am, and have a rough idea of where I'd like to be. If I'm patient, and don't stray, He'll help me get where I need to be, and I keep praying that I'm on the right track already.

We've finally gotten to the actual wintry part of winter :)
As I've seen lots of winters now, I don't get quite so excited by the cold weather, blowing snow, frozen fingers, toes, & nose, not to mention slippery walkways, cold cars, and being so tired from trying to stay warm all day.

Now that we have snow on the ground, and I've gotten a few pictures of it, it can go now :) I'm anxious for spring, flowers, gardening, and oh yes, I've decided to raise a few chickens this year. It's been years & years, and I miss them, so I've requested a catalog (yes, a chick catalog!), and will hopefully be able to pre-order some hatching eggs. You see, the hatcheries incubate certain numbers of eggs, and once they are gone (usually pre-ordered last fall), there are no more for several months.
Well, if it's meant to happen, it will.
I've noticed lately that that is my primary outlook - that is something doesn't go smoothly, I decide it isn't meant to be, and I let it go, and take a different direction. I don't think I use that philosophy as an excuse to be lazy or to lack persistance, but rather as an indicator of God's blueprint for my life.
I realize some things take a lot of work, and perseverance, and when I know something is what I need or where I need to be, I get blinders on, and don't lose focus.

Okay, I just looked, and this is a really really loooooooooooong post, so rather than have readers falling off their chairs in slumber (as I am about to), I shall end here, while


listening to...


Dido - Here With Me
Everyday Sunday - Hanging On lyrics
John Mayer - Back To You
Katie Melua - Just like Heaven