WORK! UGH!

Changes in the job description. Changes in the morale. Changes in attitudes. Changes in personnel. Changes in ability to see reason and logic by upper management! All this spells the craziness we used to call work.

I don't think I'm alone in this feeling... right?

Random Question Wednesday

Talk about the kind of exercise you enjoy the most.

I would have to say biking! Followed closely by hiking. Oh, and rock climbing!

Growing up I was never very athletic. I never played real sports like baseball, football or basketball. I never felt very coordinated. But during the nice weather months I was outside, either riding the bike somewhere or hiking up in the mountains near our home. I'm not sure when my oldest brother got into rock climbing and rappelling but that soon became a favorite thing to do on the weekends. Although I never quite got the hang of tying the harness on correctly I still enjoyed it. Valdamort and I took his daughter climbing once, there are some old grain silos north of Dallas that they've turned into climbing places, thingies. FUN!!

But I think most of all I like biking. I used to live near White Rock Lake in Dallas. The bike trail around the lake is about 13 miles and I loved to jump on the bike and ride hard, try to get around the whole lake in under an hour. I would also get friends or the occasional boyfriend to go out riding with me, I always keep up a good pace, but by no means would I enter a race. It's all just for fun!

I also love to hike. In 2004 on a trip to Utah I decided to finally go see the Arches National Monument. I grew up near there, had been there as a kid but never did any serious hiking. I took the 2 and 1/2 hour hike up to rainbow arch and loved it!
I'm posing the same question to anyone who stumbles across my blog. Please leave a comment and let me know your favorite exercise.

Buddha Quote and deep thoughts

To live a pure unselfish life,
one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.

Why is it that the "American Dream" is to have it all? And we have it all right now? We have become a society of instant gratification of the very best. Could we really do without a lot of our "stuff"? They are just things after-all.
Is this saying from Buddha telling us that we should live like Mother Teresa and have no worldly possessions or just less reliance on those things? Is that what makes us selfish, this need to have the very best and to have it now?

Renaissance Saturday

I met my friends for another day at the faire.

Had a great day even thought it rained a little and was very humid!

Even though I like the colors, I don't wear this jerkin very often, it's not the best fitting one I have, but it was better than wearing the leather one on a humid day!

Sunday we went to breakfast, then I hit the books again. Test is 2 weeks from today! I am sequestering myself to ensure I will pass... so my life can go back to normal!

I was asked if I would like to perform their marriage sometime in June!

I am an ordained minister (hence the symbols and link at the bottom of the page) and this would be my first wedding! I'm so excited!

Jim Bond!

Gathering Storm

It's interesting. The other night I was talking to a woman I went to high school with. She was Greek Orthodox growing up in Utah. But the area we are from is not typical for Utah, there was a good mix of religions. She has the same religious views that I do now that most organized religions are getting too riled up about gay marriage. They should be focusing on helping their own people (or the homeless, the sick, etc) instead of trying to change "the gays".

A Gathering Storm from Jane Lynch

My love/hate relationship with Facebook

I have an account with Facebook. I don't go on it very much. I have very mixed feelings about it;

I like to connect with old friends. I like to see pictures of people, see what they look like now, since I haven't seen them in several months or years. I like to see what makes people laugh or something that irritates them. I want to know when a friend is celebrating a birthday so I can send them a message or call them. I want to see friend's pictures and share in their celebrations or vacations. I like to be able to chat with friends.

But there are some things that really bug me about FB. I don't like getting all these things thrown at me, or sent to me. I don't want to be challenged to a quiz about 80's pop-culture. I don't want to be kidnapped and to be asked if I want my lollipop sucked. And I really don't want to know what someone is doing every other minute. I know that Twitter would drive me absolutely nuts! WTMI (WAY too much information)!

And some people don't have manners on FB. So when I saw this video on someone else's blog I thought it would be appropriate to post here;

What do y'all think of Facebook, love it or hate it?

Too cute

I would love to have an exotic pet.

I want one of these... or maybe a hedgehog.

Random Question Wednesday

How do you feel about yourself most of the time?

I'm finally happy, or should I say satisfied, with where I am in my life. I'm comfortable in my own skin and know that I don't have to be perfect.

Growing up I had very low self-esteem. After I came out again in 2000 I did a lot of self-evaluation. One thing I knew I had to do was improve this area of my life. But what is self-esteem and how does one get it?

In psychology, self-esteem reflects a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions about ones self.
I learned a hard lesson, I had to change my attitude if self-esteem is really just an attitude of your own self worth. You need a healthy self-image, not too much ego and not too much self-loathing. I overcame the feelings of inadequacies and insecurities. It still is a process that I am working on.

I've also struggled with perfectionism. Maybe it has to do with my mormon upbringing, they believe one can achieve perfection in this life. I don't believe that any more. I believe life is a journey and a process.

The book, "The Way of the Small" says this about perfectionism: "Striving for perfection is often confused with the quest for fulfillment: we think that if we can become perfect or create perfect things or situations, we will be happy. Perfection is an ideal, not a fact. Perfection is a good goal, as long as it remains just that-a goal."

I pose this same question to everyone who happens to read my blog. I love reading your comments and would be very interested to hear your answer to this question.

Deleted scene from the movie Twlight

More Faire pics

Or maybe I should call it - Ren Geek Monday from now till Memorial Day!

The cloak clasp I ordered came in this week
And the Tripe Horn of Odin pin
(Both of these should look familiar, I have a Triangle Celtic knot tat on my shoulder and the Horn of Odin on my calf)


I had the clasp sewn on,
It was a little warm for the cloak, but I wanted to show it off.


This is my friend Troy with me
And with Sunshyne below.

Yes, her parents were hippies from California.
We had a great day at the faire!

Judgements and Dreams

I admit it. I made a judgement based on looks.
I first saw this video that was everywhere last week, but never bothered to watch it.
Finally I said; OK, I'll watch it.
OMG!

First of all this is one of the best songs from Les Miserables!

Here is what one website said about her: "Standing in front of the blazing television lights and a crowd of 3,000, many of whom were simply waiting for her to fail because of the way she looked, Boyle introduced herself. To raised eyebrows from Cowell and Morgan and stifled laughter from the audience, she said her ambition was to be a professional singer like Elaine Paige. As she began to sing their expressions changed; cynicism was replaced by whopping, broad smiles and the wiping away of tears. She finished to a standing ovation."

It brought tears to my eyes, a song rarely does that! Maybe it was the story too.
I think she will get her dream.
I hope I learned my lesson.

Nicknames

Why is it that we give each other nicknames?

From Wikipedia: A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. Another class of nickname is the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, such as Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robbie,more properly called a short name.

A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.

In Viking societies, many people had nicknames which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts. Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something could not identify the slave.


I have always given people a nickname, mostly a different version of their name. My niece Jamie I call James, a co-worker I call Scotty Dawg, Julie becomes Jules and another of my friends is "Great-Scott"! Then I have a few friends that I call by their full name only.

Sometimes I follow a weird thing I picked up while living in New Zealand and that is to add an "er" in the place of an "a" at the end of someones name; Melissa becomes Melisser. Then my friend, who's last name is Cross, got the nickname of "Nelda Tuda".

Then there are the names I give people I see all the time but I never know their real name. Mostly these are people at the gym or people I see shopping in the same store as I do. These names come from some characteristic they have. At the gym there is "Salsa Sally" who must have some good music on her iPod, she gets on the elliptical machine and dances and sways her hips a lot! There is "Drummer Joe" who thinks he's on stage playing a drum set while he's on the stationary bike. There is the perfectly coiffed "Tina LaTina" in all her south of the border glory and her friend, "Winney Nguyen" her Vietnamese workout partner. I think part of their workout is flirting with the few straight guys that go to the gym.

Some guys there get the name, "Nike Boy", "Uppity Gay Bear" or the "Uber-gay power couple". One day at the gym I asked two guys how many sets they had left and one responded in a heavy german accent that they still had a lot more to do. They became "Hans and Franz". Oh, I almost forgot "Huff&Puff" the noisy guy who wants everyone to know that he's lifting very heavy metal objects!

My buddy Ryan who works out with me sometimes is in lust with "Tat Daddy" or TD as we call him. TD is a hottie and bi-curious I think. He came sniffing around Ryan while I went to refill my water bottle! The other random guys are "hot-daddy", "hottie-boy" and occasionally "creepy-old-guy".

Here are some favorite nicknames of people I worked with years ago. One guy loved to mention to everyone that his sister is the First Lady of Oklahoma. His nickname became "Michael Regina" (he is Oklahomo royalty after all, and Regina rhymes with something else....)

Then there was the the Ultra-Catholic I worked with whom we christened "Mother Inferior". When I worked in retail I had regular customer's "The Jello People" and the "Amazon Queens". Ask me sometime for the whole story on those two, pretty funny. LOL

At the country western bar here called the Round Up there was a guy who loved to spin a lot while dancing, he became "Spinderella".

Should I use the old Viking custom and have a formal ceremony for the giving of someone's nickname?

What are some fun nicknames you all have come up with for people?

Those crazy tree huggers!

While walking through Golden Gate Park in San Francisco a man came upon another man hugging a tree with his ear firmly against its trunk. Seeing this he inquired, "Just out of curiosity, what the heck are you doing?"

"I'm listening to the music of the tree," the other man replied.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me."

"No, would you like to give it a try?"

Understandably curious, the man says, "Well, OK..." So he wrapped his arms around the tree and pressed his ear up against it. With this, the other guy slapped a pair of handcuffs on him, took his
wallet, jewelry, car keys, then stripped him naked and left.

Two hours later another nature lover strolled by, saw this guy handcuffed to the tree stark naked, and asked, "What the heck happened to you?"

He told his would-be rescuer the whole terrible story about how he got there. As he told his story, the other guy just shook his head in sympathy.

And when the story was finished, the good samaritan walked around behind him, kissed him gently behind the ear and said:

You know cupcake... I think this just ain't gonna be your day!

Did you ever seen a llama...

My friends will be coming up to stay with me this coming weekend to go to the faire, again!
They told me they were thinking of getting llamas for their farm.
I think I'll have to torture let them listen to the "llama song"

Great! Now I have this song stuck in my head, I'll be at work singing "have you ever seen a llama, kissed a llama, llama, llama...." Oh God help me! LOL

Random Question Wednesday

Complete this sentence: My favorite pastime is __________, because __________.

A pastime that I love is being outdoors. I love gardening, digging in the dirt is a way to connect with nature for me. Also when the weather is nice I love to go biking, hiking and camping. Being outdoors and away from the hustle and bustle of life is relaxing for me. This is one reason I like living in Dallas. Spring and fall are absolutely the best here. The summer's aren't too bad, just stay near water and you're fine. Get a boat or get friends with a boat and you're set. Or just being able to hang out by a pool is nice too.

There are only a few months during the year when one doesn't want to be outdoors and that is during our mild winters. Then I grab a good book; my second favorite pastime is reading. I'm currently reading a novel about 15th century England, Worlds Without End by Ken Follett. I love historical fiction. We can read about history, but what was it like to actually live back then? This type of genre can "flesh-out" a story, make it more real than just reading facts from a history book. Did the people living a thousand years ago have the same thoughts, needs and desires as we do?

Taking this Series 7 exam for work has taken over my life for the last 3 months and I still have about another month to go, then it will be back to normal and I can finish this 1000 plus page novel. And then get outside to start enjoying life again.

3 way meme

This is a meme I stole borrowed from my friend Ur-Spo.

Three Name I go by:
1. Jim
2. Jimbo
3. James

Three Jobs I’ve had in my life:
1. Shoe salesman at Nordstrom
2. Assistant Manager at Ross Dress for Less
3. Clerk in the Garden Dept at K-Mart

Three Places I have lived:
1. Henderson, NV
2. Cockeysville, MD
3. Oklahoma City, OK

Three TV Shows that I watch:
1. Dancing With The Stars
2. The Daily Buzz
3. America's Next Top Model

Three places I have been:
1. Auckland, New Zealand
2. Barbados
3. Torino, Italy

Three people that e-mail me regularly:
1. Detra
2. Michael
3. Melissa

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Sushi
2. Indian (Tikki Chicken Masala)
3. Seafood

Three things I would like to do:
1. Skydive
2. Drive through the English countryside
3. Live in Manhatten

Three Things I am looking forward to:
1. Summer
2. Seeing my great-nephew
3. Passing the Series 7 exam in May!

My weekend at Faire *Ren Geek Alert*

In honor of Easter I went as a monk to Scarborough Faire.

I wasn't a good monk.
I became a drunk monk.
The staff I'm holding is hollow.
It holds liquids and has a straw.
I was drinking lemonade and Strohs Rum.
Strohs Rum is butterscotch flavored.
And 160 proof!

People expect monks to be holy and good. And catholic! Has no one heard of Druids?
When I bought the robes I was telling a friend about being a monk for faire and she suggested I go on-line and make it official. In fact she "double-dog-dared" me, of course I had to! I went to The Monastery and legally became a Druid Priest. (you can buy any title you'd like; Pope and Saint were too much to live up to though, lol) I can legally perform marriage ceremonies!

Here are some random pictures from the faire:

Iris and Rose


King and Queen


The accordion player was a hottie! The violinist is a friend.


A fairy

Easter funnies

A good tip to remember

This is why one should always twirl in front of a full length mirror before one leaves their house in the morning.

Embiggen the picture to get the full effect.

It's about damn time!

When Dallas clocks ticked past midnight this morning it officially become illegal to light up in most every indoor workplace across the city.

The new ban prohibits smoking in all indoor and enclosed areas in the city, including workplaces, bars and pool halls.

Warnings are likely to be handed out for the first two weeks while business owners adjust to the new law. But once the initial smoke clears, violators will face a $200 fine.

Finally! I can go out and go dancing or hang with friends and not come home reeking of smoke! Woohoo!

Buddah quote

Do not dwell in the past,

do not dream of the future,

concentrate the mind on the present moment.

This used to be a very difficult concept for me. I constantly worried about what might happen. And I would constantly relive and beat myself up for things that I did in the past.

I decided to see a therapist in 2007. I was on sleep medication and anti-depressants and I wanted to get off both of them. To me they were just a band-aid for more underlying issues. This is the therapy I received, I had to learn how to let go of the past and not worry about the future. Easier said than done was my response. But it does work with practice.

January 1, 2008 I made a resolution.
The resolution was to keep fresh flowers in my home.
I did this for a couple of reasons; I need to slow down and appreciate the small things or as the old adage goes, "take time to smell the roses". I also wanted something to remind me of what is in front of me right here and now. Plus I want my home to be a place I enjoy. What better way than to look at and enjoy fresh flowers.

Random Question Wednesday

If you could change your body, what part would you like to change? Why?

This is an easy one. I would take the saddlebags (a.k.a. love-handles; but no one loves them) and move the extra fat down to my scrawny little arse. I would be first in line for a butt implant! A coworker once asked me how my pants stayed up, she pointed out that I have no booty. It's true, I have no back-side and I would love to have a big bubble butt! I know I should do a ton of squats, my gym has a machine called the "butt buster" that I use every other day. The derriere has improved a little bit, but it still ain't big and meaty like I would want it.

This is the back of my renaissance costume.

This is what I want:

Crazy inventions

I'm sure many people have seen these picture before in emails or blogs, but I'm not feeling very creative today and I can't think of anything interesting to post.








This reminds me of a story a friend sent me recently;
An Asian lady was trying to exchange yen for dollars and she was a little irritated.
She asked the teller, "Why it change? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo yen. Today I get hunat eighty? Why it change?"
The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations".
The Asian lady says, 'Fluc you white people, too.'

Happy Birthday to brother #1

Today is my oldest brother's birthday!

He's second on the left in this picture.

He often celebrated his birthday on Easter Sunday. When he was younger he almost died from Bright's Disease.

He was always trying to dump his annoying little brother and would often forget to tell me things; like the day he and his friends were riding their bikes and jumping over a small mound. He forgot to tell me to pull up on the handlebars going over the jump and of course I did a face-plant into the dirt and broke my arm. He also forgot to tell me that when one is repelling off a cliff face first that you don't have to keep both hands on the rope, you can use one hand to guide yourself. This I learned on my own after sliding down to a small ledge on the cliff and scraping my forearms from wrist to elbow.

He was supposed to go to Anchorage Alaska on his mission, but had a busty girlfriend that got him into trouble. He bacame a policeman in our small town and luckily didn't arrest me for stealing his motorbike and riding it on the streets. He liked to handcuff my girlfriends to himself if I brought one home from college.

That's him on the left.
He is a true outdoor's man and I enjoyed riding his 4-wheelers into the mountains on visits to Utah. We're pretty close now. He's the first of my siblings to be a grandpa!



And according to the mormons, today is also Jesus' birthday.

Happy Birthday to both of them!

I am a Ren Geek

Yesterday was opening day of Scarborough Faire in Dallas.

Even though I was lacking in sleep, had two suitcases full of dirty clothes and I have a ton of studying to do I still had to go for opening day!

I met up with some friends and it was an absolutely beautiful day. Even a little warm when you're wearing a leather jacket and leather hat. I ran into other rennie friends that I wasn't expecting to see and made some new friends. I did a little shopping, I need to get a cloak for those cold or rainy days, and yes I will go even when it is rainy and cold.

Some of my friends don't understand why I love this so much. It's difficult to explain; yes it's playing dress up. It's living, for a day or two, in a different era than we are used to now with old customs and a completely different way of life. I don't always talk in an old English accent like some do though.

The people you meet there are sometimes instant friends who love it as much as you do. And we are never camera shy. LOL. I'm sure I and my friends are in several people's photo albums of their day at the Ren Fest. I especially like it when kids ask me, "is that a real sword?" I had one little guy excited to see me and wanted to know if I was the Sheriff of Nottingham. Of course I acted like I was and it was neat to see him be so excited about it.

I also got to see some of my favorite acts, the jugglers, the bag-pipe band, the science guy and my favorite bawdy singers, Iris and Rose. Their last show of the day they call the "train wreck show". They have audience participation while singing the song "Roll your leg over and sit on my face". Who wouldn't love a song like that? LOL! The audience adds to the song by singing a verse, telling a joke, making a toast or telling a dirty limerick. I added a new limerick I learned for them:

Two sisters who's clocks were a ticking
Knew they needed some dicking
If they wanted some brats
They'd have to do that,
Or settle for labia licking!