belladonna

n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.

- Ambrose Bierce

Famous Last Words - My Chemical Romance

Now I know
That I can't make you stay
But where's your heart?
But where's your heart?
But where's your...


And I know
There's nothing I could say
To change that part
To change that part
To change...

So many
Bright lights, they cast a shadow
But can I speak?
Well is it hard understanding
I'm incomplete
A life that's so demanding
I get so weak
A love that's so demanding
I can't speak

I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home

Can you see
My eyes are shining bright
Cause I'm out here
On the other side
Of a jet black hotel mirror
And I'm so weak
Is it hard understanding
I'm incomplete
A love that's so demanding
I get weak

I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home

I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home

These bright lights have always blinded me
These bright lights have always blinded me
I say

I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead

(How can I see, I see you lying) 'Cause I see you lying next to me
(How can I see, I see you lying) With words I thought I'd never speak
(How can I see, I see you lying) Awake and unafraid
(How can I see, I see you lying) Asleep or dead

'Cause I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead

'Cause I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead

I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
(Or dead)
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
(Or dead)
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
(Or dead)
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
(Or dead)
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
(Or dead)
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home

"Clocks slay time..."

"...time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life."

- William Faulkner

______________________________________

Thinking about time, and our perceptions of it...when I awoke this morning, the first thought in my mind was, "Geez, I wonder what time it is?" When I get in a hurry, with lots to do, the thought, "Oh, crap! Look at the time!" When in anticipation of an event in the future or thinking about the possibility of an respite from the daily schedule, it seems that time passes in an exaggeratedly slow pace; in the company of your beloved or enjoying the warmth and love our your family, the clock hands spin wildly, advancing the hours in what seems like seconds.

How did humans become slaves to "time"? I think of the animals; driven only by the rise and set of the sun, and the changing of the seasons. The earth and heavens guided their actions....it is light, and time to be active, it is dark and time to rest....it is cold and time to stay inside, it is warm and time to be outdoors. What was the moment like in which humans found it necessary to do something at a particular "time", making it necessary to be able to describe to others "when"?

From the time we are born, we become part of "time". Schedules are set for us, some based on the convenience of others around us and some driven by the cycles of our bodies. When we come to have more control over our body cycles, the accepted imposition of "timing" by the meter of the clock kicks in. No longer does the rise and set of the sun and moon have any bearing on our schedules...the clock tells us "when"...to sleep, to eat, to work...

Relegated to the back of consciousness....time to nurture, to grow...things, relationships....result....empty gardens, hollow lives, empty hearts...

Take time to stop time....step out of schedules and routines...step outside of the "time capsule" you are traveling through your life in; LOOK at what is around you...appreciate the garden...be WITH the ones you love, not just in their proximity....your dedication and self-sacrifice to the strict demands of "time" effects them more than you can ever know...and your PRESENCE, the most precious thing, for them and for YOU....

for all time....much love to you....

v

Just a guess...

But...I would imagine that there are a least a few folks who know me who are nodding their heads vigorously right now....

:-)

v

And NOW for something COMPLETELY different....

Follow this link for a special message.....

v

I hope that everyone has someone to feel this way about today....

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
- Emily Bronte

And so it begins....

The storm of the winter....A trip that has been planned for several weeks now will not happen because of the probability that I would be stranded away from home because the snow is only supposed to continue throughout the day. Snow is light and fluffy and is drifting on roadways, and the surface streets in our neighborhood have not been cleared. Lucas County is in a Level 1 Snow emergency (don't drive unless you HAVE to) and the Toledo Police have announced that they are responding to accidents in Phase 2 mode (injury accidents only - all others exchange information). The estimate is 4 to 8 inches today and another 3 to 5 overnight tonight, with one more inch during the day on Wednesday. By the weekend, the temperatures are projected to rise into the 20's, but on Thursday and Friday lows will be ZERO! Obviously Punxsutawney Phil or Buckeye Chuck or whatever groundhog said that spring was just around the corner is full of crap....it is definitely winter here, and not looking like it is going away any time soon...

Will get out (walking probably) later and take a few more photos to post...till then, much love to you...stay warm...

v

I'm on a mission from "root".....

(think "geek".....you'll get it)

A little background....a few days ago, I worked on a computer for one of our telecommuters in the company that I work for. It was in the context of the process that has been dubbed "PM" (preventative maintenance), and several things were done to her computer to update it and make sure that it was "healthy". I have been doing these PMs on the Windows based computers in the organization for about a month now, and although still new in the IT department, I think I am doing OK at it...OK, I THOUGHT I was doing OK at it until I got a call two days after my coworker was in the office, once she got home and tried to use her computer to retrieve email in that special way that folks have to with our set up. When she told me that email was not working, needless to say, my mind went racing...here was a remote user, who does not work in the office, with a significant problem that impairs her ability to do her job. What did I do to break her machine? Better question, how was I going to fix it?

I tried everything I knew with her help to resolve the problem, with her in the Cleveland area and me in our home office in Maumee. After a day of trying and no success but a lot of good information about how the machine WASN'T working, I broached the subject with my direct boss. He gave me some guidance, and advised that as a last resort, if all else failed, a trip would have to be made to the telecommuter's home to resolve the issue there. I took his last few suggestions and tried them, to no avail. I informed the user and my boss that I would be traveling to Cleveland on Saturday to see her in person and troubleshoot her problem with her computer.

Saturday morning came, and I awoke at a little bit later than my normal time. By the time I finally forced myself to extricate from my warm and cozy bed, the brilliant orange sun was just beginning to paint the sky with the colors of morning. The day had all the appearances of perfect cold and crisp winter; a beautiful day for driving, with plenty of sunshine and opportunity for "shotgun photojournalism", which has become my forte of late (see my Flcker album link, right). I staggered to the shower and gratefully turned the water to its hottest tolerable setting, basking in the glory that is a hot shower on a cold day (and yes, I did remember to CLOSE THE DOOR) While washing hair, I began to go over the strategy for my troubleshooting for the day, walking through all that I wanted to do in my mind, so I would be ready when I got to the user's house and had access to her network and her computer. I was so deep in thought that I was inattentive to the amount of time I was spending in the shower, and my ruminations were rudely interrupted by very cold water on my backside, at which point I made a hasty retreat to the cooler and much foggier bathroom outside the shower doors. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to bring the clothes I had planned on wearing for the day into the bathroom with me, so I did not have to leave the warm and humid air of the bathroom to get dressed. Once done with that, I brushed out hair, blew it dry, disconnected all the equipment I was going to take with me, packed all the things in their bags, pockets and cases, located my car keys and made a beeline to the car (it WAS still doggone cold this morning!)

Once in the car, I remembered that first, I needed to take some cash with me for tolls on the turnpike (the safest, quickest and most direct route to where I was going) and that the car needed oil. The money part was straight-forward (except for the sticky crank window on the driver side that I have to manhandle when I want to do anything drive-up), so that was taken care of in short order. After that was done, I headed to the nearest AutoZone to pick up some oil for the car.

It is very humorous to walk into an auto parts store of any kind if you are a woman, and from my experience, even moreso if you have kinda big boobs and you are blonde. The stares as I walked in were nothing in comparison the the outright ogling that occurred when I proceeded to pop the hood in the parking lot and add two quarts of oil. I almost got the impression that there was some betting going on behind one of racks in the back room on whether I knew how to get the hood open, let alone how to get oil in. I am pleased to say that whoever bet against me lost their shirt!

Oil added, away I went, but not without first making sure that the camera was easily accessible for photo ops on the way. I headed down Rt23 toward the office I work in, which is as easy a way as any to get to the turnpike, and beside that, it is a route that is becoming as familiar to me as the back of my hand. Within what seemed like only a few moments, I was at the automated ticket dispenser (wrestling my window down) grabbing the ticket (wrestling my window up) and hitting the road (80/90 East, that is).

With Cleveland as my goal, and an estimated drive time of 2 hours and twenty minutes as the Mapquest estimates, I figured my 10:45 time of departure would put me at my destination with time to spare, but not much. My last drive to Cleveland was with the young one this past summer (which I have unofficially dubbed, "The Summer of Trips with The Young One" - those trip blogs are housed on the now defunct "Once Burned-Twice Shy", and will definitely be archived for perusing at some future time), when I "forced him" to go see the band "Blue October" with me at the House of Blues. It was a fantastic night, after a bit of a rocky start, and the drive there and back was easy and enjoyable because I had him for company. This time it was a solitary trip, with my little mind and my music to keep me company. I settled in to run a little above the speed limit (between 70 and 75) and enjoy the drive. iPod queued up with my current favorites all available, I cruised along, liking the feel of the car passing over the cold asphalt. This first half of the trip could have been driven in my sleep; the route is as familiar as an old friend, having been our path to see my mom and the ex's parents for lo, those many years since we moved to the Toledo area from our safe haven of tiny little Norwalk. We have traveled the route in winter, with snow blowing and drifting across the roadway...we have driven it in summer, when the traffic at the Sandusky/Norwalk exit literally stops on the roadway in their efforts to exit on the tiny exit ramp, on their way to the "Family Fun Park" Cedar Point, situated on Lake Erie in Sandusky.

Very little has changed since the last time I drove this way, but there is comfort in noting the things that have stayed the same. As I approached the Sandusky/Norwalk exit, I glanced off to the left, noting the NASA Plumbrook Research Center (which is now called Glenn Research Center at Plum Brook) off in the distance. When I was in school, I had a friend whose dad worked there, and when we were in about third grade or so, we went on a field trip there. The highlight of the visit was a "moon rock" under a heavy dome of glass, on a pedestal with lights shining down on it from all around. That made a big impression on me, and for years after, I wrote to every NASA facility there was in the United States and begged for free pictures and whatever else they were willing to send to a little kid with questions about the space program. For a few years they were very generous, sending staff photos of the people of the different flights and such, but after a bit, any written request for information illicited little more than a letter of thanks and a catalog for further NASA information and "stuff". I also noted the large industrial area situated near the "Avery underpass" which used to be Certainteed, makers of shingles and other "tar"-y things...the stench that place used to make especially in the summertime, is legendary...not sure if that is still what the industry is there, but the buildings look just the same as always. As I passed over the overpass that takes the turnpike over Rt 250, a quick glance in the southerly direction showed me "The Homestead Inn", and the location of the tiny little motel where I spent my first night as a married person. Such an odd set of rememberances in that little stretch of roadway...my whole younger life focused on that one exit off the turnpike.

Passing the exit, I then moved on to the areas that were more of a distance and mystery when I was young. My family was a pretty much a "stay around home" bunch, so my most vivid and recallable "Place" memories are of Norwalk and the closely surrounding areas. My recollection of "going away", or driving out of town is pretty negligible from my young childhood; most of my driving "adventures" (mom driving and kids in tow) are from after my dad passed away. My mom was always the one who took care of home and hearth, and after my dad died, she was kinda cut loose...not much experience with things outside of her little circle of grocery, school, pay bills (this was when you went to the offices to pay) and every now and then order something from the Montgomery Ward catalog and then go "uptown" to pick it up. A trip out of town for any reason was not an option unless Dad took us all there, although Sandusky was a straight drive north on Rt 250, one of the main roads that goes through town, and there are also several state route that pass through/around Norwalk on the way to Cleveland and the area surrounding. One such "mom driving adventure" I recall in vivid detail was a very daring trip taken to Elyria (laughable in reflection, considering the great distances my mom has traveled on her own since then). I remember my mom being extremely on edge and my sister and I being very excited...we were going to a store we had never been to before to "shop"...VALUE CITY!!! Any folks who are familiar with this chain know that they are not always located in the most savory areas of a community...in retrospect, I believe that may have been as much responsible for my mom's discomfort as the actual drive there and home. I drove past some of the buildings that I recall seeing during the drive that day as I sped past the exit for Lorain/Elyria...the visual stimulus made me emotionally remember that day, that trip and my mom stretching herself to take on the new responsibilities that life had given her without asking, and in my heart I know that every experience like that has helped me to be able to do what I have done in my own life, picking up and going on, even when the choice was not mine to make. It is those random realizations that come at the oddest times and fill me with such gratitude...I had then and thankfully still have with me today, a great role model in my mom....she still influences me in everything I do every day.

Feeling all warm and fuzzy, I continued my drive, passing many exits, although a few I took particular note of are the ones for Avon. I will be back that way in just a few weeks for a Power of the Pen regional event (I know...groan...ANOTHER long and rambling post!) so I mentally made a little tick mark next to "know how to get there", in my constantly morphing list of "things I need to remember" that takes up a humongous amount of storage space in the RAM disk that is my brain.

Driving, snapping photos, and following the Mapquest directions, I came to the first deviation from the straight line path of the turnpike...time to exit...and it came as no surprise that at the same time, a huge ORANGE sign was also there, declaring that there was construction and delays were to be expected. This truly is standard fare for me and travel, especially using the Mapquest only way (no road atlas for me, bay-bee!) I was prepared, as usual, to fall back on my impeccable sense of direction and logical thinking skills (**ALRIGHT - stop laughing RIGHT NOW!!!**)to get me through the next leg of the trip. Took the exit ramp to head toward the toll booths (done with the turnpike) and as I rounded the curve, I could see that there were some road barrels on the "I have paid to get past" side of the booths...as I pulled up to pay, I could also see that there were some small orange signs posted near the barrels. I paid my toll, dutifully asked for a receipt, and proceeded (after the window wrestling). As I drew closer to the signs, they became legible..."END CONSTRUCTION"...Whoohoo!!! Yet another bullet dodged by the lovely and talented tekkbabe!

The next part of the drive was kinda boring, with lots of paying attention to the road and directions....I had gotten this far without incident and I most certainly did not want to hose things up now....That meant, of course, that the camera was put away, the iPod turned off and earphones off, and full attention was directed to the task at hand. As the miles rolled along, I passed some signs I really wanted to get photos of, including one for "Entering Brooklyn", but alas, I was not quick enough, so that one has to survive on its mention only, with no photo to substantiate its existence.

As I got closer to Cleveland proper, the blue sky, the distinctive skyline and the general coolness of seeing it again prompted me to once again pull out the camera. Anyone who knows the area, and moreover knows me, is already shaking their heads in wonderment that I am typing this now, considering the photos that I was able to take. I was indeed trying very hard to stay in my lane and not be a road hazard as I tried to snap photos of the imposing buildings of Cleveland and the very famous Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. Thankfully on that count, on my way back out of Cleveland, the route I took brought me within spitting distance of the main gates so there are some pretty darned good pictures of it, even though they were, again, taken while driving by.

Amazingly enough, the Mapquest directions were easy and extraordinarily accurate. I made my way around a few Cleveland landmarks (The Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Playhouse, as well as the campus of Case Western and the Convocation Center of Cleveland State). With no difficulty at all, I proceeded through to Cleveland Heights and the home of my user, Katie (I hope you don't mind my referring to you by name, dear)

I was early, so I had the opportunity to fill the car with gas and drive about a little in the area (I have never been there before) The "Town" area is intimate and very clean, the neighborhood that she lives in is filled with huge older homes, with beautiful yards. I parked on the side street next to her house, and was interested and amused to watch a squirrel as it ran on a wire from one side of the street to the other, apparently migrating his home to a new location, one trip at a time.

Shortly, Katie got home, with her son. He is a very handsome young man and friendly, but was tired from a very busy morning and early afternoon. Once inside her home, Katie put him down for a nap and I proceeded to work on her problem. I got my own laptop out, and while it was loading Windows, I took a look at a few things on Katie's machine. After a little poking, and meeting some more folks in her family, I decided to directly explore the issue at hand, since network connectivity was definitely fine. Got her on the VPN, launched her MS Outlook, which is what we use to connect to our Exchange mail....logon dialog came up and without even looking very carefully, I entered her password. The dialog box came up again, prompting me for her password... this time I took a little closer look...and ZAP!!! all of the sudden, the problem jumped out and bit me on the nose like an angry snake...her user name and server that she was authenticating to were set incorrectly in her log on...as soon as I corrected that, she logged on just swell, synchronized her emails, contacts and calendar, and was able to send and receive emails without error. When I logged her off and back on again, the settings remained remembered correctly and the logon was again successful....still another bullet dodged! Before leaving, I validated that the remote access software was installed on her machine and working, to assure that we could work together in the future if problems come up.

We spent a little time getting to know each other better, so it was enjoyable time very well spent, because I know one of my co-workers tons better, and had a great time as well. When I left her house, I was pleased and happy...her issue resolved, it was a good day...On the way home only one thing of interest was noted...west of the Sandusky/Norwalk exit, in an open field a little lower than the turnpike road bed, a "herd" of deer, numbering at least a dozen, perhaps more, was sighted grazing on whatever tender morsels were hidden under the thin layer of snow. And me with dead camera batteries (OK, you can stop laughing now!).....

Today, after a good night's rest, I commit the trip to print, with the photos (right) and the links throughout...hope you enjoy seeing another part of Ohio through my eyes, and learning a little more about me in the process...back with more later...I know you are waiting in rapt anticipation :-) Till then....much love to you...

v

Get a Mac...

Was watching TV last night and the new "Get a Mac" commercial snuck up on me when I wasn't paying attention...and made me laugh so freaking hard I thought I was gonna wet my pants!!!! Check out the new ad in the link at the right for my current favorite mini-movie...any geek will get a huge belly laugh out of it!

Travel tomorrow to Cleveland for work; will take photos of the cool stuff that I see, and blog about it when I get back. Till then, much love to you...

v

Wildlife in everyday life....

I heard a voice call from the break room as I was breaking my stuff down, readying to go home for the day..."If anyone wants to see them, there are some deer down by the feeder in the woods!" Our group of folks who remained in office at 5:30 in the evening dutifully flocked to the large windows that wrap around two of the four walls of the break room. The effort was rewarded with the sight of FOUR female or younger deer grazing in the low brush and eating some of the seed from on the ground under a bird feeder a little distance from our part of the building. The deer moved relatively close to the building, although after a few minutes a noise grabbed their attention and they moved quickly back into the cover of the more dense bushes. The photo above is one of the good ones, and there are some new ones in the "Flcker" album, right.

As we were watching the deer leisurely strolling outside, one of the folks in the room said sadly, "This is something I will really miss when we move..." It's true...the building here is nestled in a very nice area with trees all around...although the new location has a park very close by as well as a creek. It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out as we move....it was nice to have this ramdom experience today though....makes us appreciate the time we have left here...

Hope you are staying warm and well....more later..till then, much love to you...

v

Anything I say now would sound like pissing and moaning....

I really do NOT like winter...I am NOT a cold weather person (nor a sweltering heat person) and the bitter winds and below zero temperatures reminded me why my heart's fondest desire is to move to Key West and start an internet cafe somewhere in a small corner of Duvall Street, serving iced coffee, fruit smoothies and internet access to the visiting tourists. Never having to wear anymore than flip flops and casual clothes...strapping down some laptops on the counter during the day and locking them up at night...then walking down the street to grab a drink at Sloppy Joe's...especially in the miserable Ohio winters, my mind wanders to that fantasy every now and then...

It has been bitterly cold here since Sunday, and the schools have been closed for two days now due to the sub-zero temperatures during the day. The drive home was horrible tonight, as it began to snow mid-afternoon and no pre-emptive strike was made on the buildup on the roads. The traffic was moving at a snail's pace, and with good reason...the accidents due to the slick conditions were numerous...my biggest fright, a Jeep spun out directly in front of me...lost control on black ice, swerved right then back across left, amazingly without hitting anyone, and then headed for the guard rail in the median, hitting it head on, then bouncing slightly back, to end up facing the wrong way in traffic....astonishing...I was never so happy to be home as I was after that white-knuckle drive...

So...tired, cold and did I say COLD??? That's it for now...more later...much love to you...

v

Power of the Pen , February 03, 2007 – Woodmore High School

OR

“Cool and crisp Howard…winter ought to be cool and crisp…..”


Got up later than the usual crack of dawn this morning, knowing that the drive to the event today in Elmore Ohio would take only about half an hour to make. The sun was fully rising when I finally got my stuff together and was ready to head out (a little after 8 am) and the young one was just getting up to ready himself for an early day at work. He gave me his keys so I could move Viktor from behind is car, and I shouldered my supplies, trudged downstairs and headed out the front door, followed close behind by Woz.

Once outside, I found that the bright sunshine was very deceptive, and that the air was very cold. The sweatshirt (pink “Toledo Rockets” hoodie – one of two favs) was not nearly warm enough to be able spend more than a moment outdoors, which was my intention. Unfortunately, cars had other plans. Viktor started fine, and I moved him to the curb in front of the house to wait for the young one. I climbed into the four-door, gave a few pumps of the accelerator (not fuel injected!) and turned the key. There was a small surge of electricity into the passenger compartment, causing the lights to come on in the dashboard, the radio to come on (loudly, as is always my habit) and then there was NOTHING. All lights went off, the radio shut off, and another turn of the key…nothing AT ALL HAPPPENED. Panic, but only for a moment….I recalled the last time this happened…on a very cold night after work….a call to the firstborn informed me that the clamp/end on the battery cable was not perfect and tends to work loose from time to time. Thankfully I recalled that before I flew into the house and started a flaming rant at the firstborn or young one. I popped the hood, smooshed the clamp back down on the battery terminal, and went back to the driver seat to turn the key. Eureka….another disaster averted… amazing how, from time to time, those logical thinking skills kick in and really come in handy.

Let the car warm up for a few minutes and then off we went. I debated the merit of stopping for coffee or a bite to eat, and decided against it…usually there is food at these events, so I was not too concerned, and really not all that hungry either. Heading toward the expressway, I began to think the route through in my mind, and I realized that I would again be driving the slalom course under the bridge construction(insert link for the bridge here). With the brilliant sunshine and blue sky as my backdrop, I thought it would be ridiculous for me NOT to get the camera out, so, while driving, I located the purse-thingy that I have been carrying my stuff in and set about digging for the camera. In the largest compartment, along with cell phone, Blackberry, eyeglass case and other miscellany, I finally located the case. To dislodge it from the other things, much juggling was done (driving still, you will recall), but I had the camera available in plenty of time to snap a few more photos to enhance my growing collection of bridge pictures. The sun enhanced the “coolness factor” of the structure in progress, but the twists and turns of the roadway underneath (as well as the traffic sharing the pavement with me) precluded me from taking many more photos that I wanted….I look forward to my second opportunity to present itself on the way home. I also want to take a few photos of the community of Elmore to share with you…it is a very quaint “small town”, in the old style…it is nice to see these places from time…harkening to a time long past for most of us.

I arrived at the high school with plenty of time to spare and located the tabulation room, located on the second floor with the help of strategically placed signs in the main hallways. When I entered the room, I approached a woman (Holly) who appeared, by her demeanor and behaviour to be “in charge”….I was indeed correct in my assumption. She was coordinating the judges, tab room volunteers and giving instruction for all the folks about their responsibilities. She directed me to the computer “lab” area in the library, and I selected a large blank space where some computers had been removed (doubtless pulled for service) to get things ready. (Aside – as I sat in the lab area and looked at the condition of equipment, the furniture, etc, I had a serious flood of déjà vu for many of the labs in the old district – systems in disrepair or notes on them not to use – no insult intended, just the problems of lots of stuff and not enough bodies to take care of it all)

In listening to her presentation as I set up my equipment, I learned that she has been working on these events since her daughter was a participant, and now her daughter assists her in managing events, since she is no longer a participant. She was very businesslike and kept to a very tight schedule. She quickly provided the training, and assigned a person to me to read scores. This is the first event of the year that I have had a reader for (only second event, though) and it really is the way that the score entry is SUPPOSED to be done, although I have also done it on my own. We will have some time to kill until data entry will begin, so I am writing and she is grading papers….I think we will get along just fine. Off now to take a few photos of the tab room….back a little later, after some data entry, which is sure to begin soon.


Finally decided that I would talk to the lovely lady that made sure that I had clear space on the counter in the lab area and also who had also cleaned up the dust bunnies for me, to see if I could get online. My cursory try at it indicated to me a couple things…1) this district is probably NOT running DHCP and 2) Filtering of some sort is definitely in place. I asked the person who talked to me earlier (who I am guessing it the IT person, since her “office” looked much like “The Hole” filled with equipment in various stages of “repair”) if I she could help me make a connection to the network. She came to my machine, changing both the brower proxy settings and the NIC properties for the local address, subnet mask, gateway and DNS. Their filtering, I am finding, is very stringent….no access to free sites of any sorts, including those that host photos, sites that facilitate Instant Messenging, Instant Messaging clients that run from the machine level, and blogs (dang!) Interestingly enough however,ironduke.net IS available, so privately hosted sites on regular hosting services appear not to be filtered.

Scores are coming now so surfing is over….back with more later…
I had the very distinct pleasure of working with the lovely and talented Catherine Downing, from Bellevue Schools, who had students here and helped me as my reader to expedite data entry. She made the day go very quickly and the data entry a breeze…such a cool person to get to know…and come to find out she lives in my home town and was at a PoP event last year that I scored. With her assistance, we were done with data entry and processing way before the judges evaluating “Best of Round”, so now here I am waiting for that information so I can print the final reports and close the database for the last time. I will wait till I get home to email the results files to Frank at Power of the Pen headquarters; much easier that way and less likely to make any errors on my part.

While we were doing data entry for the final round, my cell phone rang…it was the young one calling to make sure that I was careful on the way home. The weather here turned from clear and dry to horrible very quickly….I had not paid any attention to the conditions out the windows in the media center until he called. The photos in the current Flickr album show the blowing snow and how much the conditions had changed. I am not looking forward as I was before to the drive home; the rural roads are likely to be treacherous, with the blowing snow, and I am not keen on the idea of running off the road in the middle of nowhere so I will be driving tense and extra cautious (may not even take pictures!) on the way home.

Although I am still waiting now, I will close this for the time being….perhaps to add more once home in one piece, but more likely to post and upload photos when I get home, then pass out for a well earned bit of a nap.

LATER - Enjoy...the photos are up on Facebook and Flickr...check em out!

Bye for now...much love to you...

v