December re-cap

The end is nigh.  End of the year, anyways.  I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.   We really didn't do much as money is tight and family were unable to be with us. But it was a very nice Christmas and the first in our new house!

I thought I'd share some photos from the last few weeks.  I'll narrate here and there so it's not too terribly boring!Two rats are still with us. This might be it for small critters but I always say that, and then we get more. Anyways, they are fun to watch and play with. These two are super tame and love to be held and crawl all over you. The enjoy climbing into my cleavage and peeking out of my shirt. Scamps.



This is Ashley, albeit a bit blurry.



This is Samus and she is Ash's sister. They were enjoying some rat croissants. Yes, they are little croissant crackers for rats.



Here is my attempt at photographing Tobin in low light/Christmas tree lights. He won't sit still and you can't go near him without him trying to cover you in his saliva. He also has a whip-like tail and when he walks past the tree, he catches ornaments on his tail. Then he runs around the house, whipping everyone and everything with plastic ornaments. I tried to get pictures of that too but by the time I grab the camera, the ornament comes loose and launches through the air. It's very entertaining.



Normally this is what Tobin is doing, when he's not licking. Patton has taken to grabbing Tobin's neck and legs in his jaws. This inevitably leads to an ass kicking since Patton is half Tobin's size.





More common dog scenes in the house.







Horace, the big black lab/chow/retriever mix, came to spend the holidays with us. I got an email asking for a five day foster home and felt that we can handle one more just for a few days. Other than some mild dog aggression and marking a few spots in the house, he was pretty fun to have around. Since it was our first foster situation, we learned a lot. Horr'y is now at a prison in Missouri where he is being housed with and trained by an inmate. When he's done he is going to a retriever rescue in Colorado where he will hopefully find a new home soon. We might see Horr'y again when he comes back through on his way to CO. It was a rewarding experience but things got hectic at times. Luckily we have the fenced yard where everyone can go and I got some quiet time.



Christmas was good. Ron was happy to get some ham since I don't eat pork anymore. Here he is celebrating and coveting his pig meat. "Ron, come get some ham!!!"



This is normally what Sadie does while we cook.



We also exchanged gifts and Ron got me a topless pinup ornament. It's actually a nice, glass one. I had never heard of Pornaments before and thought it was pretty funny. Plus it fit in with all the pinup stuff I did all year.



I got Ron a Metalocolypse shirt to go with the first season on DVD.





It was also a good year for geek gifts. Ron got me a Bruce Campbell tshirt and a shirt and mug from blog of Hyperbole and a Half. (Thanks Andy for turning me onto that blog. I have laughed a lot while reading her posts!)

I also got Ron season 2 of Red vs Blue and Red Dead Redemption for the Xbox. We having played Red Dead yet but hopefully later today.



The last few weeks I've had an influx on orders through my Etsy site. I had a stroke of luck when someone received one of my pieces through her secret santa. She was so happy that she shared it on Reddit and I got orders from that. Thankfully due to those orders and some subversive ornaments I sold, I was able to order a low-priced sewing machine. Next up, geek pillows! (Once I figure out how to run a sewing machine.)

Annnnnnnnd I'm almost completely off my fibromyalgia medicine. I was supposed to get off it if I got pregnant. And well, that happened and we all know how that turned out. But since I had started tapering down, I thought I'd just keep going. I'm down to half a pill every other day. If I'm spaced out, crabby or in pain, that's why. I hope once I get used to not being on it again, things will even out. Right now I am having a hard time concentrating and have pain in my jaw, legs, back, etc. I have some pain meds but they make me dizzy and make concentrating even harder. I'll have to figure out if, after the withdrawal, I feel better or worse being on the pills. Trial and error I guess.

So LAST f'in thing and I'll quit typing. It's Sadie's birthday today! She's 14 years old. I have no idea how much longer she will keep going but she is such a big part of our lives. She's always been there for me during my first year away from home, a marriage, divorce, remarriage, all my surgeries and health woes, hiking camping, driving thousands of miles, moving to different states, etc. I hope she stays with us for as long as possible!



That's a lot to read and if you are still with me, thanks for going through this post. I suppose if I blog more often, there wouldn't be so much to post at one time. Anyways, have a lovely post holiday week!

Tschus!

A conglomeration of shit

Don't let the word "shit" fool you.  It doesn't automatically equate negativity.  It's become a widely used word in my vocabulary, easily interchanged with "stuff," "things," etc.  Some say that people use curse words because they have nothing creative or original to say.  It's quite fucking possible.

So what has happened as of late?  I haven't taken many pictures to illustrate this post so I'll just sum things up.We scheduled the move, ended up throwing up on the move date and rescheduled for a Tuesday.  We had a house guest on Thursday and we managed to mildly entertain him amidst a sea of boxes and chaos.  Then a few days later I officially ended my job.  Aaaaand today another pet died.

Job wise: Having chronic health issues makes everything hard.  It's hard to be spontaneous, it's hard to make plans, hard to get to work, hard to get shit done around the house, maintain relationships, take a dump, etc.  The more stressful a situation is, the more the chronic pain and fatigue flare up.  Work became intolerably stressful.  Oh sure there were periods of calm, fun, productivity and fulfillment.  But the stress became too much, we've never had a raise so motivation was nil and I am not sure anymore what the mission is of my former employer or who exactly I was working for.  It's confusing even when you know the details, trust me.  And they aren't worth going into.  All I know is that when I started, the place felt like home.  Everyone was family and no matter what happened, I was just pleased as punch to be among so many wonderful people.  Fifty plus layoffs later and a more corporate attitude, it felt more like we were all heart attacks waiting to happen and the family feeling was gone for the most part.  It became very sad, strained and unsure.  The miscarriage was the last straw even though I'm not sure what caused things to go wrong right from the beginning.

I hope to hell that things get better there for all the great people who still are there.

So am I an archivist anymore?  I don't think you could rid me of my professional nature.  So for now I'll just work on feeling better.  Taking care of the new house, keeping the dogs happy, getting some exercise, finding new therapies.  I am hoping to get elected to a board for a local heritage group next year and I"ll keep my professional, local archivist membership.  I'm not too worried but then again, I can't afford to worry about shit I can't control.I feel slightly worried about my career but the overwhelming sense of peace overshadows the worry.  By staying home and taking care of things, I am not letting anyone down.  There is no FMLA laws to keep in mind.  No coworkers to let down.

House: The new house is great!  I've unpacked here and there and next week I'll start priming the guest bathroom.  I'm sure within ten minutes, I'll hate painting.  But this is the first time I've had the chance to paint my walls.  Wow....no white or beige unless I put it there.  I have a feeling that the large, red wall will have to go.  It's bold and kind of pretty but it's a bit much.  And what goes with red on the corresponding walls?  Not much but beige.  More beige.  Or white.  Meh.



As soon as it quits raining, I'll be able to get out with my camera for some walks. The little bi-planes taking off and landing are neat to watch. And there is plenty of uhhhh prairie grass to look at. :-)

Gardner, KS in the 2000 census was just under 10,000 people. I have never lived in a town this small before. And that's saying something since I'm from North Dakota. The city was founded where the Santa Fe and California Trails split. According to the highly unreliable Wikipedia article, Gardner was the first community founded in Johnson County and the first one in KS invaded by Confederates/slave holders/redneck crazy Nazis during the Border Wars. So far Gardner does not have a Pit Bull ban which is one of the reasons we chose to live here. Hopefully they maintain this "don't tread on me" sort of philosophy, which is unlike most of Johnson County. And our neighbors already left cookies on our doorstep. Very nice. I'll have to bring them a big bottle of vodka to return the neighborly feelings.

Pets: Ratchet's brother passed today. He was having all kinds of issues which I had treated. They were in remission but then he started to scratch a lot, especially his face. Today I found him with his eye scratched out, hanging from its socket. It was a bit horrifying. I called Ron and he took us to the vet, where Clank was euthanised. He was a rat that I saved from being snake food. A brother from another litter to Ratchet. We mostly called him Crank because he was not exactly happy about being handled. He liked to be petted but not picked up. When Ratchet was really sick, Clank would lay on him, groom him more than usual and keep him warm. I'm so glad we were able to give him a good home for the last almost 2 years.



So a conglomeration of shit, to be sure. Thankfully in some ways, I came down with a sinus infection and strep throat. Due to all the antibiotics and the house move and miscarriage, we took a break from trying to have a kid. A month of not worrying when I'm ovulating, taking hormones, worrying that my medications would screw things up, blah blah blah. Just taking a break and trying to live in the "now."

Tschus.

Zombies, dogs and pin-ups: Oh my!

So what's new?  One of my brothers moved to Germany and my sister is going to be a court judge.  Very exciting!  I'm not sure how my other brother is doing right now; I hope he is well.  Myself?  I am up to the same old things.

First, I'm even more disillusioned with my career.  I am in a really negative place right now and I need to figure out how to change my situation or my attitude.  Both are tough things to change.  It's amazing how toxic stress is to your body.  I've never had problems with heartburn until recently and just general stomach pain.  Right after a really stressful event, I get a flareup of my fibromyalgia.  Seems like common sense but when you are going through something very stressful, you get tunnel vision and don't see the bigger picture.  Something has to give and I just need to figure out what step to take.  I've been mulling over this for a long time and I'm sure my blog reflects that.  I'm ready to initiate change though.

Our home buying program has hit a brick wall.  We can't buy a home here or anywhere until we get over this stalemate with our mortgage counselor.  She won't answer our emails to clarify some of things she's asking of us.  We're extremely frustrated.  I really don't want to stay in this neighborhood much longer.  We've had a lot more cops hanging around.  That makes you feel safer at first - yay!  The cops are here!  But also it's scary.  Why are the cops here so often?  What is going on?  This place sucks.

On a positive note, I've been taking Patton to obedience training once a week.  He's doing so well!  He does have a thing with peeing on people's legs however.  And he doesn't want to do some of the harder things like "lay down" or "shake" but I think we just need some practice.  I'm going to a meeting for people who have or want to train to be certified therapy dogs.  That's our goal so I have to figure out how to get Patton to that point.  Lots of practice and patience.



Of course, I indulge him too much and this is what happens.

I'm still doing a lot of volunteer work for the Pit Bull rescue.  The dogs are really sweet animals but they definitely need to be with people who understand the breed.  There are so many ignorant and irresponsible people out there.  I can't believe the emails we get from people who want us to take their dogs because the dog has become aggressive or has too much energy, etc.  "Take the dog or we'll have to put it to sleep!"  Gah.  But overall it is a very rewarding experience.  If I had the energy to do more, I would definitely do so!

Speaking of energy, I have managed to get a lot more exercise lately.  We are doing the 30 Day Shred, a Jillian Michaels dvd.  That woman is BRUTAL.  The workouts are only 20 minutes but they work everything and I've had a few people tell me I look thinner.  I haven't dropped much weight but I think I'm toning up.  I'll take that!  If I never lose another pound but can drop a couple sizes, I'm happy.  I just want my muscles to be stronger so I can support my crappy joints better.  So far so good.  I feel better about myself and it definitely helps the stress level.  My husband is so supportive too.  We have a 'fridge full of veggies.  Good for grillin'.  I feel better having cut out so much crap from my diet.  It doesn't cure anything and I still have pain.  But it's better then wallowing in a bag of Doritos and Diet Coke.

And I'm sure you've all seen this silly photo by now but this is my pro pic from the Pinups for Pitbulls event at the Record Bar:



I look very pale.

I've also been getting my zombie fix lately.  We watched Dead Snow recently and that was hilarious.  It's Norwegian and subtitled.  There are some fun Evil Dead references which made us laugh.  Very gross and funny stuff.





I just finished reading World War Z by Max Brooks.  It's written as an oral history post-zombie war.  It's well written and brought in scenarios you never think about or imagine with traditional zombie movies.  What if North Korea's bunker system was actually a lot more extensive.  After North Korea sends all its citizens underground, did they all get infected?  When the bunkers are opened up, will there be 7 million zombies in the underground city?  Or what would it be like to go into the all dark, maze-like catacombs under Paris to escape the panic outside.  Only the infected come with you and you have to fight zombies without light or firearms to help you.  Fun, freaky shit.  Very entertaining read!



And the spring zombie walk is coming up on June 4th.  I've been talked into going as a zombie this time.  If I don't have a new job by then, I think I can do it.  I'm thinking zombie paparazzi.  That way I can take as many photos as I want!  I'm such a dork.

I think I've yammered on enough for today.  Have a great Sunday!  Tschus!

Catsup…or….catch-up

I've been trying to blog for a few days but not a lot is coming to me.  It's like everything: I have a lot I want to do, and little energy and motivation to do it.  Cooking, cleaning, stitching, photography, etc.

So here is a general catch-up.

A few weeks ago I brought home a sick rat from the nature center and nursed her back to reasonable health.  I got attached to the damn thing and was going to keep her, but as rats are social creatures, knew I had to get her a cage mate.  So I got her a cage mate and she tried to kill it.  So we picked up the litter mate for the new one and took the nursed one back to work.  I feel horrible but in the end it all worked out.  The now-healthier one is back with her old cage mate and the new one I got has her sister with her.  So now, not really meaning to, I have two new rats.  They are baby Dumbo rats, with the huge ears.  Very cute.  But the house is a step away from officially becoming a petting zoo.  I either need to have a kid or have my uterus removed.



Ash the rat



Samus

At work this week there was another round of layoffs.  That was tough.  I am safe because of how our department is funded but that doesn't isolate me or my coworkers from the stress around us or the extra work we all have.  So it sucks, but life goes on.  I've been thinking of taking some classes in criminal justice to open up other areas where I can work.  Whether or not this is actually going to help me, I have yet to figure out.  But I'm exploring my options and maybe I can do records work in a court house or police station someday.

Ron and I are fighting over using the XBox.  A lot of good games came out in the last few weeks.  We picked up Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Dante's Inferno.  If we didn't have to leave the house for food or work, we'd barricade ourselves inside.  We did manage to get to the gym today and I am about to start cleaning up the house a little....so we aren't too bad off.  If we stop bathing and start defecating in diapers, call social services.



Mass Effect 2 (Ron's game)



Bioshock 2 (very sweet)



Dante's Inferno (very visually appealing and gross)

Other than that, I'm worried about my ex's daughter.  She's at a very vulnerable age and is having normal teenage issues on top of other issues.  It's a recipe for disaster and I'm not sure her parents are aware of how serious it is.  I'm pretty pissed off about it to be honest but don't want to type too much about it publicly.  All I can do is spend time with her when I can and be an ear for her.  I expect I'll see her next weekend if my eyeball surgery on Friday goes well.

That leads me to my eyeballs.  I've been wearing my glasses for a couple months because I've been going through pre-screening and screening for Lasik.  My surgery is the 19th and I'm pretty excited but a little freaked out too.  I guess it takes just minutes so at least it is quick.  What is a little unnerving is having just finished reading A Clockwork Orange, having my eye lids pried open does not appeal to me.





Here's to hoping they don't inundate my brain with some kind of programming.  Unless it's "This Will Make You Wealthy" programming.

That's about all I can think of right now.  Aren't I exciting???

Mas besser

Things are better.  Why you ask?  Well I got a new endocrinologist who agreed to ramp up my Synthroid a bit.  Yes, my levels appeared normal but I didn't feel right.  Most docs at this point would argue it's all in my head, it's the RA, it's the fibro, I'm crazy, etc.  This one actually agreed to let me try a higher dose.  And guess what?  I feel better!  More energy, less depressed.  What a concept-listening to the patient.  Gnarly.

We also had our first one-on-one meeting with a NACA representative.  Although she is an ardent animal hater, we were happy with our session.  If all goes well, Ron and I will be in our first home together in around 6 months.  No money down, no closing costs, fixed rate, low mortgage.  No shit.  I was so happy to hear that, I had to do another self-evaluation of my priorities.  Is it more important for me to find my dream job right now?  Or is getting a home and being settled more important?  Unfortunately I'm putting my career second, or third.  I want to be happy with my job everyday but uprooting again and moving to a different state is going to be so hard.  I'm just starting to feel better and don't want to start over with doctors.  Therefore I decided to withdraw my applications for jobs out of state.  I'm really excited to be in my very first home!!

We've also got a lot to do this weekend.  It's cold though so that might limit how much we do.  Today is another Zombie Walk which starts at 3:00 on the Plaza.  The high is only 49 degrees today so I'm unsure if I really want to run around outside.  Speaking of zombies, we also really want to see Zombieland this weekend.  Perhaps we'll do that instead.  And tomorrow night we have tickets to see Lewis Black, one of Ron's favorite comedians.  We're pretty geeked about that!

Finally, here is my cross-stitch that I referred to in a previous post.  The recipient received it so I was able to make the photo public finally.  I kind of miss this piece.  It looked good sitting in our living room.



I did a piece yesterday for a Craftster challenge and I'll have that posted by Monday.  I'm also working on a piece I patterned after an obscure 1898 calendar.  Hopefully that will be done soon.  I've got to stitch something together to trade with a woman at work who makes and fixes jewelry.  I've got some things for her to fix!

That is about all I can think of for now.  This is a busy month so I'm sure there will be more blog posts to come.  Tschus!

Good news?

Career stress is upon us.  It's hard to move up in this career field when there aren't job openings in the area.  To move or not to move? I like KC a lot!  However I'm not sure I can physically handle the stress here anymore.

I've put out some lines and had a couple bites.  So it may be in our future to move out of state.  I'm pretty nervous about this but I can't get a head of myself.  It's quite possible I won't get anything.

This is tough because I can't blog in detail without risking my current situation but I do feel the need to just vent.  So I guess I have to write this slightly cryptic, crappy blog post to hit somewhere in the middle.

Ah hell, we'll see what goes down in the next couple of weeks.  I'll try not to be such the control freak/worry wort that I am!

The saga continues

It's been about six months now since I started trying to get off Cymbalta.  Since then my Fibro has become worse.  I've had to start a new drug through a neurologist, I just started physical therapy, and I've had to ask for FMLA leave and ADA accommodations.  I can't talk about things at work because I will likely be fired.  I don't want that!  Maybe when it is all over, I can fill you all in.

My brain is pretty fuzzy lately.  I can't seem to remember things on the short term and I have a hard time concentrating.  Video games are near impossible right now.  I have to take the Cymbalta every three to four days, at the same time I take my normal drug cocktail.  That doesn't feel very good....racing heart, nausea, sweating.  It only lasts a few hours but it's not pretty.  Until I can get off this horrible drug, I'll have to put up with it.

That's about all for my update right now.  Like I said above, I just can't concentrate!

Creativity keeps the Devil at bay

I survived another week of Hell at work.  The harassment has somewhat abated but things have turned into a pretty uncomfortable work environment.  I am trying to get a bunch of medical records together and that is  very time consuming.  I also saw a new doctor yesterday: a neurologist.  She was very nice and talked to me about how Fibromyalgia is a problem with the neuro-receptors in the brain.  The brain processes pain differently and the smallest bit of pain is amplified.  She told me to quit a couple drugs I'm on and try something new.  So here's to hoping I don't react negatively to it.  I'm so damn sensitive to chemicals so I'm sure I'll have at least some side effects.

I've been keeping calm and distracted from work by doing more stitching.  It's been a nice way to keep my sense of humor alive.  Here are my two latest:





I'm going to finally cave and set up an Etsy shop.  More on that later.

I better get going.  We are going to have lunch at the Cinema Suites and watch Transformers 2.  Maybe next weekend we'll get some tickets to Harry Potter.  I'm so geeked!

I leave you with a photo my friend Summer sent me the other day.  It sums up my feelings from the past two weeks PERFECTLY:



Have a good Saturday!

My stint in the Nebraska State Penitentiary

We just finished watching a Netflix movie that I stupidly rented: An American Crime.  It's about a very disturbed woman who took in two teens as borders and with the help of her own children and neighborhood kids, tortured and killed one of the teens.  True story, happened in Indiana in 1965.  I cried at the end because it was so f'd up and it reminded me of some shit I read while working at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.  That must have been one of the worst jobs I've ever had, way worse then telemarketing!

So what happens when you get a bachelor of arts degree in history?  Nothing.  Jack shit.  You can't get a job with a BA in history.  I signed up with the State of Nebraska to take temporary jobs.  One of the jobs I obtained was working in the records office of the State Penitentiary.  Talk about an intimidating place to work.  I think I had diarrhea almost every day while I was there.  The Pen is located on the original land where it was built in the late 1800's.  It used to be a self-sustaining farm, with barns, fields, cattle...the works.



It's a whole other world.  I can't really explain it fully but I will try.  When you walk into work everyday, you go through this little alcove that takes you down some stairs.  From there you walk through a hallway to the security desk.  Basically this hallway takes you underground, underneath the fence and into the penitentiary, or the "secure area."  Once you get to the desk you have to show the security officers the inside of your lunch bag, your purse or anything else they ask to see.  If you have anything perceived as contraband, you have to leave it at the desk.  For instance, no butter knives from home.  No perfume.  No sharp objects (obviously.)  You also have to show your badge.  Then you get buzzed into the office.



The offices are all on the "safe" side.  There aren't cells or inmates on that side.  Unless you consider the community corrections inmates they bus in everyday to clean the offices.  Because these people are hanging around, temps like me were never allowed to be left alone at any time.  I had to be escorted everywhere.  Permanent employees went through a rigorous self-defense class.  We also had to keep letter openers and scissors locked in our desks when not in use.  Every month a guard would come through and ask to see inside this drawer and if your shit wasn't in there, you were in big trouble.

There were other offices on the "secure" side, like the warden's office.  The cafeteria and vending machines were also over there, as well as the place where inmates were processed for transfer, parole, etc.  Any time I went on that side, I was escorted by a permanent employee.  You had to go through a door controlled by a guard in a booth.  Once inside, you would wait for the door behind you to close completely and then the guard would open the door in front of you to enter the secure side.  I went over there to eat my lunches a couple times and also to watch an inmate transfer.  I never ate the cafeteria food because the inmates cooked and served the food.  Shortly after I started, the State ruled it was ok for inmates with Hepatitis to work in the cafeteria.  Um, no thanks.

Every time an inmate moved around the facility or went to court, a piece of paper was generated.  It was my job to file all the paperwork into the inmate files.  I also processed FBI reports on inmates into a database.  Because I had access to all the files, and because I was bored and curious, I often read PSI's and other information.  PSI's are Pre-Sentence Investigations.  When a person was convicted, a PSI was done to help figure out the appropriate sentence and what kind of facility he/she should be housed in.  If they had a violent past, they were put in a medium or maximum facility.  If they were a first time offender or had a fairly good past, they were put into a minimum security environment.  I read some scary shit in those reports.  I saw autopsy photos.  I read about violent crimes, child molestation, rape, abuse, murder, you name it.  Some of that stuff has stuck with me.  Maybe that's why I love scary monster/zombie/vampire/stupid movies.  They aren't real.  I can get a thrill or a laugh or scared without feeling like the world is a horrible, evil place.

I'm not sure how any of the people who work there can stay there for very long.  I noticed that some of them were not much different then the inmates.  Some were wonderful, sincere people.  A lot of them were cynical, twisted, adulterous, f'd up people.  I heard about affairs between employees, between employees and inmates, etc.  One guy who managed the maximum security section joked about the guards needing shooting practice:  better toss a couple inmates over the fence so they can shoot at them from the towers.  Now, understand that there is a lot of stress in this profession and I think the sick jokes were what kept people going sometimes.  But I realized if I stayed there, I would become as jaded as everyone else.  I didn't want that for myself.  I applied for and was granted admission to graduate school so I stuck it out until school started that fall.

One thing I did before I left was to go on a tour of the facility with the new hire guards.  I was the only female in the group.  It lasted three hours and I didn't even see everything.  We went to the medical facility, through the cafeteria, to the minimum security section, medium and then maximum security.  We also saw where the inmates made license plates and where the wood shop was.  We saw the old cemetary and the old animal barns.  Let me tell you that walking through the yard with all the inmates around me was scary.  It's one of the scariest things I've ever done.  They said some sick shit to me, offensive things.  And by the time I quit working there, the inmates knew my name.  Somehow, they know who you are.  They find out shit about you.  A year after I worked there, I had a collect call from an inmate that I refused.  Nice, huh?

Ever see the movie, Boys Don't Cry?  A transgendered woman lives like a man and the crowd she hung out with found out.  Two assholes raped her and the sheriff didn't do shit for her when she filed a report.  So the assholes murdered her and two of her friends.  Well the assholes were at the Pen during my time there and I heard all about all the women who sent John Lotter money and love letters.  And the homophobe of a sheriff?  He'd pretty much been demoted and came in one day for an inmate transfer.  He's a POS lackey now.



I did mention to a guard once that I'd never seen 'Ol Sparky.  He offered to show me and being the curious person I am, I agreed.  Turns out it is right behind the security desk, where you first walk in.  It's pretty unremarkable but definitely something you don't see everyday.



It's actually in a room about the size of a closet.  I don't think they still use it as a primary means of execution.  I used to be on the fence about the death penalty.  Then I worked at the Pen.  I support it now.

I guess looking back it was a positive experience for the most part.  I have a greater appreciation for law enforcement personnel and corrections people.  I guess it's just not the job for me.  But it was a really interesting look at a portion of society I never knew about.

So that's my story.  I spent time in the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

Exciting day on Imagekind!

I started an account on Imagekind.com a while ago.  It's a lot like art.com but anyone can upload images to sell.  It's also a great way of connecting with other artists, most of whom are commercial artists.  Also people start accounts there so they can print and frame their images.  Everyday they feature certain artists and artwork and today one of mine is there.  I'm really happy and excited about it.  I've been in a creative slump lately and this was just the motivation I needed to continue.

I have a couple photography field trips planned.  I'd like to visit some of the area historic cemeteries.  There is also a KC Zombie Walk tomorrow downtown.  What a cool opportunity to get some unique shots!  Here is the link: http://www.myspace.com/kczombies.  I think it will be unique and fun and it coincides with First Friday in the Crossroads Art District.  http://www.kccrossroads.org/  I'll be sure to post images later.

I also want to mention today that I got a bunch of free tickets to the Narnia exhibit.  If any of the locals are interested in going, I can give you a ticket or two.  Please let me know and I'll hook you up!  I think it's safe to say that the success of the exhibit will help to extend my job and the jobs of many others.  Kind of a big deal.

That's my exciting news.  I have to say I'm tickled freakin' pink about the photo site.  It really makes me want to keep trying.  I never expect to make a dime from anything I shoot.  I'm simply doing it because I love it.  It's a great outlet for an introvert like me.

I leave you with my favorite youtube video of the day, Advanced Cat Yodeling:

Catching up on the mundane (And the Chronicles of Narnia exhibit)

Whenever I'm out driving around, I have all these potential blog posts running through my brain.  But by the time I find myself back in front of a computer, I've forgotten everything.  Now my brain is mush, yet here I sit, trying to squeak out something interesting.

Despite attempts at living a normal, healthy life, we've been hit with a couple fun ailments.  I spent a week pissing blood and the next week Ron threw his back out completely.  Since it happened at work, he's home and doing the workman's comp thing.  He has an MRI scheduled this week and hopefully they can figure out how to help him.  He's in an incredible amount of pain.  We're only in our early 30's and we haven't even had kids yet.  But we're both walking around like old people.  This does not bode well.  Maybe they can outfit a stroller to also be a walker?  Seriously, I think another year of working on my health and having time to spend with Ron by myself is a good thing.  I still think we'll have to adopt and maybe that is a good thing to start working on next year.

Work has been filled lately with helping researchers, fighting with the IT department to fix computer issues so I can scan images and assessing the condition of wax phonographs from the late 1890's.  One of the things I love about my job is the variety of work I do.  I can sit at a computer all day and the next day find myself pulling old mattresses out of a really old train car.



The big hoopla at work lately has been the opening of The Chronicles of Narnia exhibit.  www.unionistation.org  It has a lot of props and costumes from the Narnia movies and it also talks about global climate issues and environmentalism.  They tied that theme into it based on the White Witch's attempts to basically create an ice age on earth.  The sets are really rich and interesting and it's cool to see objects and costumes.  The interactives are interesting as well.  I didn't take any photos of the inside of the exhibit but I took this picture of a Giant outside the ticketing office:





Our department didn't help set this exhibit up.  Because this is a private company's exhibit and because the objects are mostly props, they didn't need museum professionals to do the installation.  I've worked with this company before to install an exhibit and it's very different from working with a museum exhibit.  No white gloves on this one.  :)



So there you have it! That's my update, for now. I have other things I want to blog about but Roxanne is here for the last time until the end of summer. Hope everyone is having a groovy holiday!Tschus!