|
An animal lover's dilemma
2008-04-05 10:00:00 Rest in peace, Pewter.My mother and I are animal lovers, and this goes a long way to explaining the fact that I have three cats here in K-stan, and that between the two of us we have around thirty cats and six dogs in the US. Unfortunately, not all animals get along. One would like to think that a puppy found at a small age would grow up in the presence of 30 odd cats, thinking they were nothing more than small, lovable playmates. Unfortunately, sometimes nature overrides nurture, and the small puppy rescued from the Waycross ghetto grows up to have a tendency to chase cats. At first one compensates by fencing said dog into the backyard, and hoping that the cats have enough sense to steer clear. For the most part they do. Then in February, a mentally ill person (and that's a completely different story) lets said dog into the house - the cats' domain - and the dog kills a cat. The blame falls on the menally ill individual, not on the dog. Unfortunately, the dog now has a taste for ...
This is simply insane.
2008-04-02 13:58:00 Thanks to Mike and Wendell for bringing this utterly absurd and rather frightening news from my city in the US to my attention:3rd Graders Aimed to Hurt TeacherWaycross Third Graders Questioned in Plot to Kill Their TeacherWaycross 3rd Graders Charged for Plotting to Attack TeacherPolice Release Photos of Weapons in Waycross PlotThird Graders Arrested in Teacher Attack Plot It's even made international news:??????????????? ?????????? ????? ???? ???????????
Burglary in the Waycross Ghetto
2008-03-20 12:01:00 My house ? the one in Georgia ? was broken into last night. Of course, the only things of value I own are my laptop and my camera, and they?re with me here in Kyrgyzstan. We don?t think anyone picked a lock or anything; my mom thinks she forgot to lock the back door. (Makes one wonder if they?ve been checking the doors *every* night, just to see.) Anyhow, we?re not sure if anything was stolen or not (after all, I?m the one who knows the details of the contents of my house, not my mom), but from what my mom can tell, nothing was taken. They did, however, kinda trash the place, throwing stuff around, trying to figure out where I kept my valuables. Apparently they broke into my old trunk (a likely location for valuables...) only to discover that it was full of wigs and bizarre costumes (see here for examples). We suspect they were sorely disappointed. Mom called the cops and one came out and made a report ? fat lot of good that?ll do. Sigh.
Of blinds and beasts and ballots cast...
2007-12-29 03:20:00 I'm leaving for Kyrgyzstan on SUNDAY. Having only two days left to enjoy life in the Deep South, how do you think I spent my afternoon? Hanging blinds. No, this was not my idea. Since the only substantial bit of home improvement I've conducted at my house in the four months I've been home was the hanging of new blinds and curtains, mom thought I'd be an expert. Little did she know... We did manage to get four blinds hung in her bedroom, although it took pretty much all afternoon. Then I went home and took a nap. Oh, the excitement!Success!Pewter took it upon himself to guard the blinds.Look out... it's the Mongrel Horde! (Get it?)Shiva (second from left) has totally taken the puppies under her wing.I cast my advance ballot for the presidential primary today, and filled out the necessary paperwork to have my absentee ballots shipped to Kyrgyzstan. I'm not entirely convinced that I will actually receive said ballots, especially given my past experiences with disenfranchisement, ...
Update.
2007-12-27 01:37:00 Well, I'm certainly feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago... but unfortunately, my mom caught it from me, and came down with symptoms last night, and she's currently in the position I was in two days ago. Yuck. :-( Additionally, I was doing my three final loads of laundry pre-Kyrgyzstan, and the washer died in the middle of load three. Granted, the thing's about as old as I am, so this shouldn't be surprising. Luckily, I'm pretty sure that everything I need to pack was in loads one and two. I think. So much to do, and only three full days for doing them... I leave on Sunday!
PseudoSolstice 2007
2007-12-17 00:18:00 For roughly eight years now, some of my friends and I have been having Solstice celebrations in lieu of Christmas parties. Our very first Solstice party, back in December 2000, consisted of rather earthy-mother-goddess-pagan stuff. Over the years, however, this event has evolved in absurdity, such that it now has little to do with pagan solstice celebrations, and rather a lot to do with dressing strangely and being weird in public. It's a lot of fun. Pictures from previous PseudoSolstice parties can be viewed here, if you're interested. This year we had a few additions to our usual PseudoSolstice crew - Gwen, who is currently home from Korea, and Rob, whom I met in Korea and who is now back in the States. Rob also brought a friend of his, who unfortunately seemed REALLY normal and very uncomfortable having to be part of our shenanigans. (You might understand why, once you see our photos!) And now, without further adieu....We tried *really* hard to get Alex to wear this, but he ref...
Ponies, Kittens and Parties
2007-12-15 01:57:00 So, for the THIRD time since I've been home, I willingly got on a horse. This time it was actually for an extended period, at Kickin' K Stables, the place where my mom has her weekly lesson. I've been planning to go pony-trekking at some point when I'm in Kyrgyzstan, and I figured I should probably do some riding here first. I rode a short, fat, and adorably cute pony with the unlikely name of Rambo. I don't have any pics of me on him, although I do have some shots of him once our ride was finished. (Also, I am really sore from just an hour of riding. Pony trekking is going to kill me. Er, no physical harm.)Isn't he adorable?I wish you could tell from this how fat he really is!The barn also had kittens... and you know how I love kittens. Don't worry, I didn't take any home, I just took some photos:Such cuteness!And speaking of catness, apparently my utter stench of catnip extends all the way to K-stan, even though I'm not there yet. Check out this email I got from someone o...
On the edge of the Okefenokee: a JPG submission
2007-12-12 17:45:00 As you may have noticed, I'm a big fan of the Okefenokee Swamp and the surrounding swamplands of southeastern Georgia. One of the themes for Issue 15 of JPG Magazine is favorite surroundings. The above shot is my favorite Okefenokee related images. As always, I'd love your vote... either click here or on the photo above! Thanks so much :-)
Doggie Day
2007-12-07 00:31:00 Mom and I took the three mutts (whom we are calling Brownie, Blackie and Brinny, as we've run out of name ideas) to the vet today. They are generally healthy. Emaciated and wormy, yes, and Blackie and Brownie had fevers, but there were no serious illnesses like heartworm or parvo or mange or anything. Since Brinny didn't have a fever, he got his initial shots, but the other two have to get theirs after their fevers go down (they're on antibiotics now). After we took them home I washed them, then we wormed them and gave them their meds and Advantage... I was thoroughly filthy by the time we were finished. I took some decent pictures of the three of them... so if any of you are interested in a dog, let me know. (The vet says they're probably about six months old.)Blackie (male, 6 mo)Brownie (female, 6 mo)Brinny (male, 6 mo)
Doggone it!
2007-12-06 00:51:00 This afternoon I decided to take a dirt road west past Ruskin to investigate a small cemetery which I'd noticed when my dad and I were driving around last weekend. It's a small cemetery, with a couple of stones from the late 1800s, but most from the early to mid 1900s - although there were a few fairly recent graves, contrasting with others marked solely with crosses, containing no dates, and a couple which had caved in! I got one distance shot, but didn't really have the opportunity to explore the place fully. I was wading through the high grass toward those stones you see there to the left when I heard the most menacing barking and growling coming from the woods. I uttered Oh, shit! and began heading for my car, when the vicious noises emerged as three fairly young, emaciated mutts. At first they were quite intimidating, and I was quite concerned that they would get to me before I could get to the car... and how fitting that my corpse would already be in the graveyard. Well, I ...
My father's visit and my trip with my mom to the range and the swamp
2007-12-03 02:12:00 My dad drove up to Waycross from Tampa on Friday. That in itself is a long drive; the last time I did it, I took an hour and a half nap in my car in a rest area. But he didn't just drive any old thing, he drove up in his new Harley. I can't imagine seven hours one way on a motorcycle, although perhaps that's why I drive an Echo. The two little boys who live next door for me, and who are usually completely fascinated by me and everything I do were overwhelmed with interest in my dad and his motorcycle:I feel bad for these kids. They are so sweet and super cute, but I don't think anyone pays any attention to them whatsoever. Their family is incredibly poor, and the mom seems much more interested in her boyfriends (she has at least two) than in her three kids (she has a toddler, too). The kid on the right has some kind of speech defect and/or learning disability, but I suspect nothing is being done about it. We asked if they had a football, but all they had was a flat basketball, s...
A visit from Gwen
2007-11-28 04:28:00 Gwen (as in my good friend for many years who was also my boss last year while I was in Korea) is in the US currently, and she drove up to Waycross today to spend the day with me, exploring this grand metropolis. We drove out to explore my mom's new land, dined at a local cafe, had coffee at Hot Toddy, bought her a crazy Solstice dress at Salvation Army (you'll see pictures of it next month!) and drove down to Folkston to explore the Okefenokee Swamp. I didn't get that many photos, but here are a few of the swamp:We thought this sign was funny. Sadly, we didn't see a single alligator.Swamp!Chesser Prairie, Okefenokee Swamp
Of kitties, tax dollars, and ghetto cars
2007-11-26 23:49:00 A while back, I wrote about the neighbors (presumably) getting busted for something. (You can refresh your memory here.) In case you're interested in an update: the woman and the children have returned, although the various and sundry menfolk have not. Plus, the woman is now driving the infamous Spearmint 22" car. I snuck a picture of it from my back porch today, just to show you this absurd vehicle:(You really need to see it large for the full effect.)If I haven't mentioned it already, property taxes inside the City of Waycross are absurd. This past year I had to shell out nearly $500 for the privilige of living in a crime infested ghetto where my street signs proclaim that I reside at the corner of Ass and Ass. You'd think for $500/yr they'd at least put up some new street signs. Or do a better job of policing the place. Something. Well, okay, they did something. They dispatched a crew to do a hatchet job on this large and very Jane's-property-concealing bush today. Allegedly...
A Livia-sized hole
2007-11-20 01:26:00 I took Livia to the vet to get spayed today. Last night I caught myself shouting at her, "Go away! I do not want to have sex with you!" which is something one should never have to yell at a cat. I'd say she was fixed just in time... especially with her escapist tendencies and the three (un-catchable, and thus, un-fixable) tomcats who hang out around my house. I really need to invest in a humane trap. Anyhow, I took Livia to the vet in Mia's carrying case. Back in the Tokyo-Narita airport, Mia had managed to rip a small hole in it, big enough for her paw to poke out and amuse nearby travelers, but that was all. On Livia's way home from the vet, she managed to wedge her head through that hole. I ended up having to cut her out. Now I need a new pet carrier, too.You'll note, I've unzipped the bag...but her head is poking out somewhere else!
Dispatches from the hood
2007-11-19 01:21:00 Other than crazy naked Ronnie, I haven't had any problems since returning to the Waycross ghetto. This is most probably because the people next door (the drug dealing lesbian prostitutes who stole my electricity and my copper pipes, cut a hole in the wall of my house with a butcher knife and took a baseball bat to my mailbox) were evicted while I was in Korea. The people who live in that house now are a grandmother, a mother and her three kids. One kid is a baby, but the other two are probably around 6 and 8 and are really cute and like to talk to me about my cats. I actually hung out with them for about an hour yesterday. Sadly, it is really hard for me to understand them. They probably think I'm nuts because I keep asking them to repeat themselves. The people in the house behind me moved in while I was in Korea. There is (or perhaps I should say was...) a man, woman and three kids there. There was also - at least while the weather was warm - a large group of somewhat "gangsta" l...
Curtains and Blinds
2007-11-18 16:55:00 I finally hung my last blind today - my living room and office now have blinds and curtains that I like... and as a result it is very bright in here, which is wonderful. Yes, it took me two and a half months to do this. I'm a tad lazy. There are still two blinds I'd like to replace (spare bedroom and bathroom) as they came with the house and are obviously old and funny-colored. But I think I'll leave them for now.And in case you're interested in the rest of my hermitage:My bedroom :-)The spare bedroom, with its dungeon-like wood-paneling. Yuck.The kitchen is so absurdly big it takes 3 photos to show it!Kitchen leftKitchen center(There used to be this hideous wallpaper border around the top of the room... you can see I did a stellar job removing it. Trust me, this looks better than that wall paper!)Kitchen right(you can see them poorly tacked together as a panoramic here)
Gah!
2007-11-08 05:10:00 I drove west out Valdosta Highway today, looking for things to photograph. I took a bunch of pictures, and I intended to write a good bit about them, too. However, I am going to Texas tomorrow (I'll be back Monday) and have yet to start packing. As such, no time for writing! I have uploaded all the pictures, however, and you can see them all here.
PLEASE! Tell me you want a kitten!
2007-11-06 05:27:00 So around 10:45pm, as I had literally just finished the below post on moody Miss Livia, I heard a terrible squealing outside my window. I peeked out through the blinds to see Orangie (one of the neighborhood tomcats, whom I can't catch to neuter, grrr) pinning something to the ground. I went out (barefoot, in my pyjamas) to investigate. Of course it turned out to be a teeny, tiny little grey kitten. What else would it be? Below are two videos of the little one. If you or anyone you know would like to adopt a kitten PLEASE let me know.Also, about five or ten minutes after I'd brought the kitten inside, I heard Ronnie's distinctive knock. Jesus, it's 11pm! But, I opened the door a crack (with the chain on, of course). Apparently he had seen me come out of the house and check in the road, and wanted to make sure that I was OK and that no one was bothering me. Which I suppose is a nice, neighborly sort of thing to do. You know, as opposed to getting naked and running around your nei...
Livia, the Bitch of Waycross
2007-11-05 02:50:00 As you may remember, I named the most recent kitten to appear on my doorstep Livia, after Xena's daughter who, in her evil incarnation, was known as Livia, the Bitch of Rome. Well, this cat is certainly living up to her name. While she does have periods of sweetness and light, she loves nothing more than to do her best to rip my arm to shreds. Luckily, she and Mia spend most of their time chasing each other about the house, thus sparing my arm too much unneccessary damage. I'm wondering if this kitten's stellar personality is the reason she was out on the street to begin with. Sigh. I've been listening to Kitty by The Presidents of the United States of America over and over, directing the lyrics at her. But of course I can't put her out until I get her spayed, and even then I'll let her back in if she asks. Yes, I'm a sucker.(Of course, she just seems cute and kittenish here.)
dogs are so easy to please.
2007-11-05 02:40:00 We took Shiva and Blix out for a run on and around our new land today. As with previous trips, their favorite part of the experience was the swimming. This of course meant that on the way home I had a wet, muddy black lab/pit bull (who smelled like she had been rolling around in a rotten deer carcass, because she had) sitting in my lap. Yuck.
Thinking the unthinkable?
2007-11-04 01:51:00 My house, as you all know, is located in an area of town that is (aside from yours truly) essentially all black. This area has been traditionally all black since the founding of the city in the late 1800s. About two blocks from my house is Oak Street. Oak Street was once the thriving main street of the African-American community of Waycross, with theaters, restaurants, stores, etc. Oak Street, sadly, went the way of the rest of downtown Waycross, and while central downtown is doing its best at a revival, Oak Street is not. Currently, Oak Street has little more than two bars and a bunch of boarded up buildings. Recently, I've seen these signs springing up across the city:Think The Unthinkable? What a terrible slogan! How could I *not* go, in an attempt to see what they could possibly mean by this? Around noon today, my mom, aunt and I walked from my house down to Oak Street. I must say there was nothing "unthinkable" about the festival. In fact, there wasn't much of anything, reall...
The world must be ending or something...
2007-11-02 23:32:00 ...because today I willingly got on a horse. We went to look at a pony (er, small horse) for sale out in Manor (pronounced may-ner), a small community just to the west of Waycross. The horse was a Halflinger, a small, sturdy-yet-strong breed that originated in Austria. The horse itself was well behaved, although it certainly had an ornery pony streak. The owners had bought it for their kids, but they were somewhat clueless. They didn't know how to put on the saddle or bridle, and the bridle they had was too big for the poor thing, while the saddle was falling apart. Mom and I each took turns riding it around a small enclosure, but we didn't want to take it out into the Great Wide Open without properly fitting gear. Sadly, while we'd brought Val's old bridle (Val being the horse my mom had for many years, who tried to kill me several times), it was too big for this little guy. I'm fairly certain that all this little guy had to do was exhale and shake and that saddle would've sl...
All dressed up with nowhere to go....
2007-10-31 19:22:00 ...walkin' with a dead man over my shoulder. Seriously, I've had that song stuck in my head all day. It's true though; I *am* all dressed up and I don't have anywhere to go. Halloween is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year, and not having plans is hardly going to deter me from donning a stunning costume. This is because on Halloween I can dress exactly how I want and no one thinks it's all that bizarre. Yeah, I'm 29 years old and running mundane errands in my costume, but it's Halloween so it's okay. Trust me, I know from experience that if you go to WalMart (which I did today) on any other day of the year dressed like this, they treat you quite strangely. They may even have security follow you around. But, since it was Halloween, I simply got compliments on my costume. I even had one fellow in the parking lot ask me if I was supposed to be Marie Laveau. I think he was as much surprised that I knew who she was as I was that he did. People have been asking me all day w...
I need a nutcracker.
2007-10-29 18:53:00 Hiding in the grass, blending in with the fallen leaves,this is one tough nut to crack. But if you're patient...Pecans!
Carter Cemetery, Swamp Rd, Ware Co, GA
2007-10-29 02:45:00 (No, this isn't a Halloween decoration, this is a real headstone.)
More Waycross architecture
2007-10-26 18:37:00 This house is barely over half a mile away from my house-in-the-ghetto.Can you believe that? (This one is not for sale.)This one is for sale. It's on the same street as the one above.It's going for $38,000, but it needs a LOT of work.The listing is here.Meanwhile, this is the house mom and I are fixing up:(You can see a tour of the inside here.)That hideous addition off the back is the laundry room.We're going to have to do something about that!
Why buy a McMansion when you could have the real thing for less?
2007-10-26 05:01:00 The weather today was beautiful (the past several days have been dreary and drizzly), and as I was up early (gasp!), I decided to take a walk through the historic district along Gilmore Street. Gilmore Street is where the wealthiest of the railroad barons built their homes over a century ago, back when Waycross was in its heyday. While some of the houses on Gilmore have fallen into disrepair over the years, there are still many to gawk at... and several that are up for sale, if anyone is interested! The pictures below are of houses on Gilmore which are for sale. (No, I am NOT a realtor or affiliated with one in any way; I just feel like people should be aware of how far their money can go if they move to Waycross. Hint, hint.) Let's start with this house:Actually, it no longer looks anything like this picture,which I took in July 2006, as they've totally remodeled it.See the image below for its current look!It's hard to believe it's the same house as the one in the picture above...
I need a name!
2007-10-25 04:25:00 This is the cat that showed up on my doorstep on Sunday. Her paw was swollen and she couldn't put any weight on it, so I began calling her Limpy. I took her to the vet Monday. Her paw had an abcess which had to be drained, and now she's doing much better... and I can't keep calling her Limpy! Any suggestions? Also, know anyone who might be interested in a seven or eight month old frisky little kitty?
Justice, Moral Reasoning and Boredom
2007-10-23 03:37:00 I mentioned the other day that I'm covering local community college classes while the teacher is away. This involves little other than taking roll and showing movies. The classes that I covered at the college today got to watch a video on justice and morality in political philosophy. I expected it to be pretty dull. I majored in PolySci and know that it takes a very engaging professor to bring political philosophy to life; sadly many of the PolySci profs out there are lacking in the needed skill to prevent one from nodding off. This film turned out to be quite interesting. It consisted of excerpts from a lecture class at Harvard University. The professor doing the lecturing was quite witty, and I (and the Harvard students) frequently laughed out loud. Meanwhile, my classroom was filled with blank expressions. At one point in the film, pi was mentioned. One of the students, confused, looked at the one next to her and said, "Wha's he talkin' 'bout pie for?" to which the response w...
The gods must really want me to have an eleventh cat.
2007-10-22 01:56:00 After it turned out that Blue Eyed Brownie had a home, I felt quite relieved; eight cats plus two who stop by regularly for food is enough! Then this afternoon I heard children's voices shouting, "Miss Jane! Miss Jane!" I went outside and found three of the neighborhood girls pointing at a cat on my porch. "That your cat?" they asked. At first I said yes - as it was a calico tabby that looked just like Alley Cat. Then I realized that it was wearing a flea collar, which none of mine do. I'd actually seen it around recently, but figured that with the flea collar, it must have a home nearby. I told the girls it wasn't my cat and they said, "Oh. We thought it was yours. It's got a broke foot and was in the street crying." Sure enough Alley Cat's doppelganger had a swollen front paw which she was holding up off the ground. I figured I should bring her inside. She seemed very thin, and when I gave her some food, she inhaled more at one go than Daddy Cat does (which is a LOT, believe ...
Mia's Grand Adventure
2007-10-21 21:05:00 Mia noticed early on that the other cats merely had to go and stare forlornly at the door, and I would open it and allow them out into The Great Outdoors. Initially, she simply seemed relieved that Those Strange Beasts were out of Her New House. Then she began to get curious as to where they were going, and would watch from windows and through doors. Eventually, she began trying to go outside, and I figured it was time to take her out. Her first two trips outside weren't the best: Daddy Cat chased her back into the house the first time, and rain started pouring on us the next. Nonetheless, she still wanted to go outside. Both yesterday and today I've had her out for about an hour, during which she seems to have had a lot of fun exploring the yard and smelling everything. Several of the other cats - particularly Shady - have been fascinated by the fact that their foreign visitor has finally decided to join them outside. Today I took some photos:Gah! What's behind me?Ahh, it's onl...
This land is OUR land :-)
2007-10-21 04:04:00 Well, we've finally closed on the eight acres, so this morning mom and I took the dogs out there for a run. I should explain that my mom owns three dogs: Ursa, a 12 year old near toothless chow suffering from congestive heart failure, Blix, a 5ish year old, well-behaved German Shephard and Shiva, a year old lab/pit-bull mix someone abandoned at my house as a puppy while I was in Korea. Shiva is beautiful and well meaning, but she has SO MUCH ENERGY and she is also incredibly strong. The dogs have about half an acre at mom's house to run around on. Blix and Ursa seem fine with that, but it's pretty obvious that Shiva has been dying to have the entire Ware County countryside to run around in. The dogs had an incredible amount of fun, rolling around in every mud-puddle and patch of swampland (not on our land, just nearby) that they could find. Shiva even found a rancid deer leg (she was very disappointed that we wouldn't let her bring it home). Ursa got tired out pretty quickly, bu...
Because what I really needed was an eleventh cat... (UPDATED)
2007-10-19 02:43:00 UPDATE: So several hours later, after the rain cleared out, I heard someone outside shouting "Blue Eyed Brownie! Blue Eyed Brownie!" over and over. Immediately the kitty jumped up and started looking for a way out. Not that I'm entirely thrilled about giving the obviously underfed and fleabitten cat (at least I Advantaged her) to her owner, but the woman seemed thrilled that I had her. Although she also said that I've probably spoiled her with fancy catfood, and if the cat wanders back down here, I can have her. I made a point of saying But I already have ten cats! although once you reach double digit felines, what's one more anyway?...look what showed up on my back porch this evening during a rainstorm:Anybody want a cat?I'd say she's 6-9 months old, and she's really sweet.
my life in waycross
2007-10-18 03:13:00 This week and next week I am "teaching" several classes at Waycross College while one of the instructors is out of town. I place "teaching" in quotes because what I'm actually doing is checking roll and showing movies. It's pretty boring - especially when I have to watch stultifying films such as Altered States: A History of Drug Use in America three times in a row. But it brings in some needed extra cash.Extra cash is definitely needed when one doesn't have health insurance. Lack of health insurance is probably the biggest drawback of my life plan, as health care costs in this country are ridiculous. I had minor surgery on Tuesday - an outpatient procedure to remove to moles from my left arm for biopsy. I also needed a tetanus shot. Not only did all of this amount to a whopping $335 (even with the cash discount - yes, they charge the insurance companies more than they charge those of us who pay out of our wallets) but if they come back malignant (no physical harm!), then I'm go...
Of slum lords, infernal beepings, and flower transplants
2007-10-12 00:00:00 I had yet another creepy-old-guy encounter today. And no, not with Ronnie. I guess first I should give you some background. Here in Waycross there are two people whom my mother and I consider to be Slum Lords. They own a lot of properties that are in terrible condition. Now, if you're planning to run a rental property, it has to be up to certain codes. If you're planning to sell a house, it doesn't. These two chaps offer people (generally very poor people) the opportunity to rent-to-own these houses. It seems that the general expectation is that eventually these people will miss a payment and get evicted, and they can turn around and set up a rent-to-own scenario with someone else. And getting the properties up to code? Hey, that's the responsibility of the new "owner." One of these slum lords is (outwardly at least) a fine upstanding pillar of the community, who lives in a big house in one of the nice neighborhoods. (He owns the houses located next to and behind me.) The other...
A weekend visit
2007-10-07 21:36:00 My dad and my brother Pressley drove up from Tampa this weekend for a visit. The weather was a bit dreary and rainy, so we didn't get to do too much... although we did make it to the Okefenokee Heritage Center in order to do some quality climbing about on the old train...I love the OHC, but I really wish they'd take the Christmas lights off the train.On the train's engineditto.Ghost Train Caboose!Dad & Pressley at one of the OHC exhibitsSuch a sibling photo.With my dad, brother and Alley Cat :-)
"They're the people who are trying to kill us."
2007-10-05 16:04:00 Last night at the fair (see previous post), several local churches had set up booths. That in itself isn't surprising; we're in the Bible Belt after all. I'm certainly not a fan of people proselytizing to me, but I respect the beliefs of others enough that I usually just smile politely and try to extricate myself as quickly as possible. One kindly looking, grandfatherly old man approached me as I walked past one of the church booths, holding out what I assumed would simply be a Christain tract of some kind. As he handed it to me he asked, "Do you know about Islam? They're the people who are trying to kill us! Next Thursday, Dave Miller [this fellow] is coming to tell us all about them. You should come." Oh. My. God.
Okefenokee Agricultural Fair
2007-10-05 02:34:00 Early this evening, my mom was scheduled to man the Waycross College booth at the Okefenokee Agricultural Fair here in Waycross. (She teaches history at Waycross College, by the way.) I went with her (outfitted in a ridiculously large Waycross College t-shirt) and, in exchange for getting into the fair for free, helped her run the booth. This entailed spending an hour passing out Waycross College brochures, catalogues, bracelets, pens, balloons and t-shirts to those interested. For some reason, the t-shirts only came in size 2XL... although that didn't really seem to be a problem for most.Mom in the Waycross College boothMom and the Waycross College Swamp FoxMe and the Swamp FoxFor some reason, you could practice shooting things at theWildlife Resources Division booth. My mom really enjoyed it.Oh, America. Stop with the eating.Also, stop walking in front of the chick with the camera. Please.Infernal?Ferris Wheel Sky"Italian" SausageSugar BabesAlso: For an "agricultural" fair, the a...
Housing Project
2007-10-05 01:47:00 No, not that kind of housing project. My mom recently purchased a house (located directly behind that green one I considered buying), with the intention of fixing it up and selling it at a profit. There's still a lot that needs to be done: painting, flooring, etc. I'm planning to start on painting the kitchen next week. I took a short video of the house for you to see. Several people have suggested that I move into this house, as it *is* located in a much better neighborhood than mine; however, you'll notice that this place is far from habitable at this point. Besides, my house is much better than this one, even if my neighborhood is lacking. Sadly, I don't have any photos of the exterior of our "extra house" - even though I *know* I've taken several, I can't find them anywhere! So for now the exterior of the house must remain a mystery to you. However, here's a complete tour of the inside. Enjoy!
Short Grass
2007-09-30 19:35:00 I got out of the shower yesterday morning (well, okay... so it was yesterday afternoon... but I'd just gotten up, which kind of makes it like yesterday morning) and I heard what sounded like a lawn mower. And it sounded like it was mowing my grass. Or possibly the grass of my neighbors. I got dressed and peeked out (surreptitiously, of course), and whaddyaknow: There's Ronnie (aka crazy naked old guy) mowing my lawn. Not like he'd asked to mow the lawn or anything, he'd just gone ahead and done it. Anyway, eventually he finished up mowing (and I must say, it looks quite nice) and knocked on my door. Hooray for the chain! He made no reference to the other day, asked how my mom was doing, and wanted to know if he could get paid for cutting the grass. Well, if you're in need of cash for your services, you should probably ask first; my wallet's bone dry. He asked if he could come by Monday to get paid. Well, he did mow my lawn, and as much as I think he should probably do it for f...
Apparently I look *at least* twenty-one years old. [updated]
2007-09-26 22:51:00 UPDATED: Now with photos!Monday night, my mom tripped on an overturned pitchfork, and one of its tines managed to pierce its way into her ankle. By noon yesterday, her ankle was red and swollen and she could barely walk. I had to convince her that she really needed to go to the doctor and get a tetanus shot, as she hadn?t received one since way back when I was in elementary school. Finally she agreed to go to the doctor if I was willing to pop down to the bakery and pick up my birthday cake.Ouch!As I had other errands to run downtown, going to pick up the cake was no problem. Unfortunately, I ran my errands first, only to be told that the cake was half an hour shy of being ready. Perhaps I could run some errands while they fix it up? Sigh. I took it as a sign that I should wander into the center of downtown and check out the Hot Toddy coffee shop.This picture of Hot Toddy was taken later that day, after dinner.I was quite impressed with Hot Toddy. It had quite the sort of hipster at...
Happy Chuseok, Korea; Happy Birthday, Me
2007-09-25 23:25:00 Well.... today is my birthday and I am now twenty-nine years old. And my lovely computer chose this afternoon to stop working yet again. So it's at the shop and I'm back over at my mom's using the dial up - boo! Anyway, I'll try to have a decent birthday blog up once I get my laptop back later this week.... sigh.
Tramping through the brush
2007-09-22 02:54:00 So it seems that my mom is purchasing eight acres of land just outside Waycross. The closing is in about a week. The property is eight acres out of an original 40 acre tract, mainly planted in three year old timber pines. In between the pines lives an assortment of blackberry and other brambly, briary, thorny plants - it's not exactly the best for easy strolling at this point in time. Nonetheless, as the property lines have only just been surveyed, mom wanted to go out and see the actual borders of the land she's purchasing. Additionally, as we've had quite a rainy week, we wanted to see how the land holds up under rain. We knew from looking at the plat that a small area of the back portion of the land is wetland, but we didn't know *how* wet, or how far it extended into the the rest of the property. Luckily, the wetland is quite unimpressive and only covers a tiny portion of the rear of the land. But speaking of wetlands... We arrived and had to park out by the highway and walk...
Oh! Glorious DSL!
2007-09-17 16:30:00 It feels so good to be back in the land of high speed internet once again. I've uploaded a ton of photos, chatted with a couple of people, and uploaded to clips of unbearable cat cuteness to youtube. And because I know you want to see all of this wondrousness, let me share some links:Downtown Waycross, GA (a photoset)Pewter the Kitten (a photoset)Mia and Alley playing together (a youtube video)Alley Cat: Cute on Command (a youtube video) Now to respond to comments and emails....
A couple of photos for you
2007-09-16 10:50:00 As yet today nothing much of interest has occurred, other than that I have developed an intense affection for power drills, and am thoroughly impressed by the boring ability of the 1/4 inch bit. As you can see, I cannot follow up yesterday's post with anything nearly as exciting. Which is probably a good thing. What I can do, is to give you a couple of photos to enjoy, taken with my new Nikon P5000. In theory, I should have my DSL hooked up tomorrow, and I can get back to blogging and photo-sharing as per usual.Storm clouds as seen from my mom's house the other day.Butterfly macro. Taken at a rather long distance actually,as I didn't want to wade through the brush to get close to this guy.
I am never opening my door again. Ever.
2007-09-16 01:02:00 I?ve written before about how there seem to be crazy old dudes everywhere I go. Well, that seems to be holding true for life here in Waycross. Before I write this piece, let me explain my new neighborhood a little for the benefit of those who haven?t heard the full description prior. My house is located in an extremely poor, nearly all black neighborhood. I spent a month here before I moved to Korea, during which time I began to refer to it as the ghetto, not for its all-blackness, but for its incredibly high crime rate (most of which originated at the house next door to mine). As I mentioned previously, the group from the house next door was evicted while I was in Korea, leaving my neighborhood with a distinctly different feel. It?s still an extremely poor, nearly all black neighborhood, but it no longer feels quite so ghettoish.I have a very difficult time understanding the speech of my neighbors. Poor Southern dialects and accents, both white and black, are often incredibly stron...
Just one of many!
2007-09-14 01:07:00 I uploaded this photo to flickr, and it took an absurdly long amount of time. (Oh, cursed dial-up; DSL won't be hooked up until Monday!) It's a shot of one of my mom's kittens, Pewter, who was one of four kittens abandoned on my doorstep here in Waycross back in June. He's now about 5 months old and he loves to show off for the camera. I've only been here a week and already I have many adorable Pewter photos. Just click on the image to see a larger size! |
|
 |
|
 |
