Coiled Broccoli Toothpicks

*An interesting question regarding art, and one you may not often think of is, do you scale the piece to fit your vision, or do you scale your vision to fit your materials? Or maybe you scale your vision to fit your budget. I've done all three, but probably done more of the last one than any of the others. I can't really say if that's a bad thing or not.

*Got nothing fun lined up to do this Friday. Gotta work the weekend, so that's out of the question. Not sure what I might do with myself. I know that what I should do with myself is spend the day going after all the paperwork on the desk and then bathing in mosquito repellent so that I can go outside and clean up the yard a bit. Would like to break in the new bags set, but Bart is out of town. Which reminds me that I need to get online and print out some rules so I know how far apart to set up the boards and all that stuff. Sheri had asked me if I was going to put some tiki style art on the boards, since I got the plain wood ones. That was actually a pretty good idea, but I don't want to have to work around or through the clear coat on them, so for now I'll just leave them as they are.

*Found a chrysalis on the tiki by my front door the other day. Was kind of surprised by that, since I hadn't seen too many monarchs out front this year.

*OK, I tried the Kraken rum mixed with Dr. Pepper, per a suggestion on the FOM forums. But, since I didn't have an actual lemon to make a twist with, I used a splash of lemon juice, which I understand is not the same thing. Anyway, this particular concoction wasn't too bad. Not at the top of my list, but not so bad that I regret buying the six of Dr. Pepper shorties. I haven't been able to find Fresca in short cans yet, so I haven't been able to try an After the Storm (also a FOM forum suggestion). Maybe I should have just gotten that 2L bottle of Fresca that I saw, since it's sooo much cheaper than ginger beer. Right now, the mix mai tais are just too heavy, but that doesn't change the fact that I still have a coconut full of limes that need to be dealt with.

*The earwigs are out. And the Japanese beetles. Yay. I don't know what makes me think I could live in a tropical or sub-tropical environment when I have such an active dislike of bugs. Guess that means the desert is moving up a notch or two on the list of preferred places to live.

*How damn Stoned do you have to be to think that a live action version of the Smurfs is a good idea?!?!?

*Managed to get one of the days of the Chef's anniversary off without having to owe anyone a favor. Means I have to work five in a row week after next, but it does make sure that I'm lined up for some fun later on in the month. Means I also have to get at least one piece done for the raffle, since I said that I would bring something to contribute. I had thought that the party at the Chef would mark the start of my initiate trials since it's supposed to be a big event, but I had forgotten that I said I was available for Adopt-A-Road duty on the 17th. Now I'm thinking that will be the start of my trials, especially since my sponsor will be there. Then again, they could just show up on my doorstep witout warning to start my trials.

*K and Z were supposed to be coming down this week, but I have yet to hear anything more about that. Probably a good thing, since we swiped the stealth car from the folks.

*Bad struts, bad front sway bars, feathered tires, and a mystery problem in the restraint system. That was the initial report on the Ford. All we asked for was to have the tires rotated and the oil changed. Now, the Boss is all upset thinking that her car is going to become a money pit. But, when I put forth the idea of buying her a new car, she gets upset. She keeps saying that it's my turn to get the new car, to which I reply that I don't mind the car I have right now. Mind you, that could change when I hear back from Motor Works. So, at the moment, we're waiting for repair estimates on the Ford, the Mazda is under scrutiny, and both of us are hoping we don't have to go through the hell that is shopping for a new car. On another car related note, I had seen a Kia Soul when we were out at the flea market last Sunday and it kinda caught my eye. Sheri hadn't seen it and had no idea what they looked like, so we went by one of the local car dealers so she could see one up close. After walking around it a couple of times, she declared that she knew why I liked it. When I asked why she thought that was, she said that I liked the car because it resembled a bulldog. I may be able to take issue with her perception in this case, but her reasoning is sound.

*I need to synch up my I-Pod. Get that Clapton off of there and replace it with something I'll actually listen to.

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Black Spring Clippy Thing

*Had a pretty good day at the flea market yesterday. Wasn't really crowded, probably because it was the fourth of July. Didn't really make any huge discoveries, but still managed to come home with a backpack full of stuff. Found a couple of vintage Hawaiian cookbooks, an old Don the Beachcomber restaurant menu, some LP's (duh), and I actually went ahead and bought a nice bags set. Steph and Bart went along with us too, so that made things more interesting.

*Another night of weird dreams. The Amazon, the Mermaid, and the Lost Cause all in the same place? Just freakin strange.

*Why is it that if you ignore it for just a few days, the paperwork swallows up the desk once again?

*Seems that my install went as planned, so the next time the Blue Moai Room is open, I'll have even more space for folks to hang out.

*I have officially started my way on the path to becoming a full fledged member of the FOM. This should prove to be an interesting process.

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Raspberry Track Handles

*Started my vacation off by heading out to the Ohana warm-up event out at the Chef. This would be about the same time I figured out that 2 of the Chef Mai Tais were enough for me. That 3rd one, which I thought was really strong (and if you think something is too strong after having 2 of the same thing previously-it is) upset my train of thought to the point of making it difficult to follow. And if you can't follow your own train of thought, odds are that no on else will either. So, I'm thinking that from now on, 2 of the Chef Mai Tais will be my limit. Which reminds me that I need to get a hold of Bamboolodge and see if they would like anything for the Chef's anniversary party, which it seems I will be unable to attend due to a work scheduling conflict. Same goes for Festiki in Dayton. So there you go. All the big events this year right out the window. I will be available to do garbage pickup on our adopt-a-road section this month though, so we'll see where that leads us. Maybe I'll see if I can round up some FOM folks to do something next Saturday or Sunday as well.

*Best rum discovery thus far: Gosling's Black Seal. It is just too freakin good. Anything that makes the foam of the drink taste good is something well worth spending the money on. And feel free to mock my choice of drinking vessels, if you must. But if you do, be warned that I will be making all your drinks with the cheap booze. And quite possibly rubbing your limes on the bottom of the bar as well.

*A less than stellar performance review at work this year leaves my eyes lingering on the horizon and wondering just how different it would be to live in the desert.

*I find myself beginning to wonder if something bad has happened to Big Bri.

*I'm also beginning to wonder why it is that I spend so much time wondering about things.

*I actually had a supposedly adult friend of mine tell me that they wouldn't be coming to the Blue Moai Room if person XYZ or ABC was going to be there too. It took me a second or two to realize that they were actually serious. Gave me the sudden feeling of being back in high school.

*Thanks in advance to the Pirate Queen, who will soon be increasing my stock of Hawaiian shirts. And giving me a chainsaw.

*Had my first dinner and show at Tiki Terrace in Des Plains last week. The interior decor is so over the top with tiki that even I was impressed. My opinion was split on the drinks. The first mai tai that I had was like no other mai tai I have ever had. Reminded me of fruit punch more than anything else. The second mai tai that I had was, for lack of a better term, indistinct. Sheri's mango colada was pretty darn good though. The egg roll appetizers were incredible, to the point that I could have made an entire meal just out of them. The pot stickers were a little less amazing, but still pretty darn good. The Kimo flank steak that we shared as a main course was a bit of a disappointment. I mean, you expect flank steak to be a bit tough, but this was overcooked to the point of being totally dry. The wasabi sauce that came with it was good, though. Sheri loved the coconut cake we had for desert and I thought it was good without being overly sweet. The floor show was really entertaining, too. Of course, I'm just a complete sucker for that south seas look. I think that's why the blonde dancer really threw me for a loop. Anyway, in short, 27 thumbs up for decor. I want my basement to look like that when its done. I'm gonna hold off on my judgment of the drinks until I have the chance to try a few more (next time: the zombie!). Same goes for the entrees. Thumbs up for the egg rolls, pot stickers, and coconut cake. Thumbs up for the lovely wait staff as well.

*The CD collection is slowly making it's way onto the computer. Now all I have to do is learn how to use the I-Tunes software to better effect. Or find something better.

*My special order item from Menard's finally arrived, so the next time I open the Blue Moai room, I can actually have the Blue Moai Annex open at the same time. Of course, that is based on the notion that I can successfully install this item. Either way, it should be interesting.

*If you know someone's boyfriend, and quite possibly them as well, could just break your body into tiny little pieces anytime they felt like it, do you still tell her how awesome she looks? Duh. Of course you do!

*Need to get on the horn to Cromag and see what's going on down Peoria way. Should probably do the same with the FOM folks and see if there are any fellow Moai down there.

*The FIL did another couple days in the hospital, thanks to an overly low blood pressure. In the end, they decided that he was overly medicated, as far as blood pressure medicine went. So they took him off 2 of his meds and cut back his dosage of the 3rd one. Just the idea of needing to take 3 different meds for my blood pressure is enough to make me get up off my ass and spend more time riding my bike.

*I have no problem with females of the species wearing leopard print panties. I think that it's something that should be encouraged, actually. However, I do find it odd that in the Big Book of Girl Rules, there isn't a chapter, or perhaps chapters, devoted to what kinds of things will easily show through light pink scrub pants. Now, if the Big Book of Girl Rules has been edited to remove that information, all I can say is, oh darn, and, can you pick that pen up off the floor for me?

*Off to the KCFM tomorrow, so hopefully the weather will cooperate. There's a particular vendor that I hope will be there, because I'm thinking of getting a bags set. Beyond that, all the usual stuff is fair game: pin-up art, tiki stuff, board games, record albums, old tools, postcards, opals, Hawaiian shirts, and anything else that happens to catch my eye. I have no idea why people think I'm hard to shop for.

*Having Belita as a house guest for the week of my vacation turned out to be less of a problem that we had thought it might be. While neither of us are fond of the Boston Terrier as a breed, I still found her highly amusing and incredibly portable. Sheri still claims total disdain for the dog, even though the dog is totally in love with her. Her visit did reinforce the idea that regardless of size, a fourth dog in the house makes things too chaotic. And the more we think about it, 2 will be the magic number from here on out. That is to say, that once Reka leaves us, we won't be replacing her.

*I have no idea how I managed to do it, but I find that I currently have 8 different carving projects underway. I'm thinking that I should try and knock that number back a bit before things get totally out of control. And I haven't even started to sketch out the cribbage board yet. Or make bigger foamoai. Or make some FOMfoamoai. Or would that be FOMoai?

*It's summer in IL. Therefore, if you lay around in the grass, you will get said same ass chewed to bits by mosquitoes and other bitey type insect things. However, there are times where the circumstance that causes you to lay in the grass is interesting enough to balance out the lingering effects of the mosquito bites you will obtain. To that end I am currently covered in mosquito bites.

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