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You will certainly be missed.

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

It’s become an annual tradition:

You are now 31 years old. That’s:

11,315 days

271,564 hours (as of 3:11PM UTC)

16,293,840 minutes
977,630,400 seconds

977,630,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 yactoseconds

Interesting Fact o’ the Day:

• 1874 - Grand County, Colorado is created when it is carved out of Summit County

Also sharing your birthday:

• 1895 - George Halas, American football player, coach, and league founder (he owned and coached the Chicago Bears. His daughter, Virginia, is the majority stakeholder in the team).
• 1897 - Howard Johnson, American hotelier (HO-JO!)
• 1942 - Graham Nash, American (British-born) rock musician (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash)
• 1949 - Brent Spiner, American actor

Happy Birthday! I LOVE YOU!

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

Even if you’re not an American (or if you are, but forget that today is about more than turkey and football), your life can be enriched by making gratitude a part of your life.  This is part of an email I received from a group I belong to:

Gratitude is a substance. Some would say it is one of the strongest medicines we can take to help build an immune system bombarded with stress, fragmentation, and multiplicity. As it rides the in-breath to the heart, gratefulness softens the body’s biochemistry, easing us out of the rushing flow of adrenaline in our system so that our bodies can find alignment with presence rather than nervous monkey mind.

In this state of presence, we are grateful to be alive. The hearth and home within our own being becomes warmer, more luminous and stimulates that essential feeling of nurturance that has made life possible for us. Experiencing gratefulness is akin to remembering who we are after all the doing has been done, and who we are when we find time to breathe and rest in our own being.

Gratitude gives us a taste of how deeply we are connected to the great mystery! We see patterns of connection that mysteriously form to connect hearts and minds, manifest extraordinary outcomes, and change the course of events; gratitude helps us perceive in all these fractals of change some greater sense of guidance and flow in the universe. It helps us tune into the possibility of conscious collaboration with higher possibilities. We see the good that we have been guided to on both individual and collective levels.

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

Just as I pulled up to the house today, I noticed the odometer had just hit 19,999. It seems like I just picked Pepe up a couple of months ago, not a couple of years ago. I’ve been thinking all night about how much my life has changed in the last 745 days:

1. I saved the world from the horror known as ‘Creed’.

2. I turned 30 years old.

3. My baby got accepted to Grad School.

4. We moved to Colorado.

5. I was hired and subsequently laid off by a local property management company, which led me to find a GREAT job.

6 There is no 6.

7. My honeysweetiepielovemuffin turned 30.

8. I forgot what 8 was for.

9. I got married to a woman I both love and adore. And taunt. Next to the birth of my future children, and when I finally get the animatronic-coin-operated-Kimberly-poking-you-in-the-eye complete, this will be the happiest day of my life.

10. We added a fourth cat to the mix. I don’t know what it is about her, but Chloe just wrecks me, she is so cute.

11. I celebrated my one year wedding anniversary.

12. I watched my wife present her Master’s Project.

13. I watched as my lovely wife graduated from Grad School. And cried.

14. I drove my baby to the airport so that she could visit Paris and Switzerland with hermoM. (It’s where the history comes from!)

What an interesting 2 years. I love my life. I love my wife. I love LIFE.

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

Well I’m off to D.C. to meet up with my mother and I remembered a post I wrote a while back:

I have a paper due May 17th
Need to overhaul the house and clean May 20-21
I present my Masters project on May 26th (and need to turn 15 page paper accompanying project)
My Gender and Globalization Mass Comm project & paper is due May 31 (which I have a plan for, but haven’t actually started)
Take home essay for above class due June 4
Family starts coming into town June 5 (theoretically)
Set up gallery show on June 8
Graduation on June 9
Gallery show on June 9 after graduation
Tear down gallery show on June 10
Leave for D.C. on June 12
Leave for Paris on June 14th

Time certainly does fly. If you would like a postcard from Paris or Switzerland, email me your address. I’ll probably be on a couple of times until Wednesday evening.

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

Yep. It’s over. Graduation was about as can be expected one hour and fifty eight minutes of boring and 2 minutes of exciting. It was so nice to have my family there–the best part of everything was seeing the people I love so happy for me and so proud.

The gallery show was amazing. We had well over a hundred people there. I arrived a little bit late because I had to eat something before going and when I got there it was packed. There was barely room to walk. I’m so glad we did the show because it really was the closure we needed in a way that the actual graduation ceremony (where our names are read and we’re rushed off the stage so it’s over in literally about 30 seconds) can’t be. Our friends, our family, and the community came out to support us and celebrate what we have done. It made me feel like I actually did something and had something to show for all my work and the sweat and the tears.

The fact that I have a freaking Masters degree still hasn’t sunk in. I had a desktop countdown timer set for the day and time of graduation and when I loaded up my computer to show my project and it said 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes all I could do was stare. Things are still a bit surreal for me–especially since I fly out to D.C. on Monday and then Paris on Wednesday. I don’t even know what to do with that information at the moment.

I guess tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.

Holy shit!!

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

So, I’m presenting my Masters project on Friday (I cannot freakin’ believe it!!) and my mom is flying out so she can be here for it. She arrives this morning (yay!)

The bad part is that I cannot sleep. I tried going to bed around 11:30 last night and I don’t think I actually fell asleep until 2:30, and then it was that kind of sleep where you’re probably sleeping but you don’t feel like you’re sleeping. And then when I finally fell into actual sleep, I had a dream that the projector resolution in the classroom where I’m presenting wasn’t quite right so my project didn’t display properly (which is not an out-of-my-butt dream, it’s actually a concern of mine).

The point is, I’m tired. I shouldn’t complain though, the shuttle that picked my mom up to take her to the airport arrived at 3:40 a.m. Ouch!!

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

I’m an affirmation kind of gal, but usually I only use them when I’m desperate and they’re more of a prayer for help than a call to action. Curt of Occupational Adventure points his readers to a great article about using affirmations as a way to instigate change through action.

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

I just read this news story, about a long-standing and seemingly fun tradition in a rural Texas town, which involves the boys dressing like girls and the girls dressing like boys (I can’t use the term cross-dressing here, because it invokes a completely different mentality).

It really seems innocent, just a progression of the old Sadie Hawkins tradition (at one of my high schools, we had a school dance in the spring called Morp, where the girls traditionally asked the boys out).

However, what really chaps my hide (to use the local vernacular), is the quote from one of the local hicks parents:

“It might be fun today to dress up like a little girl — kids think it’s cute and things like that. And you start playing around with it and, like drugs, you do a little here and there (and) eventually it gets you.”

This woman is afraid that exposing her two young children to this horrible and disturbing incident could lead to homosexuality! (GASP!)

Let me share something with all of you, quoted directly from my sister’s blog:

I am sickened that I live in a country where ELEVEN states voted for constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. I am angry that there are millions of people in my own country who think it is their right, much less their business, to tell anyone whom they can love. I am ashamed that more than 20 years after we first began to worry about AIDS, it’s still a taboo subject, money for research is still scarce, and people of all races and both sexes continue to die.

I am the daughter of a gay man. My dad was a really good guy. He had a smile that made me feel like I was the center of his world. He was easy going, liked his scotch and listening to opera, and watching college football. He loved animals. He was kind to everyone. He lived happily with another man for the last 12 years of his life. I had the privilege of being part of their lives, and witnessing how much they cared for each other, how much kindness they showed each other. We should all be so lucky.

I am the son of a gay man. My parents divorced when I was very young, and the earliest memories that I have of my father are of us on winter vacation visiting him in Florida in 1983. We stayed from just before Christmas until just after New Year’s, and I remember my dad letting us stay up late on December 31st so that we could toast the new year. We had pink champagne to toast, party hats and noisemakers to ring in the new year in style. I remember him laughing as I ran down the quiet street he lived on yelling “Happy New Year 1984!” at the top of my lungs. I was 10 at the time, and even my father’s admonition to keep my voice down couldn’t keep me quiet. I know that my father loved me.

His sexual proclivity made him no less of a man, and no less of a human being, and no less able to love me as his son. His choices just made him him. And I still love him for that.

It is my sincere hope that these bigoted people can open their eyes and see that homosexuality is not evil that they need to shield their families from.

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

At a rally today in Ohio, Dana Reeve, widow of Christopher Reeve, annouced her support for John Kerry. “My inclination would be to remain private for a good long while. But I came here today in support of John Kerry because this is so important. This is what Chris wanted.”

Kerry knew the Reeve for about 15 years through family and activist connections. Reeve left him a long telephone message the day before he died, thanking him for campaigning on behalf of medical research.

Go Kerry.

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

Holy Crap, people. I don’t even know where to begin. Circusfaerie, The Dreadlocked Warrior, Peter, Natasha, Mark and me all met in Vegas to celebrate Circusfaerie’s big 21. Ted from Texas at the concierge desk at the Rio made all right with the world (or as much as could be right without Kimberly & Jim_T’s presence, screw you America West) by hooking us up with adjoining, upgraded sunset view suites.

We buffeted at Rio’s, and crashed out early on Friday due to being generally overwhelmed. Saturday morning we celebrated with a Bailey’s breakfast toast at precisely 10:38 am. The gift basket the Rio delivered was beautiful with Mikasa champagne flutes and chocolate covered strawberries. Mark & Natasha very politely didn’t run screaming from the room. DW presented CF with a gorgeous, very gothy necklace and I lost it several times like I knew I would. (sniff!)

After that, we gorged ourselves at the most spectacular buffet in Vegas. (Paris people. Try the mashed potatoes. Over & over again, if you’re anything like us. And the crepes, my stars, the crepes.) Then we wandered around the strip looking for a tattoo/piercing shop to replace Circusfaerie’s nose ring (which made an unscheduled dive down the drain - guess it lost too much gambling?)

From there (somebody refresh my memory, here’s where the REAL drinking begins) we made our way over to the Star Trek experience at the Hilton. Circusfaerie & the Dreadlocked Warrior went on both rides while Mark, Natasha and I checked out the casino and, to our absolute horror, the Plumbers Crack of Doom. *shudder* A guy playing at one of the tables not only had the verticle smile going, but adorned it with a tattoo AND a pelt. The Hilton doesn’t make Bloody Marys strong enough for this situation.

Our inner geeks all came out to play at 10 Forward (Ok, so they call it Quark’s) bar and grill. It’s even cheesier than you imagine, but it was absolutely one of the highlights of the weekend. They serve these HUGE-ass beautiful bowls of boiling, vapor-filled flourescent green (or purple) alcohol with a bunch of straws inside. After sharing one of these with the group, CF and a rogue Ferengi were chasing each other at a dead run around the table we had at the center of the room. I was nearly assimilated by a Borg, we have pictures of CF with a very proud Romulan female and I managed to adopt a tribble by the time we left.

From there the VERY happy birthday couple went off to celebrate an adult evening on their own and Peter and his work buddy joined us. Meanwhile, we proceeded to adopt a lovely, random out of town couple who joined us for a few more of the steaming alcohol bowls and they promised to send us pictures. *waits*.

Mark & Natasha also excused themselves at this point to celebrate their own adult evening and Peter, his buddy and I went back to the hotel to regroup & redress. We ended up going to the VooDoo lounge on the 51st floor of the Rio (outdoor rooftop!) and it was FABULOUS. (except for the whole formal dress code thing, but we hooked Peter up with the Hot Party shirt of Doom and it ended well) The DJ was playing 80s dance music, there were go-go dancers and an absolutely amazing view of the city. We played a little Blackjack on the way back to the room and ended up crashing out at a very respectable 3:30 am.

Sunday morning was bleary-eyed hangover, a quick trip to see the Dolphins at the Mirage and blissfully a quick trip to the Spa before a lovely dinner at Gaylord’s (what a name for an Indian food place!) then back to the airport, and sadly, the weekend ends there. I have no idea how to post pictures, but I’m happy to send them if you want ‘em!

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

| Posted by: Rita | Link to this post |

I actually posted something on the journal. Shocking, I know.

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

I’m employed!

I just got off the phone with Mr. HR, and they are mailing me the job offer and all associated paperwork today!

The start date is Sept 13th, which will coincide with the start of Kimberly’s classes. Very apropos, if you think about it.

What this means is that I have another 12 days to celebrate my independence, and sit around reading Teh Intarweb all day.

Yaaaaaaaaaay!

update: Did I mention that this was the job that is only 3.8 miles from the house???? BOOOOO-YAAH!

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |

I wasn’t expecting that the clouds would look so low that you think you can touch them.

I wasn’t expecting it to be 49 degrees today at 2 p.m. when we finally left the house to find lunch (this is August, isn’t it?).

I wasn’t expecting the bar, grill and baitshop to be nice, but it really is. It’s a sports bar like you’d expect with sports playing on multiple screens and boobs and beer aplenty, but it has a very cozy atmosphere and Jim and I have really enjoyed watching Packers games there.

I wasn’t expecting it to feel so normal, I’m in a completely different state at a completely different elevation and yet I still drive to the store and get gas and go to movies and go to bed. The only major difference is that my friends are too far to drive to. And I’m getting a lot more sleep than I have in over six years.

I wasn’t expecting all the traffic. It’s not at LA proportions, of course, but it can get nasty where we live. There’s a lot of construction and freeway Junctions and also people tend to drive like midwesterners here. Jim and I are still on LA driving time which is approximately, “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY YOU SLOW BASTARD!!!”

I wasn’t expecting people to be so nice. In LA, customer service is spotty (I think it comes from people not making a living wage and/or desperately wanting to do something else) and I’m accustomed to either people not caring at best or scamming me at worst. We’ve encountered some real crabs here for sure, but in general people are very nice and helpful. It’s almost surreal.

I wasn’t expecting how much work it is to unpack. I’m not just talking about the physical act of unpacking, but the emotional effort it takes to be living out of boxes and find new places to put things. When I’m not unpacking I’m mostly brain-dead and mostly incapable of dealing with anything else. Like reading the internet and blogging even. I’ve read five books in the two weeks that we’ve been here and I’ve watched a lot of the Olympics (soccer is hella boring y’all).

| Posted by: Kimberly | Link to this post |

I just got a voicemail from a company that I had sent a resume to about a month ago… it sounds like they want to bring me in for an interview! The original job posting is no longer online, but being the Smarty McSmarty-Pants that I am, I had entered all of the relevant information into a spreadsheet, including some notes.

The funny part is that when the Little Woman and I went to check the address of the corporate offices, it comes up about 3 miles from the new house! Take THAT, LA!

Now we just sit and play the waiting game… and see which comes first — our stuff, or the interview. If it’s the interview, I’m going to need to go buy some nice clothes, since all of my “work” clothes are packed.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

| Posted by: Jim T. | Link to this post |