Fluff

Wow... by popular demand, here is an onslaught of fluff.

Starting us off will be my dear friend Erina from Tokyo. Her blog is an endless supply of happiness for me. If it isn't what she says, it's how she says it. We love and miss her very much... You have to read the entry entitled "The Ending of the Year" and the part about american girls teaching her to dance sexy.

Julie, the girl that taught Erina to dance, is a great friend of ours as well. Those were good days.

Wow. I just had the worst string of songs on my mac just now. I have my collection of 6,830 songs on random, and I somehow had a Genesis song, followed by Alicia Keys, followed by the truly awful Canadian christian rock band Hokus Pick... I didn't listen to any of the songs, I simply punched past, but it did raise the question to myself "Why, oh why do I keep songs that are just awful? I mean, sure, these artists have some worthwhile songs... but what were those three? And how do I screen that out of my life?" In reality though, I don't have time to go through the mass of music that I have, and weed out the stuff I don't like. Besides, unlike some of my friends that have their tastes clearly defined, I do not. I am constantly changing the staples of my listening life. Sometimes I find myself glued to something I hated the year before, so I guess that the point is that more is better, and that next year, you'll find me jamming to Alicia Keys and Genesis. (If you do... shoot me)

Ok... Pedro the Lion just washed all the badness away with his cover of Let Down by Radiohead. What a great song. The opening guitar piece would make such a great cell phone ring tone.

Oh! I don't think that I've ever shared with you all the wonder of the world that is John Fluevog. His hand stitched leather shoes are unparalleled in coolness, and come in so many styles that they are sure to fit everyone's taste. "How do I get myself a pair of Fluevogs you ask?" I'll tell you. Drop what you're doing and direct your Firefox browser (that I know you're using instead of that crappy Internet Explorer by that crappy Micro-company) to www.fluevog.com

Alright... that's all the fluff for today. I'll try to provide some more later.

Peace!

P.S. Please continue to keep our finances in your prayers. This week's crisis is registering our cars for Colorado and getting updated tags. Curse the Californians and their stupid rules. They've brought so many idiotic tests and additional costs to the area!

Macheavelli and Iraq

Iraqeavelli... fun word. Useless, but fun.

Anyway... I started reading "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli today. A friend at a Starbucks back in Illinois recommended it, and so I thought I'd give it a read. It's easily one of the most debated books in classic literature, mainly because of its cold and calculating looks at power. How to get it, and how to keep it. It was published in 1532 after his death, but is still incredibly poignant. Here is an excerpt from Chapter III.

"But when states are acquired in a country differing in language,
customs, or laws, there are difficulties, and good fortune and great
energy are needed to hold them, and one of the greatest and most real
helps would be that he who has acquired them should go and reside
there. This would make his position more secure and durable, as it has
made that of the Turk in Greece, who, notwithstanding all the other
measures taken by him for holding that state, if he had not settled
there, would not have been able to keep it. Because, if one is on the
spot, disorders are seen as they spring up, and one can quickly remedy
them; but if one is not at hand, they are heard of only when they are
great, and then one can no longer remedy them. Besides this, the
country is not pillaged by your officials; the subjects are satisfied
by prompt recourse to the prince; thus, wishing to be good, they have
more cause to love him, and wishing to be otherwise, to fear him. He
who would attack that state from the outside must have the utmost
caution; as long as the prince resides there it can only be wrested
from him with the greatest difficulty.

The other and better course is to send colonies to one or two places,
which may be as keys to that state, for it is necessary either to do
this or else to keep there a great number of cavalry and infantry.
A prince does not spend much on colonies, for with little or no expense
he can send them out and keep them there, and he offends a minority
only of the citizens from whom he takes lands and houses to give them
to the new inhabitants; and those whom he offends, remaining poor and
scattered, are never able to injure him; whilst the rest being
uninjured are easily kept quiet, and at the same time are anxious not
to err for fear it should happen to them as it has to those who have
been despoiled. In conclusion, I say that these colonies are not
costly, they are more faithful, they injure less, and the injured, as
has been said, being poor and scattered, cannot hurt. Upon this, one
has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed,
because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more
serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a
man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of
revenge.

But in maintaining armed men there in place of colonies one spends
much more, having to consume on the garrison all the income from the
state, so that the acquisition turns into a loss, and many more are
exasperated, because the whole state is injured; through the shifting
of the garrison up and down all become acquainted with hardship, and
all become hostile, and they are enemies who, whilst beaten on their
own ground, are yet able to do hurt. For every reason, therefore, such
guards are as useless as a colony is useful."

There.

Is that crazy or what? I've often felt that our country, that our government is much more suited to conquest. But the "morals" or culture of our country will not let something as heartless and unjust as conquest take place. Another republic in the past was fond of conquest and it worked out for them for a long time... however, their lack of tolerance and justice for those with different views saw their downfall. Not to mention the complete disintegration of their moral fiber. (I like saying moral fiber... I feel like Dan Quayle.) All the same. A little advice for the government of the people, for the people, but held back from doing what they really want by the people. How do you conquer Iraq without it looking like you've conquered Iraq? Liberate them.

I don't like this translation as much as the one I'm reading in book form, but it was the only online version available, and I am not about, I don't care how much I like the quote, to type anything this long.

NOTE: The online text file of this book and many classic works of literature can be obtained free of charge on the incredibly awesome Project Gutenberg. One of the oldest websites, and projects on the internet, this online compendium of literature is truly amazing. Check it out!

Busy

Hey folks...
Thanks for checking back in.

I'll have something of interest up soon. Lots of exciting things going on!

Later!
Jim

Sarah baby photos

Well, folks... here's the first set. 15 weeks... and I think she's sucking it in a bit in the photos.

She's a little bigger in real life.

lol.

isn't she cute?

A new look

Well, I decided that I wanted to have a simpler look to the blog for awhile. And you couldn't get simpler than this.

Also, there are a few added changes to the links section. Most notably, Sarah has a blog! She finally started a Myspace account, and is using it as a blog, so go check it out, make her your friend, and let happiness ensue!

Other additions are our good friend Joni, my parents, and our new church out here in colorado springs.

Peace out.

A Rant for Jim. (Not me... the other Jim.) Well, ok, it's for me too.

And how.

This week has flown by. It's been crazy at work, but that's the Christmas season at Starbucks. I've worked a little overtime this week, which is not allowed, but good for our finances. Today was a day from hell at work, but not because it was busy, or because any pipes exploded... no... today's suckiness was caused by just about every barista I worked with today was covering for someone else's shift, or having their shift covered, or covering for the person that should have been covering for somebody that told the person who originally had the shift that they would cover for them, but couldn't because of "finals." (True story)

Ok. A moment for the bozos that act like finals are an act of God. It's like finals are a completely uncontrollable and unexpected booby trap devised by professors to trick them into failing the classes they would naturally ace if it weren't for those crazy FINALS! "Yeah... so I was totally headed for my 4.0 when my prof thought up this crazy thing! A final exam!!! What the heck?"

And what makes these people even more annoying is that most of them are studying to be teachers. TEACHERS! These are girls who have a terribly hard time balancing work and study... and want to have a career totally based around studying. Bright people these people. And there are few people on earth as condescending to homeschoolers as elementary school teachers. When I say that I was homeschooled, they look at me like I've just said that I'm a commie pinko and that God isn't American. By the way, God isn't American. Seriously, they take me not attending a public school as a personal insult. It's like telling a politician that you don't vote.

Anyway... today at work, thirty-leven people changed shifts, which makes it incredibly difficult to figure out when they should take their breaks, where they should work, and what they should be doing. Which is in fact, MY responsibility. It's all very complex. And when I think I've got it all figured out, somebody says something like "I really don't want to work drivethru today... oh, and I'd like to go home 6 hours early... cause I've got finals, which you wouldn't understand you idiot homeschooler."

"Sure."

It just gets old. And I can't just hit them with the Starbucks stick and throw them out the drive thru window... at least I don't think I can. Let me check the handbook.

Ok... I'm done ranting. I'm going to bed. Sarah is such a cool person. She doesn't make my brain cry.

Later.

Back online with pictures...

Well, Adelphia Cable wasn't able to get us hooked up on Friday, and their earliest date was this morning... so we're back online! Sarah and I had the weekend off, which we spent working on getting the new apartment set up. It is WONDERFUL! So much better than the last place. No bad smells... no sirens outside the window. And the view is great.

Here are some pics from our first few days here.


Dad asked me to take a few pics of Sarah and post her "progress" on the blog, so we'll get those pics up asap! Love you all. Thanks so much for all of your support during the last few weeks!

Jim

Walking forward into the foggy night...

Faith is weird. It feels like jumping out of a plane and has the same payoffs... Intensity. Thrill. Fear. Relief on landing. And we don't jump like the suicidal desperate... we jump with the most reliable, most amazing, never failing parachute you can use. It would be stupid to throw yourself into the abyss of life trusting everything to "work out" because you would quickly be proven wrong. But like a child on the edge of a pool, jumping into the arms of a loving parent, we trust. Trust and blind faith are two very different things. So trust we have, and God has once again, and in miraculous ways proved Himself trust-worthy.

At this moment, I write from the edge of a hopeless situation. Human hopelessness is so easy to attain. It can come very easily, and I have to keep using my "trust" to fight it off. On the other hand... we have come so far in the last week. I wrote of our needs last Monday. A staggering $1200+ defecit that we didn't have. To be raised in one week. With no possibility of Sarah being able to earn it. With no real possibility of me finding a way of making that kind of money. Our families would love nothing more than to help us, but are unable to financially. We were at the end of our ropes... or at least a few inches up. Well, the next day, our church responded with a $125 donation. Then came a generous gift and loan from a dear couple to us that equaled $500. The next day, we received a thanksgiving card with $200 in it from a couple that doesn't read the blog or know directly what we're going through! On Wednesday, our pastor gave me the church's donation, but in the meantime, someone had added $100 to the gift! We found out yesterday, that one of Sarah's relatives is planning on giving Sar a late but welcome graduation present of $100! Thus bringing the money that's coming in to $1025!!!
And that's before my Starbucks check!

Is that incredible or what?!?! What an amazing God we serve.

UPDATE!!! While I was typing... I just got this phone call!

Well, the stressful situation that I was describing earlier has just come to a relative close! When Sarah and I added up our pennies and dimes yesterday, and realized that we had the money now to get out of Tanglewood, get their referral (saying that we have paid them in full) and get our approval with Summer Grove across the street going, we wrote the check that minute and took it to Tanglewood's office. The girl there was in no hurry to do anything, and said that she'd post the check in the morning and slip the receipt under our door. Well, I had no doubt that she'd post the check, but I didn't think for a second that I wouldn't have to go over and pry the receipt and referral out of her hands when I got home from work on Thursday. (today) Anyway. I went to work this morning, and worked a princess (4 hour) shift till noon, and came home. On arriving at Summer Grove to check their progress, I found that Tanglewood hadn't answered their phone all day, and weren't responding to the faxes Summer Grove had been sending all morning! I went over, only to find the office closed with no explanation! On the first of the month! (Which is apparently the busiest day of the month for apartment people.) I did find the maintenance person, and she tried to be helpful, but she said that she hadn't seen the office manager all day. The maintenance girl gave me a receipt for the check, so at least I have proof... (it took her all of one minute to get the receipt.) but she couldn't help with the needed referral. So I went back to SG and brainstormed, then went home and looked up Tanglewood's corporate owner's number. I called them, explained the situation, and they called the property manager at home. She apparently had a family emergency, and decided not to tell her coworkers or anyone else that she wouldn't be in. Needless to say, they looked up our file on their server, called Summer Grove, and gave us the needed referral!!! So we're in! You heard it here first! We've been packing, and tonight a mix of baristas from Starbucks and people from church. (Baristas are not, in fact, people.)

Anyway... I've got alot to do! But that's the update for now! Thank you thank you thank you for your prayers and thoughts. We love all you guys!

Peace!
Jim

What A WEEK!!!

Wow folks!
This has been an action packed week!

Ryan, Jess & Kaitlin have been out this past few days, Sarah has been up and down feelings-wise... and our apartment situation is still unresolved.

Ry, Jess & Kaity flew in on Thanksgiving Day. I went to pick them up, but half way to Denver, I got a call that their plane had turned around in St. Louis and went back to Chicago for repairs. They were going to be about 2 hours late. So I decided that instead of going directly to the airport, which is East of the city a bit... I would go downtown. I haven't been there since '99, when I went with my roommates from college. So I drove into town, and since it was a holiday, nothing was open, but parking on the street was easy to find, and free... so I drove to the 16th street mall and parked. (The 16th St. mall is THE place to be in Denver, and very neat. It's an entire street of stores with two free trolleys that go up and down it all day. There's no actual traffic on it, so it's really nice.) I walked around, and got some coffee at a Starbucks that was open, and sat with the homeless and talked to them for awhile. It was really eye opening, and I heard some sad stories, and some happy stories... it was a great way to focus on the things that God has blessed us with. When it was time, I hopped back in the car and drove to the airport to pick everybody up, and head back. We took our time, and drove through Garden of the gods when we got to Colorado Springs. Everybody was really happy to see Sarah, and be done traveling. I cooked dinner, which was a nice roast with potatoes and carrots. There was green bean casserole, and dinner rolls, and sweet potatoes made from scratch. Everything turned out great!

The past several days have been spent hanging out and having fun. We have enjoyed having the company, and the help around the house. It's been nice for me to have Ryan, and Sarah to have the girls for emotional support. Sometimes it's hard to share your feelings with your spouse when you're feeling something you've said before. Or a dozen times before. It's hard to say, "This really has been getting me down... again..." without annoying them, or frustrating yourself. Sometimes, having someone who truly cares to listen to your common issues, can go a long way.

Ryan's "cow" (Gateway laptop) died on him early in the trip, so he's had issues with that, but otherwise, things went really well.

Oh... the apartment. Well folks, I don't know how many of you will understand this, but we are coming down to the wire and we're not worried. Well... we're worried to a point. But we know that God is going to provide in an amazing way, and I can't wait to blog what that was! As we stand, we have found an apartment we can afford payments on ($515 per month) even though we're single income now... and we will be able to pay off the fee for breaking our lease in payments to Tanglewood. (How appropriately named is this place?) And the really cool thing is that it is across the street, so it's easy to move to, and there is a first month free special on it. It would be a two bedroom, one bath. It isn't stinky, or old, and it has new carpet and vinyl. There are of course, problems. The main one is that they have a policy that requires you to have all money owed your last apartment paid in full. This is not possible at this point, so we are asking that they look at this situation differently. The second issue is that we may not make enough at this point to pass the application. The third, is that my next paycheck is ON the day we need to be out of here, and it's not going to be as high because I wasn't able to work my full 40 hours this last week! So it's gonna be tight no matter what! I really haven't a clue as to what's going to happen, but I am eager to find out. We have done everything we could, and we are at the end of ourselves... so we step out on faith that Jesus won't let us fall. For those of you praying, the amount we're praying for is about $1,000. That would allow us to get out of Tanglewood, into Summer Grove, and would provide for Sarah's medical expenses. Thank you for your prayers.

In conclusion, please continue to pray for Sarah as her health continues to give her problems. Her stomach is very delicate, and she continues to have morn-afternoo-nigh-twiligh-daw-brunchtime sickness. She has been holding up valiently, but needs rest from her bodies problems. Thank you.

Well, I need to head to bed.

Love yall.
Jim

Return

Wow folks... Sorry about the absence.

Updates include a scare for Sarah and I, kind donations, another move, a visit from back home, and new music.

First up, and to asuage your fears... Sarah and I had a scare concerning the baby about a week ago. I was just getting off work, and I got a call from Sar who had some bleeding, and was scared that something was wrong with the baby. As soon as I got off the phone with her, I got a call from one of the guys from church. He was wondering how we were doing, and wanted to know if we needed prayer for anything... how's that for timing? So after I got off the phone with him, I called my parents so they could be praying too. I got home and comforted Sarah for a couple minutes, and then called the doctor on duty. Since it was a Saturday, it was a few minutes after the page before he called back. The doc on duty wasn't Sarah's, but he was able to assess the sitch pretty quickly, and let us know that a little "Spotting" isn't normal, but it isn't unusual either, so unless it got worse, we were ok. He said to have Sarah stay resting, and keep excercise to a minimum for a couple days. The fact that we had just had the sonagram two days prior, and everything was great when we did, was also a good sign. Since then, Sarah has experienced a bit more spotting, but after checking with another doctor on Friday, we are feeling alot better about things. I don't think I'll be totally confident that everything's ok until I see the baby again, and have a doctor right there observing what it looks like... but I have faith that no matter what happens, God is in control, and He will get us through.

On to brighter things. I don't know that I updated you all regarding our apartment situation... ok, so I did... I just checked. Yeah... nothing new to report. We're still looking, and we have till the second. So please keep our housing in your prayers.

On to even brighter things... Today at church, a lady that always says hi and asks how we're doing every Sunday came up and asked if we wanted a crib and a stroller. Pretty cool, so we went over to her house to see them, and they look great! They're used, but in great shape, and she had a portable playpen area too! So we took the playpen and stroller, and we'll get the crib after we move again. The crib is about 4 years old, and is cherry. Gorgeous. God provides in so many ways! We were looking through a Target baby book to see what we wanted to register, and the crib and stroller were both such expensive items. Necessary, but expensive... and now those are out of the way, so we can focus our registry a little differently! Pretty awesome. The portable playpen was an extra, but I'm sure it'll be a welcome one.

To the really exciting news!
Kaitlin, Jessica and Ryan are coming out for Thanksgiving this week!
Kait & Jess are Sarah's sisters, and Ryan is my best friend and their cousin. So we'll be with family this holiday. So nice. Sarah has been pining for family these past few weeks, and will probably attempt to kidnap them. Don't worry though, we'll call them in sick for work for the next few months. (Jessica's work might actually believe us...) They'll be here for a few days, and then head back to Chicago. My manager gave me Thurs. and Fri. off, and since I don't work Sundays, I'll be able to be home for 3 out of the 4 days. I'm planning a roast, since Sarah can't stand any sort of poultry being cooked, eaten, stored or served in any way since her pregnancy began. So one turkey can breathe easier this year. Well... I'm sure it'll get killed anyway. Subway has to make it's money some way...

In new music. I found the 2002 Tom Waits release Blood Money at the library, along with a newer MXPX album called Before Everything & After. I also picked up an album by the Datsuns, a punk band I'm roughly familiar with. Finishing up the pack, and Jim... I refuse to let you read the next sentence. Turn away now!!! Seriously! If you read this, you will disown me... man... I can't bring myself to say it. If you want to know the last album I picked up, and your last name does not start with "Van" email me, and I'll tell you. I have to keep what dignity I still have with Jim alive.

At work, I finally had the opportunity to make nametags for my fellow workers. I love em, and I brought them in yesterday to overwhelming appreciation. Everybody loved them, and so I'll post a few here for your amusement. These tags are not seen by the customer, but instead mark who is on which register... for my fellow Starbuckians, you'll recognize the idea, as you were my first store to make these for. It's hard to find a thing to encapsulate your friends' personalities with... one defining feature that will amuse and not offend... but they seem to be cool with these.






















So there are a few... hope you enjoyed them. I love that pic of Debbie Harry on Tim's card.
I can't believe that CBGB's is closing. I've barely been to NY city... and that was one of the locations on my list... oh well.

Alright everyone. In the future, I'll try to stick to smaller, more frequent posting, instead of binges like this one.

Peace and thank you,
Jim

$2.29

Gas is down to $2.29 where we are, and I am happy. Not that I use all that much anymore, but it's a relief to not have to chuck out the same money for gas as we do our APARTMENT any more!

Just kidding.

Today was a nice, long day at work, but tomorrow and Saturday I open, so while waking up and leaving home while it's dark will not be fun... getting off work by noon is priceless.

I really can't remember why it was I wanted to blog, but I remember saying to myself "Self... you should say something about that." But I guess it wasn't that important.

No apartment news yet, but we're working on it.

Alright. I give up. Talk to you all later.

Jim

Skype

Hi guys... I know... two posts in one day!!!

This last week or so, I've been using a program called Skype, and it's been awesome!

It is free to download and use, and it works on Windows or Mac machines. What it does is it allows you to use your internet connection to carry on phone-like conversations over your computer. You "Call", "Hang up" and "Connect" like a phone, but using your mic and speakers on your computer. (although, with some connections, headphones keep nasty echo away.)

It's also neat because it's international. I had a conversation tonight with a Chinese college student, who was in China. Pretty cool.

Here's a link to the windows app.

And the mac app.

If you decide to download and use this program, let me know, and I'll hook you up with my screenname.

Peace.

First Pics!!!!

Alright Everybody!!! Here's the first pic of our little booger that we got at the doctor's office today!

I know it sounds crazy, but I think we can tell a little about the baby's personality, even though it's so early in the pregnancy... but honestly... take a look.

"... and I'm BACK IN THE GAME!!!"

Alright!!!

We are now officially ONLINE!

I am so excited. We had the internet hooked up last night, and spent the better part of the last day catching up. I updated all our programs and checked my emails... wow... I missed a few, because, holy shnikies... there were alot.


Sar fiddled around today, and I think she said she had around 150 emails to go through. Amazing how much contact we have nowadays.

Well, now that I am on a personal computer, I can better blog out surroundings to you. Here are several photos of my ride to work every day. The mountain you see in the distance that is bigger than the others is Pikes Peak.






I am working on the western side of town, almost to the Garden of the Gods... speaking of which. Here is a pic I took the other night of my store. Forgive my crappy camera.


So anyway... last Sunday, Sarah and I went to church at the Vinyard that we've been visiting, (and have decided to attend regularly) and then we helped out at a fall/costume party that the church had for the local community. Lots of candy... enough to last us awhile. And that, my friends, is saying something... actually, before the party, Sarah and I went to lunch at the Cracker Barrel (mmm... chicken & dumplins... mmm) and I got this cool picture below of a cloud enveloping a nearby mountain. It was really cool to watch. We're such newbies.


Well, after that, we went over to a friend from church's apartment, and decided that we could do better than where we were. Our apartment, while spacious, is stinky. And not just to super-pregnant-smelling-a-chicken-fry-in-the-
next-county-Sarah... to me too. Several times a day, the place is filled with the smells of cooking (if you want to call it that) and cigarette smoke. But like, nasty, cheap, left-in-your-cup-of-coffee cigarette smoke smell.

Ugh.

And there are alot of issues with the quality of the place. Our lights, and water have had issues... the doorknob sort of came loose and had to be repaired, and it is super noisy because we're right next to the street.

So for all of those reasons, we've decided to... wait for it... wait for it... yup, move.

But this time to a nicer apartment, and with friends who live here, and the ability to actually see the apartment before we move in, I am confident that we will be able to find something much nicer, and possibly considerably cheaper from what I hear. The apartment complex was moved by my "you guys suck" speech, and will not be hitting us up with any crazy fees. So we are looking again.

Lemme see.

Oh, yeah. Note to all Starbucks partners reading this. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT attach a "Grounds for your garden" sticker to your lower lip. This causes one to lose said skin, and bleed profusely all over your environment. Even if one is busy, and your hands are dirty, and you may be "just" looking for a place to keep the sticker, even if only for a second... do not give in. It hurts alot. And you try to figure out a way to get your lip to stop spurting blood from six different open wounds. It ain't easy mister!

Everyone else, ignore the above comment that my uhhh.... friend did.

Peace.
Jim

Crooked Saints, pirated music, and life is good!

Steve. Dude. I did not know you knew about this place. I'm honored to have your attention. And you STILL have my freakin Guided by Voices cd that you borrowed 3 years ago!

George... for goodness sake, buy a mac. And if the Orange Thongs decide to make a Colorado appearance, consider yourself booked.

Kate, miss ya. Email me and let me know what's up. Or write... I think I've forgotten how.

Ryan, hook this negro up. I'll have ftp access on the 1st. I've got some stuff you have to hear too.

Kaitlin, did you and Gabi make up yet? I talked to Sarah about you coming out for the summer. It would be redunkulous! I hope it works out.

Paula, Sarah is still projectile vomiting, but any other tips you have are welcome.

Jim, thanks for the feedback about the word verification. I hope it doesn't discourage any incredibly lazy people from posting. I always love what they have to say.

Mom & Dad, sorry for not calling more. I've been juggling a trillion things. I love you.

Stephen & Ezra, punch each other in the face for me. I miss you guys. Hopefully, we can get you out here for a couple weeks each when the baby is born. I'll do the homeschooling... of course, the only subjects we'll cover are music, art and computer science.

Sean. Miss you man. Hope I can see you again in the forseeable future. Make fun of Dave for me.

Sarah... if you're reading this, I love you and I'll see you when I get home... yeah, that was dumb.

Well, that's Tuesday catchup. Hope you were on there, and if so, that you enjoyed it. If you weren't on there, comment more... then I'll remember to write to you.