Month: April 2006

Garage Sale

Each year in April, our town has a Town Garage Sale. Anyone in town is allowed to have a garage sale without paying any license fees or whatever you have to do to have a garage sale. So this year, my folks and I took advantage of the day to have our own sale. In past years, the weather has been pretty nasty. Some years rainy. Some years cold. Some years cold & rainy. But this year, the temperature was in the mid 60s F and it was cloudy (so not too much sun). Perfect garage saling weather. 🙂

So, what did Trina bring to the sale? My old Gameboy Advance (I have the SP now, so didn’t need the other), and MP3 CD playing boombox that never worked flawlessly, some knick knacks, and lots of video tapes. Since I am now a DVD addict, some of my VHS tapes have been supplanted by lovely DVDs. That left quite a few videos I didn’t need anymore. Dad looked through them last night and picked up a few for the Lake. The rest I sold for $1 each or 5 for $3. And I managed to sell over half of them! Which really surprised me – my taste in videos isn’t very, um, usual. Some of the things in the video boxes: Columbo, Dangermouse, Red Dwarf, Monty Python (Flying Circus & Live at Hollywood Bowl), Monkees, and several movies including some Muppets ones.

Any guesses as to what sold first?

Well, if you would have asked me which would have sold first, if any would have sold, I’d’ve said Columbo and some of the movies.

Heh – nope, it was the Monty Python stuff! A couple and their daughter arrived early and saw the Python tapes. They immediately started arguing whether the son still owned a VCR and if he’d be interested in the videos. So the daughter called her brother, confirmed he had a VCR still, and bought all the Python. And when it added up to only 8 videos, I threw in two Doctor Who videos to make 10 thinking he might like that. (Which two, you ask? Ghost Light and Curse of Fenric, of course. Only quality videos for my customers!)

The stuff that didn’t sell included Red Dwarf and Dangermouse. (The first didnt’ surprise me, the second did! All those little kids who stopped by and I couldn’t sell them on a cartoon about a secret agent mouse and his hamster assistant!)

During the day, I saw 4 former classmates of mine, two whom I haven’t seen in years (I think since maybe graduation!) and one of my sister’s classmates. Dad and I spent most of the day outside selling and chatting with folks as they came. Mom preferred instead to run errands (getting mail, getting lunch – yay! Texas Tenderloins from a vendor on main street).

So, how much did I net during the day?

Almost $60! Wow! I did a lot better than I suspected. So now I’m rich! I think I’ll go to some town garage sale and spend it all! (Hah, yeah right!)

A Fine Day Out

Tis been a lovely spring day. Temperature in the low 70s (F), sunny, pleasant breezes. Prit’near perfect. And I actually spent some of the day outside!

I, of course, walked to the post office in the morning for mail (all junk, except 1 bill). But once I got home, I realized that I’d forgotten to get cash at the gas station (they have an ATM machine). So another walk there. And when I got home, I realized that I really wanted to ride my bike. However, the tires were a little flat from the long winter storage. No matter, another trip to the gas station for some FREE AIR (that’s what it says!) and I was good to roll. I rode over to Becky’s house to chat with her, the little ones, and Deanna. Then I rode more (actually almost wearing myself out – go me! Oh wait, I didn’t ride that much. Bad me!)

Leo and I had lunch after that (mmm, haystacks! Taco salads for those of you who dunno what haystacks are). Leo got a smidge of meat & cheese, I also had lettuce & onions & crushed nachos with mine. A little bit of City of Heroes (yay – my new build for The Dominie rocks – he’s a kick ass defender-controller now! And doesn’t get tired!) But then Leo and I were bucking to get outside.

We went out for about an hour. I read more of Wicked while Leo flopped about in the garage and on the patio. Then he decided to investigate more of his yard. By the time I was done reading, he was trying to see what the neighbors (the ones that aren’t mom & dad) were up to. That was at the edge of his leash, so I unhooked him from the long lead & held his little purple leash. He walked me up and down the fence as he sniffed & stared at the goings on. After a few minutes, I picked him up and we returned to the house.

So, all & all, a lovely day. (This is Trina in Work Avoidance Mode. The house really needs a good cleaning & I have other things on my list, but I’m doing a great job avoiding all of that. Go me! I mean, bad me!)

MP3 Tagging

Whew! I think I’m finally done fixing all of my MP3 tags and making sure every song has a date (hopefully a correct one) and album art. Been working on it for quite a while. But now I’m done. Now I just need to make playlists for all of my music. Using QCD and MediaMonkey, that shouldn’t be too tough.

The one thing that my MP3 collection is lacking is my vinyl collection. Some I’ve found CDs for, so those have been MP3’d. However, some of my albums don’t exist as CDs, so I’m going to need to hook my stereo up and go that route. Scanning in the album covers will be the hardest thing, since albums are bigger than my scanner area. Hopefully I’ll find someone online who’s already successfully done it. 🙂

Anyhoo, that’s all for another day. For now, I’m pleased that I’ve done as much as I’ve gotten so far.

4 Day Weekend

Well, I’m now halfway through my lovely four-day weekend. I’ve been having fun. Yesterday, the folks & I spent the day at the Lake. The weather was very good to us. Pleasant during the morning & early afternoon, cloudy & rainy later when we were ready to watch The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. We all enjoyed the movie. And I’d like to see the same group do Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which I both enjoy a lot. (OK, so my favorite versions of them has Sylvester McCoy as Reepicheep.)

Today started out rainy & cloudy and became beautiful. Leo and I spent some time outside while I cleared my cart out of trash & straightened the garage a bit. (It’s still quite a state, but at least there’s room for my bike without being in the road of the car.) I let my car stay out in the driveway all night, so the rain washed it nice & clean. 🙂 The rest of my day has been goofing off & catching up on LJ. Oh and I did work on my online class some yesterday & today. (I’m taking an online class about whether one should make online classes available to people. It’s been an eye-opener for me. I don’t think we’re ready at Newton yet – too much work for the treen!)

Tomorrow it’s round to Becky’s for Easter. I guess it’ll be in the afternoon because mom works. It’s always fun to see my little cousins. (OK, so I see 4/5 of ’em at school most days – one of ’em at least 1 period every day, but still…) And I haven’t had a chance to wish Deanna a belated happy birthday yet. I think she’s turned 23? Eeep! I am so OLD.

Happy Easter to all of you playing at home! 🙂

Things about Parables

The folks and I got back from Indianapolis yesterday afternoon. Leo was pleased to see me (and had been upset that I’d left – he left 3 statements for me to that effect – yuk!) We had a nice time meeting up with Ed Beutner and Bernard Brandon Scott and another of the Westar Scholars, Perry something or other. (I’m bad with names.) Very nice fellow, Perry. Ed spoke at his church’s Sunday School, so we went there and to the service afterwards. First time I’d been in a Methodist service since I was a kid and dad was a Methodist preacher. It was, um, formal. But the church was very friendly and is an open and affirming church. I love that in a church.

Anyhoo, during the Friday and Saturday workshops, I took notes. (On my PDA – heh heh – in between solitaire games. Hey, it keeps me awake and keeps me quiet.)

Found on a bumper sticker Brandon saw: “Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off.”

Joke from Ed: “Did you hear the one about the dyslexic paranoid? He was always afraid he was following someone.”

Some thoughts on parables:

“We don’t learn about parables, we learn from them.” – Brandon (IIRC)

The questions you should ask about parables: “How does it sound? How does it feel? How does it fit?” – Ed

Don’t ask what a parable means – that’s a Hellenistic way of looking at an aural story telling technique.

Parables are not for children.

(And after he said that, Brandon added that he thought at church “we should entertain the children and educate the adults” but we seem to do the reverse.)

Some other thoughts:

“God is nowhere absent and everywhere hidden.” – Ed

“Constantine turned Christianity from a religion of what you do into a religion of what you believe.” – Brandon

There were a few more notes that I’d taken, but I think those above are the cream of the crop. I liked what the fellows had to say. And it’s neat hearing about parables from a strict scholar (Brandon) and from a poet who’s also a scholar (Ed). Brandon admitted that it’s hard for scholars to not look at a parable and try to figure out what it means. But for a poet like Ed, he sticks to how does it sound, how does it feel, and how does it fit.

When Cold Air & Warm Air Meet

The parental units and I are in Indianapolis right now, getting ready to attend another Jesus Seminar on the Road. We went to one back in November where I got to meet two of dad’s little Internet friends. Alas, Daryl Schmidt died March 23rd due to a very aggressive cancer. 🙁 Tonight I’ll get to see Bernard Brandon Scott again, but also get to finally meet Ed Beutner, one of dad’s “cronies.” I’ve heard quite a few stories about Ed, so I’m really looking forward to meeting him. Plus, the two of them will be talking about parables. And I like parables.

So, after dad and I returned from our monthly county tech meeting, mom drove us towards I70 to make our way to Indiana. We were driving down Hogpath Road and, according to mom’s car’s thermometer, it was 78°F. Suddenly, a storm came up on us and before the storm was over, the temperature had dropped down to 54°F! It was quite the frog strangler and there was hail larger than moth balls falling. It was rather impressive to watch. Mom got us through the bad weather and onto Indianapolis. And now we’re in a Baymont Inn that says it’s a La Quinta. Gee, I just love staying in hotels that change their identities on me! (Have I ever mentioned the time when I stayed in a Comfort Inn in London that became a home for refugees before I’d left it?)

The nice thing about this Baymont Inn is the free wireless Internet. Yay! I should be able to work some on my online class (which is over online classes) while we’re here.

The things you find…

So mom & dad have been doing a lot of rearranging around in their house. (The living room is now the dining room, so the parlor room is now the living room, etc.) During this process, they’re locating things that are mine & Amy’s that had been hiding in various crevasses in the house. Several of my boardgames & puzzles are now in my own house – yay! But perhaps the biggest surprise was my AT-AT! For those of you who aren’t Star Wars fans (and to think, I call you friends! Heh), an AT-AT is a big-ass vehicle used in The Empire Strikes Back. I was under the impression that I had sold my AT-AT to some of the neighborhood boys years ago. But now that I think about it, I think it was my Death Star that I sold them. (No loss – that wasn’t nearly as cool as an AT-AT.)

Leo didn’t know what to make of this plastic thing that was even bigger than him. I haven’t added batteries to it to see if the electronics still work. And if they do, Leo will be even more confused about it. Heh. Poor Kitty.

In other news, shortly before heading off to visit with judiang, elsaf, and hergrace, I had bid upon & won a 60GB iPod video. I was pleased that I’d found it for under $380 (the winning bid was $335). I have over 30GB of MP3s on my computer (most, but not all, of my CD collection. And I still have some albums that I want to convert to MP3). So a 30GB drive wasn’t going to work. The iPod arrived while I was in Chicago, but my parents are lovely people and they picked it up at the post office. I’ve already copied all of my songs onto it (and NOT by using iTunes – woot! MediaMonkey, I LOVE you!) I still have to create good playlists, but I’ll do it as I update my MP3s to have proper album art & information. Some playlists I’ll make in QCD, the others in MediaMonkey.

Oh, and in the Keeping Up with the Short’s, it turns out that a certain recent birthday girl just HAD to go off to her local Apple Store & get herself a 60GB iPod video. The rotter! 😉 Oh yeah, and she paid LESS. Bah! Ah well, all’s fair in love & commerce.

Friend Gushing

Well, after over 10 hours in a car today, I’m back home. elsaf and I left around 11:30am Chicago time and I stepped into my house just after 9:30pm Ohio time. It’s now past my bedtime, but I thought I’d post to say I’d made it OK. And to thank my wonderful friends. Thank you, Elsa, for being my road trip partner & for all the fabulous cooking. Thank you, hergrace for coming to our birthday celebration. Thank you, judiang for being such a gracious host despite recently having one of the shittiest weeks ever. You three are great friends to hang out with and it’ll be great when we can all get together again!

Excess! Er, Success!

Tonight’s fabulous five-course meal by elsaf was amazing! Well, we’ve only gotten 4 courses done and we’re taking a break before we have dessert. But it was very good food! Elsa is a marvel. judiang, hergrace and I are grateful to our culinary friend. And all four of us are stuffed to the gills. We’re sitting around Judi’s faux fireplace and listening to her ’60s directory of MP3s.

Alas, tomorrow morning, Elsa & I are driving back to Michigan and then I drive back to Ohio. But first, Steph has promised to make us buttermilk pancakes. Yay!

With the leftovers that are currently chilling in Judi’s fridge, I think she’ll be able to go a week without having to visit restaurants or (her nemesis) grocery stores.

ETA: changed “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” to “Can’t Help Myself” on Judi’s recommendation in Music.