Picture

Mom and some of the kids were doing some watercolor, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's definitely lacking, but not terrible for the first time.

Break

Hour breaks are quite satisfying, as apposed to half hour breaks which aren't. I'm still trying to figure out which bistro or restaurant down town close to work is the best one. Mocha Dan's is pretty high on the list due to the internet access, but it also fills itself up with Asian tourists which really effects it's rating. All of them have their pros and cons. Maybe I'll write a comparative review when I get around to visiting them all a few times.
Anyhow, the new job is nice. Nice people, pretty lax, but still kinda challenging, interesting, educational. Anyhow, it's nice, except for maybe the annoying courthouse clerk girls who think they know everything and patronize you. Well, to be fair it was only one of them, but she didn't really have it all together herself. But it's not too bad. I've been liking the weather also. Clouds and wind are a perfect combination.

Lizard Walk

Well, we went for a walk a while back as we sometimes do during our Alaskan summers for some strange reason. Bu anyway, I decided to bring Jadyn along because I’m trying to make my lizards more comfortable with me and the outdoors. They seem to be improving slightly. They aren’t really trying to bite my fingers of anymore, and they’re getting a little more used to the lizard leash. He(or she perhaps) handled itself nicely for the most part. After a while of getting bobbed up and down he dropped his jaw open like he was sick, but he survived well enough.

What a Week

Well, it’s been a long week. Partly because it’s been pretty busy work wise. Also because I was a bit under the weather, but I’m getting over that now. Hopefully I can have a healthy end of Summer. Where does that term “under the weather even come from? As if someone could be “over the weather”. Also, it’s always a bit stressful starting a new job, and although I must hide it rather well because people tell me I’m a very confident person, I’m very accustomed to second guessing myself which isn’t always a bad thing, yet isn’t always a good thing. I’m just glad the week is over. I think I may miss Prospector actually. Mainly because the drama is just to good there, and I hear it'll really be picking up the day after I leave. On one hand, it's very sad. On the other, it's quite amusing and makes for an entertaining workplace. I'll also miss the great discounts, speaking of which, I just ordered a big batch of SmartWool because my old ones are wearing out and I am resolved never to wear cotton socks again. They just feel too icky.

The Lost Detective

A Plan

The next morning was a Saturday morning, but I didn’t sleep in. I couldn’t, I had urgent affairs to attend to. It’s uncanny how easily one can pull themselves out of the morning slothfulness when they have ambitions or something to aim for. I found myself pulling open the doors to my closet to discover a rack of several hangers only one of which carried a shirt.
“Need to go to the washers.” I mumbled, as my hand tugged the casual dress shirt from where it hung and my arms slipped through the sleeves. A mirror was suspended in front of me on the wall as I secured the buttons. I focused my vision in on the mirror and noticed a small tear in the fabric of my shirt where it must have caught on something.
“Stupid.”
Clothing flew through the air as I rummaged through my dirty hamper bin and pulled out a thin sweater. It was brought up to my nose for assessment.
“Meh.” I exclaimed, pulling it on, over my shirt.

Soon I was strolling through the park. I always had to remove myself from my small, stuffy apartment room to think clearly. Perhaps I subconsciously allowed the staleness of my accommodations to induce my mind’s congestion. However it was, I found myself often complying with the need to get away by strolling along the busy sideways and into bistros and frequently, through the park. Though, many would not call the Rue Morgue central park and actual park, and I always wondered why it was referred to as the “central park” when it was actually the only park in the city.
To be fair, it was probably the most pleasant, natural area one would find in the entire city but not a conventional park, though it made the effort. There was a play area once in the north area of the park. I had a few less than fond memories of playing in sand boxes and on swings with--or at least near--other children in my boyhood days. But the area had been removed due to population inflation sometime between my youth and maturity, or supposed maturity. Though there were walkways, it was rare to find someone strolling their dog or baby cart along these paved paths.
In fact, children or babies were only things you expected to view on occasion in Rue Morgue City. It never seemed to be much of a place to raise a family. In fact, it’s a bit hard to say what kind of a person makes up for the inhabitants of such a city. It was a place in which one could make money, so it wasn’t rare to see business men going about their, well, business. The city had strangely also obtained a fair amount of Canadian and European immigrants, coming in hopes of wealth, and some of what had shaped Rue Morgue over the years was influenced by foreign ideas.
My new jacket was left behind that Saturday morning as I had settled for jeans and my sweater top. The July heat was beginning to become almost unbearable for me. My legs carried me almost involuntarily along the pathways, through the scrawny aspen trees scattered about. The sun was out in full force but strangely, didn’t seem to brighten the small park. It was some how still dull and lifeless.
Color didn’t seem to exist in Rue Morgue. Sure, the grass was green, the sky was blue, but it was a lifeless blue, and the lushness of the green was absent. It seemed as though the emanation of the dour city had bleached its way into the contrasting life leaving all in it’s path blanched and murky. Perhaps I’m being melodramatic. Was it merely my perception? I might be persuaded to think so, but I was not the only one who saw the city this way.
A lone park bench sat there, near the path. Someone was seated on the left side of it behind a newspaper so I joined them, reaching for my mobile phone at the same time. My pockets were foraged in my squirming on the bench, and I extracted a small crinkled scrap of paper. I squinted at it as I entered the digits in on my phone. A right sleeve wiped the increasing perspiration from my forehead as I brought the phone up to my ear to hear the pulsing ring. It was answered promptly if not warmly.
“Uh yes,” I replied. “I would like to speak with Detective Bullit if that’s at all possible. Um, Joseph B. Low.” And then, “Of course.” after being instructed to wait a moment.
Minutes later I found myself twiddling my finger impatiently. The newspaper beside me was lowered revealing the soul behind. An old man, clothed a bit squalidly, folded up the paper and tilted his head back slightly, his eyes closed, catching a few rays of sun. My attention was drawn away suddenly as the now hot and sweaty devise held to my ear began to resonate once more, this time, with a professional, polite voice.
“Yeah, um Trace, how’s it going?” I replied. “Well, I’m working on this case right now with a small furniture warehouse business downtown on 555 Goldfish Street, and I’m doing some investigation on one of the owners. A Stefan Bork; there’s a chance he might be doing some seedy business. I was just wondering if you guys over there at the station have had any dealing with the guy or if you have any records of--”
He interrupted me with a less than hopeful surmising of what they might have in their records. My attention was drawn away from his prattling as I began to notice a few more people emerging in the park. Taking their daily strolls or shortcuts through the park on their way to work, the pathways began to populate. I could hear the faint snoring from the old man sitting near me. Then Tracer resumed the conversation, affirming his pessimistic assumptions and subsequently questioning me on what I thought I might be dealing with.
He didn’t care. At least that’s how I figured it; I could sense it in his tone. He was trying to communicate with me because he knew there was a distance between the two of us, and out of some skewed sense of duty felt some obligation to amend it. Or maybe he was attempting to reach out to me in pity because I wasn’t the man he was. Whatever it might have been, I wasn’t certain, I had decided it didn’t concern me, and so I made small talk to appease him.
“Yeah, it’s just this paranoid little man who wants me to check out his business partner because he’s suspicious of illegal activity.”
He continued the chatter, but my notice was side tracked once more. Some irritating figure of bright red flickered to the far right of my vision. At first I hadn’t evan consciously realized it was there. It was only some strange distracting glitter of movement. As it came nearer I came to recognize what the object was. A female jogger in a loose red tracksuit was plodding along the pathways, a small overweight dog leashed to her wrist and her shabby ponytail bouncing behind her, yet it didn’t look as silly as one would think.
Then I at a closer glance I realized two things that startled me for some reason. In fact, more than startle, they frightened me. Firstly, the jogging girl was her, Sidney’s friend from the funeral reception. And secondly, the pathway she was running along lead right past me and the bench I was so graciously sharing with the snoring old man whose snores were growing louder by the way.
“Oh yeah, of course Trace.” I said, trying to wrap up the conversation. “Well, I felt like demonstrating the warmth of my heart and looking into it for the poor guy. Anyway, I really should go. Yeah, talk to you later.”
I slipped the mobile phone back into my pocket and reached over for the old man’s paper gently. He shifted sleeping positions suddenly as I slowly eased the newspaper out from underneath his palm. She was coming closer every second. Maybe she wouldn’t recognize me, but I had to be safe. The newspaper was opened to its full width and I began to read, though, nothing in particular. Soon I heard the sound treading shoes rise and fade as they passed by me. In peeking over the top of the paper, I caught a glance of them running along, the plump, little dog panting frantically.
Worst case scenario? She might have stopped, and wanted to talk about stuff. It’s happened before to me. You brush ways with one of them and they start bringing up things neither you, nor they, really wish to talk about, but they are brought up non the less for the sake of conversation. At least I that’s the reason I gave myself for hiding behind the newspaper. It was a panicking instinct, one I couldn’t completely explain.
But truthfully, I think there was something about her that intimidated me, and it wasn’t just the fact she was female. She seemed so at ease with life, when I first met her with Sidney, and also now. There in the park, jogging along with her dog. Something about her emanated the feeling that she really had it all together, all figured out, and it was plausible if that makes any sense. Do intuitions make sense? Even so, it didn’t seem possible to me, or for me I should say. It was an unfeasible state of being I had learned to never expect to attain.
I brushed the confusing, useless thoughts from my mind and directed the brainpower I had left to working out plans for my investigative strategy. To be honest, I didn’t expect there to be anything worth investigating, but as long as I was being paid, I felt it necessary to earn my money. What I needed to find out was whether Peter Lorre’s imagination was getting the better of him, or whether there was something worth looking into.
I figured the smartest thing to do, at the time, would be to go straight to anyone who was involved with the work at the warehouse and question them to see if their intuitions were similar to Peter Lorre’s, but first I needed to get further information about this furniture business. Find out what its purpose was, who its clients were, how it was managed, and just general details. It’s always good to know as much as you can about a case; any number of details could help you out further down the line.
The man next to me broke out of his snoring. I folded up the paper and handed it to him.
“Oh, why thanks.” He exclaimed, accepting it.
“Say nothing of it” I replied “I’m finished with it anyhow.”
I rose to my feet and joined the other souls plodding along the pathways. There was no time to be reading, I had to begin investigating.

Job Search

Well, I've had somewhat of a busy week. Well, busy for me, which means slightly less lazy than normal. I went in for a sort of trial/training day at a local law office for a receptionist/bookkeeping position and it seemed to work out well. It's actually kinda funny. You see, they gave me a few basics when I first showed up, and then eventually everyone who was working that day wandered off to run errands and such, and I was the only person left there. Thankfully, nothing huge came up and they came back to take over again for me.
It was amusing. Intimidating and overwhelming also, but that tends to be the case with pretty much any job on the first day. The people seem nice and sportive so I'm hoping it all works out, but from what I've heard so far, I don't think I have much to worry about. I also like the guy whose gonna be showing me the ropes in the bookkeeping part. He's pretty understanding and easy to work with, polite to.
I go back again next week for to more full days so we'll see what happens then. Anyways, just thought I'd jump on and let everyone know what I've been up to lately.
Until next time...

Friday Movie Night

Penn Jillette the Athiest

I know he's creepy, but just watch the whole thing. It's very interesting... And convicting.

Spring

Well, I woke up after an hour of attempted sleep last night swatting at the high pitch buzzing around my ears. I had been tossing and turning and scratching for all of that hour, but being as I’m a deeply heavy sleeper, it had taken me forever to realize a mosquito had been slowly sucking every drop it could get out of me. I had about 7 or 8 swollen bites on one arm alone. Well, what can you say? It’s finally spring. Sleeping at night with the window wide open, sitting around on the porch, reading, drinking iced coffees or teas and writing a little on my MacBook. The sun hasn’t really gotten on my nerves much yet; as long as I sit in the shade it’s still enjoyable to be outside, but I do enjoy my overcast days when they come. I’ve still gotten away with wearing my beloved sweaters once in a while without overheating. Even though working part time doesn’t bring in the bucks, I’m still glad I’m getting some days off to enjoy spring while it lasts.

lol
Goob has been chasing Caspian around the house. I think they both find it equal enjoyable; Mom, however, does not. Caspian lands on her shoulder and Goob jumps on Mom to get him. I think the bird enjoys taunting this puppy.

Monday Review

Melody Gardot

I was at B&N a while back and heard something that peaked my interest coming from the overhead speakers. I've always enjoyed Jazz, now the jazz field is huge and there are many different types of Jazz most of which I know nothing about. But I've always liked the standards, Swing Band and Smooth Jazz. I went and asked the girl working in the electronics station what they were playing, and she pointed me out to Melody Gardot's new album My one and Only Thrill. So I went home, hopped on iTunes and gave a listen to her samples. She's great, for the most part. It's kinda hard for me to explain, you just have to go listen to her yourself. Soft, smooth, slow but very absorbing. There's some great horns, unbelievable strings although used rarely, nice jazz organ, and perfect use of scat which she does quite well. I would defiantly recommend her to anyone.

A few of her best songs are from the new album are Your Heart is as Black as the Night (the sax is cool in this one), Les etoiles(French lyrics are always great), The Rain and Deep Within the Corners of my Mind(very quiet and slow, but still captivating) My One and Only Thrill and If the Stars Were Mine (Orchestral Version)(amazing strings which add an incredible layer of ominousness). It has some really good stuff. She has two albums, and the first one has a few great songs, but isn't the greatest as a whole.

Some complaints are that all of her songs are love songs(which isn't surprising considering the genre) and some of them go too far. And some of her publicity photos are a bit unseemly which seems to be a common thing nowadays.



Here's some words I found about her on Amazon.

Gardot's presence both lyrically and musically lend themselves to someone far beyond her years, yet she had her first introduction to the world of music only a short while ago when she earned some spare cash by playing in piano bars. She was just 16.

"Music wasn't something I thought I'd wind up doing," she admits. "I played on Fridays and Saturdays, for four hours a night. I wasn't your typical player though because I only played music that I liked, a mix of things old and new.

It was only after an automobile accident while riding her bicycle home that the path Gardot has set out on began to change. Struck suddenly by a vehicle, she suffered multiple pelvic fractures, spinal, nerve and head injuries. Several of the effects have left their marks in various ways such as requiring Gardot to carry a cane and sport shaded glasses to combat residual photosensitivity.

Since Gardot had dabbled in music the past, during a follow up visit one day, her doctor suggested she try music therapy as a means for recovery. Specifically, he believed it would help her with her cognitive problems as music has been known to help repair neuropathways in the brain after severe trauma. However, her doctor can't have imagined the far-reaching consequences. While still unable to walk, Melody began writing and recording songs on a portable multitrack recorder at her bedside.

"I started recording the songs as a way to remember what I'd done; I had really bad short-term memory problems," she explains. "At the end of the day I couldn't remember the beginning".

These songs she wrote during her recuperation were released as a six-song EP called Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions. After hearing it, one critic commented that it was "a trick of alchemy that awful pain and uncertainty can give rise to such bold and striking music."

Although Melody claims she was never a fanatical music buff with a vast and esoteric record collection, she knows how to get the results she wants with her own songs.

Melody's debut album `Worrisome Heart' introduced, in The Sunday Times' words: "a remarkable talent by any measure", with songs of quiet, wistful poetry in arrangements that "ooze after-hours sophistication". Yet the follow-up, for release in April 2009, marks a substantial leap forward. `My One And Only Thrill' is an intensely creative milestone, transcending genre distinctions of jazz and blues to offer a haunting personal musical statement that will appeal to all music-lovers. As with her acclaimed live shows she captures and holds her audience in the palm of her hand.

Hey All

I've been having allergy issues. I know we all like to brag on the Humphrey's superior genes because we tend to survive tough viruses and never seem to have health problems. I guess I'm the weak link. Anyhow, I'm getting all these sneezing fit like every 10 minutes. It didn't help when I went to rake the yard outside and kept running into pollen on the trees. I think it all started when I let one rather dirty beagle and another not so clean English lab spend the night with me. Actually, to be fair I prolly forced them to, and they weren't that dirty, but they definitely had some sort of seasonal enzymes all over them. I can't resist though. It's like having huge, warm, soft teddy bears.

Well, I'm enjoying Bekah's new book club. I've already started the first book and although it's not something I would usually read on my own, I'm finding it interesting and somewhat engaging. I'm looking forward to reading all the other books we have on our list that would never get around to reading or even thought of outside of the book club.

Okay, check out this amazing invention. If I was a serious gamer I'd be all over this. Just buy a huge monitor and nice big set of surround sound headphones. The best part, when you'd get tired at 3:00am, you could just lean back and fall asleep without going to your bed. No, I'm joking, I'd never do that, but it does look insanely comfy.

Anouncement

Hey, just wanted to tell everyone to head over here to hear the big announcement.

Edit: Oh sorry, apparently some people are having trouble noticing the link. I'll make it foolproof for you all.

>CLICK HERE<

Monday Review

Hey, today I'll be reviewing my new chinos from NanaPub. Heh heh...

Actually this is just an excuse to let everyone know I finally got to buy something from Banana Republic. I know, it's just a boring pair of khaki pants, but still, I've always wanted to get something from Banana Republic.

For those of you who have never heard of them, they have great clothing for men. I think their clothing for women is prolly poor, but I wouldn't really know cause I don't waste time looking at women's clothing so I can't help you there. But, as I was saying, the men's is great, but very expensive. You can check out their website here if you want to see. If you have a problem with coveting clothes, then it's prolly best you stay away though. I call them NanaPub just because it sounds cool. Anyway, I should prolly go ahead and review the pants.

They're the best khaki pants I've ever had. Very comfy, perfect fit, perfect feel, perfect everything. Casual, yet dressy enough to where for my brother's wedding. In fact me and Jordan both got a pair for that purpose. I like them.

School: Weeks #11, #12, & #13

:)
I know, it's been a long time. Why? Well, to answer that as truthful as I possibly can: I've been lazy. The streak of not posting was getting kinda fun and relaxing, but I couldn't keep it up for long. So I finished school, and now I'm looking for a new job. I still have my old job, I'm just trying to find something better for this summer and possibly winter. I'm supposed to be going in for an interview some time this week, but we'll see what happens. This is my 200th post so that's a nice big number. The monstrous announcement that I've been talking about is going to be revealed Tuesday if everything works out. Believe me, you'll be interested. I think It's gonna turn out to be a blast. Anyway, just wanted to say welcome back to my blog, I'm posting again.

Friday Movie Night

Well, I stumbled on this little viral campaign for a movie being produced by Peter Jackson a while back, and it was really interesting. There's a short film(Alive in Joburg) made by the guy who's directing District 9(see trailer below) that was an experiment to show what the film might be like before they decided to make it. Anyway, I'm glad the video fell through and that it's comeing out this August because it looks very interesting. Anyways, if you want to check out the viral campaign, then take a look at these sites.

MultiNationalUnited

Satellite Surveillance, Johannesburg, Africa, District 9

Maths From Outer Space

MNU Spreads Lies (George's Blog)

Tanukashi

Went Black

Hey, it seems my blog went black for a while. It's finales so I've been busy, but I'm finishing up everything now so I'll start posting again. Of course, this also means no TLD today, but to make up for that who can watch the Maltese Falcon in 7 minutes.

Anyway, I enjoyed this having seen the movie a few times. They don't do detectives like that anymore. Oh, and if anyone wants the whole thing of TLD, you can read it now here.