catsonfire

Updates and pics

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:21:08 GMT

I went to Sumter again, and I took my camera with me. I got some shots of an unfinished building that has gone untouched for God knows how long.

I couldn't help but to visit the drive in again. Cory had decided to tag along with me. He was as dumb struck by the dececration and decay as I was when I first saw it. It had been vandalized further since the last time I went. Nothing was left of the mirrors in the women's room. I was glad I shot them when I did. Whatever remained of the sound equipment was torn off of the wall and strewn all over the floor.

This time I got a shot of the screen

I'm guessing that this was the sound equipment, but I'm not sure. The last time I was here, it was more or less intact.

This is all remains standing of one of the buildings on the main drive. My guess is that it was a ticket booth. I'd really love to take someone out here who had been here when it was a thriving establishment. I'd love to get a better idea of what it was like 30 years ago.

This Valentine's I had a date with the law! (I know it's not funny, but it's still damn fun to say) I went to the Greer Municipal Court, which I swear was a convienience store that someone slapped an official-looking sign on. I ran a red light (not deliberately), but fortunately, the ticket was waived in court. I've been making an extra effort to drive carefully, much to the relief of everyone around me, I'm sure. I also saw Cory before, on, and after Valentine's day, making it a weeklong marathon of sorts. It was all time well spent.

This past weekend, i learned how to play Texas hold'em, and I didn't loose too much money in the process. I also started playing D&D again, which was less expensive, and hella fun.

That's the official update. Everything else flows on as usual.

Grrrrr.....

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 04:34:10 GMT

Charter tech support is a gaping portal into the darkest places in hell!

I woke up to the sound of sleet hitting my window.

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 03:06:54 GMT

Everything was covered in snow and ice. Finally! Some decent wintery weather! My boss had left me a voice mail saying that all the stores would be closed and not to come in. I slept in an extra two hours, and then once I was up, spent the day reading The Curious Incedent of the Dog in the Nighttime. Excellent book.

As always, I was not as productive as I had hoped to be on my day off. My apartment office was closed, which is strange since everyone who works there lives in the apartments themselves. Alas, rent went unpaid. Much of my free time was spent playing final fantasy and reading, and not working on photos, or figuring out my hours for the past two weeks, or finding apartments... Well, there's still time for all of that, and not enough time for anything fun lately.

Sunday I head back to Sumter to visit Mom, then It's back up to Columbia to meet up with Alex, Brian, and Angie. It'll be a good weekend.

It's been a long war

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:11:03 GMT

It has been a good weekend!

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:43:49 GMT

I got the job with the wedding photographer in Landrum! It will be a while before I start working full-time, but it's good to know that there is an end to my retail hell. (Until that time, I'll be more than happy to help with any cell phone needs.) As a bonus, I also get to shoot more often, as the coolness of my camera is not as much of an issue with this photographer.
Also, I got the chance to run around town with a fellow I met from Rock Hill. He introduced me to a game called Monkeyball, which is exactly as much fun as you might think it is!

I blame the Panera cookies.

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:20:26 GMT

YOUR REPORT CARD:
Category	Grade
Love	A
Friends and Family	B
Body	D
Mind	A
Finance / Career	A
Your Life's Average Grade: B
'What is your Life Grade?' at QuizGalaxy.com

No interview today.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 01:12:57 GMT

It was pushed back until Sunday.

If I can get this new job...

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 03:39:42 GMT

it would reduce my stress level and my income dramatically at the same time, but it would be worth it.

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 07:02:31 GMT

I decided to go to the old Drive-in movie theatre in Sumter, to see what it was like. From the highway, you can see what's left of the screen, now just rusting steel peeking over the pine trees. The lot has grown over with 30 year old pines, and the only evidence of its existance now is the smooth gravel overturned by fallen trees. The projection house was tucked away behind the pines. The first thing I noticed was the declaration "fuck your bitches here!" scrawled across the front of the building. The building itself has been torn open and apart by weather and vandals, but enough is left to imagine what it must have been like 40 or 50 years ago. My mom remembers going here as a teenager. The time lapse between our generations is so tangible here.

The photos really don't do much justice, but I hope to take some that do.

small town christmas

Mon, 25 Dec 2006 16:06:22 GMT

I know that I talk a lot of trash about my hometown, but it's been really nice to be back here for a couple of days. Sumter is still Sumter, but the people here are awesome.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

I know it's right, but it's so hard to do

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:43:11 GMT

Just like that. That's a lot to wrap up in such a small space in time.

Sam Harris at Idea City '05

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:36:25 GMT



"Sam Harris at Idea City '05" on Google Video
Critical philosopher Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, offers a cogent outline of the dangers inherrent within the ID movement. While the portion of the presentation that he actually discusses the ID movement is brief, maybe 4 minutes or so, he is frighteningly concise and articulate in pointing out the dire ramifications that that this movement has had on both the classroom environment and across the gross politcal spectrum.

how true

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:10:36 GMT

Underappreciated

The Battleaxe
Deliberate Brutal Love Master (DBLMf)

Sharp. Hardened. Dominating. The Battleaxe sweeps all before her, smiting and what not.

You've had a number of serious relationships, so you obviously have many attractive qualities. You're well experienced in dealing with other people's weirdnesses, and it's likely you're good in bed by now, too. Also, like the drunken housewife chucking Heinekens at her no-good husband, you've got a lot of energy.

People can tell you're sophisticated, and so you find yourself the object of infatuations quite often. But it's how you handle yourself in your relationships that gets you the 'brutal' tag. Controlling? Imperious? Overbearing? Yes, please.

Your exact opposite:
The Nurse

Random Gentle Sex Dreamer

Remarkably, you don't mind the same from your men. You've experience enough to take whatever you dish out. Overall, you're a very good person and a capable lover, and when the time comes you'll make a fine divorcee.

ALWAYS AVOID: The Poolboy

CONSIDER: The False Messiah, someone just like you.

Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.
My profile name: catsonfire

A good poem for bad times

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:55:44 GMT

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
IF you can wait, and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up again with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Wil which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings- not lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run-
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more- you'll be a Man, my son!

Keep feeding the machine...

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 02:10:53 GMT

What sort of twisted logic is it to say that ending the occupation in Iraq would dishonor the soldiers who have died there? No, the only way to properly honor them is to keep the death toll rising. There is something very tragic in the fact that arguments like this come off as credible.

Here is a link to the PBS documentry The Lost Year in Iraq for some more information on the American occupation in Iraq.

I'm a snowflake!

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:32:48 GMT

HowManyOfMe.com

There is:
1
person with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Some info for everyone who is planning on voting in the midterm elections.

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:14:01 GMT

You can find some information on South Carolina candidates here and here.

You can also find some information on South Carolina amendment 1 here and here.

Here's one reason to register: Old people are senile, but they vote a lot, and they're organized about it!

Colbert vs. Dawkins

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:42:34 GMT

Survey goodness!

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:33:38 GMT

1. How tall are you barefoot?
5' 5"

2. Have you ever smoked meth?
No. I'm very particular about the toxic fumes I inhale.

3. Do you own a gun?
No.

4. Who's your best friend?
That would be Angie.

5. Do you get nervous before "meeting the parents"?
Always.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Gross. Pig testicles.

7. What's your favorite Christmas song?
The Russian one. I can't remember the title for some reason.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Coffee with a little milk.

9. Can you do push ups?
Maybe one.

10. Is your bathroom clean?
Yes.

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
The heart pendant that Justin got me for Valentine's Day.

12. Do you like painkillers?
*sigh* I miss my darvocet sometimes.

13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex.
My sense of humor and my smartness.

14. Do you own a knife?
Yes, for cutting steak.

15. Do you have A.D.D.?
That's what they say.

16. Middle Name?
Alexandra Carolyn

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
I really wish there were more customers.
Booty music and work don't mix.
It's such a dreary Monday afternoon.

18. Name the last 3 things you have bought:
Gas
Breakfast at Denny's
Desk from Ikea.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink:
Coffee
Amber Bock
Chocolate Milk

20. What time did you wake up today?
6:55 am.

22. Current worry?
That one of my customers is going to return his phones, and cancel his lines.

23. Current hate?
Ann Coulter

24. Favorite place to be?
In Toronto on a Summer afternoon.

25. Least favorite place to be?
My job, right now.

26. Where would you like to go?
On a Roadtrip across North America.

27. Do you own slippers?
Yes. Purple slipper socks.

28. What shirt are you wearing?
Black uniform sweater, complete with lame name tag.

29. Do you burn or tan?
Mostly I burn, and then I get slightly less transparent.

30. Favorite color(s)?
Red.

31. Would you be a pirate?
The treasure part would be really cool!

32. Last time you had an alcoholic drink?
Last night.

33. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Whatever song inspires me at the time.

34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
The creepy guy I always imagined crouching in the corner of my bedroom with a big knife.

35. What's in your pockets right now?
Nothing.

36. Last thing that made you laugh?
Pizzly bears!

37. Best bed sheets you had as a child?
The pastel floral ones that matched my bed at my Dad's house.

38. Worst injury you've ever had?
Probably my sister and I colliding on our bikes.

40. How many TVs do you have in your house?
One.

41. Who is your loudest friend?
That would have to be Angie.

42. Who is your most silent friend?
I don't think I know any quiet people.

43. Does someone have a crush on you?
Hopefully *smiles*

45. What is your favorite book?
Right now I'm still on a God Delusion rampage

46. What is your favorite candy?
Those chocolate oranges. I could suck those things up through my nose!

47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding?
Otis Redding "Cigarettes and Coffee" and/or "My Funny Valentine" By Frank Sinatra. Very good songs.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral?
I really don't think I'll care much one way or the other.

49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
Going to bed.

50. What was the First thing you thought of when you woke up?
Stop tickling my feet, Goddamnit!

Steven Colbert + Richard Dawkins + your brain = explosion of pure coolness

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 06:01:40 GMT

Richard Dawkins is going to be a guest on the Colbert Report tomorrow! This has to be the reason they invented TV!

It's the little things...

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 18:01:03 GMT

Last night I pulled my hair back in a ponytail for the first time in five years.

That is all.

I never thought that I would read an Ann Coulter book.

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 04:47:26 GMT

Not that I'm a fan. Far from it. I made a bargain with my father that I would read it if he would read The God Delusion. Personally, I'm absolutely thrilled that my straight-laced Mormon father would be open to reading Richard Dawkins. I don't think that we're going to change eachother's opinions, but it's good to know that we're at least open to eachother's ideas.

Since I read Dawkin's book, the subject has been on my mind a lot. Maybe even too much. In fact, I think it's fair to say that I've become just a little fanatical about my atheism. The book makes a lot of powerful points that are hard to ignore. I do think that religion does a lot of good for people, but it's safe to say that it also does a lot of harm. There is a long list of atrocities committed in the name of God, ranging from genocide, hate crimes, oppression, and racism. The 9/11 attacks are just one of the most recent examples of the destructive power of religious belief. Religion has also been used by our own government to fuel a senseless agenda. Recently, Bush vetoed a bill that would allow federal funding for stem cell research. The heated political/religious debate over gay marriage and abortion continues. It seems like a person's freedom to make personal choices is in serious jepordy. The "family values" of the Christian right are hindering values of acceptance, tolerance, and personal freedom.

On the other hand, I do believe that people should be free to believe what they want. That is one of the values that this country was founded on. It allows open and intellectual discussion. I've never been comfortable with proselytizers or pushy Bible thumpers, but of course we are still free to believe them or not believe them as we choose. What about when young children become involved. The trailer for Jesus Camp was horrifying to me. This is a case where personal belief was used to brainwash young children into becoming, literally, Christian soldiers. That is nothing short of mental abuse. Where can you draw the line? Can you draw a line? Do we have to take the brainwashing along with the personal freedom? I hope there is an answer there somewhere.

Jesus Camp Trailer

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 03:19:39 GMT



"Jesus Camp Trailer" on Google Video
A trailer for the new documentary Jesus Camp