Step 7.2-ish

Hey, I made progress on the Starfury model again!



I didn't say I made a *lot* of progress.

Also, yes, that is my back porch. I had to move outside due to the nearly-visible mixture of paint and thinner fumes. Even while I'm outside I've got a fan blowing to make sure I don't get a face-full.



So... two weeks later, I've got three of the four engines painted.

I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that I stink at this.

Here's hoping the end result is worth it.

Happy Friday!

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My Favorite Birthday Card This Year

My absolute favorite birthday card this year came from my dad. It's got "Mom and..." written on it, but don't be fooled. This is my dad's handiwork all the way.



Gee! I wonder what it could be!



I can only assume he's speaking from experience. :)

Love you, Mom n' Dad!

Also, Happy Birthday to my sister!

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Birthday Dinner

Last week I had a birthday! My wife surprised me with a pizza party... P-Ziddy and his clan showed up, as did MetaCow and his crew! It was a very loud party. Occasionally you could even hear the kids over MetaCow's wife. ;) (Love ya, Mrs. MetaCow!)

Speaking of kids, P-Ziddy's three-year old took a pic of me with Daddy's camera phone.



Not bad for a three-year old. Also, nice thumb kiddo!

MetaCow's two girls drew me pictures! I was very impressed. His oldest daughter brought this to me...



Is that sweet!?! A cute little flower, a smiling sun, even a rainbow! It says, "Happy B-Day" and everything!

Then, MetaCow's younger daughter gave me this one...



"Happy Birth Day", with an ambiguous animal disemboweling another ambiguous animal! I think Hallmark might be interested in this design, honestly.

I showed it to MetaCow, and the look of horror on his face was special beyond description. "We may need to turn off Animal Planet for a while," he said.

I'm hanging these things up in my cubical at work. They make me happy. :)

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*body

My normal routine when I walk into the office is to walk past everybody's desk and say "hi". I'm usually the last to arrive in the morning and my desk is over on the other side of the office anyway, so I may as well be friendly about it.

I approached LadyPatsFan's desk and said "hi". There was a crashing noise from over in the middle of the office. OoRah shouted, "Oh! She's here!"

Suddenly we had OoRah running over to join us at LadyPatsFan's desk. I wasn't prepared for a meeting. I hadn't even gotten to *my* desk yet. In fact, I wasn't quite sure if I was even awake yet.

"I got here first this morning," OoRah explained. "For the longest time I was the only one here. I'm just happy somebody is in the office now besides me."

"Somebody?", asked LadyPatsFan.

"Anybody," OoRah shrugged.

LadyPatsFan was feeling punchy. "So I'm 'Somebody'?", she asked. "Does that make Jeff 'Anybody'?"

"Sure."

As if on cue, M16 walked in. "Who's that, then?", LadyPatsFan demanded.

M16 wasn't prepared for a meeting either. "Me? I'm nobody."

LadyPatsFan was enjoying this. "Somebody, Anybody, Nobody!", she shouted, while pointing at each of us.

OoRah grinned, too. "New blog nicknames?"

M16 looked at me. "What is going on here?" I started to answer, but then Monty walked in.

"Look!", LadyPatsFan shouted gleefully. "It's 'Everybody'!"

Monty looked pretty stunned. "Uh... hi."

"Somebody Anybody Nobody Everybody!"

"Who?"

Aside from "Hi", I never said a single word. Mornings can be pretty overwhelming, sometimes.

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Showers

Today's blog post is brought to you with apologies in advance. It started with a rambling office conversation...

Big Dawg: "Yeah, I'd like to move to Hawaii. The problem would be getting a job so I could live in Hawaii."

Jeff: "You could brush up on your survival skills, and live on the beach."

Big Dawg: "Naw, I require fresh-water showers."

Jeff: "Thanks for making me think about you in the shower. I won't sleep tonight."

Big Dawg: "You're welcome. You deserve it."

I'm not sure anybody deserves that, honestly.

Later that afternoon Big Dawg was over at my desk. I have a big red "Easy" button, an old promotional toy from Staples. Big Dawg was leaving, and the button caught his attention. In overly exaggerated comic fashion, Big Dawg moved toward the button.

Big Dawg: "Can't... resist... must... PUSH!"

Staples Voice: "That was easy!"

Big Dawg: "Every now and then, I just have to obey that urge."

Jeff: "That's OK. I'd push that button myself every now and then, but I don't have to since... (ominous grinning pause)... you satisfy my urges."

Big Dawg: "Yeah, I mention showers just once and suddenly I'm satisfying your urges."

Jeff: "You know it, baby."

Hey, I apologized in advance, remember? No turning back now.

I mentioned this conversation to our mutual friend V, who had a simple but wonderful observation. For the record, Big Dawg, I did NOT say this next bit! It was V! Blame her.

V: "Big Dawg is a very uncomplicated man. A vending machine can handle most of his urges for a small fee."

Ouch.

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Ladders

As you may recall, last week I replaced a ceiling fan... twice. I was proud of my minor accomplishment, but even so the next day brought about a different kind of joy.

========================

Jeff: Oh! This is stupid, but I was so excited. Last night, I didn't spend even a single moment up on a ladder!

P-Ziddy: And doctors everywhere looked at their checking accounts and sighed pitifully.

Jeff: Absolutely.

Jeff: Our buddy Scruffy was over yesterday evening. I showed off the new ceiling fan, and then he got to talking about how he'd like to install a new ceiling fan in his guest room.

Jeff: Translation: "I'd like for you to install a fan for me."

P-Ziddy: ROFL

Jeff: So I started talking about scaffolding. That seemed to convince him it would be a LOT of effort to install one for him.

P-Ziddy: Hey Jeff, could you come over and replace the ceiling fan in our vaulted living room? Don't mind me, I'll be over in the corner with the video camera and a mop.

Jeff: Sure!

P-Ziddy: Don't worry. We'll make enough off of our winnings to pay most of your medical bills.

Jeff: Scruffy makes me look like Bob Villa and Ty Pennington combined. I'm not sure what mental pic he had in his head when I invoked "scaffolding", but I'm sure it was pretty traumatic.

P-Ziddy: Sure. I can come do that. BTW. How many fire extinguishers do you own?

Jeff: And yes, the ceiling in question is vaulted.

Jeff: "It'll actually be easier if we peel back some of the roof tiles and go in from the top."

P-Ziddy: And is your carpet Scotch Guarded? I hear pee stains are a pain to get out if they're not.

Jeff: "We'll just fill your guest room with packing peanuts. That way, when we fall it won't hurt." "When?" "Yup."

P-Ziddy: I need someone... er... something soft to land on.

Jeff: "You're fully insured, right?"

Jeff: "Planning to fail" is the same thing as "Misplaced confidence", so no worries!

P-Ziddy: In case of fire, scream like a little girl and run around in circles.

Jeff: Can do!

Jeff: Copy... Paste...

Jeff: Aaaaaaand... there. Blog posts for next week, one of three.... complete!

Jeff: Thanks!

P-Ziddy: No problem.

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Step Seven... We're Gonna Be Here A While

Not much to report here except that I am a slow and bad painter.



I've had to move my painting stuffs outside, because the paint and the thinner fumes are far too overwhelming to keep inside. Still having trouble with brush strokes and gloppy paint. I've decided it's OK though, because models were never really intended to be seen in good light anyway.

*sigh*

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