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  • breaking the silence

    so, do you want to hear a REALLY depressing story about the last six months of my life?

    no, i don’t either…

    and, honestly, i am sick of the story…

    those who were readers of my site know i didn’t really get into my personal life, anyway, so, no reason to start now, let’s just move on to the current status of this site…

    yes, after a long absence, i am back with a new isp, new host, new hardware, and, finally, DSL… due to a new schedule that is overflowing with commitments, my online presence will only be VERY part-time, but here i am again…

    firstly i should say that much of the site probably won’t work right… the chatterbox, the search, probably some links, entire sections of the site missing… oh, and speaking of, due to circumstances WAY beyond my control, all the photos and media files are gone… yes, every pic from the last four years is gone forever, if anyone out there happens to have any copies, make my day and let me know… a while back, i suspected there was a possibility of an impending loss, so, i was able to make a backup of my blog and a couple other text sections of the site, so, they survived… and photos from the last six months will be uploaded next week some time…

    it is going to take some time to get everything up and working again, so, if you go poking around, expect some surprises… i still have to poke around myself and see what does and doesn’t work… and, i just installed the latest wordpress on my server, so, i may switch over, we’ll see…

    anyway, great to be back, even if in a somewhat limited capacity…

  • Fw: Man killed in shooting behind Albuquerque restaurant

    KOBTV.com/text
    Man killed in shooting behind Albuquerque restaurant
    11/27/2004
    Writer: Associated Press

    ALBUQUERQUE (AP) – A 29-year-old man was shot during an argument near a
    popular Albuquerque restaurant Thanksgiving morning.
    Albuquerque police say the incident occurred in a parking lot behind the
    Frontier Restaurant.
    The shooting victim was identified as Daniel Gallegos. He was taken to an
    Albuquerque hospital where he later died.
    Police are looking for a white, four-door Nissan pickup in connection with the
    shooting—but no arrests have been made.
     
    (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

    insidious_plots…
    http://insidiousplots.com/him

  • this night, nine years ago…

    …in an apartment by the beach, i met mary…

    you can read all about it here…

    we married seven months later, to the day…

    btw, since she brings it up in her post, yup, this is what we looked like when we met…
    us on our first date

  • years ago…

    first of all, i would like to say “happy anniversary” to my beautiful husband, christopher…
    thank you for being here for me these past 9 years… i do not know what i would have done without you so many times… i love you very much…

    well, this is going to be a sentimental post as well as a documentation of our years together…

    the beginning…

    november 6, 1995…
    we met back in southern california (hermosa beach to be, exact)… my best friend, jade, and his best friend, michael, were together, so it was just a matter of time that we would have met anyway… but that night was the fateful one and i look fondly upon it to this day…

    i can remember it just like it was yesterday… i was a nervous wreck… i had been told so many things about him and i was not even sure that i wanted to go over there that night… i was and still am very happy that i did…

    i was into the goth thing at the time, so i looked very different than i do now… i had short dark hair, always wore black and was almost always wearing make-up… he had purple hair and back then that was the end all be all thing for me… i loved guys with colored hair…

    one thing that i do not think about much was that i was kinda dating someone at the time (long since forgotten)… he was nothing special or important so i did not see any harm in going over to meet this zane ( zane is his professional name)… he sounded just like a cool guy and i did not think more about it at the time… by the time i left my life as i knew it would be changed forever…

    he affected me that much… i am not one to say that i believe in love at first sight or anything but i do not really have any other way of thinking about it… this really was just that…

    as jade and i walked into this apartment (right on the ocean, already a plus in my book) there he was just sitting off in a corner…

    he was slowly rotating a stack of crystal balls in his hand…
    the movement was so fluid and beautiful, they looked as if they were spinning by themselves and he was just sitting there holding them…
    the light of the candles (the only light in the room) was refracting and reflecting off of them was hypnotic… this was something that i had never seen someone do before…

    he had shoulder length hair and it seemed to just cascade down one side like a waterfall… it was amazing and the crystal balls did not hurt either… 🙂

    he was and still is beautiful… one of my favorite people to just look at…
    he has those amazing eyes and huge comforting hands that just make you feel like they will be there to hold you when you need them… and they have been there for me on countless occasions…

    so, on with the story…
    he was sitting off in the corner and we sat on the couch on the opposite wall… i just could not take my eyes off of him the entire time we were there… he mesmerized me…
    i do not fully recall the events of that night but i can say that (because i still have my old journals from when i was young) that i went home and wrote in my journal that:

    ‘tonight i met my future husband…’

    you would think that a girl writes those kinds of things all the time, but as i looked back in them, i had not once… this was something different and i knew it from that moment… and here we are today 9 years later…

    and yes, we are married and have been since june of 1996…

    i was a young girl that still lived at home and knew almost nothing (not that much has changed a whole lot, but i am learning to be more of a wife all the time)… i was pretty spoiled i would say and think that i had things way too easy… he had been on his own for quite some time already and i think that i felt a little intimidated at times… i did not know anything but could look to him to get answers and this was another comforting thought…

    so, as the night went on, we talked and hung out together and i felt all warm and fuzzy inside and had butterflies in my stomach…. he was so different…
    he was confident and did not seem to care about what other people thought and this was such a nice change… and of course, the night had to come to an end at one point… he walked me out to my car and we said goodbye… he was so soft and warm and i felt safe… i knew that this was it and jade and i talked about it the entire drive back home…

    i do not think i could have slept… all i could do was think of him… and i do not think he was off my mind for more than a few moments…
    even my mom noticed that i was happier than she had seen me in a long time… he had changed me… and he continues to change me daily… he has made me a better person…

    so, a few days passed and we talked and saw each other pretty much daily… we had hit it off wonderfully… we woud take walks down on the beach and drives around town… he is not originally from so cal like i am so i felt like i had to give him a tour of everywhere…
    we spent a lot of time around the beach and talked so much… i was known for falling asleep on the phone with him late at night… he would just talk to me for hours… his voice was so soothing that i would fall asleep… it was peaceful and i love it…

    november 16th…
    then i decided one night that we all needed to go out to a club… i was one to go out to a club almost every night of the week… he is not the social butterfly that i was back then, but he went along because i wanted him to see what i did with so much of my time…
    so, we headed out to the club… i think he did not know what to expect but had fun anyway…
    i danced all night and he watched… i think i was trying to show off for him and i think we both enjoyed it… that was our first “official date”…

    we talked and spent every moment that we had free with each other… it was magical…

    we had talked about getting married but i know now that he did not think that i was as serious as i was and i do not think that i was either… but, here we are, still together and still very happy…

    november 25th…
    we went down to one of the little shops on the beach and picked up 2 five piece puzzle rings… this is the ring that i wear to this day… this is my wedding ring and i adore it… his has unfortunately broken and we have searched and searched for an exact duplicate and can not find one… grrr…
    they are sterling silver and 5 pieces… they are very symbolic, just like so many other things with us, they have a deeper meaning…

    we bought them and then walked back to his apartment… there were always a couple people there, so we gathered them around and exchanged rings…
    amazing… i get all teary eyed just remembering all this…

    early in january 1996…
    he moved out of the apartment because his brother and now wife were moving to florida…
    he had to make the decision to stay with his brother and move away or stay there in california to be with me… and he chose me… i guess everyone has to make a similar decision in their own lives but he and his brother had been through so much the last couple of years it was not any easy choice to make…

    he stayed closer to me and i was still living at home with my parents… it was hard to go to work and school knowing that he was that much closer…
    but, i managed somehow…

    he moved a couple of times and finally settled right down the street from disneyland…

    we saw each other more than ever those last few months before we got married… we grew closer and closer with each passing day it seemed… we grew together as a couple…

    may 6th 1996…
    i moved out of my parents house one month to the day before we got married… that was i think one of the hardest things that i have ever had to do…
    i do not think that my parents every fully understood and do not think they ever will…

    i had pretended like i was cleaning my room and packed some clothes and other personal items into some large trash bags and took them outside… i thiink they thought i was finally getting rid of some of the junk that had piled up, but that was not the case… i had planned on running away from home and this was the time i had chosen to do it… jade and i had talked about this before hand and my parents thought that we were going out for the night when she pulled up to see me… they had no idea… i grabbed the bags that i had taken down and threw them into her trunk and she drove me to his place… it was frightening… i was actually going to leave and not come back… i had made my decision… i called my mom that night and let her know that i was not coming home… she thought that i was not coming home that night, but something in her voice told me that she knew that i was going for good… she asked me when i was going to be back and i told her
    that i did not know…
    this was a flat out lie… i knew then that i was not coming home… i still feel bad about this to this day… i think that if i had been 100% honest with her then i would have a better relationship with them even now… (sorry mom)…

    so, we lived together for a month and we finally had the time where i was out of school and had some vacation time from work… so, in june we headed to las vegas and got married…
    you can read all about his post about marrying me on his blog…

    november 6th 2004, today…
    so, 9 years have now passed and we have lived
    in 4 different states with multiple addresses… i love him now more than i think i did that first day, if that is possible… he is my very best friend and i can not imagine, or care much to, see myself without him… he is my husband and today i want him and anyone else that might happen to be reading this that i am happy that we are together and can not wait to see how the next 9 years go… happy 9 years together anniversary christopher, i love you and cherish you with all my heart and am so happy to be your wife… thank you for sharing your life with me…

  • Fw:[thought-of-the-day]

    listmail@refdesk.comさんからのメッセージ
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    ave got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”
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    insidious_plots…
    http://insidiousplots.com/him

  • rpg dice

    well, i have been thinking about trying out a table top rpg for awhile now…

    so, today i was running around town and popped into a shop and picked out
    myself 7 die and a dice bag…
    i had no idea of what i needed, so i talked to the gentleman that was working
    there… he told me that i needed a 20, 12, 10, 8 ,6, and 4 sided die and if
    i wanted could pick up one of the ones with 10-00… that is what i did… i
    got one of each to start off with…

    the 20 sided one is mainly blue with gold lettering but if you look very
    closely it has some really pretty red swirls, giving it a rather purple color
    in spots…
    my 12 sided one is clear with colorful sparkles throughout it and shows its
    best side with direct light…
    my 10 sided is a light and dark grey swirl with gold lettering… on close
    inspection it seems you can almost see through it…
    my 8 sided one is very much like the 12 but it is purple rather than clear and
    has white numbers…
    the 6 sided one is pretty cool as well… it is black with white swirls,
    making it grey in those spots… unfortunately it has yellow numbers as
    well… i think i would have preferred to have white or silver numbers…
    and lastly is the X10 one… it is exactly like the 10 but is blue rather
    than purple…
    and they all go into a black velvety bag with purple satin lining… i
    thought this was perfect and had to have it…. i plan on getting another
    one but i think this one is a good start…
    here is a picture of my new dice…

    now all i need to do is actually learn to play a game and find some people
    that can help me get something going… all i have are the books and the dice
    but still no character and do not know anyone here that might be able to help
    me get in a game…

    but, i think i am going to be heading online and see if i can find any local
    players…
    the guy at the store did mention that they have people that meet up there
    every friday night… i unfortunately work in a bar/restaurant and taking a
    friday night off means that unless i am scheduled off i am not going to lose
    out on at least a $100 shift…

  • Fw: Rio Rancho reaches agreement on wireless contract

    KOBTV.com/text
    Rio Rancho reaches agreement on wireless contract
    10/20/2004
    Writer: Associated Press

    Rio Rancho’s plan for a citywide high-speed wireless communication system is
    back on line.
    The city has reached an agreement with a wireless service provider, Azulstar.
    Rio Rancho city administrator Jim Palenick plans to ask the Rio Rancho City
    Council to approve the agreement next week.
    Azulstar would begin deployment of the wireless network on November 15th. The
    project would be completed by May 15th.
    The city had contracted with Usurf America for the wireless network earlier
    this year.
    The company says it terminated its contract with the city in August because
    the financial terms didn’t fit its new financial model.
    The city says it terminated the contract after it became clear that Usurf
    couldn’t meet the deployment deadline.
     
    (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

  • some october photos and screen caps

    firstly, we have uploaded a new batch of pics, though there are more to come for this month… since we are only uploading the small, low-res versions, i made an ALLPICS page like i always have with the dreameye pics…

    be sure to look at the ones that start with “cloudsonmtns”, there are a few of this cool massive cloud that just crawled over the mountains one day a couple weeks ago, like it was trying to creep up on the city, as you can see…
    cloud crawling over mountains
    very hard to resist uploading the hi-res versions… though, Amy at moonshine highways saw it, too, and has a couple…

    (btw, we also got a couple pics of another great cloud phenomenon a week or so later, they start with “cloudymtns”…)

    we have also been making an occasional effort to get some cool bar/drink pics, there are a few in there, various file names…
    irish whiskey with chocolate-covered espresso beans

    and secondly, karl ch@bbed me this:

    I got a few (small) screen captures of your site in case you ever wondered how the world sees you…

    Safari on MAC (used an outside source)

    Firefox 0.9.3 on WinXP

    WebTV 2.6 (IE 4.01)

    so, i took caps of his site on my psion, one on the default browser on black and white mode, one on the default browser with greyscale turned on, and one on opera…

    as mentioned before, there are still more october pics to come, we just need to sort them, i will of course post when we upload those…

  • AIBF – day 10, big finish

    remember the Smokey Bear balloon i took a pic of?

    well, he made big news today…

    with headlines like Balloon Gets Caught In Radio Tower [koat tv] and Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta ending with a bang: “Smokey the Bear” balloon is wrapped around the top of a 670ft AM radio tower, four people in gondola [fark]…
    and someone in the fark thread mentioned it was even on cnn…

    behold…

    i ALMOST saw it happen… i was recording the mass ascension coverage on tv this morning and popping downstairs once in a while to see if there was anything worth taking pics of… last trip i had made down, i saw smokey and almost took a pic since he was in a good spot, but, i have not been taking many pics since we went to the event, not much chance of topping those… anyway, so, i then came back upstairs… within a minute or two they were talking about it on tv… i bet i missed it by 30 seconds…

    by the time i ran out there, all i saw was this…

    the reports are still coming in, but, it is now confirmed that there were three people aboard, all ok, they were able to get out of the gondola to the ladder that runs inside it and climb down… it took nearly an hour… there was the 70-year-old pilot, and two passengers on their first balloon ride ever… they were 14 and 10 years old… he sent them down the ladder first…

    here is the pilot climbing down the tower, and here he is after they got him in a cherry picker, as he and a rescue worker look up at the tattered remnants of the balloon…

    of course, the big question now is how they are going to get that thing down from there…

    garth’s informal predictions at America’s Outback didn’t include radio towers, but, turns out he was right about the power lines…
    Balloon catches on live power line, no one injured
    Balloon Fiesta Pilot Trips Up With Power Line

    other headlines the last few days have included…
    Balloon Fiesta Brings Injuries, Power Outage
    Rough landings, snagged balloons mark morning
    Pilots Injured As Balloon Makes Hard Landing Near Chama
    Gas balloon makes hard landing, injures pilots

    here is a google news search if you want to see more…

    and the whole 10-day event has also been well blogged…

    America’s Outback has great pics from the day 7 special shapes mass ascension…

    mr. bohnsack posted many pics from the day 9 mass ascension with links to over 400 high-res pics from the three previous years… he also links a few other abq bloggers posting about the aibf… (including me; plus, i fit his comment about those with “freshly purchased digital marvels”…)

    and Quirky Burque even gave us the Balloon Fiesta Avoidance Plan…

    i am probably not going to keep up with posting all the follow up news and/or blog posts about it all, but, i will definitely get pics and vids again next year, and post ’em all here…

    there are a few pics and one vid from the last few days that i did not comment on, and now that it is all done, the vids will stay for a while until we need the space, so, take one last trip to the now completed AIBF collection…