1 November 2004:

Snippet from the "droven-ins" in the Soo Snooze:

Superhero in the slammer
SAULT STE. MARIE - City police were on routine patrol when they observed Superman pulling on a parking meter sign in the 200 block of Portage around 1:45 a.m. Sunday.
Despite the "Man of Steel's" explanation that he was merely trying to fix the bent sign, police took him into custody after determining city property had been damaged during the exhibition. It was later determined that Superman's true identity was that of Levi Nieminen, 21, of Iron River resulting in the arrest of this individual for malicious destruction of property.
Nieminen was booked into the local jail, presumably to await the posting of bond by AquaMan, Wonder Woman or one of the other SuperFriends and a future date with Chippewa County's version of the "Hall of Justice."

And, finally some recognition to the GB Girls Cross Country Team!!

2 November 2004:

  Valdemort made Spartan Brass!  

3 November 2004:

In light of the just-decided election, a striking resemblance came to mind today. Hence, today's satirical "Body Quadruple" (with apologies to AW's BWTM, John Kerry & his photographer, Edvard Munch, the sculptor, and the movie industry - and intended to be humorous, please!)

4 November 2004:

It's official: Miata Season has ended. The Miata has been put into "hibernation" and tucked into its new winter "den". See you in the Spring!

Last day of Cross Country Practice. . . State Finals Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. . . pasta dinner tomorrow night!!

Valdemort is at the Incubus Concert on campus this evening - bet it's SRO!!

6 November 2004:

What a day! State Finals held at Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, MI). Both the Girls' and the Boys' teams competed - the field was TOUGH. 28 Teams for Division I Girls; 243 girls finished the race (don't know how many started, but there were a few who DNF'd). GB Girls were ranked 21st (but tied with #20 Rochester Adams on time).

All members of both teams FINISHED the race - the course was tough, I hear. Spongy where they ran off the track, then some slip-sliding as they crossed the track (where dirt/sand was put down to "protect" the track from the runners' spikes). We are SO PROUD of all our runners - just making it to State is very much the honor!!

Pretty cool - since I was driving team members, I got to follow the coaches as part of our caravan INTO THE PADDOCK AREA of MIS!! Imagine, our Odyssey . . . ON THE INFIELD OF MIS!! [And, before anyone asks: NO, none of us were allowed to drive on the track. . . ]

Now, on a totally different "track", per the request of some of the GBXC Girls State Finalists, here is the proof that Girls are Evil

7 November 2004:

More miles on van. . . but for excellent reason! Hooked up with Valdemort, took her out to lunch (back to The Pita Pit - the wraps are good!). Bopped up & down Grand River, picked up some squooshy-poofy things for Nook, Valdemort, and Nook's best friend "Princess Bubbles" at Urban Outfitters, and a pink "Moosejaw" Nalgene water bottle for same friend. . .

We have a couple pix to post from yesterday. Jim did an "enduro" yesterday, meeting up with Valdemort at MSU to watch the SMB do their series to the stadium prior to the game against OSU, then as soon as that was done, he ran down to MIS to see Nook run at the State Meet.

8 November 2004:

Monday-Monday. . .

• "Normal" school day for Nook - for the first time since before school started this year!! She actually got to come home at 2:30, instead of the usual 4:30 - 5:00 - 5:30 timeframe during the Cross Country season!! She's on her "official" 14 days OFF from running, to allow her body to recover from the season.
• Valdemort has informed me that a version of "stomach flu" has hit a member of her trombone section. . . and wanted to know just how to avoid getting it herself. . . all I can say is "wash, wash, wash, and use your Purell in between"
• The Boyz are in good humor today - getting walked all over the MSU campus yesterday apparently did them some good. Even ol' Sammer was pretty frisky when Jim got home from work today!
• Couldn't stand it any longer. Had to get rid of some OLD plastic glasses & popcorn bowls (relics of the "safe for use by little kids" era). Ran down to Auburn Hills' World Market (OK, some of you know it as "Cost Plus") and bought REAL glass glasses & bowls to replace 'em. Now we can actually throw these things into the dishwasher!!
• JumpStreet Swing Band rehearsal tonight for Jim. Exhausting, but always fun.
• Been having a problem with the sound on one of the PCs. . . that I didn't know about till tonight. Checked "settings". . . OK; checked all other CD-playing programs. . . nothing muted in them; ran the speaker cords. . . discovered one end was NOT plugged into the CPU, plugged it in; Still no sound. . . puzzle-puzzle-puzzle; run the cords again, this time with flashlight. . . discover that what LOOKED green under the desk was actually. . . BLUE! *sigh* Plugged into the GREEN receiver, turned speakers back on. . . nearly got blasted thru the back wall. Speaker problem fixed.

9 November 2004:

Quote for the day:

"Insanity isn't all it's cracked up to be"
- Webmomster

Added a link to the Spartan Marching Band webpages. You will find it on the CliffsVic Home Page. Then, for great slide shows of the SMB on game days and at other events, click the link for "Multimedia", and go on from there.

10 November 2004:

• On this date in 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald became not only maritime history, but legend.
• Valdemort is playing with the Spartan Brass tonight at the MSU Basketball game.
• Spartan Marching Band site of the week

11 November 2004:

Two big events today:

• Nook's Cross-Country Banquet is tonight. Varsity Letters are handed out, recognitions made, socializing, etc., etc. But, most importantly (in the minds of these long-distance runners), there's FOOD! Everybody brings their "specialty" to share (and EVERYONE looks forward to Carlos' ribs - best ever)!!
• Valdemort signed up to audition for Squad Leader for the Spartan Marching Band for next year. Won't know any results 'til later - so - Good Luck, V!

And, just as a point of interest. . . go to Google and input "Julia D. Greene", and do a search. Just check out WHO'S web page comes out on top!! (Used to be the LAST one in the list. . . )

Post-Banquet Update: Nook was awarded "Most Improved" (along with good friend Erica) at tonight's XC Banquet!! Nook is our #5 and Erica our #3 runners for the team - great job, ladies!!

Also, Carlos' ribs were again the most-popular dish at the banquet! Could eat those every day!! Although all the other dishes were good, too, but just not, well, ribs.

12 November 2004:

A couple MORE points of interest from last night's Cross Country Team Banquet:

• The Girls' Team is Academic All-State (based on the top 5 GPAs of the varsity), with an average GPA of 3.9 (Kelly with 4.0; Nook, Erica, Morgan with 3.9; E.D. with 3.8)
• The Boys' Team made Academic All-State for the 5th year with an average GPA of 3.599

Hopefully, our Girls' Team can qualify for the State Meet again next year, so THEY can start a multi-year run of "Academic All-State", too!!

Silly roommate question of the day:

A: "Can I still get spyware on my computer when it's off and the ethernet's still plugged in?"
V: "Uhhh . . . no . . . "
A: "Oh . . . well, I'm still unplugging it anyway, just in case."

Click the link for the virus protection solution to A's concern.

13 November 2004:

Saturday's Sights-&-Sounds

• Clear sky & sun!! :-D
• An unsuspecting SMB Warmup watcher JUMPing and nearly going into shock during the Trombone Section's "F" tuning
• SMB Fans (during warmup) going "wooo-o-o-o-o-o-oooop!" each time the entire band did a "horns up!"
• Heard from one of the sections during Series: "Go State! Beat Badgerbadgerbadger mushroom-mushroom. . . "
• SMB Trombone Section

UPDATE!! MSU WON against Wisconsin (49 - 14)!! "Go State! Beat Badgerbadgerbadger!!" Talking to Valdemort - she's hoarse from yelling/screaming the entire game; she's pretty certain that MSU is a candidate for "a" bowl game.

14 November 2004:

The MSU Football Team pays homage to the Band Gods following their 49-14 win over The Badgerbadgerbadgers

Addendum: Took The Boyz to Squirrel Park this afternoon. No sooner than we entered the park, than The Nern took off after a squirrel. . . and came within inches of touching it. The only thing I envisioned was a trip to the vet if he ever did catch one. . .

Ol' Sammer seems to be going deaf. However, it IS a good thing that he and The Nern have bonded so well! Nern will alert Sammer to people coming to the door, and - if Sammer misses the sound of the cookie jar - makes sure the ol' man gets a cookie. Nern ALSO doesn't go to bed until he knows the Sammer has already settled down for the night.

15 November 2004:

Just got the Tech Alum Newsletter in my email box this morning, and what a gem showed up as part of the "email bag"! A number of comments about "The Bash at the Big House" (the big game between MTU and Grand Valley earlier this month) - and even more comments about how HILARIOUS the halftime show was - that is, the part with the MTU DaWGs (what used to be known as the Husky Pep Band). Click to see the slideshow of the Bash at the Big House.

For those of you who don't know anything about the MTU DaWGs - they are the Pep Band, their "uniform" consists of golden-yellow sweatshirts, boldly-striped overalls, and yellow hard hats. MTU does NOT have a marching band (the closest we come to one is when the DaWGs stumble their way down US41 during the annual Hobo Parade!), so we think it's fabulous that they managed to pull together a real halftime show for The Bash!. BTW, our friendly, neighborhood (?) Marching Expert sez "Great Drill!".

16 November 2004:

Nothing to blog about today. So there.

17 November 2004:

Random peripatetic Wednesday stuff:

• Jim went to Warren Tech Center this morning for meetings
• I went to Warren Tech Center this afternoon for about 1 hour to transfer edited files & drop off CDs with backup files
• (P.S. That was my last trip to the Tech Center. . . )
• Heard that Kmart & Sears are merging. Dunno if that's supposed to be good news or not :-?
• Nook got home from school about the same time I did - she's ready for a break!! She's got piles of Biology to go thru tonight, plus Studio Art, plus Geometry, &c., &c.
• Flute Choir this evening - only Mary, Sandy, and me. Quintets sound, um, "interesting" with 2 parts missing. . .
• The article in the GB News about Valdemort and the SMB is posted on the FSPA bulletin board!!
• Nern is snuggly, but TOO wiggly this evening
• Sam is just plain shnorkly (but, happy)
• Website "pick of the day"!!: www.giantmicrobes.com

18 November 2004:

• Swim goggles
• New walking shoes
• Printer ink cartridges
• "Bankers Boxes"
• Stop at agency to make initial request for insurance quote
• Dry cleaners
• Grocery Store
• Lunch
• Take The Boyz to Squirrel Park (and do the loop TWICE)
• Back to agency to request additional insurance quote
• Pick up Nook
• Library
• Gas station
• Drop Nook at home to figure out trombone for tonight's practice
• Back to agency to pick up insurance quotes
• Drug store
• Nachos!!

19 November 2004:

Now that Marching Band is (at least temporarily) over, Valdemort is STILL trying to get used to having a 4-hour block of time to HERSELF! So, this afternoon, study & nap!!

Trip southward, ran into some unique stuff in a giftshop; wound up purchasing what caused me to enter in the first place. . . a poncho, knit of that really cool fringe-y yarn, in gold-y-brown! Jim found a really cool turquoise ring for himself, too. Interesting stuff shows up this time of year. . .

20 November 2004:

No Bowl Game for MSU this year. Penn State 37, MSU 13. How embarrassing, after the Spartans remarkable win over the Badgers last week. Well, at least the Spartans don't have to worry about being stuck with the Motor City Bowl.

Nook is hosting a Homework Sleepover tonight with pizza. To be followed by going with a group of friends to the matinee showing of "The Incredibles" tomorrow. Will post review!

The Boyz got their Squirrel Park this morning - did the loop forwards & backwards. Dried 'em off, and they both slept!! Nern was "supersonic" throughout the entire walk, Samster just happy to trot at his own pace.

Valdemort had a Spartan Brass gig this afternoon, then hooked up with Dad to go to the [MSU] Trombone Choir recital, prolly will have supper together. She WAS gonna come home for an overnight, but wound up with scads of work to do before Monday. We'll be picking her up on Wednesday, anyway!

P.S. to VolcanoMama - The "nice SuperMouse picture" is really cute!

21 November 2004:

"The Incredibles" reviewed: lots of laughs, teenage girls got the humor & said it would be OK for adults, too. However, they also said that one viewing was enough. . .

Seen while de-pile-i-fying the backyard: Ernie's scanners locking-on to a squirrel in the neighbor's yard. . . launching. . . squirrel and Ernie doing a loop-de-loop. . . squirrel running for all he's worth, and JUST making it to the crabapple in our backyard before Ernie-the-Homba can catch him!!

The Road Warrior got a much-needed bath this afternoon. Looks RED again.

Oooooh! Flute-Lunch with Banan tomorrow!!

Very nice articles in today's "Grand Blanc News" about the GBHS Marching Band (front page) and Valdemort's friend, Justine (page 3)

22 November 2004:

Yay! Flute-Lunch with Bananne was a resounding success - we need "mental health days" like this more often! Walk/shop around downtown A2, lunch at The Red Hawk (yum!), back to the house to toot flutes and yak, then back to GB to rejoin reality.

Combined Flute Choirs rehearsed tonight, in preparation for the big Holiday Walk at the Flint Cultural Center on December 7 (the 3 flute choirs are playing between 7:15 and 7:45 in the MacArthur Recital Hall - be there, aloha!!).

23 November 2004:

Talked to Valdemort this afternoon. . . apparently, last night after the SMB pictures were taken, the Trombone Section went over to Yakeley cafeteria for supper. . . Valdemort discovered a real treat on the dessert table (after finishing the "right stuff", of course): something that had a brownie crust, filled with chocolate mousse loaded with brownie chunks, topped with caramel . . . untouched. She returned to the table with a slice, and the remaining trombone section proceeded to "acquire" the entire pie plate from the dessert table. . . and had it emptied within 5 seconds!!

"Spartan Bones, We have no fear.
We frak the dessert table!
We never rest.
WE ARE THE BEST!
We're good role models."

Nook played her gig this evening, at the Ecumenical Thanksgiving service at one of the local churches (it doesn't matter which one, there were representatives from just about EVERY local church making their contributions!); she & James & Ken were the "instrumental" helping support the choirs - and sounded great!! Very impressed also with the Bell Choir's performance of "Bwana Asifiwe!" - outstanding!!

24 November 2004:

Travel day! To EL to pick up Valdemort, then on to the Soo! There in time to order Pizza Hut for supper (and a drinkie-poo). The Boyz settled in just fine!
Note that as we drove along Grand River, the closer we got to V's dorm, the louder the canine-cacophony!! They knew EXACTLY where we were going!!
Nern went straight down the stairs at the dorm, was removed from leash, and ZOOMED straight into Valdemort's room!!

25 November 2004:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Lovely T-Day with the Soo Fins! Got to sleep in a little, took The Nern for Walkies along the bike paths on Meridian, had a "buddy" hook up with us as we left the house - who played with Nern most of the way to the park by the airport, then stopped at the apartments while we continued on. Cute/ugly dog - the general size of Nern, with a face like a Shar-Pei, but longish black fur and no wrinkles - and no collar!! If he/she shows up again, I might adopt. . . really sweet beastie (even if it drools)!
Out to the Cabin, checked up on the buildings (everything A-OK). Got the tin boat & canoe put away in the garage, swept things up a bit. Wrapped up by going back out to the beach, and Nern going for a SWIM! Yes, he went out, bit the waves, and got wet for the trip back to town!!
T-day dinner was spiral ham, make-ahead mashers, stuffing, crescent rolls, fruit salad, two kinds of cranberry stuff, punkin & cherry pies, and coffee.

26 November 2004:

Good news, this morning! The "new buddy" of The Nern who walked with us yesterday actually DOES have a home . . . just a couple doors up the street from us!! "She" apparently had slipped her collar yesterday and figgered we had dogs here. . . she & Nern recognized each other on our way back from our walk today, she was tied out in front of her yard! Happy wags & greetings!! Gramma does know her owner, and all sounds good.

Lessee. . . went into town today (yep, the "traditional" day-after-Thanksgiving bit), had lunch at Penny's Kitchen (the gumbo was EXTRA-spicy, I hear); then on to Season's, where we did our several-times-a-year big clothing purchase! [Valdemort STILL cannot believe that she found a pair of US-made pants that actually-really-truly FIT!!]; then to Book World, where I found "Moosletoe" (my new moose-buddy).

27 November 2004:

Back to GB today. The Boyz somehow managed the trip without forcing a stop (whereas I had to - TWICE!). Cookies, pretzels, Munchies, water for road-snax; various snoring sounds from various locations in the van at various times throughout the trip.

Stop in E-ville for impromptu visit with Grandma & Grandpa! Sam so antsy, he had to be settled into the garage; Ernie sat in various laps when not otherwise in perpetual motion. Grandma & Grandpa got to see their college granddaughter for the first time in ages!! Got them all caught up with her activities.

Takeout from Yaya's for supper - good chicken stuff! We are otherwise being couch potatoes for the rest of the evening. So there.

28 November 2004:

Hard to believe the weekend is almost over!! Everyone got to sleep-in a li'l bit this morning, which was nice! Then, run to KMart to pick up a few things before returning Valdemort to E Lansing.

As we usually try to, made the trip to EL something of an event; got there around 3:30, stopped by Best Buy to check out a couple of things, then over to the dorm to drop off stuff (and pick up one Olds t-bone in need of Slide-Dad TLC). Tried out "Jimmy John's" for early supper (had to! there's one opening in GB soon!), then to the store with the name I LOVE - "Moosejaw" - just to browse. Over to "Cold Stone Creamery" for some hand-blended ice cream yummies, and finally back to campus to officially drop Valdemort off (we'll be picking you up again in about 3 weeks!!:-)

29 November 2004:

Guest blog entry from Valdemort - prefaced very simply, and I quote:

WOW.

Check out the Prodigy story to find out where the "WOW" came from!

The search for seasonal employment to fill the gaps between contract jobs took only one stop today, and I was hired "on the spot" - after the checks are completed, I will be doing sales in the Men's Wear department of Marshall Fields (the only things I told them I would NOT do is perfume & cosmetics!!)

Addendum: Valdemort forwarded a link with a sample of the Prodigy's (Jay Greenberg) work, entitled "Bluejay: Overture to 9/11". You will need RealPlayer to hear the radio program and the composition. This was done when Jay was only 11!

30 November 2004:

Ahhhh! Some of the GOOD THINGS of Life:

• The enthusiastic greetings from Ernie upon returning home
• Sam's contentment in spite of being shnorkly
• Taking The Boyz to Squirrel Park for a brisk romp
• Home made pea soup simmering on the stove
• Danny Kaye as "Walter [ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa] Mitty" and Boris Karloff (my fave!!) as The Evil Psychiatrist on TMC
• Fuzzy purple Polar Fleece moose sweaters
• Dropping Nook off at school in the morning
• Picking Nook up from school in the afternoon!!
• Emails and IMs that are NOT spam
• And, best of all, Family!!