A poem for my queen

You were my sun parting clouds in the sky
You were my moon full with white light
You were my stars twinkling up above high
You were my earth upon I dreamt each night

You were my fire on cold winters' eves
You were my storm when the desert was dry
You were my winds which sang through the leaves
You were my sea with waves rolling high

Oh, to hold you once again tight
To brush your hair back away from your sight
Keep you so close until it is light
And kiss you again as I wish you good night

May the universe hear my cries and my call
To return my sun, my moon, and my stars
My earth, 'pon which my tears now fall

I plea to the fates, please do listen in
Return my fire, my storm, and my winds
Let the tides of my sea rise up once again

So much to me, this woman does mean
I wish once again to hold her
To kiss and wish her sweet dreams

The Orion, week 1

It's now been one full week.  The Blue Beast is gone, traded in to Power Nissan Tempe for $500 and replaced by The Orion, a fully-loaded navy blue 2007 Nissan Sentra S.

I'll admit that I really miss The Beast, having been a fairly reliable vehicle overall this year, and especially compared to the problems he had last year.  I miss the little niceties like the door locks that automatically engaged when you shifted into drive, the headlights that came on when it got dark enough, and especially the growl and power of the V6 engine.  Unfortunately, the 122,000 miles he had covered since being built were starting to show:  a creak here, a squeak there, a wobble and pull when driving a straight line, and the obvious exterior wear from the elements and ten years of use by myself and the owners before me.

The Orion's next-generation CVT engine, though not the V6 that I've grown accustomed to, certainly holds its own, especially when it comes to gas mileage (32-36 MPG compared to 20 MPG).  My visits to the overpriced gas stations are now half as frequent.  The 6-CD Rockford-Fosgate sound system roars, and now I finally have something to combat the overpowering amounts of mariachi and gangsta rap music constantly being played by my neighbors' cars.  The only thing I'm having a hard time getting used to is the Intelligent Key system.  I'm accustomed to fishing in my pocket for keys as I'm walking towards the car, but as long as the "key" is on me somewhere, the car will recognize it and I can open the door and start the engine without ever pulling it out of my pocket.

There were definitely trade-offs in this deal, but the biggest one made the whole deal worth it:  peace of mind.  I no longer have to worry what to do when--not if--the car breaks down or wake up at 2AM because the horn randomly went off again.  I have a reliable new vehicle with a 100,000 mile warranty.  Yeah, my insurance went up a little bit and my car payments are a little high, but my credit is being rebuilt and the only thing now that will make my FICO score better is patience and continued timely payments on my bills.

I've been pretty aggressive this past year trying to clean up both my credit and the leftover debris in my life and apartment from the marriage.  The courts have been extremely slow, but the divorce should hopefully be finalized in the next few months.  My living space is finally cleared of leftover boxes and belongings from my soon-to-be-ex-wife and everything from the phone to the TV has been slowly replaced with the latest and greatest--or at least the greatest I can afford.  Thanks to finally landing a real software development job at the bank 15 months ago, I can afford good food and nice clothes for me and Kaylee and still buy new movies, books, and other entertainment after all the bills are paid.  Life is finally looking up thanks to all of my hard work.  Yeah, I'm bragging a little, but I think I've earned that right.

The only major thing on my to-do list now is finding a house.  Renting or buying, it doesn't matter at this point, as long as I'm out of this neighborhood with its leaky roofs and inconsiderate inhabitants.

2 MUCH CHZBRGR!!!

Plz, no mor chzbrgr.  Sides R 2 much hurtz frum many LOLZ.  LOLZ here and here.  kthxbye.

Which Hero are you?

My score on The Heroes Personality Test:

Micah Sanders
(You scored 50 Idealism, 29 Nonconformity, 62 Nerdiness)

Can we play Scrabble tonight?

Congratulations, you're Micah Sanders!  You're good-natured, intelligent, perceptive, and naturally inclined toward technology.  You're also quite innocent and loving.  You've got a fondness for computers and Scrabble.

Your best quality: You're extremely perceptive
Your worst quality: You can be a little demanding at times

Link: The Heroes Personality Test
(OkCupid Free Online Dating)

Playground fun

I couldn't resist posting this.  I've heard Europe is a lot more open about nudity on television, but apparently anything goes at their public playgrounds.  Take a look here.

Currently listening to:
	Ghost Opera By Kamelot Release date: 05 June, 2007

Minutes to Midnight

The boys of Linkin Park caught the attention of America's youth in 1999 with the angst-ridden lyrics of their Hybrid Theory album and followed up four years later with their award-winning multi-platinum album Meteora.  Since then, the youth of our nation have grown a bit older and the sound of the newest LP album Minutes to Midnight seems to acknowledge that and matures a bit with its fans.

The band worked on about 150 tracks in preparation for this album and chose what they felt were the best tracks.  The album is truly eclectic, from the instrumental opening, followed by the angry, explicit track Given Up and the more mellow Leave Out All the Rest, and track four, Bleed It Out, is a short throwaway rap cut (minus Joe Hahn's mixing and scratching present on both previous albums but absent in this one).  There's a fairly good balance of all the different styles, and on my first listen through, this was a bit jarring and rather turned me off to the whole album.

Now that it's had a little time to sink in, I appreciate the fact that the band is truly trying to break the mold they've been cast into and grow the diversity of their material.  It's almost guaranteed that the angst-ridden youth will probably cry out as I did on the first run.  It's not the solid album we were all expecting with our high hopes, but there are a few gems here (my favorite being Leave Out All the Rest) inside this 44-minute album.  I wouldn't be caught dead paying $18 for this album, but it's definitely worth it on sale... just be ready to hit fast forward past the duds.

Leave Out All the Rest
I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I am done here?

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I've been

I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

I can't be who you are

Currently listening to:
	Minutes to Midnight By Linkin Park Release date: 15 May, 2007

The key is free! Long live the key!

Beltane

The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May.

--Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur

Blessed Beltane greetings to all!!