kd‘s been talking about switching her home machine to linux (traveling a road I have oft-times glanced down myself, even going so far as to walk down the path a few miles to see how it looked).
It’s got me thinking again…
‘Nuff Said
***Dave summarizes last night’s Star Wars game.
Beautifully.
The Requisite Post
So, we went to the movie last night. No spoilers, just my very vague impressions.
Better than Episode 1? Absolutely. Much more visually interesting — Lucas acknowledges for the first time that I’m aware of that planets actually have weather, not just climates. Also, the plot is much more convoluted and interesting.
Favorite episode? No. Pacing in the first half could have been tighter. There was a slightly ‘off’ feel to a great number of the action scenes that I think better editting could have fixed. I’ll probably always be an Empire Strikes Back guy, I guess.
Should you see it? That’s funny — what are you, crazy? Go see it. It’s pretty damn fantastic. There are a great number of very, very good parts.
I’ve got a lot more to say about individual scenes that will just have to wait for a week, or just for a long conversation with people face to face.
Willpower
Man, I’m glad that’s over.
I’m not talking about the graduation ceremony, or the last two months spent getting ready for today, or even about the last two years where Justin and I made dinner for two every Thursday night while Jackie was at class; this goes back all the way to 1994. On September 28th of that year, I made the best decision of my life and asked out the 2nd baseman on my co-ed softball team.
My second best decision was on October 25th of 1995, when I moved out here to Denver with all you fine people. My girlfriend, that 2nd-baseman, encouraged me to make the move and joined me out here on December 19th, 1995, after her semester wrapped up. We got engaged that day.
When I asked her what she was going to do about finishing her degree, she told me not to worry about it — she’d finish up Denver.
Well, a few things came up.
It took five years of preparation and planning (during which we went through two apartments, bought four cars, one house, two cats, 18 fish, and took on the care of 9-year old boy). It took two more years of actual school (in the middle of which we got a dog and moved to our current house 25 miles farther away from the college). I was traveling for my job during that time, and while Jackie was going to classes, she was also taking care of our house, our extended furry family and a 10-year-old.
I’m not here to talk about how hard it was — that much should be obvious. I want to mention her determination. Jackie has never faltered in her convictions or her commitments in all the time I’ve known her. It’s one of her great strengths.
For those of you, most of you, who don’t know all the particulars from the graduation, Jackie graduated with Honors and Distinguished Achievement today (awarded to only 10% of the Honors students for special merit beyond the scope of the University). I see that as a small acknowledgement of her strength of will.
Really, it’s the thing everyone came to the house to celebrate today, whether they knew it or not.
Congratulations, baby.
Is it fall yet?
Gonna talk about some football now… you may want to just move away slowly.
First off, I love the Broncos, but only since I’ve moved to Denver: the constant exposure to them has gotten me on their side as I get to know the people on the team. In that, I think I might be sort of a “proximity fan” — I don’t know how into the Broco’s I’d ever have been if I didn’t live here.
But then there are the Raiders, whom I used to enjoy for their “fuck the rest of y’all” history and whom I NOW like for their coach. As the youngest (and one of the best) NFL coaches in the game, John Gruden is really the reason I watch the “Rayyy-dahzz”.
Finally, there are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team I decided I liked when I was seven and saw their logo.
Lemme tell yah, people. Love hurts.
Being a Bucs fan isn’t easy (and I think it’s actually gotten worse since they’ve started winning more), especially when you rarely get to see one of their games (since they’re not in your division) and even more so when you REALLY HATE the style of play their head coach promotes.
So: love the Raider’s coach, and love the Buc’s team. Barring moving the entire team into Denver’s division, there’s one thing that could make me reeeeeeeeealllly happy.
This is it.
Okay, I’m done. *pant*
Seven Words
Seven words on Office Space:
Why was this ever recommended to me?
~Or Jackie’s version: ~
You can live without ever seeing it.
—
Seven words on Farscape’s Season Finale:
You have got to be kidding me.
~Or Jackie’s version: ~
Are you sure there isn’t another episode?
I’m all shakey.
Rey has posted a metric assload of stuff on the new Star Wars Toys, so I’m not going to. Two things.
1. Yeah, the Amidala toys are naughty. Yowsa. Cave-me wants.
2. DO NOT CLICK ON THE SPOILER LINK he mentions unless you REALLY want to see the spoiler. Trust me, it can wait until the movie. (I already knew about it via other venues, but most people won’t, and you DON’T WANT TO KNOW, trust me.)
At this moment, I can’t even remember your name.
A few days after you left, there was a bad storm. It happened in the middle of the night the way all the really bad storms do. I watched it through the double-wide windows that functioned as the head of my bed at the time.
You had been there to see me the weekend before and I was thinking about you. The visit had started out pretty well and you’d had a look in your eyes that said you intended good things. Very good things.
Of course it didn’t work that way.
I don’t know if there’s a way to explain: the lights were out, the room was dim, and when you walked into the bedroom you just looked so much like her. I was so surprised that I said exactly what I was thinking before I realized how it would sound, and that set the tone for the rest of your visit.
So a few days later I lay in bed watching the water run down the window and let lightning burn afterimages on my retina. The pillow you’d slept on didn’t smell like your perfume. The sheets didn’t smell like your skin. There was no romantically symbolic indication that you’d ever been in my house. I suppose that was fitting.
The next morning the neighborhood was littered with leaves and branch bits. I watched people sweep the walks or rake their lawns as I got ready for work.
I hadn’t called you.
I wasn’t going to.
I had admitted to myself that I didn’t know what to say. I think that was the first time I’d felt comfortable in three years.