One of the things that has been keeping me busy and not posting and ranting as much as usual is that I am working on a story. I’ve been working on it in my head for a while, and now I am finally beginning to put it down in text. In a strange turn of events for me, it’s going to be light science fiction. It’s really rough at the moment, but so far, I am happy with it.

I do have a question for the fiction readers out there. What is your favorite story point of view? Do you like things to be written from a single character’s point of view? Or do you prefer third person, a narrator that knows everything about everyone (or at least one character)? Or something different? I prefer writing in third person omniscient, and that’s also the point of view I seem to prefer reading (though some of my most favorite books are in first person oddly). I was just wondering. Right now, I haven’t exactly settled on a point of view. It could go a variety of ways … I think.

Anyway, that’s one of the things I have been up to: writing. Maybe something will come of it this time.

“They should all just wear pastels and get over it. WE ARE THE STEPFORD WIVES.”
– Lin

I love windmills. Old ones. New ones. Windmills of all sorts. I find them beautiful and relaxing to watch.

I don’t have time to say anything else, but I just thought you should know that.

I finally got everything else around the house done but the latest batch of dishes. I stack them up and get ready to wash them and … no water comes out of the faucet. I, of course, figure they have yet again “accidentally” shut off our water like they did last time, and my blood pressure shot through the roof. I really am at the end of my rope with all the utility companies. The fact my first thought upon discovering a utility not function is that it’s a massive screw up on the part of the company should be a testament to that. They really do tend to screw up a lot in all sorts of creative ways.

In order to be thorough and have my ducks in a row before making any bitchy phone calls, I make sure we aren’t somehow late on the bill. I didn’t see how we could be, seeing as I only got the bill last week, but you never know. Once I verified we were current on payments, I called the emergency water line listed right there on the bill. After 15 minutes of pushing various buttons on my phone’s keypad, I finally found the one to push to talk to a human. I was ready for an argument, because it hasn’t been all that long ago they did shut our water off for no reason at all and try to charge us $80 to get it turned back on. I haven’t quite forgotten that mess yet.

The lady asked me my address, and I gave it to her. “Well, we do have…” was all she said before I was ready to explode, because that’s exactly the first words the last person said right before saying they’d had a disconnect notice for our house. I managed to not explode and let her finish … “You’re over by Home Place aren’t you?” Yes, yes I am. “There’s a broken water main over there. They had to turn off the water to repair it. It could be quite a few hours before they are done.”

OK. Not the best news in the world. I need a shower and the laundry and dishes aren’t done yet … and being without water just plain sucks.

I’m itchy and stinky, and I want a damn shower!

It’s been chilly all day. I can’t believe it’s only 70 degrees at 3 pm. Doesn’t Mother Nature know it’s almost May and it’s supposed to be getting hot in Texas?! My pepper flowers are never going to set and turn into peppers! Oh well. In the long run, another mild and wet summer would be great, and it would mean an extended growing season. All the same, I like my sunny days to be warmer than 70 degrees and so do my pepper plants.

In other news, there is no other news. I’m just sitting here trying to work up the will to finish the housework … the never-ending freaking housework.

I’ve been watching season one of Torchwood on Youtube whenever Lin is watching something on TV I don’t care for, and I noticed something. The episodes shown in the USA are edited to protect America’s prudish sensibilities … and to fit in 18 minutes of commercials. With further investigation, it turns out that Dr. Who is also touched by editing too, in some cases quite broadly. I am finding myself more than a little peeved.

While I have seen things that were cut from both Torchwood and Dr. Who episodes, none of them were anything I would think would get anyone but the most conservative Christian fundamentals into a lather, and in some instances, the deleted bits change the make-up of a character or the way a story flows. I guess my eyes and ears are apparently far less tender than my fellow Americans. It looks like I will have to get my hands on the DVDs or learn how to use file sharing, if I want to see the episodes of both these shows as they were intended to be seen.

Stupid America and its stupid “protect the children” attitudes.

I was very excited the other day when I posted the photo of the many blooms that had appeared on my cherry pepper plant. The last few days, every last one of those blooms have fallen off. Naturally, I panicked. Then I did some reading on line. I’m doing everything perfectly (and the plants are very happy plants). The weather, on the other hand, hasn’t been cooperating. It’s still getting too cool at night for the fruit to set.

For the best really, seeing as my pepper plants are still a little young and small. It would be better if they were a little more grown up before they started producing. Still, you know I am impatient. I want fresh veggies from my own garden!

Several of my tomato plants have flowers on them now. They too are a little small to be producing fruit, but I am going to let them do what they want to do. Nature usually knows best.

I just wish it hadn’t rained so much last night. I was trying to let all my containers dry out a little. I might have over-watered them this week. Growing things in containers is so different from growing things in the ground. This is sure to be a learning experience for me. Hopefully it will be a learning experience that results in fresh veggies!

I still don’t want to move my garden to the back yard, but I can’t figure out a way to convince Lin it needs to stay in the front. I think I’ll go sit on the porch and meditate on it a while. It’s such a gorgeous day today. I want to be outside!

Additionally, I would like to complain about having what appears to be a heat rash over the back half of my head and down my neck. The itchy-hurty feeling is going to drive me mad. This long hair is becoming a bother.

That is all.

The new weather alert system that Time Warner has instituted is beyond annoying. Sure, sure, there may be a tornado the next county over, and it’s very nice to know that, but could it at least do it silently? It started a few months ago with a red scrolling banner and the usual loud emergency alert sound, which breaks into not only live TV programs but also plants itself on top of any programs you are watching from a recording. This, in and of itself is cool, except for its tendency to not turn off for extended periods of time after the warning or alert has passed. Now there’s the alert sound, the red banner, and, in what I believe may be a computer voice, the warning in both English and Spanish. It’s incredibly annoying to be watching your pre-recorded episode of Dr. Who and have a computer give you a warning about bad weather every 15 minutes, and even more annoying when it goes on for more than an hour afterwards.

That’s sounds selfish, I suppose. How dare Williamson County have a tornado watch while I am trying to watch Dr. Who. There could be people who can’t read and wouldn’t get the message, but it would be great if the audio announcements were opt in. Lin and I simply don’t need or want them.

Here’s our standard weather alert routine:

An alert comes on the TV. We read it the first time it appears, individually assess the danger level, and unless it’s something that is right on top of us, we continue to sit on the couch watching TV.

The second time the alert appears on the TV, we become annoyed. If it is only a red banner, the annoyances passes quickly, and we tune out the red banner and continue watching TV. If it is the new audio alert, we pause the TV show and spend a minute or two bitching about the new weather alert system.

The third time the alert comes on the bitching continues whether it’s only a banner or if it is also the new and improved audio alert system. At this point, I usually step out on the porch to judge the weather myself, and we may turn on the local weather channel, since we can’t watch our show anyway.

Anything beyond three alerts, the bitching increases exponentially. If the weather directly overhead seems to be taking a turn for the worse, we turn on the weather channel and watch it, since any concentration we had on what we were watching is now blown out of the water. I may go sit on the porch and watch whatever is going on … or play with the cats. They get antsy when it’s thundering, the silly things.

The alerts go away. The bad weather, if any, passes, and we go back to watching TV.

Tonight went a little differently. Well after the alert for Williamson County was over, even though the alert was still repeating and there had been no new alerts, there was a great crack of thunder. Our electricity snapped just enough to freak out the cable box. The cable box was so freaked out, I had to spend 30 minutes with it using my secret cable box knowledge to get it working properly again. … during which there was much whining from the household member who does not have secret cable box knowledge and the scurrying of cats trying to stay out of the way of whining bitching humans, while simultaneously freaking out about the thunder and lightning.

Lin finally went to sit on the porch to watch the light show, and once I made sure the cable box was finally rebooting correctly, I joined him. The flashing sky was very impressive. Quite a light show indeed! There wasn’t much wind so it wasn’t a totally miserable and wet experience being on the porch. Our porch does very little to protect anything on it from the elements, which is why I have been able to grow vegetable plants on it. If it’s raining, the porch is wet. If it’s sunny, the porch is sunny. And don’t expect any protection from the wind either!

We eventually started feeling a little too damp and chilly, so we went back in to watch TV. Then Lin fell asleep. Aside from the aggravation of the new weather alert system and the period of time during which the cable box was being bothersome, it’s been a rather normal night around here.

But could the universe (and Time Warner) please, please not disturb the Friday night viewing of the new Dr. Who episode? Please? I’d be ever so appreciative.

Yes, it’s true: I do have secret cable box knowledge. Also, who the hell is that annoying, pushy, abrasive woman with the Doctor now?! I don’t like her one bit.

Proof that when it’s your time to go it’s your time to go:

A shark on Friday attacked and killed a 66-year-old swimmer who was training in the ocean off San Diego County with a group of triathletes.

The guy makes it to 66, is obviously someone who took great care of himself, and a shark just swims up, takes a bite out of him while he’s training for a triathalon, and it’s all over.

When the universe draws your card, that’s it, I guess.