mattrix's Journal

Happy birthday, Margaret...
Margaret, 'tis you we count on
you are reliable as to a fault

When we need honesty or humor
every high or low you'll vault

When you come visit our home
we know what to expect here

Laughter and sharing, love
and warmth, long as you're near

You give me friendly company
that never gets tired or old

You give Joanne needed sistering
speaking your truth loving yet bold

Every year you become richer
more complex and mellower still

With your strength and greatness,
you continue, come what will

There are many things I gained
undeservedly marrying Joanne

Your love and friendship is
one, that makes me lucky man

Happy birthday from us both
perhaps in such different ways

May be become closer and closer
today, tomorrow and all our days.

Getting dogs to go

My sweet little dogsnare largely well housebroken but for some reason they are super stubborn tonight. No idea why.

To Joe and Valerie, married today, 7/7/07
A marriage begins with a pair of I do’s …
Extra-extra, it’s all over the news

When the dancing is done, the cake has been cut
When the rice has been tossed, the bouquet caught

Then starts the marriage and all that does entail
Your ship of marriage, as many before, sets sail

Now comes the fun and the challenge, sometimes
Building a home and a life together, blissful times

You’re both so kind and an example to many
I hope your love fills with memories complementary

Surely while search has been long, the reward is sweet
The way you both fit each other, oh what a treat

May you grow, each in your own way, safe in the other
Grow young together, new best friends and lovers.

Merry Christmas.....
To any one who happens to read this...
Merry Christmas....
Happy Holidays...
Have a Kwanzaa..
Happy Chanukkah...
etc.

Poem to Joanne on our fifth-anniversary-of-meeting
Five years ago today my life changed forever
Twasn't the fashion or style or even the weather
You walked into a bar at a bowling alley gone
That day no realization, the change to life going on

You walked in the room, slipped off of a chair
On the way to the kitchen, I approached you there
I asked if you danced, you told me you did indeed
Upon my return, we swung, both slow and with speed

In between songs, you told 'bout your life and its ways
You tried to hint and ask where I danced on other days
My answers interrupted, you shrugged and resigned
Assuming I must not have been interested in more time

But the hook had been set, I had to know more
Even as you were leaving, walking out the door
I was fascinated by your story and who you were
Dawning on me, my stupidity, I asked the singer

She called and passed my interest by and by
Not sure what she said, if my words she did modify
You let your fingers do the typing with letter and phone
Your detective work paid off, soon my heart you did own

Five years went by, many houses and jobs and so on
Changes for you and changes for me, homes gone
Truly we can look back, and see it has been quite a ride
I'm so lucky to be here, with you as friend and bride.

Relationship as child.....
Today, I learned/thought of a metaphor that I am going to use. I'm going to treat my relationship like a child... as a dependent.

One that needs a lot of attention. Perhaps, another way to look at it is as a pet or a plant.

I'm going to think in terms of what's good for the relationship like you would a child. I think my "child" is pretty young and needs a lot of tender care. Without meaning to be neglectful, I think I have been and will need to be restorative.

I will need to give it independence and confidence, too, but first it needs care and lovingkindness.

This amuses me

In the US, it seems hard enough for a person to find a "life partner" ... I found my way to shaadi.com ... they have you choose your "community" among:

Hindu|Assamese
Hindu|Bengali
Hindu|Gujarati
Hindu|Hindi
Hindu|Kannada
Hindu|Malayalam
Hindu|Marathi
Hindu|Marwari
Hindu|Oriya
Hindu|Punjabi
Hindu|Sindhi
Hindu|Tamil
Hindu|Telugu
Muslim
Christian
Sikh
Parsi
Jain
Buddhist
Jewish
Other
No Religion
Spiritual - not religious

The success stories page is pretty cool too.... http://www.shaadi.com/shaadi_info/matrimonial_success_stories/index.php ... especially if you're used to black tux, white wedding dress.

Just seems a lot more diverse and colorful.

Current Music: "Redundant (Album Version)" by Green Day - Musicmatch Jukebox

Lyrics to the song 'Suicide is Painless'
(Mike Altman & Johnny Mandell)

Through early morning fog I see
visions of the things to be
the pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...

[REFRAIN]:
that suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make
all our little joys relate
without that ever-present hate
but now I know that it's too late, and...

[REFRAIN]

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
so this is all I have to say.

[REFRAIN]

The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat
and to another give my seat
for that's the only painless feat.

[REFRAIN]

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

[REFRAIN]

A brave man once requested me
to answer questions that are key
is it to be or not to be
and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

[REFRAIN]

'Cause suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
...and you can do the same thing if you please.

Gmail invites
... I have 50 .... anyone want one?

Current Music: "Forest" by System of a Down - Musicmatch Jukebox

Episode III
I liked it. A lot. The tragedy of Anakin's choice towards Padme and the conflict of Sith v Jedi was not nearly as cut-and-dried as I expected it might be.

Both affected me more than I recall feeling affected by a Star Wars movie.

And, I have to say that I like how so many things were tied up.

Still, Lucas has a way of creating characters and not doing all that much with them. Not sure why this is.

Mushmouth
I need speech therapy or something. Anything. Anything that'd make me understood 24/7. Breathing exercises? Relaxation? Annunciation? Focus? Sigh.

Current Mood: aggravated

Partay
We're getting close to our housewarming party. Lots of work left to be done. When I expressed my thoughts that we were doing a surprising amount of work for a fairly simple party, my level-headed buddy reminded me that a lot of what we were doing was moving-in type stuff and not party type stuff.

Bastage always has to be right....

Current Music: Matthew Sweet - Your Sweet Voice

Quote from Bill Moyers
(from http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/16/1329245 )

Let me tell you something – and we can argue about this at some other time – I’ve always thought the American eagle needed a left wing and a right wing. The right wing would see to it that economic interests had their legitimate concerns addressed. The left wing would see to it that ordinary people were included in the bargain. And both would keep the great bird on course. But with two right wings or two left wings, it’s no longer an eagle, and it’s going to crash.

This was a small part of a much longer speech given that was interesting and compelling. I haven't ever seen the "Now" program he was talking about within the speech, but I wish I had.

(I got there from http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/05/17/moyers/print.html ... which I guess excerpted the above link...)

WTF
(from http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5000600,00.html)

In the worst attack, an explosives-rigged car detonated near a market and cinema in the eastern New Baghdad neighborhood, killing 17 Iraqis and wounding 65, police Lt. Col. Ahmed Aboud said. The blast set fire to shops and cars and damaged a nearby apartment building

The enraged crowd turned its anger on police and journalists, beating at least two Iraqi photographers. Police and U.S. troops fired in the air to disperse the crowd, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene.

... attack the cops ??!?

Housewarming
Concerning presents and things you might bring
We love your generosity but just one thing
We’ve plenty of blenders, potholders ‘n’ glasses
We’d love it if you might bring us grasses
A bush, vine, tree or flowering shrub
Would fill in our outside with green life, bub.
More than loveliness, would it to us bring
Thoughts of you when memory bells ring
Every day they grow taller leaf by leaf green
Remembering you fondly for future and what’s-been

Honor
bible says to honor father and mother
leave them, marry and cleave to another

two become one flesh inseparably mixed
your needs become my needs, shared betwixt

I honor you as I do honor myself
I honor your body and honor your health

honor your wisdom and honor your truth
listen and believe in you, needing no proof

honor your dreams, care for them as my own
honor your power and strength as it has grown

lucky to have known one as easy to honor so
every day much more to honor watching you grow

AIGA 12 steps
From http://www.designobserver.com/archives/000048.html

DEFINING THE PROBLEM
1) defining the problem
2) envisioning the desired end state (knowing what victory looks like)
3) defining the approach by which victory can be achieved
4) inciting support and then action

INNOVATING
5) seeking insight to inform the prototyping of the solution
6) prototyping potential solutions
7) delineating the tough choices
8) enabling the team to work as a team

GENERATING VALUE
9) choosing the best solution then activating it
10) making sure people know about your solution
11) selling the solution
12) rapidly learning and "tacking" based on your successes and failures

Rollercoaster days of late
House is getting ever closer to being done. We're thinking three weeks or maybe slightly more.

By and large I'm dealing with it pretty well. Lot of unnecessary stress tied up in it though. Be happy when that is gone.

Current Music: "Evangeline" by Matthew Sweet - Musicmatch Jukebox

Impotent Rant
I have a Sony Clie PDA. It's my 2nd. It's a great unit. Not even one of the snazzy ones. It's getting old. It has a cracked flip cover ... crack started near the hinge and is now almost all the way through.

I thought to go to Sony Style and buy one... $15 is what it says ... but I find out after a call or so that I have to buy it from Sony Parts.

They quote me $38 to 55 for various colors of these things. Mind you, it's molded plastic that used to cost $15 retail.

I ask about the battery (it's getting old and doesn't hold *that* much charge any more)... I am quoted a price of $43. I ask for the part number. The kind lady on the phone tells me that Sony doesn't like to give out internal part numbers and charges a $5 research fee.

I told her Sony is doing everything they can to make me not buy their problems.

Having nobody else to tell who might care, I figured I can post it here.

I think I'm going to have to find someone's dead one on Ebay or try to glue it again... superglue worked well for a short time then died.

Damn, I know it'd cost a lot to buy a new, modern PDA (but that'd be faster) ... but I can't quite bring myself to part with that much $$$. Sigh. Wish I knew what the thing was made of.

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