I'm in a laughing mood today.

Some of the guys here are participating in a documentary of Apollo mission control, and they all dressed the part, and smoked fake cigarettes for the camera. Anyway, I saw the pictures today, and they were some of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Last night I had a hilarious dream. I dreamt I went to visit Nick and Cari in France (which is odd, because Nick will be back from France before Cari moves there). Anyway, we were touring around Paris, and BAM, the U.S. launches an invasion. Giggle. In my dream, America invaded France. It made me laugh even in the dream. That is until the U.S. army conscripted us to help the invasion force. I have to say, I looked damned good in fatigues. Seriously, though, it got even more ridiculous after that, because, in the dream, Nick and Cari were working as spies for France.

I'm sure this dream was brought on by my facitious comment yesterday in response to Mr. Powell's "France will face consequences"-speech. I said "If we invade France, I want to be part of the occupying force. That would be way more fun than occupying Iraq. I mean seriously, good food, good wine, great scenery, and suave French men..."

Sometimes people say things that are completely innocent, and perfectly nice, and they still upset me to no end, because I put them in context with the rest of my feelings about the whole thing. I am going to try to remain patient, and remember that this particular annoyance is almost over.

I'm such a lazy bum, I slept in this morning. Actually, I haven't been jogging in nearly a week. Its been hard to get motivated to do it lately.

I also got an estimate for someone to come in to trim all the bushes in my yard and clean out and mulch the two beds I didn't do. $500. I told the guy he must be on crack or something. Especially since the advertisement they put on my door said $35-$55 for "mow, edge, blow, weed eat, trim hedges, and clean and rake beds". I figured that the most he could charge me for my bit overgrown hedges was $100, maybe $120. Anyway, as I am completely unwilling to blow the cost of my Mexican vacation on that, I will be doing it myself.

If you have any advice on hedge trimming, please, email me!. I went and got advice from George already, but I am terrified I will end up with Charlie-Brown-Christmas-tree-pitiful hedges when I'm done.

3:18 p.m., April 21

Is when the latest Kohart was born to Dad & Rini. Demetra Kohart (Demi for short). (Like a good Greek - named after the Greek goddess of the harvest/fertility - it literally translates to "Earth Mother"). 6 pounds, I don't know how many ounces. Born 1 day + 1 year after my half-brother William Richard.

"You live in a freaky neighborhood"

Those were Sarah's words to me after a random person stopped me in the hall this morning to tell me that my lawn looked good after I mowed it yesterday (its been exactly 8 days since last time I mowed it, so it wasn't out of control or anything). There are a lot of people in my division that live in my neighborhood. And apparently they are keeping tabs on when I mow the lawn.

I am also going to scream if one more person says to me "You gotta love that corner lot." As I was heaving the mower down the length of the side of my house, every neighbor must of stopped to marvel (or feel pity for me at least) at how much more grass I have to mow because I'm on a corner.

If there was a follow-up to that conversation, in mostly revolved around my use of an electric lawn mower. I think every male neighbour I had stopped to say, "So, you have an electric lawnmower..." (this must be how men start conversations, rather than "Hi, nice to meet you"). Then we'd discuss the merits of an electric lawnmower on dense St. Augustine grass. This seems to be a thrilling conversation for men. I guess I need to watch more episodes of King of the Hill to understand this phenomenon. There was a Boy Scout troop out collecting food for the homeless ("scouting for food") and two of the fathers supervising them kept marveling at how I didn't run over the cord (apparently this was really disturbing them).

Yep, suburban freakiness. It is SO not me.

Space ships for profit

If anyone is taking bets, here's mine to win the X-Prize. I actually applied to work there out of college, guess they didn't need anyone (at least with my experience level). I've heard Burt Rutan speak at Air Shows before, and he's really impressive. Ok, I'm a bit of a fan (occasionally I would go on rants about how Scaled Composites is going to continue to build kick-ass flying things). Would've been a cool job.

His unveiling last week of the SpaceShipOne vehicle put the speculation to rest. And though other private spaceship hopefuls have already debuted some hardware, the track record set by Rutan and his 150 employees gives him a solid boost ahead of the competition.

Is, theoretically, my last day of class for the semester. Yeh!

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

I had a lovely Easter Sunday. A few close friends came over for brunch - we had a lot of food (French toast, mimosas, enough fruit salad for an army, this green marshmellow thing Debbie made, Godiva cheesecake, chocolate covered strawberries, deviled eggs, hash browns...). Then I vegged out the rest of the afternoon. I think I watched about 7 hours of t.v. (Sweet Home Alabama, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmeron, Simpsons, and Helen of Troy). I don't usually watch that much t.v. in a week!

Cari and I also went to Church (an extremely rare occurance for me). The priest cracked me up when he said "I hope you have all had a happy Easter. I'm tempted to also say... I'm just tempted to say to some of you: I hope you had a Merry Christmas too." Obviously, church attendence isn't usually standing room only. Giggle.

Rant

My neighbors must hate me. One of them clipped a note to my bushes (using paperclips, and they enclosed the note in a ziplock bag) that says "Please trim me." No name, no nothing. I mean, they do need to be trimmed pretty desparately, but that's not how most people would handle things.

For instance, I don't go clipping signs to my neighbors houses such as "your kid knocked 4 baseballs into my yard last week and its going to kill my dog if she keeps eating the string out of them" or "why the heck do you leave your freaky yappy dog in your backyard at midnight?" or "that red mulch is an eyesore" or "stop dropping your junk mail into my bushes so everytime I mow the lawn I have to spend 10 minutes picking up debris from around the mailbox (my bushes are next to the block mailbox)" or "don't let your dog poop in my yard (again, due to the proximity of my house to the mailbox)". Yet, I don't. Because I'm neighborly and would like to be friendly to the people who live around me, and I can tolerate little inconveniences for the sake of community.

You think they'd bother to knock on the door and introduce themselves. Then they'd find out that I'm planning on having it done this week (I'm hiring a lawn service to come in and trim all my trees and bushes and finish mulching).

I probably won't update until later today. So, a little trivia question: What happened this day in history? (No cheating with google)

I'll give you a clue:

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year...

A cry of defiance and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,

And a word that shall echo forevermore!

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,

The people will waken and listen to hear...

Last night's class went exceedingly well. In fact, I was suddenly smarter than most of the silly math students in my class. It was really funny, one of my classmates said "I don't understand engineers, I don't know what they'd need from me!" and the professor said "You better start learning to deal with them, they're everywhere"

I had a very irritating conversation this morning. I decided not to post it for the greater good.

Boy, I sucked at volleyball last night.

Aunt Di is coming to Acapulco with me!

Sarah, Jen, Gavin and I applied to be on Trading Spaces (for my bedroom and Jen & Gavin's game room).

Only two more days of class left this semester! No more homework, no final, and no project, makes me wonder why I'd even go. Anyway, I'll go, after all, NASA paid like $3500 for this class, I figure I should get the most out of it. And Yippee the semester is over! I guess I should make an appointment with my advisor to decide what I'm going to do for next semester.

I really should back up this journal. I wonder if anyone, who, say, is a computer-person by career (rather than unfortunate circumstances like me), would give me a good suggestion on how I can do it.

I'm really not in the mood for cohesive thoughts today.

I am going to do a search rotation. No I'm not. No wait, yes I am. Well, just wait a little longer and you'll know. You're leaving Friday. You're leaving Sunday. No Friday. No, you're not going at all. You'll be gone for 2 weeks. No, a week and a half. Well, just wait a little longer and you'll know.

Anyway, that's how the day is going so far. On top of that, I've decided someone needs to make the Mapping Toolbox I use run faster. I *hate* waiting for code to run.

The weather is so nice, the sun its shining, its warm, its so pretty.

Its tax day, but I filed my return a couple of months ago, and YESTERDAY, I got my refund! Whoo hoo! I know that my withholdings shouldn't be so lopsided that the IRS ends up with my extra money until I file a return for the refund, but it was still a nice little windfall. Next year, I'll have no such luck, since I fixed the lopsidedness.

Anyway. I have two questions: Who in Melbourne, Australia and who at Lorel Space & Comm in Palo Alto reads my page regularly? I don't know you and you know me, which puts me at a disadvantage! So, sign my guest book. You both sound like interesting people based on your location, so... :)

1:46 p.m. I'm really disappointed, it looks like they aren't sending anyone new out on search rotations. I wish I could've gone, but my work prohibited it until this last rotation, and now, its too late. Well, I guess it means I'll be home for the next two weeks and I'll return to my old pre-Columbia job sooner rather than later. Sigh.

Yuri's Night went well, even given all the "difficulties". Boy, I'm glad that's over. Life is much nicer now.

I may be heading out on Friday for a two week search rotation in-the-middle-of-nowhere-Texas. I am really looking forward to the change of pace. I wish I knew if I was going or not. My frustration on this subject is kind of a long story, and part of my bad mood from last week, so lets not dwell on it.

Sarah and I have decided we definitely want to buy a boat. Now, to find the boat.

It was a perfect weekend. I actually really enjoyed mowing the lawn (to the point that I puttered around to extend my outside-time). Then we took four dogs on a really funny walk.

Happy Monday!

Though I am trying to have a good week this week, today has not had a precipitous start. On the radio "this day in history" thing, I learned that today was the day Lincoln was assasinated, the Titanic sunk (the broadcaster pointed out that there was a liner only 20 miles away from them that could've helped rescue them if only their radio operator hadn't been off-duty), and a massive dust storm covered the plains all day blocking the sun.



Lovely.

Is there ever time for me to have a life? Will I ever have enough peace where I can regularly come home in the afternoon and not be so tired I can't do anything? I can't work on My Great American Novel. I can't even see strait when I get home. I certainly can't find time to mow the lawn. Yet, I was just talking to several people today about being married, and decided I wasn't nearly ready for that (I mean, really how would I find time for it?!), but it would be nice to have someone to cuddle when I got home for the five minutes before I fell asleep.

I can't wait for Yuri's Night to be over.

On another topic, I've decided ambition is a good thing. But people who are ambitious AND have little consideration for the other people around them are the problem. Four times in the last 12 hours have my toes been stepped on and the knife in my back has been twisted. I'm trying not to scream or break anything in my frustration. And I'm trying not to be mean-spirited by hoping for said annoying people to fail in the tasks they took away from me (that I was far better prepared for).

I love Indian food for lunch and pretty three-D pictures on large screens. I want to go to Mexico, anyone want to come with me?

I am so irresponsible, I can't even put it into words. I can only describe to you the ongoings of last night.

[cell phone rings]
Becca: Hey, Kennda, what's up?
Kennda: Is there a problem with the water? Cari and I are here and it hasn't been on all afternoong.
Becca: Uh oh. [remembering the last time I paid a water bill was in late February]. Kennda, you know the stack of bills on the edge of my desk, could you flip through it and see if you find a water bill? [the way I pay bills, is that I stack them on my desk, and every two weeks or so, I go through them all and pay everything that has arrived]
Kennda: I couldn't find the water bill, but I found a late notice.Becca: Go figure.
Kennda: Its postmarked March 26, it says the bill was due March 16, and water service will be cutoff on April 7. You owe $31.62

At this point I am completely mortified! My water has cutoff for a measley $31.62! I am kicking myself for being so irresponsible, especially since I am usually extremely timely in paying bills (actually, I have most of them set up to automatically debit the minimum amount due on their due date if I don't get around to paying them sooner).

The thing is, I'm growing angry, because I recall that to get the water turned on in the first place I had to pay a $200 security deposit. What the heck are they doing with the security deposit if they turned my water off! Anyway, I call the League City water department

Answering machine: Our office hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. [it is now 8 p.m. and I am leaving work]. If this is an emergency, call XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Since its an emergency, I call the number

Man: Hello, League City Police Department
Becca: [confused] I thought I was calling the emergency number for the water department?
Man: [thick texan accent] Yes, Ma'am, we double as the water department after hours
Becca: [what kind of ho-bunk town do I live in?] Well, my water has been cutoff and I need it back on. I live at XXX.
Man: Yes, Ma'am, I see you're on the cutoff list. You'll have to wait until tomorrow morning so you can go in and pay the bill.
Becca: I shouldn't have to wait until tomorrow morning - water is a necessity. I paid a deposit to prevent this very thing from happening.
Man: Well, ma'am, I sympathize with your plight. I see here your bill has been paid with your deposit, and you still have $170 remaining in your deposit, but you are on our cutoff list, and we are not authorized to page anyone in the water department to turn on the water of someone on our cutoff list. We are only allowed to page them in an emergency or if you have proof you paid
Becca: [trying to reason with The Way Things are Done] This is an emergency, I don't have water, I don't have showers, I don't have a toilet. And your records show I paid the bill with my deposit. Page the water department.
Man: Sorry, ma'am, I just can't.
Becca: Put me on the line with your supervisor.
[holding for a long time]Supervisor: Hello, ma'am, I am the night chief here.
Becca: I want my water turned on now [explain the story again]
Supervisor: Sorry, ma'am, we can't do anything we aren't permitted to page the water department because your name is on our list.
Becca: Well, then, I'd like to report a theft. [I proceeded to report the League City Water Department for stealing my deposit and still disconnecting my water].

At this point I throw my arms up in frustration and resign myself to a night with no water. What, do I live in the ghetto? I do some research. There is only one city ordinance governing this whole situation, requiring a deposit for people with no utility history (like me). Additionally, I find all sorts of tenant rights rules requiring 30 days notice before cutting off utilities. Home owners, apparently, don't qualify for this sort of courtesy, because my bill wouldn't even be thirty days late for another week and my water had been cut off! I call and find out that deposits given to both my electric and gas company would be used to cover a late payment (not that I've ever paid them late) before any service is disconnected. This water thing is a complete anomoly.

So, at 7 a.m., I am at the doorstep of City Hall, very smelly, and more than slightly annoyed.

Cashier: So, you're water has been cutoff.
Becca: [irrate] I'd like to speak with your supervisor about some of your policies here.
Supervisor: [after I explain my apparently misguided notion that paying a deposit would prevent any sort of interuption of service if my past due amount is less, in this case, far less, then the amount of my money they have sitting in their bank accounts collecting interest] Well, I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's our policy, we don't set it, its based on city ordinances.
Becca: Well, I happen to have read all the city ordinances last night, and I think that you have a lot of flexibility in when you cut off the water and whether you would use the deposit money first. I think you need to change your policy, especially since you don't have 24 hour services, cutting off a utility should be a method of absolute last resort.
Supervisor: I'm sorry ma'am, you'll have to take it up with city council and the finance administrator, they tell us what to do.

Anyway, I paid my bill, I got them to waive the re-connect fee, because they're idiots, and I went home and took a lovely jog. The water still wasn't on after the jog, and so while I was waiting, I wrote a letter to the mayor, city council, and the finance administrator with my suggestions on how our utility department should be run, including the following:
1. Accept payment over the phone, through direct deposit, or the Internet (right now the only payment option is walking in a bill, or writing and mailing in a check)

2. Stop sending the bill on pieces of paper smaller than a postcard. I learned, while speaking with the cashier this morning, that many people come into complain they only get late notices, never bills, cause the bills get slipped in magazines or junk mail and just lost, while the late notices are big and orange

3. Utilities should have 24 hour service, should not cutoff water until the deposit is eaten through, and should not cutoff water for a bill less than 30 days overdue.

At the end of the letter, I demanded my deposit back, since there is absolutely no reason for them to have my money sitting in their accounts for no particular purposes. So, that's my story of my own irresponsibility. As my mom said "I bet you'll never pay your water bill late again".

I had an excellent time in Breckenridge. Why do I have to live some place so ugly.

Here are some photos until I have time to sort through them myself and post my favorites.

Breckenridge:

Saturday April 05

Mostly Cloudy

Chance of scattered snow showers. 28 to 38

Sunday April 06

Snow

Snow likely. 25 to 35

And, of course, look here.

Breckenridge if 13,000 ft high. I've never skiied higher than 10,000 ft. And, even then, I got winded really easily. This should be interesting. I am *extremely* excited.

Now, I just need to get a few little details out of the way (i.e. the frustration that is Yuri's Night). Some work stuff. And then off to the mountain. I love mountains. I should quit my job and become a ski bumb. Or forget the mountainside used-bookstore as a retirement plan and just do it now.

Back on Tuesday!

I have to go to the dentist today. I'm frightened. Not actually frightened of the poking and prodding. More frightened of the small fortune its going to cost me to fix my teeth up as they (and at least one cavity) have been neglected for nearly a year and a half.

Anyway, baseball rocked last night. Except they didn't open the roof, I can't understand that. It was a perfect day yesterday. They couldn't have asked for it to be any more perfectly temperate and clear. And the roof was closed. Baseball should be played under the sky. And if the weather sucks, you just deal with it, or call a rain delay, or whatever. But the Astros still hit the most home runs I've ever seen in a game, so all was good.

There's nothing prettier than a perfect spring day and a flag flying at full mast. The flag has been at half mast for way too long. For a month after the Columbia accident. Then, for several days when the Senator died. Then, for several more days when the helicopter carrying NASA and Forest Service search crews went down. They raised it midday yesterday. It feels very uplifting.

Tonight I am going to the season opener for the Astros. They are doing a special NASA tribute. The flight controllers are going to go down on the field with a big flag. I'm sure it will be moving. I wish it didn't take a horrible tragedy for people to stand up and take notice of the space program.

So, all I need to include in this entry is freshly baked apple pie and it will be about as all-American as it gets.

Check out this article: U.S. Forms its Own U.N.. And Happy April Fool's Day.

Wednesday night regatta season (I'm referring to sailing here) is about to start, and as such, I'm trying to find someone looking for crew (willing to look past the fact that I won't be available until May and that I'm a complete novice). Anyway, I sent an e-mail out to the sailors I know, and this was one of the funniest things I've gotten back:

when I ever do get my boat rigged, I have a faithful crew in the person of Jim Rogers. However, if you're not too picky about boats, there's almost always some scow or another looking for a able bodied crew that can hand, reef and steer. 'Course that's usually the boat that's skippered by an ill mannered rogue that's quick with the end of a rope and fast to rig the grate (for lashing).
Just kidding....we'll keep a weather eye for boats in need of hands.....