flowers and war

No, I don't mean war as in Dubya's rotten Iraq war. I mean war as in "Troy". But they do share one thing in common - All hype, no substance.

Even half-naked Brad Pitt couldn't save Troy. (Though his character does do a good job at burning it to the ground...) I was certainly excited when I was first bombarded with media propoganda - "buffed and bronzed" Brad Pitt, wearing that sexy gladiator outfit; put him alongside the latest hottie Orlando Bloom and a couple of cat-eyed beautiful women; throw in some swords, armor, an intense fight scene between our two heros, plus some flaming balls of hay for mass destruction - and hey, I liked what I saw. Visually, the movie did deliver as the trailers promised. The fight scenes were exciting and Brad Pitt couldn't keep his clothes on. Beyond that, though, it was overdone and overdramatic to the point of being downright corny. Now, I know that it was based off of classic literature, but I could hardly conceal my giggles at some of Brad Pitt's inspirationally corny speeches.

Gladiator definitely dominates in this genre still!

While watching the previews, they showed a trailer for the movie "King Arther" - and, much like my initial reaction for "Troy", I was immediately drawn to the "once upon a time" setting and beautiful people (the hot chickee from Pirates of the Caribbean) and thrilling fight scenes. Then I snapped out of it and realized that it would probably end up just like Troy, just a few hundred (thousand? I never was into history hee hee!) years newer. It will probably disappoint, but I will probably pay that $7 to see it in the theater anyway. That's just how it is. ;)

On the landscape front...

Last year, when I was gone, my family planted flowers in the early spring and that was IT. All nurturing and care ceased after that. Tiny invisible seeds of evil lurked in the fertile soil, waiting for just the right opportunity to explode into weedy action, popping up in every inch of soil, mulch, or even from within bushes. For some reason, nobody touched them and they were prolific in their domination of our landscape. Canada thistle, clover, and something with little yellow flowers... Somewhere buried underneath were beautiful, colorful flowers, drowned out by the sea of invasive forbs.

Considering I spent all last summer controlling these beasts, I was appauled to see that they had all gone to seed.

Rule #1 in controlling weeds: NEVER let them go to see. NEVER!! There's a reason why they are called weeds - they have thousands of seeds that can plant themselves anywhere!!

And so the problem got worse. Which is where I come in.

(cue the old West cowboy music they play for a duel)

I gave in and nuked our yard with herbicides. This is a big step for organic, granola-crunching me, but there really was no way to kill the little weed babies literally carpeting the landscape. I pulled some and sprayed some; repeat. Now begins the fun part: planting!

On my shopping list:

Perennials:  Yarrow (yellow and purple); Coreopsis (yellow); Artemesia (silver foliage); Purple sage (Salvia)

Annuals:  Alyssum (white); purple and yellow Petunias; various Dahlia; something little and bright blue; and red cockscomb. Much more to come!

I'll take pics when I finish. Gotta make it look fantastic for Tara's shower!

Travel and art

Remember "The Secret of NIHM", the cartoon-movie about those intelligent rats and the mother of a sick mouse who is doomed to be crushed when the field gets plowed? Gosh, I love this movie still. It's quite dark and creepy for a kid's movie and I still remember being freaked out by some of the scenes.

The pic above is from the trip I took with Kevin and Beth to Shenandoah. And here are the latest pictures from my trip to Chincoteague, Virginia. I just can't seem to stay home, can I?  Wanderlust and ADHD seem to go hand in hand. What, Lisa has ADHD? Doesn't come as much of a shocker, does it. ;)

Latest news out of me? I have an interview next week with an environmental stewardship crew out of Oakland County (where I live). I think it's the first year the crew has been assembled, because I've never heard of them; it is in part sponsored by the Oakland Land Conservancy. Doubt it will pay much more than minimum wage; it's always a toss-up between experience and making money. They don't seem to go hand in hand. I received a call when I was in Virginia regarding an open fire position with the Fish and Wildlife Service in the upper peninsula; however, he pointed out that he was filling 1 spot and had 159 people on his list. Yikes. I can only hope that he is buddies with my old boss. It would be wicked to live in Marquette or even Munising, but I don't think it's going to happen.

Gonna do it - get my temp Commercial Driver's License (CDL). I need it to apply for a Public Works job in Oak Park. Ok, it's not in my field but I love labor. Maybe that has to do with the ADHD also. ;)

I also decided to start up an online art portfolio of my stuff. Not sure why, but I might set it up to sell prints if people like my stuff. Mostly photography right now but I'll hopefully scan in some of my sketches and paintings soon.

Enough rambling. Seinfeld is on and pizza is here. "Heellllllllooooooooooo!"

caffeine-induced updates!

Hey I'm on a roll so I thought I'd make up for lost time...

I haven't written about my Virginia trip yet, but doing a little field work did wonders to redefine what I am doing with myself. Trapsing along the ocean in the misty night, the beach illuminated by my headlamp, I remembered exactly why I went into Natural Resources in the first place! Scanning the beach for horseshoe crabs while the mosquitos feasted upon me was a certain kind of fun that only a scientist could appreciate, I'm sure; but I've never been the type to sit still or stay indoors so I had the time of my life!

Now, instead of entertaining thoughts of graphic design, construction, landscaping, modeling, art, or marrying a rich old man, I am once again on track (or as much as I will ever be in my random-whim habit) to pursue a career in my field. Well, at least my renewed determination is there; it won't be any easier, but at least I won't waste my energy trying to do everything else in the world for right now.

Emphasis on right now. It's just in my blood to have this insatiable curiosity for everything! I live to live! There is so much I want to do!

...And I crash from my caffeine high. ;)

I took a spin on my mountain bike at Lakeshore Park today. Any locals need to check it out - very technical and lots of fun. I suck, so I think it's hard but well worth the blood, sweat and tears!

Earlier this evening I was watching VH1's hottest hotties... I have a fetish for hotties, LOL! Especially in the spring, when all those tanned, muscular landscape and construction guys come out of hiberation... I'm worse than a guy when it comes to checking them out. We'll just say I have my dark sunglasses for more than UV protection. ;) Tricks of the trade, you see. Nothing beats Colin Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and a young George Cloony though! [drooling on self...]

Which brings me to a sad-but-true conversation I had today with Jenna... I am damned in this culture of metro-sexual men. Sensitive, well-dressed, well-groomed, and well-behaved?! GASP! What has American culture done to all the REAL men?! Heather loves her metros and most of my exs are to some degree... But notice they are all EXs. This means the relationships didn't WORK, LOL (sorry Steve)! Metros are not for me. I like my men to be stubborn, macho, and sarcastic; rugged, tough, and outdoorsy; no styling products in his hair; carharts and t-shirts! Football and hockey! Pretty much the exact opposite of the types of guys I grew up with. Sure, those mountain men exist IN THE MOUNTAINS! Not in metro Detroit, though. If you see one, send him in my direction (except Marc - jackass!); they're endangered around here.

And so revealed is the truth as to why I want to move back to Colorado - men. ;)

Lightning

?? Which Natural Wonder Or Disaster Are You ??
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revolutionizing my internet existence!

Guess what I'm doing right now?

Sit down for this...

Typing this journal from a LAPTOP while watching crappy tv!

What's that, you ask? You bought a new computer??

Damn straight! (pausing to watch a funny-yuck anal probe scene in some weird movie called "The Sex Monster")... Oh wait, where was I? That's right - I was gloating about my newfound desktop-liberation!

Hmm... I don't seem to be very successful with writing and watching tv, even if the movie is absolutely ridiculous.  Tee hee, I feel so... modern!

It was an opportunity I couldn't refuse, $400 off. It's not top of the line, but it's much better than my fossil desktop from 1999. This is actually a huge step for me - considering I am unemployed and just spent muchos buckos. But I see it as an investment; I can't stand sitting in my room on my computer all day because I get cooped up and get a little nuts, so there's no way I could stand to write very long. This way, I can take my computer with me and actually get serious about pretending (??LOL) to be a writer!

Lisa is free!! Wheeeeeee!

I also had way too much coffee tonite. Wheeeee again!

The BIG STORM!

So now I am two stories behind -  my first Virginia trip, and now my other Virginia adventure. I definitely need a laptop. My computer is in my room, in the basement of my parent's house, and after sitting down here too long I go a little nuts... I'd be much more inclined to write if I wasn't cooped up down here!

Anyway, it figures that while I was away enjoying the beach, crabs, and alcohol, Detroit got a wicked storm. I love wicked storms, and I missed it! I was watching TV in Chincoteague and they showed Detroit underwater, so I called up Steve to get the lowdown. He works for the city and said that the emergency sirens went off, hailing everybody into the emergency shelter area. I later talked to my buddies at the garage and they said they all went outside to watch, of course. Which is exactly what I would have done, hee hee.

He said that the sky was an eerie green and the clouds actually looked like sine waves. Others said the rain was so heavy that it would come down in sheets, and wind was up to hurricane-level speed - 60 mph or more! AND I MISSED IT! Also, two funnel clouds were sighted over Northville and Plymouth but didn't touch ground. Steve also said that the ~80 ft. cottonwood tree that hovers directly over his house fell down - and incredibly missed the neighbor's and their own house and other trees. Couldn't have fallen any better. The tree was so sketchy in the first place, that they were going to have it removed this summer. Guess it's cheaper this way. ;)

I'm hoping this constant cloud cover/rain turns into another "Great Lakes Hurricane" this week so I can drive my car through it. Yeah, I'm crazy like that. Anyway, here are some pics from my aunt in Dearborn that day. Keep in mind that it is only 3 or 4 pm and it is that dark!