John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets', and ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs.

The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells.

The farmer's favorite rooster was old Al, a very fine specimen he was too, but on this particular morning John noticed old Al's bell hadn't rung at all! John went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.

But to Farmer John's amazement, old Al had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Al , he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.

The result...The judges not only awarded old Al the No Bell Piece Prize but they awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well. Clearly old Al was a politician in the making: who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention.

We actually went back to sleep around 6AM so we woke up at noon; sleep schedules are only marginally messed up right now.

The only real thing we did today is go to IKEA and spend the gift cards I had, plus some out-of-pocket money. Now we finally have a chest of drawers and a bedframe. Brian had to ditch me at IKEA to fit everything in the car so I went and bought a couple of cooking books at Barnes and Noble across the street; I had a gift card for there too, and lately I've been picky about what I actually spend money on as far as books go. I decided anything I'm unlikely to read again -- fiction and most nonfiction -- I should just get from the library or borrow from someone, but things like cookbooks or writing and reference books are things I'll need to continually refer to so they're worth the money.

I ended up just walking back home because it was only five or six blocks and it would take Brian a while to lug all the boxes upstairs. I seriously don't even know how he did it, he's like an ant or something and can lift ten times his body weight. Anyway, I kept the birds entertained while he put the chest of drawers together, but Bongo went and supervised him for a little bit. The birds have been REALLY good. We're not sure if Bongo is just psychologically damaged now, or really grateful to see us, or maybe he learned not to be as needy after being away from us for so long, but he's been really well-behaved and he's said a ton of funny stuff.

I sorted our clothes into the chest of drawers and the bedroom looks a lot nicer now. Brian's going to put the bedframe together tomorrow. I have a sugar-free gluten-free pound cake in the oven made from coconut flour, so I hope that turns out good. I'm gonna go read and try to relax; we're running lots of errands tomorrow.

Sleep deprivation is slowly draining me. It's just hard because I need adequate rest to function effectively and efficiently at work. -_-

When I'm on the comp, in front of the tv, or reading, I'll start to dose off and even fall deep asleep. The moment I close my laptop/put down my book/turn off the lights and go to bed - I'm suddenly wide awake.

I wonder if something is subconsciously keeping me up...

Apprehensive about 2010 now. How will I do in the next year if I can't get a simple thing like sleep in order.

*sighs*

35 absolutely essential Mac apps - http://freelanceswitch.com/working/35-absolutely-essential-mac-apps/

Avenir and Montage I've not heard of, Cocktail and On the Job seem worth looking into... now to scrape up the energy to test drive new apps. Which is the point of my saving the link. Yup.

Let's get all this out there before I forget it.

( EVENTS THAT TRANSPIRED OVER CHRISTMAS VACATION )

( Sunday - Jared )

( Monday - Christmas Shopping )

( Tuesday - Sofia )

( Wednesday - Catherine )

( Thursday - Alisa, Christmas Eve, karaoke-scouting )

( Friday - Christmas, further karaoke-scouting )

( Saturday - Brian's mom )

( Sunday - THE BEST DAY EVER WITH MOST OF THE COOL PEOPLE I KNOW )

( Monday - The Return to LA )

Then Brian and I slept until 10PM, and HERE WE ARE. It's good to be back, but I miss people. We're probably going to IKEA today to get some much-needed furniture; my relatives all got us IKEA gift cards for Christmas, which will be useful as hell.

A man wanted to get married. He was having trouble choosing among three likely candidates. He gives each woman a present of $5,000 and watches to see what they do with the money.

The first does a total make over.. She goes to a fancy beauty salon gets her hair done, new make up and buys several new outfits and dresses up very nicely for the man. She tells him that she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much.

The man was impressed.

The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts. She gets him a new set of golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes. As she presents these gifts, she tells him that she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much.

Again, the man is impressed.

The third invests the money in the stock market. She earns several times the $5,000.. She gives him back his $5,000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account. She tells him that she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much.

Obviously, the man was impressed.

The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money he'd given her.

Then, he married the one with the biggest boobs..

Men are like that, you know.

There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-secrets_26.html

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people
mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.






















-----Email Message-----

I was at a Borders in Ohio this afternoon when I decided to read the newest PostSecret book. I discovered that a secret written on note paper had been tucked into the book. The secret said:

I just read this with the woman I love. I hope she doesn't get away.

I left the secret in the book, on the shelf on the off chance that she comes back and happens to find it. I hope she does.
























-----Email Message----
No More Resolutions. Just change.








New Book Available Now From Bookstores & Online.

(sorry for the slight mumbo-jumbo. had trouble posting this Poll in my previous entry...)

~ 'Yuuwaku'
~ 'Migwawari'
~ 'Meisai'
~ 'Hyakki Yakou'
~ 'Mezameru Maeni'

Poll #1503836
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 932

Which image would you like to see as the next Time Limited Print Sale?

It is time for the 3rd Time Limited Print Sale!!!
(the first was back in 07' for 'Mizuame'.)
(and the second one in 08' for 'Two Sisters'.)

This is a type of sale where the print will be available for exactly one hour,
and ANYONE who clicks the button during that time will be guaranteed a print.
(the edition size will be much larger than usual of course.)

The sale will most likely happen in mid-January.

i cant seem to post the POLL on to this entry.
so please see the newest entry to vote in the poll.

unfortunately if you do not have a Live Journal account, it doesn't let you click,
but feel free to leave a comment and will count those in.
Thankyou so much!!!

~ 'Yuuwaku'
~ 'Migwawari'
~ 'Meisai'
~ 'Hyakki Yakou'
~ 'Mezameru Maeni'

Hope everyone had a memorable Christmas. Stay warm!

:O)

Good news, everyone!

Ben found a better place called Spotlight Karaoke. It's the same price -- the room I wanted was booked, so we actually got a free upgrade to a bigger room -- and it's located at Westheimer and Fountainview. I booked the room for 9PM Sunday and onwards, but it's not hourly so don't feel bad if you have to be late or want to leave earlier than the rest of us. It has a website with a song list at http://spotlightkaraoke.com/. If you need my number for Sunday, it's 818-434-6948, and the room we've got is Room #1 or else just tell them my name. Don't worry too much about money and just show up and buy any drinks you feel like buying (make sure to get them from our waitress or it won't count towards our minimum). There's a dress code at the site so review it, but it shouldn't be too difficult to adhere to.

• 14:29 In Washington D.C.

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I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday weekend!

Alright loves, here's the deal on karaoke. It's called Volvo karaoke, it's at 5714 Fondren. The private room isn't by the hour, nor does the karaoke itself cost anything. Instead, we must as a group spend at least $150 on drinks or else pay straight up. We can stay as long as we want. I'm looking at around 9 or 10PM Sunday, and we're going to have anywhere from 7 to 11 people.

Comments, questions, concerns? If you want to go but money is an issue, contact me and we'll work something out; I'd rather have people there than not, so while we don't want to pay the whole $150 ourselves we're willing to absorb some costs. Also, you might convince me to get completely smashed and sing Miley Cyrus -- not a joke -- so this should be worth your while.