Thursday, May 29, 2008

I miss...

Things I miss
I miss that everything used to taste better when I was a kid. I swear, Tricks, Capt’n Crunch, all cereal tasted better back then.
I miss the summer, and by that I mean summer break. As a child I couldn’t fathom not getting 3 months off.
I miss Saturday morning cartoons, WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THEM?
Speaking of which, I miss good cartoons in general. Have you seen what passes for entertainment these days? Half thought out plots with no story line, mindless sloppy animation that barley can pass for cartoons. And don’t get me started on live kid shows, kid sitcoms are even worse, and the whole Mighty Morphing Power flavor of the week needs to die! Can you see what I am truly passionate about? I miss the old Looney Tunes, you had an orchestra playing in the background with smart humor both adults and children could enjoy. And I bet you are now wondering, “Hey, why don’t I see those cartoons anymore?” Because they are too violent and not ethically sterile and pc… grrrrrrrrrrrr. The world is going to pc itself to extinction. I will admit that I enjoy Sponge Bob Square Pants, but that is a whole other blog all by itself.
I miss Chocolate; this is not a deterioration of society, but a deterioration of my own body’s ability to digest chocolate. What I would give to be able to eat a symphony bar, or a Reese’s pieces peanut butter cup. A Nestles crunch bar or 3 musketeers.
I miss regular soda, though I have become accustomed to diet, I lament the days of carefree soda consumption, back when my body could fight high calories more efficiently.
I miss good TV, shows like Happy Days, I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, and many more.
I miss movies that were good on their own merit and story line, and did not need to be infused with cheap marketing ploys that glamorize sex and violence.
I miss being able to super size at McDonalds.
I miss the simplicity of life.
I miss Music on MTV
I miss music on the radio in the mornings
I miss going to San Diego every summer to visit my grandma
I miss Andy's Mezo "isms"
I missed mentioning that I missed Cadbury eggs for Easter under my chocolate lament.
I miss going to the movies for less than 10 bucks, I miss matinee’s for under 5
I miss Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables performing full time in SF
I miss how good things used to taste
I miss tart n tinies… the un-sugar coated kind… the original
I miss the people mover and skyway at Disneyland
I miss Horizon’s in Epcot Center
I miss the days when I did not have to pay taxes
I miss my tree fort
I miss recess
I miss primary
I miss my building blocks
I miss being able to ride in a car without paying any attention to the road
I miss Calvin and Hobbes
I miss Santa… nough said
I miss my bike that got stolen when I was 10
I miss going to Disneyland without a care in the world
I miss my old CRX that got 43 miles to the gallon
I miss waking up at the crack of dawn for Christmas
I miss gas being just under a dollar… yes I can remember that.
I miss my pets; their lives are too short in comparison to our own. We spend years growing attached, and then they are gone. I guess this does not hold true if you own a bird, but if you do, you are already crazy and you have no perception of time.
I especially miss my ferrets… I can’t say anything else right now…
After just inducing that sad memory… I miss Anna, and wish she was here to hug me and tell me it is going to be alright.
I miss the innocence of my youth when these kinds of losses could be made better with my mom’s embrace.
I miss not having things to miss…
I miss Dexter; I miss his little pink nose. I miss coming home and seeing his head bobbing up and down in the cage, excited to be let out. I miss seeing his head pop out of the cube when he would lazily look at me. I miss his legs hanging out of the cube when he sleeps. I miss seeing him roam the yard looking for things that captured his interest. I miss his little inquisitive eyes that would peer out of the tube, looking at me. I miss the noise he would make when he would eat, I miss that I missed seeing him one last time, and I wish I could have missed seeing him cuddled up next to his brother in the cage…for the last time.
I miss Scout; I miss his little raccoon looking face. I miss seeing him get angry when Dexter would have his entire head in the food dish. I miss feeling him run around my legs, and getting so excited that he would fall sideways. I miss his little brown nose, and the barking noise he would make when he slept. I miss watching him sleep on top of his brother. I miss watching him learn day to day patience with his brother when Dexter went blind. I miss seeing him under the bush sleeping in his favorite spot. I miss trying to quickly close the door to the house before he would sneak inside. I miss those days when I did'nt have to cry, because I missed them. I wish that I could miss them and not have to cry uncontrollably.
I miss my original point to this post.
Again, right now I miss Anna
I miss you guys...

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Compulsion

Ok, so I know that it has been a while… a long while… maybe more than a while… more like a month… there is good reason though. Before I get started, I want to share what has been consuming so much of my idle time.

About a month ago, I was climbing with my friend Cris and my photography website became the topic of the conversation. He had mentioned that navigating the photos was difficult, and that the design had some flaws and was not conducive to good internet browsing. I realized that he was right; it was not originally designed to support as many photos as I had posted, and therefore was loosing its ability to work properly. I basically had too many pictures, and the site was not able to browse them efficiently… seen below.So a new redesigned site was born. I started drawing out plans of what I wanted it to look like, while at the same time maintaining the original look for nostalgia. What should have been a couple of tweaks and quick fixes ended up becoming a full blown make over. The more I redesigned it, the more stuff I wanted to add, and as I did, it kept getting larger and larger. Ultimately the project took me a month; keep in mind, I do this in my spare time, an hour here, a half hour there. I will admit, however, that I spent way too much time doing this. Unfortunately, the cost was sacrificing all other hobbies. It seems that once I get started on something I become determined, if not a little obsessed, with finishing it, while putting other things on hold. So anyway, check it out at http://www.clarephotography.com/. Here is a screen shot seen below.I should return back to normal schedule this week,

J