Ramblings for the Morning (9/3/05)

Unfortunate By-Lines:
In today's Variety section of the Star Tribune, there is a story about three people using a GPS system across France (thought of Michele). The problem, however, is the by-line of the story (under the headline). The story touts: "When another woman joined them on a driving trip through France, this married couple experienced a special joi de vivre." Folks, maybe it's just me, but that sounds like a tag line for a porno. Now, the "woman" in question turns out the be the female voice of the GPS system, but if you don't read the article, it sounds like something a la Skinemax (or Cinemax for the uninitiated). Still, it's not as bad as a New York Post by-line which was about a girl going to DC to argue for housing rights, and the by-line read: "Girl goes down for freedom."
Pain in the Ankle:
So I'm painting my house. It's tan and lacks a certain...joi de vivre. So, we picked a new color: Behr Paint's 240F-4 (or Tiny Fawn). If you want to see it, go to Behr, go to their color workbook and look it up. I like it, but that's not the story. Last night, I wanted to hit all of the corners and such with primer before wrapping up for the day. Well, I was tired, and on the ladder, annnnd not paying attention. As I was coming down, I fell. I landed on my right foot, which rolled. I managed to save the paint and the brush, but my ankle swelled up three sizes. My wife said it was now (from top to bottom) the size of a softball. I, being the macho idiot I am, refused to stop until I was finished...a half an hour later. This morning the swelling has gone down, but it's still hard to walk. My saving the paint from spilling reminded me of another time I went off a ladder. You see when I was in college, I did a great deal of theatrical lighting. Why? Well it was my major. Anyway, I was working on a light, and the clamp broke. For some reason, it didn't have a safety chain, so it started to fall. I, in a moment of idiocy, or bravery, or whatever, dove off the ladder, caught the light and rolled so that I would hit the ground first instead of the light. That hurt. I don't know how high I was, could have been fifteen feet or so, but the light was saved. It did not break, and neither did I. There was a giant bruise on my back, and I was very sore for a few days, but, to me at least, the important thing was the light. The painting was the same thing to me. I had to get the job done before I would allow myself to relax and deal with the pain. Is it a macho thing? A goal-oriented thing? I don't know.
That'll be it for now. I will be taking the long-weekend off to prepare for students and to paint.
Have a fantastic end of summer party, folks.