I was going to do a rant about FedEx last week, but since the package arrived yesterday, I am feeling much better. Looking at the tracking online was good for lulz. The package left Sacramento before Xmas and then went back to Sacramento a day later before finally making it to LA. It then took about a week to get to Denver. In Denver the package was handed over to the Postal Service. WTF?!? Anyway...the package arrived safe and sound. What was in the package? I converter box to pull in Netflix movies off of the Internet.

I can definitely see that this is the coming wave in home entertainment! I know albear will laugh at me since he and dexter_fox have been enjoying Netflix movies online for awhile now. They run a connector from a computer to their t.v. The box eliminates the need for a computer. It was a much lower cost option than a PS3 or a BluRay player which can also be used for the same purpose. Also, the box is wireless capable. Some of the other methods required a wired connection.

I just find it incredibly cool to be able to watch a huge array of movies instantly for no extra cost than what we're already paying for the DVD service. Sure, they're largely older movies, t.v. shows, and documentaries, but there is a LOT of cool stuff to be found! I thought that having an On Demand service from the cable company would be awesome. What I didn't realize was that their selection was full of suck. Oh! There are 1st run movies! Yeah, at $5-$6 a pop! Eat me! As I mentioned, the Netflix service is included in the subscription price. I dig that idea! I'd be happy to pay $30-40 a month for unlimited movies that I could watch on demand where the movies are something I'd want to watch. The days of watching WHAT THEY want you to watch WHEN THEY want you to watch are coming to an end. Viva la revolution!

We officially declared an end to the holiday season yesterday by taking down the tree and boxing up the ornaments for another year. Man! We really and truly had a furry tree! The table was full of ornaments to be boxed up, and it was a sea of bears, cats, raccoons, etc. We're to the point now where there are virtually no non critter-themed ornaments on the tree. Oh well. We shall have to wait another 11 months before it makes its appearance again.

To help in the clean-up process I used the Christmas gift which we gave to ourselves; a vacuum cleaner. I had been using hand-me-downs for years. Then Kitty brought hers which was also something someone had given her or she picked up at a thrift store. This time I wanted something new and shiny. We made a pilgrimage to Target to see what they had. Of course we were overwhelmed with the selection. They ranged in price from $75 to $600. Who knew there were so many to choose from? We settled on a Bissel with dual filters and a bagless system. I had had it with buying bags for the old Hoover which always seemed to tear when I was putting them on. The new vacuum also has some nice attachments to help reach all of the cobwebs that had accumulated in the hard-to-reach corners near the ceiling. So now the house, especially the stairs, is nice and clean. We picked up enough pet hair to make a small fursuit. Hmmm. I really need to scan that con badge of Sabot in a French maid outfit to make an icon. *grins*

Woohoo! Welcome 2010! I began the year on a high note, IN FURSUIT! (say it Mr Cougar!) Of course I had to pop my top soon after midnight to kiss my Kitty and take a swig of the tasty champagne that we bought in Mexico in August. I think we had about 20 folks over at Fur Central during the course of the night.

The party began around 5 o'clock. deviantvixen had come over to help Kitty roll sushi. Oh yes! This bear definitely pounced on the tasty tuna! People arrived all evening bringing lots of tasty eats and drinks. OMG! We developed a new drink called the Colombian Necktie. chucklemagne brought over coca leaf liqueur which we mixed with Tanqueray Rangpur. *drools* Since I wanted to stay in control for as long as possible I only had a sip, but it was a martini to die for! Much of the evening was spent watching dvds of "TV Funhouse." It was just a very chill party. Those that wanted to drink could imbibe in as much as they wanted as long as their keys were deposited in the "safe drawer." There was always plenty of food. If you wanted to just hang out and talk, there was plenty of room. Hopefully we provided a comfortable place to welcome in the new year.

This morning I cooked up a big hearty breakfast for the 2 people who remained. There's nothing quite like big sausage breakfast burritos with green chile to cure a hangover!

You have won!

I was reading about all of the restrictions being placed on airlines and have come to the conclusion that the terrorists are achieving exactly what they want. They no longer have to actually kill themselves to achieve their goals. It will be easier to recruit volunteers for jihad since you no longer have to blow yourself up. All you have to do is TRY a terrorist act, and you can cause chaos. You may spend the rest of your life in prison, but you won't have to die. You get out of your shithole country and you get 3 meals a day in a comfy US prison where you can read your Koran all day.

Seriously, I had expected more from this administration than to fall back to the fear mongering of the previous administration. Every security analyst I have heard has said that these measures are just plain stupid. Of course the airlines are probably loving this because they can cut back service even more. The fewer carry-ons the better! That means you have to check more bags at $20 a pop!

I really hope most of the airlines go bankrupt in this country. Either that or I'll hope for that carrier who will come along and charge $100 more a ticket but in exchange you will get actual service and comfort again. I'm just so pissed at how the flying public is being treated. I'm to the point that I would rather take 2-4 extra vacation days and drive to a location in the country. I already did that with my training class in Denver a few weeks ago. A 7-hour drive was more relaxing that a 1-hour plane trip. It also ticked me off that I heard things on the news like, "Oh! I would rather put up with a little more inconvenience for a little more security." *facepaws* Do we need to bring out that quote by Ben Franklin again about trading freedom for security. OK. YOU stand in line for 4 hours and have a full body cavity search so you can feel safe. Me? No thanks.

Now that we're leaving the "oughts" in a few days, people have been reflecting on the past 10 years. It's a little hard for me to summarize the past decade. The 80's were my "decade of education" with 3 years of high school, 4 years of undergrad, and 3 years of grad school. I guess the 90's was the "Decade of Discovery" as I learned about the "real world" on my own. I have been tempted to call the 2000's the "Decade of Re-discovery." It was the time when I took a lot of the bullshit I had learned over the past 30 years and threw it out the window. I finally felt confidence enough to say, "Hey! I'm a furry!" "Hey! I like cock!" "Hey! I also sometimes like girls when they can except me for being who I am!" "Hey! I don't care about your hangups! Are you a good and nice person? That's all I need to know!" Believe me, that was a major leap for me having been brought up in a devout Catholic household that was borderline racist. Different was bad! The most important thing was to fit in and not be different. I tried to take a little taste of "white-bread suburban" life here in ABQ. The taste was foul and bitter. I will proudly wear the "FREAK" label. I will make you look at the world from a warped and twisted viewpoint. It's such a more fun way to look at things!

Let's see if the "Tweens" (my own term for the Twenty Teens) will be a decade of stability and "nesting," or will it be a decade of change? I have already lived in the same house for 10 years now. In 10 years the mortgage will be paid off. I just traded in my Explorer this year which I had owned for the past 10 years. The Honda SHOULD easily last me 10 years. I've had this job for 10 years now. 10 years from now I will be on the doorstep of retirement. How many of you will still be around on my F.L. in 10 years? Hopefully many of you! Hopefully there will be a lot of new faces/names as well.

Let's see if the old Chinese fortune/curse still holds true; "May you live in interesting times."

I actually like working the week between Christmas and New Years. There's hardly anybody in the office so if you have work to be done, you can actually do it. When the work is done, there is no one to give you a hard time when you space out. I'm in a "space out" period right now.

A promotion potential closes today. I think this makes about 3 times since I have put in for some sort of promotion. This time it sounds like the position was written for me. We shall see. Perhaps the old adage of "screw up and move up" will play out here. My little reservoir fiasco in May perhaps put the bug in someone's ear that I really need to be taken off reservoir operations. *shrugs* It's fun. It's enjoyable. But if you want to pay me a few thousand more a year to NOT do it, ok. Perhaps I'm just being too cynical. It IS getting close to full moon time. For me, it's literally "that time of the month." I have my own little menstruation period that lasts for about a day about 3-4 days before a full moon. I noticed I was getting all pissy reading LJ this morning. It's best if I not make any comments lest I piss someone off.

I noticed another job today that I should put in for (NOT!). It was a hydrologist position in Gallup, NM working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It must be a VERY popular position. It doesn't close until Dec of 2010. I have a feeling they would accept any warm body that would meet the basic criteria.

As I have been posting, I fursuited the ABQ Old Town Plaza on Xmas Eve. This would be the 4th year that I have done this. I would say that this was a "guerrilla" event, but when we showed up and met the person from the city who was in charge of the event, his greeting of "I was hoping you guys would show up!" made it almost seem like we were expected at the event. I could probably cut-and-paste my reports from previous years and it would apply to this year. We were welcomed with open paws, we posed for dozens and dozens of pics, and we added to the whole "Xmas experience" to those that were in attendance. It was so wonderful to hear from people, "Oh! Yay! We were hoping you'd be back again this year!" It was also great to hear from Kitty who was our handler, "OMG! Someone just slipped me $5!" People were sooooo appreciative! YAY! That's what I was hoping for! Once again the vibe was so positive.

Many thanks to scritchwuff for suiting with me. Also, many thanks to the NM Furs that showed up to have a fun time with us!



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Merry Christmas! May all your nightmares be pink ones!
And be careful if you paw off today! You'll shoot your eye out!

Here I am, at the office on Christmas Eve. That can mean only one thing; "The Nutcracker" is cranking out of my computer speakers. This makes about 18 years straight that I have upheld this tradition. I bought the cd's at Costco in Yakima, WA in either '91 or '92. On the last day before Xmas vacation, I always play the cd's. This year they were ripped to .mp3 so I don't have to worry about the wear on the discs. The office is quiet otherwise. My co-worker and I will head over to Carl's Jr for a tasty burger at lunchtime and then we're off for the rest of the day. Tonight I will don my gay apparel, i.e. a fursuit, and entertain all of the folks who come to Old Town to take in the holiday lights. Hopefully there will be lots of pics tomorrow!

I should also mention that we have been having a great few days as of late. zippiner and skitzycat invited us over for dinner on Tue. Then last night we invited them over for cake to celebrate gavyn_lumier's b-day. He will be flying out of ABQ (hopefully) today to head home for the holidays. He, Kitty, myself, and scritchwuff had a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant last night to celebrate his b-day as well as the holidays. For what is supposed to be one of the better Japanese restaurants in ABQ, we were less than impressed. The company was very enjoyable, though. It's having friends like this that make me very thankful for all that I have. That also goes for the majority of you out there. Some we have met FTF, others not. To those on the "not" list, I hope that can be changed in the future. Either way, I luvs ya all. I hope you have a great Christmas and get everything you want. Just don't post it to LJ on the 26th! *LOL*

I was looking at the list of films that were nominated for Oscars last year, and I realized that I have now seen pretty much EVERY full-length movie nominated in EVERY category. I am only 3 films shy in the "Best Foreign Film" Category, but they are now in the good ol' Netflix queue. I watched the last of the "Best Documentary" category a couple of days ago with "Trouble the Water," about Hurricane Katrina.

How many have YOU seen?
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