Every once in a while I find myself getting all overly thoughtful.  Philosophical.  Deep (in my own bullshit).  Existential if you will.

This is one of those moments.  One of those times that I sit back and look at something and can’t help but think and wonder.  Can’t stop marveling about the human condition and all technology has done for the art of being human.

I know I know, popular opinion would probably say that all this technology leads to the end of our very humanity.  Someday we’ll create something that will create our robot overlords and they’ll exterminate human life as we know it…  but I can’t help but think how very human that is.

I was looking at my twitter stream, not so much reading it as looking at it, and then at my facebook stream and realizing that each little entry is the slice of a life that I am in some way connected with.  A life that I’ve somehow touched or that has touched me and where some of those people would be long forgotten from a time in my life long past, so many of them are still here in my day to day even if it is just in this tiny way.

Yeah.

I look around my house.  Solid, tangible.  Think of my husband and child.  Flesh and bones.  I think of the Street we live on.  The neighborhood we live in.  The city I call home.  I think of the roses sitting on my table and the cat that belongs to some neighbor down the street that likes to sit under my Japanese Maple tree… They’re what fills my world now.  Some of them will stay with me forever.  Others I’ll throw in the debris bin next week when they wither and die.

And then I think about how full of shit I sound even to myself.  But I can’t kid you and I can’t lie to me.  All those little bits and bytes of information that pass through my screen everyday… they share a space with me too.  They’re a slice of someone’s life. Someone I know.  Someone I knew.  Someone I love.  Someone I loved.  Someone I can’t stand but like a train wreck can’t look away from.

It’s a way,  a somewhat innocuous way, for me to keep a little piece of all those people that I’ve known.

I think I’m a creating a new kind of pack-rat.

You’d think with a title like that I would be off and running to get right to the point.  You’d think so, and that would make a lot of sense but really, when have you ever known me to do something that entirely sensical here?  Yep… that’s right.  Kind of not my style.

But the point of that title, the meaning behind it?  Totally holds true.  Things are busy here.  Crazy.  And whether I’m ready or not it really seem to be time to go go go.  Life is a funny delicate thing and I make sure I have time to stop and enjoy things.  This last 6 months has been all about priorities.  Finding them, understanding them, sticking to them.

My first priority shouldn’t be hard to guess for anyone who actually knows me.  No matter what else I do in my life the most important thing is that I can ensure I have a happy healthy loving relationship with that beautiful girl that Mike and I brought into this world more than 7 years ago.  She’s always been an amazing little person and she continues to grow and learn and take my breath away at every turn.  As she gets older and becomes more and more her own person she has events, groups and classes that are terribly important to her.  She has her own set of priorities that she’s set.  Ballet, music, Girl Scouts and art are high among them.  And since she is so important to me, those things are important to me too.

Oh and Mike…  I think it’s fair to say he’s a priority too.

After them there’s always been my family & writing (or however I’m expressing myself at the time) and then friends…  But lately there’s been this whole other thing going on with me and right now it’s really been wracking up the hours.

The podcast that Mike and I do together has gone from a fun silly little thing to do together to… almost a way of life.  There seem to be big things on the horizon… things I can’t put into words for you here.

A couple of weeks ago we spent several days at the WebVisions conference interviewing some amazing folks.  By the time it was through we were completely exhausted and all we could think about was a well deserved rest.  I don’t think we really ever got one.  But steam builds back up and in a couple of weeks we’re going to do the same thing all over again at the Open Source Bridge conference.  It’s fun, it’s fulfilling and it’s something that I’ve found I really enjoy doing.

That’s meant finding a different way to prioritize K though.  Since she was born I’ve been there all day every day.  We’ve never wondered who would care for her because as a stay at home mom that’s my job.  But spending all several days at conferences twice in less than 6 weeks?  We had to find an answer.  It wasn’t very hard to reach a good decision really.  There was very little discussion on the matter.  If I couldn’t be there to take care of her, who better than the woman that raised me.

Sadly my mom and dad are still trying ot sell their house in the midwest…

Through the miracle of modern travel and the understanding of my very giving father, we decided that all those miles didn’t matter at all.  We bought my mom a plane ticket, promised my father a wonderful bribe (we’ll be sending it to him next week) and forged ahead with our plans, with our life.

There is a ton of change on the horizon for me… but before I can get to any of it I have to get through the next two weeks which seem to bring an endless number of events, obligations and projects that need to be completed.

Since they’re all things I made a priority you’d think I’d be reveling in them*… but instead I’m just checking to make sure everyone is still breathing and that we’ve got enough energy left to make it through the next few turns.

Ready?  I have no idea.

Set? Maybe…  can you give me a min…..

GO GO GO!  Well okay then.  I guess I better go do that.

* Though I am completely and totally pleased with myself because I finally got my garden boxes built.  I finished the 2nd one THIS MORNING!!  I should have amazing tomatoes this year… maybe I’ll find time to eat them?

Every one has their flaws, I have many.  One of them is that I’m bad with names.  I can meet you 6 times and forget your name, and then the grace period where I should know your name has passed and I’m too shy to ask who you are…

Also, I’m not always good at putting faces I know with names I know.  It’s happened more than once that someone I SHOULD know who they are has stopped to talk to me and I’ve looked into their eyes, examined their face, told myself that, yes yes that person looks familiar, but I still have to say “And you are?”

I’m going to cut myself some slack because those are usually people I know from these grand internets or from some tech article I read or from some one’s flickr stream.  I bonk myself on the head and laugh about it apologetically, but I can pretty much guarantee it will happen again and again.  Maybe I need a handler?

This doesn’t just apply to people though.  My mind also goes blank when it comes to movies, art pieces and music.

This morning I was reading tweets when one caught my eye.  WyattWerner tweeted “kicking off the day with Watermelon in Easter Hay.”

What an odd way to start the day, I thought.  And then it rolled around in my mind a bit.  Something about it sounded strangely familiar.  Oddly relevant.  It seemed like something that I should know… or something that I should find out about.  So I asked “@WyattWerner am I supposed to understand what watermelon in Easter hay is? Is that code for something?”

It turns out it was something I should know.  Something that was relevant.  It’s a song at the end of Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage album.  Not just any song though, a beautiful haunting instrumental that Mike included (an edited version) in the play list at our wedding.  I remember listening to it as I leaned against him.  I remember smiling at him, handsome in his black suit and short spiky hair.  I remember thinking it was a perfect moment.

I never knew the name of the song.  Now it’s something I won’t be able to forget.

And yeah… I totally turned a stream of tweets into a romantic memory and a blog post…  yay me.

Maybe it’s a complete lack of whimsy on my part, but I’m not a huge fan of April Fools day.  At all.  Having an entire day of the year where I can’t rely on what anyone says to be true, false press releases, ridiculous jokes, people telling their family they’re getting divorced when they’re not, announcing that they’re expecting a child when it isn’t so, announcing that they’re quitting, hired, accepted, rejected, releasing new makes and models of some product…

I got an email this morning that someone passed away.  I hope that wasn’t a sick joke.  I mean I don’t wish the person dead or ill, he’d been ill for a long time.   I passed that info along to a friend trusting that no one was that cruel…

Phooey.

I want to just hide under a rock until the whole upside down world is right side up again…. Luckily my husband is even grumpier than I am and much too busy to play any jokes on anyone… but the rest of you?  Well I’ll just choose not to believe a word that comes out of your mouths today…

Yeah, I’m all grumpy like that.

Back when I was a wee little baby blogger there was a blog that I lurked on.  I laughed and threw up into my mouth a little every week.  I grimaced and grinned at the sick sense of humor and then after a while I started commenting.  That site was Pointless Drivel, the home of today’s guest, Mr. Fabulous.

When I asked Fabby to write a guest post for me I knew there could be some content control issue, but since I am editor and chief of this here bloggy prison I picked my brain, came up with no contingency plan and then waited for my husband to make a helpful suggestion.  For a very odd specific reason I am unable to post this particular guest post without some editing.  But since I hate to put words into someone’s mouth I’ll let all of you do it.  So instead I bring you Thankful Mad Libs with Mr. Fab.  Fill it out and enjoy.  I’ll post my favorite adaptation on Friday.

1.    A title: _______________
2.    Adjective:  _______________
3.    Adjective:  _______________
4.    Addictive substance:  _______________
5.    A decade:  _______________
6.    Same addictive substance.
7.    Store name:  _______________
8.    Noun (plural):  _______________
9.   Adjective:  _______________
10.  Proper Noun plural (person or thing): _______________
11.  Same Proper Noun.
12.  Another Store Name:  _______________
13.  Noun (small item):  _______________
14.  Noun (small item):  _______________
15.  Noun (small item):  _______________
16.  Organization or club:  _______________
17.  Adjective:  _______________
18.  Adjective:  _______________
19.  TV Show:  _______________
20.  Field of Study:  _______________
21.  Adjective:  _______________
22.  Official Organization or Group:  _______________
23.  Plural noun:  _______________
24.   Adjective:  _______________
25.   Adjective:  _______________
26.  TV show genre:  _______________
27.  TV network: _______________
28:  Verb:  _______________
29.  Adjective:  _______________
30.  Part of a house:  _______________

****
Hey. Mr. Fab here, semi-retired blogging icon and -                 -. When the -                 - and -                 - Cami Kaos asked me to do a guest post this week, I could hardly refuse her.  After all, I owe Cami a lot.  She was instrumental in helping me get off-                 - back in the-                 - .

Sigh…I miss -                 - .

In any event, in the spirit of the season, I thought I might share with you what I am thankful for these days.

I am thankful that our backyard is completely fenced in.  Privacy is important.

I am thankful that the ground in our backyard is soft, enabling me to dig large holes on a regular basis with very little trouble.

I am thankful that we live so close to a -                 - ; and that large bags of -                 - can be purchased there at very prices.

I am thankful that there are so many -                 - the area, even if there are not as many  as there was before I moved here.

I am thankful for the nifty lockbox I purchased at -                 - .  Lockboxes are perfect for safeguarding little trophies like -                 - ,  -                 -, and -                 -.

I am thankful that our local   -                 - is    -                 - and   -                 - .

I am thankful for shows like  -                 -that teach us so much about  -             -.

I am thankful that Lexington has an understaffed and -                 -, and that this city does not attract the best and brightest   -                 -.

I am thankful that my time off from blogging has allowed me to pursue a  -                 - and   -                 - hobby.

I am thankful for all the   -                 - shows on the    -                 -, without which I would never have been able to  my    room in the  -                 - .

Now what are you thankful for, other than the fact that you don’t live near me?

Last time I was at Ignite I was anything but nervous.  No where near knots.  As a matter of fact I was down right chipper to attend the event.  I had a chance to sit back and relax on one of the comfy sofas in the balcony with friends and family and survey the events at hand.

I watched closely each presentation and, as much as I could from the second floor, I observed what went on in between.  What I saw then was what I usually see at Portland Tech events, a lot of love and family and gushy stuff.  Everyone smiling and laughing and being proud.  I was smiley too!  Look at this lovely photo of donpdonp and I at the last Ignite, taken by Aaron Hockley.

If you can’t tell from that photo, I had fun, a ton of it…  But I wasn’t nearly as excited then as I am for Ignite Portland tonight.

It’s going to be awesome… as long as I don’t faint or anything before 7:20 ish when I take the stage.

It seems like far more people are having sex than are talking about it.  I base this completely unfounded statement on the fact that there are babies being born everyday but I only know a few people who are willing and able to talk about sex and sexual acts without going red, white or green in the face, passing out, throwing up, hyperventilating or rolling there eyes.

To that end, tonight’s episode of Strange Love Live is dedicated to the discussion of sex (without the going red, white or green in the face, passing out, throwing up, hyperventilating or rolling their eyes).  I’ll be joined by two wonderful ladies, Missburrows and Melissa Lion, who aren’t afraid to speak their minds on the matter.  We have a great bunch of questions and more than enough on our minds to get us through the night, but if you have a burning question leave it here or email to strangelovelive@gmail.com.

You can join us live on ustream at 10 pm.

Don’t forget to wear something a little sexy… we will.

***

Join us Friday September 26th at 9:30pm for another live episode of Strange Love. We’ll be starting 30 minutes early this week because I have to get my lazy self up and to Word Camp early in the morning (as does our guest). Oh, the guest… have I not yet mentioned that we’ll have the fantastically talented Portland transplant Mark Colman on the couch?

As a special treat for all you early birds, afterhours will begin at 10:00 pm with another speical guest… YO! YO! YO!!!!

The latest episodes of Strange Love Live with guest Aaron Hockley are up now.

Go on… go get them.

As always you can listen to the show here, download them or subscribe so that you can always be the first to know when we’ve released a new episode…

***

Join us Friday September 26th at 9:30pm for another live episode of Strange Love. We’ll be starting 30 minutes early this week because I have to get my lazy self up and to Word Camp early in the morning (as does our guest). Oh, the guest… have I not yet mentioned that we’ll have the fantastically talented Portland transplant Mark Colman on the couch?

As a special treat for all you early birds, afterhours will begin at 10:00 pm with another speical guest… YO! YO! YO!!!!

I’ve decided that if you want to go get the latest episode of Strange Love Live you can just click on over to get it. You see that crazy little show that Dr. Normal and I created (with love, some microphones, insanity and a tiny bit of booze) has had it’s very own site for quite some time. When I post a Strange Love Live episode here, it’s just a copy of what I post over there…

Why the sudden change of heart (or posting habits)? Because the last Strange Love Live post was long… it included 3 episodes we recorded over the weekend (Two 30 minute Tech shows and a 1 hour afterhours) along with descriptions of them and some hilarious chat room excerpts. It belongs on the Strange Love site…

I will continue to hold the hand of those of my blog readers that are also show listeners and post a link to the newest episodes, but not the full post.

This week head over to Strange Love Live’s site for podcaster and android and afterhours…

As always you can listen to the show there, download them or subscribe so that you can always be the first to know when we’ve released a new episode…

***

Join us Friday September 19th at 10pm for another live episode of Strange Love. The latest guest in our recent string of lovely Portland people is Aaron Hockley. We’ll start off the night for a talk about the who, what, when, where and why of Word Camp PDX. After 30 minutes of all things word press we’ll shift over to #afterhours where we’re sure to cover items including (but not limited to) photography, train porn, geekiness and why he doesn’t love my new laptop.