Had our first snow accumulation today. An inch or two on the ground upon my arising and snow coming down steadily. I have always loved the first snow and so close to the holiday season. If only I could just peer out at it all day from the warmth of my cozy abode, my computer operated Monitor heater belching out warm air into my safe, cozy world. Alas, I had to drive in it, which quickly took away the unique charm of our first snowfall.

Ever notice that the worlds worst and most obnoxious drivers seem to only come out in this type of weather? The roads are glistening with ice and you are creeping along at well below the posted speed limit, holding onto the steering wheel with a death grip, when some Gazoo comes up at seemingly ninety miles an hour and rides your tail all the way into work. It is a truly amazing phenomenon. I'd swear these people hibernate in the summer, only to awaken at the first hint of snow in the air, JUMP into their vehicles and go SEARCHING for . . . . .ME.

Saw twenty-two turkeys out in the field today, behind my facility where I work. The males were primping for the females and the pecking order was being played out before us (my co-workers were pressed to the window along with me) as the larger birds charged at the smaller ones and appeared to point out to them who was in charge. What a beautiful site it was and they sauntered around for about two hours before wandering off into the woods. I laugh at those who scoff at this display of nature, as if bored, having "seen them before." I view it as natures wild kingdom allowing us to observe them in action, especially turkeys who, although awkward looking, are probably the most wary animals I've seen.

I grew up taking lizards, jackrabbits, roadrunners and horny toads for granted until being brought into perspective here in New England where people have only seen those animals on the Discovery channel. I remember reacting the same way when talking to a person in El Paso, Texas who had seen a moose up close while in Montana. Here, I've seen literally hundreds of them but I never take them for granted. Come to think of it, I don't take much for granted anymore I don't believe. -Jeeem-

Well, I've found a new addiction. Reading other people's blogs. Seriously! It's kind of like peeping of sorts. Why do I feel guilty? Hey, they're public blogs aren't they? Jeez . . . perhaps I need to call my therapist.

Just dropped in on a blog called, "Rank Amateur." I see I am not the only one out there who writes and gets into a writer's block. This guy is talking about watching TV (or teev, as he calls it), surfing, and doing stuff like counting the dots on his ceiling . . . anything but writing. Sounds like writing is his paycheck though, whereas at least I have the excuse of having a job to go to.

Speaking of which, I will go there today and quite literally waste 8 hours. We are on shutdown and as counselors we do nothing but sit around in front of our computer screens, clean out our desks, arrange our office, etcetera. Court was boring yesterday. Most of the cases were plead out and it was difficult if not entirely impossible to learn what the offense was. Two were in custody and one of them was a smart ass. If I had been the judge, I would have slapped the bugger in jail for another six months. Something about alcohol, intoxication and firing a firearm in public.

The underlings at work are tiffing about and tittering on and on about the counselors who do nothing all day. Hey! If you don't like it, while you are slapping paint on walls and scraping floor wax, why don't you think about going to school for your degree? Idiots. I paid my dues. I can honestly say that I never tittered though. Learned from my father that there will always be those higher than you that enjoy the benefits of . . . well, being higher than you.

Got into my HTML-4 book yesterday, learning all about tags, etc. That stuff sucks. I can't seem to keep my mind on it. Maybe it's the book. Typed out some code and it didn't work so I lost my interest. Damn book almost put me to sleep. Time to go take a shower and saunter in to er, um, uh . . . work. Will be about 10 minutes late today . . . which of course is fashionable and fodder for the titterers. -Jeeem-

I am so pleased! I got my test back from my statistics professor and scored a 90.5! So, just the final left and I actually understand this stuff. Wow! I might squeeze out an "A" this semester! Signed up for Social Research next semester and it is on a Monday which ROCKS! Only one semester left and I graduate. Feeling very, very relaxed now that I'm on shutdown and enjoying my much needed break. Start back up on Friday with a huge crowd of prisoners coming in. Back to the grind. Began writing again and I'm working on, "Well Kept Woman" which appears to have potential. Gonna be looking for a market for, "Crazy Larry's Cat" this week and trying to discipline myself to get the thing in the mail. I've given up on, "Gertrude the Duck" which was supposedly still sitting on the editors desk at GRIT magazine. Those dupes have had that story for almost two years now. That is ridiculous. Mark them off my list. Heard from Pim. She had an awesome holiday in Hong Kong and feels refreshed as she returns to work. Took a look at some pictures on the net of Hong Kong and would love to go there one day. Well, gotta go hop in the shower. Sitting on my duff in court all day today observing boating DWI's. Ought to be interesting. -Jeeem-

Ah, I love the smell of humility on a brisk Sunday morning! Life is good. Still working on my statistics homework and (scary) actually understanding this stuff. Have a question on page 228 where their calculations to achieve variance and mine (using my high-tech TI-30X IIS) do not jive. I'm afraid to ask the question in class though because I know Dr. Camacho will spend at least 45 minutes to an hour with a complicated explanation that nobody (including myself) will understand. *sigh* Guess I'll get over it.

The kittens are gone. Kind of miss them but don't miss their total destruction. Alison took them home and at last check, the boys were making kitten toys to amuse them. Zippy, is semi-miserable but getting better minute-by-minute.

It was brought to my attention today that my life is VERY organized. It bothered me at first but actually, I like it that way and . . . well, so what if I'm a little weird. At least I know where everything is. Alison loved her birthday present and the two of us share the love of books so that connection was easy.

I began working on one of my short stories this morning. Tried it out on Alison and she says it left her wanting to know more. GOOD! My intent! The story is called "Well Kept Woman" and is a different twist for me as it does not involve a part of my past life. My motivation to write is coming back. -Jeeem-

My friend Alison is coming over tonight. She will be spending Pseudo Thanksgiving with me. You see, I don't celebrate the holidays. Oh, I used to, but I found I was getting so wrapped up in all the commercialism and hullaballou like everyone else, so I have decided to come up with my own, traditional holidays. I am thinking of posting some of my ideas here on this online journal and perhaps some of you out there who read this thing can give me some of your thoughts on this matter. I thank the Supreme Higher Power out there that I don't have to put up with all the malarky that I used to, with the severely dysfuntional and rote, "Family get-together." Holy crap. Talk about the Hatfields and the McCoy's! What a joke. I think it is such a travesty, the damage that is done on these, "so-called" holiday celebrations. The vulgar amounts of cheesy, stupid, expensive gifts given to children and the insane hypocrisy that goes on once or twice a year, which often places people in such debt that it takes them half a year or more to recover. -Jeeem-

I just changed this to a public blog. I had initially intended to keep it among friends and my main worry was placing it out into cyberland where people who use four letter expletives in every sentence or every other word exist. Now THERE is a subject. What do people think about individuals who talk like that? I tend to have a rather colorful tendency towards profanity at times and usually utilize the rationalization that it goes with the clientele I work with (prisoners). An excuse and a justification at the very least as I really don't like reading the . . er, uh . . . crap. It tends to give me an image of some neandethal on the other side of my computer screen and certainly does nothing to impress me regarding the individuals inteligence. I am much more impressed with a blinding riposte than a constant drolling on of four letter or profane expletives. So why, might you ask, am I making my blog public? Risks. I've learned that you have to take risks in life in order to get anywhere in life. Besides, this is not an online message board, although I am considering making it so . . . if I can just delve into Blogback and determine how to make it one. I realize that I may get mail. Well, good. I like mail. Which brings me to a totally different topic of discussion that has been weighing heavy on my mind lately. Speaking in general terms, I recently received an e-mail from a close friend on the internet that disturbed me greatly. I hesitate to give the details so will keep it in general terms . . . to do that, I will have to tell a brief story. When I was a kid, I was one of those curious little buggers who went over to your house and got real nosey. I pulled out drawers and looked under beds cause I wanted to know, "Whacha got?" I'm a recovering medicine cabinet looker also. Just gotta see how the other half lives. I'm not rationalizing when I say it is harmless but lately I've been chastised for the way I am. Seems I ask too many questions. Hummm. Actually, hearing of this pissed me off (that was six letters by the way) to no end. I am many things, but I'm not a stalker or a weirdo. I also refuse to be somebody I'm not. This e-mail, although seemingly harmless, was just a big mistake. One of those things like . . . . so-in-so said such-in-such and perhaps you should do so-in-so. God how I hate third party bullcrap (eight letters)! I'm one of those people who says what I think no matter who it hurts, embarrasses or tee's off. That is the other person's problem. If ya got a problem with me, then PLEASE have the cajones to address me, not go crawling around my back and dribbling to some other fool about me, who then decides to address it with me . . . Do ya know what I mean? Jesus! Have the audacity to address it with me, don't drag some other person into it. Whew! I know I have to look at this for ME, cause I'm really carrying it with me . . . gotta let it go. The e-mail COULD have been just this other third party person taking it upon themselves to do the dirty work, which infuriates me even more. Do you know how I handle that stuff? When some third person takes something to me like that, I tell them they should tell the other person that it is THEIR problem. Cowardice pisses me off too. Enough. I'm just getting myself all worked up over this. It's the principle of the thing though. My dad used to always say, "Anyone can bitch son. If ya got a complaint, write your congressman." He would get a piece of notebook paper, sit me down, give me a pen or a pencil and make me write letters to some political figure. I often wonder what the congressman or senator thought about getting a note from a little kid complaining that the secret decoder ring he ordered from a bubblegum package never showed up. When I was married (Hell in living color) to Terry, she used to chastise me about my friends. She would always talk behind their backs and never liked any of my friends but was never ballsy enough to tell them what she thought. Always into that third party stuff. I eventually told her that it was none of her damn (sorry) business as they were my friends, not hers. I know, I know . . . there are those of you out there who live in that dream world that exists between some married couples . . . the old, "What is yours is mine and vice versa" bullcrap. Well, if experience speaks for itself, marriage is NOT what it is knocked up to be. It is not a license to control the other individual or even to have a say about how they live their life. Co-existence is a VERY WIDE topic. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I wince at marriage. Too many women have wanted to change me. My office mate, Wanda, and I have discussed this to know end. She marvels at how I am so independent and we have laughs about women who castrate their husbands or partners. Not this guy. You got a problem with how I act or what I do, we'll talk . . . . BUT, if it is not something that I care to change, there is the door honey! Okay . . . I feel a lot better now. Blogged out. What a treat to be able to voice your opinion freely and then place it out into cyberspace for all to read. A bit scary I will have to admit, but such a freedom. Stay tuned for a link that I know all you guys will love. My friend Henry from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the author or the game, "Scrupples" is probably the worlds most vocal opponent of male castration as any I've met. I will find his site and then place the link here for all to ponder over. Till then, stay in touch my friends . . . . -Jeeem-

Well, I've managed to screw up all of my settings on the computer. It all started when I got irritated with the second profile on my earthlink dialup and decided to trash it. Seventy dialog boxes later and delving into the "My Computer" thingy with some mechanic work in the "Dial-up Networking" thingy box, I have managed to screw up my e-mail account and totally isolate myself from the cyberworld. Calling the support network is a REAL TREAT. Last guy was obviously reading off of a template and had me so confused that I just acted polite, thanked him for his trouble and got off the phone. Hey, he did get me back online, but you should see the damage. I have the earthlink dialup dialog box popping up and error messages popping up galore. I hate calling support staff as after a twenty minute or more wait (while walking around the house with the phone plastered to my ear) I get some moron who knows less than I do. You just have to keep trying until you get one of those wizard boys (often girls) who don't have to look at a template or instruction sheet (....do this, then do that, then click on this . . ) and immediately know how to solve the problem. Although the price you pay is them talking to you like THE MORON YOU ARE and clicking their tongue like hearing what you did has to be the STUPIDEST thing they have ever heard of. Oh well. Have been through this all before, so if you are a friend and you are reading this, just suffice it to say that I won't be replying to my e-mail until I can get a passive-aggressive wizard on the line. -jeeem-

Gonna make Menudo today . . . remember the blog about Menudo? It's somewhere down the list by your feet . . .(I wish I could figure out how to make this thing archive . . . HELP MARK!) Perhaps I will just have the L-O-N-G-E-S-T blog in history where you have to scroll down for two days to get to the bottom! Yeah, that's the ticket! Why Whine? -Jeeem-

Good morning! I'm hiding in here from the dreaded kittens. They are invading the house. I've ordered kitty valium but it's not here yet. Hey, have you noticed all my links to the left? Try them out and please let me know if any are screwed up (there's a name they use for that but it escapes me right now). I'm sitting here having my first (fix) cup of coffee and pondering the troubles of the world. Yesterday was a total wash. I was surfing and slipped into the abyss. Oh well, whats a day now and then . . . right? Ya know, if I didn't live in freakin' Cow Hampshire, I'll be I could live totally off the internet from day to day, never having to leave the house. I could lay around reading books on HTML, order food from say Pizza Hut, get kitten toys, pay my bills . . . all over the net. Hummmm. Who needs the cold weather? Hey don't forget to see the meteor shower tonight! -Jeeem-

Jim tears himself away from the computer having accomplished nothing more today than sloth . . .