I'm still alive. There just hasn't really been much happening that has seemed journal-worthy lately. I work, I sleep, I eat, I work out, I work details... I've been doing a lot of home-improvement type projects lately. The one big problem I've found with being single is that when you have a Honey-Do list, you have to do everything on the list yourself. But I've finished up all the painting in the living room, have done everything but the trim in the hallway, just need one more coat of paint in the kitchen--which turned out terrific!--as well as the trim, and also have to do the one non-paneled wall in the dining room. After that, though, comes the painting of the bathroom (and its yucked-up ceiling), and then bedrooms, and somewhere in there I'm going to do border wallpaper in the living room, kitchen and bathroom. Eventually the place is going to look great. Eventually.

What else...? I didn't get on the SWAT team, but that was simply because I wasn't allowed to try out since I don't have the requisite time in service. The commander of the team sent me a very nice letter stating that he had to stick with the two year requirement, but that he hoped I would try again when I did have the two years in. Plus I heard through "sources" that he'd been wishing I did have the time in and was sorry to have to reject me... So, my feelings weren't too hurt on that score, and I'll certainly put another letter in when they have tryouts again.

What else...? The Saints continue to do quite well, and now officially have a winning season after beating the 49ers. The loss to the Broncos was unpleasant (especially since that was a home game and I was there in the Superdome to witness it), but in all fairness the Broncos are a darn good team.

What else...? Mom and I are planning a trip to England in June, on one of those tour-thingies, which means that I really do need to get around to getting my passport switched back to my maiden name. I've never been overseas, so this is a trip I'm really looking forward to.

And... the dog continues to do well. The weather is cooling off, so he is in Extra-Snuggle mode when inside and Ultra-Hyper mode when outside.

And... I've decided to ignore Christmas as much as possible this year, and decided to not do a tree and decorations and all that stuff. I just couldn't see the point of spending $200+ dollars (by the time you add in the tree, the stand, the lights, the trimmings, the decorations, etc...) for something that--for the most part--only I am going to see. I have such a small family that there are only a couple of gifts I need to buy, and I'm working Christmas Eve anyway, and then working a detail Christmas day. I told the detail Sgt. that I had no problem being scheduled for details on the holidays since I don't have kids or big family or anything like that, so may as well let the guys who do have the day off. Actually worked out well for me, since being available on Christmas got me onto the Walmart detail, which is usually a detail reserved for deputies with clout since you actually become an employee of Walmart to work the detail, which means you get the discount and can get the stock options, etc...

All right, I admit, I really am not a big fan of Christmas. I tend to find it to be a royal friggin pain in the ass.

Nothing really new going on at work either. I continue to fight the forces of evil.. yeah, yeah, yeah. Still do love my job, and have managed to avoid any fights in the past month or so.

I just finished re-reading Dune, since I realized that it's easily been twenty years since I last read it. Also I caught bits and pieces of the Sci-Fi channel's production of it which got me wanting to read it again. Definitely world-building at its finest in that writing.

And, in writing news, I'm working on a story that was inspired by driving past nutria road-kill on Highway 90. Yes, I know, it's been a long time since the words "in writing news" have appeared in this journal. I stopped writing for a while when it stopped being fun and started being an unpleasant and ego-crushing sort of work. Now I feel like writing some again, but I'm going to try and keep it being fun. What's the point of doing something if it just makes you unhappy and dejected? Eventually you have to gain some sort of reward or payback, whether it be monetary, or merely the adulation of your peers.