And so, I take a look at my life. . .

. . .and I have to thank God I still have it. And, I have to be thankful that I'm not a survivor mourning the loss of one of the 80,000 souls swept away in the tsunami last Thursday.

I have to be thankful that I'm not among the contingent sorting through the mindbending number of bodies that have been found so far, knowing only that more will keep coming.

I have to be thankful I'm not one of the troops who have been so horribly wounded while serving our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the mother or father of one of the fallen. And, I have to be thankful I'm not the one who has to deliver that news.

And I have to be grateful that I'm not among the thousands of families who had to spend another Christmas without the family member, or members, lost on September 11, 2001. And that I'm not a cop or a firefighter who lost a brother saving the ones who escaped. . .or one who survived, and worked to unearth the ones who didn't.

And, I have to be thankful that I'm not going through what my dear friend is going through right now, having found her husband dead on Christmas morning, when she went to wake him up so that they could watch their two year old son open his presents. The same friend who, on her way to work, was run off the road by her boyfriend and shot in the head when she was 19.

And I have to be grateful that I'm not one of Bobbie Jo Stinnett's loved ones, who were looking forward to sharing in the birth of her baby daughter with such anticipation and joy.

And I have to be thankful that I'm still of reasonably sound mind and body, and that I'm not the suffering family member of someone who isn't.

And, as bad as things may seem right now, I have to be glad that I'm not the father of Christina Tedder, who vanished on Christmas Eve.

Some people say the news is depressing. Well, it's not. I've been there before. And having come back, I can take a look at the news and find a reason to be thankful. It's a matter of perspective. Because, no matter how bad things may seem in your life at any time, they can always be worse.

Much worse.

BLEG

If there's anyone out there who might have a need for a paid writer in any capacity in which they think I might be suitable, please contact me at through my email address. I have no idea how much writing pays, as I've always done it for free. So, that makes me an easy mark. And, at this point, I don't mind working on the cheap.

UPDATE: And not just writing work. If there's any kind of work I might be able to do remotely from my computer, let me know. I have some skills in MS Excel, and am currently taking classes Access. I'm a pretty decent typist -- approximately 70 WPM, sometimes 80.

Just when I thought. . .

. . .I was ahead of the game, calamity strikes again. I should have known things were going a little too well. Not only is good fortune always fleeting, but its demise is often cruel and ironic.

As you may have read in one of my more recent entries, I was having a pretty decent run of good luck for a few days there, having evaded the trouble of dealing with a leaky roof, the mailbox, and getting a new phone number and a better home in which to stay. Well, the run has ended.

I spent today packing my things in preparation for the move, and this evening, began the process of actually taking them to the new place. Well, as I pulled into the road that leads to said new place, my car died. At first, I thought no biggie. It had been sitting dormant for a little over a week, due to the fact that I've been snowed in until today. It probably just needs the cobwebs blown out. So, as I coasted into the road, I restarted it, and drove approximately 50 feet to my new driveway, where it died again.

It was at that point that I noticed the smoke pouring from under the hood. I looked down at the temperature guage, and sure enough, it was hot. So, I got out and popped the hood and looked, but there's not a lot I could see in the darkness. What I could discern, though, was that the smoke was emanating from the area of the aftercooler. This is most emphatically not a good thing, given the fact that I drive an old 1988 Ford T-Bird Turbo Coupe -- renowned for their ability to blow their turbo chargers without the slightest bit of punishment.

And, now, I face the prospect of moving the rest of my things without the benefit of a car. I also face the prospect of getting back and forth to school next week without the benefit of a car. In fact, I pretty much face the prospect of living my life without a car, as I'm completely financially strapped and living off student loans, grants, and a monthly disability benefit of $572, which comes to an end in February, due to the fact that I'm no longer disabled and going to school.

So, my New Year's resolution, unless the problem turns out to be far less severe than I suspect, is to get a car without money. Normally, this requires thievery -- something I'm not cut out for, having absolutely no experience in grand theft auto.

This is only the most recent development in what has been a rather unfortunate past three days. I actually blogged about the past three days late last night, but wound up deleting the entry at a friend's behest, and a sudden jolt of common sense. But, damn. This is tough.

I'm not sure what kind of adjustments I'm going to have to make in order to remedy the situation, but if something drastic doesn't happen to turn things around in the next few days, I may have to forsake my precious DSL connection -- and perhaps school.

If so, I dearly hope it's a brief break. I've come to depend on this blog as an outlet, and school as a preserver of my sanity and sense of accomplishment. There's a chance I'm being too quick to despair, but at the moment, things ain't looking good.

Again, wish me luck in this transition. Only this time, wish harder, and for better luck. I know things always turn around, but I'm up against all manner of deadlines, and given the stress that comes along with the process of moving alone, I'm at my wits' end.

Thanks to everyone who has checked in on the Pajama Pack for the past few days. I apologize for the sparseness of new material. But, it may be a while before I can resume blogging with any regularity, once I get the service disconnected at my current address.

And, if you can find room in your prayers for me, I'd appreciate it. It looks like I'm going to need them.

Thank you,

Walt

A look back at 2004

An MFCB Production.
 

Here's something neat. . .

. . .that must have taken a creative mind a good bit of time to create. It's a pencil and paper clock, for lack of a better description.

Blank Forever. . .

. . .is a blog run by a Philadelphia-based punk rocker who goes by the name of Tesco. I couldn't tell you what his politics are, but his tastes in music are eclectic, and his knowledge is wide-ranging.

Currently, he has lists of the greatest drummers and greatest guitarists in rock music, past and present, on his front page. And, I have to say that I can't argue with any of his selections. There may be a few that I might have substituted, if only out of my ignorance of their work. So, I consider it educational.

If you're a musically curious conservative, or raving pinko for that matter, I highly recommend visiting this blog on a regular basis. I'll put it in the non-Ldotter blogroll for easy access.

The unspeakable devastation. . .

. . .that has struck Southeast Asia cries out to the very humanity of every individual in a position to help in whatever way possible. And, while some may snipe at the US for its government's contribution, the generosity of America's charities is unparalleled throughout the globe. Christian Children's Fund is one of those great charities, and there are many other's listed here.

Hat-tip, blondie.

Of course, it proves nothing. . .

. . .about global warming, so I won't even try to make the case. But, for three days leading up to Christmas, it was colder than a well digger's ass, and we got about 14 inches of snow, here in western Kentucky. At one point, the temperature hit at least -2, perhaps lower when I wasn't looking.

It wasn't quite as cold during the days, though, as the sun beat down on the snow atop my roof, causing it to melt a bit. I knew this not because I actually ventured outside. I'm as anti-winter as it gets. To say that I don't like cold weather is to say Michael Moore is a tad unkempt. No, I knew this because, as I lay on my couch where I fell asleep watching TV, I awoke to the sound of water dripping. At first, I thought it was happening outside. . .a steady drip landing on a ledge just outside the window. But, I quickly discovered otherwise when I went to my bedroom to get a pair of socks to cut the chill on my mercilessly temperature sensitive feet.

I opened the door and saw a sagging ceiling, pregnant with fat droplets of crystal clear water falling to the sodden carpet below. Fortunately, for some inexplicable reason, I had moved my recently washed clothes, still in their baskets, to a corner in the room, just out of reach of the indoor waterfall that was my bedroom. And, just as fortunately, my bed escaped the deluge, as well. You'd think that would be enough good fortune, right?

Well, it just so happens that I'm in the process of moving! So, not only did I manage to escape the drudgery of having to rewash all of my clothes, I've managed to avoid the hassle of getting my landlord to take care of the matter with any sense of urgency. Talk about serendipity. . .I've got it in spades. But, that's not all.

As the snowplows were making their way up and down the street in front of my home, my mailbox was knocked over for the second time. Normally, this would necessitate a good deal of work to remedy. But, now, all I have to do is run on down to the post office, pick up the undelivered mail, fill out the forwarding address card, and I'm done. No post hole digging, no sledgehammer, no concrete. Just a quick stop, and I'm on my merry way.

But, wait. . .there's more! As a result of my moving, I'll get a brand new phone number. With that comes the opportunity to purge from the roster of my life all the people from whom I no longer care to hear -- at least for a while, anyway -- until the number is published. And, unfortunately, I do need a published number, since I do occasionally get calls from old friends I haven't heard from in a long time.

Of course, I've developed some friendships over the internet -- and there are one or two that I talk to on the phone from time to time. So, if you're reading this, and you're one of those people, I'll email my phone number to you when I find out exactly what it is. My email address and other contact information will stay as-is, so I can always be reached that way.

Wish me luck in this transition. It's going to be a lot of work done in a rather hectic fashion. Hopefully, I won't be offline for an extended period of time. I plan to hold off moving the computer and The Cheat 'til the very end, so I'll be reachable that way. Thanks for your patience, and try not to forget about me if I disappear from the blogosphere for a brief period.

Walt

I'm taking a break. . .

. . .from the blog for a day, or two. News is slow, and I'm not getting any inspiration.

In the meantime, check out Aussiegirl's Ultima Thule. She's been following the Ukraine elections religiously, and has the great insights of a genuine Uke.

Congratulations, Aussie! It looks like freedom is busting out all over!