Clicking the crab claw orchid on the right will take you to the album containing photos we both snapped.  It was a great – and tiring – day.

It’s true.

Back in early 2002 I was sent to work on Renee’s computer in her old office.  Apparently, there was some flirting going on, but I’m dense when it comes to that stuff so I wasn’t connecting the dots right away.  After we exchanged some emails (I’m verifying the date, we’re talking the first week in April), Renee stopped by my office during my dinner break one evening.  And she brought along a little fluffy four-legged friend.

Nanuuq and I hit it off right off the bat.  But it was all a ploy.  Renee was using Nanuuq as a way to see what kind of guy I was.  And since the little furball was all over me – putting my hand on her head, jumping so I would pick her up, rubbing against me – I passed the test.

Shortly after that, as the three of us spent more time together, the bond between me and Nanuuq became stronger.  Not as strong as it is between her and Renee (Nuuq will still look to Renee when I give her a command, like “is it okay if I do what he wants me to do?”), but there were little things to take note of.  Things like her climbing up on my chest while I was laying down.  She did this on her own with no coaxing from me, something she wouldn’t do to anyone else.  Including mommy.  Also, because of our routine (I’d go to Renee’s before work and spend time after work before heading home myself), Nuuq would look for me, waiting at the door, not budging until she saw me walking across the parking lot.  I know most dogs are happy to see their masters, but I’m not the alpha (hell, I’m not the alpha with any of the animals in the house).  All I know is that while she’s mommy’s girl, Nuuq’s always checking on me making sure I’m not too far away.  And when mommy says no, she knows I’ll cave.  She has me wrapped around her paw.

…

Well that kind of got away from me…

Anyway, so when asked how did Renee and I get together, we say that it’s because of Nanuuq.  Sure, we met at work, but Nanuuq had to approve of me before there’d be any next step.

As for what kept me around after that, I can say it involves Will Rogers and Lost In Space.

I parked, walked in, found the table for my district, and signed my name. There were a total of four booths in the courtroom, two for each district.  I was directed to one of them and immediately flicked the lever for Barack Obama and Joe Biden once I closed the curtain.  I voted for the other candidates running for various offices, opened the curtain, said my goodbyes to the volunteers, and came home.

Renee will stop at the town hall on the way home and hopefully have as easy a time as I had.

We’ll be watching CNN (after Indecision ‘08) into the late hours so I’m sure I’ll be in rough shape tomorrow.  But I hope that I will go to sleep with a smile on my face and wake up to realize it wasn’t a dream.  That Barack Obama is indeed the next President of the United States.

This film went on for far, far too long.  It was a great movie, I’ll grant them that, but it could have ended a lot sooner (and left us with a better taste) if everyone did not have a monologue.  Everyone.  I think Gordon’s kid even had a few minutes on a soapbox.  But hey, aside from that , I really dug it.  Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucuis Fox made me chuckle, had some good lines, and played well against Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne (although, seriously, what’s with the voice, man?).  Frickin’ Eric Roberts AND Anthony Michael Hall!?!?  How can you go wrong?  You can’t.  I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that it was a swell follow-up to Begins, picked up where that movie left off and did a real good job of getting you up to speed in case you missed this group’s first outing.  I do recommend it, but Iron Man – even though we’re getting into apples and oranges here but everyone asks which one’s better? – beats it hands down (speaking of Shellhead, I can’t wait for Tuesday).

We also watched Tropic Thunder and there were a ton of laugh out loud moments.  Sure, they were stupid or corny jokes (sometimes the jokes were stupid and corny), not quite at the level of, say, Airplane, but I’ll give it up to the writers for bringing the funny and the actors for getting it out there.  Robert Downey, Jr. was hilarious and I only wish subtitles were an option so I could understand some of what he was saying.  Ben Stiller, Matthew McConaughey, and even Tom Cruise in a surprise appearance all had a chance to make me laugh and it happened many times.  Brainless comedy which is what was needed.  Funny as hell.

I finished the weekend watching Wanted.  And color me impressed.  Having never read the original mini series, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I’m pretty sure my expectations were a little on the low side.  And bullshit pshysics notwithstanding, I found myself really getting into it.  Again, another movie where I thought everyone brought their working shoes and got the job done.

It’s also no secret that Renee is the stronger one between the two of us.  She has the smarts, the looks, I accepted this long ago and I’m cool with it.  To say I was oblivious to what was going on with the mortgage would be a massive understatement.  But I’m working on that, as unfair as it was at the time.

Right now we’re feeling beaten.  Aside from this long battle, 2008 has taken our dog, our time, our money, and pretty much our spirit.

If you’re unaware, last week GMAC closed its doors and laid off over 5,000 people, give or take.  Our broker was one of those people.  But he has our file, is working with a company he has a rapport with, and we should be hearing from him soon.  We were expecting to hear from him Friday, but that didn’t happen.  We didn’t hear from him today, either.  Friday was also the day Renee received some pretty depressing news at work.  Saturday we braced for the storm that was coming with the leftovers from Hannah.  We had a little trickle of water come into the basement, but nothing the dehumidifier couldn’t handle.  But I still freak out a tad when we get or are expecting to get some heavy rainfall.  Luckily this was mostly wind.  Sunday was the only bright spot in recent memory – we went for a drive, had a nice brunch, did some window shopping, picked up some bargain-priced books, came home and spent time with Nanuuq before doing the usual ‘get ready for the work week’ routine.

So yeah, today, still no word on our refinance.  And even though we have proof that the mortgage has been paid every month and in full, the shitheels at ASC (an oh-so-wonderful Wells Fargo company) have been reporting that the payments are late and are only partial.  And it doesn’t look like Equifax believes us or the evidence that supports our claim.

Tonight I called the woman that I love and adore that I would do anything for (and do anything to) and she sounds crushed.  And that’s where the feelings I described come into play.  The idea that I can’t do anything to make this right, to make her feel better, to ease her pain and frustration makes me ill.  I try to scream, nothing comes out.  I’m even too damn spent to cry.

Maybe typing out my various and assorted thoughts will help somewhat.

There are people worse off than us.  Without a doubt.  I wish I could help them.  But as this pity party proves, I can’t even help myself or my wife.

We just want this over.  We mistakenly assumed that 2008 would be ‘our year’.  We get it.  It’s not.  You win.

Happy fucking birthday to me.

However, on the plus side, I’ve gotten a little bit more reading done.  Batman: Under The Hood (volumes one and two), the 20th Anniversary Edition of Batman: The Killing Joke, and The Seven Soldiers of Victory (read volumes one and two, almost done with three, and can’t wait to get into four).  Also, sitting next to me is X-Men: Supernovas, the oversize hardcover that is just beautiful to look at.

But reading isn’t all I’ve been doing.  There have also been a couple podcasts with my name attached to them.  After taking a week off, Marvel Noise is back with episode 41.  Of course, 11 O’Clock Comics released its eleventh episode last week.  I’ve taken Derek Coward up on his offer and there is a new addition to The ReaderFeed with episode 19 – Mage: The Hero Discussed recently had the introductory show published.  And something that’s near and dear to me – and seems to be recieving positive comments – is the first episode debuting under the Comic Book Noise Presents… banner, Driving With The Prices, which is just that: me and Renee in the car having a conversation.

How’d that happen?  Well, we were in the car and I had my recorder.  She had just finished reading The Killing Joke and wanted to talk about it.  Who am I to argue?  If my wife wants to chat comics, you best believe that’s what we’re gonna do.

I hope to update soon, but you know what they say about hope…

Marvel Noise 41 (direct download)

11 O’Clock Comics 11 (direct download)

Mage: The Hero Discussed (direct download)

Driving With The Prices (direct download)

We were lucky with the weather, although I wouldn’t have said no to a breeze now and then.  Renee was in heaven and I was happy to be there.  I could have snapped more photos and next time I will.  For now, here are some pictures to document the day, including the rose garden where I was able to snage a shot of a bee hard at work (click on the image to move on to the next one).

I’m looking forward to our next trip when we can tackle the other side.

Today was spent powerwashing the deck, where Renee was rearranging and setting up the furniture.  I grilled up some chicken and we spent a nice, peaceful day together.  I think she had a very good birthday and mother’s day.

We also got to see a little art film.  I think it’s in limited release, not on too many screens.  Something called Iron Man.

So yeah, I think this weekend capped off a pretty decent week, cable issues with the phone and the ‘net notwithstanding.  Vince, Chris, and I recorded the second episode of 11 O’Clock Comics and that seems to have a few folks entertained.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to set up any Sneak Peeks for Marvel titles shipping next week, but I plan on being on the ball this Friday.

I almost forgot – Saturday night, I received a text message from Pat Loika (who was attending the Emerald City Comic Con) with the following image attached.  I love the big guy and my infatuation with Jeff Parker continues to grow.  Gentlemen, thank you both.

If you’re not reading X-Men: First Class, shame on you!

It’s always nice to drive out to Adams Fairacre Farms

Catching up on Spectacular Spider episodes from the past couple weeks while working on my little something for the upcoming comics podcast theme week.

I need to reconfigure the Treo since it’s screwed up more than one birthday (sorry, sis!) and May has bunch of ‘em.  I’ll be suffering for awhile if I mess up ma’s or Renee’s.

I’m enjoying the introduction of Spidey’s rogues gallery in this cartoon.  Shocker was cool with some nice continuity, as was Doc Ock.  Good stuff.

I really want to see Iron Man.  Preferably, before it’s on DVD. Not holding my breath, but stranger things have happened.

This really caps off a nice week.  Had some great times with Renee (always fun to see and hear her laugh) and I had a blast chatting with Vince and Chris, which became the first episode of the new 11 O’Clock Comics podcast.  Thanks to everyone to gave it a listen.  Speaking of Chris Neseman (and podcasts), this week also  brought us the return of Around Comics.  And it was glorious.

And with Doctor Octopus apprehended, I think I’ll call it a night.  I want to record Marvel Tales tomorrow morning (Uncanny X-Men!) and the last thing I need is for my allergies to act up.

Friday night we went to check on our friend Karen, who’s recovering from surgery, and have dinner at her place. Saturday, the three of us drove up to Dutchess so Renee could check out the deals at Plant Depot and so I could fill up the Tucson (gas being a tad cheaper just north of us). We also checked out a Fish Market that sold out of their batch of hard shell crabs right before we got there. I grabbed some salmon steaks which I plan on grilling soon. I got to hang out with Nanuuq in the car while mommy went into the shops. After we returned home, I mowed the lawn which is something that needed to be done. The weather cooperated nicely. Today, we watched No Country For Old Men and The Last Mimzy.

Not a bad weekend and nothing I can really complain about. I did take a few photos of the yard since Renee likes to check on her work. Plus, I have to take some shots of our little Japanese maple that survived the winter. Finally, there are some pictures of a house near us that has some gorgeous landscaping. Unfortunately, you can’t really tell that from these images, but I’ll have the camera with me again the next time we head that way.

UPDATE: I had photos attached to this post but, after closer inspection, I did not like the way they came out. Plus, I spent way too much time fooling around with resizing them.

I should have spent the time working on the show notes for this week’s Marvel Noise.