Broken phone

I've had cell phones in their various types since 2001, and smartphones for the last 8 or so years. Never once have I broken or even damaged one. In fact when I sent a used one to a relative who needed one, they accused me of buying it new for them.

Nope. I just baby the things until they die of old age.

Until Monday. My record and my phone are one and the same: broken. After dozens of various falls and mishaps, this one tumbled from my hands and met the concrete, corner first.

The S7 edge screen isn't cheap to replace, and most shops won't even try because of the odd shape. I'm left with partially usable hardware, or a new phone.

Good thing my birthday is coming up.

Phantom Meanie

It's been 20 years since Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace hit theaters. I remember growing up with Star Wars baked deep in pop culture. You couldn't escape it. It was part of the background noise, a membrane covering society that couldn't be avoided. While the original films were good in their own right, they were never allowed to stand alone.

Fans, by the truckload, began writing, drawing, and composing. Eventually Lucas caved and the entire EU was born as dozens of authors began filling in the gaps, telling more and more stories. You could find technical manuals for all the spaceships, weapons, planets, aliens, that were in the movies, then in the books. It fed itself. At that point, Star Wars was a living thing.

That's why Phantom Menace wasn't very well received. It didn't blend well with the established dogma. It had a very different feel to it. I actually thought it was a decent movie by itself. (Including Jar Jar - we needed a village idiot, deal with it) But the fact that the movie didn't mesh well with the fandom was exactly the problem.

The background noise that was Star Wars just felt different. A part of my childhood felt almost unrecognizable. But that was to be expected. Nothing lives up to 20 years of hype.

Opening

I've been opening at work all week. It's something I've done in the past. Usually one or two days, but "someone" is on vacation and "someone else" is giving yet another person a ride until it's too late.

So it falls to me.

There isn't much to be done before everyone else arrives, but an old compressor takes its sweet time pressurizing an awful lot of air lines spread far and wide. That's really the only reason I have to show up early at all. And due to some odd glitch in traffic patterns, if I try to show up right on time to do that, I wind up showing up at my normal time. If I try to show up at my normal time, I do. But if I try to show up ludicrously early, I can.

It was like that when I worked nights, at a different job, in a different part of the state. I wonder if this odd phenomena is common or just follows me around.

Mothers day

It's never easy helping my kids get something ready for mothers day. Especially when all she wants is food off the grill... and it's been raining non stop for days.

At least the card they picked out was cute.

The planting

I bought my house from a woman that loved her flower beds. There were flowers of all kinds, as well as a wide variety of flowering shrubs and other such things.

I neglected them. I simply didn't have the time or energy to take care of them. My neighbor said he would see her outside every single day for a couple hours weeding and tending to them.

Yea no.

Late last summer, I finally uprooted the tangled mess they had become. I allowed grass to reclaim what was at ground level, and the raised beds were covered so nothing else could grow in them. The six massive flower pots were emptied.

My wife requested flowers. I suddenly felt motivated. I got a bright colorful mix of annuals and perennials, and set them up by the front door. She seems quite pleased. But the surprise has yet to manifest.


The surprise says it takes 7-14 days.