Remember all that stuff we crammed into the storage portable at the beginning of summer? I have to get it out.
I’m in portable “A” next year–it’s between portables 1 and 2. Don’t ask, because I don’t get that one either.
I’ll be moving stuff all day Thursday and Friday, so if you’re bored (or even if you’re not bored), come help me move into my new portable. Hey, it’s a great work-out. I’ll bring snacks? Bison Bucks? Pretty Pleeeaaaase?
-What time is it? 9:35
-Are you a procrastinator? I’ll answer that question later.
-Are you happy? Why or why not? Yes. I have more reasons to be happy than space to type them, but mostly because I enjoy myself, others, and life in this world.
-Describe a happy memory of a time you’ve spent with the opp. sex. Watching an ultrasound of my unborn child with Amy, and discovering we would have a son.
-Describe how you feel rite now. Annoyed at people who deliberately misspell words like “rite” and “nite” in a pathetic attempt to sound cool.
-Describe your job. Do you like it? Why or why not? I love my job. My office is huge (it holds 30 desks) and filled with toys. I haven’t been to work in two months (summer vacation). I touch the future. Who wouldn’t love that kind of job?
-Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? Yes. I’m writing a story about one. Sort of.
-Do you believe in second chances? Why or why not? I do. That’s why I invented Bison Bucks. But I despise people who deliberately waste the “first chance” because they know there will be a second one.
-Do you find this statement true: At one point in a girl/guy friendship one of them will like each other even if it’s only for a lil’ while. Yes. But rarely will it be at the same time.
-Do you see the glass as half empty or half full. Why or why not? I’d rather drink the whole thing. Half empty OR half full is a waste of good milk.
-Do you stay in bed thinking or do you fall asleep in like 5 seconds? I’m married. I stay in bed talking with my best friend, then we fall asleep.
-How do you feel about rumors? Where there ever rumors started about you? Of course. Mr. Locke’s class is fun. Mr. Locke is a nice teacher. What a bunch of ….
-How do you react to change? If it is change initiated by me, I embrace it. If initiated by someone else, I observe, evaluate, then react accordingly. If it is inevitable, I smile and go about my business.
-How is your happiness level right now? (0-10) Somewhere between 7.5 and the letter b.
-If world war III broke out, what would you say? Ooops. I didn’t mean to press that button.
-If you could die your hair any color what color would you choose? If I could “die” my hair would that make it dead? On the other hand, if I “dyed” it, probably purple. Actually, I do that once a year. Homecoming week. At least, while I still have some left…
-If you had the chance to slow down your growth now and live to 500 years but it’s like a 50 year old body by then, would you go for it? Absolutely!!!! My mom is 50, and she is healthy, energetic, and travels everywhere. And she just got married, so someone definitely finds her attractive. 500 years. Wow. I could be ALL the things I want to be when I grow up.
-If you could live any where in the world where would you live and why? On a sailboat circumnavigating the globe.
-If you were trapped on a dessert island what one thing would you hope to have with you? Well…since it’s a “dessert” island, I guess a spoon would come in handy. And some chocolate sprinkles.
-If you woke up one morning and found out you were going to stay in the body you have now for the rest of your life, what would you think? Yay! But can I have just a little more hair?
-Is cursing a necessity in life? Abso-freaking-lutely NOT!
-Is it right to flirt if you are in a relationship? Not if you want to STAY in the relationship. Whether or not YOU think it’s right, your partner almost always won’t.
-What 5 people do you trust and are open with the most? My wife, myself, my mother, my pastor, and my siblings. Yes, I know, that’s more than five. And Doc, too.
-What annoys you? People who are constantly late. Excuses. Oh, and especially conservative republicans. Oooh, and rich people, too. (Of course, the last two usually go hand in hand).
-What coat do you wear in the winter? I keep losing them.
-What do you care about the most? That’s a difficult question. I’m not sure I can give a very good answer, but I definitely care about my family, my friends, and my students.
-What do you do to relief stress? Correct silly grammatical errors. Like “relief” stress. I think the author meant “relieve.” Actually, I take it back–grammatical errors CAUSE me stress.
-What do you think of guys who wear nail polishes? I wore nail polish two weeks ago. On my legs. To get rid of chiggers from my camping trip–Amy had a blast painting my bites with nail polish. She offered to do my toes too, but I ran away quickly and hid in the bathroom.
-What do you think of lies? What is the biggest lie you ever told? Lies hurt most the person telling them. I once lied to get one of my little brothers in trouble. It worked, and he got the biggest spanking of his life. He cried the ghastly cry of someone unjustly punished, and I can still hear it in my head almost fifteen years later. He has forgiven me, but the guilt I feel will always be with me, and I regret it greatly.
-What do you think of soul mates? I’m glad I found one.
-What do you think of the quote “The eyes are the passageways into the soul”? No, I don’t think so. I would say that a person’s actions are the passageways to his soul.
-What food brings back good memories? Why? Fritos covered with freshly cooked chili. Christmas afternoon growing up in the Locke family.
-What happens when you hear the word Christmas? See the previous question.
-What is a song lyric that means something to you? “I’d rather be anything but ordinary” by Avril LaVigne.
-What is going on in the world that affects you the most? Why? What an ambiguous question. What’s going on in the world that DOESN’T affect me in some way or another. We live in a very interconnected, interdependent world.
-What size is your bed? Queen, but I only get to use half of it. Or less.
-What time did you go to sleep last nite? What time do you go to sleep most? Somebody REALLY needs to learn how to spell “night!” And it was sometime in the middle of Saturday Night Live. The time varies from season to season.
-What’s an object that you can’t live without? If I require “objects” to live, then I’m doing something wrong. So…nothing.
-What’s something a girl can wear that’ll turn you off? Slutty clothing. Which seems to be a trend among waaaaay too many girls these days. I lose respect pretty quickly.
-What was the last thing you cried over or got teary about? Believe it or not, a short story I’m writing.
-What’s something someone has done to make you hold a grudge against him or her? Joy Lea. It was in college and it could take up several long and boring pages. Basically, she was the epitomy of much that I despise in humanity. You know–rich, selfish, spoiled-brat, hypocritical, holier-than-thou, republican type. Times ten.
-What something you always have with you? My intellect.
-What’s the funniest word you ever heard? It’s a tie between onomatopoeia and hypochondriac.
-What’s the nicest thing any one has ever told you? “I do.” (My wife on July 8, 2000)
-What’s your opinion on love? There’s plenty to go around, but most people (unfortunately) would rather have money. Or power.
-What’s one facial feature you’d like to change about yourself? I’m quite happy with my goofy, lopsided, silly face just the way it is, thank you very much.
-Who was the last person who complimented you? Someone at church today (they’re really good at that!).
-Would you rather be married in Venice Italy or Honolulu Hawaii? How about El Paso, Texas?
-Would you rather be rich with 15 kids or barely making it with only a dog? Oh–definitely the dog. And not because of the 15 kids either (which I wouldn’t mind). If I’m ever rich, please shoot me before I cause the world any more harm. Money will betray you, but a dog will be loyal to the end.
-What’s your favorite:
-Animal~ Dog. Either a Beagle or a Jack Russell Terrier.
-Food~ Tamales. That’s a hint, people. You think I teach in Oak Cliff for the money?
-Movie~ Dead Poet’s Society and a handfull of others. Maybe Top Gun.
-Number~ 27. Of course.
-Quote/Motto~ Not sure, but Mrs. Grimes has one I really like on her blog.
-Season~ Summer, except for when it rains and I have to mow the grass.
-Song~ At the moment, “100 Years To Live,” by Five For Fighting.
-Color~ Red.
-Hobby/Pastime~ Sailing, Writing, Camping, Hunting, Reading, Playing various musical instruments, and playing poker.
-Which one:hat or visor? Hat
-Pizza or burgers? Pizza with hamburger topping.
-Letter or e-mail? Email. I never check my snail-mail box. But then again, sometimes I don’t check my email either.
-Florida or cali? Neither. Both are entirely too commercial.
-Waffles or pancakes? Neither. Crepes.
-Football or baseball? Football. Go Denver Broncos! Cowboys Suck.
-What time did you finish? 10:50. And since I have many other things to do, filling out this survey is also my answer to question number two.
Alright, I finally caved in to peer pressure:
AIM id: MstrLocke
Yahoo IM: MstrLocke
Drop me a line so I can add you to my “buddy” list, but after that, I reserve the right to ignore you if I’m in the middle of something…
Oh, FYI for anyone who has read or is reading my novel–I’m almost through with chapter three, and I hope to start chapter four this week. I’ll post it soon.
Ok. I think I fixed the problem. Sorry for the delay.
First I noticed that the Acadec blog still worked, and other people’s blogs still worked, just not ours. Ours? All the ones under the subdomain blog.mrlocke.net. The acadec blog is under the subdomain acadec.mrlocke.net.
I basically saved all the files in the subdomain (including all your blogs), deleted it, and re-created it. I’m not sure why or how that fixed things, but apparently it did.
Let me know if you have any more problems, and blog your hearts out…
Please give a warm welcome to Dreadful Thoughts, the latest blog by Ivonee. This is probably the last blog to officially be added to the “blog.mrlocke.net” site. Don’t worry, things will still continue, and continue to grow. But just a heads up–we’ll be moving all of the Sunset Bloggers over to the new Sunset AP Network before the end of summer (hopefully). All this will involve is me sending you some instructions for things to change in the “settings” tab of your Dashboard at blogger.com. If you’re not good with that kind of stuff, I’m getting AIM pretty soon, so I can walk you through it myself. Keep blogging!
Late night, a few hours after sunset. Jeff and Joe are already asleep in this cramped little tent we share for the next few nights (we took the smallest tent to save space in our packs).
Through the usual silence of a wilderness forest, I hear the sound of distant water rushing: Laurel Fork Falls. It is, by all accounts, an impressive water fall that we have not seen yet, since it is still a ways down the trail, drawing closer and louder with each step.
We hiked all day today with full packs, up mountains, down mountains, accross mountains, around mountains. My shoulders are sore, my feet ache, but my spirit is soaring. I’m on the Appalachian Trail, the “AT,” at last. And Ramen noodles with fire-roasted hot dogs and tortillas never tasted better in my life.
From deep within the dark and silent sanctuary of my nylon tent, from a stormy night in the heart of nature, from the depths of my inner need…I blog.
For the past two days, my brothers (aka “the twins,” aka “Jeff & Joe”) and I have set up a rather luxurious base camp along the shores of Lake Watauga in Northeastern Tennessee. This has not exactly been camping at its most challenging–we have nearby showers and bathrooms, our own picnic table, barbeque pit, covered supply hutch, gravel tent slab for our three, spacious and interconnected tents–our particular site even has a wooden balcony overlooking the lake (which is only about ten feet away). Other than bug bites and torrential rain for the past two nights, we’ve been spoiled. We had pancakes for breakfast this morning, and Jeff made fajitas for dinner tonight.
All this changes tomorrow. We leave our base camp behind in the earliest morning light, and head for the Pond Mountain Wilderness. That’s right…WILDERNESS– uncharted, undevelopped, uninhabited wilderness. It amazes me that such a thing still exists in abundant quantities all accross this nation.
Our itenerary looks something like this: Tomorrow morning, early, we pack our gear and ourselves into two inflatable kayaks and paddle across the lake to the Watauga Dam. Once ashore, we deflate our kayaks, stuff them in our packs, and hop onto the famous Appalachian trail, headed south. This will form the bulk of our journey for the day, as the trail curves gently eastward, and by nightfall we should be at the base of Pond Mountain, the highest peak (over 4,000 ft) in this part of the Appalachians.
There is an AT Shelter (three walls and a roof, if we’re lucky) at the base of the mountain, and we’ll camp there for the night, beginning our ascent the next day. At the top of Pond Mountain, we’ll say good-bye to the Appalachian trail, which continues south down to the Smokey Mountains and Georgia, while we instead blunder due north into the woods using only our compass for a guide. Actually, I exaggerate; there’s supposed to be a mountain bike path somewhere around there. But mostly we’ll follow the compass.
By evening we should reach lake Watauga again, only several miles East of where we began. We’ll camp in the wilderness for one final night, and inflate our kayaks in the morning for a brisk trip back to our beloved base camp.
Oh, one more thing: this part of Tennessee is reputed to have the highest population of black bears anywhere in the world. Somehow, everyone I talk to seems bent on reminding me of this fact. Before we left, a friend of mine did actually give me some encouragement. He said, “Black bears can give chase at speeds up to twice as fast as most humans. But don’t worry. You don’t have to run faster than the bear–just faster than one of your brothers.”
Here’s to exploration, excitement, adventures, and wilderness…see you on the other side!
