Lostnoiz.com

Saturday, May 14, 2011

May 13th

Just got back from another road trip.

This time, I hit Florence, SC, Amelia Island,

Florida, St. Simon Island, Georgia, Hilton Head,

SC and back home (Wilmington, NC) all in about

39 hours. Below are a few pictures I took

when I could.....click to enlarge...

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At an intersection near the Florida/Georgia border

South of the Border, SC (day break)

Approaching the bridge to St Simons Island

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Two reasons South Carolina rocks harder

than your state.....

1. Hot Dog Buffets.....

2. Big Al's Lawn Service....Old Skool prices...

_____________________________ The prior mentioned deck in our backyard...

with roof completed.....

Ol' dirty butt Thomas.....

....until next time.....

Thursday, May 05, 2011

May 5th

This past weekend, I actually had Saturday

off. The building bug bit me and I decided

to put a roof on our free standing deck in

the backyard. Below are some pictures of

the progress.......

On Sunday, I worked a half day and came

home to finish the project. I did finish it but

I failed to take pictures.....I get 'em up soon

enough.......

Next are pictures I've taken while I've

been driving in Virginia. I've been in Wlliamsburg

down to Norfolk and only a few pictures were worth

putting up.....maybe even these aren't that good

BUT it's something....click to enlarge ANOTHER traffic jam in Norfolk (Downtown tunnel)

Getting ready to enter aniother tunnel....

....until next time....

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Dashboard photography

I think I've figured out a way to keep this site

alive. I'm not much for continuous updates

(obviously) and it's not like I'm gonna decree

some deep shit here (unless you count my

dreams....deep maybe, weird, yes..). During

my travels on the new job, I've meant to

stop and take some pictures. The stopping

part always screws me.....BUT...I still

always have the camera with me. I have

found that I am quite capable of taking pictures

while driving at highway speeds. Below are

some I just took while on a trip thru

Charleston, South Carolina......

Click to enlarge....

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Storm clouds forming over 17 South...somewhere

around South Myrtle Beach...I think.

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..the 'Skyway' that connects Mt. Pleasant to Charleston...

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Until next time........

Monday, March 21, 2011

I had a dream last night….a weird one. Lately, I’ve been dreaming of work so the day blends into the night. Not last night: I was at the house I grew up in, an old log house (yep, log house) in Greensboro, NC. I have not been in this house since about 1993ish. There was a bit of panic in the air, like the type when a tornado warning has been issued. It was me, my Mom (RIP for a while now..) and another person, who seemed to represent my girlfriend (Robbin) and my sister (Deatra) combined. I went to the top of our driveway to investigate the ‘panic’. Where we lived back then, the driveway was at least 500 feet long, this was the country. In the distance, to the right (from the Mills Point Road direction…..personal reference..), there was a disturbance coming. The religious ‘End of Times’ was coming. For an Atheist to have a vivid dream of this, IMO, is odd. It felt real…..really REAL. Leading the disturbance, was a catholic-esqe garbed guy, Complete with robe and all. People were marching with him, along with children. They were shouting things like ‘the end is near’ and there was a certain ‘doomsday’ feel to the whole scene. The children marching with this guy were spouting bullshit, like “all you KIA drivers are going to DIE!” (like owning a foreign car decides your faith….though this does play into current events, kinda…). While the over-realous religious youth often have their facts all fucked up, not in my dreams, DAMMIT! But yet there they were……coming down my childhood driveway….. I (in dream world..) ran back to our house….the log cabin. They (my family) were packing up. It was like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and Dorothy saw the storm….. They were heading for higher ground. The end was near. No shit, like on Some religious ‘the end is near shit’. Outside, the skies started to get dark. Inside, we were scrambling to get our shit and get going. Apparrantly, the YMCA was a safe haven, and it was and is, very close to the old house in Greensboro. Inside the old house, my family was grabbing very little, and just wanted to get going. The procession outside had cycled out and was well on it’s way to warn others. The end was near for us. Inside the house, I was going around, carefully turning off lights, when my Mom said, “It doesn’t matter, it’s all going to be destroyed anyways”. She believed that the end was upon us, and even in my dream, the Athiest in me emerged and I smirked and answered, “Okay, but I’ll just turn the lights off anyways….” Thinking that tomorrow, we’d be back, un-packing our stuff after the false alarm. Out in front of our home was an old 4 door Chevy-Buick….whatever.. an old car that was there to devise our get-a-way to the YMCA…. again, a safe haven during the apocalypse….this is when I woke…the first time……… This is one of those dreams when you wake up……and go back to sleep…. And resume your dream……. When I returned to the dream, we were trying to get everything important Into the get away car. This is when the ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ in me emerged. We had ourselves packed into the car and I saw ‘Graycie’, our current baby, rubbing against my leg (amongst the chaos). We grabbed her and put her in the car. Then I looked around and saw cats everywhere. I climbed to the second floor of the old house, from the outside, to try and retrieve some of our cats. The end was near, we wanted our cats to come with us to the YMCA. Then I saw ‘Blackie’ our newest cat…she got picked up. We started to look frantically for ‘Bat Man’…our beloved cat whom passed about 2 months ago. I saw her, and started after her. I was ripping thru sheetrock and studs to try and get to her. Meanwhile, the car, the Buick…or whatever, with my Mom and everything in tow, was really getting anxious to leave…. After all, the end of times was upon us. I looked at the ‘Robbin’ in my dream, and we both uttered, “We love you Bat Man.” And we both started to cry while she got in the car. We thought we were going to have to leave her……. then I turned around and started to rip away at the house, trying to find Bat Man. I became frantic and was tearing away studs and sheetrock. I could not find Bat Man. The skies really started to get stormy and the end was nearing quickly. I looked around and the car was gone! I stopped to look around and to my right, where the old wood pile was at, lay Bat Man, licking her paws. I cautiously approached her, thinking she might run if I came up on her quick, and when I got to her, I reached down, snatched her up, and started to run towards the woods behind our old house…if you went thru these ‘woods’ behind our old house, eventually, you would end up at the YMCA….and, in my dream, the safe zone…….. …the end. Did we make it? I don’t know….blame fucking Model Store Walk for the lack of an ending…… ….I had to go to work when I woke up.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Bat Man

A little under 3 years ago, Robbin and I bought a house in Wilmington. After a few days in the house,

we discovered something that came with the house

that wasn't advertised: Bat Man the cat.

Ol' Bat Man quickly made herself at home with

our other kids, JuneBug, Beettle Juice and Tom Tom.

She did establish herself as the Queen quickly, though.

We never knew where she came from but we quickly

realized that we had scored big time: Bat Man was an

awesome cat! She (yeah....'she'..) 'talked' in many

different tones, she snuggled like nobody's business,

and loved her some milk.

Bat Man coming in on a warm day.....

Bat Man was a scrappy cat. She was a bit 'high maintenance'. We had to take her to the vet and have some surgeries done periodically, but she always rebounded. Within a day or so, she was back to waking us up in the middle of the night, talking to us, especially Robbin, telling us in her many 'tongues' what was on her mind....sometimes with the accompanyment of of bite or a touch on your lips with her paw. She was never at a loss for words.

Bat Man 'high stepping' thru the kitchen.... When we were watching TV, Batty (one of her many nicknames: Bat Bats being another common one...), she'd waltz into the room and 'wave' to us as she entered. No shit, she'd wave. When she was placed on the bar stool, she'd get all cocky and swat at us...playing, of course. When she was napping, she liked to press her forehead against something, whether an arm or a wall. Most times, you could find her in the daytime, spread out on the living room floor, under foot, in her own little world. As long as you played by her rules, things would be okay. Her rules weren't hard to follow.

She loved catnip. Whenever she heard the 'cling' of the catnip jar being opened, she ran like a fiend to the roomwhere the sound eminated from. She was protective of us. Whenever she heard aggressive sounds, she came running, ready to protect her Mom and Dad. An ideal day in the world of 'Bat Bats' would probably consist of waking up to cat treats (she liked 'Temptations Creamy Dairy Flavor'....), chasing June Bugs for a bit, then going outside for a sunny cat nap on her deck. Then she'd wake up, more treats, some milk, and a romp around the house (..she'd chase me around the house as if we were playing tag...). Then Tv time, lay on her back on the floor, spread out, until bedtime. Then go to bed, tell Mom about her day and go to sleep, after pawing at Mom's face. Most days were like this. I am fortunate enough to say this. Batty was a gift...we often say she 'came with the house' much like someone would speak of a hot tub or something like that. We got the better deal. We scored.

Last spring, we put a few water features in our backyard. Alongside these, we built a free standing deck. Bat Man declared this area her own. Many a day (...night...morning...) you could find her in the chair to the right, taking a cat nap. This became her domain.

Bat Man on her deck.......

Bat Man laying in the sun.......

Today, I had to have Bat Man put down. She had developed a tumor which was hendering her breathing and she was struggling to enjoy life. I would've given anything to keep her around, she made our lives rich. On of the best cats I've ever had...if not the best. She made our life better.

I guess we have nothing to regret. We always kept her up-to-date on her vacines, regardless of our financial situation. She always had treats. She had run of the place. We always expressed love to her. She had a good life with us. You just hate to see it end but that's how things go. We did our best and I know that she knew we loved her more than life itself. RIP, Batty......you were the best companion. We love you..........

Enjoy your rest and I'll save the chair on the right for you, Batty, we'll remember.....