Cleaning files

The blog is temporarily hosted over here while I clean up some files. WordPress is giving me as much trouble as Blogger.

Grr.

Redesign?

I'm waffling on redesigning the KI blog page. I'm also waffling about putting it on the front page of KI.com instead of the subdirectory. I'm also waffling on whether to move to WordPress. Thoughts?

P.S. I've had a chip on my shoulder since I got one poke in the ribs about the craptastic, never-updated-the-placeholder front page, so moving the blog there would take care of two redesigns in one. However, I've used the /blog/ subdirectory as a very loose filter, so I'd lose that little layer against people who can't be bothered to poke around a bit.

P.P.S. I'm doing this instead of playing Pokemon Platinum right now. (Ahem.)

Freebie for my MEM friends

Memphis folks: Pink Palace is offering three-month trial memberships to the museum, planetarium and Lichterman Nature Center. The deal is only available on their website and you print your own temp membership card.

In addition to free admission for two adults and their related children, the membership includes a members' preview of the Under the Sea IMAX film and a preview of the Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters exhibit.

This isn't my normal blog M.O., but it's a really good deal. The free membership coincides perfectly with my three months in Memphis. (I know, I know ... that's not the point of a "trial," but it was too good to turn down.) The sign-up deadline is May 31, so get on it. Link: http://www.memphismuseums.org/trial-membership

Oh, also ... in my quest to find free/cheap things to do while I'm in town (Staycation FTW!), I found this list on the Convention and Visitors Bureau site. A few standouts: National Civil Rights Museum is free Mondays 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Pink Palace Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Memphis Botanic Gardens Wednesdays from noon to close; and Brooks Museum Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free stuff rocks.

Birthdays and sisters

Happy 29th birthday to me! And I'm not one of those people who's turning, like, 34 and telling people, "I'm 29 and holding, durrr." I actually am 29 today.

I met Cari, the older of my two younger sisters, yesterday. I actually picked her out from far away because she was wearing a shirt that I also own: a gray, long-sleeve, men's thermal-knit sweater. Long-sleeve thermal in May in Memphis. ... I thought I was the only one who did things like that. So right off the bat, I knew we were going to have a lot in common.

The first words out of her mouth were, "Wow. You look like my mom." I laughed. She ordered a cup of coffee. We talked about our families and jobs and heritage and medical history. (Did I already mention that bipolar disorder runs in my biological family? Also breast cancer and heart disease. Woo-hoo.)

But we spent most of the time just connecting dots. Cari grew up attending the same church as my maternal grandparents. Her maternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather graduated from Navy school together. Her mother (well, technically, our mother, though I don't really think of it like that) also wanted to be a journalist/writer. Cari said she'd bring photos next time. And Cari's younger sister, Lynn, also wants to meet me, so maybe that will happen next time too.

And there were other nice-to-know things thrown in there, like how my name was Jolene because my father's name was Joel. That settles that (and makes a little more sense than naming me after the Dolly Parton song "Jolene," with which I have nothing in common).

I still feel a little thrown off by the whole family thing. It happened so fast and in conjunction with changing apartments in Charleston and moving to Memphis for three months this summer. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of it. I guess I've just got to handle things one day at a time, huh?

Paul in space

Yeah, he didn't fit. At all.

The launch, as I tweeted a couple of days ago, was awesome. It's hard to clarify in 140 characters, but when I said I was bored, my boredom stemmed from getting to the Astronaut Hall of Fame at 9:30 a.m. for a 2 p.m. launch. We were told to get there between 7 and 10 a.m. to get a parking space. We did get a parking space -- and a good one at that -- but the hall of fame was less than enthralling, so we left to camp out for the viewing. (Note to hall of fame curators: A few things have happened in the space program since 1968. ... Challenger, for example. And Columbia. And the first woman in space. I could go on.)

Anyway, we sat on a beach blanket under a smallish umbrella for about four hours. My butt got tired enough that I went to the visitor's center and bought a chair. Bought a chair. And despite the umbrella, I developed a nice, golden-brown farmer's tan on my arms and ankles. (Seriously, that's about the extent of my tan.)

One of the perks of living in Memphis was being within a reasonable drive time of St. Louis (5 hours), Nashville (3), Dallas (6.5), and so on. Charleston has its own day-trippable drives, including Jacksonville (4), Orlando (6), Washington (7.5) ... etc. And with Orlando in reach, we can go to Disney World and Downtown Disney whenever we want, as well as every shuttle launch that isn't pre-empted by Paul's teaching sched.

I probably won't blog again until I'm in Memphis this weekend. Lots of packing still to do. Wish us luck on our drive!

Moving magic

I've never made it through a move without liberal use of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I probably never will.

That mark in the office where the movers dropped the cherry wood chest? Gone. The handprint where Paul fell trying to fix the printer? Gone. The huge spot in the den where the blue La-Z-Boy rubbed off on the wall? Totally gross ... and now gone. So, yeah, I fully endorse the Magic Eraser. Good stuff.

Let's watch the hits roll in from people who use the website Google to search for the phrase "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser." (Ooh, Smacky, AP style FTW!) And speaking of search phrases, let me send a shout-out to you folks who are still straggling to my site by searching for "it felt like jesse ventura came through the door and picked up the recliner." I get a couple more hits every month from people who search for that, so I might as well mention it once in a while. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.