I'm dripping with masculinity

At the house we're renting, there is a hookup spot for our washer and dryer. My washer has a drainage tube that is mostly flexible, but there is a long straight part at the end. Where the pipe is to insert the drainage tube, there is a shelf above it that is too close to allow you to fit the straight part into the pipe.

So I got a saw and made one diagonal cut, then a second cut from above to make a little notch in the pipe, giving us enough room to fit in the drainage tube. I totally fixed it in one try, despite my wife's doubts in my ability to do it. I'm currently feeling very manly.

Settling in...

Hello! Thanks to all of you who've continued to check my blog. Right now, we are still in the middle of unpacking. We have an air mattress and a deskchair. No places to sit yet, but we should be a little better situated by the end of the week.

Carolina got a nasty stomach virus on Saturday. I think I learned something about love. There is no sound more displeasing to my ears than vomiting. Carolina was doing this often and in large quantities. I got to hold the trash bag some times and her hair other times. I felt very bad for her. She had to miss the first Sunday at Old Hickory as she was recovering. I realize that loving someone is more about what you do than about how you always feel. The sickness wasn't giving me any warm fuzzies, but I promised to always care for her, and that's what I've tried to do. Don Loftis, the preacher here, has a wife who's been having terrible health struggles with her knees for the last year. She's so weary of recovering, and it's wearing on him, too. I have appreciated his example, because he isn't just having to care for her over the weekend. It's an ongoing struggle. They're in some kind of therapy/treatment for most of today. I know it isn't fun.

Carolina's much better now, and is getting settled around the house. Nacho and Dora had been staying at my parents' house, but we brought them home last night to Old Hickory. We just let Nacho outside this morning, and she started growling at a neighbor's cat. Should be interesting.
I have tons to blog about, but not much time to do the blogging. It may be a couple of weeks before I get back at it with much regularity, but I haven't forgotten about it! Keep us in your prayers...

Mark <><

...And some talking Dogs to go with them.

On the subject of cats...

I think this is so funny!

The Mini Mighty Hunter

I have always loved my cat's ability to catch small pesky things. Nacho always kills any bugs that get in to our house. On a couple of occassions, I've seen a brown recluse, and before I could get something to kill it, she's already finished it off.

Just in 2007, I know she has killed 3 birds, 1 squirrel, 1 mole (she killed 2 last year), and now 2 mice. Two days ago she showed up at the door with a mouse hanging from her mouth. Carolina ran screaming. It was pretty funny.

Yesterday, we were loading up the POD, and out of nowhere, she came jumping onto our driveway with a little squeeking friend in her mouth. She would let it get about 3 feet away from her, then she would pounce on it again. Then she'd carry it over to the yard and do the same routine. Finally, I found the mouse dead in the driveway.

Fortunately, the mice she's killed were not in my house. She's finding them outside somewhere.

I don't care what anyone else thinks. I really like cats; especially mine.

My Johari Window

I never get tired of thinking about myself. I really enjoy tests like the Myers-Briggs. (I'm an INTJ)

I had a friend who sent me a link to his "Johari Window". You get a bunch of friends to select 5-6 characteristics that they think best summarize you. Their choices are compared to your personal choices. Then it prints out this nifty chart.

The chart works out something like the old Donald Rumsfeld quote: "Some stuff we know we know. Some stuff we know we don't know. Some stuff we don't know we know. Some stuff we don't know we don't know."

Some stuff I kind of expected people would pick. Namely "religious". Apparently, most people also think I'm friendly. Another nice surprise was that several people consider me "witty".

I think my favorite category is the stuff that neither I nor anyone else knows about me. (Bottom Right) I kind of chuckled when I saw that no one picked "spontaneous", because it's absolutely true: I'm NOT spontaneous. Then again by this chart, if I'm dignified, sensible, sympathetic, warm, or brave, apparently nobody knows about it. :-)

You might try creating your very own Johari window. This chart is based on the results of 15 answers (thanks to my friends who have completed it). If you would like to fill this one out on me, go here. The more results, the more accurate it probably is.

Arena (known to self and others) adaptable, intelligent, loving, organised, religious	Blind Spot (known only to others) accepting, bold, calm, clever, complex, confident, dependable, energetic, friendly, giving, happy, helpful, independent, kind, knowledgeable, logical, mature, modest, observant, patient, quiet, reflective, relaxed, responsive, trustworthy, wise, witty
Façade (known only to self) silly	Unknown (known to nobody) able, brave, caring, cheerful, dignified, extroverted, idealistic, ingenious, introverted, nervous, powerful, proud, searching, self-assertive, self-conscious, sensible, sentimental, shy, spontaneous, sympathetic, tense, warm

Dominant Traits

66% of people think that Markito is friendly
66% of people agree that Markito is religious

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (6%) adaptable (6%) bold (20%) brave (0%) calm (6%) caring (0%) cheerful (0%) clever (6%) complex (6%) confident (20%) dependable (20%) dignified (0%) energetic (6%) extroverted (0%) friendly (66%) giving (13%) happy (6%) helpful (20%) idealistic (0%) independent (6%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (40%) introverted (0%) kind (6%) knowledgeable (20%) logical (33%) loving (6%) mature (20%) modest (20%) nervous (0%) observant (13%) organised (13%) patient (6%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (6%) reflective (6%) relaxed (6%) religious (66%) responsive (6%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (33%) warm (0%) wise (6%) witty (40%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 10.5.2007, using data from 15 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view Markito's full data.

I just got a big dose of reality delivered to my driveway.

All of a sudden, it's finally hitting me that I'm not going to live here any more. A truck driver just dropped off my PODS pod, and over the next few days I'm going to be loading all my possessions into it.

Our house has had lookers, but it hasn't sold yet. We're going to be renting a place in Nashville, and only after we sell this house and buy the next one are we going to get them to drop off the pod so we can unload it.

It's making me really sad. I absolutely love this house, and I have yet to find a house in Nashville that I like as much as I like my current home. It is going to be heartbreaking to think about my house sitting empty here in Searcy while I'm renting a second home from someone in Nashville. I have good memories of this house. I love my neighborhood.

I guess this is one of the sacrifices I'm having to make moving to Nashville. There's a lot I'll love about Nashville, but it's going to be bittersweet. I wish I could have my friends and home in Searcy and all that I'm looking forward to in Nashville all at the same time. I wish I could keep going to Rose Bud while we're starting things up at Old Hickory. Unfortunately, life forces us to accept the results of our choices, and I can't have both.

I think this move is going to be a blessing for us. It's just hitting me hard to know that right now, a major phase of my life is ending. Frankly, I feel the same as I did on the day I graduated from high school. I'm sure God has something in store, and I'm sure it will have some good and some bad. The hard part is just having no idea what's going to happen next. At this particular moment, that scares me to death.

Rhinotillexomania

I learned something today. The proper term for someone picking their nose is "rhinotillexomania" (rhino=nose, tillexis=habit of picking at something, mania=obsession with something). So, the next time that you see a person picking their nose, tell them that they are a rhinotillexomaniac. That, or offer them a kleenex.

And no, I don't care if you think I'm childish for finding that interesting.

After 19 years, I finally did it

For the first time in my life, I just beat Super Mario Bros. I had gotten to level 8-4 many times, but was never able to get past bowser at the end. The fire and the hammers were just too much.

Also, I was never good at doing that thing with the turtle shell in level 3 for extra lives. This is all another reason I love owning a Nintendo Wii. I purchased the game and downloaded it onto the Wii. You can use the Wii remote like a regular Nintendo controller. What's even better is that if you've been playing a game and have to stop, it lets you continue. A couple of nights ago, Carolina and I played until we got to the last level, and we just couldn't beat it.

About 30 minutes ago, I turned my Wii on to read the news and check the weather (2 other very handy features that help me avoid needing to watch the regular news on TV), and I noticed that our progress was saved I still had "(Crown Shape)9" lives left on 8-4. So I went for it.

After about 15 tries, I finally beat it. Eat lava, Bowser. My childhood goal is officially accomplished.