Converted

I finally did it... I converted some of my cassette tapes to MP3. Mostly music that could never be reproduced if the tapes were ever destroyed... like a collection of Okanagan songs by my grandma and some of her friends back in the day. They were originally recorded on wax cylinders. Thank god someone went through the pain of converting to tape in the 50's or else I would have been lost.

I also converted some of my Uncle Roy's music to digital. He likes to sing old country music like my dad used to, except he sings in Okanagan and then translates back to English. Kinda cool. Probably the only time you will catch me listening to country.

Converting to MP3 is actually a pretty easy process, except it is time consuming. It's done in real time, so you pretty much have to be in the mood to listen to everything as you are recording.

If you are considering doing this, I recommend Audacity. This is an easy to use sound editor, and the price is right - FREE. Other than that, you will need a cassette player (I used a walkman), a 1/8 inch line-in jack (bought mine cheap at Radio Shack), some headphones, and a PC with a sound card. If you need step by step instructions, there are lots of websites out there.... here is a simplified version. I thought it was helpful.

Anyways.... now that I have the important tapes out of the way, maybe I will dig out that Michael Jackson Thriller tape and preserve Billie Jean forever... LOL! j/k! Considering I have a habit of listening to the same songs over and over, won't everyone love me for that!

How many shopping days?

Wow. Only two more pay days until Christmas, and I have yet to buy present one. Now this is so wrong considering I come from a big family. I have 7 brothers and sisters, thier deer hearts and their kids, my mum, her deer heart, and then my own three kids. That amounts to 42 people and a lot of shopping.

Every year I tell myself I'm going to get a head start. Every year I find myslef rummaging through the left overs at every store doing last minute shopping.

Shopping in this fashion is hit and miss. Sometimes I'm successful and manage to find the right gifts for everyone on my list. Other times I'm sure I miss the boat completely.

The cool thing is it doesn't really matter to the adults in my family what I get them for Christmas, or even if I get them anything at all. We all came from the same humble beginnings, and are more concerned with the kids having a nice Christmas than anything else.

Even so, I can't help myself. I still like to buy something for everyone. Even if it's a little thing. It's no secret I love to shop. My problem this year is my mind is drawing blanks and I don't quite know where to start.

Sigh.... I guess this means I'm forced to roam every aisle in every store until I can populate my mind with fresh ideas... either that or find one thing and buy 42 of them and hope they all like it.... ;o)

Gee, maybe this is another WWVD question.... LOL! So tell me, V, whatcha think?

Thanksgiving Blawg

Ok... i confess. There is a nerd inside that compels me to blog, and truth is i like being a nerd! Even on Thanksgiving morning when i should be cooking and getting ready for the family thang, technology takes precedence. As i was debating with myself this morning to blog or not to blog, i asked myself WWVD? Well, i checked his site, and he actually BLOGGED! Nice to know there are fellow nerds out there who make technology one of their priorities, too.

Today I only have a few things on my agenda... cook, eat until i pop, and play shanghai. I like to play games with my family - card games, board games, or whatever. They can be sooooo competitive and cut-throat it's funny. You can count on some very animated dialogue the whole time. This is especially true when one of them is close to getting their set, and someone else shanghai's just before they get to lay their cards down.... we all laugh our asses off as the words come pouring out.... you bitch!... asshole!...i almost had it! etc. etc. etc... Then the vendettas are on every set after.... anyway, guess you have to be there. I think it's a lot of fun.... probably one of the rare times when i look FORWARD to being called a bitch.

Ok... guess i just made my second confession for today. There's a bitch inside that compels me to WIN, and truth be known i like being a bitch! Haha! Guess i better stop here before more confessions come pouring out.... mass isn't until Sunday anyway.

Hey, Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh yeah, BTW... watched Fantasia on the Idol Christmas Special last night. The girl rocks!

Giggly Pig

When he first told me he wanted a furry little piglet, I wasn't sure what he meant. All I could think of was that cute little piglet his grampa got for his birthday last year. They named him Red.

Red roamed around the yard with the dogs. Their house is out in the country with plenty of wide open space. Enough space to keep their many dogs and a pig. As traditional Lakota people, they usually keep a lot of dogs. By a lot I don't mean 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6.... I mean anywhere from 10 to 20 dogs at any give time.

When they first put him out in the yard, Red was no match for their many dogs. He was small and defenseless and needed protection. If he even tried to eat with them, the dogs would attack him. But with the help of time and lots of Indian slop, he quickly grew into this enormous gigantic hog almost overnight. It wasn't long before the dogs began to give up their food to him and bow down in his presence. He easily out-weighed all of them put together. Needless to say, he had the run of the yard.

Now as tempting as that all sounds, I had a hard time convincing myself that buying a "giggly pig" was a good idea. As I was going over all the arguments why not, he finally got across what it was he wanted. Much to my relief, it was a guinea pig he was after. Thank god. I could not imagine where in HUD housing we could hide a monster-sized hog for very long.

Little Coyote / Change of Guard

Hats off again to Eugene!

A New Tribal Prez

Grassroots

For Leta

This is what a blog would look like if you decide to do one...

Pretty cool, huh?

Grayness

Clouds. Gray clouds. Low-crawling drizzling gray clouds. This best describes how I started my day. I haven't figured out if it's the weather that matches my mood, or if it's my mood that matches the weather. I'm not even sure if it matters. All I know is once I get into this mode it is nearly impossible to pull myself out.

One of the few things I can count on to lift me out of grayness is music. I have a predisposition for music probably more than most human beings. Not that I can sing or play anything like a musical instrument, but music does have the power to move me. I can feel both holy and broken, or sassy and energetic depending on what I am listening to.

My parents are responsible for that. My dad used to sing to us whenever we were in the car. Sometimes when we went on long road trips he would sing along to every country song that ever played on the radio. I'm sure it helped him kill time, especially on those extra long 8-hour minimum road trips across the border. As a little girl, I always thought he could sing "Your Cheatin Heart" better than anyone I knew, except for maybe Hank Williams himself.

My mum was more of a motown kinda girl. I remember when I was 4-years old my first favorite song was Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." She used to play it over and over and over. That and "Heard it through the Grapevine." I guess it's no surprise I fell in love with my old memories again when Fantasia Barrino brought these songs back out.

But tonight it was traditional music that pulled me out of the grayness. I went out to the "Honoring our Veterans" stick game tournament. Being in the presence of these ancient songs moved me like nothing else could. The soothing effect they have on me lasts longer than the songs themselves. Although I only spent a few hours out there, I can still hear the songs in my head and feel the drums in my heart. For that I am grateful, and I will count this as a perfect way to end my day.

Things I do to appease my niece

Normally, I delete e-mails of the questionnaire type, but this came from my long lost and now found niece (yes, there is a story, but I will save for another time). Since I have not been good at keeping in touch with her lately, I thought the least I could do was respond to her questionnaire. Here it goes:

Her original e-mail:
Where has our time for nurturing friendships gone? Welcome to the fall 2004 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy this list and paste it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including the person who you got it from.

The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already!

1) What time did you get up this morning?
Well, I woke up at 3:12 a.m., went back to sleep. Woke again at 4:20 a.m., went back to sleep. Then again at 6:30 a.m., hit snooze three times, and officially got up 7:00 a.m.

2) If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be?
I never have time to eat lunch with anyone, so if I actually had the luxury of time, anyone would do at that point.

3) Gold or Silver?
Silver - Ag - 59's or 69's - pure crystal.... very beautiful.

4) What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Shark Tales

5) Favorite TV shows?
Used to be Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, and American Idol. Now TV's boring.... does the internet count?

6) What did you have for breakfast?
Wakalapi (coffee)

7) Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
My nemeses, who shall remain unnamed. But then again, maybe I could set him straight on a thing or two.

8) What is your middle name?
I never use it so I'm not telling.

9) Beach, City or Country?
Beach.... sun.... water... tanning oil... yeah.

10) Favorite Ice cream?
Chocolate

11) Butter, plain or salted popcorn?
Butter.... lots of it.

12) What kind of car do you drive?
'98 Mustang GT 4.6 dual exhaust....

13) Favorite sandwich?
Subway BMT... pepperocini's... jalapeno's...

14) What characteristic do you despise?
Conceited and convinced... oh yeah, impatience.

15) Favorite flower?
Toss up... poppies and cosmos

16) Favorite tree?
Weeping cherry

17) If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Middle Earth New Zealand.

18) What color is your bathroom?
purple and light sunny yellow

19) What is your favorite brand of clothing?
anything as long as it doesn't match exactly. Matching clothes remind me of Garanimals - gag.

20) Where would you retire to?
about 10 miles from HUD housing... maybe a cabin on the lake.

21) Favorite day of the week?
it's hard to pick a favorite when all my days blurr together.... i am usually oblivious to dates and times....

22) What did you do for your last birthday?
could not have been anything important... i can't remember.

23) Where were you born?
Portland, Oregon - probably why i'm part bleeding heart liberal.

24) Favorite sport to watch?
Boxing.... or kids playing football.

25) Who do you least expect to send this back to you?
Uh... Victor? Hard to say... i don't even know who will look at it.

26) Person you expect to send it back first?
same as above.

27) What fabric detergent do you use?
Tide w/bleach...

28) Coke or Pepsi?
Coke is so un-patriotic.... PEPSI

29) Are you a morning person or night owl?
Considering I am a major insomniac, guess that constitutes as a night owl.

30) What is your shoe size?
6 if they're 'girl' shoes.... 4 if they're Chuck Taylors...

31) Do you have any pets?
Dead or alive? A few months ago I could have given you a list... today there are only two: Bender, the hermit crab, and Cikala Jr, the cute but annoying pit bull.

For Eugene Little Coyote

Congratulations Eugene Little Coyote on your well deserved major
victory!

This is the best election news I have heard all day. I knew you could do it! Stay in the spirit of your people. I know you will lead your people well.

00010111

This is all I can spill from my 8-bit mind today.
The most perfect 8-bits I could come up with in my binary world.