Above the cut:

Ahem.  *clears throat*  It seems as though I owe LJ an apology. 

*takes back kick*

It seems it is not their fault that I am not able to post.  It's also not the fault of my Word 2007.   Evidently, when my computer caught an infection a couple weeks ago, it caused a bit of an unseen problem before it was caught and quarantined and erradicated.  Evidently this infection affected an .exe program that plays a large role in how stuff transfers on my computer.  My brother can give you a long technical explanation but it's Greek to me.  All I understand is that for right now ... files on my computer do not copy easily (yeah!  like trying to get a puppy to wear clown shoes) over to the internet.  Right now I can't even upload stuff to my photobucket, let alone to LJ or BFZ or anywhere else.  And don't get me started on how it has affected the application on Facebook (no it's not a part of that virus Gaby warned us of - thank goodness!) that has my Twinkles in an uproar.  Oy!

My brother is working on the problem and feels confident that he can help me fix it without having to pay out my roadtrip savings for a house call or being disconnected from my intravenous internet addiction by taking the computer into the geek squad for repairs.  However, since he's in Austin working evenings and I'm in Broken Arrow working days ... it's a bit tricky.

So ... I'm trying to figure out how I can do this ... but in the meantime, anything I post has to be typed out completely - no copy/paste ... and ... well ... perhaps these rambles aren't as long as some that I've posted, but they are aren't short little essays either.  

*sigh*

So, please bear with me ... and ... in the meantime ... I have a debt to pay our dear Professor.

I'm going to tuck it under the cut.

Random Debt Paid

Random Association Meme – Ask me to associate you with five things. When I do this, post this meme and an explanation of your interest in those five things in your journal.

This is for Mary, my friend, The Professor. :-) ( and anyone else who happens to wander by)

Some times I get caught up in the moment. One of those moments occurred a couple of weeks ago when my dear friend The Professor played with Rap in the Meme-Room. It seemed such fun that I decided I wanted to play also.  

My apologies Professor, I was afraid life would run away with my time … and it did. However, here I am to attempt to fulfill my meme debt. I must admit, it was kinda fun.

Bardicvoice (aka. The Professor, aka. Mary, aka. My friend) associated me with the following things:

1)      John Winchester

2)      Tea

3)      Supernatural Sanitarium

4)      Oooooooak-lahoma! (Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains! Where the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rains!)

5)      Rambles

Here are my responses:

1)      John Winchester … Now, to be fair, I truly adore all three Winchester men and the men who portray them. I love watching them … I love writing about them … I love discussing them. However, what can I say? The Keeper simply adores her Big Daddy Winchester. From the very first moment I saw the Winchester Patriarch … leaning against the door jam of Baby Sammy’s room, arms crossed … from the first moment I heard him … “Hey Dean” … there was something about this man that caught my attention. It’s not just the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles, the way his dimples deepen within his whiskers, or his husky gravel coated voice that capture my attention. It’s not just the fact that I have come to appreciate the actor who portrays him. 
 

My  fascination is with the character of John Winchester himself. This is a man who loved a woman so deeply, so completely that his grief over losing her was as fresh 22 years later as it was the day she died. This is a man who gave everything, sacrificed everything – including his relationship with them – to keep his sons safe in a world where scary things really do live under the bed. This is a man who was so tragically flawed, so human, that he could not only anger me, but also break my heart in the space of just moments. This is a man who loved his sons so completely that he would, and did, give his life – sacrifice his soul – in an attempt to save them.
 

I love the fact that Supernatural, as of this writing, has now had 74 episodes and, although he appeared physically in only 12 episodes (one of which was voice only), it is incredibly rare that an episode passes that does not in some manner remind us of John Winchester ... the father, the hunter, the husband, the man.
 

I could go on … I could create a whole new ramble exclusively for the senior Winchester man, but that’s not the purpose of this meme. So I’d best move on.

 

2)      Tea … I do enjoy a nice pot of tea. It’s not just something I say, it’s something I do. I used to drink coffee on occasion but it never soothed me. In fact, it generally wired me up to the point I was frazzled and hyper. After a particularly embarrassing coffee fueled occurrence that has been documented elsewhere, I removed myself from the world of the coffee bean and fell back to the world of tea. Growing up in the south, ice tea was a daily staple and hot tea was reserved for when the tummy wasn’t feeling so great or we were out of hot chocolate and needed something warm to drink. When I decided to give up the coffee and start my mornings with a cup of tea, I discovered an incredible world of blends and flavors. A wonderful new friend at the time (take a bow Whims!) introduced me to the world of Adagio tea. From there I wandered … roaming through various tea websites, combing the local stores & restaurants for intriguing blends. Then came a prezzie from another friend that included a little tin filled with 6 tea bags of heaven … Blackberry Sage. I know … the name sounds less than appealing but trust me … this blend is wonderful.   I had to have more. So I found the website of Republic of Tea … a site that now loves to see me coming as I peruse their blends of black tea, white tea, decaf or regular, herbal reds or super fruity.
 

Each morning I enjoy a mug of tea as I wake up to face the day. I have three mugs that I rotate … of course a special Supernatural one for Thursdays … that I use throughout the week. At work I have a sturdy stoneware mug that I use to brew that morning breaktime, that after lunch top-off, or that afternoon pick me up. Then in the evening there’s my soothing cuppa before bed.
 

We won’t get me started on the weekends when I have more leisure I am able to brew a little pot. It sits upon my desk as I read my email or write … such as right now.  Tea ... hot or cold ... it's my preference.  (Mary … I look forward to that day when we can share a pot of tea and our Supernatural thoughts.)

 

3)      Supernatural Sanitarium … Oh dear … where to start and what to say?   I remember well when it happened … when the proverbial imaginary doors first opened. We were faced with a hiatus during the winter of the second season and I made a random comment in a blog on TVGuide.com that I was going to open a sanitarium to help everyone survive the time without a new episode.  

Thus was born the Supernatural Obsessive Supporting Enablers Sanitarium. 
 

Never could I have imagined in my wildest dreams where that random comment would take me … and never would I have imagined the number of inmates and friends I would gain from literally around the world. Amazing!!!  A virtual building in a virtual blogosphere, my little sanitarium had an address (the corner of Bonkers and Mayhem in a little town in the State of Confusion) and a motto … “Madness ... or brilliance. It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide.” … that was selected by (I believe – please correct me if I’m wrong) by our sweet BrittPup in a quote from the movie “The Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl”. 

Over the course of the following two years, my little sanitarium grew at astounding rates. From a simple Ramble Room, Keeper’s Office and individual rooms complete with posters … everyone’s imagination added more. We gained classrooms and a library, a testosterone section, a party room and several playrooms. We had a South Wing devoted to the more insane of my inmates, an International Wing, a hospital wing, and a dungeon. A meditation room was frequented – particularly after a model of The Impala was stationed there. A Room of Spoilage, swimming pools, gardens and rooftop escapes could be found, not to mention road trip busses and escape tunnels to Yemen for those who had decided to creatively destroy a portion of my little building, thus causing my virtual property insurance rates to soar. 
 

It was a virtual world, but it was a very real escape and blessing for me and for each inmate that entered.  It was our place for all things Supernatural … to discuss episodes, to contemplate spoilers and speculate, to ruminate on themes and to descend into insane madness over the hotness of henleys, flannel shirts, and a couple of good looking hunters.
 

November 17, 2008 – TV Guide broke my heart when it took a wrecking ball and tried to destroy my little sanitarium. I can’t begin to say how this hurt me. How my heart aches still when I think back to those fun times and enlightening conversations that were dismissed with the push of a button.  I stil say "shame on you, TVG" for the way it was so discourteously handled and I mourn for those inmates who we couldn not locate, who came in after that day to find we were all gone.  
 

My little sanitarium still thrives … it’s just been franchised out to various locations … LJ, Plurk, BFZ to name a few … not to mention what occasionally explodes in my email. It’s not the same and real life makes it difficult for me to find time to make rounds in each location.  However, whatever branch is visited - they all still contain the most important part … the heart of my little sanitarium which resides within each and every inmate and the individual and group friendships that have formed over the years.
 

People say that Supernatural is just a television show … that my little sanitarium is just a silly fantasy. I can give you the names of over 30 people (and the knowledge that there were more hidden - lurking - reading, watching, and enjoying) who have passed the doors of this Sanitarium for the Supernaturally Obsessed over the last couple of years who will tell you differently.  

I’ve been blessed to be the Keeper of the Keys to the Sanitarium and I, along with my faithful FSBs, will work to continue to keep the doors open as long as The Kripke keeps producing our favorite show. 
 

4)       Oooooooak-lahoma! (Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains! Where the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rains!) … Yes. I live in Oklahoma … Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to be exact. Wasn’t born here, wasn’t even raised here … but after growing up as the daughter of an employee of IBM (which some may think stands for International Business Machines, but those of us who know better, know that it stands for I’ve Been Moved – Many Times) and living in several different states, I somehow ended up settling here in 1990. It’s kinda funny from the standpoint that I actually did live in Oklahoma while in college at Oklahoma Baptist University, but I never dreamt I would actually choose to live here as a “grown up”. However, my home IS here now and so is my heart, for this is where my three girlies live. My oldest girlie will be following me to OBU next year as a college freshman and I couldn’t be prouder. 
 

As for the wind … do we really want to discuss the wind?? It blows. A lot. A whole lot. Every day. You can count on your two hands the number of days that occur during the summer where the wind doesn’t blow. In the morning, you fight to keep your car on the road as it buffets you from the south and in the evening, you fight to keep your car on the road as it tosses you from the north. We are the heart of tornado alley and that right there tells you that wind is something you respect when you live in Oklahoma. You also learn to live with it and to simply be prepared for those springtime trips to the bathroom for cover.  You learn that short hair is good, but if your hair is long - pony tails are much better than loose hair. Walking with one hand holding your skirt down is an art that is learned young. Having the trashman collect your trash from the neighbor’s curb three streets over is not unheard of. 

Rodgers and Hammerstein made it seem romantic … but those of us who live here know the truth. If you truly want to feel the power of the wind … work in a building with more than four stories. I worked for 18 months on the 32^nd floor of a 60 story building. When you actually feel the building swaying you know it’s time to find another job!
 

5)      Rambles … Huh. I think this meme is beginning to resemble a ramble. *sigh* Lengthy tomes written to scare printers and numb the minds of those who wander by.

 *grins*
 

Rose’s Rambles … that’s the name of my very first blog site at TVGuide.  Since I tend to write the way I talk, and my father always tells me I can ramble on for hours, it seemed appropriate.  Particularly since I was writing about a wandering journey of two brothers.  My rambles were initially centered on Supernatural, on Dean & Sam Winchester (and their father!).  It became my delight to wander through an episode, to discuss, to contemplate.  I love looking at each episode as a part of a tapestry - so rich and vibrant - much like those that were woven in the past and hung in castles and fortresses, telling the story of battles fought and wars waged.  Each episode, beginning with the Pilot and moving forward until this most recent, Sex & Violence, contain threads that weave in and out of the tapestry - layering it - at once seeming so complex and yet, at closer look, making it seem so simple. 

My rambles seemed to take on a life of their own, growing with each passing episode, as the story of the Winchesters journey - seeking their father, hunting the demon that killed their mother, finding themselves smack dab in the middle of the war that was coming - grew.  Still, I enjoy piecing them together, remembering the episode, seeing how it fits with those that preceed it. 

It warms my heart that there are those who read them and enjoy them.  *blushes*  I may write them for myself, but it gives a special thrill to know that they are being read. 

And that ends this rambling response of a meme.  Thank you Professor for letting me play.  :-)