Back Where We Belong.

A full week at ACT and I finally feel back in my element....somewhat. At least we are among the snobbishly educated ( I say that with a wink and a smile) passing judgement on poor high school students attempting to get into college. I'm just kidding! I don't feel like Lord and Master of these poor kids fate, nor do I feel like a snooty elitist. However, the reading is fun at times, boring at others, and every now and then you find one that is rather entertaining. One thing I find is that reading these papers makes me what to jump back into the classroom and teach ENGLISH! ( I wanted to be a math teacher!) The writing level I must tell myself, is one of students TRYING to get into college. Meaning: they are not at the college level yet. I also know that at that age, my writing was probably no better. It is funny that, from time to time, I'll read a paper that will remind me of something that I once wrote years ago. I would like to think that my writing has improved over the years, through constant repetition and practice. Also, my world view has matured so that I can offer some life experiences to my bag of education. I do believe that a COMMAND of the English language is essential to an education. And if you struggle with writing, no matter how brilliant you are in other fields, you will sound less knowledgeable. Even now I wonder if my skills are up to the task. I guess the worst thing about being educated, is the knowing that you don't know anything, and never will! The world is too vast for your small little brain to grasp in 80-100 years of life. But I will continue to try to learn as much as I can as long as I can....assuming I do not slip into Dementia when I turn 80+.... OH! Before I forget! I hope you notice that the shop is back up and running! We plan on working on stuff during the weekend and perhaps after work. The nice thing about the ACT job is the hours. we can come and go as we please, take breaks when we want, and only have to put in 30 hours instead of 40! We even get paid more than Civco! If you need to check out the shop, Click on the stockings on the right.....Hopefully you will find something you like.

The End of the Great Factory Social Experiment

As the Dinosaurs found their way into the annuls of extinction, so also has our trip into Blue Collar work. That is correct, Cheryl and I decided that The Civco Experience had to come to an end, and will now be a colorful chapter in the history of our memoirs. My hat goes off to all those people who we were blessed ( and cursed) to meet in our travels at Civco. Those folks work VERY hard and have a devotion to the job that Cheryl and I were incapable of mustering. I really mean it! They were dedicated employees that do their best every day, and will continue to work very hard for years to come. But as for Cheryl and myself, we decided that Civco had very little else to offer us in the way of fulfillment and meaning. And so it is that we are now pursuing a new form of income collection that involves working for ACT. It is Familiar work in a way, it is quite similar to Pearson in it's Labors. The work is more mentally demanding that Civco, but that is OK. I believe our wrists, shoulders and backs will thank us in the long run for our career change. For now, We will have to dust off our thinking caps, ( something we put away in our attic during the factory visit) and fire them up by this Monday. With a little luck, we will have them firing an all 12 cylinders by the time we take the qualifying test. A Special thank you to Civco! For helping us through this desert dry patch in the summer. We were able to stay caught up on things and able to afford food and gas with a little money left over! Hurray! As for the Origami posts, I may have to take a small vacation from that for a while....we shall see.

Missing Shop Cat

Oh where did my wonderful shop cat go? How I miss him so. If you follow this blog, you might notice that I have not posted any cat pics since Red left us for those happy mouse hunting fields in the skies. However, we DO still have two cats at home, Even though they are not 100% awesome cats like Red. There is Rasha, the tortoise shell cat, Who eats, pukes and smells really bad. She does have a lovey dovey side to her which balances it out a little. She also loves to scream at the Hiro way to much. We should have named her Banshee! Then there is Hiro. He is a Handsome Tabby, but under that lush exterior hides a mischievous, misbehaving, loud, and obnoxious cat. He is Cheryl's cat, although he likes me way too much! He ALWAYS wants to play! And he harasses Rasha all the time ( causing her to Scream as mentioned previously) I'm trying to think of any good qualities that he might have, but they all seem to evade me at the moment. He is not even a good lap cat, as he fidgets and ends up jumping off then back on you until either you spill your coffee or he gets you to play with him. However, Secretly, I think they actually do like each other on some small scale. I snapped this pic of them together the other day and felt I should post something of our cats since it has been a while. I still miss Red, HE was one of those cats that is just something.....there are not enough words to describe him. He got along with all of the other cats ( and several dogs in our adventures together) If all dogs go to heaven but cats are reincarnated, I hope to meet him again someday. In other news, My dragon is looking a little messed up at the moment. No pics of it, but it currently looks like it got run over by a truck! Here is a finished pic of what it originally looks like when finished by a professional. I'll see about posting it when it is done...If I dare.

Tyvek Oriental Dragon..

I started this project this weekend and only got this far last night. It is fairly large but now that it is down to a decent size I can work with it a little more easily. It is an oriental dragon, Joseph Wu's version. I'll probably take a few liberties with the design once I have finished most of the folding. I'm finding that it is becoming much more difficult to follow someone Else's recipe right down to the very end. Anyway. It started with a sheet of Tyvek 81 inches long. I colored both sides and started folding after midnight. What fun! I would like to see if I can make it a wall hanging instead of a standing form. We'll see once it is finished, but it seem to be coming along nicely.

A new Dimension to Tyvek Origami

I am in experiment phase this weekend with the Tyvek paper/material that I have been folding with. COLOR! I discovered ( rather by accident) that paint DOES, in fact, stick to the material. I thin it out with water ( acrylic paint) and brush it on liberally. And then I brush it off with a towel. The results are this really interesting swirling pattern on one side and a solid soft color on the other ( treated side) My first attempt was with a frog. A new design that is a little challenging in that the folding patters are not exactly mapped out. I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt. And the color adds that something extra that I may have been looking for. At least it takes a picture better than the plain white. Cheryl still likes the "artistic modern look" of the pure white paper. But there are a lot of colors out there that need to be explored. On a different level, I folded a dollar bill fish. I'm getting pretty good at this one now. It is, perhaps, one of my favorite dollar bill designs. They are great for tip jars.

Origami Weekend, Yoda, Unicorn, and others...

A quick post to catalog my latest creations from last weekend. Keeping with the star wars theme, I folded a couple of Yoda's and a new X Wing and A wing fighter. There were also a couple of smaller projects that I have been wanting to do for the longest time and finally found the time and inspiration. A pig design that excited me as well as the women in a dress. I guess she could have been little red riding hood, or an Amish woman. The folks at Civco thought she was Amish most likely because of the location where we live. ( Kalona is Amish country) As for the unicorn, It is the same pattern as the last one I folded, with a few changes made my me to give it hooves and a mane. I am rather fond of this one as it looks much more alive. I know there are cooler patterns out there, but until I find them, I'll have to mess with this one a bit more to see how far I can push the paper. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Making Changes

When we first came to Iowa, it was a big change. We were not certain what we were going to find here, but we had goals that we were striving for. And, after one year, those objectives have been met. But now there are new goals and missions that are on the table, and it would seem that those missions do not take place in Iowa. So, Cheryl and I are now hammering out a new plan that will change our current situation. The details are sketchy at the moment, but one point sticks out: we can not stay here forever! So, it is with eager anticipation that I am excited to post our progress as it goes along. We shall see. Message to self: You are water. Nothing can contain or stop you. You move around barriers. Over them. Under them. Even through them!

The latest in Iowa Fashion Trends

As I sit here in the Barnes and Nobles coffee shop sipping a coffee, I can't help but notice that there is this trend here, ( I'm sure it is not unique to Iowa) where young girls are writing messages on their butts! Now what is this? Seriously? Is this fashion? Or is it advertising targeted for men of a certain age? ( Am I being Targeted?) No I will have to admit that even I catch myself checking out a girls butt, ( I am a guy after all....) But I usually do not dwell on the object much longer than the pre-programed genetic response requires. That being said, I am human as well. And humans are a curious species. If there is a word tattooed to the rear end of a pair of sweatpants or shorts, I find myself ( unconsciously) reading it! I can't help it! WHY? It was a common theme that we used to laugh about back in the day when I used to watch the door of the Holiday Inn Bar. The guys would always check out the women, and you could see just what they were looking at by looking at their eyes. So, I guess some advertising entrepreneur figured this out at has designed clothing that will put their logos in front of the right demographic. The hard part, I imagine, would be to find women that are brave enough to wear the things! It is often difficult for me to get into the female mind, but I guess there are those women out there who do not mind being ogled! In fact, judging by the way they dress outside of having words taped to their butts, It would appear that they actually enjoy it! So who knows? Is this tasteless fashion, or wise advertising? I'm not sure other than there are people who know humans better than I do and have figured out a way to put it to use. As for me, I will continue to despise flip flops, ripped Daisy Duke jeans, and now....the Butt print advertising. Call me old fashioned! I guess I am.

Origami X-Wing, B-Wing, and Tie Fighter

I was quite happy with the way the Star Wars Origami Turned out....I didn't have time to complete the Yoda or the A-Wing or Y-Wing fighters, but there is still this weekend. The X-Wing was a big hit and got snagged right away...so I had to make another one for the lady who requested it. I have a few more requests this week and a purchased a couple of new books that I can play around with in the future. I should really blog more so I can get more traffic. It appears that I have been losing followers lately because I do not post everyday like before. Well, with the 4th right around the corner, I'm not sure what Cheryl and I will be doing. The 4th of July will mark the one year anniversary of moving to Iowa. I can't believe it has been a full year already! I'll have to add to that thought when I have more time. Hope everyone has a great weekend grilling dogs and watching the parades!