Ten on Tuesday #9

Ten Reasons It's Great to be a man/woman.

1. If it doesn't fit in your pocket or attach to your belt, you DON'T NEED IT.
2. Facial hair is not a bad thing.
3. You can pee standing up/the world is your urinal.
4. Bodily functions/noises are hilarious.
5. You understand and appreciate the work of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Chuck Norris....
6. You'll never complain about pain from a bra strap or under-wire, being hot wearing pantyhose, or wonder whether or not something makes you look fat.
7.Your underwear is $10 for a three pack.
8. Nobody stops telling a good dirty joke when you walk into the room.
9. You can buy condoms without the shopkeeper imagining you naked.
10. You think the idea of punting a small dog is funny.
11. You know stuff about tanks.
12. Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter.
13. Dry cleaners and hair-cutters don't rob you blind.
14. Three pair of shoes are more than enough.
15. You never misconstrue innocuous statements to mean your lover is about to leave you.

Why Not Tired?

So, I worked yesterday, until 4:30, and I managed to make it to the store in time to pick up some dinner for Amy and myself. Amy went off to work, and I watched TV for a while before heading upstairs to work on cleaning up what we call the "computer room." It's the 4th bedroom, the one at the end of the hall, the green room. I made some good progress, including finding and disposing of the flower bulbs we bought last year in Williamsburg, VA, that I never planted.

Amy woke me this morning when she got home and we made it out on time for the 9:!5 service at church. The music was good, though a bit funny because the first song was a new one and the band leader messed up on trying to get in synch with the praise band in the other room. They kinda strummed along playing the same chord over and over for a minute and jumped in at the chorus.

The sermon centered around forgiveness. One woman's testimony was given, and she explained what she went through being divorced and watching her husband remarry and then do many of the things they had planned to do together, but with his new wife. Eventually their daughter married, and she realized the need to get past her hurt and forgive him for the pain he caused her. Not only was the wedding a pleasant experience for all involved, but they are now sociable and they celebrated the birth of their grandchild together.

I have spent a fair bit of time thinking about this message, how we can be better people and live better lives if we do not hold onto hurts and forgive those who have hurt us. I am trying to work out how to apply this to certain elements of my life, including a woman who I really do not even know, who has said some hurtful things about me.

So, church ended, and we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for some takeout. As usual, the order was incomplete, and we didn't find out until we were home. We love their food, but we can not get a complete, correct takeout order from them. Could be another opportunity for forgiveness.

After we ate, Amy went to nap, and I went to play cards. I did fair, but no where near well enough to win today. I went by Publix to get things for dinner and came home to continue working on the clean-up process. It's amazing how many CDs and DVDs we own that are not in their cases, and trying to collect and match them is taking a long time.

I came down to make dinner a little after 8, and we started watching A Walk To Remember, one of our favorite movies. So it's now 5 after 11 and Amy is about to pass out in the recliner again, and I am not the least bit tired. All I can say is I'm not wired, but for some reason I have been having leg cramps all day, and in the back of my thighs where normally they come in my calves.

Tomorrow is a long day of cleaning, primarily upstairs as Amy's sister Kelly is coming to stay with us for most of the week. Pixel gets to go to the vet tomorrow to get neutered. Amy's family arrives on Wednesday, and we found out tonight that Dad and Paula are coming for Thanksgiving dinner before going to the Falcons/Colts game. I predict 52-10 Indianapolis.

Visit from a friend

This morning at work I had a special job due to a visit from a friend. On our adoption blog we've talked about the Perry family, who went to China this past Summer to bring Sheridan home to his forever family. Well, Sheridan, who is about two and a half years old, needs a passport, so Kim brought him to me to get the picture done.

He was really good, but have you ever tried to get a two year old to stand still and look straight ahead, while keeping his arms down?

It took us three tries of having him stand up on a stool so the screen was behind him. And among the three tries I shot about a dozen frames trying to get a good shot.

It was nice to have a visit from people I know, and Sheridan said my name a few times and gave me a hug.

Fill in the Blank

A ________________________ was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight this past Summer due to the clothing she was wearing (or not wearing depending on how you view it). She took great offense, threatening lawsuits, demanding apologies, appearing on Good Morning America, the Today Show, Dr. Phil, and being discussed on most every news/talk station.

I saw her on GMA. I saw her on Dr. Phil where she received her apology and an offer for some free travel on Southwest. She said if she received her apology she would stop appearing in the media, but then told Dr. Phil (much to his disbelief) that she was STILL not satisfied and planned to continue pursuing legal action. She refused the tickets from Southwest, but accepted tickets from Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Airlines (who conveniently enough was starting their new American domestic service and needed the publicity opportunity).

Dr. Phil basically called her a selfish twit (which was pretty fair in my opinion).

The whole thing revolved around a mini-skirt so short that when she sat down it would not cover her pelvic region, and a tanktop that barely contained her chest, with a little sweater that was not really meant to be able to close, but to accesorize by hanging open. She was dressed for a college party or a nightclub, not for casual travel. Was it obscene? I don't think so. Was it inappropriate for everyday wear in public, probably. Was she milking this for all the attention she could get? Absolutely.

So back to the blank....

No wait, before that, let me mention this. She is back in the news today because she was paid something between $10,000 and $100,000 to appear in Playboy magazine and will be in the next issue.

Okay, so fill in the blank.... A ________________________ was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight this past Summer due to the clothing she was wearing (or not wearing depending on how you view it).

a. young woman
b. young law student
c. Hooters waitress
d. all of the above

Interesting how the story can be skewed by the choice of words used to describe this woman, isn't it?

By the way, in a news story about the Playboy appearance, she was said to have said that she does not believe that this chapter in hr life will have a negative effect on her desire to practice law.

Weird Dream

I very seldom have dreams that I would call vivid, and even more seldom do I remember them.

Last night was different and weird.

We were living in the house I lived in from 1983-1990. It was my house and all who were involved were their current ages. Amy and I lived in the bedroom that was my older brother's. He was living with us, but in the room that was mine as a teen. My mother was there (not sure if it was a permanent living arrangement) in her master bedroom, and we had a guest room in what was my younger brother's bedroom.

If that was not weird enough, our guest was the wife of a couple we are friends with. They have not been married long (less than 5 years). She had a fight with a husband over an apartment lease and was staying with us. While with us, she started sleeping with my older brother.

I think we are watching too much Grey's Anatomy. That show involves a woman living in her parent's old house, with friends, and there is marital strife and a lot of sleeping around. The major difference, none of the people in my dream (myself included of course) are nearly as beautiful as the people on that TV show. :)

Friday Flashback #51

Hey there y'all. There was a #50 last week, but I took it down after it screwed up and only showed the titles and not the imbedded videos. As a result of my frustration, I considered scraping the Flashback entirely, but I changed my mind and decided to try a few of the original format, one video per week of stuff I remember enjoying, wether it's the song or the video itself that I liked.

In a time of war, with young men and women putting their lives at risk, this song seemed like a good choice. Besides, a friend asked me on Monday if I remembered this song, and I told him I sure do, in fact I have a copy of it on mp3 on a disc out in the car!
Paul Hardcastle - 19

Friday Feast #29

Appetizer - What was your first “real” job?

I got my first real job at age 16, in 1987, as a bagger at Kroger. The official term was Courtesy Clerk. I worked there for almost 3 and a half years, moving up to cashier and customer service desk supervisor.

Soup - Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

I have no real idea. My creativity comes to me as IT pleases.

Salad - Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

I have difficulty controlling the emission of bodily gases in public places.

Main Course - What values did your parents instill in you?

Other than obey the law (of man and God) I can't really say.

Dessert - Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Teddy Ruxpin (Worlds of Wonder talking bear), Break Dancing, horizontal rips/tears/cuts in the legs of bluejeans.

Pixel's got an Appointment

Pixel the kitten has 3 and a half more days of kitten manhood, for on Monday he will lose part of what makes him a boy kitty. :(

Wordless Wednesday #31

Hunting Season

It's the Fall, and that is a popular time for hunting, big hairy guys who don't shave for days get dressed up in bright colors that don't match the woodlands, so they don't accidentally shoot each other, yet they feel they won't be seen by the animals (because fluorescent orange is a natural color in the woods). I guess maybe animals are color blind?

Some creatures are made to hunt, where others (like humans) need assault rifles with telescope sights. Other creatures are made to hunt.

Our dog is a Basset Hound. Hound dogs are bred to hunt, and Bassets are specialists in small mammals. We've had Lucy for two years now, and she has been aggravated by squirrels in the trees, she has cornered a opossum in the back yard, and she has located a chipmunk in the drainpipe and chased it across the yard to where it escaped her by jumping into a drainage pipe in the retaining wall.

Yesterday Amy watched Lucy playing with Pixel, my brother's kitten (who is getting big as he's now about 8 months old). They were running around the back yard chasing and jumping, and Amy thought she saw them playing with something, as Pixel appeared to have a squirrel in his mouth. She never saw it close enough to be sure, so she simply hoped that neither animal tried to bring it in through the doggie door.

Last night we went to play trivia and when we got home we let Lucy out. As I was heading to bed (I was REALLY tired) Amy called me back downstairs in a bit of a panic. I came down and out on the patio was the dead animal, it turned out it was indeed a chipmunk. We were still downstairs so I ventured out to deal with the body (note credit for the kill likely goes to Pixel as it was a pretty-good tear to the throat). I disposed of the animal and went to bed.

I awoke this morning to the phone ringing - good news as Amy's parents are coming for Thanksgiving (we knew her sister would be with us). I came downstairs while Amy was still on the phone and found Pixel at the entrance to the living room, standing over a dead bird. I asked Amy for the dustpan (she was still on the phone) and I took care of that carcass (a tear down the torso, do birds have torsos?). When Amy finished her call, she told me that Peter mentioned he thought he saw something as he was leaving this morning.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. Last night after taking care of the chipmunk, we noticed Pixel playing with or looking for something up in the raised garden. The way our backyard is set up there is a small two-tiered garden/flowerbed up in the corner. We got the flashlight and took a look, the levels of the garden are enclosed with large stones. On the inside of one (where it holds the dirt up there) I notice a round tunnel-like opening and Pixel is trying to stick his paw down in it. We presume this is a chipmunk burrow (if that's what you call it). So we picked up Pixel and carried him inside and hopefully are leaving the animals to live another day.

The Burrow.

The Escape.

The Hunter.

Long Day

It's Sunday, well, technically Monday, and I am home chilling before going to bed. Amy and I stayed up late last night watching movies. We saw Blades of Glory and 1408. Both were good, and I will write reviews of some sort tomorrow (today actually). Blades was better than I expected, but I don't know that that is saying much. 1408 was pretty freaky and Amy and both really like John Cusack, so I guess he's stretching out a bit. I also watched The Departed this week. It was good, and it was bloody.

So we were up late, and the alarm went off at 7:30 and I managed to turn off the alarm rather than hit snooze. Amy woke us at 8:15, leaving about half an hour to be out the door for church. We took separate cars because I had to work after services and she had to work tonight. The service was good, on Gentleness, and the pastor that gave the sermon is one of the two that have adopted from China.

When the service ended I went downstairs to start training in the church bookstore, which will be my first and primary volunteer duty. I got done about 1:15 and made it home to eat lunch, change clothes, and head to work at Walgreens, so I had a 3-11:30 shift to work tonight. It was pretty quiet, so I worked on inventory of supplies, some paperwork, and the stocking/clearing the cooler. I also spent some time training a new employee on weekly maintenance on the machines. We're about done the Christmas reset, so we are focusing on an upcoming visit from the regional VP.

Now, I'm off to bed.

Saturday Photo Hunt #19 - Flexible

It's less obvious depending on the angle and the light, but my burgundy Jeep now has a Forrest Green driver's door. I had to have the door replaced because it would not close. I wanted to do it in the cheapest possible way because at this point cosmetics do not matter. The Jeep is a 1995 model (so now 13 model years old) and is 400 miles shy of 180,000. My hope is to get another 2-3 years out of it before buying a new vehicle, so I can live with a green door as long as it gets me from point A to point B safely. As for the theme, it demonstrates that I am flexible about my vehicle if it means saving money as I could have paid to have it painted, but did not.

Friday Feast #28

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Popcorn - definitely popcorn.

Soup
What year did you start using the internet?

1993-94 - I was at UCF and we used it for chatting and role-playing games.

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)

I have never cared for nor have I ever used this "language" as I find it demeaning to porcine-Americans.

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.

Putting the cap on anything. Leaving a handtowel in the bathroom. Cleaning as I cook.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

I was Jeep-less yesterday, and I was Jeep-less today.

Movie Review - Shooter

Pretty Damned Good.

Shooter is a suspense/thriller that came out early this year and did fairly well at the box office. It made almost $47,000,000 in the US, but the budget was an estimated $61m. So the international releases and DVD sales will have to make up a bit.

Running time is 124 minutes, pretty much all suspense-filled.

The rundown. Marky Mark is no longer with the Funky Bunch unless you've smelled a United States Marine sniper in the Ethiopian desert. Basically, he's the best, but his partner/spotter/friend is killed as they are supporting the escape of some U.S. forces from hostile forces.

Jump ahead 3 years and he's holed up in a cabin in the mountains with his hunting dog and gets a visit from Danny Glover (not as Sgt. Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon). They tell him there's a plot to assassinate the president and they want him to scope out the three potential locations it could happen, and give them advice on where a sniper would shoot from. Duty and Honor, he agrees. The President is not shot, but an Ethiopian Bishop IS. The government guys frame him for the murder and he has to go on the run to find out how wide this conspiracy goes to clear his name, while falling in love with his dead partner's widow, dealing with Elias Koteas (from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Ned Beatty (Superman, Deliverance) who I did not know was still alive.

Along the way he gets the help of a rookie FBI agent who is the only one smart enough to notice a lot of things don't make sense without a conspiracy of massive proportions. The actor is named Michael Pena, but he reminds me too much of M. Night Shyamalan.

The ladies might not like the plot, but they can drool over Wahlberg. For the guys there's lots of shooting, explosions, revenge, and one girl wearing just a bra.

Randomness Continued

It's Thursday.

I just got home from work and had to call a neighbor about their dog. Amy warned me about it yesterday, but I had not seen it. Apparently it's a Boston Terrier who keeps getting out of it's fenced in backyard. Amy nearly ran over it twoce yesterday, and tonight as I was getting home it was in our driveway waiting to get run over by me. I called the number on Pepper's tag and the guy sent his kid to come get the thing.

My Jeep is not ready still. I dropped it at the body shop on Tuesday to have the driver's door replaced. The mechanism in the door that catches on the hook had sheared off the door itself, so the door will not close. I dropped it off on Tuesday, but the part they had was not right. They have had two more used doors delivered, but neither one was in acceptable condition (these are salvage parts) and a new door would be about triple the price. I can appreciate they want to do a good job with a good part, but I want my Jeep back.

I have tomorrow off and I need to get up and finish painting what I can of the outside, the shutters on the two porches and a second coat on the door, then I'll talk to the guy two houses down who is a painter and have him do the shutters above the garage where the roof is too steep for my big uncoordinated butt.

We got our Netflix shipment today, 1408, Blades of Glory, Shooter, and the Departed. I can watch Shooter tonight, and maybe the Departed. Amy expressed interest in it, but told me to watch it first. She will want to see Blades of Glory and 1408 with me.

Amy went out to look for something in her car and she got an unexpected visit. While bent over in the back seat, somebody jumped on her back. That someone is Pixel.

Lucy the Bassett Hound decided to take an interest in movies this week. She took an old VHS copy of Offic eSpace outside to chew on. Today she tried taking our DVD of Rent out for the same thing.

It's Thursday. Did you know it's just two weeks to Thanksgiving? Amy posted about it on her blog today. It is the earliest that Thanksgiving could possibly be.

Neighbor Dave is recovering happily on pain killers after his knee surgery. You may recall I mentioned he tore his ACL and another ligament in his right knee when he was hit by two football players at a practice a few weeks ago.

Randomness

It's 12:40am on Tuesday morning and I am home in front of the TV, having just eaten some frozen (and microwaved) White Castles. I am watching professional wrestling (which I recorded while at work) and I am thoroughly enjoying myself!

For anyone who cares or knows about WWE performers, tonight is a one-night return of DX (degeneration X), the tag-team of Shawn Michaels (The Heartbreak Kid) and Triple H (Hunter Hearst Helmsley). These guys are grown men who get to act like middle-schoolers and they are quite funny. They opened the broadcast with a sketch that managed to include mocking themselves, and the writers of the show and mentioning the hollywood writer's strike which I don't think involves the WWE creative team, but it could I suppose. I'll ask a liberla friend about unions and maybe find an answer.

As the show has progressed, they just aired a new promo video for wrestler Jeff Hardy, the current Intercontinental Champion and one half of the multi-time Tag Team Champions the Hardy Boys (with brother Matt). The video was set to the song "Rooftops" by the band Lost Prophets. I know and like this song because they used it for the fan appreciation video for the NHL Atlanta Thrashers (BELIEVE IN BLUELAND!) last Spring and it's a rocking song. Go look it up on Youtube or something.

As I type this, I just had a visit from Pixel, my brother's sweet kitten. You can see him playing in a coke box last week if you pan down the posts on my blog.

Later today (again, it's Tuesday already) I'll be waking up to take my Jeep to the body shop to get a new door. I love this vehicle. I bought it 10 years ago, at which time it was already 3 years old. I have taken it from 36000 miles to almost 180,000 and it is STILL going! The problem now is that the door can become misaligned and bang when it closes, resulting in the mechanism inside the door actually shearing away from the metal of the door itself. There is no welding fix because the metal is so thin, and Jeep does not consider this a warranty or safety recall issue. I told them just get me a new (or used) door, I don't even care what color it is (as the car just needs to run and the appearance is negligible, so it could be pink but I think they got me a burgundy one so it will match fairly well.

I talked to my lovely bride, Amy earlier tonight and she is off from work tomorrow, because they were overstaffed, but she managed to add another shift later in the week. Well have the day together after she sleeps a little. We may watch Cassablanca. our friend Frigga (http://www.anyapples.blogspot.com/) just watched it and Amy has never seen it.

I updated the queue on Netflix (yes, I haven't managed to cancel it yet), but I put on 1408, The Departed, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Reign Over Me on the list.

I was watching the news this afternoon and saw that an old hangout had a fire last night. Freeland's (also known as Suburb-a-Night) is a pizza bar where our friend (Peter's best friend) bartender Matt used to work. It was good food, but Peter had a falling out with the management (and he was a very valuable regular there). It is also where we met our favorite trivia host Patrick (www.triviawithpatrick.com) many years ago. It is sad because it is one of the oldest buildings in Roswell, GA, a house that was converted to the business and dates back over 100 years.

I was watching the news while cooking dinner for Amy and myself. We both had to work tonight, so I made a meatloaf (using my Mom's recipe). It came out very well as far as appearance, but I found a differenc in the moisture caused by the meat I used. Mom says to use ground chuck, but Publix was kinda expensive for that and had ground sirloin on sale, so I got the sirloin in stead. It's a better quality meat, but it's not as juicy.

On the way home from work tonight (11:30pm) I stopped at Walmart, primarily to get vacuum cleaner bags, but I did not note the make and model of our vacuum, because I thought I had remembered the bag code when I emptied it the other night. I will check it tomorrow and make another trip for the bags.

Many happy vibes to Valfrey - the non-celebrity couple known as Jeff and Valerie Rushing (www.eeyorejeff.blogspot.com) as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary last week with a cruise and returned to TN for their year-old top of the cake. Read about that experience on Jeff's blog.

Liberal-magnet blogging friend Sparky Duck has a new job, new clothes, and a new commute in SE Pennsylvania, but he still had time to quote and post some Springsteen today over at www.blujackit5.blogspot.com.

Amy's college friend and Jeff's best friend Steven Russell is a cool Christian guy who is a videographer for a TV station in Memphis. Ever see a guy host his own video show WHILE DRIVING?!?!? Visit Steven at www.digisteven.wordpress.com

Okay now, it's about a half an hour since I started this mess, so I will finish my glass of iced tea and head to bed for about 5 and a half hours.

Tell me what's on your mind and leave your comments!

Wordless Wednesday #30

(not a painting, mosaic tiles on a ceiling)

Ten on Tuesday #8

Ten Words That Describe Me

1. Loyal - can you be a Phillies fan and NOT be loyal?

2. Faithful - I decided long before I got married that I would never be getting a divorce.

3. Thoughtful - just ask Amy. :)

4. Tolerant - yeah, just ask Lucy our Bassett Hound.

5. Smart - it's amazing the things I know and retain.

6. Fat - my wife says no, but I know the truth.

7. Lazy - you should see some of the rooms in our

house.

8. Funny - at least in my own mind.

9. Conservative - I believe in charity, but not as dictated by the government, sorry Democrats.

10. Upbeat - my attitude towards life could be summed up in most any song from the 1980's.

What Classic Movie Are You?

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Saturday Photo Hunt #18 - Classic

Okay, retro and classic may not be the same thing in everyone's book, but to me 1980 was the classic year for baseball as my Phillies won the World Series. These classic pictures are from a throwback version of the 1980 road jersey worn by Mike Schmidt - a clasic third baseman.