Well,
Got home from work just a little bit ago. I was snooping around for some food when Cari suggested I have some of the spaghetti she made for dinner earlier tonight. "nah, I don't want that."
"Why not?"
"It requires using a fork, and I'm tired."
I ended up making a quick sandwich. No fork required.
Now time for a quiz that I really didn't think I wanted to do. ESS Fingers posted this quiz and passed it to three others. Now. . .my turn.
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE QUIZ
3 names you go by:
1. Duck Hunter
2. Duck
3. Hunter
3 screen names you have:
1. DuckHunter
2. DuckHunter75
3. Duck_Hunter
3 things you like about yourself:
1. I
2. am
3. perfect
3 things you hate about yourself
1. sometimes it is hard being perfect. you wouldn't understand.
2. a bit too lazy sometimes
3.
3 parts of your heritage:
1. German
2. English
3. Irish
3 things that scare you:
1. scared of the dark.
2. crawling bugs
3. flying bugs
3 of your everyday essentials:
1. family
2. food
3. water
3 things you are wearing right now:
1. socks
2. button up shirt
3. blue pants - no lace
3 of your favorite bands/artists (at the moment):
1. Rascal Flatts
2. Tim McGraw
3. Alan Jackson
3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. Mr. Mom
2. Back When
3. How am I doin'
3 new things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. the new Nascar game by EA
2. all new spring flowers in S. Carolina
3. win the lottery
3 things you want in a relationship (love is given):
1. friendship
2. trust
3. humor
Two truths and a lie:
1. I can not tell a lie
2. I lived in a univerity co-op without attending the required university
3. I can ride a skateboard (without knee pads)
3 physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. smile
2. eyes
3. back hair = low to none
3 things you just can't do:
1. go to bed before 10pm.
2. bungee jump
3. cook
3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. anything Nascar
2. reading anything about games
3. being on the internet, writing this dang blog.
3 things you want to do really badly right now:
1. find something better on the "T"
2. play tennis
3. read a book (but i'm too tired, I would fall asleep).
3 careers you are considering:
1. Human Resource Manager
2. HRM
3. nope, just HRM
3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Washington DC
2. Bristol, TN
3. camping in the mountains
3 kid's names:
1. Randy
2. Meredith
3. not yet.
3 thing you want to do before you die:
1. stay in the infield at Daytona for the Daytona 500
2. attend a Nascar race at every track
3. drive a racecar
3 people who have to take the INDESTRUCTIBLE QUIZ
1. I've
2. Destroyed the
3. Indestructible quiz
Well, that's it. I put off doing this. Didn't think I wanted to post it. It was pretty painless. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Reading various other people answer this quiz is why I decided to go ahead and do it.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blog.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Thursday, December 30, 2004
I used to be famous. . .
now I sell appliances.
One of the guys I work with is Browning Bryant. In the late 60's and early 70's Browning was a young singer, maybe about 15 years old. He must have had some form of success, he was on Kraft Music Hall several times and on Johnny Carson at least one time in 1970.
Now he sells appliances.
He still sings, but not commercialy. I was reading on forum of the yahoo group all about Browning and found that he does sing for family and friends. You can "donate" $15 to Browning and he'll mail you a current CD of his voice. I've never heard his music, so I'm not sure what it sounds like. It's just strange to watch a guy selling a washing machine and thinking he was on Johnny Carson.
One of the guys I work with is Browning Bryant. In the late 60's and early 70's Browning was a young singer, maybe about 15 years old. He must have had some form of success, he was on Kraft Music Hall several times and on Johnny Carson at least one time in 1970.
Now he sells appliances.
He still sings, but not commercialy. I was reading on forum of the yahoo group all about Browning and found that he does sing for family and friends. You can "donate" $15 to Browning and he'll mail you a current CD of his voice. I've never heard his music, so I'm not sure what it sounds like. It's just strange to watch a guy selling a washing machine and thinking he was on Johnny Carson.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Watchin' the T
I get to come home for lunch almost every day. Every day I ask Meredith how she is doing. Then I ask her what has she been doing all day. "Watchin' da T all day!", she says with a big smile. Now, I know that this is not true. She doesn't watch TV all day, everyday. Cari could spend an hour doing puzzles with her, coloring with her, playing Barbie for a bit, and then let her watch Dora. When I get home it is, "I was watchin' T all day!". She is proud of that. It's her game now. I'll call her on it sometimes. "Didn't mom play puzzles with you today?"
"No. I was watchin' T." Now, I know this isn't true, but she won't budge from her answer.
There is one chair in the dining area that has an excellent view of the T. That is a very special chair to Meredith. When I'm home for lunch, I invite her to eat lunch with me. She normaly does, but she likes to sit in the T chair. I asked her one day, why she chose that chair, even though I knew the answer. "I can see the T in this one, silly!" Oh, of course. I have eliminated that location by requiring the T to be off during meal times now.
On occasion, I give in, and I'll join Meredith in watching some T. Dora is on. "Dora is my favorite.", I tell Meredith.
"NO IT'S NOT! DORA IS FOR GIRLS, BOYS DO NOT LIKE DORA!!"
"Can't I watch this with you?"
"NO, BOYS DO NOT LIKE DORA, GO AWAY! I'M WATCHIN DA T BY. MY. SELF!"
Meredith is in bed now, I think I'll go watch some T.
"No. I was watchin' T." Now, I know this isn't true, but she won't budge from her answer.
There is one chair in the dining area that has an excellent view of the T. That is a very special chair to Meredith. When I'm home for lunch, I invite her to eat lunch with me. She normaly does, but she likes to sit in the T chair. I asked her one day, why she chose that chair, even though I knew the answer. "I can see the T in this one, silly!" Oh, of course. I have eliminated that location by requiring the T to be off during meal times now.
On occasion, I give in, and I'll join Meredith in watching some T. Dora is on. "Dora is my favorite.", I tell Meredith.
"NO IT'S NOT! DORA IS FOR GIRLS, BOYS DO NOT LIKE DORA!!"
"Can't I watch this with you?"
"NO, BOYS DO NOT LIKE DORA, GO AWAY! I'M WATCHIN DA T BY. MY. SELF!"
Meredith is in bed now, I think I'll go watch some T.
I'm FREAKING out!
The house is quite. So quiet in fact, the only noise I can hear, is the tapping of the keyboard as I type. Cari went shopping with a friend this evening. I read some books and got the kids in bed by 7:45pm. Now I have about two hours to do whatever I please. This doesn't happen very often, and I'm not really sure how to handle this. I could play a game that I've been wanting to play. I could go read one of the three books I'm working on. I could go watch some TV. I could clean up around the house a little bit. LOL. Scratch that last one. I'll probably end up sitting here thinking about what I want to do for so long, the time will have ended.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Christmas Eve
We were able to take this picture last night. I had to hurry. I knew I only had one chance.
15 minute tornado
It all started at 6:30 this morning. It was over by 7:00.
We, especially Cari, made several attempts to slow the process of opening presents. But her efforts were not enough for two children on Christmas morning.
Mall Santa
We were at the mall last week. So was everyone else living in the upstate. When we got inside (this was an achievment), we went straight for the mall Santa. This was one of our missions. There was a sign up near the entrance that Santa was out for a moment. It had one of those cardboard clocks that said "will be back at: " and it was set for about an hour away. There was nobody in line, so we walked down to the game store. I am not visiting the mall without stopping in the game store. After that detour, we headed straight back to Santa. We still had about fourty minutes. There was a line now, only about ten or twelve long. We got in line. I was instantly bored. I started playing with my cell phone, instant messaging almost everyone in my address book. A few called me back, and a few didn't recognize my phone number. I would answer my phone and get, "who is this?!"
Santa was running about five minutes late, and all the kids were getting jumpy. One of the kids in front of us was near the cardboard sign. He reached over and changed the time the little clock was displaying. Horror flashed through my head, as I imagined that any kid (or adult) could have walked up and changed that time before we got to the mall. Maybe Santa wasn't coming back until later in the night. Oh, man!! As I was wiping the sweat from my brow, I heard some cheerful screams. Santa had appeared on stage and was waving to the children. The line moved quickly, and the elf asked which $50 package we would like. We didn't want pictures today, just a quick chat to let Santa know what he should bring.
As usual, I made a fourty minute wait seem like I was in complete pain. Meaning I became a complete pain to deal with. When it was over, I thought, "that wasn't so bad."
Santa was running about five minutes late, and all the kids were getting jumpy. One of the kids in front of us was near the cardboard sign. He reached over and changed the time the little clock was displaying. Horror flashed through my head, as I imagined that any kid (or adult) could have walked up and changed that time before we got to the mall. Maybe Santa wasn't coming back until later in the night. Oh, man!! As I was wiping the sweat from my brow, I heard some cheerful screams. Santa had appeared on stage and was waving to the children. The line moved quickly, and the elf asked which $50 package we would like. We didn't want pictures today, just a quick chat to let Santa know what he should bring.
As usual, I made a fourty minute wait seem like I was in complete pain. Meaning I became a complete pain to deal with. When it was over, I thought, "that wasn't so bad."
Heat is for wimps
It gets cold here. Yeah. WAY colder than South Florida.
It was down below 10 degrees one morning that I was leaving for work. The day after that was another cold one. I woke up, and the house was freezing. Well, not quite freezing, but I was very cold. The house was at a cool 55. That is cold to wake up to. Walked over to the vent and felt cold air blowing through. Hmm.. heater isn't working anymore. Turned on the gas logs in the fireplace. They worked very well for heating up the house. Cari called over a heat repair guy while I was at work. After he left, she called a second company for another opinion. These guys, I'm told were much more professional. Both companies gave the same status report. The first guy was recommended by someone from church, so we were going to try and go with him. He stopped returning Cari's calls. She said he drove by while the second company was over for an estimate. Maybe we hurt his feelings.
The good news is, the part is under warranty. That should save a bundle. How much is the labor on that thing? $400!!!! I'll be back, I'm going to fill out an application to be a ac/heat repair guy.
The part takes about a week to get here we are told. Meanwhile, outside, the weather doesn't really seem to care that our heat is broken and temps continue to be in the 30's. This means spending several nights of the family camping in front of the fireplace. It doesn't bother me, but Cari is not thrilled with sleeping on the couch. Mr. $400 repair job will be here early in the week, so this episode should be completed soon.
It was down below 10 degrees one morning that I was leaving for work. The day after that was another cold one. I woke up, and the house was freezing. Well, not quite freezing, but I was very cold. The house was at a cool 55. That is cold to wake up to. Walked over to the vent and felt cold air blowing through. Hmm.. heater isn't working anymore. Turned on the gas logs in the fireplace. They worked very well for heating up the house. Cari called over a heat repair guy while I was at work. After he left, she called a second company for another opinion. These guys, I'm told were much more professional. Both companies gave the same status report. The first guy was recommended by someone from church, so we were going to try and go with him. He stopped returning Cari's calls. She said he drove by while the second company was over for an estimate. Maybe we hurt his feelings.
The good news is, the part is under warranty. That should save a bundle. How much is the labor on that thing? $400!!!! I'll be back, I'm going to fill out an application to be a ac/heat repair guy.
The part takes about a week to get here we are told. Meanwhile, outside, the weather doesn't really seem to care that our heat is broken and temps continue to be in the 30's. This means spending several nights of the family camping in front of the fireplace. It doesn't bother me, but Cari is not thrilled with sleeping on the couch. Mr. $400 repair job will be here early in the week, so this episode should be completed soon.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
The Christmas (work) party
So we went to the boss's party on past Sunday night.
What to wear? Didn't wear anything that special. But I did put on a Santa hat before we left the house. "Does this make me look like a retard?"
Cari cocked her head over, smirked, and said, "no, it makes you look. . .festive."
Festive is good. We had to bring a $10 gift for gift exchange, so we ran into Publix.
I wore my hat in. While inside, a little kid was looking at me kinda strange. I could tell he was looking mostly at the hat. It was then that I realized that wearing a Santa hat in public comes with a certain responsibility. You can't just run around shoving people like normal. You have to behave a certain way. I tried to explain this to Cari, and that is when the hat became retarded. We decided on getting a hand full of scratch lotto tickets. As the cashier was pulling a variety of the tickets for us, I asked her if she was giving us all the winning tickets. I don't think she understood the question, or maybe the hat threw her for a loop. She went on to explain she was giving us the tickets that people buy the most of. On the walk back to the car, I complained the cashier didn't answer my question. Cari quickly pointed out that I was flirting with her. Why would I flirt with her, standing directly next to my wife? I don't think I was really flirting, just wanted winning tickets.
When we arrived, I looked around the room and saw that I was the only "festive" one.
The party was not very exciting. It was nice to visit with some of the people. It was nice to point at the others and show Cari who I talk bad about every day.
The food was good. The boss was cooking steaks on his grill out in the cold. I thought that was kinda funny. Everytime he came back in, he would tell us how cold it was outside. Cari and I sat next to the fireplace that was burning, so it was pretty warm.
A few people were drinking, but nobody got out of hand. That is kinda too bad, because I was hoping to share a good story about someone embarressing themselves.
During the gift exchange, it turned out there were two little packages of scratch lotto tickets. I fought hard for the one that we brought to the party. It was taken from me a few times, but I ended up with it. We franticaly scrached them when we were sure they were ours. We won $73 on those tickets!!!! The other package of tickets won a total of $1. HAHAHAHHAH I guess it pays to flirt with the cashier selling you the tickets.
What to wear? Didn't wear anything that special. But I did put on a Santa hat before we left the house. "Does this make me look like a retard?"
Cari cocked her head over, smirked, and said, "no, it makes you look. . .festive."
Festive is good. We had to bring a $10 gift for gift exchange, so we ran into Publix.
I wore my hat in. While inside, a little kid was looking at me kinda strange. I could tell he was looking mostly at the hat. It was then that I realized that wearing a Santa hat in public comes with a certain responsibility. You can't just run around shoving people like normal. You have to behave a certain way. I tried to explain this to Cari, and that is when the hat became retarded. We decided on getting a hand full of scratch lotto tickets. As the cashier was pulling a variety of the tickets for us, I asked her if she was giving us all the winning tickets. I don't think she understood the question, or maybe the hat threw her for a loop. She went on to explain she was giving us the tickets that people buy the most of. On the walk back to the car, I complained the cashier didn't answer my question. Cari quickly pointed out that I was flirting with her. Why would I flirt with her, standing directly next to my wife? I don't think I was really flirting, just wanted winning tickets.
When we arrived, I looked around the room and saw that I was the only "festive" one.
The party was not very exciting. It was nice to visit with some of the people. It was nice to point at the others and show Cari who I talk bad about every day.
The food was good. The boss was cooking steaks on his grill out in the cold. I thought that was kinda funny. Everytime he came back in, he would tell us how cold it was outside. Cari and I sat next to the fireplace that was burning, so it was pretty warm.
A few people were drinking, but nobody got out of hand. That is kinda too bad, because I was hoping to share a good story about someone embarressing themselves.
During the gift exchange, it turned out there were two little packages of scratch lotto tickets. I fought hard for the one that we brought to the party. It was taken from me a few times, but I ended up with it. We franticaly scrached them when we were sure they were ours. We won $73 on those tickets!!!! The other package of tickets won a total of $1. HAHAHAHHAH I guess it pays to flirt with the cashier selling you the tickets.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Christmas party
Christmas party tonight. The store manager is hosting it for his assistant managers.
This should produce at least one good story to post. You would think, a guy hosting a party for his managers is a good guy to work for. You would think so, wouldn't you.
I made the mistake of telling Cari we should be home by 10pm tonight so that I can race online. When I say I made a mistake, I mean, BIG, HUGE, mistake. The other factors of leaving early are that I work tomorrow morning at 6am, and we have to get our kids from the neighbors. But these things no longer matter, because I said I wanted to race tonight.
Might see some snow tonight also. All day the forcast over at weather.com has been changing. First, possible snow at 3pm, now at 9pm. We'll see if it ever makes it. Either way, it's going to be under 20 tonight. Oh, and the heat went out, so we'll be sleeping in front of the gas logs tonight.
Going to the party, wish me luck.
This should produce at least one good story to post. You would think, a guy hosting a party for his managers is a good guy to work for. You would think so, wouldn't you.
I made the mistake of telling Cari we should be home by 10pm tonight so that I can race online. When I say I made a mistake, I mean, BIG, HUGE, mistake. The other factors of leaving early are that I work tomorrow morning at 6am, and we have to get our kids from the neighbors. But these things no longer matter, because I said I wanted to race tonight.
Might see some snow tonight also. All day the forcast over at weather.com has been changing. First, possible snow at 3pm, now at 9pm. We'll see if it ever makes it. Either way, it's going to be under 20 tonight. Oh, and the heat went out, so we'll be sleeping in front of the gas logs tonight.
Going to the party, wish me luck.
Planting bulbs with dad
Looks like dirt now, but in the spring, it will be a beautiful garden! (we hope)
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Happy Birthday!
Time goes by so quickly. Seems like just the other day I was turning 29.
So what did I do on my birthday? I worked, of course. We caught an employee taking money out of the register. On two occasions reaching in and taking a fist full of hundred dollar bills.
She will be in for a surprise when she comes back to work (she has been off since we watched the video). I would post a picture of her being hand cuffed and escorted out of the store, but I don't think I'm allowed to take that picture.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Less than 10 days, and I'm still not ready
Christmas will be here next week.
This year, Cari and I decided we would make each other a present, instead of purchasing one.
That's a great idea. Cari is great at stuff like this. She makes book cases, she made the computer desk. She is also very good with craft projects. She has many times saw something in a store that she really liked and NOT bought it because she could make one herself.
On the other side of the equation, you have me. I'm the guy who fried flour. I'm like Homer Simpson building a dog house. Want me to build a computer? Ok. Want me to build you a picture frame? You are in for a real treat. Well, I have some ideas. I can't discuss them here, because Cari reads this. The only problem with my ideas are that I have not really started. So, I'm not 100 % sure my ideas are going to work or how long it will take. I may have to resort to crayons and construction paper.
This year, Cari and I decided we would make each other a present, instead of purchasing one.
That's a great idea. Cari is great at stuff like this. She makes book cases, she made the computer desk. She is also very good with craft projects. She has many times saw something in a store that she really liked and NOT bought it because she could make one herself.
On the other side of the equation, you have me. I'm the guy who fried flour. I'm like Homer Simpson building a dog house. Want me to build a computer? Ok. Want me to build you a picture frame? You are in for a real treat. Well, I have some ideas. I can't discuss them here, because Cari reads this. The only problem with my ideas are that I have not really started. So, I'm not 100 % sure my ideas are going to work or how long it will take. I may have to resort to crayons and construction paper.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Beware of the SWEET tea
We have two pitchers of sweet tea in our refrigerator.
Sweet tea is something that we had not really discovered until moving to South Carolina. Sweet tea is part of Southern culture. Many places we went for lunch or dinner, do not ask if you want sweet or unsweet, when you order tea. I have even been in places that only make sweet tea.
We don't drink an obcene amount of tea in our home. So are two containers really called for?
Yeah. I took a piece of masking tape and I drew a skull and crossbones on it. To either side of the picture, I wrote, "Poison". I stuck this tape on one of the pitchers of sweet tea. The tape stays on that pitcher.
You are probably thinking that I reserve that labeled tea for certain visitors. You are wrong. I use that tea when pouring Cari a glass. Don't worry, she is fine. She knows I do this, and prefers to only drink that tea. The "poison" it contains . . . SPLENDA.
I do not like the idea of fake sugar. It's just chemical that you are adding to your body. I really felt very strongly against previous sugar substitues like sweet 'n low.
SWEET 'N LOW:
Yeah. Give me some of that! Oh! But Splenda is different. It is really just sugar. In fact, from the SPLENDA website (i'm sure they are unbiased):
Dig a little deeper and we'll find that the "sugar" is Sucralose.
Don't worry, they have done more than 100 studies to prove how safe it is in the past twenty years. That's a lot of proof.
Back to sweet 'n low. They really push the fact that saccarhin has been around and used for more than 100 years. On the front page of the saccarhin website, they say they have done more than thirty human studies. What? These guys aren't working as hard as Splenda. Only thirty studies in 100 years? Splenda has done 100 studies in twenty years.
BUT! Splenda is misleading you. They are being sued. The plantiff says [SPENDA]
You know what. Just give me my SUGAR. I like how the sugar site describes the Splenda lawsuit that they support.
That is why we have two pitchers of sweet tea in our refrigerator.
Sweet tea is something that we had not really discovered until moving to South Carolina. Sweet tea is part of Southern culture. Many places we went for lunch or dinner, do not ask if you want sweet or unsweet, when you order tea. I have even been in places that only make sweet tea.
We don't drink an obcene amount of tea in our home. So are two containers really called for?
Yeah. I took a piece of masking tape and I drew a skull and crossbones on it. To either side of the picture, I wrote, "Poison". I stuck this tape on one of the pitchers of sweet tea. The tape stays on that pitcher.
You are probably thinking that I reserve that labeled tea for certain visitors. You are wrong. I use that tea when pouring Cari a glass. Don't worry, she is fine. She knows I do this, and prefers to only drink that tea. The "poison" it contains . . . SPLENDA.
I do not like the idea of fake sugar. It's just chemical that you are adding to your body. I really felt very strongly against previous sugar substitues like sweet 'n low.
SWEET 'N LOW:
"Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccarhin which has been determined to cause cancer. . ."
Yeah. Give me some of that! Oh! But Splenda is different. It is really just sugar. In fact, from the SPLENDA website (i'm sure they are unbiased):
"Splenda no calorie sweetner is made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar"
Dig a little deeper and we'll find that the "sugar" is Sucralose.
Don't worry, they have done more than 100 studies to prove how safe it is in the past twenty years. That's a lot of proof.
Back to sweet 'n low. They really push the fact that saccarhin has been around and used for more than 100 years. On the front page of the saccarhin website, they say they have done more than thirty human studies. What? These guys aren't working as hard as Splenda. Only thirty studies in 100 years? Splenda has done 100 studies in twenty years.
BUT! Splenda is misleading you. They are being sued. The plantiff says [SPENDA]
"makes false claims and misleads consumers into thinking that Splenda contains actual sugar and is a natural product."
You know what. Just give me my SUGAR. I like how the sugar site describes the Splenda lawsuit that they support.
"Declares Splenda to be Highly-Processed Chemical Artificial Sweetner"
That is why we have two pitchers of sweet tea in our refrigerator.
Monday, December 13, 2004
I'm on fire!!!!
I've been thinking about trying the Firefox browser for a while now. It just wasn't enough to make me spend five minutes trying it. Internet Explorer works just fine for me.
Well, I finaly made the change yesterday after reading the ESS Fingers blog. She wrote some great things about Firefox and describes some of its features. I figured I would take a couple a minutes and see how I liked it.
I will never ever use Internet Explorer again. Firefox is VERY cool. Have you heard it has tabs?
There is a little box on the top right, that is a google search. There are a lot of reasons to like it.
If you would just take 10 minutes to go to Firefox and download it, I think you would like it also.
Well, I finaly made the change yesterday after reading the ESS Fingers blog. She wrote some great things about Firefox and describes some of its features. I figured I would take a couple a minutes and see how I liked it.
I will never ever use Internet Explorer again. Firefox is VERY cool. Have you heard it has tabs?
There is a little box on the top right, that is a google search. There are a lot of reasons to like it.
If you would just take 10 minutes to go to Firefox and download it, I think you would like it also.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
3
Earnhardt Sr.
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been working a lot, and on my days off, been shopping a lot. I have an idea for a pretty good update this week. I hope I have time to put it together.
Watched the made-for-TV movie, "3", tonight on ESPN. I wasn't really sure what to expect from ESPN. I thought it was a good movie. Kept its focus on Dale Earnhardt and paced itself very well from when he was a boy to his death at Daytona. As I watched, I kinda wondered how much of it was true. Then I caught this quote somewhere on Nascar.com tonight...
"If you're doing a sports-themed movie for ESPN," Simmons notes, "a lot
your audience is going to be hardcore fans that know the story as well as
they know their own life story. It's really important to paint a picture of
the guy and not try to over-dramatize it."
Like I said, I thought it was a good movie. I'm sure they will play it about twenty times this week, so you should try to watch it if you are interested in Nascar. One pretty cool scene in the movie shows DW and Earnhardt arguing.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas today. ????
It's only the eighth?
I shouldn't be allowed to have a day off from work anymore. Cari and I are both pretty impulsive shoppers. Going Christmas shopping for the kids turns out more like Christmas for us. The items in the picture are just a sampling of our shopping since Thanksgiving. MP3 player, books, games, Nintendo DS, the list goes on. Don't worry, the kids still get plenty of presents too. Everytime we get back to the car, we say, "that's it. We're done shopping for the kids." Next week we'll go back to Target and see something else that the kids will just love, and that will be "it", again.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Explorer
I'm now an explorer. When you go into dark, dirty, places you have never been before, only armed with a flashlight, then you are an explorer. After I first entered I got nervous and went for backup. Cari had to stand gaurd at the entrence, giving me a second source of light with her flashlight. She was also on spider watch. If one of these tried to jump onto my head, she was to scream for me. This second time I went in with a weapon. My trusty flat head screwdriver.
Of course I'm talking about the ordeal yesterday when I went into the crawlspace under the house. Originaly I went down there to check on the water heater that we think is sucking up too much electricity. In my hour under the house, I didn't do much to the water heater except look at it. That means I'll be taking a second trip down there in the next day or two. What did I do? I replaced a burnt out light bulb which lit up about 30 percent of the area. I also started laying sheets of plastic on the muddy floor to prevent flooding. My first sheet of plastic was a folded up 10' x 12' piece. As I fought with unfolding it under the house, something, still unknown, came over Cari. Initialy she refused to put her arm in with a flashlight, but at this time she jumped in to help me with this piece of plastic. Now we were both scared, there was nobody on spider watch. We survived, this time.
Of course I'm talking about the ordeal yesterday when I went into the crawlspace under the house. Originaly I went down there to check on the water heater that we think is sucking up too much electricity. In my hour under the house, I didn't do much to the water heater except look at it. That means I'll be taking a second trip down there in the next day or two. What did I do? I replaced a burnt out light bulb which lit up about 30 percent of the area. I also started laying sheets of plastic on the muddy floor to prevent flooding. My first sheet of plastic was a folded up 10' x 12' piece. As I fought with unfolding it under the house, something, still unknown, came over Cari. Initialy she refused to put her arm in with a flashlight, but at this time she jumped in to help me with this piece of plastic. Now we were both scared, there was nobody on spider watch. We survived, this time.
Friday, December 03, 2004
The Contest
Cari came downstairs with the box of Christmas lights. Nothing Earth shattering. Just a few strands of lights. This was always sufficient when we lived in Florida. A string of lights across the roof line, a few lights in the trees close to the house. In our neighborhood there, that's what almost everybody did. Sure, we had the random nut who decided to spend what I make in a year, on that months electric bill, but we fit in with most of the decorators.
In our new neighborhood, this box looks very insignificant. The house across the street had a jump on everyone. They must have worked through the night, because when I woke up, every window had a wreath, the porch railing had garland, and lights suddenly appeared on every gutter.
Our neighbors are all very friendly. But the guy across the street started a silent competition. The house around the corner was next. He has two lots. Every tree has lights of a different color. He also added those light up deer, I think I counted four or five. The house facing the road, just before you turn onto our block, was next. He used about twenty strings of lights on his front porch. Just continuously wrapping them around the railing. During the day it looks like a birds nest of wires. At night, a glow that lights the sky. He also added a giant cross that says "merry Christmas".
We put up our string of lights across the gutters. That was fun for me. I just love getting up on the extension ladder, and balancing with one arm as I clip lights to the gutters. (I hope you read a lot of sarcasm in that last sentence). We hung up a white, wooden, angel that lights up on the porch. We were out of lights. We plugged it in and ran to the street to check out our creation. Cute. Then the guy across the street plugged in his creation. I was embarrassed. I might as well just unplug mine and pretend I didn't even try.
But I must try.
Cari and I ran over to Lowe's for some more lights. While there we picked up some garland and about a dozen red bows. We live in a small town, but this is ridiculous. Who else was at Lowe's? The guy from across the street. We made some small talk with him. Turns out he was buying more lights also. I'm just trying to keep up here, this guy is trying to out spend me.
Back at the house, Cari wrapped the porch railing in garland and hung the red bows. I climbed into the tree at the end of the driveway and started weaving lights.
Cari said I was going to have to climb onto the roof and put some lights near the windows on the second story. HA! The pitch on that roof must be more than 45 degrees! I told her I wasn't going to do it, based on my desire to live. She agreed to let it slide. . .Only if the neighbors don't string lights on their second story. Two days later, the guy next door was out climbing on his roof. "YOU ARE A MORON!", I screamed in my head as I was waving to him.
With the porch done and my tree lighted, we are starting to fit in. Next year we will add some deer of our own. Watch out neighbors, you started a contest with a very competitive couple. We don't lose!
In our new neighborhood, this box looks very insignificant. The house across the street had a jump on everyone. They must have worked through the night, because when I woke up, every window had a wreath, the porch railing had garland, and lights suddenly appeared on every gutter.
Our neighbors are all very friendly. But the guy across the street started a silent competition. The house around the corner was next. He has two lots. Every tree has lights of a different color. He also added those light up deer, I think I counted four or five. The house facing the road, just before you turn onto our block, was next. He used about twenty strings of lights on his front porch. Just continuously wrapping them around the railing. During the day it looks like a birds nest of wires. At night, a glow that lights the sky. He also added a giant cross that says "merry Christmas".
We put up our string of lights across the gutters. That was fun for me. I just love getting up on the extension ladder, and balancing with one arm as I clip lights to the gutters. (I hope you read a lot of sarcasm in that last sentence). We hung up a white, wooden, angel that lights up on the porch. We were out of lights. We plugged it in and ran to the street to check out our creation. Cute. Then the guy across the street plugged in his creation. I was embarrassed. I might as well just unplug mine and pretend I didn't even try.
But I must try.
Cari and I ran over to Lowe's for some more lights. While there we picked up some garland and about a dozen red bows. We live in a small town, but this is ridiculous. Who else was at Lowe's? The guy from across the street. We made some small talk with him. Turns out he was buying more lights also. I'm just trying to keep up here, this guy is trying to out spend me.
Back at the house, Cari wrapped the porch railing in garland and hung the red bows. I climbed into the tree at the end of the driveway and started weaving lights.
Cari said I was going to have to climb onto the roof and put some lights near the windows on the second story. HA! The pitch on that roof must be more than 45 degrees! I told her I wasn't going to do it, based on my desire to live. She agreed to let it slide. . .Only if the neighbors don't string lights on their second story. Two days later, the guy next door was out climbing on his roof. "YOU ARE A MORON!", I screamed in my head as I was waving to him.
With the porch done and my tree lighted, we are starting to fit in. Next year we will add some deer of our own. Watch out neighbors, you started a contest with a very competitive couple. We don't lose!
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Logic
We are going to talk about two things tonight.
First story:
I work retail, and one day, there were white flyers put on every windshield in the parking lot.
I called the number on the sheet and told the owner he must come and remove all these papers. I told him that he did not have permission to place those in our parking lot. This is where logic comes in. This guy has his own reasons why he IS allowed to liter my parking lot.
He argued that because of "free enterprise" he could advertise in this way. He compared it to the ads that the store sends to homes. I explained to him that the store pays postage for all those ads to his house. I explained that people complain about those papers on their cars and most throw them to the ground. Now I have papers all over the lot. He reminded me that I hire a truck to come clean the parking lot every night. Well, smarty pants, I wouldn't have to hire him if people like yourself wouldn't liter!
He begged for permission to advertise in my parking lot, and I explained this is private property and he is not allowed to place his papers on cars.
This guy never really understood anything except that he was trying to enjoy "free enterprise". He became very loud and angry through our conversation. How many parking lots are there? Move on.
Story two is something I saw in the news this morning:
You can go read the article if you want. I have a few questions about this. Why would you place a lava lamp on the stove? The article says no drugs or alcohol were involved. What the heck was this guy doing? Ok. So, we don't know why the lava lamp was on the stove. Maybe he accidently placed it there. What in the world is a lava lamp even doing in the kitchen?!
First story:
I work retail, and one day, there were white flyers put on every windshield in the parking lot.
I called the number on the sheet and told the owner he must come and remove all these papers. I told him that he did not have permission to place those in our parking lot. This is where logic comes in. This guy has his own reasons why he IS allowed to liter my parking lot.
He argued that because of "free enterprise" he could advertise in this way. He compared it to the ads that the store sends to homes. I explained to him that the store pays postage for all those ads to his house. I explained that people complain about those papers on their cars and most throw them to the ground. Now I have papers all over the lot. He reminded me that I hire a truck to come clean the parking lot every night. Well, smarty pants, I wouldn't have to hire him if people like yourself wouldn't liter!
He begged for permission to advertise in my parking lot, and I explained this is private property and he is not allowed to place his papers on cars.
This guy never really understood anything except that he was trying to enjoy "free enterprise". He became very loud and angry through our conversation. How many parking lots are there? Move on.
Story two is something I saw in the news this morning:
KENT, Washington (AP) -- A man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stovetop was
killed when it exploded and sent a shard of glass into his heart, police said.
You can go read the article if you want. I have a few questions about this. Why would you place a lava lamp on the stove? The article says no drugs or alcohol were involved. What the heck was this guy doing? Ok. So, we don't know why the lava lamp was on the stove. Maybe he accidently placed it there. What in the world is a lava lamp even doing in the kitchen?!
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