Friday, December 30, 2005
Little kids go on a rampage
This story starts pretty normal, but gets interesting. Three 10 year old start out playing football but end up trashing a school, stealing stuff, running around naked and having a snack. They were aware of the cameras (the technology side) but had one heck of a good time. Future fraternity boys or future criminals?
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Grandma answer popup ad and gets more than spam
Sure your Grandma likes her WebTv or perhaps her nice E-machine computer she got for free after rebate, but she is really clueless about all the dangers of the internet. Do your family a favor and educate them about the dangers that the web poses so they don't get hosed like this old lady did!
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Yesterday was fun, but I didn't get a lot done. After work I came home and just chilled out for a little bit. Katie and I watched some TV and then we got Amanda up (she wasn't feeling good) to see what she wanted to do about dinner. She was hungry so we went to eat some Hibachi. It was yummy as usual and we had the added bonus of watching Katie wrinkle her nose at sushi. She ended up liking some of it!
After dinner we decided to go to a movie. We watched "Fun with Dick and Jane" which was ok, but far from good. I had high hopes for this movie and thought that it might be a more serious movie with some comedy, but it was a comedy (Ala Jim Carey) with all too few moments of clarity. I was pretty disappointed :(
The temperature was great yesterday, nice and warm. I can't believe it was in the 50's at the end of December! That is crazy. My office was so warm yesterday. The AC was turned off for the winter and the room just kept getting warmer and warmer. I think that it eventually topped out at like 80 degrees or so.
Over the holiday I finished 'The Da Vinci Code', it was pretty good. I wonder why it took me so long to read it. I definitely am a Dan Brown fan now and will be reading more of his books in the coming weeks and months. Right now I just started to read 'Citizen Soldiers', so far it is interesting, but it doesn't weave much of a story as of yet. I think that I'm going to rotate my books fiction and non-fiction, that way I can learn something in between my pleasure reading.
It's nice to read some for leisure since all the time that I was in college the leisure reading took the backseat to school work. I used to read a lot during the summer but since 2000 a good number of my summers have been disrupted by military stuff. Speaking of military stuff, my training in the spring/summer is coming up fast. I need to start a crash diet and workout program. I've been doing good with my pushups, but need to start running 4 days a week and road marching another. I think that I'm just going to go directly after work to the gym since it is on the way home and will probably be easiest, besides, I hate to wake up early and I'm going to have lots of early mornings at OBC.
Last night at the movie someone near us smelled like a human joint. They reeked terribly, I couldn't tell for sure who it was but I think that it was the couple next to Amanda. Do they really think that they don't smell? It always cracks me up during the movies when kids hear their parents coming and they open a window and wave their arm to clear the smoke in their rooms. The parents always accuse them of doing something or don't do anything...do the parents not smell it? Do they intentionally make all characters in TV or the movie non-smellers? They might since the audience can't smell, so if the TV characters are smelling it would create some type of disconnection with the audience. Wow, that is a pretty good theory and it may be true. You don't hear of many characters talking about taste either. The movies focus on the senses that they can stimulate sight and sound, not the others. Sorry, but if you are being chased by Jason from 'Friday the 13th' you could probably smell his rotting semi-decomposed corpse a mile away, but yet he always manages to sneak up on people. HA! I just disclosed the single largest conspiracy in movies today.
Ok, that's it for now.
After dinner we decided to go to a movie. We watched "Fun with Dick and Jane" which was ok, but far from good. I had high hopes for this movie and thought that it might be a more serious movie with some comedy, but it was a comedy (Ala Jim Carey) with all too few moments of clarity. I was pretty disappointed :(
The temperature was great yesterday, nice and warm. I can't believe it was in the 50's at the end of December! That is crazy. My office was so warm yesterday. The AC was turned off for the winter and the room just kept getting warmer and warmer. I think that it eventually topped out at like 80 degrees or so.
Over the holiday I finished 'The Da Vinci Code', it was pretty good. I wonder why it took me so long to read it. I definitely am a Dan Brown fan now and will be reading more of his books in the coming weeks and months. Right now I just started to read 'Citizen Soldiers', so far it is interesting, but it doesn't weave much of a story as of yet. I think that I'm going to rotate my books fiction and non-fiction, that way I can learn something in between my pleasure reading.
It's nice to read some for leisure since all the time that I was in college the leisure reading took the backseat to school work. I used to read a lot during the summer but since 2000 a good number of my summers have been disrupted by military stuff. Speaking of military stuff, my training in the spring/summer is coming up fast. I need to start a crash diet and workout program. I've been doing good with my pushups, but need to start running 4 days a week and road marching another. I think that I'm just going to go directly after work to the gym since it is on the way home and will probably be easiest, besides, I hate to wake up early and I'm going to have lots of early mornings at OBC.
Last night at the movie someone near us smelled like a human joint. They reeked terribly, I couldn't tell for sure who it was but I think that it was the couple next to Amanda. Do they really think that they don't smell? It always cracks me up during the movies when kids hear their parents coming and they open a window and wave their arm to clear the smoke in their rooms. The parents always accuse them of doing something or don't do anything...do the parents not smell it? Do they intentionally make all characters in TV or the movie non-smellers? They might since the audience can't smell, so if the TV characters are smelling it would create some type of disconnection with the audience. Wow, that is a pretty good theory and it may be true. You don't hear of many characters talking about taste either. The movies focus on the senses that they can stimulate sight and sound, not the others. Sorry, but if you are being chased by Jason from 'Friday the 13th' you could probably smell his rotting semi-decomposed corpse a mile away, but yet he always manages to sneak up on people. HA! I just disclosed the single largest conspiracy in movies today.
Ok, that's it for now.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Welcome to the notorious post-Christmas entry! The last few days have been way too busy to talk about everything in one post, but that's ok. Everything was really fun, I had a good time and got to rest up (yeah right!). I gave some gifts to people, received some gifts from people, and ate way too much. So lets jump into this post and get going!
First off...I managed to get my shopping done for Amanda and the rest of the gang prior to the big day. That's good! I was tempted to take Amanda off my protected list and keep a running list of what I was going to get her on here, but just my luck she would stumble upon it and find out what I was getting her and that wouldn't be very fun. So here is Amanda's list:
- iPod Nano 4gb in white with a nice lovey engraving on the back. This barely got delivered in time! Apple came through though and UPS'd it directly from their factory in China. It went from communist to capitalist in 2 days!
- The iTrip charger/fm broadcaster/car mount for the nano.
- A cute pink case for the Nano.
- A new Dunne and Burke Wallet
- Britney Spears "Fantasy"
- A super-sized Pez dispenser of Elmo.
- A soduko handheld game
- 2 soduko books
- Probably some other things that I'm not thinking of...
My gifts! I am so excited! I got some really neat stuff, which I'm thankful for since I was a lazy ass and didn't get my list out until the last second. So here goes with what I was gifted...
- E2C headphones. These are the badboys that I've had my eye on for a long time. They are way too expensive but they seem to be great. Has my quest for headphones finally been won?
- A 19" LCD monitor! I'm so excited! It is huge compared to the 17" CRT that I was using. It has a 12ms response rate so it is ok for gaming! Only thing that stinks is that it has 9 dead pixels so it will be making a trip back to the manufacturer shortly :(
- A new wallet. This new wallet is huge, it hopefully will help to distribute my wallet a little better and help to keep me from having back problems.
- The most unbelievable alarm clock ever! I'm always have a hard time waking up in the morning and hopefully this thing helps to cure me! It wakes you up gradually. Say that you set your alarm at 6:30am. At 6am a light turns on. Over the course of the next 15 minutes it gradually gets brighter. As it gets brighter it releases aromatherapy to simulate your olfactory senses. At 6:15 it is now fully bright and it begins to play nature sounds. This continues until 6:30 when a regular old blaring alarm begins! Pretty cool huh?
- 4 pairs of khakis!
- A pair of jeans!
- Games baby! Call of Duty 2 and Madden 06!
- A new wireless controller to play Madden with!
- The greatest board game ever "Settlers of Cattan" which unfortunately will probably be the best board game that never gets played. If anyone is interested in playing let me know.
- Socks
- Toothpaste
- A headlamp.
- A gift card to Starbucks!
- Gift cards to Chipotle!!!!!!!
- Some .45 ammo.
- Lots of other stuff that I'm forgetting!
Gift wise I think that I did pretty good for everyone that I gifted to. I still need to pick up some stuff for my side of the family for our Christmas which is this weekend. Thank you everyone for your great gifts!
Wedding Band:
Tomorrow my wedding band should be here. Amanda and I ordered it a couple of days ago! It is so great! It is made up of tungsten-carbide and it is permanently polished and faceted. It looks like a piece of crystal on your hand it is so shiny.
My sister:
Katie is spending the week with us, so that is exciting. We haven't gotten to spend any extended period of time together in a year and a half or so. We don't have any big plans made out, but hopefully she has fun in the big city!
Ok, that's it for now, I'm going to bed!
First off...I managed to get my shopping done for Amanda and the rest of the gang prior to the big day. That's good! I was tempted to take Amanda off my protected list and keep a running list of what I was going to get her on here, but just my luck she would stumble upon it and find out what I was getting her and that wouldn't be very fun. So here is Amanda's list:
- iPod Nano 4gb in white with a nice lovey engraving on the back. This barely got delivered in time! Apple came through though and UPS'd it directly from their factory in China. It went from communist to capitalist in 2 days!
- The iTrip charger/fm broadcaster/car mount for the nano.
- A cute pink case for the Nano.
- A new Dunne and Burke Wallet
- Britney Spears "Fantasy"
- A super-sized Pez dispenser of Elmo.
- A soduko handheld game
- 2 soduko books
- Probably some other things that I'm not thinking of...
My gifts! I am so excited! I got some really neat stuff, which I'm thankful for since I was a lazy ass and didn't get my list out until the last second. So here goes with what I was gifted...
- E2C headphones. These are the badboys that I've had my eye on for a long time. They are way too expensive but they seem to be great. Has my quest for headphones finally been won?
- A 19" LCD monitor! I'm so excited! It is huge compared to the 17" CRT that I was using. It has a 12ms response rate so it is ok for gaming! Only thing that stinks is that it has 9 dead pixels so it will be making a trip back to the manufacturer shortly :(
- A new wallet. This new wallet is huge, it hopefully will help to distribute my wallet a little better and help to keep me from having back problems.
- The most unbelievable alarm clock ever! I'm always have a hard time waking up in the morning and hopefully this thing helps to cure me! It wakes you up gradually. Say that you set your alarm at 6:30am. At 6am a light turns on. Over the course of the next 15 minutes it gradually gets brighter. As it gets brighter it releases aromatherapy to simulate your olfactory senses. At 6:15 it is now fully bright and it begins to play nature sounds. This continues until 6:30 when a regular old blaring alarm begins! Pretty cool huh?
- 4 pairs of khakis!
- A pair of jeans!
- Games baby! Call of Duty 2 and Madden 06!
- A new wireless controller to play Madden with!
- The greatest board game ever "Settlers of Cattan" which unfortunately will probably be the best board game that never gets played. If anyone is interested in playing let me know.
- Socks
- Toothpaste
- A headlamp.
- A gift card to Starbucks!
- Gift cards to Chipotle!!!!!!!
- Some .45 ammo.
- Lots of other stuff that I'm forgetting!
Gift wise I think that I did pretty good for everyone that I gifted to. I still need to pick up some stuff for my side of the family for our Christmas which is this weekend. Thank you everyone for your great gifts!
Wedding Band:
Tomorrow my wedding band should be here. Amanda and I ordered it a couple of days ago! It is so great! It is made up of tungsten-carbide and it is permanently polished and faceted. It looks like a piece of crystal on your hand it is so shiny.
My sister:
Katie is spending the week with us, so that is exciting. We haven't gotten to spend any extended period of time together in a year and a half or so. We don't have any big plans made out, but hopefully she has fun in the big city!
Ok, that's it for now, I'm going to bed!
Friday, December 23, 2005
This will be short, I'm tired and am headed to bed. Didn't really do too much tonight, it was nice to have a lazy night....it's good to have one of those going into the holiday. I think that my part of my hunt for headphones may be over. I've been looking for headphones for music and a headset w/a mic for games and stuff. I bought one Monday at Best Buy, but it sucked. The audio quality was ok, but it was uncomfortable and the mic didn't work. Today I bought a Plantronics one and it is pretty good. It doesn't kill my head like the other one's do. As for audio quality it is comparable to the Koss one's that I liked, and the mic works pretty good. Part solved, now the second part is a good portable headphones that have good sound!
Lets see about other exciting things that went on....Amanda and I watched a couple episodes of Desperate Housewives. We are enjoying that show now that it is on DVD. That's about the extent of my evening, I'm excited for the holiday! Amanda is feeling better, but she is coming down with a cold or something now!
Ok, I'm dead tired! 'night.
Lets see about other exciting things that went on....Amanda and I watched a couple episodes of Desperate Housewives. We are enjoying that show now that it is on DVD. That's about the extent of my evening, I'm excited for the holiday! Amanda is feeling better, but she is coming down with a cold or something now!
Ok, I'm dead tired! 'night.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Two weeks ago the CEO of my company gave me Pacers tickets....unfortunately there was a snowstorm and I couldn't go. That was crappy because not only did I miss the game, but it took me over 5 hours to get home. Yesterday, the CEO gave me tickets again! Sweet! I made some quick calls and Amanda managed to leave work early and CW came up from Lafayette for the game!
We had great time, had good seats, and got to see the Pacers kick the Clippers ass. It was fun too because the only Clippers fans in the whole place (errr, in the whole US) sat right next to us! After the game we decided to avoid the whole rush out of the parking garage and went to Hard Rock to get some food. Food was good, the waiter slightly annoying! We got home, watched some TV, CW left, and then I went to bed. It was a great night, thrown together without much warning, but it worked out pretty darn good!
Here are some pics!
Amanda and I
CW and I
Our seats...pretty nice!
A little kid making a statement!
We had great time, had good seats, and got to see the Pacers kick the Clippers ass. It was fun too because the only Clippers fans in the whole place (errr, in the whole US) sat right next to us! After the game we decided to avoid the whole rush out of the parking garage and went to Hard Rock to get some food. Food was good, the waiter slightly annoying! We got home, watched some TV, CW left, and then I went to bed. It was a great night, thrown together without much warning, but it worked out pretty darn good!
Here are some pics!
Amanda and I
CW and I
Our seats...pretty nice!
A little kid making a statement!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Boy am I tired today! Amanda was sick last night, I think she got food poisoning from the sandwiches that her work bought the employees yesterday. Merry Christmas enjoy the free sandwiches w/mayo and food poisoning in a couple of hours. It really kicked her ass all night, and around 3 she was finally able to rest. Around midnight or so I ran to the gas station for 7-up and Gatorade for her. She really scared the crap out of me because I had fallen asleep reading on the couch and I woke up to her sitting on the chair...
I read a lot yesterday...I'm really enjoying the book that I'm reading right now...I should have it done by the end of the Christmas break. Thankfully I have a couple of books waiting in the wings to be read.
This year I was really bad with my Christmas list...usually I have it out about a month from Christmas, but this year I didn't. I just couldn't motivate myself to put a list together and I'm not sure why. I love getting gifts but I'm really content right now with life. Yeah, I could use a new joystick, but I don't *need* one. The only thing that I really want is headphones that work for me. I've bitched and moaned about my headphone quest enough on here, so I won't go into that again....but it's frustrating. Why is it so hard to find a pair of headphones that are comfortable and sound good? Why? Am I that picky? I really think a lot has to do with the specialization of headphones lately. There are so many different types that it makes good headphones for "average" people nearly impossible to find.
Today I have a meeting in the evening, it's my second one in as many days. Tomorrow, I'll be doing some more Christmas shopping....I need to get it wrapped up. I'm pretty much done with Amanda and Susan, just need to get some little stuff for them. Everyone else is pretty much open. I'll probably do my side of the family after the holiday since we are doing Christmas on Jan 1st.
OK, time to leave work!
I read a lot yesterday...I'm really enjoying the book that I'm reading right now...I should have it done by the end of the Christmas break. Thankfully I have a couple of books waiting in the wings to be read.
This year I was really bad with my Christmas list...usually I have it out about a month from Christmas, but this year I didn't. I just couldn't motivate myself to put a list together and I'm not sure why. I love getting gifts but I'm really content right now with life. Yeah, I could use a new joystick, but I don't *need* one. The only thing that I really want is headphones that work for me. I've bitched and moaned about my headphone quest enough on here, so I won't go into that again....but it's frustrating. Why is it so hard to find a pair of headphones that are comfortable and sound good? Why? Am I that picky? I really think a lot has to do with the specialization of headphones lately. There are so many different types that it makes good headphones for "average" people nearly impossible to find.
Today I have a meeting in the evening, it's my second one in as many days. Tomorrow, I'll be doing some more Christmas shopping....I need to get it wrapped up. I'm pretty much done with Amanda and Susan, just need to get some little stuff for them. Everyone else is pretty much open. I'll probably do my side of the family after the holiday since we are doing Christmas on Jan 1st.
OK, time to leave work!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Just a quick update...this weekend was pretty busy. Saturday night we had a Christmas part with friends....it was fun! We brought appetizers; a veggie tray and I made caramel apple fondue. It was pretty yummy. S, the host did a great job making the main course! I also brought Irish Car Bombs, but no one liked them (don't know why) so now I'm stuck with 6 more Guinness, a full bottle of whiskey, and Baileys. RG, you are coming over some night this week and we are going to get krunked on car bombs! I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday.
After dinner we played some games, Amanda and I kicked ass in Cranium...we really own that game! We left and got home a little after midnight.
Sunday was the first Christmas party with everyone (except a cousin in Florida) at my grandparents in like 15 years. It was a fun time. It was great to see everyone. We got there a little late because of dropping the dog off, but it was still ok. There was one zinger to the afternoon though...my Grandpa announced after dinner that he has prostate cancer. It put a low note on the afternoon, but by the time everyone was leaving people were feeling better. He is putting off the surgery until March much to the dismay of all of us there, but it seems like they caught it early.
After the Christmas party we stopped at Target, and then met WS for dinner at Hacienda! The food was great as usual, and eating there made me realize how much I miss that place. They have the best wet burritos ever! The margaritas are pretty damn good also. It was nice to chat with WS, and gossip about all our old high school classmates. It's kind of funny to talk about them and what they are doing now. God, I can't wait for my class reunion!
After dinner we stopped off at my brother's to give Janie (my niece) her birthday present but she was asleep. We visited for a while and went to see my parents and pick up the dog. We visited for a while and headed home.
My sister is on for spending the week of December 26th with Amanda and I, so that is exciting. It's been a year and a half since she stayed with us. Amanda is also excited because the old band '9 Miles' is back for a reunion concert on Jan 30th, so if anyone is interested in some good music let me know and I'll give you the details. That's about it...I'll be doubling up the 12 memories of Christmas from here on out....they aren't done just got pushed aside over the weekend!
After dinner we played some games, Amanda and I kicked ass in Cranium...we really own that game! We left and got home a little after midnight.
Sunday was the first Christmas party with everyone (except a cousin in Florida) at my grandparents in like 15 years. It was a fun time. It was great to see everyone. We got there a little late because of dropping the dog off, but it was still ok. There was one zinger to the afternoon though...my Grandpa announced after dinner that he has prostate cancer. It put a low note on the afternoon, but by the time everyone was leaving people were feeling better. He is putting off the surgery until March much to the dismay of all of us there, but it seems like they caught it early.
After the Christmas party we stopped at Target, and then met WS for dinner at Hacienda! The food was great as usual, and eating there made me realize how much I miss that place. They have the best wet burritos ever! The margaritas are pretty damn good also. It was nice to chat with WS, and gossip about all our old high school classmates. It's kind of funny to talk about them and what they are doing now. God, I can't wait for my class reunion!
After dinner we stopped off at my brother's to give Janie (my niece) her birthday present but she was asleep. We visited for a while and went to see my parents and pick up the dog. We visited for a while and headed home.
My sister is on for spending the week of December 26th with Amanda and I, so that is exciting. It's been a year and a half since she stayed with us. Amanda is also excited because the old band '9 Miles' is back for a reunion concert on Jan 30th, so if anyone is interested in some good music let me know and I'll give you the details. That's about it...I'll be doubling up the 12 memories of Christmas from here on out....they aren't done just got pushed aside over the weekend!
Saturday, December 17, 2005
On the Fifth Day of Christmas....
Wow, this is turning out harder than I had imagined...but that's ok, I'll finish this thing up yet!
Here we go....
On the fifth day of Christmas my memory brings to me....
A tough Christmas...
It was winter of '99 and I was a young Purdue student on my winter break. I really was going through a tough part of my life right around this time. I believe that everyone has to go through some trials in their life in order to appreciate what they have later on. My tough part lasted from around the end '98 to mid '00. I wasn't the jovial person that you know today...I was really in a dark place. Life was really throwing everything at me that it could, and I was trying as hard as I could to keep afloat in life and in school.
In '99 I moved into my first apartment with 2 friends. The year started out headed in the right direction, which was a nice change because the previous year had been really hard for a variety of reasons. I move into my new apartment and things went from ok to worse! Amanda and I were together at this time, although we were still in that new part of our relationship (under a year). She was in Indy going to Butler and I was at Purdue. I enjoyed being on my own but money was super tight because I didn't have a job and student loan money would have to last me a long time.
Luckily a week or two into the school year I found a job doing telemarketing. I was so glad...now I could make some money and get a little better off. I was working about 25 hours a week and going to school full time. My typical weekday was go to school until 3:30 or so, go to work at 4 and work until 9pm. It wasn't fun, but it was money. The problems started on Amanda's fall break.
She wanted me to go to Indy and pick her up and then come back to Lafayette. It was 12am or so on a Friday and I wasn't doing anything...I was pretty bummed out because I was all by myself in the apartment and I would gladly drive and get Amanda not to be alone. I had just burnt my first CD ever and decided that I would bring that with me. The drive to Indy wasn't very fun...we were having one of those torrential October storms that we get. Rain was pouring down and 65 was covered with water. I made it to Indy and picked up Amanda. Amazingly that I found her since I didn't know Indy at the time! We then are headed back to Lafayette.
The rain is coming down harder now...and as a result I'm driving about 45-50 instead of a lot faster. We were around that car auction place that is next to the Zionsville/Brownsburg area when I was passing a semi and hydroplaned. My little Geo Metro didn't weigh very much and it was sucked under the trailer of the semi. It dragged us for a little bit and then we spun out and hit a guardrail in reverse. We were both ok, but my car was toast and we only had liability on it. I was then car less with no means of buying a new car.
Amanda's mom let me use her truck to get me around and to work. Around the beginning of middle of November I had to give it back so that they could use it. I was suddenly without a car again. I still managed to work by taking the bus, but it wasn't fun. I also had $800 of expenses suddenly come up towards the middle of November. Then there was Christmas coming up...I didn't know what I would do. I would spend the greater part of November and December eating oatmeal and Jacks pizza's ($2.50) every day. I believe that I was getting by on about $3 worth of food a day. I managed to pay that $800 off that I had to and save up enough for Christmas.
Amanda and I even managed to find an artificial tree on clearance for like $15. We bought lights and some ornaments and put up our first tree together. One evening we both went to the mall to do our Christmas shopping. I spent all the money that I had budgeted on gifts for Amanda. Afterwards we went back to my apartment and we locked ourselves in different rooms and had a wrapathon. Soon our presents were wrapped under our new tree and we were so excited! We couldn't wait to give our gifts to each other, so our newly wrapped presents only stayed wrapped for mere minutes!
Amanda opening up her gifts
I was so happy that I managed to save up enough to buy Amanda a variety of gifts! I was worried that I was not going to be able to, but thankfully things worked out. There is another memory with this one that will be shared later....but this is it for now. Christmas of '99 was great and added a bright spot to a dark year!
Oh yeah, I added a pictured to my Wednesday entry!
Wow, this is turning out harder than I had imagined...but that's ok, I'll finish this thing up yet!
Here we go....
On the fifth day of Christmas my memory brings to me....
A tough Christmas...
It was winter of '99 and I was a young Purdue student on my winter break. I really was going through a tough part of my life right around this time. I believe that everyone has to go through some trials in their life in order to appreciate what they have later on. My tough part lasted from around the end '98 to mid '00. I wasn't the jovial person that you know today...I was really in a dark place. Life was really throwing everything at me that it could, and I was trying as hard as I could to keep afloat in life and in school.
In '99 I moved into my first apartment with 2 friends. The year started out headed in the right direction, which was a nice change because the previous year had been really hard for a variety of reasons. I move into my new apartment and things went from ok to worse! Amanda and I were together at this time, although we were still in that new part of our relationship (under a year). She was in Indy going to Butler and I was at Purdue. I enjoyed being on my own but money was super tight because I didn't have a job and student loan money would have to last me a long time.
Luckily a week or two into the school year I found a job doing telemarketing. I was so glad...now I could make some money and get a little better off. I was working about 25 hours a week and going to school full time. My typical weekday was go to school until 3:30 or so, go to work at 4 and work until 9pm. It wasn't fun, but it was money. The problems started on Amanda's fall break.
She wanted me to go to Indy and pick her up and then come back to Lafayette. It was 12am or so on a Friday and I wasn't doing anything...I was pretty bummed out because I was all by myself in the apartment and I would gladly drive and get Amanda not to be alone. I had just burnt my first CD ever and decided that I would bring that with me. The drive to Indy wasn't very fun...we were having one of those torrential October storms that we get. Rain was pouring down and 65 was covered with water. I made it to Indy and picked up Amanda. Amazingly that I found her since I didn't know Indy at the time! We then are headed back to Lafayette.
The rain is coming down harder now...and as a result I'm driving about 45-50 instead of a lot faster. We were around that car auction place that is next to the Zionsville/Brownsburg area when I was passing a semi and hydroplaned. My little Geo Metro didn't weigh very much and it was sucked under the trailer of the semi. It dragged us for a little bit and then we spun out and hit a guardrail in reverse. We were both ok, but my car was toast and we only had liability on it. I was then car less with no means of buying a new car.
Amanda's mom let me use her truck to get me around and to work. Around the beginning of middle of November I had to give it back so that they could use it. I was suddenly without a car again. I still managed to work by taking the bus, but it wasn't fun. I also had $800 of expenses suddenly come up towards the middle of November. Then there was Christmas coming up...I didn't know what I would do. I would spend the greater part of November and December eating oatmeal and Jacks pizza's ($2.50) every day. I believe that I was getting by on about $3 worth of food a day. I managed to pay that $800 off that I had to and save up enough for Christmas.
Amanda and I even managed to find an artificial tree on clearance for like $15. We bought lights and some ornaments and put up our first tree together. One evening we both went to the mall to do our Christmas shopping. I spent all the money that I had budgeted on gifts for Amanda. Afterwards we went back to my apartment and we locked ourselves in different rooms and had a wrapathon. Soon our presents were wrapped under our new tree and we were so excited! We couldn't wait to give our gifts to each other, so our newly wrapped presents only stayed wrapped for mere minutes!
Amanda opening up her gifts
I was so happy that I managed to save up enough to buy Amanda a variety of gifts! I was worried that I was not going to be able to, but thankfully things worked out. There is another memory with this one that will be shared later....but this is it for now. Christmas of '99 was great and added a bright spot to a dark year!
Oh yeah, I added a pictured to my Wednesday entry!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
This one has yesterdays (Thursdays) timestamp, but it's up today....sorry! I didn't get all of it typed in time, but oh well...so here we go. Sit back, grab a cookie and eat it real fast because this one is fairly short for one of these...
Oh yeah, almost forgot that I have to sing my stupid little song!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my memory brings to me...
A new TV!
This was around 1986-88 or so. Not sure of the exact dates. We were still living in Granger at the time. Christmas morning was pretty normal, we woke up early (my brother and I) grabbed my parents and they grudgingly got up from their 2 1/2 hours of sleep. We went into the living room and there was a tree with tons of presents underneath it. I can't remember the specifics of what all I received that year, but I'm sure that nothing compared to the TV.
My parents asked my brother and I to go to the bedroom to get something. My brother ran to get what they asked and he ran out with big eyes and proclaimed to everyone "THERE IS A NEW TV". He was so excited...the little hyper kid was bouncing up and down because he thought that he found a new TV. I get up and go in there and see the "TV". Fortunately for me and unfortunately for Brad it wasn't a new TV.
In the box (and a smaller box that he didn't notice) was a brand spankin' new Tandy 1000tx. My first computer! That old 286 beast was everything that I wanted, and everything that I had no idea how to use! It would take a while to figure out how to do little things on it...but it worked ok. It was slow and clunky with no hard drive and no mouse, but it worked! I was able to play some games on it, type some papers, and do some work until we got a new one in '94.
It's a good memory if only for the look on Brad's face! I wonder if we have it on video anywhere?
What was your first computer?
Oh yeah, almost forgot that I have to sing my stupid little song!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my memory brings to me...
A new TV!
This was around 1986-88 or so. Not sure of the exact dates. We were still living in Granger at the time. Christmas morning was pretty normal, we woke up early (my brother and I) grabbed my parents and they grudgingly got up from their 2 1/2 hours of sleep. We went into the living room and there was a tree with tons of presents underneath it. I can't remember the specifics of what all I received that year, but I'm sure that nothing compared to the TV.
My parents asked my brother and I to go to the bedroom to get something. My brother ran to get what they asked and he ran out with big eyes and proclaimed to everyone "THERE IS A NEW TV". He was so excited...the little hyper kid was bouncing up and down because he thought that he found a new TV. I get up and go in there and see the "TV". Fortunately for me and unfortunately for Brad it wasn't a new TV.
In the box (and a smaller box that he didn't notice) was a brand spankin' new Tandy 1000tx. My first computer! That old 286 beast was everything that I wanted, and everything that I had no idea how to use! It would take a while to figure out how to do little things on it...but it worked ok. It was slow and clunky with no hard drive and no mouse, but it worked! I was able to play some games on it, type some papers, and do some work until we got a new one in '94.
It's a good memory if only for the look on Brad's face! I wonder if we have it on video anywhere?
What was your first computer?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
On the third day of Christmas
The 12 Days of Christmas MemoriesTime for another memory...sorry about this being so late, but I was at a mediocre concert with mediocre acts....later I might even post some mediocre pictures. The crowd was mediocre this year too...we left half way through the last artists.
Ok, so here we go.
On the third day of Christmas my memory gave to me....
My first Christmas in Florida
It was Christmas of '89 and I was a huge Notre Dame fan....today I am not. Notre Dame was having a great season...that is until 11/25 when they played the Miami Hurricanes. That game gave ND their first loss of the year and that meant that they went into the break between the last game of the year and the bowl games with an 11-1 record.
I remember the drive down to Florida....we were all in a Chevy Corsica and my brother and I were fighting most of the trip over the Game Boy. I was 10, my little brother was 7. We only had one Game Boy, a couple games, and a lot of batteries. Needless to say who had the Game Boy turned into an epic battle.
The trip down was pretty much radio only, and the radio was filled with lots and lots of countdowns, it was '89 and the '80s was fading into the history book! Lots of top 100 song countdown of the decade was on the radio. I really wish that I was able to record one of these and listen to it now....it would have been quite interesting!
Our car was only a couple of months old but all the way down we had issues with stalling. This definitely kept the trip interesting as we stalled in the middle of an intersection!
We get down to Florida and show up at the Grandparents. My grandparents lived in Sebring FL at the time. My parents took over the spare room, Brad and I got the living room.
Christmas was pretty uneventful....we didn't have a Christmas with gifts under the tree. We had our Christmas back home before we left. We did have a big meal though....turkey and all the trimmings.
A few days after Christmas we had the main event....the Orange Bowl!
Notre Dame was playing Colorado in the Orange Bowl....unfortunately because of those Miami bastards ND's back-to-back National Championship chances were no a long shot. We had tickets and we were so excited to go!
New Years Day rolled along and that meant the bowl game! We drove down to Miami, through the glades and sugar cane fields and into Miami. I don't remember much of Miami, only that my parents were talking about how scary the area was. We found a parking spot near the Orange Bowl and went towards the stadium.
Unfortunately the stadium was not open yet, so we walked around many of the vendors. They had Cubans out cooking shish-ka-bobs (sp?) and we ate some of those. Eventually the gates opened and we went to the game. The game was exciting, but I don't remember much of it. I believe that the half time act was Chubby Checker or someone like that. After the game we drove back (us kids slept) and my parents were tired on the trip back.
We would leave Florida shortly after that and head back to the cold state of Indiana. It was a fun trip, and my first Christmas outside of Indiana.
On the second day of Christmas...
12 Days of Christmas Memories
Today was a busy day with work calling me in early (and waking me up). Then after work I had army stuff from 6:30-10:30...so needless to say this is being post later than I had hoped, but it's at least going up...so it could have been worse! Tonight say screw the cocoa, skip the egg nog and just grab the rum...
On the second day of Christmas my memory gave to me....
the biggest toy ever!!
It was the dream of little boys everywhere in the winter of 1985 (or '86....I can't be sure). It was 7 1/2 feet long, weighed a ton, had a zillion little parts and was made of molded plastic. It came in a huge box with those evil words "Some assembly required". Yes...those evil words, except in this case it was lots of assembly required!
My other side of the family (mothers side) always had Christmas on a different day. Some years we had it on New Years day, other years the day after Christmas, other years it was a week or two before Christmas. It was always the evil twin of my other grandparents Christmas.... It's amazing how two families can be so inherently different. This side of the family was always the more relaxed side and was a little more wild....but that is what made it so great! We often opened gifts up before we ate because my grandparents were as anxious to spoil all the grandkids with their gifts as the kids were to open them! It was every kids dream!
While I can't be certain of the year of this Christmas...only that it was '85 or '86 (so I was 6 or 7....but I'm pretty sure that it was '85), I do remember other details. Christmas this year was at my Aunt L's and Uncle D's. It was a good day with snow on the ground. My aunt and uncle's house was on this country road by South Bend. This house at the time wasn't that old, but it had a real unique feel to it....I can't really place it. The entry way to the house was in the living room (not the family room) and this room had the piano, a couch, a chair, and the tree. There was a ledge thingy as part of the divider between the living room and the dining room. Aunt L's tree was always amazing to me because it had bubble lights. These were the real bubble lights that were hard to find because they were old and contained nasty stuff that is bad for the atmosphere. They were the only time that I ever saw bubble lights and I to this day love them. Amanda can't understand my fascination with them...but it's there.
Christmas at Aunt L's meant Chex mix! Not that crap you get in the store in the foil bag.....but real honest to goodness Chex mix that was cooked in the oven and was stored in a container (I think coffee) that had wrapping paper on it. The stuff was great! Typical of all of our other family gatherings there was tons of food to eat....but that isn't the focus here....the focus here is my huge gift....
We were opening up gifts and it was my turn to get mine. The gift was no where under the tree from my grandparents! My grandparents hadn't forgotten about my gift though....the gift was off being stored in a spare bedroom or something! I remember seeing the size of the box....it was huge! I open the gift and inside was the GI Joe Aircraft carrier "USS Flag".
Not sure what that is? Just check out this site.... http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/85/ussflagg/ Perhaps some of you older readers remember this thing? It was literally the equivalent of the best Barbie playhouse on steroids and doubled in size! This thing was so freaking' large it's crazy! I was literally in awe, and I remember still hearing someone talk about how it was $100 (no small sum back in '85). Grandma and Grandpa never disappointed and this was no exception!
Of course this big "some assembly required" gift had to have some assembly ;) The next day dad worked on putting this thing together. Yes, it took a long time to put together.....no it wasn't put together perfect. I was only 6 years old, so the little details didn't bother me then....it was perfect to me! My GI Joe's now had this huge 7 1/2 foot long ship to play on in my bedroom. Of course I couldn't take this big ass thing to my friends house, but it didn't matter. This thing was so large that I remember sleeping on it some times!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the memory!
Like all toys big and small (or in this case gigantic) it would eventually fall into disrepair. Little pieces would be lost, decals pulled off, and plastic breaking. It would survive the move to a new house, but not for long. It got thrown out sometime when we cleaned out the garage many years ago and it is probably at the bottom of a land fill somewhere.
This memory is special for a lot of reasons....the first one is that it makes me feel so special that my grandparents spared no expense in making the grandkids happy. They went above and beyond what they needed to do to make Christmas memorable. They were not rich by any means but Christmas was held as a special time to them. Heck, the average car price in '85 was less than $12,000. I'm not sure what they made a year then, but you get the point.
The second part of why this memory means a lot to me is because family gatherings by this side of the family no longer happen. The family has drifted apart and many do not talk to each other. It's a sore subject of mine and it really is more of protected post material, but I have not spoken to my aunt in 4 or 5 years for nothing that I have done, and we'll leave it at that.
So, there you go....my second memory of Christmas.
Monday, December 12, 2005
12 Day of Christmas Memories
So, here goes...as promised, my special feature for the next few days...my favorite 12 memories of Christmas. I know that some of these will be common to others some will be unique to myself. Ultimately I hope that some of these little things could put a smile on your face and help this wonderful time of the year be a little merrier by the sharing of some of my favorite memories. Sit back, grab a cup of cocoa (or some nice stiff egg nog) and let's all sing along...On the first day of Christmas my memories bring to me....
Christmas Eve at my Grandparents
Ahh, Christmas Eve, that magical day when you are a child....that day before the big day! It was really a carefree day when I was younger...not hectic and chaotic like it is now. Ever since I've been "grown up" Christmas Eve has meant working retail or frantically running about trying to get last minute gifts....but when I was little it was magical!
From the time my first memories were forming until I was in roughly 4th grade, Christmas Eve meant that my family would travel to my Grandparents (dad's parents). It was never a far drive, but we would load up the car with gifts for all the cousins, aunt and uncles, and grandparents. All of the family lived remotely close to each other and we would all arrive around early evening. We would eat a big dinner and sit around and talk for a while. Of course us kids were extremely impatient with all the gifts under the tree! Eventually the parents would have enough of our whining and they would give in.
None of the gifts were out of this world, or extremely noteworthy (although I can still recall almost every single gift that I received )...it was the atmosphere of this evening that made it special. Everyone was happy and laughing....full of holiday cheer (well, except for the time around '86 or '87 when my uncle showed up with a pierce ear!). All of us kids would go to the billiards room and throw the pool balls around the table and into the holes. Ultimately though someone would get their fingers smashed and that would be the end of the pool table for a little bit.
There was always a fire going in the fireplace and we all had a stocking waiting for us. The stocking would be full of nuts and fruit. Thankfully the adults were willing to help us crack the nuts! There is just something good about a fresh nut, and not the stuff out of a can.
All evening long there was always this lingering energy in the error among all of us kids... A powerful energy filling us with excitement for the next morning! We always had a lot of fun, but we always knew that the sooner we got home the sooner we would wake up on Christmas morning! Oh the excitement!
When the evening was winding down the parents would all take us outside to see if we could spot Santa in the sky. We always saw the sleigh up in the sky which would cause all of us some anguish! If we could see him then that meant that he was close! We had to get home and asleep or we might miss out. With that the evening was coming to a close.
My first memory for this little series isn't a memory of a specific event or time, but rather a memory that covers many years....it's one of my favorites. Sadly, my grandparents began to spend their winters in Florida, and that meant that family gatherings on Christmas Eve were no longer the same. We tried to keep the tradition going, but it just didn't work out. We then moved the date around, but that just wasn't the same thing. My family has grown more and more spread out as time has went by....and the last Christmas that I remember was a few years ago, but it just has been too hard to make them work every year.
This Christmas though might be different. My grandparents have sold their home in Florida and spending most of the year in Indiana...and that means Christmas! Yeah, it's not on Christmas Eve this year...but I'm not complaining. Most everyone will be there except for a cousin, so it will be exciting. The family is larger now that the kid's are staring to procreate. I'm so excited...this Sunday will be the big event, hopefully it lives up to expectations. I'm also tempted to have my parents bring the videotape of those old Christmas's so that we can watch them and look at how things have changed.
I'm sure that family will be a reoccurring theme with this...and that is one thing that has become even more dear to my heart I've grown older. Family has also become more important now that I live further away from everyone. I'd love to be a short drive away from everyone, but unfortunately that is not the case, so I'll make sure to value every minute with everyone....and make sure to make many new memories.
Friday, December 09, 2005
The long commute
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone traveled safely yesterday (those of you that got snow). My drive home was very interesting, so sit back, grab a cup of cocoa and listen to this!I leave work at 4pm and head out onto the road. I decide that I'm going to stay off the interstate and stay more towards the back roads...B I G M I S T A K E!!! 10mph on the interstate beats 0mph on a street. My commute starts extremely slow, but once I get onto Post Rd things are looking ok.
I take 56th St to Lee Rd and that is where the problems start. You know those bowling ball games at the carnival that you want to have the ball stop between the two hills?
Yeah, you all know the game. Well, last night all of the travelers taking Lee Rd to Fall Creek were the bowling balls, and we all won the game. We were stuck between two hills and couldn't make it up. Basically Going down the hill 4 or 5 guys would help to push people up. I was one of those pushers. I'm not the type of guy to sit in my car on my ass while people are stuck. I couldn't believe people sitting in their car. Irregardless of the assholes, people worked together. It sure as hell wasn't people in their BMW's and Lexus's going home in Geist, it was working stiff in the 20's and 30's. Thankfully when it was my turn to go up the hill there was a group of guys to help me.
So, now that you know the back ground sit down for the kicker....
My drive home normally takes 30 minutes +/- 5 minutes. Last night I pulled into the driveway at 9:15pm. Yes, 5 hours and 15 minutes. My drive home from Detroit a couple of weeks ago was faster! So, now for some highlights of the trip.
Note speed is 0
One guy in a riced out Neon got stuck going up hill. I thankfully have already put on my gore-tex combat boots that I had in my car so I get out to help him. The dude is Mexican and doesn't speak a lick of English. We are explaining to him what to do and he nods his head in agreement and doesn't have a clue what we are saying. Damn all the Spanish teachers that I had growing up. I have 2 years of high school and 10 credit hours of college Spanish and I don't speak even passively. The language requirement kicked my ass in school. Ok, back to the story. We check the guys tires and his front right tire is bald. It's bad enough the other 3 are summer high performance ones (you know, because he obviously races his Neon). So, then his car dies. The dude runs out of gas. We then push him down the hill and onto a side street.
Speaking of tires...I need to rotate mine and/or get new fronts. I've been bad at rotating my tires and my fronts are almost to the low indicator. Damn it...new tires are expensive! I think that I'll rotate the good rears to the front and go like that for a while. I've started a new tire fund, but it's not a good time of the year for tires. I figure that I should be able to put back $50-100 a week and get new fronts in a month or so.
Next story! I'm at the bottom of the hill and I look to the right. In the car next to me there is a guy playing a trumpet. I kid you not. It is the funniest thing that I've seen in a long time. He has sheet music out and everything. I video taped it off my phone, if anyone wants a copy drop me a line and I'll send it to you.
On the road were a lot of school buses stuck in the traffic mess. I felt sorry for them. Luckily there were no kids on these buses, but there were some on others on other parts of town. I talked to one lady driving a bus and she said that buses were having to stop at Krogers and McD's to let kids go to the bathroom. I feel for the bus driver in that weather, hell, I feel for them in nice weather! I let the bus lady that I talk to use my cell phone to call her husband. I guess that I met the one last person in the US that doesn't have a cell phone.
I saw some inconsiderate people when it came time for a light at an intersection. We have been stuck on the road for HOURS already, yet people are trying to make a green light. Holy crap people, you think that the one car that gets through the intersection before you is going to make a difference. It got so bad when it was my turn to get out that I was about ready to get out of my car and tell Mr(s) Tahoe, BMW, and Lexus that they were idiots and a rude bastard. I didn't get to because someone else got out of their car and chewed the people out. This was the main incident of stupidity/anger that I saw.
Do any of you realize how much food you have stashed in your car? I was able to eat a mini-meal of pumpkin seeds, shredded beef jerky, and some sweet tarts. I was so surprised! I even was able to freshen my breath with some chewing gum! I think that I might stick a couple of MRE's in my trunk for future incidents. I was famished by the time I got home but thankfully Amanda answered my requests and had taco's ready for me!
I met a lot of nice people in my stuck state. I talked to numerous drivers and everyone was banded together pretty nicely. I think that if we wipe out everyone with a luxury car that I met then we would have had a high concentration of good people on my stuck road.
I made tons of phone calls while I was in my car. That was nice...thank God for cell phones. I also surfed the net and played some games. The Sirius radio came in nice. Unfortunately I didn't get to go to the Pacers game. It's disappointing because I had good seats, but there is nothing I can do about it.
Amanda was awesome and shoveled the sidewalk and driveway! It made my job a lot easier when I got home. Thanks babe!
When I finally got home I sat down with my tacos and watched Survivor. I was asleep on the couch before we finished the show! I was beat.
The drive in to work wasn't too bad, and I actually made it on time. That's it, time to get back to work!
So, now that you know the back ground sit down for the kicker....
My drive home normally takes 30 minutes +/- 5 minutes. Last night I pulled into the driveway at 9:15pm. Yes, 5 hours and 15 minutes. My drive home from Detroit a couple of weeks ago was faster! So, now for some highlights of the trip.
Note speed is 0
One guy in a riced out Neon got stuck going up hill. I thankfully have already put on my gore-tex combat boots that I had in my car so I get out to help him. The dude is Mexican and doesn't speak a lick of English. We are explaining to him what to do and he nods his head in agreement and doesn't have a clue what we are saying. Damn all the Spanish teachers that I had growing up. I have 2 years of high school and 10 credit hours of college Spanish and I don't speak even passively. The language requirement kicked my ass in school. Ok, back to the story. We check the guys tires and his front right tire is bald. It's bad enough the other 3 are summer high performance ones (you know, because he obviously races his Neon). So, then his car dies. The dude runs out of gas. We then push him down the hill and onto a side street.
Speaking of tires...I need to rotate mine and/or get new fronts. I've been bad at rotating my tires and my fronts are almost to the low indicator. Damn it...new tires are expensive! I think that I'll rotate the good rears to the front and go like that for a while. I've started a new tire fund, but it's not a good time of the year for tires. I figure that I should be able to put back $50-100 a week and get new fronts in a month or so.
Next story! I'm at the bottom of the hill and I look to the right. In the car next to me there is a guy playing a trumpet. I kid you not. It is the funniest thing that I've seen in a long time. He has sheet music out and everything. I video taped it off my phone, if anyone wants a copy drop me a line and I'll send it to you.
On the road were a lot of school buses stuck in the traffic mess. I felt sorry for them. Luckily there were no kids on these buses, but there were some on others on other parts of town. I talked to one lady driving a bus and she said that buses were having to stop at Krogers and McD's to let kids go to the bathroom. I feel for the bus driver in that weather, hell, I feel for them in nice weather! I let the bus lady that I talk to use my cell phone to call her husband. I guess that I met the one last person in the US that doesn't have a cell phone.
One of the many stuck buses
I saw some inconsiderate people when it came time for a light at an intersection. We have been stuck on the road for HOURS already, yet people are trying to make a green light. Holy crap people, you think that the one car that gets through the intersection before you is going to make a difference. It got so bad when it was my turn to get out that I was about ready to get out of my car and tell Mr(s) Tahoe, BMW, and Lexus that they were idiots and a rude bastard. I didn't get to because someone else got out of their car and chewed the people out. This was the main incident of stupidity/anger that I saw.
Do any of you realize how much food you have stashed in your car? I was able to eat a mini-meal of pumpkin seeds, shredded beef jerky, and some sweet tarts. I was so surprised! I even was able to freshen my breath with some chewing gum! I think that I might stick a couple of MRE's in my trunk for future incidents. I was famished by the time I got home but thankfully Amanda answered my requests and had taco's ready for me!
I met a lot of nice people in my stuck state. I talked to numerous drivers and everyone was banded together pretty nicely. I think that if we wipe out everyone with a luxury car that I met then we would have had a high concentration of good people on my stuck road.
I made tons of phone calls while I was in my car. That was nice...thank God for cell phones. I also surfed the net and played some games. The Sirius radio came in nice. Unfortunately I didn't get to go to the Pacers game. It's disappointing because I had good seats, but there is nothing I can do about it.
Amanda was awesome and shoveled the sidewalk and driveway! It made my job a lot easier when I got home. Thanks babe!
When I finally got home I sat down with my tacos and watched Survivor. I was asleep on the couch before we finished the show! I was beat.
The drive in to work wasn't too bad, and I actually made it on time. That's it, time to get back to work!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Sixty-four years ago today, the US was attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Many people lost their life that Sunday morning, but the people of the United States pooled together to fight a war in Europe, Africa, and Asia. We stayed the course and managed to win the war.
Just 4 years ago we were attacked once again by an enemy...this time the enemy did not target military targets, but rather innocent civilians carrying on their daily business. Thousands were killed, yet we seem to forget all of this as we wage war at this minute.
Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech on December 8, 1941 in front of Congress requesting a declaration of war...that speech is well known for it's opening line, but the speech itself is wonderfully written. FDR's speech could be applicable even today... in it's entirety:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/audio/10_1_2_d_FDRWar_MSTR.mov
The words:
Just 4 years ago we were attacked once again by an enemy...this time the enemy did not target military targets, but rather innocent civilians carrying on their daily business. Thousands were killed, yet we seem to forget all of this as we wage war at this minute.
Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech on December 8, 1941 in front of Congress requesting a declaration of war...that speech is well known for it's opening line, but the speech itself is wonderfully written. FDR's speech could be applicable even today... in it's entirety:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/audio/10_1_2_d_FDRWar_MSTR.mov
The words:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."
Basically just fill in the Japan with terrorist and it is pretty fitting.
It's getting late and I wasn't going to update, but I figured a little update wouldn't hurt me too bad! I'm super-tired and need a good nights sleep which should be able to set things back on the right track for me.
Today was a pretty normal work day, nothing exciting there. After work I met Amanda at Costco and we rode together to Susan's game in Kentland. The town it a good hour and forty-five minutes away, so it is a little bit of a trek. The game was really boring for some reason, and I took it upon myself to make the game a little more interesting. They played this small Christian school called Bethedsa Christian, which is in Brownsburg.
Bethedsa had about 5 fans at the game, so that became a joke in itself. I would yell stuff like "The Bethedsa fan goes crazy" if they did something good. Then I would yell something else about the anguish of the "fan". Yeah, it was that boring. I was making myself laugh pretty hard, but hey...what else was I to do? The refs really sucked this game and missed some easy calls. No big deal, I yelled a little at them too!
The best comment of the game was when the Bethedsa coach got all worked up about something and had stepped about 4 steps onto the court...while the game was going on, and was on the side of the ball. He was all huffed up and yelling at the refs. I yell "Get off the court coach that's not very Christian". Yeah, it was low, but it was funny as hell. The guy sat down immediately and didn't move the last quarter and a half. Pretty damn funny...low but funny! Amanda's mom records all the game, and I was about 4 feet from the camera so it might be interesting to watch it :)
Susan played pretty good, she had about 11 points. It's amazing what happens if you actually shoot! She has always been scared to shoot, so it was nice to be at a game where she actually shot the damn ball.
After the game we stopped in Lafayette and ate dinner with CW. It was nice to see him, it's been a while. Pepe's was pretty good, and that was surprising because the last few times it hasn't been too hot.
One good/bad thing happened on the way home. We forgot to get my car at Costco. That means that Amanda will have to drive me in the morning to get it. That's good because it means that Amanda will have to get up early, but it's bad because I'll have to budget extra time for it! Oh well! Amanda has been sleeping in pretty late every morning since she is on break. I'm getting up early and she is waking up at 11am! Today she was mad because I woke her up at 10:30! She has been staying up late though...so she is getting a regular nights sleep, only skewed back a few hours.
This coming weekend is the office Christmas party. It's at the Marriot and should be interesting. It is my first office Christmas party so I don't really know what to expect. My only idea of what they are like is from TV, and that is always a bad way to form an opinion about anything. I need to find out what everyone is wearing, but I'm guessing it will be semi-formal since they gave out real invitations and had an RSVP card. I might have to bust out the 'ol suit for this. It's also a good excuse to get a new dress shirt and tie for the occasion. No, I won't be getting one of those cheesy Christmas ties, those are really tacky. I need to expand my color assortment...most of my ties are in the blue/green range. I need some reds or other color to make it better. It's not like I wear ties all that much, but it's nice to have a good selection.
It looks like some people got a kick out of the whole tape on the couch trick. It's pretty effective. Occasionally Stormie likes to get on the kitchen counter and that is where I draw the line. I could personally care less about the couch but the counter is a big no-no. When I first caught her on there I could have gotten rid of her instantly. She did get an hour closet time for it. We put the tape on the counter and she stays off for a couple months. Cats will be cats, so they eventually try and test it again. I really think that is why cats are able to reproduce so fast. They are just too damn dumb to live very long and that is there way to compensate for their short life span and short memory.
Weather wise, it looks like we are going to get hit Thursday. Somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 inches. Well guess what...I'm calling "BRING IT BITCH". Show me what you got! I have been really disappointed in Indy's weather prediction in the 3 or so years that I've lived here. They call for snow a lot but nothing ever materializes. Either show up now or forever shut the heck up on the weather forecast. Up north where I grew up there was at least some bark to the bite.
Today I requested a few books at the library. Time to get a couple new one's and start reading. I also have some stuff to bring back to them. I really like the library...it's a pretty neat concept. Not like it's a NEW concept, but it's nice having all the stuff onlline here, so it's really easy to do renewals and requests.
Time for bed!
Today was a pretty normal work day, nothing exciting there. After work I met Amanda at Costco and we rode together to Susan's game in Kentland. The town it a good hour and forty-five minutes away, so it is a little bit of a trek. The game was really boring for some reason, and I took it upon myself to make the game a little more interesting. They played this small Christian school called Bethedsa Christian, which is in Brownsburg.
Bethedsa had about 5 fans at the game, so that became a joke in itself. I would yell stuff like "The Bethedsa fan goes crazy" if they did something good. Then I would yell something else about the anguish of the "fan". Yeah, it was that boring. I was making myself laugh pretty hard, but hey...what else was I to do? The refs really sucked this game and missed some easy calls. No big deal, I yelled a little at them too!
The best comment of the game was when the Bethedsa coach got all worked up about something and had stepped about 4 steps onto the court...while the game was going on, and was on the side of the ball. He was all huffed up and yelling at the refs. I yell "Get off the court coach that's not very Christian". Yeah, it was low, but it was funny as hell. The guy sat down immediately and didn't move the last quarter and a half. Pretty damn funny...low but funny! Amanda's mom records all the game, and I was about 4 feet from the camera so it might be interesting to watch it :)
Susan played pretty good, she had about 11 points. It's amazing what happens if you actually shoot! She has always been scared to shoot, so it was nice to be at a game where she actually shot the damn ball.
After the game we stopped in Lafayette and ate dinner with CW. It was nice to see him, it's been a while. Pepe's was pretty good, and that was surprising because the last few times it hasn't been too hot.
One good/bad thing happened on the way home. We forgot to get my car at Costco. That means that Amanda will have to drive me in the morning to get it. That's good because it means that Amanda will have to get up early, but it's bad because I'll have to budget extra time for it! Oh well! Amanda has been sleeping in pretty late every morning since she is on break. I'm getting up early and she is waking up at 11am! Today she was mad because I woke her up at 10:30! She has been staying up late though...so she is getting a regular nights sleep, only skewed back a few hours.
This coming weekend is the office Christmas party. It's at the Marriot and should be interesting. It is my first office Christmas party so I don't really know what to expect. My only idea of what they are like is from TV, and that is always a bad way to form an opinion about anything. I need to find out what everyone is wearing, but I'm guessing it will be semi-formal since they gave out real invitations and had an RSVP card. I might have to bust out the 'ol suit for this. It's also a good excuse to get a new dress shirt and tie for the occasion. No, I won't be getting one of those cheesy Christmas ties, those are really tacky. I need to expand my color assortment...most of my ties are in the blue/green range. I need some reds or other color to make it better. It's not like I wear ties all that much, but it's nice to have a good selection.
It looks like some people got a kick out of the whole tape on the couch trick. It's pretty effective. Occasionally Stormie likes to get on the kitchen counter and that is where I draw the line. I could personally care less about the couch but the counter is a big no-no. When I first caught her on there I could have gotten rid of her instantly. She did get an hour closet time for it. We put the tape on the counter and she stays off for a couple months. Cats will be cats, so they eventually try and test it again. I really think that is why cats are able to reproduce so fast. They are just too damn dumb to live very long and that is there way to compensate for their short life span and short memory.
Weather wise, it looks like we are going to get hit Thursday. Somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 inches. Well guess what...I'm calling "BRING IT BITCH". Show me what you got! I have been really disappointed in Indy's weather prediction in the 3 or so years that I've lived here. They call for snow a lot but nothing ever materializes. Either show up now or forever shut the heck up on the weather forecast. Up north where I grew up there was at least some bark to the bite.
Today I requested a few books at the library. Time to get a couple new one's and start reading. I also have some stuff to bring back to them. I really like the library...it's a pretty neat concept. Not like it's a NEW concept, but it's nice having all the stuff onlline here, so it's really easy to do renewals and requests.
Time for bed!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Today was a pretty uneventful day...nothing exciting or out of the ordinary. I do feel like I had an evening, so that is good. All too often it feels like I come home, eat dinner, go to sleep, go to work and repeat day after day. Not sure what the difference was tonight, but it was nice.
I'm having a pretty hard time adjusting to normal adult life. It just feels so strange no longer being in school, registering for classes, or having long vacations. I better get used to it, because what do I have...40 years or so of working left? Jeez, that seems like an eternity, but the first 26 years have went by fast, so I'm sure that the next will also.
As promised, I'll talk about a couple of the strange things that happened yesterday. First thing will be the crazy apartment employee. Remember that post about the ice? Well, the apartment complex actually was proactive and decided to salt the sidewalk early in the morning. It was like 6am or so on Sundy and I was getting ready to leave for drill. I went out to my car and started it up to help cut through the ice, and then I came inside to get some stuff. I grabbed my polypro and put that on (it's basically a fleece) and grabbed some other odd stuff that I needed. I was inside for a total of about 4 or 5 minutes. I have my change of clothes and shoes in my hand, ready to leave when I realize that since my car is on, I can't lock the front door.
I don't want to be a bad fiancee and leave the house unlocked while Amanda is upstairs sleeping, so I decide that I'll just make the extra trip and go to my car, to the door, and back to the car. I open the door while I'm deep in thought and I see a dark figure make a swing motion at me. The figure is about 4 or 5 feet away and I instantly tense up ready for the inevitable strike. Well, it never came and I said a big loud F#@* when I realized it was the goofy apartment guy throwing salt on the sidewalk. I think that I scared him worse than he did me, because all that he could manage was some stuttering about "Just trying to make the sidewalks safe". Thankfully I didn't piss myself, because that would have been embarrassing and inconvenient since I was wearing my only pressed uniform. I go to my car, drop off my stuff, go back to the door and lock it and then head on my merry way.
Strange...
Ok, on to the strange cats. Our cats love to sit on the back of the furniture. It's no big deal to me, but it bugs Amanda. She says it pushes down the cushion (which it does) but nonetheless we try to keep the off the couch. Lately, the cats have been getting more brazen with sitting back there so we have taken desperate measures. We have put a long strip of packing tape the entire length of the couch, chair, and love seat. This strip is basically a big cat trap. Cat jumps on the back of the furniture and is entangled in the tape...they don't like it and eventually give up on the couch.
We have had them get into the tape like twice since it's been up (5 days or so). Not sure which cat, but it doesn't matter. Yesterday Amanda and I are sitting on the couch watching some TV while Stormy is sitting on my lap. She is being pretty good while she is up there. After a while she sits up and starts to stare over my shoulder at the tape. She is literally fixated by it up there. She stays this way for a few minutes...eventually I go to pick her up.
I grab her with both hands and go to lift and she freaks out. She kicks, yells, growls, and meows in fear and anger all at once. It's pretty freaky. I set her down and Amanda is laughing her head off. I guess that it must have been something to see. I now think it is safe to say that Stormy now has a tape phobia.
I'm having a pretty hard time adjusting to normal adult life. It just feels so strange no longer being in school, registering for classes, or having long vacations. I better get used to it, because what do I have...40 years or so of working left? Jeez, that seems like an eternity, but the first 26 years have went by fast, so I'm sure that the next will also.
As promised, I'll talk about a couple of the strange things that happened yesterday. First thing will be the crazy apartment employee. Remember that post about the ice? Well, the apartment complex actually was proactive and decided to salt the sidewalk early in the morning. It was like 6am or so on Sundy and I was getting ready to leave for drill. I went out to my car and started it up to help cut through the ice, and then I came inside to get some stuff. I grabbed my polypro and put that on (it's basically a fleece) and grabbed some other odd stuff that I needed. I was inside for a total of about 4 or 5 minutes. I have my change of clothes and shoes in my hand, ready to leave when I realize that since my car is on, I can't lock the front door.
I don't want to be a bad fiancee and leave the house unlocked while Amanda is upstairs sleeping, so I decide that I'll just make the extra trip and go to my car, to the door, and back to the car. I open the door while I'm deep in thought and I see a dark figure make a swing motion at me. The figure is about 4 or 5 feet away and I instantly tense up ready for the inevitable strike. Well, it never came and I said a big loud F#@* when I realized it was the goofy apartment guy throwing salt on the sidewalk. I think that I scared him worse than he did me, because all that he could manage was some stuttering about "Just trying to make the sidewalks safe". Thankfully I didn't piss myself, because that would have been embarrassing and inconvenient since I was wearing my only pressed uniform. I go to my car, drop off my stuff, go back to the door and lock it and then head on my merry way.
Strange...
Ok, on to the strange cats. Our cats love to sit on the back of the furniture. It's no big deal to me, but it bugs Amanda. She says it pushes down the cushion (which it does) but nonetheless we try to keep the off the couch. Lately, the cats have been getting more brazen with sitting back there so we have taken desperate measures. We have put a long strip of packing tape the entire length of the couch, chair, and love seat. This strip is basically a big cat trap. Cat jumps on the back of the furniture and is entangled in the tape...they don't like it and eventually give up on the couch.
We have had them get into the tape like twice since it's been up (5 days or so). Not sure which cat, but it doesn't matter. Yesterday Amanda and I are sitting on the couch watching some TV while Stormy is sitting on my lap. She is being pretty good while she is up there. After a while she sits up and starts to stare over my shoulder at the tape. She is literally fixated by it up there. She stays this way for a few minutes...eventually I go to pick her up.
I grab her with both hands and go to lift and she freaks out. She kicks, yells, growls, and meows in fear and anger all at once. It's pretty freaky. I set her down and Amanda is laughing her head off. I guess that it must have been something to see. I now think it is safe to say that Stormy now has a tape phobia.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Another weekend is now going to fade into the history books. Well, the history books if there was someone really writing a book about what I do, so it won't really be fading into the history books!
This weekend was a drill weekend so it was pretty busy, that didn't stop me from doing some things. Last night I got home and Amanda wasn't home yet. I had a Tombstone pizza and amazingly I didn't burn my mouth like I usually do! I was pretty happy, because I usually end up in pain for a few days after I eat a frozen pizza. I went to bed pretty early though. Nothing else thrilling happened.
Today I came home and took a nap. It was pretty nice, because I was still reeling from my 2 hours of sleep on Friday. I want to be in bed soon to get another good (well, 6 hours) of sleep. After the nap, we grabbed burritos at no other than Chipotle and watched some Desperate Housewives. We are watching it on DVD, so far so good. We have only watched 3 episodes but it seems pretty interesting. We are getting them from Netflix, so we should be able to watch the first season really fast! I'd like to watch an episode or two a night.
The weather wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. We got some ice, but the snow that was coming didn't materialize. I have more to talk about like crazy apartment employees and pissed off cats, but that will be tomorrow!
This weekend was a drill weekend so it was pretty busy, that didn't stop me from doing some things. Last night I got home and Amanda wasn't home yet. I had a Tombstone pizza and amazingly I didn't burn my mouth like I usually do! I was pretty happy, because I usually end up in pain for a few days after I eat a frozen pizza. I went to bed pretty early though. Nothing else thrilling happened.
Today I came home and took a nap. It was pretty nice, because I was still reeling from my 2 hours of sleep on Friday. I want to be in bed soon to get another good (well, 6 hours) of sleep. After the nap, we grabbed burritos at no other than Chipotle and watched some Desperate Housewives. We are watching it on DVD, so far so good. We have only watched 3 episodes but it seems pretty interesting. We are getting them from Netflix, so we should be able to watch the first season really fast! I'd like to watch an episode or two a night.
The weather wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. We got some ice, but the snow that was coming didn't materialize. I have more to talk about like crazy apartment employees and pissed off cats, but that will be tomorrow!
Saturday, December 03, 2005
God called
Well, God decided that he would send us a message tonight...that we should all go outside and enjoy our new large ice skating rink that is coving all of central/south Indiana. Yep, that wonderful weather phenomena called freezing rain. So, you are from someplace warm and have no idea what I'm talking about... pull up a chair and I'll impart my meteorology skills on you.The temperature is cold outside, it is below freezing...their is precipitation in the forecast. What happens, is that way up high in the atmosphere it is snowing...you know that fluffy white stuff that Christmas dreams are made up and that skiers love? Well, it's is falling in it's long peaceful journey to earth when suddenly it hits some warm air and it melts...so now you have some 32.x degree rain drops...that are falling rapidly towards earth now.
These rain drops continue to cool as the speed towards earth, cooling to below freezing...then suddenly SPLAT, they hit the ground/tree/house/car/road/powerline and instantly freeze. They form layer upon layer of ice and cause hell on roads and power lines.
I'm not a huge winter hater, I don't mind snow nor the cold that much...but I don't like freezing rain. It is dangerous and there isn't much you can do about it...If you've never experience freezing rain I'll describe what it's like waking up in the morning with everything covered in a layer of ice.
You have trouble opening up the front door because ice has formed around the edge. You push and eventually it cracks open. You take one step out the door and your normally cushy astro turf door mat is not a solid ice spike mat. It supports your weight. You are then perilously walking towards your car and then wham you catch a wet icy spot and your feet fly out from under you.
Next think you know you are on your ass, your tailbone is on fire, and the hot cup of coffee you were carrying is now all over your nice warm coat. Oh well, you needed to clean it anways. You think to yourself that your stupid over price apartment complex really needs to throw some salt down. You realize that they probably won't do it so you go inside and grab your container of table salt and spread it around so that your fiancee doesn't bust her ass when she goes outside.
You are finished with the salt and walk towards your car. Well, your car now looks like an ice cube, it is covered in 1/4" of solid ice. You beat the ice off the handle and try to open it. Oh, it's locked. Good thing that cars have keyless entry now, because your lock is surely frozen over right now and would be impossible to open. You pull and yank and eventually you get your door open. You start the car and turn on the defrosters...anything to help with the ice melting. You grab your ice scrapper out of the back seat and decide to chisel away at the ice. It takes you about 20 minutes to get through the ice. Yep, it's that bad. Now you just have to drive on it. Well, I'm tire and fell asleep on the computer...my story is over...I'm off to bed. It's 11pm, and last night I only had 2 hours of sleep!
Friday, December 02, 2005
Cigars and Trash on the Side of the Road
This will be short...taking a break at work.Yesterday Amanda and I went to Susan's game at Tri-County. They lost...the game sucked. They should have won but there was a psychological let down following half-time for the ladies. Their unmotivating attention seeking coach doesn't know how to coach. She doesn't know how to motivate the players. She wants to yell at little mistakes while over looking big problems. I tried to take some pictures but my 6.1mb point and shoot just cannot get a good picture in the gyms. I gave up half-way through the first quarter. God, I need to get an SLR.
After the game it was the hour and a half drive back home, I slept some of it, so the time went by fast. We stopped by Arby's at 11pm or so and grabbed dinner, then went home and ate. We ate and watch Survivor. It was a good episode...Judd got the boot, I just love when someone gets blind-sided! HAHAHAHAHA
After that I didn't do much else and went to bed.
Guess what I'm doing? Getting a bad habit! I am now the proud owner of a humidor for cigars. I bought one last week and after conditioning it and getting it ready, it is now fully stocked with some stogies! I haven't smoked one yet, but that will probably happen this weekend. I'm excited...I really used to enjoy cigars, but stopped around '99 or so. I bought a small 25 cigar humidor, but already wish that I would have bought a larger one. Oh well, we'll see how I like it, and we'll go from there.
Ok, here is my rant for the day...garbage bags on the side of the road. Seriously people...what are you thinking? Who would decide to randomly pitch 10 garbage bags out on the off ramp from 465 to Allisonville Rd? Are people that cheap that they can't afford the $15 a month the garbage man costs? I see this all the time...trash bags strewn along the sides of the roads and it always pisses me off. I'd bet 20 to 1 that inside those garbage bags somewhere is a letter, note, or piece of paper with the trash throwers personal information...enough info to know who they are, how their credit is, who they know, what they eat, how much they make, where they bank, and a bunch of other stuff. I then would, if I had a pick up truck load up the garbage and drive to the rat bastards house and strew the trash all over their yard. What are they going to do? Fine me for returning the litter to it's rightful owner? Anyone have a truck and want to help?
That's about it... anyone think I'm evil for starting to smoke some cigars?
Thursday, December 01, 2005
I feel so terrible about the shotty updates, I don't know what is going on. I'm in some kind of funk. I feel like I've been busy, but I haven't been that busy. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold or something. I haven't been drinking any coffee during the day and maybe that is my problem...I'm coming off of a 3 year coffee bender and it is slowly taking it's toll. I think that I'm going to start drinking coffee again...I miss that warm dark liquid!
I'm not going to do that typical update of the past few days...nothing THAT exciting has happened, so I'll just touch on the finer points!
I received my humidor the other day, and as we speak I'm conditioning the wood inside before I put my cigars in. I have no idea how much or how often I'm going to have a stogie, but we'll see. I have wanted a humidor for a while, and I got a good deal on it. I've calibrated the hygrometer (the thing that tells you the humidity percentage in the box). It should be ready to go by the time I get home today. I am really happy how good the little wooden box looks. It is pretty sharp! I also have about 25 cigars to fill it up with tonight too!
I got a haircut the other day! It feels so good, it had been nearly a month and I was feeling like a dirt ball. I feel so much better getting it cut every week or two, I should get in a routine of going every Tuesday or Wednesday or something.
I have a lot of TV to still watch on the DVR. I have Prison Break and LOST to watch...I can't wait to watch them. I also have 6 or 7 CSI's and a myriad of other things to watch. I need to get busy, the thing is almost full!
It's snowing again out...I guess we are going to get about 2 inches. I wonder if this will stay around for any length of time...since the last one didn't. I just checked the weather and it looks like for the next 7 days they are calling for snow. I don't care as long as the roads aren't bad this weekend on my drives to and from Elwood.
Hey, remember how I said a couple days ago that I always forget all these neat ideas for posts that I have. Well, I actually remember one. This holiday season, I'm making a themed series. It will be entitled "12 days of Christmas Memories". Starting on Dec 13th, and continuing for the 12 days of Christmas, I'll post each day one of my favorite memories. I'll update the date and time stamp with each post to keep it at the front. I'm pretty excited about it...maybe some of you guys will want to follow the theme also. I love the holiday and I'd love to share with everyone some of my favorite memories.
Well, time to get back to work...what do you think about my little themed posting idea?
I'm not going to do that typical update of the past few days...nothing THAT exciting has happened, so I'll just touch on the finer points!
I received my humidor the other day, and as we speak I'm conditioning the wood inside before I put my cigars in. I have no idea how much or how often I'm going to have a stogie, but we'll see. I have wanted a humidor for a while, and I got a good deal on it. I've calibrated the hygrometer (the thing that tells you the humidity percentage in the box). It should be ready to go by the time I get home today. I am really happy how good the little wooden box looks. It is pretty sharp! I also have about 25 cigars to fill it up with tonight too!
I got a haircut the other day! It feels so good, it had been nearly a month and I was feeling like a dirt ball. I feel so much better getting it cut every week or two, I should get in a routine of going every Tuesday or Wednesday or something.
I have a lot of TV to still watch on the DVR. I have Prison Break and LOST to watch...I can't wait to watch them. I also have 6 or 7 CSI's and a myriad of other things to watch. I need to get busy, the thing is almost full!
It's snowing again out...I guess we are going to get about 2 inches. I wonder if this will stay around for any length of time...since the last one didn't. I just checked the weather and it looks like for the next 7 days they are calling for snow. I don't care as long as the roads aren't bad this weekend on my drives to and from Elwood.
Hey, remember how I said a couple days ago that I always forget all these neat ideas for posts that I have. Well, I actually remember one. This holiday season, I'm making a themed series. It will be entitled "12 days of Christmas Memories". Starting on Dec 13th, and continuing for the 12 days of Christmas, I'll post each day one of my favorite memories. I'll update the date and time stamp with each post to keep it at the front. I'm pretty excited about it...maybe some of you guys will want to follow the theme also. I love the holiday and I'd love to share with everyone some of my favorite memories.
Well, time to get back to work...what do you think about my little themed posting idea?
