End of 2010...

Happy New Years Eve! Well, maybe not for all. Tornadoes (more than 1? Don't know) went through the area this morning. The airport is temporarily closed so they can clear the runway of debris. Also, there are reports of 3 fatalities in a small town a couple of counties away. Very sad. Who in the hell ever figured a tornado in December. Crazy weather patterns lately. Today the temperature starts out at 66, and by midnight, will be 31 degrees. Then back into the 50's by the middle of next week.

Ann is working this morning, but not sure how long she will be there. There are very few kids at the daycare, so not everyone is needed. Figures that we have NO plans for this New Years, figuring she was working all day! Shit!

Last payday of the year for me today. Also found a nice little surprise. Very grateful for it. I am honored, but not necessarily humbled *wink*

Here's hoping 2011 brings you everything you wanted. May all of your dreams and wishes come true!

Happy New Year!

Great holiday!

This Christmas went much better than expected in my house. Let me preface, I warned my wife and son that on Christmas morning, this would be my routine: wake up when I heard the dog whining, let her out, then let her in to eat, then let her back out. While she was out the 2nd time, I would log on to my work laptop to capture some reports that run (yes, even on Christmas), which would only take about 5 minutes or so. Also, would make some fresh coffee (a little stronger than usual). When the work was done and the coffee was made, I would be waking everyone up. This would probably be around 7am. I was right on the schedule with this one. At 7am, I woke everyone up. The wife was easy. I go in, she was coughing, and I told her "it's time" and she got up. Then it's the son's turn. Usually, when I want to wake him up, I go in and yell "WAKE UP!" or shake him. But, being it's still dark during the winter at 7am, his room was dark. So, I simply put on the light. The reaction I got was better than any Christmas present. All I heard was "Oh God! Light!" I fell on the floor from laughing so hard.

Everyone very much enjoyed the gifts they received. I got the Rapala Bass Fishing game for XBox. My son got a couple of XBox games that he wanted. My wife got a sapphire ring and necklace (her birthstone), which she liked, although "where am I going to wear it" was the reaction I expected and received. We also bought 2 new board games for the family, which we enjoyed over the weekend. Had great laughs, great times. It was much needed and well deserved.

Now, it's a short week at work. I am working today and tomorrow, will "pop on" the next two mornings to retrieve a couple of reports, then Friday is New Year's Eve. Can't go far as Ann is working, but that's ok. All the bowl games will be on TV, so I'm ready!

What's to say...

14 years ago today we put you in the ground. Hallowed ground that will be yours forever. I still miss you sweetheart. Never forget, daddy will love you forever.

Another birthday in Heaven

Happy 14th Birthday Danielle! I love you and I miss you more than you can possibly know. Hopefully I will come join you soon so you don't have to be without daddy anymore.

Almost Christmas...

As many of you know, I am not a "party person" in the sense that I don't like much going to parties. Yeah, I'm fine if it's a smaller group of people. There isn't too much going on, everyone basically holds one (or two) conversations, and it's somewhat calm. Well, last night was our Supply Chain Christmas party at my manager's house. There were upwards of 50 people there, I would guess. I was wishy-washy about going, but I knew how disappointed a couple of people would have been if I didn't show. Unfortunately, Ann could not make it because of her sore throat. She is not sure if she has bronchitis, strep, or what. So I went alone. Surprisingly, I had a good time. I started the way I normally do...in a corner. I talked to a couple of people and it was nice. Then I decided to try something I have never done before. Beer Pong! First time in life.

Would like to take this time to thank the cheering section I had at the game. I was beyond surprised, and more than overwhelmed. The first game, we won. Second we lost. But that was OK. I am not much of a beer drinker in the winter, and "shooting" it is not in my best interest. Played again later (to a much smaller viewing audience), and again won the first game. Lost the second. Still a great time.

Overall, last night was much fun. Once again, ate WAY TOO MUCH! Stomach not as bad as the other day (thankfully), but ... well, let's just say it's a good thing there are 2 bathrooms in the house!

Quiet day...

Not much going on. Had a work meeting off-site yesterday, and ate too damned much. My stomach STILL hurts! Also, the meeting did not go as well as planned (or hoped). There were other meetings in the office which did not allow for "cutting loose" and relaxing the way we had hoped. It was great being out of the office though, so I am going to look at the positives. I have to, because the negative is the fact that my stomach STILL hurts, and at this rate will continue to hurt until 2011.

Anthony having his semester finals this week. He took 2 of them yesterday, has 2 more today, then one tomorrow. Not sure if I have to pick him up from school tomorrow or if he is going to get a bus home. Hoping for the bus, as I have a meeting until noon, and school ends at 10:30. Then he is off from school for 2 weeks. Lucky kid.

Actually, the next 2 weeks at work are going to be fairly wierd for me. I am in the office Monday through Wednesday, then online at home Thursday and Friday. The New Year's week I am online Monday and Tuesday, on vacation Wednesday and Thursday, and the office is closed Friday. Let's see how well that goes for me.

Here's a new thing: Question of the Blog! Every now and then I think back on my past, the past of my "friends", and for some reason more times than not I remember the "bad" rather than the good. On my next blog, I hope to write some kind of answer. So, here's today's question:

Is it bad to be majorly crushing on someone who has someone else? Is it worse when you have someone of your own at the time?

Almost Christmas...

Woo friggin' hoo! Yes, that's the Scrooge part of me, which I was told I have. No kidding?!? I am a Scrooge every year. And every year, on Christmas Eve, I make sure there are presents under the tree, and one or two that are "hiding" until everyone goes to bed. Then, on Christmas morning, I wake up WAY too early, feed the dog and let her out, then have to TRY to wait patiently while the laziest people I know sleep until forever before deciding to wake up and let me have fun with the toys that were bought (for me AND for my son).

Hey, I actually put up the tree last night. Yes, decorated it too. Don't ask me why. It's sitting in my living room near where I sit and frankly, it's in the damned way! Eh, it's only for a few weeks. It makes the family happy. Now, I have to get a tree skirt (for the bottom) and hopefully find my railroad train.

Two years plus...

And I'm still doing this? What am I, nuts?!? Well, yeah, OK I am. Someone asked me earlier if I was sick. I told them "not physically" no. Mentally? Whole other story.

Looking back, and it's been over 2 years since I started this blogging thing. It works for me. I don't care who reads, who doesn't. I look back and smile, laugh, cry, wonder what the fuck I was thinking, etc. I follow other bloggers, and they seem to have fallen off the face of the earth. Sucks to be them. I follow them because some of the stuff they type makes me look and feel sane. Some people are WAY too stupid. Makes me laugh. Now, I know I'm not the smartest knife in the drawer, not the sharpest tack, whatever! But DAMN people! Stop making your life sound like it's a fucking bowl of cherries. Because, you see, I have the ability to read between the lines, and "feel" what you are saying, and trust me, your life is the fucking pits! LMAO! Thank you for making me laugh.

Catching up...

Well, it's Sunday. Nice and somewhat lazy day for me. Ann and I went shopping last night, so I don't have to worry about doing it this morning. I kinda like going shopping with her. We call it our "date night" because we don't often go anywhere together. Then, on Sunday's I can focus on relaxing, maybe watching a football game or two, and laundry.

Anthony had a GREAT time at the game Friday night. And congratulations to the Bentonville Tigers football team on a perfect season and the state championship. Ann and I watched the second half on the internet, and it looked like a great game. Then I picked him up at 2:30am, and heard some of the stories of the game (and the "extra curricular" activities). For starters, someone spray painted a B'ville bus with "You Suck". Also, Fayetteville fans were yelling obscenities and making obscene gestures at B'ville fans. Sore losers, every last one of them!

Should be a fairly quiet week at work again. Still trying to grasp the whole CFR thing, but not feeling it yet. There is something missing from my knowledge, and I'm not exactly sure what it is yet. Basically, I feel like I'm going through the motions but that's about the extent of it. What this means? I'm not ready for the next level on a permanent basis yet, in my opinion. That's cool with me though. I am STILL learning my regular role. And helping others in that role makes me feel great.

It's friggin' COLD today. The high temp is going to be 41! Do I want to go play poker today? I'm 41. What a coincidence huh?

It's Friday!!

Taking 1/2 day off from work today. Have to hit an ATM to give money to my son as he is going to Little Rock for the football game. I am going to (hopefully) get my car into Midas to get the brakes worked on yet again! Then I have to find time to take a nap. Have to pick Anthony up at the school at 2am. YUCK! Plus, I have a disc issue in my back which is shooting down my right leg which is never fun to deal with. Can't find a comfortable position to sit or stand when this happens. Trying to make it through. Driving becomes interesting too. I become a two foot driver (right leg gas, left leg brake).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

New Day...

Not much going on right now. Work, thankfully, is fairly quiet. Tonight is our company Christmas Party. I will not be attending, as Ann has a class to attend and would not be able to go with me. I prefer not to go alone, as I hate standing there by myself with nobody to talk to all night. Next week is the Christmas Party at her job. Hopefully it's better than the one they had where she worked last year. It was awful! This year .. new job, new group of people to try to get to know. Lucky me. We are also have a CS only Christmas Party in a couple of weeks at someone's house. I said I would attend, but my mindset is changing quickly. I know for a fact I will not feel comfortable there, so I'm going to back out. Now I have to tell the boss. He will be disappointed, I'm sure. Frankly, so am I. But it's something I would prefer not to attend.

Thoughts...

I am fortunate enough to be able to listen to Pandora while at work. I keep my earplugs in so I don't put the music loud with speakers in to disturb anyone. Every now and then, a song comes on that makes me nostalgic. This is one of those times. I will not mention the song for fear I will have to pay a copyright fee. But it gets me thinking about family. Mine in particular. I remember when my parents divorced. My dad was a sonofabitch. He cheated multiple times on my mom, even hit on her friends more than once. When my mom finally had enough and asked for a divorce ... well that was just blasphemy. You don't do that! No matter what, you stay by his side. Bullshit! Even I could see they needed to split. Well, of course, to my mom's side of the family my father was the biggest sack of shit they ever heard of. And on my dad's side, well they had to stick with tradition and think that way about my mom.

Fast forward a few years. We discover one of my mom's (and uncle's) cousins is a pedophile. He caused a great friend of mine and her family to move out of the state rather than press charges against him. He went after his own nieces AND nephews! All THEY did was move out of the basement apartment they rented from him. NOBODY would press charges. Why? Because he was a vietnam war veteran who lost his leg for his country. Of course, there were some that distanced themselves, my mom and uncles being three of them. Took us kids out of the picture. TO AN EXTENT! See, this man was married, and him and his wife never had kids of their own. Big shock huh? Well, turns out the WIFE of this bastard was fucking one of my uncles! Yes, my uncle was fucking his cousin's wife. This uncle is ALSO married!

What the laugh about all of this is...

The uncle who cheated with his cousin's wife was forgiven by his wife AND his children! So (to an extent) was the cousin's wife, who he was cheating with. BOTH of my uncles snorted cocaine. Maybe they still do, who the fuck knows! The families KNOW! Hell, some of their kids (and one of the wives) have joined them in it more than once, as well as used that knowledge as blackmail against him.

One of my cousin's worked at a gas station when he was about 18 or so and a friend of his came by one night to hang out. Well, 2 guys came in with guns trying to rob the place. One of them put the gun into my cousin's gut. He smacked it away, the gun fell and went off. The other robber thought shots were being fired AT someone, so he shot my cousin's friend in the head, killing him. My cousin was told it wasn't his fault. BULLSHIT! He should have let these guys have the fucking money and nobody would have gotten hurt. He didn't have to be the hero, because heroes do not get innocent people killed!

Yet, the family overlooked ALL of this bullshit, but could not overlook a woman who divorced her husband because he was a piece of shit.

This kinda explains why I keep NOBODY close to me. There is a motto I heard a long time ago. DTA! Don't Trust Anyone! I still live by it to this day. Family SUCKS! Friends are NON-EXISTENT!

OK I feel better now. Thanks to myself for listening!

Fire Drill...

Yes, lady and gentle sir who read this post, you read that title right. We had a fire drill in the office this morning. But not just ANY fire drill, mind you. It was a FIRE (I think). The alarm has gone off before, and usually goes off after about 45 seconds. Sometimes it's a test (we hear about those), other times it just gets bored and decides to throw a small tantrum. Well, this morning it went off. Myself, like most of my coworkers, stayed at their desks and waited for it to shut off. After about 90 seconds, people decided to treat it like a real drill and leave. So I followed. Turns out it was a good thing. We stood outside for 10-15 minutes, watched 2 fire trucks pull up to do whatever they do, then were allowed back in. When we went back in, we could tell SOMETHING was burning. Apparently it was something in the electrical system having to do with the elevators. If there could be anything good to look at for all of this, better today than yesterday. At least today the temperature was above freezing. Yesterday would have not been good. Would rather have stayed in the building and burned. I like the heat better than the cold.

Don't know if I've mentioned this, but congratulations to the Bentonville Tigers football team on an undefeated season thus far. They are heading to Little Rock to play in the state finals this Friday night. The school district will be closing by 12:30 so students and teachers can go to the game (and because they know nobody will want to learn knowing their team is in the state finals!). My son will be going to the game. He heard it will be $12 for the ticket AND the "spirit bus" that will be transporting students to and from the game. I thought about going, but I would have to drive myself, and it's 3 hours each way. Plus, the thought of having to drive all that way from 10 or 11pm until 1 or 2 am is NOT fun. I will still have to pick Anthony up at the school when they get home, but 8 miles much better than the former.

Boredom...

Ha ha ha! Not really. Someone requested I post more often so they have something to read. So here's today's post. See you again soon! *SMILE*

End of November...

Already! Wow this year has gone fast. Been thinking about what I may have missed. Can't seem to come up with much of anything. Sex with other women? Nah. Can barely take care of the one I have, never mind disappointing others. Job opportunities? Nope. Have a chance to prove that I am ready for the "next level" at work. While not the most comfortable, doing well enough. Thankfully, I have great co-workers as a support system, and 2 bosses who are more than willing to help me out and answer any stupid questions I have. Travelling? Well, I did skip my planned trip to New York, but looks like I may be locked in for late spring/early summer 2011. Promised to take Anthony fishing off a party boat if he passes all of his classes. He still remembers the one time we did go fishing when we lived in New York, and I want him to experience it with me on a boat at least once. Also, it will just be the two of us. Not taking the wife. Men's week out. Now I just hope he passes everything. So far so good!

This past week was rather uneventful. I worked 3 days, then worked a little on Thursday, monitored email Friday, had the day (and the work laptop) off on Saturday, and today is a normal Sunday. I retrieve whatever reports I can, then do nothing. Well, except I have a conference call at 1pm CST, but I planned for that. I have End Of Month coverage this month. Actually chose it, knowing I would be home for Thanksgiving so there are no issues with me getting online. Plus, today I do the laundry, and not watch much NFL (games have not excited me this year, don't know why).

Tomorrow it's back to a normal schedule. Also have to find a railroad track to put around the base of my Christmas tree. It's my reason to even put up a tree. Yes, I'm a grinch! Have been for 14 years now. I have my reasons, but always try to make the best of it for the rest of the family. One day I may tell you about it. But, be prepared. It's a really long story! Until then...

Someone once said...

Last night, I found someone I haven't seen in quite awhile. It should have felt good; it should have broken my heart. It did neither. He confronted me and said I lied. I got mad and told him that's what I do. I lie to keep feelings from getting hurt worse than they would if I didn't lie. I lie to keep the peace with others in some cases, so they do not hate me for my thoughts and/or actions. I lie because that's what I was taught to do; and I learned from one of the best I guess. I also told him I turned into him, and I hate him for that. I followed in his footsteps and did things I never thought I would do.

After all of this, I woke up and the migraine I suffered from for 3 days was gone. Today, I feel better than I have in days.

Thank you Dad! I miss you, and I love you!!

What a week...

Have not felt good most of the week. Caught a migraine on Monday at work, mostly in my left eye. In case you wonder, I suffer from exotropia (I think that's how you spell it). Basically, the muscles in my eyes are bad, and I only "look" out of one eye at a time. The other tends to travel outward, making me look somewhat crosseyed. Well, my right eye is dominant, so I use that one most of the time. I had a Live Meeting on Monday afternoon, and when the screen popped up, it was brighter than normal. The light went into my left eyeball (the eye was to the left), and went right to my head. The pain was severe, meaning instant migraine. Finally, my head is starting to feel better, but I still have nausea in my stomach. Eating doesn't help; not eating doesn't help. Sleep doesn't seem to make a difference. I left work early yesterday, came home and slept half the day. Still felt like crap. Today I planned to work from home, then saw a mandatory meeting, so I went into the office. After the meeting is our annual Thanksgiving lunch. I didn't stay. Don't feel up to eating, talking, etc. So I came home and will work from home the rest of today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Despite how I felt yesterday, I took Anthony to school last night for CAP Conferences. Basically it is to pick his classes for next year. It's a good thing I went, because we discovered there are 2 classes he has to make up from 9th grade. He can take care of those in summer school. This year he is doing well. He is passing every class, so as long as everything stays good, he will be fully caught up for his 11th grade classes.

A good week

I can honestly say nothing crazy happened this week. There was my normal work. I had an ice cream promo to write, which went much better than I expected. There is a frozen promo that I passed off to a coworker (I was told to, and actually listened). My holiday schedule for Thanksgiving has been planned and sent out to be executed. Wow!

Gave up "date night" tonight. Yep, Walmart is on her own tonight. Not going grocery shopping like planned. Will go tomorrow morning instead, which is normal. Actually got a nap earlier.

Played some Call of Duty: Black Ops today. Sent wife and son to Sam's Club and I "borrowed" the disc from my son *SMILE*. Good game. Haven't played multiplayer yet. Also, been playing a lot of backgammon on X-Box this week. Boy have I missed playing that.

No go...

I don't remember if I mentioned that I was thinking of going to a casino to bet on the Breeders Cup horse races over the weekend. Well, I didn't go. Just didn't "feel it" so decided to stay home and watch it on TV, picking the non-winners on my couch and saving a helluva lot of money. After the races were over, watched some of the Arkansas/South Carolina football game and the New York Islanders hockey game. Arkansas won (yay!) and the Islanders lost (again! that's 7 in a row now!!). After the hockey game, I decided to take Ann out for "date night". We went to Walmart to do our weekly grocery shopping. The list was real small, but I did get to watch about 20 minutes of Toy Story 3 in their electronics department. It was actually really nice. Just us, walking around, looking at everything. And this morning I didn't have to worry about rushing around. Normally, my Sunday is go shopping at 8:30am, get home and turn on my work laptop to get some reports that come back early (this is good!), then I play a little X-Box before starting the laundry. While the laundry is on, I either play some more X-Box or watch football. Today, I could relax. Didn't play much X-Box and got laundry started earlier. Then we sat and watched a DVD on the career of Chris Jericho (one of my all time favorite wrestlers). Amazing first DVD, can't wait to watch the other 2 in the set.

Tomorrow it's back to work. Honestly, I can't wait. I am no good when I have a week to do nothing. My next vacation is the week between Christmas and New Year's, but that won't be as bad because Anthony will be off from school. We will find things to do, like play with the games we get for Christmas, and maybe take a drive to Walmart to find after holiday sales stuff.

Ann is laying down, and I was supposed to wake her up 10 minutes ago. I guess I should go get her. TTFN!

All good things...

...well, good things never really took place this week. I did work on Monday. I knew I would, and I didn't mind. I had absolutely no other plans for that day. Tuesday and Wednesday I played poker. Lost both tournaments. Went to Bordertown yesterday to see the OTB that they have. It's decent. Did nothing today. Played alot of XBox and now watching the Breeders Cup on ESPN2.

I love watching horse racing. The horses are so beautiful to watch. Today, however, I saw something I have never seen in 41 years of watching racing. Two jockeys got into a fistfight after a race. Now, let's keep in mind that I am taller than most jockeys. I also outweigh them by about 40 lbs or so. I do respect jockeys, as they keep their body fat very low and are extremely strong. I do not. What I never expected was to watch a jockey have to be put in a full nelson and be held by THREE men (none of them jockeys) so he wouldn't go after another jockey, and they had a helluva time holding him!! He was MOVING them backward. I am still in shock over it.

Not sure if I am going to take the ride to Bordertown tomorrow to bet on the races. Will see how I'm feeling, how the family is, etc. I will probably change my mind 7 or 8 times before coming to a decision not long before I would have to leave.

One other note...as I mentioned above, I played poker 2 days this week. Both tournaments were at Cherokee. I was shocked to see the tables out on the casino floor. They built a poker room about a year ago to keep the players separate from the slots. It was great. Many TV's around, no smoke (yes, I smoke, but playing keeps me from smoking). Well, apparently that room is going to get slots, and the new room is not ready yet. So the geniuses in charge decided to move the tables out early rather than respect the players and leave them there until the new room was ready. STUPID! However, I did find out that they are putting in an OTB at Cherokee. WHEEEEEEEE!!! Much easier travel, and personally, not crazy about Bordertown as a casino. Too bad it wasn't ready by today though. LOL!

Vacation!

The first one since the end of December 2009. It's here! Don't tell my boss, but I will be working on Monday from home for a short time. The coworker I was supposed to train on reports that I do was unable to get trained due to issues on her business, AND she's not even going to be in the office on Monday. Being the report cannot wait, I'm doing it. Then on Tuesday morning, I have to be on to run a report for the manager. That won't take me long though, then the work laptop will not be turned on again until the weekend, when I clear out all of the emails.

Yay for me!

Been a few days...

Tried posting a couple of times on my personal laptop, but I have something blocking my access, so I didn't. Also, been a very busy few days at work. Actually worked all day this past Saturday writing orders.

Let's get you, my loyal reader(s), up to date. Ann and Anthony are NOT going to New York in December. We "discussed" it (I said no, she said oh! ok) and determined that we are finally able to start saving money, and with the holidays coming it just wouldn't work very well. The couch was comfortable, thanks for asking :)

The woman I am covering for at work was being induced yesterday (she's pregnant and due in early November). Have not heard if she had the baby yet. Hopefully she has it today. She mentioned not wanting to have it on the 28th so hopefully her wish is granted. Also hoping she and the baby are doing well.

Next week I am on .. wait for it .. VACATION!! What am I, NUTS?!? I planned this vacation early in the year, which was fine. Did not expect to be covering another desk when vacation rolled around, which means I have to have others cover my ORIGINAL desk while I'm gone. With all the changes that have gone on in my office over the past few months, the ones being trained are "new" to my categories and therefore unfamiliar with them. I am just hoping I do not come back to a huge mess. It should be OK, there is a great support system here. But still .. I have trust issues to begin with. I would have been very satisfied to just have Wed to Fri off and work Monday and Tuesday. Requested and rejected! Ah well, such is life.

So, what are my plans for vacation? Sleep alot! Maybe catch up on some movies I haven't seen in forever that I have on my DVR (yeah right!). Hoping to hit Cherokee Casino for a morning poker tournament, or maybe go to Downstream Casino for a 2pm tournament. One thing I am DEFINITELY doing is going to Bordertown Casino. They have an OTB (Off Track Betting -- read back, I posted this before!), and the Breeders Cup (as I like to call it by the original name) is the weekend after my birthday. I have not bet on horses in 7 years, and they have a great setup there. So, Friday and Saturday I will be there. The good thing is that will pretty much be the only good track running, so there aren't many other races to bet on (saves money) but there is like 45 minutes or more between races (boring!) so have to find a way to kill time. In a casino. Oy! May just do the Saturday card, not sure yet. Will see what's going on.

Hey, I am receiving a VIA award at work (Values In Action). Myself and a co-worker in my office, for something we did with a project on margarine. Damned if we remember what we did, but it was recognized, and for this I am honored. Hopefully it comes with pictures showing what we did LOL!

Unreal...

This week started out OK. Found out early yesterday that Ann had to go to a training seminar at the high school last night, so Anthony and I were on our own for dinner. Asked him what he wanted, gave him time to think about it, was hoping he'd say Steak & Shake. Nope. McDonalds. Oh well. Frankly, I'm getting tired of it. Anyway, I went and got it, we watched the Islanders play the Maple Leafs (HOCKEY, BABY!! YESSSSS!!). We won in OT 2-1 so I'm happy.

Got all my reports done this week with a lot less confusion than last week. Seems I am slowly catching on to what I'm supposed to be doing. That's a plus!

And that's when it all falls apart. Talked to Ann on her break, and got the dreaded "I have to ask you a question" statement. If it's asking me if you can invite a woman over for some extra fun, SURE! If it's asking me if I wouldn't mind having an affair with one of her female co-workers who is going through a nasty divorce and needs some help to get through it, SURE! But nooooo. She says "I'm working full time now. Can Anthony and I go to NY in December for Aunt Mary's 90th birthday?" Well SHIT! We are FINALLY able to save some money. And now, weeks before Christmas, she wants to spend close to $800 to go see family...AGAIN! I'm honestly ready to tell her to just go live the fuck up there. Her sister has the room, now that all the boys are grown and on their own! There are daycares in Pennsylvania, right??

The only bright spot is that she is only at the new job a couple of months, so she may have a problem getting a day off. Now that I typed it out loud (and thought it more than once), there will be absolutely NO issue with her getting a day off! FUCK!!

Not much going on...

Work has been fun. Trying to learn a new job while working on a schedule to train those that will cover me. Today's numbers did NOT look good, and we all hit the panic button. Turned out it wasn't anything we did, which is wonderful. Still have to keep a close eye on things for a few days though, make sure nothing gets screwed up.

Friday and Saturday is my son's High School Forensics/Debate tournament. It is taking place at his HS and he has to "work" the event. Please do not ask me why his class is not able to participate, because I do not have an answer for this. I DO, however, know that I will be volunteering my time for this event. Saturday from 11am until 1pm, I get to be a supervisor in the concession area. Then from 1 until 5pm, I will be demoted to cashier. What I did NOT realize when I signed up for these shifts is that Arkanas is playing Auburn at 2:30pm, and I will wind up missing most (if not all) of the game. I wonder if we will have a radio available to listen to it at least.

Did I get smacked too hard??

The past 3 days I have suffered 4 bloody noses ... or is it 5? I can't remember. The first two happened Friday at 3:30am. On Wednesday(overnight to Thursday AM) I woke up at 2:30 to blow my nose, then went back to sleep. I didn't realize until the next morning that I had nothing but blood come out. Thursday (overnight to Friday AM), I woke up at 3:30 .. WAIT! I said that already, and don't feel like backspacing. Anyway, I went to the doctor and he gave me nose spray and no idea what it could be. Said if it continues I need to go to an ENT specialist. Made it all the way through to Saturday evening and it started again. And, then once again this morning. Going to get the number for a specialist tomorrow and go from there. This is going to screw up all the plans I had this week :(

UPDATE 9:42pm -- Well, it started again after dinner. This time took longer than usual to stop, and when it did stop, it started right up again. Went to the ER and doctor said it's a blood vessel that was broken. He cortorized (sp? -- oh hell, he glued it or something) the vessel and gave me a nose spray I have to use 2 times a day for 3 days. It should not start bleeding again, and if it does it should not be anywhere as severe as it has been. Now I can only hope I don't sneeze :)

UPDATE #2 10-11-2010 12:00pm - Wound up back at the hospital this morning! Woke up at 4:30am and the bleeding was the worst it has been since this started. The glue did not hold, and the bleeding took over 10 minutes to stop. Now I am sitting, having to work from home, with something up my nose to absorb any blood that may decide to try to come out. I will tell you this though. If I DO start bleeding again, it's going to take a bath towel to catch it all if it does what it did this morning. What did I do to deserve this????

One hand washes the other...

And BOTH wind up smacking me right in the face!

Well, I decided to go to the casino on Sunday after all to play in a poker tournament. I knew there would not be many people there because another casino is holding a huge tournament this week, so most players migrate there. Works for me. Anyway, I got to the casino about 45 minutes early, so I decided to play some slots before the tournament started. Played for about 20 minutes on the same $20 on a slot machine, didn't win much. Decided to switch machines to ones I had not seen there before. This one has 4 levels of jackpot, ranging from $13 to $1,000+. I decided to try it. After about 10 minutes, and not knowing how to hit this 4 level thing, I hit it. Long story short, I picked the right treasure chests and won $1,016 from the machine. The FIRST thought that went through my mind was "there's the new stove". I played in the tournament, came in 8th out of 22, and went home.

I got home just in time. My wife just started dinner. Making chicken cutlets. She had to use the back burner (as I mentioned, the front one wasn't working). When she started it up and put the pan on the burner, I noticed it was glowing underneath. Not common for an ELECTRIC stove. She lifted the pan, and sure enough the stove was on fire. I blew it out, and we went out to eat.

Yesterday, went to Home Depot, bought a new stove like I thought I would. This morning they came to install it. The jackasses who built the house put the electrical wire for the stove UNDER the counter against the wall of the house. Then blocked it off with a cabinet and a bunch of wood. Naturally, because these guys are not contractors, they can't go taking my kitchen apart. So, I still have the bad stove in the kitchen, the new one in the garage, and tonight I get to play home wrecker. If you don't hear from me for awhile, it means this did NOT end well!

UPDATED 10-06-2010: A husband of my wife's co-worker (keeping up?) came over last night, took one look at the wire for the stove and determined it was hard wired. This means it could easily be used to hook up the new stove, and that is just what he did. All is right with the world, and I didn't collapse my counter in the kitchen!

It's October...

And it's Fall (capitalized, because it's the name of a season, is that right?). Anyway, woke up to the house being a balmy 68 degrees, so immediatey the windows were closed and the ceiling fans shut off. I refuse to put the heat on this early. Wear a sweater if you're cold ... or in my case, pants! Hey, don't judge!!

I think I was supposed to blog about something particular this weekend, but I don't really feel like it. Plus, the person that mentioned the topic didn't remind me so I won't. Right now my mind is on other things anyway. This week at work should be great. The sales team is out for a few days, nothing much going on with the exception of some truck building. Maybe I will actually have time to train people on how to do my job. That's my goal, and I'm sticking to it.

Thinking of going to play poker today, but that will probably not happen. Appears I have a problem with the big burner on my stove. The one I thought I fixed. Last night it did not heat up at all. Connection looks good, just no juice. I am really hoping I do not have to replace it. I'm tired of saving money, only to spend it 3 days later because something went wrong.

Mowed my back lawn again yesterday. This time mowed at a level 2 and bagged it. Damn it looks nice! Also, no rain in the forecast for the next few days, so shouldn't grow too much. Give me a reprieve from mowing. Will have to do the front lawn again this week, also at a level 2. Then both halves will look nice. Yay me.

Well that's it for now. Gotta do the laundry.

It's Autumn!

The weather so far this week has been nothing short of perfect! It's been in the 70s for a high, and in the 40s (yes, folks, FORTIES!) for a low. GREAT sleeping weather. Washed the blanky and put it on the bed. Also, bought a new lawnmower over the weekend. The original one lasted 7 years. Pretty good for a piece of equipment that only carries a 2-year warranty normally, and trust me when I say it wasn't used "normally". The backyard of my home did not get mowed unless it was a foot or higher.

Watched the Razorbacks game this past Saturday, and damn near lost my voice (and my mind with the 4th quarter collapse). Great 3 1/2 hours with my son though. We enjoyed watching the game together. He's finally willing to sit and watch a full game, rather than get bored after 15 minutes and go do something else. For that matter, so am I!

Not much else going on. Hate September for all of the extra bills. Insurance, car registrations, garbage bill, Ann's birthday. At least October and November should be fairly quiet. Electric bill will definitely be lower (no A/C on), gas bill should still be non-existent. Only use gas for heat, and right now that's staying off!

TTFN!

Good vacation

It came and went. Thursday actually bought Halo: Reach for my son (and for me .. I played it while sitting around with nothing to do). Saturday (that was yesterday, DUH!) Ann and I went to Downstream. Unfortunately after dinner she became a bit ill so we left earlier than planned. Got to listen to the NWA Naturals (KC Royals AA affiliate) win the championship vs Midland on the radio. Today did my grocery shopping (all 5 items on the list) and will start laundry soon. Basically a normal weekend. I have been bitten by the poker bug again and would like to go today to Cherokee to play in their 2pm tournament, but with Ann not feeling well will probably not go. Better to stay home and make sure she is OK.

That brings you up to speed. Short and sweet (1/2 like me .. I am short!)

Happy Hump Day!

Yes. I am counting down the hours until my first vacation of 2010. Granted, it is only 2 days, but HEY, I'll take what I can get. Also, it's payday! May celebrate by getting some lunch today.

Tomorrow is my wife's 50th birthday. I originally took off the next two days in anticipation of her having vacation and us doing something special. But recently she switched jobs, so no vacation. I thought about postponing mine, but I have some changes coming to my own schedule at work, and this week is quiet, so I decided to leave it alone and take the time. This will at least give me a chance to go and buy her gift. Things you want to buy are very difficult when the place you have to go has the same hours as you do, dontcha think?

The NWA Naturals have made it to the AA Championship!! (Did I tell you that already?) Anyway, games 1 and 2 were last night and tonight at home. Perfect! Wasn't planning on going. DID, however, kid around with Ann that if they WERE playing at home on her birthday we could go if she wants. Well, guess friggin' what?!? Last night's game was postponed due to "poor field conditions". You have to ask "I don't get it? The sun was shining yesterday afternoon." Yes it was. However, it poured in the morning. AND, the grounds crew did not put the tarp on the field after the Monday night game. Soooooooo, cancel game 1 on Tuesday, move it to Wednesday. Guess when they play game 2? Tomorrow. On Ann's birthday! Guess who may be going to Springdale .. AGAIN! Leaving it up to her.

I do know that we will be going to Downstream this weekend. Not for an overnight trip, although if we had planned it better maybe we could have. But definitely doing a day trip. We both enjoy it there. It's very player friendly comfortable. Personally I wouldn't mind going to Bordertown. They have an OTB (Off Track Betting, not On The Border!). I do know I'm going there in November for the Breeder's Cup. I so miss watching horse racing. They are such beautiful animals, and when they run, it's amazing to watch the speed and coordination. Plus, the jockeys make me feel tall!

I think I told you I wanted to be a jockey when I was a kid. I was short and light enough. But my mother was afraid I'd fall off and get hurt. I was lucky to get on a merry-go-round! Ah well, now I'm way too fat! I'd get on the horse, and I swear it would pull a Mr Ed and look back at me going "you've GOT to be fucking kidding me right?!?" Such is life.

Still haven't forgotten

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of 9-11-2001 and the terrible terrorist attack in New York and Washington. I am in Arkansas now, far away from where I was then. This morning I was watching TV, and flipped on MSNBC just to see what coverage they had on the tragedy from 9 years ago. They are showing the actual footage of their coverage of that fateful morning. These are reports and images I had not seen, as I was at work and TV was not available. We only had radio.

Thank you President Obama for pulling our troops out of Afghanistan, for putting an end to our part in the war in that country. Please, however, do not be fooled that this is over. They will not rest until they complete what they set out to do, and after reports of EIGHT planes that were originally unaccounted for on 9-11-2001, and only 4 landed with what we know were terrorists, we have to ask...where did the other four end up?

What a weekend...

Where do I start? Well, we went to the Naturals game on Saturday. I was really excited too, because they had the chance to clinch the 2nd half title (they already won the 1st half), but they lost. Beautiful day though. Sunday I did my shopping and laundry (yes, I'm that wonderful a person .. ha ha), and played some X-Box. During this "downtime" my wife mentioned about going to the Naturals game on Monday. It was a day game (1pm start) and the weather was going to be good, so I went online and bought tickets.

Monday comes and we go to the game. We were in our seats about 4 seconds before someone from the Naturals staff comes over and asks us if we would like to "upgrade" our seats. Mind you, the stadium holds roughly 6,000 people and EVERY seat is good! But they got excited, so we moved. The catch was be in the seats during the 6th inning so we could be announced and put on the jumbotron. OK, cool. Move me to the other side of the stadium, so if I want to have a cigarette, I have to walk 6x as far as I did originally. Anyway...Monday is also Baseball Bingo. What they do is with each home team batter (except the DH), whatever they hit corresponds to a bingo number. Get bingo and you win. Well, we needed 0-65, and the batter that was up needed to fly out. I told my son "he hits a fly out you run. WAIT! Take the bingo card with you." Sure enough, the batter swings, and as soon as the ball goes up in the air, my son is up waiting for the card. We got bingo, and we won. I made the mistake of sending him up for the prize. He had a choice. Tickets to tonight's playoff game 1, movie tickets, or a "goodie bag". He was afraid to choose the tickets to the game, because dammit, I was there twice this week and I was tired! Long story short, he took the tickets. Sooooooo, we are going to the game again tonight (weather permitting). I am beginning to dislike the town they play in!

Welcome to Labor Day weekend...

Woohoo! It's here. A legitimate 3-day weekend! Well, kinda. I will still be online for work, but I will not have to STAY online all day. Also, why the hell do they call it "Labor" day if nobody works? Yeah, yeah, it's an old joke, but I've yet to hear an answer. Frankly, dammit, I want one!!

Anyway, I am working from home today. Usually it's Thursday's but I took a 1/2 day for myself yesterday and today my son had a dental appointment. So instead of starting home, then having to shut it all down, pack it up, only to take him to school then trekking into the office to unpack, only to repack again at the end of the day, I asked my supervisor (and she graciously said yes) to let me work from home today. So I was online at 7, worked until 8, then got back at 10 and right back to work. Will be here all day, hopefully will be a fairly quiet day. It's actually been fairly quiet all week, which is scary. Waiting for the explosion.

Played poker Wednesday night. Had a great start. Flopped quad J's, managed to suck almost 2 grand out of an opponent. Then caught trips from a small blind, which I played without looking at my cards until the turn. Unfortunately, those were the only highlights. I got moved to another table, went all in, lost and left. Hopefully going this weekend again. Then I'll probably be done until next year.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend everyone!

Random post...

Are you a wrestling fan? I am. I follow one particular site that has all kinds of news and stories about the wrestling business and the wrestlers. It's kind of like an internet tabloid, except they have bloggers that also give their own opinions of things, ideas they have for "creative" and the like. It's really a good read. I enjoy it.

Other than that, I guess there isn't much to talk about. I don't even know why I am blogging, except I have random thoughts in my head I need to put somewhere I guess. I am, for starters, tired of stupidity. You know the saying "if everything around you is right and you are wrong, then it's probably you" or something to that effect. Well, I've come to the conclusion that it IS everybody else. Everyone thinks that because I am no longer a "social butterfly" at work, and I keep mostly to myself on personal issues, that there is something wrong with me. Nobody bothers to ask. To hell with them.

I am still bumming about not going to New York this year. I'll get over it though. I have my memories, and will visit them often over the next few months to keep myself from going totally nuts. Next year, like I said in a past post, will be a better time to go. What things am I looking to see? Well, for starters the ocean. I want to walk on the beach and the boardwalk, stay for awhile. Sit in the sand and listen to the waves crashing to the shore, the birds flying above. I also want to go through the old neighborhood where I grew up. I want to see what became of the house I lived in for more than half my life. I also want to drive by the park that was on the other side of town but I never went to because I didn't KNOW there was the other side of town until I started driving, then I hardly went there. I also want to visit an OTB (not On The Border, it's Off Track Betting). I had some good times there talking with guys about horses. One strange place I want to go is to a diner. I haven't had diner food in quite awhile.

People? Not particularly. This trip is more about the place. I want to go fishing (have to find out what is in season when I go). In case you haven't figured it out, I am drying out, and need to get wet again. Did you know there is a huge lake here, and I've never been to it. Seven years, don't go. Not even sure where it is. On Long Island it was easy to find water. Go 5 miles north or south, you find water. Go 6 miles north or south, you drown. Easy!

Finally decided on a title for the post. Yes, just typed it in. What?! Got a problem with it? I could have named it "fuck off" but that would defeat the purpose, because I would read back on this later, see that and think I should just stop reading altogether. I won't remember why I titled it the way I did. I type this to remind myself of the past. Some of which I should be forgetting.

Have to go to my son's school tonight for a "class meeting". Don't I seem excited? The class is called "Forensics" but it has to do with presentation and debate. That is not the definition I know for Forensics, but why not. If it's got to do with debate, my son can (maybe) learn from me. If not, his problem. He isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree to begin with.

It's funny. I follow other blogs, and the parents there are so fucking funny. "Oh, my child is SO GREAT, they do THIS and THAT!" Have you stopped and looked at your child? If you didn't drag them to this and that, they would have nothing to do, because frankly they look too stupid to know what they want. And with parents like what they have, they are in alot of fucking trouble!

Well, that's about it. Not enough? Oh well, I'll save it for the next one.

Trip postponed...

Yes, my trip to New York is on hiatus. After getting a quote on a package including flight, rental car and hotel (for 3 and 4 nights), and looking online to price rental cars for a 9 day road trip, figuring in gas prices and the like, I found that this trip cannot currently be afforded. Not that close to Christmas. A smart move on my part. The one holiday I can tolerate is Christmas, and I do not want to be in a situation where I cannot buy a gift or choose not to pay a few bills. So, I am planning for a trip in April or May 2011. By then I will be through the holidays and I can do my budget for 2011 and see what I can save each month. Plus, I hope there is a bonus at work which will help subsidize the trip.

Now all I have to do is survive the next 7 months with not being able to get to the ocean.

Friends...

Two more months to New York. Or Las Vegas (probably not going there). Or Colorado. Or Nebraska. Basically I want to go far, far away, to a place I've never been. Colorado in November probably not the best idea. I heard they get snow early. Nebraska, not sure what they get and when. I know tornado season should be done by then. New York still seems like the best choice. Get some pizza, maybe go to a hockey game. Definitely go to the ocean. Basically, these plans are what is keeping me going.

Have also been thinking about "friends" lately. I've mentioned this before. People in general make me laugh. They say "we're friends!". Yeah...OK. Let's think about this. Will you invite me to your home for dinner or to hang out? Will you call me and say "hey, so-and-so and I are going to hang out after work, wanna come?" Nope. And you know what? I won't call you either. When I see you, I will be as cordial as I believe you deserve from me.

As I stated above, I am planning to go to NY in a couple of months. I think I may have found someone to visit while I am there. A woman I knew through high school (and a short time beyond) is still there. She and I lost touch due to some of her own personal demons she was dealing with. My understanding is she is past them now, and trying to make amends with those she hurt during that period. I let her know I may be going up to NY, will see what happens. At least baseball season will be almost done by then ... she's a NY Yankees fan! BOO! LMAO!!

A title huh??

Not very creative minded this afternoon. Actually just grateful that the sunburn I obtained on Saturday is healing and I'm in quite a bit less pain than I was Sunday and yesterday.

Saturday we went to a water park in Branson MO. It was WONDERFUL! The temperature was about 84 degrees, there was some cloud cover, a small breeze. The water temperature was beyond perfect. Well, after being there about 3 hours, someone decided they had enough of the clouds, and they all went away. Out comes the sun. In just 6 minutes (yes, SIX!) I found a whole new respect for bacon, because damn if I did not feel like a strip in a frying pan. Yeah, yeah, some tell me that even with the cloud cover I would still have been burnt. Yes, I know! These are the jackasses that don't understand a story, they HAVE to be right all the fucking time! As I was saying, in just 6 minutes, I went from a "decently not totally white as a sheet" color to RED! I thought about sunscreen, and decided against it. How much worse could it have gotten? Four hours later, when we left, it was only worse on my feet. The rest of me was fried a long time earlier.

Still planning my trip. HOWEVER, ran into a "snafu" as one my direct co-workers is due to have a baby that week. She will naturally be out of the office before that time, and with me out? I am hoping that my bosses find another cover for the business. Because I'll be damned if I'm missing my vacation!

Crazy...

Over the past few weeks, some would say I've made some "unwise" decisions. I have distanced my personal life from my work life, meaning I have "not been myself" at work. What's the point? Do you ever see anyone come by my desk to have a conversation, see how I'm doing, how my family is? Nope. I'm always the one getting up, going to others. It honestly takes a lot of time out of my work day. Even my supervisor, who when I go into her office for a 5 minute meeting turns into an hour, has been kept to 5 minutes. At work I'm all business. I work with mostly people that are young enough to be my children (had I been sexually active at 14, but still). They are single, I am married. I don't go out on weekends drinking and dancing. There is no commonality there. Crazy? Yeah, some would call it that. I call it getting done what is supposed to get done.

However....

This is nothing compared to what I'm planning for the start of November. ROAD TRIP!! Yes, folks, I have vacation that week, and my plan is to rent a car and go home. I am going to Long Island for a few days. Leaving on the Saturday, getting there on Monday, then leaving on Thursday and heading back to Arkansas. Already priced hotels, and found a decent deal for 3 nights. Have to look into rental cars next. Maybe I'll contact a travel agent, see if he can put some kind of package together for me to make it a bit less expensive. Going to see what deals I get on my own first, so I can compare. But, YEP, my plan is to head home.

Well, either there or Las Vegas. Haven't truly decided yet. The drive each way is about the same, and I know hotels in LV are much cheaper, but all that gambling? And me being by myself?? Long Island seems the smarter choice. Less chance of me spending too much money, I get to be back by the ocean (which I miss terribly), and I get to see the old neighborhood. I may also take a ride into Brooklyn, look for a bakery that I loved as a kid that was near my grandma's house. Hopefully I'll have GPS in the car so it can tell me where to go, because I'll be damned if I remember.

Well, that's it and that's that. One crazy post, huh??

Happy Friday the 13th...

Wow, one of my favorite days of the year. It doesn't come around again until January 2011, and that's Anthony's birthday. I normally have alot of luck on this day, and always wear all black. Didn't today. White shirt and blue jeans. When the temperature outside is hitting 102 and up, light colored clothing is the way to go.

Right now I'm sitting at work in a very quiet office. There isn't much going on, and majority of the people are gone for the day. I am sitting listening to a CD (won't say which one, don't want you to choke) and thinking. Remembering...

At one point in my life, I can say I had friends. Those that were there for me, in good times and bad. They would pick me up when I was down, or slap some sense into me when I was being stupid. I like to think I was there for them too, the best way that I could. I do not have that in my life anymore. I miss that. I rememember people from my past, the ones that could make me smile and laugh. They would cry with me when I was sad. I remember one young woman I knew...actually I dated her...who was there with me when my mom had her first stroke. I was SO pissed. I reamed 2 doctors right there in the hospital hallway, and I mean reamed (they are still walking funny), and then walked away. Nobody could find me, and at the time that's what I thought I wanted. Well, she found me, and ignored my "go away". She came over, sat next to me, and put her arms around me. Together we just sat there. I was able to cry and get out my frustration, sadness, anger. Everything that was built up. I miss having people in my life like that. Those that will not care if I am in a talkative mood or not. Those that truly know me is that just be fucking NORMAL around me. I come around easy enough.

Just too many demons in my head for me to start anything...

What a week so far...

The temperatures have been around 100 (or better according to the thermometer in my truck) for a few days now. We have not had high temperatures under 90 for weeks. I warned everyone it was going to be a hot summer. How did I know? Read back, my faithful followers and you'll see the posts about all of the snow and ice we had earlier in 2010. This is the normal pattern. Rough winter, harsh summer. Hopefully this winter will be mild so my son and I can play basketball on the driveway on Christmas morning like we have in the past.

Attended a 2-day conference (yesterday and today -- 5 hours each). Then had another one this afternoon, which was over 2 hours. So much for working. HA HA! Actually got online when I got home, cleared the inbox, ran a couple of reports, and am clear and ready for tomorrow. At least I won't have to go out in the heat. Get my AWA day (alternate work arrangements). This is a sustainability project that my company offers, where one day per week we can work from home. This saves Co2 emissions as I don't have to run my vehicle to and from work (and anywhere else I may go during the day). The great part is, after 3+ years with the company, they trust me that I won't just sit and wiggle my mouse every 20 minutes to show I'm online and not idle. And I don't. I am at my laptop pretty much all day, like I was in the office. The only bad thing is, I can smoke at home. Buy stock in Marlboro!

Other than that, all is fairly quiet. Hoping to go to the water park this weekend, last weekend before school starts for Anthony. The weekend is clear, and hopefully the weather will cooperate and not dump rain (that we've been waiting for for about 2 weeks now) on our heads. Yeah, I know. Rain at a water park. Who cares right? Well, with the heat and humidity, it could easily be a bad thunderstorm with lightning, and that kinda screws up the plans of enjoying the lazy river, the wave pool, and all the wonderful slides that rush water up my legs and pushes my balls into my nostrils. Oh, but SO much fun!!

Hope you all have a great day. And see? I didn't piss and moan once about work, because if I did, oh man!

Thoughts...

Over the past couple of weeks or so, I've been dealing with the "personal demons" in my head. I think I have mentioned this before, but don't feel like looking back. I was fortunate enough last night to put one of those to rest. At least I hope I was able to.

As you know, I have been married for a long time. What you may not have known is that I was engaged once before. It was to a wonderful young woman, who I will not name in this post, as I would like to respect her privacy. We met in high school .. she was actually dating a friend of mine when we met. I remember the day I met her. Please note, this is a high schooler's way of thinking, not the adult I am now. I looked at her and went "Wow! A bookworm! She's smart, yes, and cute, but nah, not my type." Then I shook her hand. Now, I don't know if you have ever had a "psychic experience" but I did. The ONLY thought that ran through my mind when her hand touched mine was "This is the girl I am going to marry!" When I let go of her hand, my next thought was "What am I, NUTS?!?" Well, she dated my friend throughout high school, I'd seen her a few times, and the same psychic thought was there every time. There was no chance on God's green earth I was going to attempt taking her from him. He was my friend, and I was not the type to be able to steal anyone's girl, nor do I believe I could even if I tried.

Long story short, I saw her a couple of years later. She was working in the mall, and I was there with my cousin. When I saw her, I froze. My cousin almost dragged me in there to talk to her, but I managed to fight him off. A few months later, while I was dating someone else, we were in the mall so I could get a camera repaired. I heard my name called, went out to see who it was, and it was her. She saw me, and wanted to say hello. About 45 minutes later, I remembered I had a girlfriend (she was still in the camera store wondering where I was), and forced myself to leave. I wound up breaking up with her about a month later, knowing where my destiny was.

We dated for over a year. I remember the day I asked her to marry me. We were in my bedroom, and the door was closed. This was taboo in my house, especially with my mother home. Her theory was "if I can't get laid in this house, nobody can!" Well, the door was closed and she couldn't figure out why. We were talking about the mall and I told her when she brings the ring in to get it sized, ask them to shine it up also. She said "What ring?" having no idea what I was talking about. Then I pulled out the ring and asked her to marry me. To this day I still believe that was the happiest day of my life.

Please note above, I said "dated" because we broke up a few months later. I honestly couldn't tell you what broke us up. I think it was a number of things. I can tell you it was mostly me (if not all me). I had a plan in my head that was falling apart, and as our relationship fell apart, I got worse rather than trying to fix it.

I have been thinking about my life and all of the relationships I've been in. Did you know that she is the ONLY one I have never cheated on? There was a young woman I dated in high school, and oh wow did I believe I was in love. Yes, cheated on her. Nothing BIG, but for me, any indiscretion is enough. My wife .. yes, cheated on her more than once. She has on me also, we actually went to another state together to meet up with people. Yet, there was one that I never strayed from, never even THOUGHT about it.

I was able to communicate with this person last night, even though it was a very short conversation. I was given the opportunity to apologize to her for the times I hurt her. I was not there for her when I should have been, and I broke my promise. The promise that I would keep her and protect her forever. The one promise I believe I kept is that I would love her forever, because she will always have a place in my heart. And the photo we took at Sears will always be in my memory too. I'm just sorry I lost the jacket.

Nothing interesting...

Just feel like typing for a couple of minutes. Been a bad day for me so far. Very on edge, headache that won't go totally away, lightheaded earlier, and just basically annoyed by every voice I hear (with my ears .. the ones in my head I'm getting used to). Did something very strange yesterday, waiting to see if anything comes out of it. Probably won't, but there's hoping. Would be VERY strange if the hope comes from another state.

Beginnings of the working month, that happen on Monday's, are probably the worst. Reports that are normally run on Monday's take much longer than usual, because everyone else is running their prior month end reports. Also, I'm waiting for orders to be submitted into the system so I can go in and accept them, which will take me a long time. Doesn't look like they are coming in today, so I will be working on them tomorrow (and possibly Wednesday, depending on the day).

Well, I guess that's enough typing.

Another Friday post...

Still dealing with the demons. Not as bad as they were last week, which is good, but still there. This week some of them are "all new", like the summer season on TV. Others are the same crap as usual, just louder than normal. Was confronted about it today by a co-worker, who wondered why I've been so distant and quiet lately. Told her am dealing with alot of shit and don't want anyone getting hurt. Guess they were hurt enough by me being distant, but trust me when I say it could be MUCH worse!

Anthony finished summer school 2 days early (it was only 2 weeks to begin with) and passed both classes. Woohoo, I have a sophmore in my house! Unfortunately because his GPA isn't high enough, he will not be able to compete on the Cross Country team this season. Hopefully, though, he will get the grades up so he can compete with the Track team in the spring. In the meantime, focus grasshopper!

Fucking demons running through again. Been trying to block them out, I think it's starting to affect me physically. My chest has been tight, pains in my shoulders, legs feeling a bit "woozy" sometimes while I walk (short distances at that), and I've been VERY tired the last few nights. Wife not crazy about that last part. Oh well, I need that extra 3 minutes of sleep. Will buy her a toy if she needs it that bad.

Have not spoken "personal" to anyone in 2 weeks, and I think that is how it is going to be for awhile. If I can't get rid of what's going on in my head, I may need to look for additional assistance in removing them.

What's in a title...

The same that's in my head. Much of nothing. It's Friday folks! That means the weekend is but a few short hours away. I am at work, listening to Pandora, catching up on reports, sending out a few new ones. Orders are in, desk is clean, and I have 6 more hours to kill. Anthony is in summer school (2 weeks, end of the first today) and I have to pick him up at 4:30. Ann is working tonight and tomorrow PM. It's too hot to do much of anything. Will probably be a weekend of no teeth, no pants, and a lot of X-Box. Too much information? Hey, you're the one that's reading!

Been dealing with a few personal demons lately. Nothing bad. I'm not on drugs or anything like that. I have actually never done an illegal drug in my life, and don't plan on starting now. Just dealing with a lot of shit in my head that doesn't want to seem to leave me the fuck alone. And what makes it worse is that people I work with fell back into the same shit routine they were in when I started and didn't have the greatest attitude. They think I'm angry at them, or at work, so they don't even look at me. People, GROW UP! You want to say we are "friends"? ASK A FRIEND HOW THEY ARE DOING!!

Did a small presentation on communication yesterday at work. It went OK in my opinion. I think it would have gone better if I wasn't working without a net. I wrote down highlights of what I wanted to discuss, then talked off the top of my head (no, not out of my ass like normal .. this was business!). I also could have gone MUCH longer, but we were limited on time. Hopefully I can do that more often on various things. I enjoyed it, and next time I will be much better prepared.

Well, enjoy the heat!

Sunny Saturday...

And let's hope it stays that way. Weather has been crazy around here lately. Listen to the weathermen, they say "20% chance of scattered showers" and you get a wonderful thunderstorm that dumps over 2 inches of rain on your head. In less than an hour! Then the sun comes out. It's been said "if you don't like the weather in Arkansas, wait 20 minutes, it will change." So true!

Going to the Naturals game tonight with my company. We are a sponsor and we got a group deal for tonight. Free tickets, free parking, T-shirts, and tailgaiting before the game. Also, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are going to be there. Charging the digital camera battery.

Work has been fine. Keeping busy. Some changes taking place, others coming. Will wait and see. All I know is to keep doing what I'm doing, and do a little bit more. Trying to learn what I can, when I can, but it isn't easy. Some that I could be sitting with are incapable of training me, as they are not very familiar with the system yet, and others are ... well, let's say uncooperative.

They say go with your first instincts. Well, I gave my second instincts a chance, and guess what? I was right the first time. Explains quite a few things in my office, and I'm just very glad I am not the only one who sees it.

TTFN!

Been awhile...

What can I tell you. I've been busy working, playing Modern Warfare 2, trying to keep my mind off playing live poker because of a lack of bankroll currently. That's what happens when you have to pay $3,000 for new teeth. Then the dog needed minor surgery that was $400. Now, Anthony's bottom wisdom teeth are growing in sideways and they need to be "surgically removed". I don't even know if I still have enough dental coverage for it this year. Right now they are not bothering him, so I'm putting it off. Family vacation appears to be out this year, as Anthony is going to summer school for 2 weeks. That was more money that I forgot I had. Good thing, too, because it's gone!

Other than that, everything is fairly quiet. Had a nice 4th. Went to the ballgame, watched the Naturals win, then they had a spectacular fireworks display. Got home around 10, and fell asleep to the noise of the neighbors trying to blow the town up. Good times!

Don't miss Facebook! Wife still enjoys it. She has family and friends. I don't. Nice and easy!

Faceless..

No, I did not lose my face, although I wouldn't mind someone else's face at times. What that means is I gave up my Facebook page. There was no point in keeping it. If ever I posted anything, I got minimal (if any at all) responses. There were only 12 people on my "friends" list, 2 of which were my wife and son. I followed a couple of coworkers but overall there was no point in keeping one for myself, so I got rid of it. I'm sure I'll be TERRIBLY missed (please note the sarcasm!).

Doing well with the new teeth. Well, the tops anyway. I am not able to put the bottoms in, and not worried about it. I am able to eat solid foods with just the top set in, so I'm good. Later today I have a doctor appointment to get my ear cleared out. It became clogged last Friday during a pool party and Murine is not doing the trick. Will be nice to have 20/20 hearing again.

Work has been CRAAAAAAAAAZY lately. Keeping real busy, trying to keep everyone sane. It's fun. Actually got awarded with a VIA last week, which is very special because it was given to me by my coworkers. Means alot, especially considering I didn't always have the best attitude with them at times. I personally blame my teeth, as I was in pain alot and afraid to smile because it was ugly. Now, I smile more and it seems to affect many more than just myself. Really cool :)

Well, that's about it. Gotta get back to work and eventually put pants on to go to the doctor. TTFN!

New post...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Yes, all of my teeth are gone. I have my upper dentures in but have not tried eating anything yet. The last time I tried they popped out and needless to say I did not eat. Dammit, I'm HUNGRY! I want SOLID food. Ice Cream, pudding and the like are good, but I want chicken! Hell, even a tuna sandwich from Quiznos!

I keep typing, then deleting. I guess that means I'm done!

Today's the day...

In less than 2 hours, I will be in the dental chair mentally preparing myself to be toothless for the first time in 40 years. It's scary how excited I am over the prospect of losing all of my teeth, but I am because it will mean no more infections in my system (from the teeth anyway), or the absesses (sp?) that woke me up nights and made me look like a boxer who went 10 rounds and lost every damn one of them. Next week, hoping to be back at work with a new smile.

Waiting for my new smile...

Yes, folks, in just 2 days I get the final 8 teeth yanked out of my mouth and get my dentures. Holy shit! Who ever expected a 40-year old male to be excited to be losing all of his teeth. Well, ME! My teeth have been bad for a long ass time, and the infections I have had running through my system for years because of them has not made my situation any better. I have been on antibiotics (strong shit too!) for the past 2 1/2 weeks, and had to finally take myself off of them because I am just tired of taking 4 pills a day. After the last 8 are gone, I'll finish off the bottle. Then I get me a brand new smile. Can't wait to play poker and take them out to use as a card protector when I'm bored. That could win me a couple of hands (or get me kicked out!).

Anthony is finished with school as of this post. He took his final 2 exams today, then he and some friends walked to Sonic for lunch. He should be on his way back to school to hang out until the bus comes to get them.

Hoping to be able to take a vacation next month, but right now it does not look promising. Maybe in August?? Pleeeeeease!! Yeah, August. That's it! When it's one hundred friggin' seven degrees in the SHADE!! Perfect!!

Other than that everything fairly quiet. TTFN y'all!

Happy Memorial Day...

And thank you to all who have served as well as currently serve in the US Military!

Well, it's a "long" weekend. Unfortunately I still have work that needed to get done. Thankfully, I am just waiting for a couple of more orders to drop in, then all I have to do is monitor email every now and then to make sure nothing is "blowing up" beneath my feet. I think it should be quiet, so that will be a good thing. If the rain holds off, I can do some yard work and play some X-Box with my son and his friends.

Another Monday blog...

I know it's only been a week, but there is SO much to tell. Let's see...

Met with the Ice Cream team last week. What a great group of people. We had a very productive day, and I got some help with a couple of loads that I probably would not have been able to take care of on my own. A big shout out to my co-workers for coming through and keeping me from blowing a gasket.

Thursday was E-day #1 (E = extraction). I went in to have 4 teeth pulled (please note at the time I only had 13 left). Well, they decided it would be better to pull 5 instead of 4. Personally I wanted them to pull 6, but that was not going to happen. The appointment went well, but damn if they didn't give me ALOT of numbing stuff. I couldn't talk for 1 1/2 hours after they were done. My mouth would not open. Yeah, yeah. Good huh? My wife, God love her (someone has to), was a saint. I was writing things down, texting her, grunting a bunch LOL! Unfortunately she had to go to work later that day, then I thought I busted a stitch. She had to take an extended lunch to drive me back to the dentist to find out I didn't. That was good.

What else was good is that they gave me pain pills. Wheeeeee! Friday I worked from home, but I took a pain pill in the morning, and it turned my stomach. I wound up sleeping for 2 1/2 hours. The rest of the day was good though.

The weekend was fairly quiet. I took my meds, slept quite a bit. Yesterday, I wound up going to the casino to play poker. What a waste of life. We wound up with 11 people at each table, because the TD was too stupid to move people to a new table when the new players arrived (3 minutes into the tournament). It was very uncomfortable (even for someone small like me), and I wound up busting out early. Oh well. The drive was nice, as it was 86 degrees and sunny with a decent breeze.

Today, I went to the office in the AM, but my gums are still swollen, so I came home and working from home in the afternoon. Got to take a pill, which did the trick. Didn't put me to sleep, but made me not care about the pain :) Thursday I get the stitches out and they will get the mold for my dentures.On June 10th, the final 8 teeth come out. THAT'S going to be fun. I am taking the 11th off from work, and hopefully will be ok enough to go to work that following Monday. After that, all done!

Hey, if you hear of any of the guys I used to play poker with actually getting a small $$ amount buy-in tourney together, please keep me in mind. I miss poker nights with those guys.

Monday confusion...

Well, I did the no-tap bowling tournament on Saturday and wound up bowling a 631 series. That was OK, but I do know I could have done much better if I had practiced more and kept focused. My eyesight seems to hurt me most when I bowl. I catch a tiny bit of glare from something and it throws my focus off, and it takes me a couple of frames to recover. In the meantime, I get mad, hit a wall or a locker (or both!) with my left hand (non-bowling hand), and I become focused again.

Sunday was a lazy day. Did the laundry, played some Modern Warfare (and did pretty damn good if I do say so myself .. and I do!), and rested.

Today started out fairly normal. Got all my reports done, answered to the bosses that wanted which reports. Took care of what I could on my ice cream orders today. Now it seems rather quiet. I am not used to this. Most likely there is something that needs to be done, and I'll find out about it tomorrow when I come in. For now, I am going to enjoy the down time. I have to find a day to take a vacation. I already know this week is booked from Tuesday through Friday. Next week is the annual float trip, which I will be missing yet again.

Honestly, as much as I miss living near the ocean, and I haven't been to a beach or a lake in 7 years, I do not want to go on the float trip with my co-workers. Why? Because they are co-workers. They are not my friends. Nobody in my office would even qualify for me to call them a friend. They are people who will start drinking the moment we get on the bus to go to the lake, will drink just about all day, and everyone has their own little "cliques" they are involved in, and I'll be standing around (or floating) by myself and looking like a lost puppy waiting for someone to come over and pet me for awhile to keep me calm. It's bullshit. So, the youngsters want to go, and of course they ask me "Are you going?" to which I reply no and they are happy because they know I'll do the work. That's fine. Rather do the work than float around in the bullshit all day.

Well, in about an hour I'm playing kickball. It's part of the Corporate Olympics that we have every year. This is a new event this year, so it should be interesting. Plus, it's indoors. I just hope I don't hurt anything too badly. It's a long drive home from where the tournament is.

TTFN y'all!

Hmmm..

OK, let's try this again. The first post didn't take.

Work has been crazy busy, which includes me working weekends. Was going to play poker tonight, but that was cancelled due to lack of players. Bowling in a no-tap tournament tomorrow. Gotta remember to stay sober for this one.

Other than that, nothing to report. SSDD! Sorry all.

What a couple of weeks...

Where do I start? I guess from the end of my last post will do...

Ann had a good time with her family at her niece's wedding that Friday night. Then Saturday she went with the family to see her other niece's twins, that are about 7 months old. Sunday, her trip home was an adventure. She was scheduled to leave PA around noon ET, land in Chicago with a 2 1/2 hour layover, then be back in AR around 5pm CT. Perfect! Plenty of time to relax, unpack, while I made dinner, then watch some TV before going to sleep. Well, that failed. Her flight from PA was delayed over 2 hours because of weather. The storms tracked all the way from Chicago. She was landing at 3:15 CT in Chicago, then had to try to make the 3:20 flight home. She was planning to do an OJ through the airport (the OLD one, where he runs, not the new ones where he kills people). She got to her gate to find out THAT flight was delayed! Luckily she got home around 6:30, and we still had a good night.

A couple of crazy days at work. I am trying to train a new employee as my assistant, plus I had 3 different orders to write (none of them that small), and get ready for a business trip. Well, Monday and Tuesday someone else had to train because I was going nuts. And never got to write my orders. There were too many errors, and I had to wait. Wednesday my entire team went to Devils Pond in Missouri. Oh my God what a GORGEOUS place. I drove up Wednesday morning, got there for around 9am, and got to work before the meetings started at 11am. Actually worked through most of it, but still managed to pay attention. Wednesday night we had dinner and a magician performed. I wish I remembered his name (sucks being old!) but I can tell you he was PHENOMENAL (wow, I'm using a lot of capitals!). And I got a good buzz on.

Thursday was another full day of meetings and work. After the meetings I went to my room to shower and shave for dinner. Afterwards, I went outside and found one of my coworkers. She and I decided to enjoy the area before dinner, and went to play giant checkers. She killed me, but we had a blast. Then we went to dinner. After dinner, it was so beautiful out, I did something I haven't done in 20 years. I layed down in the grass and looked up at the stars. Incredible! Then, Agnes performed. She's 21 and from Sweden I believe. She won Swedish American Idol at 17 and is getting ready to release her debut America album. Very good singer. Got her autograph.

Friday I drove home, and worked from home for 5 hours. Then Saturday worked another 4 hours. Today was relaxing. Napped, played some X-Box, and now watching the hockey game (go Detroit!).

Now, all the travelling is done, all the orders are written, and hopefully I can start the proper training classes that I was planning on doing a couple of weeks ago.
Give me strength!

Just because...

I put Ann on the plane this morning. She's in PA now, going to New York tomorrow for her brother's step-daughter's wedding. Then on Saturday she'll visit twins that were born a few months ago. Sunday she will be home.

Anthony and I are going to the Naturals game on Saturday night. We have front row seats. Now we just have to hope the weather holds up.

Work has been the road to hell lately. A new gentleman was hired this week, and I am the one that is to train him. I don't think I've had the chance to show him two things yet. Between meetings, just plain craziness, and various things "blowing up" I haven't been able to properly train him. Hopefully tomorrow he will start learning something. Thank you to a co-worker for actually teaching him.

And it's only Tuesday...

What a past few days I've had. I don't know if there was something in the medication I was taking for my teeth, or just what, but since Saturday I was in a really bad funk. It felt like there was a giant black cloud over my head and in my heart. There was no way to explain it.

I went to work yesterday feeling like an unimportant nothing and I wasn't putting enough time and effort into my job. Enough time and effort into my life. Add to that I had about 12 reports to run because I picked up a category while a coworker is on vacation. I got through it, but don't have any idea how. I was at work at 7am, fully expecting to work until 6pm or later. Wound up getting out at 4pm. When I got home, I still felt awful. Last night was the first time in a LONG time I went to sleep before 10pm. And slept until 6am straight through.

Today was a much better day. Still had many reports to run, but got done with 4 of them in the first hour (7 to 8am). Everything was in much better perspective for me, and I got through my morning without too much confusion in my head. I DID, however, send the wrong reports to the wrong group of people. The good part of that was it's all internal customers, but it confused many of them. We had a great laugh, and I sent out the right ones. This afternoon, it blew up again. TWO promo's needed to be written. OK, another late night. Got the first one done fairly early! WOOHOO! Getting ready to start the second one to find out that it will not be ready until tomorrow. Ugh! At least I'm enjoying my job again!

9 days until Ann goes to New York for 3 days!
11 days until Anthony and I go to the ballgame and sit in the FRONT row!
15 days until I go to Missouri for 3 days!

Gotta start making plans for May :)

2 down...13 to go

Got 2 teeth pulled today. Have to wait on the others until May, though. Too much going on at work for me to take the couple of days to get them pulled and recover. Plus, Ann is going away in a couple of weeks and she & I would both prefer if she was home after I have it done.

Went to the Naturals game last night (thank you Blake!!). We won 5-1, which was great. Anthony and I went to the stadium after he got out of school, and a co-worker and her husband met us there around 6pm (start time for the game). Ann was working so I left her a ticket and she got there around 7:30 or so. It was in the 4th inning when she arrived and the score was 5-1. For those of you who don't pay close attention, that was the FINAL score. Needless to say, she missed just about everything. There were fireworks after the game, which I have to say were better than the last 4th of July at the stadium. My company also has a brand sponsorship in the outfield. They are trying to get it ON the wall, rather than behind it. Still looks great. Also, September 4th, we are sponsoring a t-shirt giveaway for kids. Be sure to join us for that game.

Work has been like a see-saw. Early in the week it's been busy, later in the week rather quiet. I also have not felt like being there most of this week, probably because of the pain in my teeth. Hopefully by Monday the pain I was experiencing this week will be gone, and will stay away long enough for me to get the rest pulled and then I will start feeling better overall.

OK, about my teeth...

Kids, this is what happens when you "give up" on taking care of them. All of my teeth are rotted, all of my teeth are infected, and all of my teeth are prone to abcesses (sp? who cares!). The dentist presented my insurance company with a statement of the cost to have all of them pulled and dentures for me. It usually takes about 4-6 weeks to get approval from the insurance company, which may work out as it will be that long before I can go. In the meantime, I have been on antibiotics for the past 9 days, and have muscle relaxers if the pain becomes too severe. Add to that 4 tubes of Orajel, and maybe I get a good night of sleep.

Update...

OK, just read what I typed earlier this week. Our anniversary was on the 27th, not the 29th. Sorry for the confusion.

Work is going fairly well. Almost everyone in the office who is "with child" is very close to their due dates, and will be leaving the office over the next week or two. This will cause a major shift in the office, as others will be covering their desks so the low men on the totem pole will cover the bottoms of the barrels. I am kinda looking forward to the challenge myself. Unfortunately, I run into a personal dilemma...

Last week I developed another absess (sp? .. who cares!!) in my teeth. Went to the dentist earlier this week and after a 2 second exam by the doctor, he told me "they all need to come out NOW!" He is going to get me a quote on the cost of extracting all of my teeth and dentures. Then I will find out what the insurance will cover, and I need to come up with the rest. That's not the dilemma...

In order for me to get it all done, I will need to be out of the office for a few days. I am getting a new "partner" in a couple of weeks, and it's up to me to train him. I have to have the preliminary manual done by next Friday, and the final copy by the 16th. I have a layout of what needs to be done, which is good. Now all I have to do is attempt to put it all together. There is the dilemma. I can't afford to take time away from the office. I have to figure out how to work this.

17 years...

Happy Anniversary to my wife and myself on 17 years of marriage. We spent the weekend at Downstream Casino, and had a great time.

Spring?!?

It's friggin' SNOWING!! A bunch of inches of friggin' SNOW is on the ground!!
SPRING?!?

Erin Go Blah...

It's St Patrick's Day, and I'm not Irish, but I wish my Irish friends a happy day. As for me, it's like the title says...BLAH! I have a friggin' cold. Left work early yesterday and staying home today because (a) I had a helluva time trying to sleep (b) I am still stuffed up and can't breathe very well (c) I have a nasty cough (d) Too many pregnant women in my office that I would rather not be around to possibly get them sick. Emailed my boss this morning to let her know what needs to be done. Good thing is that it isn't much.

Hoping to play poker this weekend. There is a tournament at Downstream on Sunday that I have plans to attend, but going to make sure I'm not sick. Especially since Ann and I are going next weekend for our anniversary. Need to be healthy for that since we already booked the room.

NCAA tournament starts tomorrow. We usually have a bracket at work, but as of the time I left yesterday there was nothing announced. It may be in my email at work, but I won't know until tomorrow, which means if I play, I have to pick FAST before the first game starts. Ah well. Could just fill it in for fun, but it's not as much fun if I don't have any chance of winning.

That's about it. Time to take more medicine. TTFN!

Eh...

I have been keeping this blog for awhile now (NO, I don't know how long but I know it's awhile), and titles are getting harder to think of. So I basically called this one how I feel. Eh! Tonight I was planning on going to a local bar to play poker, but I didn't go. I think I drank too much caffeine today. When I got home, the effects started coming through, so the vehicle stayed in the garage and I stayed on the couch.

Bought 3 sets of tickets for the NWA Naturals so far. One is for a bobblehead giveaway (I have them all so far!), another is for the 4th of July, and one just for Anthony and me while Ann is away at a wedding in NY. For that game, we have front row down the right field line. Who are the Naturals? They are the AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The games are great, the tickets are cheap, and a fun time is always had! Even when it rains.

Getting ready to head into the busy season at work. I have alot of ice cream promotions coming, which means work on Saturday's, which isn't so bad. I am also now on the margarine team, which is cool because that is the only business I haven't touched yet. I also have a teammate so as long as it stays quiet, he handles most all of it, leaving me free to focus on ice cream. Soon, though, the CFR for the chilled/frozen business is going on maternity leave, and the CSA for chilled/frozen is going to cover her. This means that I will probably take the position back temporarily to help out. So much for project work right? Somehow I'll find a way to squeeze it in. Somehow!

Pick a topic...

No idea what to call this post. Any ideas? Right now I'm sitting in the office with a few minutes to spare because my orders are late and did not hit the system yet. So much for leaving early, which I can't do anyway. Hopefully I can get out at 2:30pm to take care of some things.

Getting a wierd feeling of nostalgia lately. Not sure why. Don't talk to any old friends from the neighborhood, no plans of going back. Just random thoughts that pop into my head and distract me from reality. It could be because sometimes reality sucks! Who knows for sure.

Played a bar poker tournament last night. Won the thing. Now I only have to win about 7 more to be invited to the "finalists tournament" in June. Tournaments are held daily and I'm sure I'll go back. But now they have an idea of how I play, so I have to try to change it up a bit. Some "suckers" there too, meaning they try to suck out on you. Watched it happen more than once last night. Was aware of when they were trying so made sure to stay away from it. A good time though. Getting $25 was good too :)

Beautiful weather this weekend. Hoping to take advantage of some of it. May have Anthony at the track this weekend to prepare him for his first meet next week. Looks like he will be running the 400m, or possibly the 4 x 400m relay. Surprising considering he is a distance runner, but his time isn't always the greatest. Sounds like he's doing well for the 1/4 mile, so I'm looking forward to seeing the race on Tuesday. Ann can't go though. She has to work. But she's getting the time off for the local meet in a couple of weeks.

Well, that's about it. TTFN!

Shout out to the Mrs...

Today I have to give my wife credit. As you may or may not know, she works at a local grocery store, and for the past few weeks her hours have been cut by about 33%. This is not the best thing when you are a part-timer to begin with. Plus, her day off (not including Sunday) changes as often as the wind blows. She had Wednesday's off, then it became Thursday's, lately it's Friday's. She looked so forward to her day off this week, as she worked Thursday evening, had the day off Friday, then working 10-2 on Saturday. Perfect! Plus, Anthony was going out last night with a friend, so our plan was to drop him off, then go out to dinner. WAIT! DON'T BLINK!!

Friday: One of her co-workers had to call in because his wife had a staph infection. Thankfully, they got it out, but the poor thing is in ALOT of pain. So, of course, he was not going into work. Ann found out and covered his shift. So much for dinner as planned. We did get to go later on, but not to the place we wanted to go, so the food was not as good. Then, by the time we got home, we had a short time to relax before I had to go get Anthony. By the time we got home, everyone was so tired it was sleepy time.

Saturday: OK, only 10-2 today, so this works. Guess what? Same co-worker wasn't making it in (still understandable, wife still in ALOT of pain). Another co-worker's grandma is dying and he wanted to go say goodbye. The third co-worker made alternate plans and would not be able to go in to help cover. Needless to say, 10-2 became 10-7 or later, not real sure yet. Needless to say, her boss is pissed because when the one who wanted to go say goodbye to grandma got hold of her, he TOLD her that Ann said she would cover his shift so he wasn't coming in. Had he ASKED, mentioning that he spoke to Ann, and was it ok for him to take the day off, he would not be in trouble.

My wife made a comment that she's "too nice" on this. I told her for sure she wasn't. We had no plans for today, plus great getting the extra 8 or 9 hours of pay. Next month is our anniversary, and if she wants to get the day, her boss will remember this week and not even blink.

So, tonight when she gets home, I will have the glass of wine poured, dinner on the stove, and two hands ready to rub her shoulders. Wow, I must want some!

Happy Saturday

It's 12:15pm CST and I have been sitting in my office for the past 4 1/2 hours. Why? Partially because I'm stupid, but mostly because I'm too damned dedicated to my job. I think I have told you before, but I work on the Ice Cream team. Well, there are orders that have to be processed and worked on so they fit on trucks, and there are currently 65 orders in our system. I have to go through them, make sure the orders are right, make sure they can all fit on the truck, and make the trucks full. So here I sit. Saturday is an easy day to do it because I get very few orders and I can get alot done with nobody in the office. Internet radio is blasting, I'm singing along, and why oh WHY did I drink that pot of coffee?? Have to get up and pee every 20 minutes (meaning another 8 minutes before next trip).

Got a note from Anthony's english teacher that he is not doing well this quarter. I don't want these emails. He doesn't WANT me getting those emails. Last weekend he was grounded, and this week I've been all over him to make sure he's doing everything and studying and reading and all that crap, and why are there so many "and's" in this sentence? Oh hell. Too lazy to backspace.

Read on Facebook that my cousin and her husband lost a child yesterday. He was 2 months old. I know all too well how they feel, losing 2 of my own. All I can do is hope they get through this without wrecking their own relationship. They only got married a year ago.

Well, that's about it for now. Have a great weekend. And remember to go out into the streets tomorrow and dance in the rain like you mean it!

Hi there...

It's an early Sunday morning. Actually, it's Valentine's Day! It's also Day 2 of the Olympics and today is the Daytona 500. Wow! Divorce rates are going up tomorrow. I took the high road, and took Ann out on Wednesday night. We went to the Olive Garden, just the two of us, and had a wonderful dinner together. We have tried going out on V Day in the past, and wanna know the secret to that one? Eat BEFORE you go to dinner. This way, after standing waiting for 2 hours to get a table, you're not ready to eat the napkins and tablecloths when you DO get to the table. But we went on Wednesday, and it was perfect. Plus, we have been married 17 years next month, and I do not need a holiday to tell my wife how I feel about her. I bring her flowers when the moment strikes, and it definitely strikes more than once per year. We have Hershey bars in the house, so there is no reason to buy a box of chocolates that she will not eat many of, and half of them she won't like anyway. Yeah, yeah. I'm not romantic, blah blah blah. She loves me anyway, although I can't figure out why!

Yesterday went into the office for a few hours to take care of some of my promotional business. There was nobody there (it was a Saturday, of course nobody was there!), so I made a pot of coffee, and brought the pot and all the fixin's to my desk. Also, cranked up the internet radio so I could hear it if I had to get up. Got everything I could get done, well, done. This week is going to be very rough though, because I have meetings on Tuesday and will be out of the office all day Wednesday for a training class.

In a couple of weeks I will be switching categories, which I am looking forward to. I have been on the C/F desk for 2 years, and it's become very routine for me. I am trading with someone so they get C/F and I get MST. That will be a whole new adventure for me, and the only category I haven't worked on yet. I also get to keep IC, which was my request, as there are some things I need to iron out so that when I am ready to pass it on, the transition will go smoothly. I feel bad for my CFR though. She wants to switch categories, but was overlooked on the last one. I told her she can't leave me...at least not this season. Hopefully next season will bring her better news.

As I type this, everyone else in the house is still asleep, and I'm watching Fairly Oddparents. Not much on before 8 am *sad face*. The Olympics coverage doesn't start until noon CST, and Daytona coverage starts at 11am (the race won't start until 12:15 or later though), so I will have time to go grocery shopping and take care of a couple of things around the house before I end up taking a nap. Should have done that yesterday. Fell asleep last night before 10pm. Not used to being asleep that early, PLUS I missed most of last night's luge competition.

Speaking of that, did any of you see the deadly crash by the young Georgia athlete? That was awful. They say it was "athlete error" which is bullshit in my opinion. The IOC knows there are luge athletes that are not as experienced as the others, the "non-elite", yet the course was set up for the "very best of the best" which in my opinion doesn't seem right. My heart goes out to his family and friends on their loss.

Oh, one more thing. Our garage is fixed!! The opener burned out a few months ago, and we have had to manually open and close it. Not so bad, but the past couple of months, it got stuck half way and someone has to pull the cord, which is tough when there is a car in the garage already or you are alone, and it's hard to reach for us short folk. On Wednesday, we had it installed, and it's B-E-A-utiful!

Well, it's almost 8:00, and I have to get the grocery list ready. Have a great day!