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.