The Fortress of Solitude

I could promise ya, but I may not be able to keep it...

2005-05-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

that I will post more, but sometimes I just can't/don't find the time. I will admit that I did fall off the face of the earth for about 2 weeks in April, but I am gonna blame that on aquiring Season 1 and Season 2 of ALIAS. I had never seen an episode, but I am hooked. I am almost done with the 2nd season, then on to the 3rd!! A whole bunch has happened in the last month, with many stories to tell, and since I have to talk, I guess I'll have plenty of ammo to keep me posting!!

And what happened to Halo's site?

Cajun Food and Spanglish....

2005-04-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

Went to a place called Voodoo Daddy's Magic Grill for dinner Friday night. To keep the evening interesting, A stepped out on a limb and ordered some kind of dish with Gator in it. We all thought this was just what it was called, but sure enough, it had alligator in it. She liked it. She also liked her first ever Hurricane, which I beleive she mistook for a glass of Tropical Punch Kool-Aid as fast as she drank it. I had the Creole BBQ Magic Shrimp, which were pretty good. the highlight of the evening was the Sweet Po-tay-toe Fries. They had like cinnamon on them, and they were delicious.
I watched Spanglish last week. I liked it. A little off, but I like Adam Sandler in non-Happy/Billy roles. He was great in Punch Drunk Love . Kinda a different perspective on relationships than Closer (see previous post), but showing the same type of crap that humans put each other thru. Other than that, it was a low key weekend. Enjoyed a nice little concert Sunday nite (Good job A), and Matty finally avoided terrible luck and finished decent at Martinsville. So, all in all, a pretty good weekend.

Another season gone.....

2005-04-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the UNC Tar Heels on their NCAA championship. My bracket looks like crap, but at least I got the champion right. I normally would be super jazzed about this evening, the Lakers are in town to play the Suns, but for some reason, I am not. Maybe because Kobe's hurt. Maybe cause Odom's out. Maybe cause I have found alot of other things to occupy my time lately. Just last year, I was still that guy who planned social functions around Laker games. Now, I am not even recording them all the time. Strange. I wonder whay that is?
Well I have narrowed the choices down for web-hosting, so it looks like the new site will be up and running by the end of April, depending on how many times I change my design. I am gonna get a new address, and hopefully have a fun blog/link/info site. You know me, lots of music/movies/sports/superman/tv. Just hopefully a cool site . so, as a teaser, I will be developing some sort of weekly? music showcase, this week you get this man.
-Ray LaMontagne- A shoe factory worker in ME, he hears Stephen Stills' "Treetop Flyer'" , at 4:30 a.m. on his clock-radio. Instead of going to work, he tracked down the Stills' album. The song got LaMontagne so excited, he started playing guitar and writing songs of his own.

New additions and a couple must sees....

2005-04-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the weekend getting a new TV and a kitchen table. The Artist is moving to SAn Fran to further her schooling, and she had no room for her kitchen table or her TV, so she gave them to me. Not a bad deal considering the kitchen table is a nice glass top one. Oh yeah, and the TV is a 52 inch widescreen. That's right. I now am in possesion of over 100 inches of TV. Pretty rough when your TV in your bedroom is a 60 incher. I suck, I know!!!
If you get a chance, check out the 2 following films I watched last week.
Metallica, "Some Kind of Monster" was a super documentary. It gives you a good look at all the stuff that goes onbehind the scenes to make an album. Granted, the album wasn't that good, but all the crap that happened sure makes for some good watching.
"Closer"was one of the most twisted "romance" movies I've ever seen. It really made me think about how messed up the human mind is. It also made me really glad that I handle romance situations the way I have in the past - not like these people. And it had a great quote-
"Show me. Where is this Love? I can't see it. I can't touch it. I can't feel it. I can hear it. I can hear some words. But I can't do anything with your easy words."

I like that. Just saying it isn't enough. You have to make me see it. Touch it. Feel it.....

I like this being busy thing...

2005-03-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Although it hurts my blog time, I enjoy being busy most of the time. Granted, I am a bit tired when I get home, but I like it anyway. Friday night I had my fantasy baseball draft, whose outcome determined my playing strategy for the year, which now is "play for the future cause you ain't gonna win this year". Saturday was quite possibly the coolest low-key day ever. What did I do you say? I say this- laid around and talked till noon, made Easter Cookies, cleaned the kitchen, watched basketball, hit church, and celebrated J2's return from DC. Of course, I think the company made those things great, but I am a bit biased by now. Easter I just chilled all day, watched some bball, and a lot of A & E specials about Jesus and such. Really made me want to take a theology class or something; just to understand a little more. Now it is back to the grind and trying to get some cases out at work. But for now, it's a little relaxation and some Raiders of the Lost Arc........
Hopefully this week, my artsy friend can help me get the website thing designed the way I want. My ideas are sweet, I just can't get them to look right.

Under Construction

2005-03-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of decent posting; I am trying to spend some time on the new blog. I promise, when you see it it will be worth it. Haven't done much the last few days. Got The Best of Will Ferrell SNL Vol 2 last night. He is hilarious. Not as funny as Vol 1, but still funny. A little pissed that Chepelle's Show Season 2 was supposed to come out 2 weeks ago, now it is May 24th. Blah!!!! Went hiking after work with A tonite. Way fun. And a good little workout too. Still sad about my NCAA bracket. I don't think anyone could have picked all the upsets that have occured this year, not so muany upset, just mostly teams you didn't expect to lose. Hopefully lil' sis's bracket it still in the running.

Scrap that plan

2005-03-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

I had been working on a post about Halo. I missed his birthday last week, and I wanted to let him know how much I care about him and how much I miss him, so I was slowly but surely putting together a post. I talked to him this morning, and as I went to finish that post, I decided to scrap it. You can't really "craft" something like that. You just go with it-

Halo, Dude, I miss you more than you will ever know. I really wish I could have been in OKC for your birthday. There are so many things I could say, but instead I will just tell you that I Love You, I wish you everything that you deserve in your life, and all the happiness in your new life with the Lady. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you know all you have to do is call. -Kal-

I must be Irish

2005-03-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

While I was going thru some tax stuff, I found a check that was written to me by my title company when I bought my house. It was to fix a window that really didn't need that much fixing, but the seller agreed to pay for it. So I have this check for $500 made out to some glass company I have never heard of, and it is voided becasue of the date. So I stop by my title company today, explain what happened, and the lady writes me a check to me for the same amount. So to recap my St. Patricks Day- I left work at 10:00 am to come home and watch basketball all day(which I get to do all day tomorrow also), made $500 on the way, and Kobe v Shaq 2 is tonite. I feel like they might actually pull this one out. It's my day!!!!!

I am missing that gene

2005-03-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

So I had planned to take Thursday and Friday off to watch March Madness. Until about 4 pm today. I then decide that I need to work from 6-10 each day. Why? Cause I do not have the "take a day off and relax" gene. I think it has something to do with my brain. I think that if I sleep in 2 days in a row and don't go to work that I am being lazy. I don't know anyone who would ever accuse me of being lazy; I guess it just has something to do with work ethic. My Dad has it. My Mom has it. My sister has it. We are all workers. My Dad goes to work everyday for someone else, then comes home and takes my mom, who has been working all day, and they go work on side jobs. I went to school full-time and worked 60 hours between 2 jobs. My sister did just about the same. Can we relax? Just enjoy not having to work? It just seems like we have to be working or we feel lazy. I got to fix that. I love my job, but I don't need to live it. I don't want to. I have some really good things going on outside of work in my life. One great thing. I need to just stay home tomorrow. But I won't..........My parents wouldn't....... my brain won't let me.
And happy birthday to a super cool girl

Why must they frustrate me so?

2005-03-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

My Lakers, who continue to amaze and astound me by playing like an actual contender one night, then playing like the Adventureland Video Jr. Lady Panthers. If I didn't know basketball so well, I suppose I would be getting mad that they aren't winning as much. But hey, they gotta rebuild, and I gotta be patient.
And yes, A posts as shyguysgirl, which is much better than the handle she used on her brothers site.
I don't really have much. I am taking off work Thursday and Friday to watch March Madness, and work on the new site....
(And I do not beleive I should be ridiculed for not posting on the weekend, turds)

The sound of nothing

2005-03-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

That would be the sound of what I did this weekend. Nothing. And it was great. Of course, I did nothing all weekend with A, so that had somehting to do with it being great. Friday night we watched Dodgeball and worked on a puzzle. I think I really impressed her with the gourmet meal I prepared for her- Fish Stix and Mashed 'Taters. Saturday was pretty chill. We went to Home Depot to look at tile; I am going to "modernise" my bathroom with a new tile floor and new tile in the shower. For some reason I really do not like the pink/peach color that is in there now. Call me crazy. Saturday night was a Laker game (which she very painfully made it thru- Big thanx to her for that) and bed, cause I had a massive headache. Sunday was more puzzling and watching the race, topped of with a dinner of french toast and eggs. See, did basically nothin'. But really liked it. ;)

This post is about as eventful as my evening...

2005-03-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

When reruns start, Wednesday night sucks. I have absolutely nothing of interest to report. I was gonna come up with some cool story, but I have decided...... wait for it,........ wait for it....
I am going to make a new blog page. I am in the process of constructing it, which is quite tough since I have had to teach myself HTML from scratch. On it, I am going to post nothing personal, meaning nothing about how my day was, what I am doing; just stories (which may or may not be funny)and my opinion on the world, which as everyone knows is skewed and F'd up. I already have the site named, but if you go to it now, it will just be a blank blog page with a Hillary Duff theme and some pics. So to save you, I will not tell you the name just yet. I like to keep you in suspense. Don't worry, this site will remain in full swing updating you all on the wonderous life I lead that involves 12 hour work days (on things I can't discuss with you, bound by law not choice) and hanging out every once in awhile.

Steppas to the floor, steppas to the floor....

2005-03-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Finally, after at least a month of trying to catch up, I am caught up with all the TV shows I watch. Tonights 3 episode marathon of Lost leaves both Tivo's completely empty. In the last week, I have caught up on no less than 3 episodes each of the following: Smallville, Everwood, Gilmore Girls, Kevin Hill, Lost, Joey and Comitted. When you throw in about 4-5 Laker games that I had Tivo'd and yet to watch, I'd say I have done some TV time. Of course, most of it was done with a puzzle in front of me, but still...
Last 2 days at work have been pretty much paperwork days, which suck, but do have a silver lining. I can pretty much zone out with the MD player on. I listened to every Boyz II Men album made today while at my desk. Those dudes are good. Even their later albums that only fans listened to are really good. The people around my cube had to be wondering where the smooth voice singing "Water Runs Dry" was coming from. Musta been like heaven to their ears......Yesterday was R. Kelly. I am sure the lab loved watching me dancing down cubicle aisles (listening to his step album, Happy People, which even if you hate R normally, is good stuff). Tomorrow - more paperwork, and something that sounds nothing like what I listened to the last 2 days. (Zeppelin, Floyd maybe..)

Why is bowling so hard...

2005-03-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Had a pretty good weekend. Dinner and Footloose Friday night. A and I went hiking with one of her friends Sat. morning. She lives out in the hills behind PIR (Phoenix International Raceway), and it was a really good time. It was just sunny enough to be warm, and just cool enough to be comfortable. All of the peoeple we were with were oogling the flowers and the views, I just kept getting excited about the different views of the track. Leave it to me. Out in the middle of nature, enjoying it's beauty, and I am slobbering over the only man made thing in site. Later that night, we went to dinner at Oregano's, where I had a ravioli. That's right, A, as in one, ravioli. I think it was like a 1/2 pound ravioli though, so I was pretty stuffed. A then forced me to eat some of this Pizzookie thing that is like a 1/2 cooked cookie smoothered in ice cream. How dare she force me to eat that. I have a girlish figure to keep lady!!! (Well she didn't really have to twist my arm or anything, but still...) After that it was EXXtreme bowling!!! Which really isn't that extreme at all, but we were amused by the 2 drunk guys next to us whose only purposes for being at the ally seemed to be to drink way too much, and to see who could throw a ball the hardest, then try to keep their balance in a manner as not to embarass themselves. And why is bowling so hard? If you really think about it, you can knock down 90% of the pins, and have a score of only 30%. You can also knock down the same amount of pins, and score a 75%. Just makes no sense. Whoever invented the scoring system in bowling must have been drunk. Sunday was laundry/grocery day, and a movie in the eve. A and I saw Sideways, which was fairly enjoyable, then partook of a frosty and parted ways.

A and the Five Movie Memory

2005-03-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well it is Friday night, and the huge plans involve A and I watching Footloose. She has never seen it. Honestly, who hasn't seen Footloose? I mean there are just certain movies that everybody needs to have watched at one point in their life. Grease, Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles... just to name a few. That would be a good post. The "100 movies everybody should see or you should get kicked out of the country cause you must be a commie" list.
A also has this interesting thing we call the Five Movie Memory. She can not remember anything about a movie that she watched more than 5 movies ago. Like her mind is a file folder, and it can only hold 5 movies, so when she watches a new movie, it becomes#1, everybody else moves down the list, and #5 gets booted to the trash bin. Example, you say "Hey, have you seen BLAH BLAH BLAH?" A answers "I can't remember. It wasn't one of the last 5, so.." And it isn't like she can't remember, she is a brilliant girl (even though her choice of internet handles is a bit puzzling, i.e. singing chemist. WTF Man?). I think she purposely pushes them out, that way, when you quote movies she hates, like Anchorman, she can act like she has no clue what you are talking about.

Time to go kick off my Sunday Shoes.....

To pee or to thug, that is the question...

2005-03-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

One the way back from lunch today, a father and his son were walking across the street in front of A and I. (A being the girl I am dating) The boy was holding himself, and I don't mean adjusting, I mean he was holding on for dear life. I don't really understand the concept of grabbing yourself if you have to go really bad. The pain associated with that seems 2-fold to me:
A) You are squeezing yourself. That is not a pleasant feeling. Very tender area.
3) You already have that "need to pee bad" pain going on (you all know that pain, not so much a physical pain as a mental pain, associated with the humiliation that will befall you post-incident if you can't find a restroom soon); You are just adding to your pain.

Not to mention the kid looked like a little rapper in training, give him a mic and turn him loose....
"I used to live downtown 129th Street-Convent everything's upbeat-Parties ball in the park-Nothing but girls after dark-We chill nobody gets ill-In the place we call the hill-But if you try 'em-That's when they will-Get wild but they don't fight they kill-At the...The wild wild west "

Recycled Love...

2005-03-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a song on the way home today that I really like. As I was singing along, I realized something; every love song you hear has been done before. Sure the tempo is different, the voice is higher, and the words and phrases are in a different order, but you've heard it before. I googled "as long as I have you". It returned 'about 14,600' hits. Out of the first 3 pages, I found 10 different songs with that exact phrase. Granted, most songs are recycled in one way or another, but I think Love songs are the biggest culprit. There are only so many ways to phrase things when it comes to Love. When you're in it, it just feels so good, few words can describe it. And when you fall out of it, you hurt so bad that there are even fewer. They are just usually powerful songs. Even if you are in a great place in your life (i.e. madly in Love, and the person feels the same for you), a good Love song will bring you to tears. If it is about good Love, you identify with it, and you think about how much you Love the person you are with, that you start to cry. And if it is bad(which there are way more of), you think "Hey that is how I'd feel if we ever broke up", and then you start thinking about what would happen if you broke up, and you start to cry. And I don't even need to go into their effect if you are in a bad place! You want examples-

*Good Love song - "Every Time I Close My Eyes"- Babyface
-Every time I close my eyes I thank the lord that I've got you
And you've got me too
And every time I think of it I pinch myself cuz I don't believe it's true
That someone like you loves me too -
Come on, it is Babyface. You hear it, and you think "Wow, how many times have I said to myself 'Why did she pick me?' " It makes you feel good.

*Bad Love song - "Don't Take The Girl"- Tim McGraw
-Doctor says the baby's fine
but you'll have to leave
'cause his momma's fading fast
and johnny hit his knees
and there he prayed
Take the very breath you gave me
Take the heart from my chest
I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me
Make this my last request
Take me out of this world
God, please don't take the girl-
To this day, I still cry every (and I mean EVERY) time I hear that song. The pain associated with that verse, man, I am getting a little teary eye'd just writing this.

Well, you get my point. Love songs inspire hope. Love songs reafirm the Love you already have. Love songs remind you how bad Love bites (and I know you are singing the chorus to "Love Bites" in your head right now). Love songs remind us how great Love feels. (Bringin' me to my knees) Kinda weird. No matter how hard Love punches you in the teeth, (Love bites, Love bleeds) you always look for it. I guess maybe we have music to thank for that. At least just a little.....
And if you were wondering what song started this "Here By Me" - 3 Doors Down. New album is superb. Stuck on repeat pretty much since I got it 3 weeks ago.

Your friendly neighborhood Seth Cohen

2005-03-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have no problem admitting I am addicted to The O.C. I was gone last week, and watched last weeks episode last night before I went to bed. I laughed, I cried, I got angry. What else do you want from a TV show? And I really like Seth. He just cracks me up. Despite all the incestuous story lines, and the obvious grab at attention with the whole lesbian relationship thing, I still think it is a quality show. Heap the criticism and the insults on me all you want, but I like it, and I am not ashamed!
And what a frustrating 13 hours at work today! I am trying to get a new technology validated for use in our lab, and I have the end in site, and then a pretty important part on an instrument I need goes out. Busting my butt to get it done this week, and then this. And of course no one would keep their "Hey why didn't Kobe get a shot off at the end of the game last night?" comments to themselves. Being a huge fan of any team just sucks when they aren't winning! They won't talk bball when the Lakers are winning rings, but when they struggle, they all are superfans!!!!!

March means I am dedicating to the blog!!!!!

2005-02-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Due to more strict enforcement of the "For Departmental Use Only" warning that is displayed in the navigator bar of my browser, the posts have been lacking lately. (and by lacking I would mean nonexistent) I have vowed to post every night before I go to bed, starting with the new month, so I will jump on it a day early.

I attended the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting in New Orleans last week. The meeting was good. N'awlins is bad. Quick thoughts - dirty, rude, speaking in a dialect I can in no way fathom. It took 3 minutes to bridge the language barrier enough to order a Frosty. I did however step out and try different foods while I was there. My favorite, by far, was Veal Copeland. It was breaded in this spicy (but not blister your tongue) breading, and served with pasta. The pasta sauce was delicious, with tasso and shrimp in it. No doubt that the highlight of the trip was my first ever BAD CABBIE experience. The skinny-
It is raining, so I catch a cab back to my hotel from the conference hotel. I tell the Cabbie "Royal Omni Crescent", which is seriously like 6 blocks from the conference. As he approaches my hotel, not only is he in the wrong lane, but he isn't slowing down. Next thing I know, we are a stop light past the hotel. An extremely intellectual exchange followed -K will stand for me, C for my gracious driver.....
K-Hey you passed my hotel
C-What?
K-That was my hotel.
C-No it was not.
K-Yes it was
C-I've been doing this for 20 years, that isn't your hotel.
K-The crescent. Not the Orleans.
C- I know. It is this way
K- What room are you staying in?
C-What?
K-What is your room number?
C-I'm not staying in a room.
K-Well I am, and it is at that hotel!
Obviously confused, he takes off. I offer to pay him what the meter says if he will just let me out, to which he tells me to relax; he knows where I am going. I then try to make him a deal. If he takes me to the wrong hotel, he pays me what the meter says. He refuses. So 10 minutes, and at least 5 miles away, he pulls into a hotel.
C - See, here is your hotel.
I look at the sign. It says "Omni- Royal Orleans". I look at him, kinda smile...
K- I told you it was NOT this hotel. I even pointed out my hotel when you passed it. Are you retarded?
He tries explaining to me how this is where I told him to go, then even changes his story to "well that place must be new, I've never heard of it". So, I am a little angry, but am quite enjoying the idiotic nature of this mans logic. So I think, well let's see how dumb he is. I tell him to take me to the Omni Royal Crescent, and I will pay him. No remember, we flew by the hotel, and have driven for 10 minutes, and he has no idea where that hotel is; or at least that is his story. Can you guess what happens next? Yup. He drives right to it, including finding the weird little one way street you need to take to do a curb drop off. Some people are just amazing. Oh, and I did pay him. The $4.90 I owed him when I tried to get out and he wouldn't let me.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.....

2005-01-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

OK, so I tried to post form home last night, but I couldn't get on, and low and behold, I get a hate post from red about my lack of posting. I am going to give you the example to trump all examples as to my lack of posting. Since the beginning of 2005, I have missed 3 Laker games

(All of you who know me can now pick your jaws up off the floor)
So, when I say I am sorry and really have been trying to post, but I have been busy, that should end all doubt as to if I am actually busy or making up excuses. I mean I have maybe missed 2 games TOTAL in like 7 years, and then this! There is no doubt in my mind that Kobe was injured because I wasn't watching that game.
I have no idea why it seems that my posts lately have been about food, maybe because I actually get out of the house on Friday or Saturday nights now, so you get to suffer thru terrible dinner experiences. I went to a Mexican restaurant Saturday night and thought that the 'build your own Nachos' would be a good choice. Yeah, it wasn't. I basically got a plate of cheese with some chicken, and maybe some beef in it somewhere, and what appeared to at one time maybe have possibly been chips, but now more resembled small pieces of uncooked tortilla. Tasty!!! This, of course, forced me to starve all night, and eat like 4 bowls of cereal when I got home at like 2 am. Dude, a box of Fruity Pebbles at 2 am is pure bliss, even sober.....

The return.....

2005-01-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

OK, so the absence has been long, but I have great excuses.
A) My parental units have no cpu, so from Dec. 24th until Dec. 31st, I had not cpu access.
B) Upon returning to work, I had to play catch up for about 2 weeks,which left me dog tired and dealing with a few other issues at home,leaving me no time to post.
But have no fear, the Man of Steel returns this week with promises to keepmore up to date and let you know when absences are possible. Last weekend, on the way to watch a friend sing, I took a wrong exit. (Not so much wrong as just 1 exit to early) I am sitting at this stop light, on the wrong street, and I look over and see this busy little hole in the wall restaurant. Now normally this wouldn't be anything to write about, but what I noticed next is. I saw a movie type billboard on the side of the building that read -"OVER 91476 CHICKEN FRIED STEAKS SERVED" -. Well, I like CFS, and if you have served that many, they must be pretty darn good. So I told my friend Jeff about this sign later in the evening, and much to my surprise, he likes the CFS also. So plans were made, and the week was filled with anticipation of some good CFS. Friday eve came and we actually had to wait like 1/2 hour to get a seat in the little restaurant. The CFS came like a short stack of pancakes. Stacked 3 high; it was at least a pound of steak. Very tasty. We then went to a blues bar the listen to Big Pete Pearson, the AZ King of the blues. It was a tiny little bar but the atmosphere was great. I will never be able to hear anyone say "C'Mon" without laughing again. Every time Pete would say "C'Mon" the crowd wouldyell it back. (My fav was C'Mon Big Pete!! ) Tyler was the best. Always one of the smallest guys in the place, but yelling "C'Mon" louder than anyone else. Ah, I love making memories.

A little slow on the uptake

2004-12-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts, but the last week has been a bit hectic. I worked on Saturday, which was really nice. No one in the lab other than me, at least until the lab director wandered in to let me know he was doing some paper work in his office. He was greeted by the soothing sounds of the Ben Taylor Band (James Taylor's son), which he mistook for James Taylor and proceeded to tell me all about a James Taylor concert experience he had in the 70's and how impressed he was that the younger kids were still diggin' James. I didn't have the heart to tell him he was wrong; about it being James I mean, cause the kids should own some James, he is good. So I got some points for being the only person working a Saturday and for liking good tunes. I fly home for Xmas on Friday, which is cutting it a little close. I am gonna try to fly standby at 10 am instead of catching the flight I have booked that leaves at 5:30 pm. Cool thing about America West. No charge to fly standby on the same day, no matter the difference in ticket price. So hopefully that works out. Getting home at like 2 pm is much better than 10 pm. I still have shopping to do, which will get done Thursday (the reason I worked over the weekend was 2 fold A) so I could have 40 in by Wednesday and 2) by having a 40 hour week in a week with a holiday, I could bank the day off we get for Xmas Eve and use it next week, thereby only taking 24 hours of vacation to get the entire week off. And on a side note, the little sister will be moving back to OKC come the 1st of the year, so look for a flight to be carrying me there soon after the New Year. (You know I have to come make sure everything is settled for her. Maybe round up Halo and Numbers Game (those who know him know his name) and take care of a little unfinished business that drove the sis from OK in the first place......)

On the twelfth day of X-mas...

2004-12-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Three X-mas presents. That is all I have bought so far. The thing about living so far away from where you spend X-mas is that you don't really want to buy all your presents then have to send/transport them home with you. In my case, I really have no choice. When you come from a town of 5,000 people, and you now live in a area with 3.5 million, the shopping back home just doesn't really seem to stack up. And I love to actually X-mas shop. Just looking around till you see something that screams someone's name. This year I have had to go to the online method so that I could have things shipped home. That blows. It takes all the spirit out of it. Granted, there really isn't much spirit of Christmas present when you are shopping on a Saturday in mid-December wearing shorts and flip-flops, but what do you expect? It is the desert. I ordered the parental units a Tivo for their DirecTv. Thought it was about time they upgraded. My moms liked my Tivo when they visited this fall, (BTW- If you do not have this yet, wake up. I thank the Lord numerous times a day for such a blessing) and I am sure she is tired of watching hunting shows with my dad, so now she can retreat to another TV and watch whatever she wants. The other 2 presents I have gotten are for furrycrazer, who will be making the long trek from the North East to spend a (as Clark Griswold would say) "fun, old-fashioned family Christmas" with my family in WY. I got her a ^%##$@ and some %^&*&^%$. (Note to furrycrazer- HA! You thought I was gonna actually tell you what I got ya didn't you!) Any of you that have spent anytime with my family knows that you need to send prayers furry's way cause a week with my family can break a person. I am at a loss as to what to get for my sister. She is so country that I have no clue what she would like, and boy do I look out of place in a Corral West Ranch Wear store.

Everybody knows one...

2004-12-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

...that person at work, who after being in the same room with them for an hour you just start having homicidal thoughts about. I have one of them. Man, they drive me crazy, and it isn't just me. They talk like Jacob Silge from SNL. In a loud voice, all the time, no matter what. In the cube next to you, on the phone discussing options with their Dr. about removing a growth from their ass-crack. (Actually happened) No inside voice at all. And they know everything about everything. And I don't mean in that slightly annoying way. For example- If you wanted to know how to, say set up a printing press (I am trying to be as obscure as possible, meaning the only person who knows how to do that is someone who has special training in it), you would ask a pressman. In the process of asking the pressman, this person would interrupt them to answer your question, usually very incorrectly. They also are a master of depeating. Everybody knows someone who depeats. That friend who doesn't know the words to a song, yet they sing along by being like half a word behind so it seems like they know the words. That's depeating (delayed repeat) They listen to the expert and depeat their answers. We had a training today and this person was interrupting to answer and depeating the whole time. I was teetering, about to just go off on them, then decided to leave the room instead. I don't think they will be as lucky next time. I have never been one know for my self-control in situations like that, so I don't foresee it being controlled the next time. I can be the ass who says something. I don't really care.
On a lighter note, I went to the Dr. yesterday for my yearly "Well-Man" exam. The nurse who was doing my history/etc. asked me to take off my shirt. She turned around to glove up, and I took off my shirt. She turned back around and actually checked me out, from head to toe, and then nodded and smiled. She was pretty attractive (And this is not Penthouse, so no I did not just ravage her right there; and I am still me so we know that would never happen, even to me in Penthouse) so it made the rest of the exam a little uncomfortable. After getting my blood drawn and stuff, I went to leave and I got detained at the reception desk for like 30 minutes by like a swarm of 10 nurses asking me questions about my job and how long I had lived here and what I liked to do, etc. It was actually kinda uncomfortable. It musta been "try to hook up with a patient day" at the office and I was the last man under 30 scheduled for the day.

The annual Holi-bowl

2004-12-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

Had the annual work Holi-bowl Friday night. No group of people is more interesting and exciting than scientists! We did have a large turn out, upwards of 30 people. We bowled in groups of 4 to take advantage of the Family Fun Pack bowling rate. The girl behind the counter scared me a little. She was a very short, very rotund black woman who gave me five at least 10 times and called me honey an equal amount just in the time I was paying. (BTW- Go with the family fun pack: All you can bowl, shoes, free soda and popcorn - $11) She was one of those people I really wish I didn't give my debit card to cause then she knew my name. I bowled OK the first game, if by OK I mean got beat by 2 girls. They of course, thought this gave them the right to begin trash talking me. Well, any of you who know me know that this is a bad idea. The reasons are 3-fold:
A) I do not talk trash until it is spoken to me. But once it is spoken to me, I am one of
the best at it, and very relentless about it
B) I am very competitive
C) Don't challenge me, cause I will win
You can imagine how the rest of the night was. I especially liked the Turkey (for those of you who aren't regular watchers of the PBA on ESPN, that is 3 straight strikes) sandwiched in between 4 spares. I think by the 6th frame the girls gave up even trying to come back with trash.
As an interesting side note to bowling, one of the other bowlers, we will call him Leppard Skin, (I will tell that story someday) kept us quite entertained with his unique dance stylings to the sweet tunes the alley was pumping out. They were playing some sort of weird 50's rock mega mixes (like Rock Around the Clock/Great Balls of Fire/etc.) and he was just dancing away. It was like watching someone do the lindy alone; and he has this look he gives you when he dances. He can be completely paying attention to something, and the second you glance at him, he senses it and wheels around, just focused on you in this weird stare. For an encore, he belted out a stirring rendition of "Look What the Cat Dragged In" just before we left. Spine tingling!!!

Damn you Listerine!

2004-12-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

So why is it that no matter how much you try, the first time you open a bottle of mouthwash you spill it? You would think somebody would have figured out by now not to fill the bottle all the way up to the top. I mean I fancy myself as a pretty smart guy, but it always stumps me. The bottles are so flimsy, and that "squeeze" cap that is just a bit too tough causes you to have to squeeze the bottle while trying to remove the cap. You squeeze a flimsy bottle, which is filled all the way to the top of the neck, and Presto!! This morning I removed the safety seal, and held the bottle as lightly as I could. Just as the cap was coming off, I was thinking "HA HA!". But sure enough, some leaked out, eventually making it's way to the front of my pants. It gets on your hands and it leaves that "sticky popsicle" feel, no matter how much you wash. I would gladly lose $.08 of mouthwash for them to fill the bottle a LITTLE LESS FULL!!!

If anything interesting had happened...

2004-12-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

the last 2 days when I was laying in bed protecting my back, I would have something to write about. I basically have been laying around watching Friends on DVD. I watched all of seasons 2 and 3 since Thanksgiving. Even though I have seen them all, I still enjoy them and laugh at them. That is the mark of a good show. I know what lines are coming next, but they are still hilarious. But watching them does make me miss HALO; he is just so Ross with his mannerisms.
I worked from 6-1, went and got a leaky tire fixed, then hit the chiropractor. I have another week of 3 visits ahead, then I am going to try to go about once a month after that. As much as I play ball, I probably should go get straightened out at least once a month. I hate to do it; it is giving into my age, and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate Dr.'s and pills. But I can't play for 5 hours a day like I used to and not take care of myself. So the rest of my eve will consist of nothing but basketball. Cavs-Suns game should be fun to watch, and the Lakers play tonite, and it is TiVO time for Smallville/Lost/Kevin Hill, (Geez, and I just remebered Wake vs. Illinois, 1 v 3) so go ahead and picture me lounging in bed, glued to the tube. Man my life is simple during basketball season.

One reason I love the big city

2004-11-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Concerts. I love live music. Anybody. Any kind. Being my first full year in a real big city, I definitely got to see some good shows this year. Default, Socialburn, Blue October, 311(2),
3 Doors Down, Something Corporate, Story of the Year, The Sounds, New Found Glory, Incubus, The Cardigans, and Yellowcard (3). For all you OK/TX readers, go see Blue October live. They are a TX band that is incredible live. And both of their CD's are great. One evening over my Thanksgiving break was spent watching Yellowcard at the Mesa Amphitheater. Really cool venue and a cool thing about Arizona- Outdoor concerts in November!! Earlier this year I had seen them in the same venue, only they were the opening act for Something Corporate. I was impressed by them then, and enjoyed this time even more. The Starting Line opened, and was very impressive also. I had their album for a while, but hadn’t listened to it very much. I will be giving it a lot more airtime now. And Yellowcard did not disappoint. They probably played too many older songs for most people who were there. Their first 2 albums were good, but not successful like Ocean Avenue has been. They probably only did 7-8 songs from Ocean Avenue, and the rest of the show was old school, and very good. The acoustic version of Rough Draft was excellent, and I recommend downloading it. (Get used to me saying "I recommend downloading it" cause I listen to alot of music, and like to get other people to also) All in all, being the 3rd time I have seen them this year, I would definitely say that they are worth the $. It actually was a great, great concert year for me.
And if you are at home, check this out. Pretty funny.

Floating in and out

2004-11-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I got this thing as spiced up as I can for now. I basically gave myself a crash course in HTML via numerous web sites, and this is what you get. As I learn more, I will try to spice things up a bit.
So the meds that the Dr. gave me for my back kinda knock me out. There are patches over the last 3 days that I can't remember(so amazingly, this blog thing worked). Which really sucks because I was in charge of taking care of some friends pets while they were out of town this weekend. They were only gone for 3 days, and I only made it over on Thanksgiving morning, but when they got home last night, the food and water were gone. Nothing bad happened to the animals, and I know I had an excuse for being a little distracted, but I still feel bad. So, if you guys read this, I really am sorry.

2004-11-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Please bear with me...

2004-11-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am new to html editing, and am creating my page by trial and error. I found the original template on the web, and am trying to modify it to my liking. A lot of cutting, pasting, checking the layout, repeat....

Geez, what am I thankful for?

2004-11-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, after many months of threatening to become one of you, I have given in. I pulled some muscles in my back playing basketball Tuesday, and my chiropractor (saying "my chiropractor" makes me feel like an old man) suggested I relax for a few days, so I didn't work today, am taking tomorrow off as well, and decided to finally get this thing up and going.
I started my own Thanksgiving tradition today, and I am gonna stick with this one, at least for awhile. In the past I have experimented with numerous "spending the day alone" traditions. One failed tradition involved 12 Krispy Kreme donuts, a gallon of milk, and about 10 trips to the bathroom. Another involved Totino's pizza. But this year was different. I went Chandler Bing-esque and made some Mac & Cheese and a few grilled cheese sandwiches. Then I just watched movies all day. Eternal Sunshine... was different, but enjoyable. Nothing spectacular. I also watched The Battle of Shaker Heights. I just kept waiting for that one to get started. Not a bad movie, just kinda there. When it comes to movies, I have a completely strange rating system that I will post on in the future. Well, enuf for a first post. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading my stuff as much as I enjoy reading yours!!!