Today was my Aunt Mary's birthday. I haven't seen her in nearly 8 years. I have good memories of going to her house and playing with my cousins. Right now I guess her and her husband aren't very fond of my parents (my dad is her husband's older brother) due to some unfortunate incident with one of my cousins. I don't know the full story, but apparently my parents refused to get in the middle (on her parents' behalf) on something they believed to be an internal matter in their own nuclear family. Like I say, I don't have all the facts, and I hope someday the 2 sets of parents can work this out.
So I went out to eat earlier and decided to have a steak. I had a medium broiled New York Strip with a baked potato (butter only - hey, I'm a purist). So after dinner I put a description of my dinner as my Facebook status, only instead of the word 'baked' I accidently typed 'naked'... I got a few comments about eating 'naked' potatoes. I felt a little foolish but laughed all the same.
We also took all 3 dogs to the park today, together, for the first time. It was a little rough trying to handle a 50 pound dog and a 33 pound dog both pulling hard at the leash. But after getting them into the car all was right with the universe. Sharon was exicted as hell to get into the park and headed straight for the pond, which is always her first destination. That Golden Retriever half of her just can't seem to resist the water. Angela was still a little skittish, but was able to let loose a little more since she had a familiar companion with her.
The highlight of my boring day was a trip to Gallery Furniture to look at new coffee tables. The one it was to replace has been with us a while, but it is cheap and I never really liked it. The plan was just to look but the perfect replacement was spotted about 20 minutes into the adventure. It has a pull up top (which comes to about desk height) with storage under the top along with 2 drawers. The color is good and the price was pretty reasonable. It looks very good in the living room now.
The pictures haven't been forthcoming and for that I apologize. Picking up the camera hasn't been high on my priority list for the past week or so but I will start posting some again soon, I promise.
Well, it's late and I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, everybody.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Day 43 - It Stopped Raining!
It was supposed to be sunny in the afternoon, but here at 11:30 pm it's still overcast as can be. At least the rain stopped. Now if my back lawn would only dry out I wouldn't need to clean Ozzy, Sharon, and Angela off every time they come back into the house.
Poor Ozzy... he was sleeping this afternoon and woke up with a full erection. The look on his face was a combination of pain and wonder at what was going on. I just hope he wasn't dreaming about Angela.
Other than that my boring life continues. I'm thinking if it's sunny on Sunday I may head to some of the surrounding municipalities and take some photos of their respective city halls. It's sort of a study in diversity.
Goodnight, everyone.
Poor Ozzy... he was sleeping this afternoon and woke up with a full erection. The look on his face was a combination of pain and wonder at what was going on. I just hope he wasn't dreaming about Angela.
Other than that my boring life continues. I'm thinking if it's sunny on Sunday I may head to some of the surrounding municipalities and take some photos of their respective city halls. It's sort of a study in diversity.
Goodnight, everyone.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Day 42 - It's Raining Again
It rained yesterday as well. I don't mind rain every now and again, but it sure does get depressing after more than 24 hours. According the weather app on my iPhone we should have partly sunny on Friday. I certainly hope so... I need my backyard to dry out so I can start filling in some holes and working to get some grass back down. I also need the ground to dry out a little bit before I can start working to make the fence escape proof as Ozzy made a successful attempt just a few days ago.
Damn, I was one kernel away from having the perfect bag of popcorn. Better luck next time I guess.
The rain pretty much limited my activity today. It was a steady rain all day with some embedded showering. I was thinking of getting a professional massage today, but when it rains like this some of the streets in southwest Houston are rather prone to standing water. While I drive an SUV and it doesn't pose too much a problem, a lot of people do stupid things on wet roads. I decided it was just best to avoid it today.
So it was a day of staying inside, doing paperwork, and trying to stay sane with 3 young dogs. Their behavior was rather on the atrocious side today. Angela gets a little rough with Ozzy, and today was one of her worse days for that. Normally I can get her to chill out, but today she seemed in no mood to listen to commands. It also doesn't help that Ozzy tries to get her back everytime. It finally got the best of me today and I went to separate them. They both knew I was not happy and started running. Ozzy tried a pivot move next to a rather large and expensive Asian vase. His 20 pound body slammed into the vase, which slammed into the table next to which it was situated. The result was a broken vase and an even more pissed off daddy. Let's just say they behaved the rest of the evening.
So that was pretty much the highlight of my day today. If the sun comes out as promised I may still yet get my massage. I need it as there is a tense muscle in my neck that is not giving me much relief lately. As for now, I think I need to go pay my electric bill.
To all of you out there, I bid you goodnight.
Damn, I was one kernel away from having the perfect bag of popcorn. Better luck next time I guess.
The rain pretty much limited my activity today. It was a steady rain all day with some embedded showering. I was thinking of getting a professional massage today, but when it rains like this some of the streets in southwest Houston are rather prone to standing water. While I drive an SUV and it doesn't pose too much a problem, a lot of people do stupid things on wet roads. I decided it was just best to avoid it today.
So it was a day of staying inside, doing paperwork, and trying to stay sane with 3 young dogs. Their behavior was rather on the atrocious side today. Angela gets a little rough with Ozzy, and today was one of her worse days for that. Normally I can get her to chill out, but today she seemed in no mood to listen to commands. It also doesn't help that Ozzy tries to get her back everytime. It finally got the best of me today and I went to separate them. They both knew I was not happy and started running. Ozzy tried a pivot move next to a rather large and expensive Asian vase. His 20 pound body slammed into the vase, which slammed into the table next to which it was situated. The result was a broken vase and an even more pissed off daddy. Let's just say they behaved the rest of the evening.
So that was pretty much the highlight of my day today. If the sun comes out as promised I may still yet get my massage. I need it as there is a tense muscle in my neck that is not giving me much relief lately. As for now, I think I need to go pay my electric bill.
To all of you out there, I bid you goodnight.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Day 37 - The Superbowl Draws Nigh
Tomorrow the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts in Miami in Superbowl XLIV. This should be a good game as both teams feature offenses that can seemingly score at will along with defenses that know how to disrupt the opponent. I personally can't wait.
I spent my morning waiting for someone to show up to my house who never showed up. Because of this I missed going to the Post Office to pick up the mail that was held while I was in New York. There are bills and such that are in that mail that need to be paid. Oh well, I guess these guys are going to have to wait until Monday to get their money as I can't pay the bill if I don't know how much needs to be paid. I don't get email only versions of my bills as I tend to be a little forgetful about them if the piece of paper is not staring me in the face.
I went to Fry's to browse a little bit just for something to do and ended up buying a DVD. Then I went down to the Montrose area to the Houston Center for Photography. The center is running an exhibit in a run-up to an auction. I saw some really amazing photographs at the exhibition, but nothing I can afford.
I spent my morning waiting for someone to show up to my house who never showed up. Because of this I missed going to the Post Office to pick up the mail that was held while I was in New York. There are bills and such that are in that mail that need to be paid. Oh well, I guess these guys are going to have to wait until Monday to get their money as I can't pay the bill if I don't know how much needs to be paid. I don't get email only versions of my bills as I tend to be a little forgetful about them if the piece of paper is not staring me in the face.
I went to Fry's to browse a little bit just for something to do and ended up buying a DVD. Then I went down to the Montrose area to the Houston Center for Photography. The center is running an exhibit in a run-up to an auction. I saw some really amazing photographs at the exhibition, but nothing I can afford.
That pretty much sums up today. To all of you I now bid good night.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Day 36
Ok, now that things have settled down and I'm getting back to something that resembles a routine, I can continue this blog.
The drive up to New York was a little interesting. I got to drive through some thick fog in Mississippi, some deer on the side of the road in Alabama (and swerving around a fresh carcass in the same state), hopefully prevented a crime from happening in Montgomery, AL, and lost a brake pad somewhere along the way. On the 2nd leg of the trip I got treated to closed gas stations, another deer carcass, and Ozzy having 2 accidents in my back seat. I was hoping for something a little more uneventful, but since we got to New York safely, I'm not going to complain.
The visit itself was for the most part nice. I got to meet my niece Shiloh. She's a beautiful baby who thankfully did not inherit my sister's nose. A couple of days after we got there I took my car into the Ford dealer to have the front brakes replaced. I ended up doing 3 fishtails on the ice (in the process nearly taking out 2 telephone poles). I knew the roads were slick and wasn't going that fast... I think I may have overcorrected when I felt the first slide in my rear tires. After paying nearly $200 for the brake service, all seemed to go well.
We stayed at my sister's place in Stanley, NY for 3 days and then headed to my parents' house near Cincinnatus. The weather turned pretty damn cold after we got there... that night we arrived the temperature got down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a -15 windchill. Taking the dogs out to do their business was not fun at all. That day saw about 4 inches of snow fall, so it left the roads covered with snow and ice, which is not fun at all. Ozzy and Angela were loving running through the snow and we had a hard time getting them to go inside sometimes. Although it didn't get much warmer after that first day in Cincinnatus, the sun did come out so the roads gradually cleared. However, not every locale is created equal, and the road maintenance definitely bears that out. Our mobility was definitely limited. A case in point - we went to Norwich, NY on 29 Jan and the roads were clear. I went to Union Valley, NY later that night to drop something off to my friend Jim (both localities in the same county as my parents), but the road going to his place looked as if it hadn't been touched by maintenance.
I was treated to some nasty news the night before we were scheduled to depart for Texas - a winter storm decided to hit the mid-Atlantic states. This storm stetched back into Kansas and Oklahoma lenghtwise and from southern Pennsylvania all the way down to middle Georgia. The forecast called for snow and freezing rain. We decided to stay an extra day since we really had no escape (unless I wanted to head west to Minnesota then move south, which if I had been alone on the trip I would have done in a hearbeat). The next day the news reports were showing areas where the ice was nearly an inch thick.
We departed for South Carolina on 31 Jan. The trip itself was going good until I started getting a rattle whenever I turned slightly left. I wasn't sure what was going on since it was very intermittent. We ran into the snow in southern PA, and it was pretty deep in some areas, although the roads themselves were clear. When I got to the I-77 junction in southern VA things got a little interesting.
I-77 runs through the Blue Ridge foothills in southern VA and northern NC. There are a lot of curves and a lot of ups and downs. There had been road crews on the roads that day, but I could still see some snow and a little bit of ice on the roadway. I wasn't the only one driving at a slower pace. Near the state line there is a 7.5 mile downgrade (complete with runaway truck exits) with, you guessed it, snow and ice.
A runaway truck exit is built on the approach to a bend in the road so the driver doesn't have to manuever into it. Immediately after entering the exit there is a steep incline to help slow the truck down. The road crews had run the plows over the roads, but in the process created a snow barrier into the runaway truck exit. There were plenty of tractor-trailers on this downgrade while I was on it... I hope none of them needed to use the runaway exit.
The ice continued down I-77 and I-65 through all of NC. There was a little bit when I hit SC, but nowhere near as bad as its neighbor to the north.
I got a late start the next morning, but off we went - destination Houston. The rattling was getting progressively worse and I was getting a little concerned. I looked at the wheel at one point and didn't see anything that looked bad. The trip through SC, GA, and AL went fairly smooth. In Mississippi Angela started getting into the habit of hopping into the driver's seat whenever I had to leave the car for something. It was definitely cute. I'm wondering if she was trying to be a sentinel, wanting to help me drive, or giving me the hint that she wanted to get home.
We finally arrived in Houston on 2 Feb at about 1:30 am CDT. It was a long trip but we had fun. Now it was back to the grind, but first thing's first - I had to pick up Sharon from my uncle (who was very glad to see me) and I had to get my cat from boarding. I inspected the right wheel again and it looked like the outside brake pad had come loose from the caliper. I figured that was the cause of the rattle and made plans to take into a local Ford dealer to get fixed.
After spending the next 2 days catching up, I took my car to a dealer to have it checked. I got a call saying the brake was installed a little roughly, but it was fine. It didn't look fine to me, but I'll take his word for it. I was then informed that there was oil on the undercarriage of the car. The technician had found a pinhole leak in the oil filter. I felt the blood drain from my face. I asked the service advisor to change the oil. I later found out there was less than a quart of oil in the engine. I had the oil changed the day we departed for NY. I was not the least bit happy. When I picked up the car (after another $150 in repairs) they handed me the filter - it had definitely been overtorqued as there were holes all along the groove where the wrench rests.
Well, faithful and not-so-faithful readers, this is it for this entry. I will have further updates on Day 37 as for now I must call it a night. To all of you out there - have a good night.
Angela is either being a sentinel or is telling my to hurry my happy ass up so we can get home.
The drive up to New York was a little interesting. I got to drive through some thick fog in Mississippi, some deer on the side of the road in Alabama (and swerving around a fresh carcass in the same state), hopefully prevented a crime from happening in Montgomery, AL, and lost a brake pad somewhere along the way. On the 2nd leg of the trip I got treated to closed gas stations, another deer carcass, and Ozzy having 2 accidents in my back seat. I was hoping for something a little more uneventful, but since we got to New York safely, I'm not going to complain.
The visit itself was for the most part nice. I got to meet my niece Shiloh. She's a beautiful baby who thankfully did not inherit my sister's nose. A couple of days after we got there I took my car into the Ford dealer to have the front brakes replaced. I ended up doing 3 fishtails on the ice (in the process nearly taking out 2 telephone poles). I knew the roads were slick and wasn't going that fast... I think I may have overcorrected when I felt the first slide in my rear tires. After paying nearly $200 for the brake service, all seemed to go well.
We stayed at my sister's place in Stanley, NY for 3 days and then headed to my parents' house near Cincinnatus. The weather turned pretty damn cold after we got there... that night we arrived the temperature got down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a -15 windchill. Taking the dogs out to do their business was not fun at all. That day saw about 4 inches of snow fall, so it left the roads covered with snow and ice, which is not fun at all. Ozzy and Angela were loving running through the snow and we had a hard time getting them to go inside sometimes. Although it didn't get much warmer after that first day in Cincinnatus, the sun did come out so the roads gradually cleared. However, not every locale is created equal, and the road maintenance definitely bears that out. Our mobility was definitely limited. A case in point - we went to Norwich, NY on 29 Jan and the roads were clear. I went to Union Valley, NY later that night to drop something off to my friend Jim (both localities in the same county as my parents), but the road going to his place looked as if it hadn't been touched by maintenance.
I was treated to some nasty news the night before we were scheduled to depart for Texas - a winter storm decided to hit the mid-Atlantic states. This storm stetched back into Kansas and Oklahoma lenghtwise and from southern Pennsylvania all the way down to middle Georgia. The forecast called for snow and freezing rain. We decided to stay an extra day since we really had no escape (unless I wanted to head west to Minnesota then move south, which if I had been alone on the trip I would have done in a hearbeat). The next day the news reports were showing areas where the ice was nearly an inch thick.
We departed for South Carolina on 31 Jan. The trip itself was going good until I started getting a rattle whenever I turned slightly left. I wasn't sure what was going on since it was very intermittent. We ran into the snow in southern PA, and it was pretty deep in some areas, although the roads themselves were clear. When I got to the I-77 junction in southern VA things got a little interesting.
I-77 runs through the Blue Ridge foothills in southern VA and northern NC. There are a lot of curves and a lot of ups and downs. There had been road crews on the roads that day, but I could still see some snow and a little bit of ice on the roadway. I wasn't the only one driving at a slower pace. Near the state line there is a 7.5 mile downgrade (complete with runaway truck exits) with, you guessed it, snow and ice.
A runaway truck exit is built on the approach to a bend in the road so the driver doesn't have to manuever into it. Immediately after entering the exit there is a steep incline to help slow the truck down. The road crews had run the plows over the roads, but in the process created a snow barrier into the runaway truck exit. There were plenty of tractor-trailers on this downgrade while I was on it... I hope none of them needed to use the runaway exit.
The ice continued down I-77 and I-65 through all of NC. There was a little bit when I hit SC, but nowhere near as bad as its neighbor to the north.
I got a late start the next morning, but off we went - destination Houston. The rattling was getting progressively worse and I was getting a little concerned. I looked at the wheel at one point and didn't see anything that looked bad. The trip through SC, GA, and AL went fairly smooth. In Mississippi Angela started getting into the habit of hopping into the driver's seat whenever I had to leave the car for something. It was definitely cute. I'm wondering if she was trying to be a sentinel, wanting to help me drive, or giving me the hint that she wanted to get home.
We finally arrived in Houston on 2 Feb at about 1:30 am CDT. It was a long trip but we had fun. Now it was back to the grind, but first thing's first - I had to pick up Sharon from my uncle (who was very glad to see me) and I had to get my cat from boarding. I inspected the right wheel again and it looked like the outside brake pad had come loose from the caliper. I figured that was the cause of the rattle and made plans to take into a local Ford dealer to get fixed.
After spending the next 2 days catching up, I took my car to a dealer to have it checked. I got a call saying the brake was installed a little roughly, but it was fine. It didn't look fine to me, but I'll take his word for it. I was then informed that there was oil on the undercarriage of the car. The technician had found a pinhole leak in the oil filter. I felt the blood drain from my face. I asked the service advisor to change the oil. I later found out there was less than a quart of oil in the engine. I had the oil changed the day we departed for NY. I was not the least bit happy. When I picked up the car (after another $150 in repairs) they handed me the filter - it had definitely been overtorqued as there were holes all along the groove where the wrench rests.
Well, faithful and not-so-faithful readers, this is it for this entry. I will have further updates on Day 37 as for now I must call it a night. To all of you out there - have a good night.
Angela is either being a sentinel or is telling my to hurry my happy ass up so we can get home.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Day 21 - 1 Day to Departure
Tomorrow I'm leaving for New York to meet my niece. First it's a stop in Spartanburg, SC to visit my sister-in-law (and save on a hotel room) then it's to Cuncinnatus. I'm pretty stoked about it and I'm sure I'll have a decent time.
So the updates have been a little slow. I apologize for that as I've been pretty busy lately in prepping for the trip. At this point I have a few odds and ends to tie up, mainly making some faxes, depositing some checks, boarding the cat, and getting an oil change and wheel balance and rotation.
So the updates have been a little slow. I apologize for that as I've been pretty busy lately in prepping for the trip. At this point I have a few odds and ends to tie up, mainly making some faxes, depositing some checks, boarding the cat, and getting an oil change and wheel balance and rotation.
We take a lot of things on faith. We have faith that our cars will start when we need them to do so, we have faith that we won't oversleep and be late for whatever appointments need to be met in the morning, we have faith that our hearts won't stop before the next beat. Of course, these are our more base faiths. There are more substantial faiths out there, such as our kids making the correct decisions and for many, faith in a power beyond our own.
It's those more mentally substantial faiths that can also cause us anxiety when doubt appears. The trick is finding a way to assuage that doubt and restore our faith. For the example of the kids, it could be something as simple as being able to observe their behavior when they don't know they're being observed. In the higher power, well, that one is a lot more tricky, but for many that faith is reaffirmed in many different ways.
There is one thing in which I have a lot of faith. I'm sorry, but I will have to decline to mention what that one thing is, but let me assure you, dear reader, that it is something I hold very dear. That faith is shared by another. But sometimes on the other end doubt seems to cloud that faith. Why this is I do not know, but it's there. This has been talked about before, but I discovered that it happens a lot more than I've believed it to be.
I was told that this was something that I have to accept as I cannot control everything. The big problem I have with that statement is that it is my job to be the hero to this person. Letting this person down is not an option for me - ever. Therefore, I cannot and do not accept.
The one thing I can do to be the hero is the one that cannot be done right now. I'm doing everything I can to get closer to the day when it can be done, but at this point the time is just not right. The person of whom I speak will be reading this. I can only say to you - I let you down once 7 years ago, I will not let you down again.
Hopefully I'll find time to at least drop a line or 2 during the trip. I'll do my best, just please don't give up on me if they are a little infrequent next week. As for now I must get some sleep. Goodnight, everyone.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Day 16 - The Water Bill is Due
So I went ahead and paid it. If there was one thing that has made the Internet great, it is the ability to make (nearly) instant payments on your bills. Coming up will be the gas bill. Given the stretch of weather in the 30-40 degree range, I'm not looking forward to it.
It was kind of a long day today. I didn't get to sleep until nearly 5:30 am this morning and woke up at 9:30 am. I've been pretty tired all day. Of course, now it's after midnight and I'm not in bed yet. It's pretty foolish, but I'm talking to Mardi right now. The chance to talk to her is more important than sleep at the moment. And if I did go to bed early, who was going to update this blog?
I didn't get the combat boots I was thinking about. Instead I picked up a pair of Columbia hiking shoes. They were on sale for a good price so I decided to pick them up. I also picked up a copy of "Darksiders" for my PS3. It's pretty fun so far, but there are some difficult parts. I guess I'm still getting used to the controls and it should get easier as I go along. The storyline is right up my alley too hehe.
Chicken wings make great football food. I had some Wicked BBQ wings at a little sports bar in Katy called Frankenstein's. They had a slow attack and a persistent heat, which was perfect. A beer would have gone down great with them, but since we were out and I was driving, no beer for me. I got to watch the 1st quarter of the Saints/Cardinals game and the Saints were just pounding the Cards from the get-go. There were quite a few Saints fans in the bar and they were definitely having a good time. The Colts won today as well, so tomorrow's games decided the Conference Championship games. It sucks because next Sunday I'll be driving. Oh well, as long as I'm back for the Superbowl it's all good.
I skipped the gym tonight again... this is becoming too easy to do. I have concrete plans for tomorrow and I don't plan to break them. Tomorrow is also park day for the dogs. I enjoy taking them to the park as it allows them to just do whatever for an hour or so.
Well, to everyone out there, I now bid you goodnight as it is a little late.
Disruption
It was kind of a long day today. I didn't get to sleep until nearly 5:30 am this morning and woke up at 9:30 am. I've been pretty tired all day. Of course, now it's after midnight and I'm not in bed yet. It's pretty foolish, but I'm talking to Mardi right now. The chance to talk to her is more important than sleep at the moment. And if I did go to bed early, who was going to update this blog?
I didn't get the combat boots I was thinking about. Instead I picked up a pair of Columbia hiking shoes. They were on sale for a good price so I decided to pick them up. I also picked up a copy of "Darksiders" for my PS3. It's pretty fun so far, but there are some difficult parts. I guess I'm still getting used to the controls and it should get easier as I go along. The storyline is right up my alley too hehe.
Chicken wings make great football food. I had some Wicked BBQ wings at a little sports bar in Katy called Frankenstein's. They had a slow attack and a persistent heat, which was perfect. A beer would have gone down great with them, but since we were out and I was driving, no beer for me. I got to watch the 1st quarter of the Saints/Cardinals game and the Saints were just pounding the Cards from the get-go. There were quite a few Saints fans in the bar and they were definitely having a good time. The Colts won today as well, so tomorrow's games decided the Conference Championship games. It sucks because next Sunday I'll be driving. Oh well, as long as I'm back for the Superbowl it's all good.
I skipped the gym tonight again... this is becoming too easy to do. I have concrete plans for tomorrow and I don't plan to break them. Tomorrow is also park day for the dogs. I enjoy taking them to the park as it allows them to just do whatever for an hour or so.
Well, to everyone out there, I now bid you goodnight as it is a little late.
Disruption
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