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
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 15 - Ugh
The edge was taken off the pain today, but the tightness is still just as bad as ever. I got a little a busy this morning and missed the gym. I was going to make it a double tonight, but like a dumbass I ate very little through the day and now have a headache from it. I just don't have it in me tonight to go. This is 2 days now, I can't keep letting this go.
The only use I had for it today was as a picture subject
There was a lot of paperwork today and more running around. As the trip to New York gets closer I'm going to be doing a lot more running around. It's all good though, as I'll finally get to meet my niece. I'm also coming back with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun for use in home defense. I own a .38 now, but a shotgun is a little more effective as a deterrent since all one really needs to do to grab the attention of an intruder is pump it once. The sound of a shotgun loading a cartridge is pretty loud and unmistakable. Getting by Angela, of course, won't be easy either.
I just need to remember to check on firearms transportation laws in the states through which I will be driving to ensure I don't get arrested on a weapons charge.
Well, that's it in a nutshell for today. To all of you now I bid you goodnight.
The only use I had for it today was as a picture subjectThursday, January 14, 2010
Day 14 - My Arms are Really Sore
And my back is so tight that I can't seem to move without great effort. I decided to make today my day off, so that means I will be working out on Saturday.
I had another strange dream last night. I dreamt I was sent back to Kunsan AB in Kunsan, Korea. I served there from 94-95. In 1994 the base had been scheduled for closure by the BRAC, but then came along the revelation that North Korea was close to building their first nuclear weapon. President Clinton immediately removed the base from the closure list. When I got there the base was on a constant wartime footing and living on the base was almost like living on an outpost. Anyway, I was with some young female airmen who found out that I had been there before. They were asking me all sorts of questions about the base. The strangest part was, when we got there, I didn't recognize any of it. It seemed like it had gone from a US military base to a town-square shopping center. I wasn't sure what to make of it. The girls were complaining about being there, but I had told them that 14 years ago none of this was here. Then all but one lady went off exploring, and the one who was left gave me a kiss and said "Thank you, you helped put this into perspective for me" and that was the end of the dream.
That wasn't the first dream I've ever had about being sent back to Korea and it probably won't be the last. I just hope that my dreams don't involve actual war... that would definitely suck.
I'm listening to Bruce Dickinson sing an even more operatic version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the Montsserrat Caballe. It is definitely interesting. "Mantronic" by WASP is coming up next in the playlist, so that should help get me back on a metal footing.
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by 2 more of the Metal Blade releases. The first one I listened to last night was by a band called Barn Burner. They have a stoner type sound with a metal sensibility. I also listened to "Graveyard Classics 3" by Six Feet Under. This is much better than "Graveyard Classics 2", which covered AC/DC's "Back in Black" in its entirety. While I can appreciate the gimmick, AC/DC songs do not lend themselves to pitch-shifted vocals. I was really impressed with their cover of Metallica's "The Frayed Ends of Sanity". Chris Barnes and company took a classic thrash song and turned it into a death metal frenzy.
Funny story about "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" - we were nearing the end of one our Operational Readiness Exercises (in preparation for an Operational Readiness Inspection, which is overseen by the USAF Inspector General) when the duty forecaster started doing the "oh ee oh" sounds at the beginning of the song. I joined in with him and the duty officer joined in right after I did. The funniest thing happened - I started singing the lyrics to "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" and the forecaster was banging his head... the duty officer started singing the lyrics from the "Wizard of Oz" song that has the same sounds. He stopped and looked at both of us like we were the craziest people on the planet. What can I say, fake combat fatigue will bring out the foolishness.
I must say my chicken tacos turned out pretty good. Tonight was also my first stab at Mexican style rice... maybe someday I'll graduate to paella, but probably not anytime soon.
At this point I must bid you all good night as I am sore and pretty freaking tired.
Tell me my dogs aren't spoiled
I had another strange dream last night. I dreamt I was sent back to Kunsan AB in Kunsan, Korea. I served there from 94-95. In 1994 the base had been scheduled for closure by the BRAC, but then came along the revelation that North Korea was close to building their first nuclear weapon. President Clinton immediately removed the base from the closure list. When I got there the base was on a constant wartime footing and living on the base was almost like living on an outpost. Anyway, I was with some young female airmen who found out that I had been there before. They were asking me all sorts of questions about the base. The strangest part was, when we got there, I didn't recognize any of it. It seemed like it had gone from a US military base to a town-square shopping center. I wasn't sure what to make of it. The girls were complaining about being there, but I had told them that 14 years ago none of this was here. Then all but one lady went off exploring, and the one who was left gave me a kiss and said "Thank you, you helped put this into perspective for me" and that was the end of the dream.
That wasn't the first dream I've ever had about being sent back to Korea and it probably won't be the last. I just hope that my dreams don't involve actual war... that would definitely suck.
I'm listening to Bruce Dickinson sing an even more operatic version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the Montsserrat Caballe. It is definitely interesting. "Mantronic" by WASP is coming up next in the playlist, so that should help get me back on a metal footing.
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by 2 more of the Metal Blade releases. The first one I listened to last night was by a band called Barn Burner. They have a stoner type sound with a metal sensibility. I also listened to "Graveyard Classics 3" by Six Feet Under. This is much better than "Graveyard Classics 2", which covered AC/DC's "Back in Black" in its entirety. While I can appreciate the gimmick, AC/DC songs do not lend themselves to pitch-shifted vocals. I was really impressed with their cover of Metallica's "The Frayed Ends of Sanity". Chris Barnes and company took a classic thrash song and turned it into a death metal frenzy.
Funny story about "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" - we were nearing the end of one our Operational Readiness Exercises (in preparation for an Operational Readiness Inspection, which is overseen by the USAF Inspector General) when the duty forecaster started doing the "oh ee oh" sounds at the beginning of the song. I joined in with him and the duty officer joined in right after I did. The funniest thing happened - I started singing the lyrics to "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" and the forecaster was banging his head... the duty officer started singing the lyrics from the "Wizard of Oz" song that has the same sounds. He stopped and looked at both of us like we were the craziest people on the planet. What can I say, fake combat fatigue will bring out the foolishness.
I must say my chicken tacos turned out pretty good. Tonight was also my first stab at Mexican style rice... maybe someday I'll graduate to paella, but probably not anytime soon.
At this point I must bid you all good night as I am sore and pretty freaking tired.
Tell me my dogs aren't spoiled
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day 13 - My Arms are Sore
I finally started 2-a-days at the gym today. I worked my back, biceps, and forearms. My forearms are sore already, and my brachioradialis is starting to tighten up. I can already tell I'm in for a rough couple of days. After my turn on the treadmill I could also feel my trapezius tightening up. Tomorrow I will be working my chest and shoulders. Friday will be legs. My plan is to eventually concentrate on a single muscle group each day, but I need to build up to that.
Speaking of the treadmill, yesterday I went 4.29 miles in 65 minutes. Today I went 4.67 miles in 65:15. The reason I went 65:15 is pretty silly. My towel fell off the handle of the treadmill. I paused the workout to retrieve it, but forgot I had the safety cord attached. The treadmill shut off at 19:15. So, I went and restarted it 41:00 at the same pace. It's ok, though, because I know I beat yesterday's pace pretty handily.
I may take the day off on Saturday, it depends on how I feel when I wake up Saturday morning. I'm supposed to be looking at a barely-used mountain bike on Saturday. This should be fun.
Angela weighed in at 22.1 pounds today, which is awesome progress. When we got her she was facing a double whammy. The previous owner told me she was getting beat out for food by her litter mates. She also had a bacterial infection that wasn't allowing her to keep much food down (that was discovered 2 weeks after she came home with us). She weighed in a little over 5 pounds when we first got her (she should have been 10+). I can believe the story about being beat out for food - she was showing some pretty bad food aggression for the first month with us. That has subsided. After we cleared up the bacterial infection she began to flourish. She's still a little less than ideal weight (she should be closer to 30#), but she is making remarkable progress.
Dinner was also good tonight. I made serrano and onion turkey burgers topped with melon salsa. It's become one of my favorites. Tommorow I will pick up some limes and another onion to make a carne-asade style chicken taco.
At this point, however, it's getting pretty late and I have more work ahead of me tomorrow. To all of you I bid you now good night.
We aren't allowed to use cameras in the locker room, but I needed a picture for today :-)
Speaking of the treadmill, yesterday I went 4.29 miles in 65 minutes. Today I went 4.67 miles in 65:15. The reason I went 65:15 is pretty silly. My towel fell off the handle of the treadmill. I paused the workout to retrieve it, but forgot I had the safety cord attached. The treadmill shut off at 19:15. So, I went and restarted it 41:00 at the same pace. It's ok, though, because I know I beat yesterday's pace pretty handily.
I may take the day off on Saturday, it depends on how I feel when I wake up Saturday morning. I'm supposed to be looking at a barely-used mountain bike on Saturday. This should be fun.
Angela weighed in at 22.1 pounds today, which is awesome progress. When we got her she was facing a double whammy. The previous owner told me she was getting beat out for food by her litter mates. She also had a bacterial infection that wasn't allowing her to keep much food down (that was discovered 2 weeks after she came home with us). She weighed in a little over 5 pounds when we first got her (she should have been 10+). I can believe the story about being beat out for food - she was showing some pretty bad food aggression for the first month with us. That has subsided. After we cleared up the bacterial infection she began to flourish. She's still a little less than ideal weight (she should be closer to 30#), but she is making remarkable progress.
Dinner was also good tonight. I made serrano and onion turkey burgers topped with melon salsa. It's become one of my favorites. Tommorow I will pick up some limes and another onion to make a carne-asade style chicken taco.
At this point, however, it's getting pretty late and I have more work ahead of me tomorrow. To all of you I bid you now good night.
We aren't allowed to use cameras in the locker room, but I needed a picture for today :-)Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day 12 - Tuesday
So I started listening to some of the upcoming Metal Blade releases today. I found myself thoroughly enjoying Aeternum, but not so much the Valkyrja. Oh well, can't win them all. I still have 3 more to go through then I can write reviews. I also picked up a copy of the latest from Katatonia. That was an album I thoroughly enjoyed while running around today.
Other than that, there is really nothing special to report today. I woke up, did some paperwork (most of the day, in fact), ran an errand, ate dinner, and went to the gym. I haven't been able to start the 2-a-days yet as other things kept getting in my way. I do plan on starting tomorrow morning. After that Angela is going to get her final shots.
Sorry there's not much to report tonight. It's been a ho hum day for me, which is just fine. I would have liked to talk to Mardi some more, but for some reason I wasn't getting some of her text messages.
Well, everyone, goodnight.
The numbers aren't great, but it's a start
Other than that, there is really nothing special to report today. I woke up, did some paperwork (most of the day, in fact), ran an errand, ate dinner, and went to the gym. I haven't been able to start the 2-a-days yet as other things kept getting in my way. I do plan on starting tomorrow morning. After that Angela is going to get her final shots.
Sorry there's not much to report tonight. It's been a ho hum day for me, which is just fine. I would have liked to talk to Mardi some more, but for some reason I wasn't getting some of her text messages.
Well, everyone, goodnight.
The numbers aren't great, but it's a startMonday, January 11, 2010
Day 11 - 11 Days to New York
Metal Blade Records gave me 5 albums to download today. I love the free music, but 5 albums is a lot to have to listen to in a short time. When it comes to metal-only labels, Metal Blade is the largest of the bunch. They put out a lot of good stuff, but unfortunately they also put out a lot of not-so-good music. The thing I hate the most is I need to edit the ID3 tags manually in iTunes. There is some batch editing, but the song titles have to be done by hand and I was looking at about 75 songs that needed editing. I'll probably start listening tomorrow.
There's really not much to report for today. It was ho-hum as far as days go for me. I was counting on my notes to be ready last night, but they won't be ready until tonight. That means tomorrow I get to spend my first 90 minutes of the workday sorting, scanning, collating, and then separating by client. It's not the most fun thing to do, but we do need to get paid.
I saw something pretty cool this morning. I went outside to get the dogs and all 3 were running around chasing each other. Angela, it appears, has finally gotten full control of her legs. She was breaking into full runs this morning while chasing Ozzy and Sharon. Up until this point she was doing mostly what I call 'bunny hops'. You know what I mean, when a puppy can't quite run yet so their running gate looks more like a bunny hopping than a dog running. She's definitely building some muscle on her rear legs as she's starting to fill out nicely. Her next vet appointment will be on day 13. She's scheduled for her final round of vaccinations to include rabies, as well as her final puppy exam. Then I can work on getting her licensed so I don't get in trouble with the City of Houston (the city now requires veterenarians to report owner information on dogs and cats that receive the rabies vaccine... it's a way to ensure compliance, but this is more of a money grab than anything else).
Well, it is rather late and I do need to try to get more than 5 hours of sleep. To all of you out there I bid you goodnight.
I gave this the title "Reach to the Sky" but I'm not sure if that works. Any ideas?
There's really not much to report for today. It was ho-hum as far as days go for me. I was counting on my notes to be ready last night, but they won't be ready until tonight. That means tomorrow I get to spend my first 90 minutes of the workday sorting, scanning, collating, and then separating by client. It's not the most fun thing to do, but we do need to get paid.
I saw something pretty cool this morning. I went outside to get the dogs and all 3 were running around chasing each other. Angela, it appears, has finally gotten full control of her legs. She was breaking into full runs this morning while chasing Ozzy and Sharon. Up until this point she was doing mostly what I call 'bunny hops'. You know what I mean, when a puppy can't quite run yet so their running gate looks more like a bunny hopping than a dog running. She's definitely building some muscle on her rear legs as she's starting to fill out nicely. Her next vet appointment will be on day 13. She's scheduled for her final round of vaccinations to include rabies, as well as her final puppy exam. Then I can work on getting her licensed so I don't get in trouble with the City of Houston (the city now requires veterenarians to report owner information on dogs and cats that receive the rabies vaccine... it's a way to ensure compliance, but this is more of a money grab than anything else).
Well, it is rather late and I do need to try to get more than 5 hours of sleep. To all of you out there I bid you goodnight.
I gave this the title "Reach to the Sky" but I'm not sure if that works. Any ideas?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Day 10 - NFL Wild Card Sunday
Well, this is pretty embarassing. I went 0-for-4 on my football picks for the Wild Card round. I can take small comfort in knowing that, even though I was shut out, my opponent didn't run the table on me. That Green Bay/Arizona game was a hell of a shootout, though, as both teams were hungry to get to the next level.
I took Angela to the park with me again today. She seemed to regress a little bit as she had a hard time leaving my side. I sat down on one of the benches and started talking to a lady I had met a few times there. Angela finally started walking off on her own a little bit, but never too far from me. There was another dog that looked like a miniature Staffordshire Terrier that got a little rough with Angela, but we managed to shoo him off for a little while.
I decided to take her over to the general area for some more big dog exposure. I saw a couple of Rhodesian Ridgebacks there in the general area. Ridgebacks are beautiful dogs, very large, lean, and muscular. They are generally red with a short coat. For whatever reason, the hair from the shoulders to just before the haunches grows in the opposite direction from the rest of the coat. this ridge is where they get their name. The breed was developed in Africa to hunt lions. The pair I saw were brother and sister littermates. The female didn't have a ridge, so the owner told me the breeder let them have her for free when they bought her brother. This was the first time I had ever seen a Rhodesian Ridgeback live.
After the park I went down to Microcenter to get a new CF card for my DSLR. I took Angela with me there as well, but left her in the car parked under the shade. I did this to see how she would handle a longer car ride. She seemed to do ok, but she's still not very comfortable in the car. That should clear up over time since she's going to get very used to the car in a couple weeks.
The rest of the day was pretty much spent around the house doing some football watching and web surfing. After dinner I sat down to watch Schindler's List. It's a pretty good movie, and the black and white makes it more powerful. I never really understood the controversy surrounding the movie. If I remember correctly, most of the controversy came from those with a liberal mindset. They've never really liked anything that showed the struggle of the Jews. It's not surprising, really, given that Oliver Stone is working on a project that is supposed to put Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin in 'context'. But I digress.
I'm looking forward to another day of running around tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the last running around for a few days as our paperwork should be caught up this week. At this point I will need to bid you all goodnight while I get some sleep.
There should be a phone attached to this end of the cable
I took Angela to the park with me again today. She seemed to regress a little bit as she had a hard time leaving my side. I sat down on one of the benches and started talking to a lady I had met a few times there. Angela finally started walking off on her own a little bit, but never too far from me. There was another dog that looked like a miniature Staffordshire Terrier that got a little rough with Angela, but we managed to shoo him off for a little while.
I decided to take her over to the general area for some more big dog exposure. I saw a couple of Rhodesian Ridgebacks there in the general area. Ridgebacks are beautiful dogs, very large, lean, and muscular. They are generally red with a short coat. For whatever reason, the hair from the shoulders to just before the haunches grows in the opposite direction from the rest of the coat. this ridge is where they get their name. The breed was developed in Africa to hunt lions. The pair I saw were brother and sister littermates. The female didn't have a ridge, so the owner told me the breeder let them have her for free when they bought her brother. This was the first time I had ever seen a Rhodesian Ridgeback live.
After the park I went down to Microcenter to get a new CF card for my DSLR. I took Angela with me there as well, but left her in the car parked under the shade. I did this to see how she would handle a longer car ride. She seemed to do ok, but she's still not very comfortable in the car. That should clear up over time since she's going to get very used to the car in a couple weeks.
The rest of the day was pretty much spent around the house doing some football watching and web surfing. After dinner I sat down to watch Schindler's List. It's a pretty good movie, and the black and white makes it more powerful. I never really understood the controversy surrounding the movie. If I remember correctly, most of the controversy came from those with a liberal mindset. They've never really liked anything that showed the struggle of the Jews. It's not surprising, really, given that Oliver Stone is working on a project that is supposed to put Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin in 'context'. But I digress.
I'm looking forward to another day of running around tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the last running around for a few days as our paperwork should be caught up this week. At this point I will need to bid you all goodnight while I get some sleep.
There should be a phone attached to this end of the cable
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Day 9 - NFL Wild Card Saturday
I had an weird dream last night. I was in the military and in Los Angeles of all places. I had heard there was a hockey game going on between Cincinnatus (where I grew up) and DeRuyter (where I went to school until 2nd grade). I was curious about it and went to see if I could watch it. I spotted some people on the Cincinnatus team with whom I graduated. I got a little excited because I haven't seen some of these people since 1991. I was waiting for the chance to get to talk to them after the game. For some reason we were all called to assemble (including the hockey players) to listen to someone speak. I was a little miffed, but did as I was told. The speaker was Massachussetts Representative Barney Frank. I was mad that I was being forced to listen to his line of crap. What made me even more upset was all of the people from Cincinnatus who seemed to be buying into his socialistic screed. All of a sudden, however, there was a large explosion in the distance. A mushroom cloud began to form when a second explosion happened. Knowing the blast wave was about to come, I looked at my high school friends and just said "I love you all" before I woke up.
This isn't the first time I've had dreams involving nuclear weapons. I remember having one dream a little after Iraq invaded Kuwait where I saw a silver object in the sky. All of a sudden something dropped from it, that object fell to the earth, and the result was a nuclear explosion. I had another dream where I had survived a nuclear war and was wondering how to survive the nuclear winter.
I guess I've always had a morbid fascination with nuclear weapons. Even before I could understand what made the big boom I held them in awe and terror. As to why, I guess it's a question better left to a non-Freudian psychoanalyst. After I understood how a nuclear weapon worked, I began to appreciate the horrible truth that a species could take the building blocks of our universe and use them as a means to destruction.
For the most part I just stayed home today. I was feeling lazy this morning, but managed to get some reading done. I was thinking about going out shooting today, but the cold weather just made me want to eat some leftover vegetable soup and watch the 2 NFL Wild Card games today. I made it out to Best Buy and picked up some heat sink compound (I'm going to attempt a fix on my XBox 360, which has been broke for a while) and the new Dream Theater CD. I drove out to near Hockley, TX after leaving Best Buy to look at the stars. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I may drive out to Waller County to see if I'm out of Houston's city glow enough to get a nice full starscape. I'll let everyone know how it goes.
I royally screwed up my football picks for this week. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up on Monday. I just pray the Patriots win tomorrow so I can avoid going winless this week. At this point I'm going to bid you all a good night.
This isn't the first time I've had dreams involving nuclear weapons. I remember having one dream a little after Iraq invaded Kuwait where I saw a silver object in the sky. All of a sudden something dropped from it, that object fell to the earth, and the result was a nuclear explosion. I had another dream where I had survived a nuclear war and was wondering how to survive the nuclear winter.
I guess I've always had a morbid fascination with nuclear weapons. Even before I could understand what made the big boom I held them in awe and terror. As to why, I guess it's a question better left to a non-Freudian psychoanalyst. After I understood how a nuclear weapon worked, I began to appreciate the horrible truth that a species could take the building blocks of our universe and use them as a means to destruction.
For the most part I just stayed home today. I was feeling lazy this morning, but managed to get some reading done. I was thinking about going out shooting today, but the cold weather just made me want to eat some leftover vegetable soup and watch the 2 NFL Wild Card games today. I made it out to Best Buy and picked up some heat sink compound (I'm going to attempt a fix on my XBox 360, which has been broke for a while) and the new Dream Theater CD. I drove out to near Hockley, TX after leaving Best Buy to look at the stars. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I may drive out to Waller County to see if I'm out of Houston's city glow enough to get a nice full starscape. I'll let everyone know how it goes.
I royally screwed up my football picks for this week. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up on Monday. I just pray the Patriots win tomorrow so I can avoid going winless this week. At this point I'm going to bid you all a good night.
I cut it kinda close for today's picture
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 8 - TGIF???
I overslept this morning. Normally I'm up between 6:30 am and 7:00 am, but this morning I didn't wake up until nearly 8:45 am. Between that and the headache I had, all my plans for the morning were shot. The dogs weren't helping as all 3 of them were behaving as if they had ingested guarana. I don't think they got to their first nap of the day until about 10:30 am.
So I got to spend most of my day compressing my errands into a smaller window of time than I had planned. Houston is by no means a small city in terms of land area, and having errands range from one end of the city to the other is never much in the way of fun. It left me very little time to even think about anything else. I didn't even get to talk to Mardi today, for which I feel bad. I didn't get back home until nearly 6 pm today... I hate days like this.
Of course, the dinner I made helped relax me a little bit. I made some vegetable soup tonight. I decided to add a twist and season it a little bit with pancetta. The pancetta added a new subtle layer to the overall flavor which was very pleasant. I was so happy with it I ate 2 helpings. After dinner my stress level dropped way off and my mood evened out. Of course, my dogs were still acting like their water was replaced with Red Bull, but that didn't even seem to bother me as much after I ate dinner.
Well, boys and girls, sorry there isn't much here tonight. There really wasn't much going through my mind other than work and driving. Tomorrow I plan to watch some football, maybe take my dogs to the park, and kinda relax. To all of you now I bid goodnight.
Not even the noise from the camera motor will wake Ozzy when he's sleeping
So I got to spend most of my day compressing my errands into a smaller window of time than I had planned. Houston is by no means a small city in terms of land area, and having errands range from one end of the city to the other is never much in the way of fun. It left me very little time to even think about anything else. I didn't even get to talk to Mardi today, for which I feel bad. I didn't get back home until nearly 6 pm today... I hate days like this.
Of course, the dinner I made helped relax me a little bit. I made some vegetable soup tonight. I decided to add a twist and season it a little bit with pancetta. The pancetta added a new subtle layer to the overall flavor which was very pleasant. I was so happy with it I ate 2 helpings. After dinner my stress level dropped way off and my mood evened out. Of course, my dogs were still acting like their water was replaced with Red Bull, but that didn't even seem to bother me as much after I ate dinner.
Well, boys and girls, sorry there isn't much here tonight. There really wasn't much going through my mind other than work and driving. Tomorrow I plan to watch some football, maybe take my dogs to the park, and kinda relax. To all of you now I bid goodnight.
Not even the noise from the camera motor will wake Ozzy when he's sleeping
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Day 7 - The Rose Bowl
Texas and Alabama are playing for the BCS Championship right now. Alabama is up 24-13, but the Texas defense is showing some strong heart. Of course, the 2 missed Defensive Pass Interference calls on Texas' last possession didn't help matters. Oh well, we'll soon see who takes home the trophy this year.
I had planned on starting 2-a-days at the gym today, but woke up with a stiff neck this morning. I've found that over-exerting myself when my neck is stiff is usually a recipe for a severe headache so I decided to delay the start to Friday. It seems like an odd day to start, but I can't put it off too much longer. So, I spent most of my morning and afternoon working on paperwork and going through some photos taken a while back.
I also took a nap from about 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Of course, this was brought on by the fact that I only got like 4 hours of sleep last night. I don't know why I do this to myself. I have always been more of a night owl. I remember when I was a teenage I would stay awake after my parents went to bed and go back out to watch television and smoke cigarettes. That was really my only 'me time' at that stage in my life. I was pretty much always trapped in the house so any privacy I could get was always welcome. I guess that's translated into my adult life as well. The dogs are asleep, the clients are closed, and I can just be alone with my thoughts or my camera or whatever I want to do. It becomes hell after about a week but then I usually sleep in until about 9:30 am on Sundays, so it balances out pretty well.
Texas got on a roll to bring the score to 24-21. They got the ball back with 3:04 left, but a sack fumble in the Alabama red zone sealed the game for Alabama. Congratulations to the Crimson Tide on winning the BCS Championship.
At this point I think I'm going to call it a night. To all of you out there, sleep well.
I hope this avoids trademark infringement
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Day 6 - Hump Day?
Thanks to Angela I was up extra early this morning. To be exact, the clock on the cable box read 5:36 am. She wasn't trying to get me up, she was in her toybox trying to find something to chew on and her name tag was rattling around. I let her sleep outside the crate last night as a quasi experiment. She didn't have any accidents in the house, which was a good thing. I think she might be finally getting it that the acceptable place for potty is outside. Tonight I will have her back in the crate, but she is definitely making progress.
After this morning's paperwork hustle, I made a delivery to a client and then hit the George Bush Nature Preserve. I realized when I got there that I had left my 4-stop ND filter at home. So much for getting the shots I was hoping for today. Overcast days make it a little easier for exposure since the light is evenly spread due to the clouds, but there was still too much to achieve what I wanted. I stayed for a little bit and took a couple of pics, but nothing special came out of them. I'll probably revisit them in 6 months to see if my vision has changed at all, but right now they will sit as bits and bytes on the hard drive.
After this morning's paperwork hustle, I made a delivery to a client and then hit the George Bush Nature Preserve. I realized when I got there that I had left my 4-stop ND filter at home. So much for getting the shots I was hoping for today. Overcast days make it a little easier for exposure since the light is evenly spread due to the clouds, but there was still too much to achieve what I wanted. I stayed for a little bit and took a couple of pics, but nothing special came out of them. I'll probably revisit them in 6 months to see if my vision has changed at all, but right now they will sit as bits and bytes on the hard drive.
The rest of the day was ho-hum as far as everything else goes. The dogs got to play outside for a while. I spent most of the evening catching up on paperwork in order to minimize tomorrow's workload. I'm going to start 2-a-days at the gym tomorrow - weights in the morning and cardio in the evening. I want to be in better shape by the end of February. I know I won't be an Adonis by any means, but for the reason I want to be in better shape it's very important to me. The week off at the end of this month is going to make it a little more difficult, but I just need to stick with it as soon as I get back to Houston.
At this point I must bid you all a good night.
Exodus - but which way are they going?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Day 5 - It's Tuesday!
I woke up feeling not very rested this morning. Of course, going to bed at nearly 3 am didn't help matters. After I signed off the Day 4 entry I tried to go to bed, but was not very successful. I decided at that point to try my hand at getting some star streaks. Unfortunately, that wasn't very successful, either. I tried to get streaks of both the Big Dipper and Orion. I got nothing from the Big Dipper, and all I got from Orion was his shoulder and knee. I suppose I need to read up on the settings people use to get those types of shots. I did manage to get a nice street shot, however.
The routine went back into full swing today. Up in the morning, let the dogs run around until about 9 am, put Angela in her crate for a few hours while I work upstairs, let the dogs out for a couple of hours, work some more, wash, rinse, repeat.
I was able to ask my niece to get my phone number to my half-sister. I hope Linda calls me soon.
Other than that, there's really nothing interesting to report for Tuesday. I have a lot more paperwork in front of my for Wednesday, so I guess this day was proto-relaxation. There will be a little bit of running around as I make some deliveries to clients. I also need to remember to start talking to them about the upcoming trip to New York.
I now bid you all goodnight.
I call this one 'Vascular'
The routine went back into full swing today. Up in the morning, let the dogs run around until about 9 am, put Angela in her crate for a few hours while I work upstairs, let the dogs out for a couple of hours, work some more, wash, rinse, repeat.
I was able to ask my niece to get my phone number to my half-sister. I hope Linda calls me soon.
Other than that, there's really nothing interesting to report for Tuesday. I have a lot more paperwork in front of my for Wednesday, so I guess this day was proto-relaxation. There will be a little bit of running around as I make some deliveries to clients. I also need to remember to start talking to them about the upcoming trip to New York.
I now bid you all goodnight.
I call this one 'Vascular'
Monday, January 4, 2010
Day 4 - Back to Work
Ahh, the first day back to work after the holiday season is never the most fun. Clients put off a lot of stuff until after the holiday and then all decide to push it on the first day back. I think about 1/3 of my new toner cartridge is already spent this year. Oh well, this is the life we live.
Sharon was really tired, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this shot
Most of my day was spent running around town getting things done. I got to spend $700 on new tires for the Outlander, make a trip to the bank, off to get some new running shoes, a trip to Lowes to get some carpet pad (thanks to Ozzy and Sharon). I got home around 3:30 this afternoon. I did some paperwork while the dogs were outside. I have a lot more to do and that will be tackled again on Tuesday.
The shoes were definitely necessary. The shoes I used at the gym last night had lost a considerable amount of cushion. The result was blisters on both feet. I got a pair of 2006 era Nike Max Air 2.5's, which has the air pocket through the whole foot. When I tried them on I couldn't believe how comfortable they felt. In the past I avoided the Max Air series as they were often the most expensive shoes outside the Air Jordan line. These were from the outlet store, so I got them at a really reduced price. I was originally looking at another pair of Nike Shox, but they had none in my size. I also thought about a pair of Nike 360's (another shoe with the air throughout the foot), but again, nothing in my size. I'm happy with these, though, and don't feel at all like I had to settle.
I also found my niece Erica on Facebook. I'm hoping I can contact her mom through her. The last time I saw Erica was 1996, and the last time I spoke to her mom was in 2002. Her mom (Linda) dropped off just about everybody's radar near the turn of the century. Linda had her reasons, and I respect them, I just miss her a lot. We both have a lot in common as we grew up in similar situations. She is my dad's second daughter by his first marriage. I first met Linda when she had her 1st child. We didn't talk much at first, and it was after her divorce from Erica's father that her and I really started to get to know each other. I guess she realized that I wasn't the bad kid that my dad made me out to be sometimes. Her and I were able to share just about everything with each other. Hopefully I can reestablish some sort of relationship with her. If all goes well maybe I can even pay a short visit to her when I come back from New York later this month.
The rest of the evening was pretty quiet. Leftover turkey chili for dinner is always a good thing. As I sit here writing this I'm missing someone terribly right now and wish I could talk to her. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait until morning when I can send her a text.
At this point I will sign off as it is late and I need some sleep. Goodnight, everyone
Sharon was really tired, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this shot
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Day 3 - Week 17 of the NFL Season
The tickets I ordered turned out to be not available, but luckily I was able to find tickets near my original selection. The price was a little higher, but I didn't mind. I wanted to watch the Texans take on the Patriots, and hopefully win.
Things looked good to start, but soon the Texans offense got a little sloppy. Tom Brady led the Patriots to a touchdown, his backup led them to a field goal. The Texans tied it up before the half, and could have taken the lead, but Chris Brown's 56 yard field goal attempt fell short. Tom Brady then led the Patriots to a 14 point lead, but the Texans answered in exciting fashion by scoring 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to win the game 34-27. It was an exciting finish and one of the best games I got to witness live. Just an aside, Bush 41 was also in attendance at the game, which I thought was pretty cool.
After the long walk back to the light rail platform (around 2 stadiums and another half mile to the platform) we headed home. It was a little cool this evening so we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some ground turkey and other needed ingredients from some good old fashioned chili. It came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
The rest of the night passed pretty uneventfully up to a point. I watched the Ravens win against the Raiders and the first half of the Bengals/Jets game. The Texans needed any combination of 2 losses from the Ravens, Colts, and Jets. Unfortunately the Ravens and Jets won which eliminated us from the playoffs this season. It's ok, I'm proud of how what the Texans were able to achieve this season with half their offensive line on IR, losing a superstar Tight End, and a poor running game. I decided to end my evening at the gym for the first time in about 2 months.
The eventful part came when I got home and found a large corner of my carpet upturned and the underlying pad chewed to bits. Ozzy and Sharon obviously got a little bored while my wife was working on her patient notes. I was not amused in the least. I thought we had turned a corner on their destructive behavior, but I guess not. This was the worst they've done with the carpet so far. I need to find a way to end this problem.
At this point, though, it is a little late and I do need to get some sleep. Have a good night, everyone.
The view of Reliant Stadium from Section 353. The seats were great.
Things looked good to start, but soon the Texans offense got a little sloppy. Tom Brady led the Patriots to a touchdown, his backup led them to a field goal. The Texans tied it up before the half, and could have taken the lead, but Chris Brown's 56 yard field goal attempt fell short. Tom Brady then led the Patriots to a 14 point lead, but the Texans answered in exciting fashion by scoring 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to win the game 34-27. It was an exciting finish and one of the best games I got to witness live. Just an aside, Bush 41 was also in attendance at the game, which I thought was pretty cool.
After the long walk back to the light rail platform (around 2 stadiums and another half mile to the platform) we headed home. It was a little cool this evening so we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some ground turkey and other needed ingredients from some good old fashioned chili. It came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
The rest of the night passed pretty uneventfully up to a point. I watched the Ravens win against the Raiders and the first half of the Bengals/Jets game. The Texans needed any combination of 2 losses from the Ravens, Colts, and Jets. Unfortunately the Ravens and Jets won which eliminated us from the playoffs this season. It's ok, I'm proud of how what the Texans were able to achieve this season with half their offensive line on IR, losing a superstar Tight End, and a poor running game. I decided to end my evening at the gym for the first time in about 2 months.
The eventful part came when I got home and found a large corner of my carpet upturned and the underlying pad chewed to bits. Ozzy and Sharon obviously got a little bored while my wife was working on her patient notes. I was not amused in the least. I thought we had turned a corner on their destructive behavior, but I guess not. This was the worst they've done with the carpet so far. I need to find a way to end this problem.
At this point, though, it is a little late and I do need to get some sleep. Have a good night, everyone.
The view of Reliant Stadium from Section 353. The seats were great.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Day 2 - Lazy Saturdays
I slept until about 9:30 am this morning. Of course, going to bed at 2:30 am helped push that along. Here now it's close to midnight and I'm nowhere near sleepy. I have to go to bed soon anyway if I want to make sure I'm up by 7:30 am.
I spent the first 2 hours of my day pretty much just lazing around while my wife went to the gym. I left Ozzy, Sharon, and Angela to play outside most of that time. Ozzy and Sharon love playing outside, but Angela seems a little ambiguous about it. I think she gets a little bored as Ozzy and Sharon get a little rough with each other and she gets a little scared by it. She's just a puppy so I don't fault her for that. One good thing that resulted was that I was able to find some tickets for the Texans/Patriots game tomorrow. I still have yet to receive confirmation on the tickets (I bought them through Ticketmaster's TicketExchange). That's why I need to be up so early on a Sunday morning.
After getting lunch at going to Sports Authority so my wife could get something, we attempted to catch an afternoon showing of Avatar. Unfortunately the time listed on the website was for the 3D version (it didn't specify on the website... grrr). Neither of us wanted to wear those stupid glasses or wait another 65 minutes for the next 2D version, so we headed home. At this point I decided to take Angela to the park for more socialization.
Yesterday was a good day for her and today was even better. She was going out more on her own and not being too afraid when other dogs would come up to her. Of course, the more rambunctious dogs got her a little frightened, but all in all she is getting better. I took her to the general area and while she didn't leave my side, she was showing much less fear than before. We went back into the small dog area and had her climb a ramp to a platform. After I placed her on the ramp the first time, she got it right away and started climbing the ramp to the platform on her own! I couldn't believe it. I could see confidence building in her eye each time she got to the platform. I was and am very proud of the progress she's making. While at the park I saw a beautiful little long-hair red daschund. This was the first time I had ever seen one with long hair.
After getting home I took all three dogs for a walk (not at the same time). I pretty much spent the rest of the night watching television while my wife did her notes. Hopefully tomorrow I can enjoy a hot dog and a beer at Reliant Stadium while the Texans try for their first winning record in franchise history (and hope for a Ravens and Broncos loss so the Texans can get a playoff spot). To all of you, I bid you now goodnight.
This is one of the things I love about Texas :-)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Day 1 - Welcome 2010
2009 has come and gone. As we look forward to the new year ahead of us we all ponder the possibilities of what lies ahead. I did see something on the wall of one of my Facebook friends that said each day is a new possibility and should be treated as such. The New Year should be a time of reflection. I must say I've never thought about it in those terms. Now that it has entered my thought process, I am curious to see the perspective it gives me this year. Let's hope this can permeate the thoughts of others as well, as the nation as a whole is beginning to get a little restless.
My blog project for 2009 was a failure. There was a stretch where I couldn't keep up with it. When I finally realized it was slipping, such a long time had elapsed that the whole point of why I was doing it was rendered moot. I was reminded several times that it was slipping, but there always seemed something else more important to be done. So here I go to start again.
I didn't drink all that much last night. I had a couple of beers and a nice pull of 1792 to ring in the New Year. I slept good and woke up this morning to take Angela to the park. For those who don't know, Angela is my 16 week German Shepherd puppy. This was her 4th trip to the park, and today she did a lot better than her third trip. The 3rd trip was a result of her second trip. The dog park has 2 areas, one for all dogs, and another that is limited to dogs that weigh 25 pounds or less. Well, with Angela still being a puppy I took her to the small dog area on her first trip. She seemed to do okay there as she explored a little bit, went up to meet some other dogs, and went up to other people. On our 2nd trip I decided to take her to the general area for a little bit, but she got really scared of some of the bigger dogs. On her 3rd trip she wouldn't leave my side at all, and we stayed in the small dog area the whole time. Today, however, she started leaving my side for short periods of time and going up to other dogs. I took her back into the general area, and she did the same thing. I think I may be turning a corner in her socialization. Now we just need to work some more on her obedience.
I was rather surprised that the malls and some stores were open today. On New Year's Days past the stores were never open. I'm wondering if the retailers are just desperate to clear out their Christmas inventories. So, I braved the mall with my wife. The Macy's Men's Department looked like post-Ike Houston. They were having a big denim sale, but most of the jeans on sale were trendy styles. I can't stand most trendy jeans, and had to go to another store to find a pair of non-trendy jeans on sale. New jeans in hand we went to get some Chinese food.
It was on our way from the restaurant that my wife suddenly remembered that we had been invited to a birthday party for a friend of a friend. Of course, we both have full bellies but we went on to the party anyway. I don't know why I go to these parties. I don't speak Tagalog, so at these Filipino parties I tend to get bored very quickly. It's hard to get in on a conversation so I'm usually waiting for someone to talk to me. And with people I don't know, it can be hard for me to just come out and introduce myself. Oh well, I got through 90 minutes of it before I used the 'we need to take care of the dogs' excuse. I knew these dogs were good for more than security and companionship :-D.
After leaving I attempted to go see Avatar, but was too late for any of the showings. After getting home I tried to find some cheap tickets to the Texans/Patriots game, but no luck there.
There was my day in a nutshell. I didn't do all that much in the way of thinking today except for dealing with Angela at the park and trying to look at different studio lighting solutions. At this point I'm going to sign out for the evening and get some sleep.
Goodnight, everyone.
A nice bourbon to ring in the New Year
My blog project for 2009 was a failure. There was a stretch where I couldn't keep up with it. When I finally realized it was slipping, such a long time had elapsed that the whole point of why I was doing it was rendered moot. I was reminded several times that it was slipping, but there always seemed something else more important to be done. So here I go to start again.
I didn't drink all that much last night. I had a couple of beers and a nice pull of 1792 to ring in the New Year. I slept good and woke up this morning to take Angela to the park. For those who don't know, Angela is my 16 week German Shepherd puppy. This was her 4th trip to the park, and today she did a lot better than her third trip. The 3rd trip was a result of her second trip. The dog park has 2 areas, one for all dogs, and another that is limited to dogs that weigh 25 pounds or less. Well, with Angela still being a puppy I took her to the small dog area on her first trip. She seemed to do okay there as she explored a little bit, went up to meet some other dogs, and went up to other people. On our 2nd trip I decided to take her to the general area for a little bit, but she got really scared of some of the bigger dogs. On her 3rd trip she wouldn't leave my side at all, and we stayed in the small dog area the whole time. Today, however, she started leaving my side for short periods of time and going up to other dogs. I took her back into the general area, and she did the same thing. I think I may be turning a corner in her socialization. Now we just need to work some more on her obedience.
I was rather surprised that the malls and some stores were open today. On New Year's Days past the stores were never open. I'm wondering if the retailers are just desperate to clear out their Christmas inventories. So, I braved the mall with my wife. The Macy's Men's Department looked like post-Ike Houston. They were having a big denim sale, but most of the jeans on sale were trendy styles. I can't stand most trendy jeans, and had to go to another store to find a pair of non-trendy jeans on sale. New jeans in hand we went to get some Chinese food.
It was on our way from the restaurant that my wife suddenly remembered that we had been invited to a birthday party for a friend of a friend. Of course, we both have full bellies but we went on to the party anyway. I don't know why I go to these parties. I don't speak Tagalog, so at these Filipino parties I tend to get bored very quickly. It's hard to get in on a conversation so I'm usually waiting for someone to talk to me. And with people I don't know, it can be hard for me to just come out and introduce myself. Oh well, I got through 90 minutes of it before I used the 'we need to take care of the dogs' excuse. I knew these dogs were good for more than security and companionship :-D.
After leaving I attempted to go see Avatar, but was too late for any of the showings. After getting home I tried to find some cheap tickets to the Texans/Patriots game, but no luck there.
There was my day in a nutshell. I didn't do all that much in the way of thinking today except for dealing with Angela at the park and trying to look at different studio lighting solutions. At this point I'm going to sign out for the evening and get some sleep.
Goodnight, everyone.
A nice bourbon to ring in the New Year
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