A Prize In Every Box

Happy Blog, Sad Blog

2012-01-13T08:53:00.002-05:00

Happy Blog: Today is Friday! Fridays are the day I get to leave at 3 instead of 5, which is awesome. Gives you time to hit the bank or the store or whatever and still make it home before rush hour. Sad Blog: I get to sped this afternoon's fun time trying to fix our homeowner's insurance, which Assurant apparently decided that despite having no problems, changes, or claims in the year and a half we've lived there, they needed to more than TRIPLE our premium. WTF?!

Happy Blog: Me and the wife have been married for 40 months today! I can't believe we're almost to FOUR YEARS. Man. Time has gone by so quick. But its been great having her in my life, and I want 40 more years! Sad Blog: she hates her job, and is in tears on average about once a week because of it. As a husband, this is brutal because we don't have the means for her to quit her job right now, but I hate seeing her upset. Its a bad scene. Hopefully she'll find something new soon, though.

Happy Blog: This weekend is 'Fliven Weekend'. The wife takes me out to dinner, we do fun activities, go to a movie, just generally make me happy. I love it when I get one of these. Its good times. Sad Blog: I get spoiled by these weekends and want them EVERY weekend.

Resolved.

2012-01-03T15:01:00.002-05:00

This year's New Year's Resolutions. I don't know why I bother with them, really, as I usually make it about a week before breaking them, but I guess the effort counts for something.

1. In years past, I have humorously put as my only resolution 'crush my enemies. see them driven before me. hear the laments of their women.' This year, I will not. But look for it in times to come.

2. I will endeavor to reclaim my sangfroid. These days I am too easily bestirred by the antics of my surroundings into fits of annoyance, petulance, irritation, anger, and sometimes depression. Part of this is due to the fact that I have become a more emotionally balanced individual. Which is good. But this constant stress brought on by suppressed aggravation is unhealthy; both emotionally and physically.

3. Make strides towards fiscally secure future. To date, I have been making minimal contributions to my IRA. Most of the time I spend that money recovering from disaster/unemployment/needs/etc. This year it appears that I have my current finances (with 1 or 2 minor exceptions) on track, and should have some extra to set by. The exceptions are my auto insurance, which I will be looking into in the next few months, and the cable bill, which is way high, but our contract is up in June, so that may take care of itself.

4. Learn something. I don't mean spend an afternoon researching how to knit and making one sock and calling it a day, but a real skill. Even if its a skill that is not often utilized in this day and age, such as calligraphy or blacksmithing. Although its always nice to have marketable skills...maybe take courses in locksmithing or electrical repair. Something to look into.

5. Eat healthier. I really do need to do this. If I can at least get my home habits in order, then when I go out and get a 3,000 calorie burger every once in awhile, I won't feel so bad about it. Surprisingly, one of my favorite meals, Bertucci's Rigatoni, Broccoli and Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce, is not that bad for me. Its got veggies, grilled chicken, pasta...nothing really super bad for you except the cream. And its SO GOOD. I told my wife I could eat every day for dinner. And that was the truth. But my problem is the sodium. Its just not good for the blood pressure, especially considering resolution number 2. And given my age, I need to be watching these things more carefully. And sodium is in EVERYTHING. Except for grapes and raisins. Only so many of THOSE you can eat before you're stuck on the toilet all day, though.

6. Do more personal projects. So many of my free time projects are things for the house or my family these days...like getting the oil changed in the cars, taking the dog to the vet or the park, changing air filters or replacing flooring, fixing furniture...I'd like to get back to drawing, painting, things like that. This one is contingent on scheduling, so may not be a FIRM resolution.

7. I'm not going to pay a lot for this muffler.

Homeward Bound...zzz....

2011-12-23T09:47:00.002-05:00

So the stoopid dog gets me up at 5 am, on a day when I'm going to have to drive all night. Thanks a lot you wretched hound! Ugh. But then I got to ship her off to camp (dog day care) for the day, so no daytime naps for EITHER of us! Mwa ha ha! That'll teach her.

Yes, tonight we make the 10 or so hour journey up to my folks house for Christmas. Which may very well be the LAST Christmas in the ancestral family home. Sad times. Its an awesome house with lots of memories. But its a lot of house for just my parents to take care of, and they want to retire to Lancaster. So, more power to 'em. Of course, that makes travel time driving like, 12 or more hours instead of 10, which stinks. I guess we'll be flying more. Maybe go into Baltimore or Philly. NOT Pittsburgh ever again. That airport is AWFUL. Plus its not anywhere near Lancaster, so it doesn't matter anyway.

Looking forward to some nice, relaxing, Christmastime joy with the fam fam. Even the rotten dog.

Why?

2011-12-22T13:09:00.004-05:00

I don't know why I'm blogging today. The gifts are bought, things are mostly ready for our trip, I'm excited to go...I guess I'm just not feeling the holiday spirit yet. I hope it gets here...its cutting it really close this year. It kinda missed last year, too.

And I used to be SO BIG on the holiday spirit, too! I loved all the decorating and carols and specials and wrapping gifts and all...its just been kind of a drag, and I'm not sure why.

Eh, we'll see how it goes.

Just Say No to Roast Beast

2011-12-14T12:16:00.002-05:00

Today was our 'holiday luncheon' at work. It was sad...SAD, I tell you. There was so much potential, too...barbecued pork, grilled chicken, mac & cheese, salad bar, 3 types of cobbler...sounds good, right? Here's the reality. The bbq pork was room temperature, as was the sauce for it, and was shredded too small and also somewhat fatty. The chicken? Poorly seasoned and rubbery. The 'salad bar' was actually all the salad ingredients in various bucket-like tupperware containers. Weak presentation. As I do not eat salad, I cannot comment on the freshness and/or tastiness of the ingredients. The cobblers were terrible. They were COLD, the crusts were underdone, and the fillings were clearly dumped from a large metal can. Also, the sweet tea was weak and not overly sweet.

Boy, what a great 'thank-you' for a year of profitable work from our management, huh? I think it'd be WAY better if they took the same amount of money, or even LESS, and got a bunch of stuff from Zaxby's (for those not in the area, its a fast food chain that does crinkle fries and chicken strip-type dishes) or from Chik-Fil-A. Or even KFC.

But today I got to bring some of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made last night, and have leftover stovetop. So I will not starve, and get at least a partial allotment of deliciousness.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...flour, eggs, butter, milk, oatmeal...that totally counts as a breakfast food, right?

You Are What You Eat

2011-12-01T10:10:00.003-05:00

I've decided a fun use of blog is to talk about what I eat, and my feelings on said food. Mostly because I have to spend hours explaining my food theorems and strategems to people.

So first, the basics. I don't like tomatoes or tomato products. If it is MADE with tomato, I DON'T LIKE IT. If it has TOMATO in the ingredients, I DON'T LIKE IT. Inevitably, I'll tell people this, and the first thing out of there mouth will be "what about (x)?" where x is usually ketchup, pizza, spaghetti, etc. I find it much more odd that people will not like tomatoes, but like ketchup, tomato sauce, and so on. That's just WEIRD to me. My sister doesn't like peanuts but LOVES peanut butter. ALSO weird. The one and ONLY exception to this is when there is a little tiny but of ketchup on top of meatloaf.

Secondly, I don't like it when foods mix. This is where things get tricky and require a little explanation. This is less a rule and more a preference, and on a case-by-case basis. Can't do mixed veggies. CAN do chicken soup with different veggies in it. The difference? The ones in the soup, if its cooked right, have all the same texture and fairly close to the same flavor. Skittles must be separated by color, because they're different flavors. But M&M's can be eaten however, because all the colors are the SAME flavor. Someone always tries to be smart at this point and ask what about bread, since it touches whatever you put on it. Bread is a base. It is the food equivalent of water. But really, I'd rather have some bread, a piece of meat, and a slice of cheese on my plate separately instead of a cheeseburger. I prefer things broken down. To a point, anyway. I wouldn't want flour, eggs, milk, and sugar on my plate instead of cookies. This is why its confusing to people, I guess. Cereal with marshmallows, ok. Cereal with fruit, not ok. Apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes, ok. Those things mixed in a fruit salad? Not ok. Grilled cheese, ok. Grilled ham and cheese, not ok.

Today I've had two peanut butter sandwiches so far. Peanuts and peanut butter are awesome. It is a good accompaniment to any food type. Peanut butter and fruits such as bananas? Good. As a sauce on fancy dinners? Good. In chocolatey desserts? VERY good. On hamburgers? Surprisingly good. They are a decent source of protein as well. The bread I chose to put them on was NOT good, though. It is the cheapest stuff they had at the store. I much prefer to use Nature's Own Honey Wheat or maybe a whole grain potato bread.

Later I will be partaking of the fruits of the golden arches. McYummy.

The People I Know

2011-11-04T09:21:00.003-04:00

I have been working at the same place for just over 3 years now, making it the longest-running single job I've ever had. Its a neat job, I like it, but the people here are horrible. I could break it down into a pie chart or some sort of circley diagram thing, but don't really feel like it. Plus I'm at work and it'd be sorta rude to do that.

1. The Unrestrained. I am not a person who is given to dislike a person based on their weight. I'm really not. But when someone at your office is at LEAST morbidly obese, meaning you have to flatten yourself against the hallway wall whenever you pass them, and you know for a fact its not a glandular or genetic thing, it becomes difficult not to get a little irritated with them. Especially when they are on their way to the break room to eat cake and ice cream. Seriously. Plus one time our A/C broke for a few hours. The SMELL. My LORD. It was like if you left a melty cheese assortment in a sock drawer for a week. That's not cool, man. Umm...but yeah. There are at least half a dozen people here who are like that. Five of them together would clear a ton.

2. The Ashen. There are a large percentage of people at this company, about a quarter if I had to guess, who are smokers. I don't dislike smokers. I think its a ridiculous habit, that doesn't do ANY good for you, but whatever. Having watched someone die from lung cancer caused by smoking, and then watching other people just lighting them up ALL THE TIME, it just strikes you as being sad and stupid. Its not my place to preach to them or make them stop. But when they go out to smoke 4 or 5 times a day when its 30 degrees and pouring rain, and then you have to cover their work because they got a cold, THAT is a little irksome. Or knowing that you're paying more for your health insurance because of them. Also annoying.

3. The Lethargians. The two ladies who do our order entry are the worst example of this. Oddly enough, they fall into categories 1 and 2 as well. They fart around, chit-chat, smoke, drink coffee, play games online, whatever, and do barely any work. And then when they get really swamped and are falling behind, they come and ask US to help enter orders to get caught up! And we need to do it, because its not the customer's fault that they're lazy jerks, and they NEVER get called on this because of category 4.

4. Weak Mans. What kind of company do you get when you put people in management who don't like confrontation? You get the kind that won't ding people for incompetence, won't work to change policy when its CLEARLY stupid not to, and don't even THINK about firing the worst ones. They become babysitters, basically. Running themselves ragged trying to clean up their charges' messes, rather than fixing the problem at its source.

5. The Detestable. The customer service people here are the most awful people. I am by nature a nice person, friendly to people I meet, and so on. These people, I can't even DO that. It takes everything I've got not to scream at them. They are lazy, they are manipulative, they are whiny, they are incredibly shallow, and have NO character whatsoever. Who takes an hour out of their day in an effort to shift the blame for a tiny error that would have NO REPERCUSSIONS? These people would. Who would take work home and get their FAMILIES to pore over it in an effort to find errors to blame on YOU? These people again. Who slaps you on the back and makes jokes like they're your best friend in the world, but, even though they've been working with you for THREE YEARS, you doubt they could tell you your last name? Yep, you guessed it.

6. The Dreamers. These are people who have no concept of time, or reality. These are the people who come up to you like 'I've had this sitting on my desk for a week, and they need it in an hour, so can you do it?' Sure, if you can go back in time to last week and GIVE IT TO ME THEN! You tell people at LEAST once a week that you can't scan things that are not a solid color, and yet, the next time they come back, they'll show you a page full of gradients and shades of color, and invariably ask 'can you scan this?' Ridiculous. Also, there's a tendency among these people to end their sentences with conjunctions, which gets on my nerves. So the question would actually be "hey, can you scan this or...?' Or even better 'I was going to bring this to you last but...so can you do this or...?' WTF?! Did you lose the ability to finish sentences?!

7. The Enraged. This would be those of us who end up having to clean up the stupid mistakes, get the blame for everything, find ways around weak management, NOT strangle people, plaster ourselves against walls, and so on. Dealing with these things all day has left us, at best, sarcastic and a bit irritable.

But I am glad to have a job, and a job that is fairly secure. Its just everyone ELSE'S job I could do without... :)

Not in the Face!

2011-10-24T09:41:00.002-04:00

So yesterday, we discovered that the downstairs bathroom was locked. With no one inside it. This is a major bummer, right? So I grab a screwdriver and a hammer and pull the pins out of the hinges. Foolish me expected the door to pop right off. It did not. Instead, it stuck fast, until I crouched down, got my fingers under the bottom edge, and yanked with all my might. Then it not so much popped off as EXPLODED off. Knocked me on my butt, and I got a face-full of metal hinge. It didn't really hurt a whole lot, but my nose suddenly started gushing blood from between my eyes. Not good. After leaving a bloody trail all the way to the kitchen sink, I get it stanched and then view the damage. Cut across the entire bridge, and the flesh of my nose is trying to slide off my face. Not good. So, as gently as possible, I inform the wife, and we go to the ER. The finance lady reminds me of Elliott Reed from Scrubs, and the actual doctor reminds me of the wife's friend C. In fact, everyone there reminded me of someone else. Weird.

I gotta tell you, anesthetic has made wonderful progress in the last 25 years since I had another face-smashing snafu. At that time, it was injections with a freaky big scary needle right into your face. And now? Swab some stuff on with a q-tip and wait 20 minutes. SO much better!

So yeah. 5 stitches in my face, and I can't be too facially expressive for awhile. Kinda ruined the Sunday afternoon.

Also, had to spend a hundred bucks on a new car tire cause those dummies couldn't patch a hole. That's a trifle irritating.

Beer Goggles

2011-10-05T09:41:00.003-04:00

So the wife and I have started becoming beer enthusiasts. We are looking at things like beer festivals and beer tastings and whatnot. For those of you who know me, and know my past, this is surprising. For those who don't, here is a brief digest:

My great-grandfather was somewhat of a drunk, and it led to unpleasantness (not sure of details) for my grandmother growing up. As a result, she was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union for 80 years. Imagine if prohibition had never ended, but just in your own house. Anyway. I hadn't had a drink until WELL after my 21st birthday, and even then it was an extremely rare thing. Being raised that way has instilled me with a certain amount of guilt if I dare to imbibe. I know my sister drinks to some degree, I'm not sure what, but my brother Charles does not. My other brother…who knows. Neither one of us is talkative, and its a taboo subject around the house, so its tough to say.

Anyway, I have tried a few different samples of each genre in the alcoholey world, and can say with certainty that wine is not my thing. To me, it tastes like earwax juice. Gross. Sometimes grape-flavored earwax juice, sometimes bubbly earwax juice, but earwax juice nonetheless. Hard liquor/mixed drinks are hit-or-miss. I love some Bailey's…and a creamy russian (vanilla vodka nd ginger ale) always hits the spot. No scotch. That stuff is not my thing, despite my partial Scottish lineage. Tequila…treat it with respect, and it'll be good to you. Treat it with carelessness, and it'll STRIKE BACK. I have tried others, and there are dozens of cordials and liquors left to sample, some good, some not. Got to keep a little mystery.

Back to beer. I started with hard cider, which is tasty. It was my 'gateway beer' if you will. I have tried every brand and type of cider that is made and/or available. Hornsby's, Strongbow, Hardcore, Woodchuck, etc. My favorite is the Woodchuck 'Cider Maker's Choice'. It comes in the variety 12-pack. Most of your ciders taste like apple juice with carbonation and a bit of alcohol. The CMC is heavier, a little sweeter, and cinnamony, like actual CIDER. But with an alcoholey kick. Mighty tasty. I had it with Thanksgiving dinner a couple years ago. From here, I tested several different other types of beer, and found that the majority of them just don't interest me; my wife likes ones like Harp or Sam Adams.

I find that I prefer stouts, such as Guinness, dark lagers (Sam Adams makes a good one), and the occasional oddball, such as Blue Moon or Victory Golden Monkey. It really needs taken on a beer-by-beer basis. Our bartender Lyndsie recommended the VGM, and also made me a chocolate chip banana bread beer, which was really interesting. Its a mix of 2 British beers, one a double-chocolate stout, and one a banana bread fruit beer. Very tasty, but you really can't drink it with any sort of food, except maybe a bowl of walnuts or something. But yeah. Sam Adams actually is a really good brand, and I like 3 or 4 of their beers, but I think it was at the Deep Creek Lake cabin that someone mentioned that the SA Cherry Wheat was nasty, and I concur. That stuff is foul. Very un-Sam Adams like.

I guess that's all I've got from the beer world. I don't really like beer WITH food so much, just by itself. And Guinness is practically a meal by itself anyway. And for some reason, stout beer and chicken strips together make me hurl. Independently, fine, but together, blow chunks. Its a weird thing.

If you get a chance, check out the 'Bad Decisions' bar. They have bacon happy hours, with big piles of bacon and bacon-flavored drinks and all sorts of bad for you deliciousness.

Defense!

2011-09-07T15:48:00.003-04:00

The other day we started a new small group/Bible study group. At our first meeting, I got a comment in regards to my e-mail address. Mainly because it was "@hotmail.com" rather than "@live.com" or some other currently trending e-mail suffix. And I can bet you that I have had my e-mail address longer than ANYone else in that room. No question. Because I got that e-mail address in November of 1996. That means that in a couple months, I will celebrate my 15-year e-mail anniversary with the SAME ADDRESS. That's unheard of in this day and age! So nuts to them.

Also, with my previous small group, we set up a Fantasy Football League. I am excited, as I have a good team this year. An EXCELLENT team, in fact. It'd be even better, except that I really hates the Steelers (which was hilarious when the subject of football came up amongst the in-laws who live in PA), thus would not put any of them on my team. Same thing for Michael Vick. Not wild about the Atlanta Falcons, either, despite living here. But I have a fairly good representation across the rest of the teams…although I tended to be Eagle and Raven heavy. If they both make the playoffs, I am GOLDEN though.

Our computers are acting wacky today; which is odd for macs. I mean, they can act kinda screwy from time to time, but that usually means that you've set something up wrong, rather than because of a virus or incompatibility issues. So we've been poring over these machines trying to figure it out. I blame Snow Leopard, personally. Rotten upgrade. We should have gone straight to Lion. Rgh. And now the work is piling up, when we were almost caught up before, and there's NOTHING we can currently do about it.

Only 6 more days until I can eat candy, fried foods, and pastries again! 7 week moratorium on those things ends soon. I have had two (2) small pieces of candy in 7 weeks. This is UNHEARD OF. I've been eating a lot of muffins and crackery things. Lots of goldfish. Sammiches. Going out to restaurants is a little tricky, but I usually end up getting a grilled chicken sammich or something. No fries, though. Imagine that! I haven't gone 7 weeks with no french fries since before I could drive myself to McDonald's. Which isn't to say I'd eat this stuff all the time, but they HAD become a regular part of my diet, and I miss them from time to time.

Ok…back to pretending to work.

Post Post Post

2011-08-24T09:17:00.002-04:00

I really don't have anything I want to say today, but I had some free time, so its a good time to post.

Yesterday I made cinnamon bread (available at your local grocer!) and its pretty tasty. I forgot that I like baking things. Maybe after the moratorium on sweets I can bake some other things I've been wanting to (quick back story: after our vacation in July, the wife and I decided to eat healthy through our anniversary on Sept. 13…no cookies or candy or chips or fried foods) such as banana-chip bars, chocolate chippers, maybe no-bakes.

Regarding the moratorium, its been tolerable for the most part. Some days I don't even notice it. Other days are rough, though, like when you have a craving for some ice cream or a Snickers bar. Grocery shopping is a little harder, and should NEVER be done on an empty stomach. You start hearing voices emanating from the Little Debbie/Hostess aisle...the bakery donuts seem to stare at you wherever you go, and so on. I probably look weird zooming through the bakery looking like there's a serial killer in the donut case. Do you remember that scene in Young Sherlock Holmes in the cemetary when the bakery treats tie up Watson and then force feed him desserts? Its exactly like that. (If you haven't seen the movie, I SWEAR I'm not on crack. And its a good movie.)

But there are some snacks that I enjoy that ARE healthy. I do like fruits such as peaches, apples, grapes and raisins, watermelon, strawberries, and so on. Tasty. And good for me. Raisins are a great snack, because they have zero sodium; however, eat too many and you will spend a considerable amount of time in the bathroom. So finding a balance there is important. Other good snacks are animal crackers, graham crackers, goldfish crackers, granola bars, and muffins. I prefer the blueberry mini-muffins. They make a nice treat.

I have my good and bad days when it comes to my diet. I need to make more of an effort to eat healthy, but I do enjoy those times I get to splurge. But since getting my labwork done a couple weeks ago, my BP and cholesterol and everything are all very good. So yay. And my weight is fine, although I DO have a little tum-tum. But mid-thirties is ok to have a little tum-tum by in my book. And 30 pounds of weight gain in 10 years isn't bad, either. I'm finally in the 'average' weight area for my height.

Yikes...

2011-08-16T08:47:00.003-04:00

So I am starting to worry about finances. Well, its a constant worry for everyone, and I've dealt with it fine for many years now. But its just getting so that I am CONSTANTLY playing catch-up with bills and things, and its very wearying. And it just makes me nervous not having much of a savings buffer (this is largely in part due to purchasing a house a year ago...cleaned me out).

I'd really like to consolidate/get a loan and get things paid off quicker and with less of a strain, but am unsure what companies would be reputable...I'll have to look into it soon though, based on forthcoming expenses such as Christmas, soon-to-need-replaced household items, and so on.

Also, its going to be a fun night tonight...me and my two brothers will be playing Red Dead...nothing sweeter than riding into an old west town to either start or end some mayhem. Woot. Actually, since its the old west, 'yippie kai yay' would be more appropriate than woot.

Deep Post 2

2011-08-15T11:04:00.002-04:00

I gotta say, Deep Post 2 would be a good band name...

Today I have been thinking about a quandary that I have. Growing up, I always had more female friends than male; usually in a ratio of about 4 to 1. (Sidebar: for today I am defining 'friend' as someone local, whom I would call up and hang out with while the wife is out shopping or whatever...not to say that if you live far away you're NOT my friend, but it makes it difficult to hang out on a Friday afternoon randomly.) I am not sure why this is; whether its easier for me to make and keep female friends, whether I have not been in enough male-centric activities, such as sports, or whether its just happenstance. Nevertheless, that's how things have gone.

My problem arises in the fact that I would like to call and hang out with people from time to time, but either they are A) female, or B) just not that type of a friend. Female isn't a problem as such, but being married, its just sorta weird calling up other women and going to hang out with them while the wife is out, you know? Even though there's ABSOLUTELY nothing going on, its still just a bit weird. Of the guys that I know, very few have my same shared interests...maybe THAT'S my problem. I mean where are you going to find a guy who's equally happy going to a monster truck show as an opera? Who enjoys cartoons and classic automobile restoration? Who'd rather watch a sappy movie over football? Victorian literature and the latest video games? Tough find.

My brother-in-law Jimbo Baggins is a neat guy, and I'd call him up to hang out, except that he's got a weird work schedule, and is also 15 years older than I am. The age doesn't really make much of a difference, but it doesn't help, and the schedule thing DOES present a problem.

I guess my problem, to boil it down, is that I just don't feel like I have any friends I could do stuff with, which is sorta sad, considering I've been here 3 years. And I just don't have a plan for rectifying the situation, or know whether I NEED to.

Don't get me wrong though, I am perfectly happy...the wife is awesome, and so is the dog, and so are the other couples and people we do hang out with...its just something I was noticing and thinking about.

In a non-deep news update, I got Red Dead Redemption, and am enjoying it...although apparently, I suck at riding a virtual horse in addition to a literal horse; I have about 4 or 5 hours of game play under my belt, and my poor horse has been eaten by wolves twice, mauled by a puma, fallen off a cliff twice, and been shot 3 or 4 times, once in the face by me. This is fatalities only, and does not include tripping over boulders, non-fatal shootings, or running into cacti. Stupid horse...

A Direction?

2011-08-12T11:43:00.003-04:00

So for several weeks I have been contemplating a direction, a purpose for this blog. I started it with the vision of being an online journal of my life, which it has, to an extent, but I find that it is the trivial tidbits that are getting the emphasis rather than the deeper issues.

For example, hundreds of words on why I prefer Woodstock over Tweety, but not one word about my grandfather's passing, and what I felt. Reviews of movies, video games, antics of the dog...all these are fun frivolous things, but there has been little real depth. This could perhaps be why I don't write in my blog more often.

So, it is my goal over the next few weeks to submit several entries that deal with some of the 'real world' issues I've had, and see what kind of effect it has on me and the blog in general.

In regards to my grandfather's death, I confess to feeling an increased sense of my own mortality that I hadn't felt before. I had been to funerals for two grandmothers and two great-grandmothers before now, as well as my grandfather's brother. But there's just something about having your LAST member of that generation leave you; like if life is a line at the airport, and oblivion is the destination, you've just suddenly turned a corner and realize you're at the point where you need to take off your shoes for the security screening, and are aware that this is the 'point of no return'. No running back to the car or whatever.

Still, his death was not unexpected, and he died peacefully, which is good. It was nice seeing that side of the family once more, as well as the ancestral lands. He was buried next to my grandmother in a cemetary that is home to generations of my family stretching back to the Revolutionary War. It was an odd thing...we resembled one another in appearance and gait, but a lot of our similarity ended there. He was a chemical engineer, whereas I hated both math AND chemistry. He only read non-fiction and watched news and sports. I only read fiction and watch cartoons and sitcoms. But we both were interested in family history, and in a Fliven-worthy maneuver, he had his ancestral coat of arms engraved on the back of his headstone. Outstanding. And he got a 21-gun salute from the VA for his service in the Navy in WWII.

That's another odd thing...he would tell endless stories about doing odd jobs at the farm, or about going to a flea market or auction, which, when you are young, really REALLY seem, in fact, endless. But then he casually mentions that he was in charge of one of only 2 or 3 enigma devices in the entire US Navy during WWII while he was posted as a lieutenant on a munitions ship in the Pacific, and won't tell stories about that, despite our encouragement. Very mysterious.

Anyway, I'm going to miss him. I didn't know my other grandfather, so he did the work of two for me. But he was a good man, and I look forward to hearing more stories should we meet in the next life. In the meantime, I will probably live the rest of my life with him, among others, invisibly looking over my shoulder, and I will do my best to make them proud to point me out as their progeny, which is both a good thing, as it means I will always be working hard and doing my best through life, but also a bad thing, because when I make mistakes, it feels like I let down not just me and my current family, but the entire line of my people. Which is a LOT of unnecessary stress. Guess you got to just strike a balance.

Back from the Brink

2011-08-11T13:59:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday I felt a little light headed...I thought I may have just been tired or eaten something funny. So I took my temperature and it was 101. Not cool. Still, no other symptoms, so I took some tylenol and got on with life. Work on Wednesday was TOUGH, but I made it through. Wednesday night the wife said I should go see a doctor if it wasn't better by the next day, so I said I would. Still no other symptoms. Thursday came, still had a fever, and started getting a rash of some sort. Yuck. Went to the doctor and apparently its a viral infection. Bleah. Basically, it gives me fever and all benefits such as chills and sore muscles and light headedness that go along with it, but nothing else. I slept a lot. And drank a LOT of water. Took FOUR days for my fever to go away, and we're going on almost a week with the rash, although that is almost gone now, too. First time since ELEMENTARY school I've been sick for more than 2 or 3 days in a row.

I'm feeling like a trip to GameStop this weekend...going to trade in a few games, and maybe get 1 or 2...once you've played through a game, there's very little reason to hang onto it, unless you loved it or want to get all the achievements or something. But there's nothing I have that I MUST keep, and I want to get Red Dead Redemption and maybe Mercs 2 again...have to see how much we're talking about.

Ok, everyone leave, I have to poop.

The Yellow Bird Conflict

2011-08-03T08:46:00.003-04:00

First of all, 'Yellow Bird Conflict' would be a great band name. But my conflict arises as yesterday morning, I was awakened by an anxious little dog who had to go out and pee. It was after 5 am, and since I usually get up between 6:15 and 6:30, there was very little chance I'd get back to sleep. So I laid down on the couch and put on Looney Tunes.

I am a man who likes his cartoons. Ask anyone. But I cannot keep my lip from curling in disgust when Tweety appears on screen. I LOATHE that little bird. Now its not because its a little yellow cartoon bird. I reference the fact that I really enjoy watching Woodstock from Peanuts, also a small yellow bird. Woodstock only not irks me, he/she/it entertains me. So I look at the differences between the two to try and divine what the cause of my feelings are.

1. Demeanor. Woodstock is always cool, unless you sit on him or mess with his nest. Tweety is constantly either freaking out or trying to cram 'cutesy' down your throat.

2. Speech. Woodstock cheeps. Tweety has an irritating speech impediment, and yet, Granny STILL can't understand her. What the heck.

3. Flight. A bird with wings of that size, with a head of that size, even making the great leap that it can fly, would fly wobbly and haphazardly, as Woodstock does. Tweety flies straight, hovers, can zoom in a straight line, the works. Its unnatural.

4. Supporting cast. Woodstock hangs out with the Peanuts gang, who are fun, and is best friends with Snoopy, the coolest fictional dog EVER. Tweety hangs out with Granny, who keeps her caged, and has NO other interaction except for a cat who has homicidal intentions.

5. Woodstock has no overused catchphrase.

We just got back from a week of vacationing at the beach. It was good to relax and unwind. I NEEDED it. Didn't get TOO badly burnt, which is good. And unusual for me. But we're back at the grindstone now. Yesterday I got sick, though...I don't feel bad, but I have a fever. A good night's sleep really helped, and I'm at work today, but am still a little light-headed. Fevers suck, but they're WAY better than vomitous or a stuffy nose. To a point, anyway. If it gets to the coma/brain damage point, that's not good at ALL.

Looking forward to a date with the wife this weekend! NOT looking forward to yet ANOTHER trip to the vet. Seriously, I've had to go at LEAST a dozen times in the last 3-4 months. Its ridiculous.

I got a Spongebob toy in my Cheerios. Awesome.

Awesome...

2011-07-19T09:40:00.002-04:00

I now own 3 'awesome' t-shirts. One is 'if you were me you would be awesome', another is 'i'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my awesomeness'. I just got one yesterday that says 'this guy is awesome' and has two pictures of thumbs pointing towards the neck hole. Am I really worthy of all this awesome, though?

Right now I am 34 years, 1 day, 3 hours, and 42 minutes old. Which means -1 days till my birthday, and 4 days till vacation. The disturbing news? My PARENTS didn't CALL me on my BIRTHDAY. Seriously, I got one facebook post from Mom, but Dad did NOTHING. What the HECK is up with that? I think I'll guilt trip them later on...

Still, I had a great birthday and got some neat swag. Went out for hibachi on Friday, which is deelishus, but apparently gives me heartburn for a couple days. Worth it. Normally we only do hibachi on New Year's Eve...but it was a nice change-up.

The toy Voltron with the pilots that can go inside each lion robot and then assemble into the big man is going back on my Christmas and birthday wish list. I made one this year, and had NO really fun zany items on it. I mean, a shop vac, shirts, and a mitre saw are all very nice things, but very mature responsible adult things. Which has never been my M.O. So yeah. Let's Go Voltron Force!

Important note: the chocolate fudge pie at Fresh Market is amazing...it tastes just like brownie batter. And you can trust me...apparently I am awesome.

Horrible Bosses

2011-07-15T09:29:00.002-04:00

So my movie review of Horrible Bosses. It was a funny movie! A step up from, and more relatable to than Hangover, but still in that same genre. They picked the right people to play in it, that's for sure. Perfect casting. Although I can't really remember any one line or scene that really stuck out...which means either my memory's going or it just didn't have one. Or both.

Today is Friday, thank heavens. 3 days until my birthday, 7 days until vacation. UGH, it has been a long wait on that vacation.

Right now my wallpaper is a scene from the original Super Mario Bros. game. Although I may change it since it may give people the mistaken impression that I am playing video games at work. Which I would never ever do...maybe...I have tons of bookmarked websites that I visit regularly, and that usually takes up any free time I may have at work. I'm hoping the wife will help me get a copy of my back tattoo so I can see if I want to change/reink it. I am thinking one of three options...either find some way to combine/connect my back and shoulder tattoos together, like vines or armor plating or SOMEthing, or just embellish the one on my back so its more fancy...like a shield backdrop or landscape behind it...or just tattoo over it with something else. Money is always a factor, too, so I'll have to see.

Right now I'm in a pickle, because if I left NOW, I'd make it to McDonald's for breakfast, and as we are having hibachi tonight, I want to be good and hungry. But I'm not really hungry right now, and don't really want hotcakes. My taste buds are craving some fries and deelishus mcnuggets. Maybe I'll go in like, an hour. Eat from 11 to 12. Yeah, that'll work.

House update: I mowed the lawn yesterday. It has actually thickened up quite a bit from the past few weeks where the hot weather and no rain had thinned and dried it out. I REALLY need to get a weed eater though...the edges are getting a little sloppy. I don't have that much that needs trimmed, so I normally do it by hand and it takes like, 10 or 15 minutes, but the recent robust growth has made it a daunting task that I'm sure would take half an hour or more, and that's just ridiculous for hand shearing, when it'd be 5 minutes with a weed eater. I need to re-edge the lawn too. I never notice how much its crept in over the sidewalk and driveway till our neighbor edges hers, and then I'm like, crap, now I've got to do mine.

The other day we had a storm that was pretty bad...I say pretty bad cause we lost power for awhile, and the grill, which weighs about 80 or 90 pounds, at least, got blown over. You believe that? The patio chairs were fine, but the grill that's 3 feet away got blown over. The grill is fine. The wife's lily plant was not. Oops. Still, there are lots of other plants in the garden, and that one may live, anyway. And my strawberries are fruiting again. The plants are starting to do well, which is great. I'm hoping next year that they get HUGE so we have lots o' strawberry goodness. Cause who doesn't like strawberries?

We also have gremlins stealing our tupperware...not sure what to do about that. I'll have to find some more the next time I'm at the store to replace it. Its just one size, but its the size that's the most useful.

Remember: when the zombie apocalypse happens, there is no such thing as "safe".

Thoughts

2011-07-14T10:21:00.002-04:00

Have you ever felt like all the tiny bits of wisdom, knowledge, experience, and so forth that you've gained over your lifetime are only just a TINY bit away from all coming together—like a shattering window in reverse—into a perfect whole, which will sum up your life and give you inner peace and whatnot? Had that happen on the way to work this morning. It is unbelievably frustrating not to be able to get it to come together though...keeping the window analogy, it would be as if the glass were instead made up of squirrels made of jell-o. So yes, my inner peace will be a stained jell-o glass window of living squirrels. Don't judge. But they're fast and slippery and you can't tell whether you're missing any or not, because you're having to build this window blindfolded. However, the squirrels are friendly, and catching one or two at a time is pretty easy. But hundreds? Thousands? More? Its a daunting task and one that you know is not worth quitting.

Only 4 days until my birthday, and 8 days until I get 9 days in a row of vacation. I really NEED a vacation, too. Its been a really REALLY rough year or so. 14 months I guess would cover it. My last week-long vacation was spent caring for a wife who had just broken her arm and simultanously trying to close on a house. And you just can't get any kind of deep relaxation done that way, you know?

I am taking ideas for family tree software...everyone I can find will only print out your direct line rather than the whole shepherd's pie (I would say 'enchilada', but given my family is British in ancestry, I figured I'd go with something more fitting). I don't mind paying, but ancestry.com for example wanted an exorbitant sum, which is not cool. I think I have one that MIGHT work, but I have to run a few more tests to be sure.

,,,,,chameleon. Um...my brain has just checked out for the weekend. Too bad its only Thursday morning.

Hot Hot Hot

2011-07-12T15:59:00.002-04:00

So today is supposed to be uncommonly hot, even for the sweltering South. Heat index of 106 degrees. Nice. So our air conditioning breaks. I didn't notice at first, as the ambient coolness kept things nice, as did our being on the bottom floor of the building and not near any windows. But its been getting fairly warm the last couple hours, and I am watching the thermostat go up a degree about every 20 minutes. Yuck.

Got a fun care package from the folks yesterday...lots of goodies. 'His' and 'Herr's' potato chips (for reals...look it up). Some candy, some old photos that I'm going to put on Facebook. Gotta be careful of those old polaroids, though, as I went through them yesterday and had silver nitrate all over my hands by the end. Gross. And probably not healthy. But my fingertips would not be eaten by a werewolf, so there is that. Silver lining...heh heh heh...

I'm not too jazzed about my birthday this year. The only thing I can say is 'at least 33 is over'. And 34 had better be a vast improvment or I will LOSE it. No joke. 33 was ROUGH. Still, got a nice visit from Charles, and my parents sent some gift cards to amazon.com and my great-grandfather's Victorian-era pocketwatch. Yes, I'm that old. My father's father had siblings born in the 1800's. Three or four generations will get you back to pre-Civil War, depending on which side of the family you go to. Anyway, that's weird, just three generations of my family stretching across 3 centuries. If I happen to live to be 123 years old, it'll be 4 centuries. Do NOT want to be that old, though. Man. My body is ALREADY starting to break down on me.

Started reading the 'Mistborn' series by Brandon Sanderson. Its pretty good so far. I figure I'd give him a try since he's co-writing the last few Wheel of Time books. Which he REALLY NEEDS TO FINISH! Started reading the series about the time the fourth book came out, which was in 1993. 18 years. EIGHTEEN YEARS I've been reading this series, waiting for closure. If it goes too much longer before the last book comes out, it'll have been more than HALF MY LIFE. That's just sad. Anyway.

This is kind-of a hodge-podge post, isn't it? Oh well.

Also, I found a HUGE black spider in our back yard this morning. The dog almost pooped on it, which would have been hysterical, but I had to catch it to check if it was poisonous or not. Turns out it was not, but still good for scaring the wife. She thought it was fake and came from a cereal box or something. Ha ha...until it started running around the tupperware I had it in. When I say huge in reference to spider size, I am talking about 2 1/2 inches in length, black and hairy. Nasty thing. I threw it back in the woods.

Am going to melt into a puddle of goo now.

Is it vacation yet?

2011-07-05T16:30:00.003-04:00

Green Lantern was ok...not great. I expected MUCH better in the story and acting department, although the effects were spot-on. Anyway. Last week was hellish at work. Didn't enjoy it. Here's why.

The company I work for supplies clients with business forms, be it checks, manifests, order forms, medical forms, RX pads, and so on (its especially depressing getting a traffic ticket that YOU printed). There is a customer service department of about a dozen people, who take orders, and then pass them along to order entry, comprised of 2 utterly incompetent people, who could both be fired and one GOOD temp could do their work at a third of the price. Order entry puts the order in the system, makes sure that all the art and instructions are there, and send the orders to us. We are the bridge between the production side of the company, which is a huge warehouse full of printing presses the size of school buses, and the wussy officey customer service side, who complain when their climate varies by so much as a degree. What WE do, in our department of 4 people, is take the orders, typeset/design them on the computer, make sure it looks good, and then send it to be plated. Each ink color of each job gets printed on a separate metal plate (imagine a 2' by 3' square of aluminum siding) that will then be sent to the press floor. So. There are 3 typesetters, of which I am one, and 1 plating guy.

Last week the plating guy was on vacation. I fill in for him when he's not here, IN ADDITION to my own job. So I am doing two full-time jobs for a week. That's bad thing number one. Two, we have record numbers of orders come in last week, so there is a LOT of work to do on both jobs. Three, order entry was down by half for two days, so we had to send one of OUR people up to help them out, taking our staff of 4 down to two. Four, one of our people was GONE on Friday, so we had two, and order entry had one. Five, in addition to this, it being a holiday weekend, everyone's wanting rush jobs done so that things get printed and shipped before the holiday. Now, you're thinking, no big deal, right? And that'd be true for lots of 1,000 up to say, 10,000. Think of it in printer paper boxes. Those things hold 5,000 sheets of letter paper. Some of these people are ordering lots of up to TWO MILLION forms, each of which may be 5 or 6 sheets. That's a LOT of paper. At 5 sheets per form, that ends up being two thousand printer paper boxes full. Enough to fill a few 18-wheelers. Anyway. So the press floor people are howling at me to get these jobs out quick so they can get them done, and the plating machine goes down. Mostly cause Kodak, who makes the machine, is stoopid, and didn't fix it right the last time they were here. Basically, the hard drive was fried. So it was down for a day and a half, got sorta-fixed and worked for half a day, and then was down another half day. It was BAD. Somehow, I still managed to plate 250 jobs, which is really good, all things considered.

We're getting through leftover nasty from last week, but will soon be back to normal, thank goodness.

In Blackest Night...

2011-06-16T13:04:00.002-04:00

Tonight I go see the Green Lantern movie. SO exciting! Never mind that its less than 2 hours long, whereas Batman or Superman seem to be closer to 3 or 4. And GL has a MUCH richer history. But its going to be sweet, nonetheless! This will probably be one of the very last midnight showings (until they make a Labyrinth or Princess Bride sequel) I will do ever. And the very VERY last public appearance of the GL jersey signed by Mart Nodell (creator of GL).

Little known fact: the guy who created Green Lantern ALSO created the Pillsbury Dough-Boy. That's kinda fun...

One hour's worth of play time into the new Alice game. Its wicked sweet so far. The controls are a bit unwieldy, but perhaps I'm just not used to them yet. Time will tell. But the art is incredible. Storyline, so-so. I miss some of the old weapons, too...pepper grinder is all well and good, but I want my ice wand back! And the Blunderbuss (for when you absolutely have to kill EVERYTHING all at ONCE).

Took out all the quarter round around the edge of our kitchen last night...it was a yucky job. I have to go back in tonight and yank some of the nails that were stuck in there...as well as try and clean up where they caulked the top of them to the wall and the cabinets. How annoying is that? And I keep having issues with what the best way to start this thing is...I have a little error room, but not a lot. Plus there are some places in the room that NEED a good fit, like under the edge of the stove and the dishwasher. And then there's the potential for disaster because the metal strip that goes over the edge of the carpet is screwed down into concrete, so if I pull it out, how the heck am I going to get it back in securely? Right now I just have it bent up a little, so hopefully I can tap it back down...may need some glue or something, though.

I'm tired. And more significantly, I'm tired of being tired. I'd really love to be AWAKE for just a little while. Some days I don't even remember what that feels like. I guess midnight movies are probably not going to help that, though, huh? :)

Stay calm and carry on.

Rub a Dub Dub

2011-06-09T09:09:00.002-04:00

Here's an idea I've had. It could use some input, some fleshing out, some rules attached, but I think the general idea is a good one. Every year, each U.S. citizen gets along with their taxes a coupon entitling that person to punch in the face one person of their choice at some point over the next year, penalty-free. These cards are not sellable, transferable, and expire after that year. You must be at least 16 years of age, because before that your parents can give you a smacking anytime you need it. You cannot cause the person permanent physical damage or death.

This means that if you are a nice person that everyone likes, then you should have no problems. But if you are a big fat jerkface that just NEEDS to be hit, and a hundred people use their cards every year to punch you in the face, this would eventually let you know that you ARE a jerkface, and would be incentive to either change or get away from the people you are bothering. Plus how GOOD would it feel to be able to punch in the face someone who deserved it, legal-exempt and guilt-free? Maybe its just me.

I've started working on my family tree. Its getting to be quite a process. The family is HUGE when you start going back a couple generations. Seriously, my great great grandmother had six kids. She lived on a farm and had NO hospital with drugs and nurses and whatnot. Its no wonder she is stern of visage...I would be too after that. Another great great great grandmother had ELEVEN kids. So most of my time is spent plugging aunts and uncles into the program I'm using. I'm not sure its going to work out yet with this program, but we'll see. The thing is most of them will only either go back 3 or 4 generations, or won't do relatives by marriage or 2nd cousins or further. I want the WHOLE tree, you know?

Anyway, back to work.

Quick Post

2011-04-20T09:30:00.002-04:00

I have been meaning to compile this...but its the list of actors/actresses that for no reason in particular, I can't stand the sight/sound/thought of:

Renee Zellweger
Ethan Hawke
John Cusack
Tom Skerritt
Ashley Judd
Will Ferrell
Charlize Theron
Brendan Fraser

I'll add more as I think of them. There are some I'm still dubious about adding, such as the guy who took over for David Tennant on Dr. Who, but that's because DT was SO AWESOME as the Doctor, and the new guy is just NOT him. I will also be taking suggestions as well.

Peace out.

One of those people...

2011-03-24T08:23:00.002-04:00

So, since owning a dog, I've realized that we have become one of those 'dog people'. The ones with pictures on their phone or in their wallet, and tell mediocre stories that we feel exemplify the fact that our dog is the most hilarious/awesome/cute dog in history. This works well in relating to other dog people, but others would just be bored to tears.

So how to overcome this? Being aware of the problem is the first step...next is convincing the wife of it, as well. Third is weaning yourself off your dog a little...i.e., making them less of a role in your life. Doing other things. Cutting back on dog-related purchases. Will be working on that.

Work has been slow this week...this is our lull after the new year and before the end-of-school-year rushes. Its kinda nice, but the day goes by SO SLOW when you don't have anything to do.

Also, to tell the general populace, in case you didn't know, the ancestral home, the ancient seat of the Fliven family, is going to be put up for sale in a couple months. Mom and Dad are already packing and painting and storage-uniting. And yes, it totally freaks me out. I only lived there for THIRTY YEARS, and am having trouble coming to grips with the fact of no Thanksgivings or Christmases there any more. The folks are looking at real estate in the Lancaster, PA area currently, which I hope they get, as it is a nice area.

Today's words of wisdom: there are a few jobs you shouldn't fall asleep at...one of these is air traffic controller. I'm talking to you, controller at National...

Things To Do Before I Die

2011-03-22T14:27:00.002-04:00

Finally finished my bucket list (or 'bukkit lizt', as the file is called on my computer). I found one I had done about 10 years ago, which made things a LOT quicker to finish. It was interesting reading it...I've done about a third of the ones that were on there, and a bunch of the others are either expired or dumb. And the rest were on my new list as well, so go me for being consistent. For example, 'ride the concorde' can no longer be done. And 'get a wax statue made of myself' is really kinda dumb. Not worth it. Although an action figure would be kinda cool...ha ha, mouse-clicking action, TV remote and dog-tennis-ball accessories...boring, but it'd be a hoot for me.

So here it is, in no particular order. Bear in mind that some of them are nebulous, while others are specific. And the list may change at any time. But its a place to start:
1. Drive a 1969 Dodge Charger.
2. Father at least one child.
3. Learn a foreign language fluently.
4. Visit the lands of my forebears. (1 down, 5 to go)
5. Map out my complete family tree.
6. Visit New York City.
7. Ride in a helicopter.
8. Learn to knit.
9. Construct a secret passageway.
10. Finish reading the Wheel of Time series.
11. Write a book.
12. Learn to play the guitar.
13. Be part of a sailing team aboard a large sailing ship.
14. Own my own home. (Done)
15. Get married. (Done)
16. Visit all 50 U.S. states. (17 to go)
17. Get a tan.
18. Grow a beard. (Done)
19. Be completely debt-free.
20. Drive a car above 150 mph.
21. Learn basic blacksmithing.
22. Ride a camel.
23. Drive a motorcycle.
24. Get baptized.
25. Meet a childhood hero. (Done)
26. Learn tai chi.
27. Win a race. (Done)
28. Make someone laugh till they cry. (Done)
29. Ride the Orient Express.
30. Go skydiving.
31. Open a Swiss bank account.
32. Spend the night in a castle.
33. Pass on a family heirloom.
34. Enter a poker tournament.
35. Build a model train village or dollhouse.
36. Restore a classic car.
37. Eat at Brighton Ice Cream.
38. Eat at Bob’s Big Boy.
39. Run a marathon.
40. Own a custom-made hat.
41. Work on an archaeological dig.
42. Write a movie screenplay ('Villains by Necessity'?)
43. Teach a class.
44. Die on my feet, sword in hand.
45. Fly a biplane.
46. Write a song.
47. See the giant redwoods.
48. Punch someone who deserves it.
49. Have my art hanging in a gallery.
50. Snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Urgh.

2011-03-16T08:54:00.005-04:00

Today I had a banana for the first time in like, 6 months. Its weird how things that are at one time a staple of our diets suddenly are not, without us even noticing. Same with hot dogs. I used to have hot dogs at least twice a month, and now, its been since September or so since I've had one. Far out. I'm trying to think of what ELSE has dropped off the map...ramen, certainly...potato chips...a lot of candy...but that may be because I'm eating healthier. My weight and blood sugar and cholesterol aren't a problem, but the sodium is getting to be an issue. Oh, and butter...I eat a LOT less butter now.

My bucket list is about half done...I'm having trouble at this point, as all the easy, obvious things are written, but now the more deep and/or obscure things need to be discovered. Like 'discover myself' or 'learn to be at peace'. Neither of those things applies to me, as far as I know, but things like that.

That is all.

For the wife...

2011-03-16T08:54:00.002-04:00

Ice and Pins

2011-03-11T11:53:00.002-05:00

Question: why is it that when I fill my plastic, liter-sized water bottle with ice, then pour cold water in it, the ice lasts maybe 5 hours before being completely melted, whereas, if I put JUST ice in there, in the same amount, but no water, I will still have ice up to 7 or 8 hours later? The answer: witchcraft. I need the number for an exorcist for my water bottle. Actually, this being the South, I can probably find one up the street on my lunch break.

Secondly, when it comes to selecting a PIN number, why does everyone pick a birthday or anniversary or somesuch? I have 5 different pins, none of which are the same, and none of which are my birthday or anniversary. But I still have trouble remembering things, plus have the added difficulty of dyslexia, so how do I do it? Pick numbers you already know, but that don't have any other bearing on your life. Like 1492, the year the Columbus discovered America. Or 1776. Or 1620 (pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock). Then you can pick up your debit card and associate it with a flag (easy if you're with Bank of America) and remember 1776. Or associate it with turkey and pumpkin pie. Or a man with a funny hat who tripped over a few continents on his way to China.

Anyway, that's all the tidbits of frippery I had rolling around in my head today. I'm going to go work on my bucket list now...

Rabid Moth!

2011-03-04T09:16:00.002-05:00

This says it all really. It was my day yesterday. Ugh.

Is it illegal if its nice?

2011-03-03T09:24:00.002-05:00

The drivers down here seem to think its ok to perform illegal maneuvers, like stop in the middle of an intersection to let someone who's turning right get in ahead of them, or stop when they have no stop sign to do the same, or let multiple cars merge in ahead of them...well, that's not really illegal, but it IS irritating. And they do this for no other reason than to be nice. To get warm fuzzies. They are fuzzy junkies. Its not just isolated incidents, either, its EVERYONE. And the cops do nothing. Why? Because its NICE. They are being NICE. It is Robin Hood Syndrome (RHS), it really is. But there is a problem. If everyone lets in a car or two ahead of them, say 3 seconds a car, then the people who are 50 cars behind you have to wait an extra 2-3 minutes! And that's if traffic is MOVING. And THEN you get the people who merge in and then let OTHER people merge in down the road. Compounded niceness. I am not a mean person, I let people in from time to time, but it is neither flagrant nor illegal.

And don't get me started on the retardidity (is that a word? it should be!) of turn signal usage. Random merging? No signal. Changing lanes? No signal. Actually turning? No signal. However, when sitting in a TURN ONLY lane, signals aplenty! What...the...heck?!?!?! You are in a TURN ONLY lane! You have NO CHOICE but to turn! I KNOW what direction your car is going to go in! But then they'll get next to me and just start switching lanes randomly.

Road rage aside (I imagine my road rage face being like Mr. Demartino's from "Daria"...pulsing veins, raspy voice, bulging eyeball, cerebral hemorrhage imminent) things are going fairly well. The lawn war is looking grim...weeds aplenty. Stupid bermuda grass, why you gotta grow SO SLOW?! It does make me feel better that no one else's yard in the neighborhood looks any better than mine at present.

That is all. Back to work. :)

Weekend Fun

2011-02-28T14:39:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, after paying some bills, I got to go on a date with the wife. We went to dinner at Red Robin ('yum!') and then walked around the shopping center for awhile...doing some birthday shopping for my sister. Its dangerous when I do this because I get in 'find a gift mode', where everywhere I look, I automatically ask 'can I get a gift for her there? would she like it?', etc. Good when you're in stores like Barnes & Noble or Francesca, but beware if you pass say, a Victoria's Secret, as asking 'can I get a gift for my sister here?' is a horribly wrong thing. Kinda gross. No one EVER needs to be buying their little sister lingerie. EVER. For ANY reason. This rates fairly high on the heebie-jeebie meter, see the previous post on that.

We also went to our favorite candy shop, where they make the most awesome homemade truffles. My favorites are the dark chocolate razzleberry and the milk chocolate bananas foster. Honorable mention to the 'Sunday Brunch', which is milk chocolate with pancakes, maple syrup, and bacon. Have I blogged about this before? I feel like I have. Anyway, we went there, and then the wife dragged me into girly stuff stores like Francesca and Charming Charlie's until I started foaming at the mouth, then we went and got a drink at, and those of you who know me will love this, a bar where we are REGULARS. Oh yes. The bartender knows us on sight, knows our name, knows our usual drinks (I can order 'the usual'...that is AWESOME...) and so on. She's great too. Always in a good mood, friendly, good with the drink-making. Spells her name weird though. Lyndsie. Not Lindsay, but Lyndsie. Odd. Oh well. I'll not hold it against her.

Sunday I worked on the yard...mowed, seeded, raked, fertilized, weed-killed, edged...it was looking good by the end. Also got the components to fix the hose spigot for the back of the house, except as per home repair law, I have to make at least TWO more trips to Home Depot before I can think about getting it done. Went once yesterday, and today will be twice. I thought I had everything, but the copper pipe I have that I pulled out of the wall is about an inch too short. So I need to get another one. And then I'll get everything in place, and either something will break, or I'll need some glue, or SOMEthing, and will have to go a third time. Three times per home repair to Home Depot. So it is written, so let it be done.

For my next upgrade of the man cave, I'm thinking of, in addition to painting the room red, adding a hammock. Not sure how that's going to work, yet, doubtless there will have to be loops screwed into the studs, and strung diagonally across the room, but I'm not sure how to get it to swing without hitting bookshelves or whatever. Plus it needs to be an all-cloth hammock, so as to be easily storable. Hmmm. Plus I need a bearskin rug for the floor. Or a jackalope head. :)

Yay, only 2 more hours to go...I'm ready for another weekend. Work on the bucket list progresses. I feel sorta bad putting things on it I've already accomplished, though, like 'get married' and 'buy a house'. Thoughts? Comments?

Clothing Update

2011-02-23T14:06:00.003-05:00

In addition to getting the first pair of new shoes in 5 years, recently I had to retire my first pair of boxers after 16 years of comfortable service. We shall miss thee, green plaid cotton boxers...

My SHS Marching Warriors t-shirt is still in good shape and is part of the regular wearing rotation, however. That is a HIGH QUALITY piece of clothing, let me tell you!

Bacony Goodness

2011-02-23T13:32:00.002-05:00

I just ate a chocolate bacon bar. It was quite tasty, actually. Imagine a chocolate bar with toffee bits in it...then make those toffee bits salt-flavored instead of toffee-flavored. Yum!

This week I have begun the annual battle with nature. Let the games begin! I have laid down chemical defenses against ants, done the same for weeds in the lawn (ah, I love the smell of chemical warfare at dusk), and have procured some new offensive weaponry…an edger, with which to delineate the borders and keep chaos in check. Next will be a new spigot for the back of the house, so as to have hydro-attack capabilities. After that, seeding, dirt, and the attempted bending of nature to my will; i.e., making it grow MY plants. A daunting task, indeed. Then begins the next wave in the neverending struggle against the pine trees in all their nastiness. They MUST be brought under control, for the good of the land.

Yesterday, there were like, 50 vultures circling lazily around our little neighborhood...and nothing dead, as far as I know. I know a bunch of them nest on a hilltop nearby, and wonder if the proximity to the area's landfill, or land glut rather, as it is now the size of a small mountain, is the cause of this. And they are BIG scary birds, too. Note to me: buy some sort of projectile weapon, such as a roof-mounted ballista, with which to defend from aerial scavenger birds out to steal my small puppy.

Things are slow at work right now...we're in a lull between the beginning-of-the-year rush and the end-of-the-school-year rush. There'll still be things coming in, but it won't be late nights or whatever.

I'm already looking forward to our vacation in July, as well! Should be a lot of fun. Going to Hilton Head on the shore. Have a nice house rented, and are brining the dog. We are DYING to see how she likes the beach.

Yesterday I had 'Three Little Birds' stuck in my head all morning. There are very few things more weird in appearance than a super-quiet extremely white person walking down an office hallway singing reggae. But since I'm supposed to "don't worry, about a t'ing", I don't much care. Plus its a good song, am I right?

Blog Once More...

2011-02-18T10:47:00.002-05:00

So yeah. Its been a really hectic 6 months since last I blogged. I really want to keep up with it, but just don't seem to have the time, plus everyone's on facebook or twitter now, blah blah blah. To my credit, I am fighting the flash-in-the-pan fad that is Twitter. Thanks to the stalwart efforts of people such as Signe and myself, e-vite has dropped by the wayside, so I'm sure with time Twitter will suffer the same fate. D.T.T.!

Anyway, yes. Six months. We got a dog. Still loving our house. Got more snow than Maryland. Went on a cruise. Enjoyed Christmas Day in 3 different states spanning 600 miles. Lost Behtia's dad shortly before Thanksgiving. Are talking about having kids. Getting raises and promotions. The stuff of life.

Recently, the wife sent around a boiler plate fill-out bucket list...I've done a LOT of the things on it. I think out of 50 or so things, there were only about 10 or 15 I hadn't done. So go me. And some of those were things I have no desire to do, like bungee jumping or hang gliding. I really SHOULD make my own bucket list...Miss Write Again Soon is putting me to shame with her commitment to blogging and bucket listing and book reading. I'm going to work on it, though. And I HAVE accomplished a few things on her list that she hasn't. Word of advice if you're reading this...owning a library room is overrated. They look wicked cool, and are fun to be in, but having to shelf and sort and alphabetize and categorize a few thousand books is a PAIN. Plus I constantly worry if the weight of those shelves on our 2nd floor is going to make the floor collapse. Its 3 or 4 tons, easy. But still, it makes a nifty man cave.

In the next weekend or two, the wife and I are going to have to do a home-improvement-great-debate. I married someone who is anti-curtains. Who knew? I like curtains. Our house looks weird and cold without curtains. Plus the kitchen floor is presenting issues...I'm entirely capable of doing it myself, but we have to decide on what we're putting down, first. The good news is we'll probably leave the laminate that's already installed down as a vapor barrier, since there's nothing wrong with it other than it is scuffed and discolored and cheap-looking. Hardwood would be nice, but it would be tough to get something that would work with the wood in the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen table, AND look ok if seen from the living room, which has a 3rd type of wood. Tricky. Or we can do a tile of some sort. Or we can just put down flagstones, which would be AWESOME, but would also be INSANELY cold to walk on in the winter. Like, you could get rid of your fridge and just keep your food on the floor kind of cold.

Which, incidently, leads me to my recent issue with going outdoors without shoes in the cold. You can do it, but as you get older, and especially if you do it repeatedly to say, take out the dog, it will cause the muscles and tendons in your feet to cramp. I woke up the other day and I could barely walk because my foot hurt so bad (I just tried to write this as 'furt', which I think makes a good word for pained, cramped feet). NOT cool. It went away after a few hours though.

Also, my current crop of favorite shows are Big Bang Theory, Community, House, and Chuck. Until they bring back Firefly. I DREAM of that day. Best show EVER.

That is all. Time to go eat lunch. Or rather, second breakfast.

So...bored...

2010-07-29T14:44:00.002-04:00

So here I am stuck at work, and there is NOTHING to do. And I can't leave, really, and I haven't had much sleep, and its just an abysmal situation. So yeah. Thought I'd share that.

It looks like the Green Lantern movie is a 'go'! Its about TIME that GL got his day in the sun. But Ryan Reynolds? I'm not feeling it. We'll have to see how he does.

And now, I have to go poo.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

2010-07-22T14:25:00.002-04:00

This is a common question. One that absolutely everyone gets asked at job interviews. Having had a blog for 5 plus years now, I can look back and see what I was doing/thinking 5 years ago, and whether I thought then I'd be where I am now. Let's see, at that time I was living with my parents, in a fair bit of debt, spending WAY too much time playing KotOR, had long hair, and was dating the Evil One. I was working part time at the knife store. Rough.

And now, 5 years later, I am married to the Good One, living 600 miles away from my parents in my own home, have a new car, a full-time job, and have a LOT of debt. But apparently its the 'good debt' and not 'bad debt'...I didn't know until recently that there was a difference. Kind-of like good and bad cholesterol. And I am not playing KotOR at all, but mostly because my X-Box is crap and I need to save up for a new one. Still wearing the same pants and t-shirts though. I wish I knew what company made our marching band t-shirts from freshman year, cause that thing is still in GREAT shape, and its been 18 years already!

So what happens in 5 MORE years? Time will tell. I imagine I'll have my car paid off, and may be trading it in for something with more room in the back for kids and junk. And probably a kid or two running around. A dog, certainly. May or may not be bald by then, but will have a significant percentage of my hair turn gray for sure, if the rate stays the same as it has been. Who knows? Maybe I'll finally get my job at Cartoon Network, as well!

Nothing really going on right now, just killing time during the lull at work we are currently experiencing. Plotting how best to finish cleaning my garage. We are SO CLOSE to having room for both cars in there...just 2 boxes of junk and a pile to go to goodwill and we're there. Very exciting. Also need to go shopping for a weedeater. Home Depot is my new favorite store since becoming a homeowner, since I end up going at least 5 times a week.

Naptime. Zzzz....

Of Cars and Houses

2010-07-13T10:05:00.002-04:00

Man, its been awhile since I've blogged, but I have been a busy little bee the past few months, and just now have the time.

Firstly, house! Started looking for a house in January. Looked at a few options in the area, and in March, put an offer in on a short sale. For those who are not 'real estate savvy', a short sale is a sale by someone who is in the early stages of foreclosure, so as to avoid having a foreclosure on their record. But its got to go through a whole thing by the bank, and is a real pain. So. While waiting on that, we kept looking around. Then found THE house. We put an offer in on that one, had a little haggling with the seller, and then signed a contract on April 29th...one day before the tax credit deadline. Booyeah! What followed is a dark time with financial stress you would not BELIEVE, but on June 25th we closed on the house and started moving in! Its awesome. I have a YARD. And when I get rid of some of the trees out back, I'll have a view, too. I don't mind the trees, really, and like trees, and speak for the trees, but these are pine, which are not cool. Deciduous is better. Pines drop cones or needles or sap or pollen all four seasons of the year, and kill grass. So they've got to go. There IS one nice tree back there that I want to keep, however. We're about 90% moved in now, with just a few organized piles of stuff in the garage keeping me from getting both cars in there.

Cars. So on July 1st, I am rolling down the road in my car, like you do, and find myself behind a large pickup truck. Now, as I am in a Civic, I can't see around said pickup truck, so when the person in front of him decides he suddenly has to turn left, doesn't use a signal, and just STOPS, I can't see that. Pickup truck mashes his brakes, I hit mine, and while he gets stopped in time, I do not. I hit him going like, 10 mph, tops. About the speed of a jogger. HIS car is fine. A scratch on the bumper, no more. Unfortunately, because my car is smaller, I miss hitting his bumper with mine and slide UNDER his car, so his bumper just pushes my hood back like an accordion, and has its way with my radiator, A/C condenser, framework, headlights, and so on. Its a mess. I get an estimate. Freakin' FOUR GRAND worth of damage! From hitting someone at 10 mph! Ridiculous. My car's only worth 2 grand, tops. So I donate the green machine, and get the crimson shadow. Its a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Got a pretty good deal, price-wise, but the real bonus is the super warranty. Plus you know, new car smell. Its awesome. Trunk isn't as big as I'd like, but if that's the only thing, I'm ok with that.

I'm still pondering ideas for the library upstairs...its going to be awesome. If I manage to get a secret passage in there, it'll be tough not to tell anyone about it, though. Otherwise its just a 'passage'. :)

Looking forward to turning 33 this weekend, too. I get to have breakfast at McDonald's. Mmm...hotcakes and sausage...

New Chapter

2010-02-19T11:19:00.002-05:00

So I have, in the past few months, become a Doctor Who addict. The David Tennant episodes especially. Its just a freakin' awesome show! Other recent shows of note include Big Bang Theory and Community. I still try and catch Chuck and Heroes on Mondays, as well.

Anyway, Doctor Who. Great show. Stupid David Tennant quit after this past season, though...not cool. Why would you pass up a cherry gig like that, bra? Its got elements of creepy, funny, sciencey, dramaey, and romancery. Although its light on the romancery. Hey, its British. :)

Things are still going pretty good here at Dunder-Mifflin where I work. Enjoying steady employment doing something I'm good at, anyway. There have been a lot of politics and regime changes recently, though, and the wise man keeps his head down during such times.

Did you ever notice how commercials, especially infomercials, have little or no logic to them and yet millions of people are suckered in? There was one the other day for an electronic soap dispenser. Because pushing a pump down is too advanced for some reason. At one point in the commercial, they showed an old person using it to put dish soap on a sponge, touting that it was ideal for those suffering from arthritis. They then proceed to show this person using the now soapy sponge to scrub a frying pan. How dumb is that? Like pushing a little plastic pump is horrendously hard on your arthritis, but scrubbing a frying pan is a breeze? And I just saw a photo on Yahoo for a health/well-being article of a woman with a stethoscope listening to her own heart. Ok, I get the imagery, but why wouldn't they show someone with a finger on their neck and looking at a watch instead? Does a person REALLY need a stethoscope to check their own heartbeat? If so, I believe your problems go beyond 'lower stress levels to decrease risk of heart disease'.

This year I think the Mrs. and I are going to hit Florida for our anniversary. Its only about a 6 hour drive down to Orlando from here, which is great for a long weekend. We're tentatively looking at staying at Cocoa Beach (or is it Coco Beach? One of the two, anyway) and possibly going in to Disneyworld for a day. Just a relaxing fun time. The other option is to hit Universal Studios and go to the new 'Harry Potter' park, which looks fun, but we just went to Universal a year and a half ago, and haven't been to Disney since childhood. So we'll see.

La la la, what else is happening...I started rereading the Recluse series by L.E. Modesitt...good premise and interesting stories, but he has an odd style of writing and could develop his characters more. I think if he had split all of his books into two books, and did character development with the extra pages, they'd have been outstanding. As they are, some of the characters say things odd, or unexpected, that don't quite fit, and the progression of time works oddly too. And he is obsessed with sound effects. The main character's horse has the same number of lines as the main character does. And no, the horse does not talk. He goes 'whee eee' or 'snort' or whatever sound the horse makes. Still, all in all, a fun read.

Thank goodness its the weekend! I get to go to the circus tomorrow. There is a large portion of cotton candy calling my name...

"Allons-y!"

Review

2009-11-30T12:08:00.002-05:00

Today is x-box game review day!

I just rented and played through Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. WHAT a disappointment. Everything I liked about the first one, everything that set it apart as a good game, they got rid of in the sequel! What sense does THAT make?!

In MUA1, you could choose from a number of characters, including Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, and Ghost Rider. Those are my 3 favorites, and I was SO excited to be able to play their characters. Are ANY of them in MUA2? No they are not. Just the same old F4, X-Men, and Ultimates. Bleh.

Secondly, there are 3-4 alternate costumes per character in MUA1, and there's only ONE per character in MUA2.

Thirdly, the locations were BORING. New York? HOW many video games take place in New York? 100? 200? More? Really guys, I'd have rather been in like, Podunk, Kansas, just for a change of scenery. They DID do a brief level in Washington, DC, which I WILL give them a tip of the hat for. Mostly cause the level is in the metro, and they made it look EXACTLY like the actual DC metro. Apart from soda machines on the platforms. It was cool though, being the Incredible Hulk and throwing marble benches hither and yon. Good times.

Fourthly, the cut scene movies were dull and political. In the first one the cut scene movies involved Nightcrawler taking down a horde of robots with a sword, and 2 guys defending the gates of Asgard against an army of giants. Awesome, right? MUA2 had cut scenes that either looked like the evening news, a computer tutorial, or 2 people having a conversation. Ridiculous.

I'm hoping the next game I rent will be decent. Not sure what I'm going to get yet, though. I am still playing with GTA4, which is SO fun. Definitely not for kids, but a good way to relieve stress after a bad day, especially when the stress is caused by other drivers. Any game where if someone cuts you off, you can get out and shoot their car with a bazooka is VERY therapeutic.

Lunchtime!

The Day After

2009-11-28T15:51:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. Wake up late, play video games in your pajamas, go eat a bunch of turkey and stuff, a little football...but the day after tragedy struck.

Causes are unknown, but theories point to either moderate to severe allergies to something in nature, exposed to whilst hiking in Amicolola, or a bad batch of McDonald's french fries as the cause/catalyst of the horribleness. Either way, there was an evening of paralyzing brain pain, chills, and vomitus maximus. Thankfully, I managed to keep Thanksgiving dinner down, but lost that morning's bowl of Fruity Pebbles (not quite so colorful and delicious during round two) as well as aforementioned french fries. Still, sleeping from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. will cure 99% of what ails you.

Temperature-taking was impossible, as the thermometer was broken. I'm SURE it was like, 107 degrees though.

Today things are much MUCH improved, but the stomach remains sensitive. I will be attempting Thanksgiving leftovers tonight, so we'll see how that goes. Breakfast has been sitting ok, and lunch seems to be following suit.

Christmas shopping is ALMOST done. I'm looking forward to having it out of the way. We'll be decorating the apartment next week, and that'll get me in the mood.

Here ends the lesson.

MORE Turkey Goodness

2009-11-24T16:24:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving again. Don't get me wrong, I love the food, the naps on the couch during football, the heckling of the family, especially the time off from work, but it DOES seem a bit much. Fortunately, this year, all our groceries are bought, and all our Christmas shopping is done (with the exception of my spooty youngest brother William, who has not given me ONE Christmas gift idea. Seriously. How hard is it) so that's nice.

I'm really tired today. Don't know why, except that I didn't sleep that well. Umm...looks like we'll be heading to the parents' house on the 22nd or so, and stay til the 26th, so yeah. That'll be fun. 33 consecutive family Christmases. All but 1 or 2 were in the ancestral Fliven family manse. The others would have been at the grandparents' house.

The big fun this year will be Dad's gift...I found him a jawbreaker of heroic proportions. Back story: growing up we always split any jawbreakers either of us got, and one time when Mom was out of town, we each had one of those tennis-ball sized jawbreakers to munch on and watched Ben Hur, which is a four hour Charlton Heston movie. Good times. The one I found last Saturday is bigger than a softball. Seriously, you could crush someone's skull with this thing. Or use it for shotput. Or both. THAT would be a fun game to watch...put-shot-in-skull.

That is all.

A Few Good Comics...

2009-11-16T11:57:00.002-05:00

The past week or so has been slow here at work. I'm not sure why, but its kind-of irritating. I hope its not like this through the end of the year. We DO get a fair bit of work at the end of the year, though, with people wanting to get orders in for fresh forms for the new year, so it SHOULD pick up. But right now, yeah, dead.

Still, the time has not been wasted. I have been hunting for good webcomics to read. I've found about half a dozen that are entertaining. They are as follows:

Player Vs. Player - One of my favorites. Its about a group of people working at a video game magazine. So lots of nerdy references. And there's a blue troll.

Looking for Group - Really like the art on this one. A fantasy story about a group of adventurers with the undead necromancer being the comedy relief. Worth a read.

Questionable Content - Modern day, 'Friends' like scenario. If 'Friends' were more gothy and emo. And there's a psychotic little robot.

Goblins - A group of goblins who, instead of being fodder for low-level adventurers, become adventurers themselves. Neat premise, great art, an exciting storyline. I wish he'd put them up faster though...

Zap! - An outer space, sometimes cheesy, science-fictioney drama. Great art, interesting characters, story's pretty good. Needs more funny, but still quite readable.

Errant Story - An elfy-anime drama type of story. Very well written and drawn though.

Ummm...looking forward to Thanksgiving next week! I'm trying to be good (ok, less worse than usual, actually) this week, so that I do not feel like a big fat cow after next weekend. There will probably be some Facebook pictures and some turkey deep frying. And punkin pie. There MUST be punkin pie. And hopefully, we're going to have all of our Christmas shopping done before then, and can spend some of the weekend putting up Christmas decorations and wrapping stuff.

End transmission.

I can haz blog!

2009-10-26T15:17:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I've been spending time at I Can Has Cheezburger. So what? Its been REALLY slow at work this week, and I am amused by funny animal pictures with humorous captions. Plus you can add your own, so why not?

This All Hallows' Eve, I plan to embark on a night of frivolity under the guise of one Sherlock "Scooter" Holmes. I actually have no idea if Sherlock had a nickname in school; but it'd be funny to know what it was if he did. Like, good ole Sherlock "Buttface" Holmes, or you remember Sherlock "Nose Goblins" Holmes? Regardless, I have the hat, acquired from an authentic Scottish vendor at the VA highland games, the calabash pipe, the magnifying glass, the bowtie, etc. I do not have the houndstooth cloak, but only because I couldn't find one that matched my hat. And the Mrs. is going as a pirate this year. We will be running around Athens, GA with another couple, who are dressing as JD from Scrubs and Joanna from Office Space (complete with 17 pieces of flair). It promises to be fun.

Also, I am having trouble deciding how to carve my pumpkin this year. I did Snoopy as a WWI flying ace last year, which was AWESOME, so follow-up will be difficult. Maybe I'll just kick a hole in the front and stick a candle in it. Perfect! Simple, effective, classic.

My Christmas list is done, and shopping is well underway. Not much frivolous stuff this year, with the exception of a Nerf 'Vulcan' dart gun. If you haven't seen this, its the equivalent of an M60 gun emplacement. Comes with a tripod and everything.

Ummm...work is really slow today. Here is a catalog of everything on and around my desk: computer, monitor, stupid 1-button mac mouse (not plugged in), keyboard, slick 2-button mouse (plugged in), Swingline stapler, a few proof folders, 2 pens, 9 cents in pennies, a monocle (not the in-the-eye kind, but the jeweler/printer uber magnifying kind), some paperclips, my phone, scanner, water bottle from Chesapeake Knife & Tool (half full), my messenger bag with stuff in it, metal ruler, Swatch book, and recycling bin.

According to the scale at Fry's Electronics, I have gained 40 lbs since I graduated college. I am a fatty fatty piggy pig! Ha ha, not really. I think 'average' weight for my height is like, 170. Since I was 125 lbs when I graduated, I'm STILL below average, and need to lose a few, actually. Or at least redistribute the weight from the belly area to other regions. Getting old though. Speaking of which, we joined a small group (I say small, but its still 14 people) at church of other couples who are married but don't have kids yet. It was wild because we were the oldest by several years. And like, TEN years older than the youngest. Man, I felt ancient. Still, they seem like good people. One of them is manager of a Waffle House, so yeah...we'll be buddy-buddy so there can be free waffles for Fliven. Mmmm...free waffles...

Remember: if you look like your passport picture, you need the trip.

Cabin Fever

2009-10-20T14:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, who turned on the winter?! Really, it was warm and rainy last week, and this week its dry and COLD. I'm scraping my windshield, for crying out loud! Hard on a person, that drastic a weather change.

2 weekends ago we went to the North Georgia State Fair. It was more shucksters and fewer crafts and agriculture than I expected, but it was still pretty interesting. Look for the photos on my facebook page soon. They'll be good for a laugh. Only in the lovely South will you find a stand selling deep fried Oreos next to a stand selling thongs. And people going from one to the other, who shouldn't be at either one. Yikes.

That weekend we also dog-sat "Arf", the sister-in-law's spoiled mutt. He's fun, and harmless, really, but he IS spoiled, and knows it. But it was fun, and I enjoy the company of a dog for a short time. Next day we went back to have dinner and celebrate the mother-in-law's birthday. We got her a nice tea-brewing mug, some tea, and iTunes gift cards. Her husband got her a car, though, so he wins THIS round...

This past weekend we were pretty busy! I went to a church men's retreat, which was basically some workshops, huge buffet meals, and card games til 1 a.m. Got out of there at noon on Saturday and went to the cabin with some friends, where we hung out, hiked, went to the pumpkin patch (I got a pumpkin...its name is Hubert) and barbecued stuff. Fun, but not really super relaxing. In fact, our whole October is full of stuff to go to and people to see. When did we get popular?!

Still not sure what I'm going to be for Halloween...I'm deciding between Mad Hatter, Sherlock Holmes, and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. May not do Shaggy if its going to be cold...I can layer up on the other two. And it depends on what Mrs. Fliven wants to do, too.

Is it just me, or do people get dumber when they get in their car? I don't think its just me, but really, why is that? We have this area that I have to travel each morning that backs up with traffic...but along one side for about 3/4 of a mile are shopping centers that are linked together, so for the unscrupulous driver, you could duck in, zoom through the parking lots, and then merge in ahead of 100 or so cars. And people ALLOW this! Didn't we go over 'not cutting in line' in like, kindergarten? I mean, if there were 50 people in line at the bank, and I walked in and cut in front of 47 of them, they'd raise a stink, wouldn't they? And rightly so. And I wouldn't do that, because its RUDE and just not DONE. How is it different when you're in a car? People decide they're more important and cut in line, and people LET them. Gets me so upset. I do NOT let them in. Hold the line, I say! HOLD THE LINE! Especially since they don't use a turn signal when merging. That's rudeness on top of dumbness on top of more rudeness. Anyway. And people down in this area will do one OTHER thing that acquires my livestock; they'll stop, in the middle of the street, in the middle of an intersection, doesn't matter. Hundreds of cars stacked up behind them, but they'll STOP to let someone who's turning go ahead of them. EVEN IF ITS AGAINST THE LAW. Apparently, if you're being 'nice to people', its NOT against the law, right? Oh wait, no, that's not true. Ask Kevorkian about that. Its just ridiculous, is what it is. And the not using the turn signal when changing lanes, but then turning it on when you're in the TURN ONLY LANE. I KNOW you're turning now, dummy! You have no CHOICE. It would have been helpful BEFORE, when you almost carved off my front bumper!

Venting done. This weekend I'm going to my first ever pro hockey game. Thrashers vs. Sharks. Should be a good time. Then Sunday we're going to a baptism for some friends' twin girls. They are adorable beyond measure, I tell you. Because they're twins, they're extra tiny, and even after 3 months are still newborn-sized. In the pictures my hands look GIGANTIC in comparison. Thankfully, we have Sunday afternoon off. Time for a nap...mmmm...nap...

The Return of the King

2009-10-14T14:26:00.002-04:00

One of the shows that Mrs. Fliven and I like to watch is Man vs. Food. Its on the Travel Channel, and if you haven't seen it, check it out. The host, Adam Richman, goes around to different cities in the U.S., hitting the local pig out spots, the classic cuisine, and the unique foods. And once a show, he does the area's food challenge. For example, at the Big Texan restaurant, if you finish the 72-oz steak in under 30 minutes, its free. A lot of them come with a picture on a wall-of-fame or a t-shirt or something.

On the Atlanta area show, he went to 3 different places. The first was a chicken & waffle place, the second was the Vortex Bar & Grill, and the third was a pizza place with a food challenge. Yesterday, to celebrate our 13-month anniversary, we went to the Vortex. It was F-U-N. Its a neat little place with really good food, good atmosphere, relaxed, and the wait staff was superb.

They have many unique dishes that make it a F-U-N place, such as 20-something different types of burger, including the "double coronary", a 1/2 lb burger topped with two fried eggs, four slices of American cheese, and 5 slices of bacon, with two grilled cheese sandwiches replacing the buns. This is breakfast, 2 lunches, and a dinner in ONE SANDWICH. They also boast the appetizer "mucho mas macho nachos", which is just fun to say. I encourage anyone to read their menu, as it is funny and interesting, even if you don't eat there.

Now, I am not, as many of you know and will attest to, a bold and exciting person when it comes to culinary decisions. I do not mix things, try new things, or push the envelope. However, on this auspicious occassion, I did. I partook of the "Elvis Burger", which is a 1/2 lb burger, slathered with a King-sized helping of smooth peanut butter, bacon and fried bananas. I kept the lettuce, but removed the tomato and onion. To give you some idea of the size of this thing, I could barely hold it in my hands, much less fit it in my mouth. And yet, eat it I did! Not 10 minutes later, it was gone, but for crumbs. And I LIKED it. But immediately upon finishing said burger, I felt the need to slip into a food coma, right there on the restaurant floor. It didn't help that there was also a huge pile of fries in me, as well as a pint and a half of hard cider. Woof. I ate more than a day's worth of food in ONE MEAL.

Afterward, I sent a text message to my parents telling them of this peanut-buttery feat. Mom replied she was very impressed, and Dad replied to ask if I had Rolaids. Which I did. And now it is almost 24 hours since the "Kingly" sandwich, and I have eaten nought but a few goldfish crackers and a granola bar. And am not hungry in the least. I'm hoping by tomorrow, things will have evened out in the food department and I'll be back on a regular eating schedule. And I'm pleased to note that I did NOT need Rolaids...my stomach is strong like bull. :)

Coming Up Next: Fliven Goes To Camp, Fliven Watches Hockey, and Fliven's Halloween Special.

Scalp Herman.

The Jibbly-Inducer

2009-10-03T08:31:00.001-04:00

Man of Many Hats

2009-09-30T12:31:00.002-04:00

The worst thing in the world is being back from vacation for a few days and feeling like you need ANOTHER vacation. However, the vacation itself was outstanding. Went to some beaches, where it didn't rain once, and was warm but not humid. Check out my Facebook page for photos and whatnot.

Speaking of Facebook, I've been thinking about doing a series of profile picture photos that are all identical except that I'm wearing different hats. Lord knows I have 2-3 dozen hats, so it'd be worth the effort. I have a train conductor hat, and a lazer tag hat, and a couple different visors, and my outbacky-type zoo hat...yeah, this will be fun. The wife is going to be at work on Saturday, and I'll be in cleaning the office anyway, so perhaps I'll do it then.

The other day I had to kill a spider. And not just any spider, a BIG spider. I mean, as big as my PALM spider. It was ugly. Now, attacking a spider of this size is dicey, because they are FAST. So I had to find some way to slow it down to Fliven-speed. My weapon of choice for this strategem was a can of all-purpose Raid. Toxic, kinda filmy/gooey, and with a fresh mountain scent. One liberal spraying layer, this beastly arachnid attacks me! Pulling itself towards me at an alarming rate with only three of its eight legs! But at this point, it was no match for the awesome fury of the Doc Martens. Squish. However, its legacy remained...for the rest of the evening I had the jibblies. Here is my Chart of Freaking (patent pending):

(Level 0-5) Disturbed: Something out of the ordinary comes to your attention, and it isn't pleasant, but still mild, and you can take it in stride.

(Level 6-10) Freaked: A more unusual something occurs, which may elicit comment, blogging, texting, or other response.

(Level 11-20) Willies: The something that occurs causes shivers, alters brain function, and leaves a brief lingering effect.

(Level 21-25) Jibblies: The something causes yelling, repetitive statements, and the 'dance of distaste'; fetal position may be involved. Several hours or possibly days until normalcy is restored.

(Level 26+) Screaming Meemees: Total and complete freaking outedness; brought about by an event that will leave lifetime-long mental or emotional scarring.

This month is pretty busy for us. We've got things planned for pretty much every weekend until November. Plus all the new episodes of our favorite shows, and football (for the Mrs.) of course. This weekend we're planning on going to the state fair, which is always interesting, albeit a little redneck. Nothing wrong with that, though.

Today's literary masterpiece: "The Moose With The Loose Poops".

Good Ole Boys

2009-09-11T09:54:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, Labor Day weekend, me and the Mrs. went to the in-laws cabin up in the mountains right on the border between Georgia and North Carolina. This is where the REDnecks are. They are every Jeff Foxworthy joke up there. I mean, there are normal people too, and businesses and whatnot, but the rednecks are there too. Where there are still spittoons in some bars and restaurants...that see regular use. Where a motorcycle costs more than the house its parked next to. And so on.

Anyway, we had a good time. Went out to eat, relaxed, saw 'Inglorious Basterds' (scalp Herman!), and so on. On Saturday we went to this, well, I guess you'd call it a general store. They had candy, clothes, shoes, furniture, sporting goods, camping supplies...and I think that's about it. We go in, cause there's a handgun on sale that Papa D wants to get. It was a nice little semi-auto handgun. Very slick. I got to see "The Judge" while we were there...its awesome! For those who don't know, it is a revolver that has extra-long chambers so you can use a small gauge shotgun shell in it. Look it up...there's a promo video where some dude is blowing holes in this target that are like, bowling ball sized. Bet it kicks like a mule though.

On the way home we stopped at Ingles for some strawberries, and Mama M ran inside while we waited in the loading area. Papa D pulls out the bullets and starts loading the cartridges. In the loading lane at a store. All we needed were ski masks. :) Then we got back to the cabin and shot a little bit. It was fun. But SUCH a completely redneck thing to do. Plus we had NASCAR on the TV! I fear my neck is becoming more and more red the longer I live here...if this is the last post I make that doesn't contain the words fixin', holler, y'all, or hootenanny, then know that I went into redneckery kicking and screaming, and to save yourselves; for this can happen to YOU too.

Today is the last day of work before our week long vacation, so of COURSE there's very little work to do and the time moves RIDICULOUSLY slow. Its gonna be so awesome! Momma Fliven's cooking, the beach, renaissance festival...man, it doesn't get much better than that.

Also, I got new glasses. I don't need them all the time, just when I'm working at the computer or reading for long periods of time. But they are cool because they are in MY exact prescription, whereas I just had junky generic CVS reading glasses before. And instead of things getting blurry four feet away, they are clear. (I'm farsighted). But here the redneckery creeps in again, for the glasses are made by Harley Davidson. My prescription, non-transition lens, non-sunglass, reading glasses are Harley Davidson. The motorcycle people. Is that 'Dueling Banjos' I hear...?

Worms and Slugs and Beetley Bugs

2009-08-26T12:15:00.004-04:00

10 points to whoever can name the book reference in the title of today's post.

Last night our little apartment was invaded by a bug. But not just ANY bug. The worlds creepiest crawliest bug EVER. If you stuck 2 fake eyelash things together and gave it mobility, doubled its size, made it super fast, and added the ability to stick on ceilings, walls, etc., it would resemble, but still be less creepy than what was in our apartment. Ugh. Its even worse when you're in your pajamas with no shoes on. Its just one of those bugs that gives you the jibblies for about 20 minutes, even after its dead.

Aforementioned bug was slain, and then today, I saw ANOTHER one at work. Which has me doubly-jibblied, because what if how it GOT to work was riding UPON MY PERSON?? I don't know as I could handle that.

All insect-related goings-on aside, not much new in Fliven Land. Me and the Mrs. are looking forward to our anniversary in a few weeks. We have an exciting trip planned: fly to Maryland, stay with the parents, drive to Rehoboth Beach, then jump on the ferry to Atlantic City and Ocean City, New Jersey, come back through Baltimore, spend a day in DC, do the renaissance festival, and then sadly, come home. Unless yours truly wins big big money in Atlantic City, in which case we will then travel to Europe, buy a castle, and have our things sent over. But considering my Facebook Texas Hold 'Em score, I don't see that happening. Of course, hopefully in real life there are no dimwits who go all in on EVERY SINGLE HAND. There's one in every game, I swear.

Tomorrow is payday...always a good day. By Friday I'll have paid bills and be broke again though, so yeah. What are you gonna do.

Thundercats NO!

2009-08-19T10:42:00.002-04:00

On Sunday I went with my wife and her friend KS and her boyfriend to see G.I. Joe. It was a good movie, which I enjoyed. They could have made it fantastic with the addition of a few things, such as:
1. Instead of a Brendan Fraser cameo of him training the troops, why did they not get Sgt. Slaughter? That would have been awesome, as he is one of the few G.I. Joe action figures that's actually a real person.
2. No PSA at the end of the film. That's whack, yo.
3. While I can accept Cobra Commander having a Vader-esque voice instead of hissy, raspy voice, and I can accept that he's a wussy human science officer instead of another species, I protest that the mask at the end was stupid and un-Cobra like.
4. Matching uniforms. Not necessary, and not Joe-like. The difference in uniform was part of their identity as a unit of the elite from various areas.

Furthermore, thoughts were entertained afterwards amongst the group about other cartoon shows from the 80's being made into movies, and their relative successes, etcetera. One such show mentioned was Thundercats. I was thinking about that show today and realized several reasons why I didn't like it as a TV show, much less a movie:
1. The fact that the villains never seemed to be able to find the Thundercats Lair. Its a gigantic black and white metal cat building built on the side of a freakin' mountain. I could find it blindfolded and drunk. Seriously.
2. The ThunderTank. Thundercats' primary mode of transportation. They live in a heavily wooded, sparsely populated area, meaning few paths, much less roads, and they think a high speed tank is the best thing to be weaving in and out of trees? It would make more sense to see a ThunderHorseDrawnCart.
3. What the heck is Snarf? If Papa Smurf and a mutant gerbil and a kimodo dragon had a love child, and you had it raised by Scooby Doo, it might end up being Snarf. There's no WAY this thing could happen otherwise.
4. Lazy writers. For the heroes they had cool fitting names that described their feline affiliation, such as Cheetara, Panthro, etc. The villains were named 'Vulture Man' and 'Jackal Man'. What is THAT? Where's the Vultro or Jackalia or whatever? Stupid.
5. Lion-O. First of all, his voice is such that it sounds like he's shouting ALL THE TIME. Secondly, the other characters resemble, albeit sometimes cursory, the cats for which they are named; i.e., Panthro is black, Tygra is tiger-striped, Cheetara has spots and runs fast, and so on. Lion-O is beige. Not even yellow, like a lion, but beige. And he has red poofy hair. How is that lion-like? Ronald McDonald has red poofy hair, does that make HIM lion-like?
6. The arch-foe is Mumm-Ra, some kind of ancient mummy guy who's possessed by this evil power thing. Its very unclear how it works, but every episode he turns from this teeny frail mummy guy into giant blue-gray buff killer monster guy. Which begs the question, WHY DOESN'T HE STAY THAT WAY ALL THE TIME?!!?
7. This whole Egyptian undertone. Cat people, mummies, jackal people, vulture people. Egyptian. Fine. If you're going to go with that, then doesn't Jackal Man, who, like Osiris, king of the gods, is jackal-headed, doesn't that mean HE should be the one ruling things? Instead of being Mumm-Ra's flunkie? And what about Mumm-Ra? Wouldn't that make him a pharoah? What gives the stupid Thundercats the right to dispute his rule?
8. How stupid does a guy have to be to go into battle alone against multiple opponents on flying machines with lasers, while carrying nothing but a sword and a glove? And not using the element of surprise?
9. Tygra's weapon is a whip-like bolas that turns him invisible. Awesome, right? And yet, he's ALWAYS the first one to get caught. And Snarf, the fat, dim-witted, slow-moving, non-weaponed 'comedy relief' is usually last.
10. One of their villains was a robot space pirate named 'Captain Cracker'. I think that tells you all you need to know about this show.

Living Life in HD

2009-08-12T12:22:00.002-04:00

So for the past ten days or so we in the Fliven household have been enjoying our regular television programming in High Definition. What follows is the saga of how it came to be.

After months of exhaustive research, a fortnight ago Saturday we went to Best Buy to acquire a 32" HDTV. Our old TV, while still functioning, gets greenish spots if its on for longer than 1-2 hours at a time. Maybe watching itself makes it motion sick, I don't know. But it has served me well these 9 years, and will still be used in the bedroom, replacing the teeny tiny TV that's in there now, which will move elsewhere or be given a new home. We had found a lovely HDTV for $350, well within our budget, and I had asked for Best Buy gift cards for my birthday with this in mind. So I check availability of the product online 2 weeks ago, and the Mall of Georgia Best Buy has 3. Cool. Call them up to make sure, get them to put one on hold. Here's where things got a little wonky.

Guy calls back (whose name is Charles...works at Best Buy. It was tough not to call him 'Bartowski') and says that that TV is actually not available, but they'll give me another TV of same size and features for that price. Sweet! So we use birthday cash, gift cards, and bring the price of this originally $429 TV down to $180. Can't beat that! Now, where they get you is the HDMI cord. Its the cord that reads the HD signal, otherwise you're just getting a regular TV signal. So gotta have one. Cheapest one at Best Buy? Thirty-five bucks! For a CORD! Outrageous. So we got the TV and left.

The next day, we swung by Fry's Electronics after church. This is an AWESOME store. Tons of electronicky goodies. I went and looked at their wide array of HDMI cords, and lo and behold, a perfectly good HDMI cord for $14.99. That's more like it! So now you know--go to Best Buy for TVs, but Fry's for cords.

Let me tell you, the difference between a 32" HDTV and a 19" regular TV is about 35 lbs. Nearly had a coronary moving the old TV into the other room.

But eventually we got it all hooked up and working and it is SWEET. I am an HD junkie now. Plus X-Box is way better in HD.

Thus ends the tale of the new TV.

Long time away...

2009-07-26T15:42:00.002-04:00

Hello!

It has been quite awhile since last I posted...I will get caught up on the goings-on of my life in the past year or so through interpretive dance. Here goes!

*does interpretive dance*

Whew! That was exhausting, and I hope enlightening. What? It wasn't??! Dang it, what do I have to DO here?!?! Ok, top ten things I think you need to know about what's going on.

1. My blood pressure is high. This may have something to do with bad eating habits, not having to do any chores or anything active, or with turning 32. Or all 3. Or its trying to cope with Atlanta traffic, which is enough to give the Dali Lama a coronary. Still, its something I'm going to have to work on.
2. Car is at 155,000 miles and still going strong.
3. Finally beat Guitar Hero World Tour; just in time to start the Beatles Rock Band.
4. No Fliven babies yet, although we are in early 'negotiations' and that will probably change within two years, maybe less.
5. I got a portable hammock for my birthday. Its awesome. I'm also putting a 'Wearever' on my Christmas list. Its a mutant love child of a folding chair and a backpack...a MUST HAVE for anyone who is planning to stand in line for anything. Check it out.
6. Am in the process of shopping/buying a new TV. Got a bunch of birthday bucks and gift cards for my birthday, which will cover well over half of it. Its an RCA 32" LCD HDTV with PC hookup. Mmmm...technology...
7. Life in the South continues to go well, despite my missing my home turf. You tend to take things like convenience stores, mass transit, and free museums for granted up there, and its been rough. But I like it well enough. The people are interesting, and you never know what's going to pop up. Our church had a 'catfish fry' for example. Yikes.
8. If the ice cream stand you're at doesn't have Black Raspberry, leave and drive to a different one. The lack of BR is a sign of sub-par ice creameries.
9. You know you're getting old and weird when 'power washing day' at the apartment complex is a day you look forward to MORE than your own birthday.
10. We are currently considering a family dog. Possible name ideas include: Flapjack, Dwight, Slagathor, and Goobersmooch.

That is all! I hope to post more often in the future. Maybe I'll have a bimonthly 'blog day' or something.

Turkey Goodness

2008-11-25T12:56:00.002-05:00

Well, well, WELL! Its been like, four MONTHS since I've last posted! Since that time, I am a married man, have been out of the country, and have gotten new employment. Nothing major.

The wedding was fantastic, as all who were there would agree. Still working on getting all our photos in order and put into an album. Currently I am editing some, and also editing honeymoon photos, which was ALSO a great time. I gotta tell you, NOTHING on this earth beats reading a good book in the shade, on the beach, in a hammock, on a tropical island, with a bar 20 feet away playing 'Louie, Louie'. That is just AWESOME. Anyway, the trip was a hoot, we had lots of fun, and then came back to the cold, cruel 'real world'. :)

Since then, I FINALLY got a job doing pre-press design at a business forms company, so I design/edit all sorts of paychecks, order forms, bills of lading, manifests, etcetera. Its not terribly creative work, nor is it exciting, but it IS steady, and it pays pretty good. Can't ask for more than that, really. I'm going to keep trying at Cartoon Network though, cause you never know.

We're getting ready for Thanksgiving down here. 2nd year with the in-laws. This year, I am deep-frying a turkey. Its gonna be sweet. I have not TOTALLY neglected my northern suburban upbringing, however, and have acquired a DIGITAL, ELECTRIC turkey fryer, as opposed to those gas/open flame ones. Much more civilized. Plus you can do it indoors. Well, I guess you COULD use the other kind indoors, but that would be dumb. I'm looking forward to some fried turkey, anyway.

Me and the wife are looking to be up in MD/DC for a week around Christmas...most likely the 23rd through the 29th. Please feel free to stop by or give us a call or whatever if you're in town then and want to do something fun.

New fun thing for you guys who travel a lot...next time you're on a plane, bring a silver ball point clicky top pen with you, and about halfway through the flight, stand up, scream a random Bible reference and then click the pen top wildly and see what happens. Oh the hilarious possibilities! No matter what, it'll make a fun story. Especially if the Bible reference is something ironic.

In nerdy gaming news, I recently beat Fable II, which was a lot of fun, although the game was awfully short, and am currently playing Guitar Hero World Tour, which has some neat songs in it. They need to get 'Stairway' in there, though. Its key.

Hello there!

2008-07-29T13:11:00.003-04:00

Slow going? Yes indeed. If you have been missing posts on here, I have been doing SOME blogging on mine & Behtia's joint website. So go there if you want updates. Other than that, I'll try to blog from time to time on here, but things HAVE been a little crazy in the last few months. I'll be sure and save some good bloggery material from our honeymoon to post on here. Nothing scandalous. Maybe. But its ALWAYS entertaining to go on boats and to tropical islands. I'm sure there will be shenanigans aplenty.

Peace, love, dope.

Guitar HERO!

2008-05-17T11:53:00.003-04:00

Yes its true. I AM a guitar hero. I can play three, count 'em THREE guitar chords now. Plus a power chord.

The guitar is back. Its cool. Got it all put together, but one or two tiny things happened...one is that when the truss rod (its a metal rod in the neck of the guitar to keep it from warping and stuff) was installed, it found a weak spot in the wood on the back of the neck and started pushing through...which is understandable I guess. The wood was pretty cheap to begin with, its now 50 years old, and just went through major repairs. Doesn't affect the play at all though. And it gave me an idea for the guitar's name. Its got a hump on the back of the neck...like a hunchback...named Quasimodo! Sweet. So now the guitar's named Quasimodo.

The other issue I'm having is that the bridge is still causing issues. It seemed we were all good, but 2 of the strings were 'buzzing', meaning the bridge wasn't holding them tight, and one kept slipping out. I raised the bridge a bit, but am thinking that's just a temporary fix. Still, its fun to play, and that's what's important. Now I need to learn 'Stairway'...

In other news, mine and Behtia's wedding bands are being made. Having bought a custom engagement ring setting, I knew this would probably be an issue...getting a matching wedding band, I mean...but I just saw the prototypes and they look great! I am excited to see the final product. Mine was created to match Behtia's. Only bigger. I actually have this worry that I'm going to do something stupid like try and play volleyball or work on something around the house and jam my ring finger before the wedding, causing it to swell up and keep the ring from fitting. Is that a normal worry? Considering my track record of dumb injuries before major events, I think it might be reasonable. I have the broken toe before proposing, and the getting of a cut on my face right before senior pictures, to name two. And I've been sick on Christmas at LEAST half a dozen times.

I have to mention, if all the estate settlements, lottery winnings, real estate deals, and court winnings that I am offered in my e-mail were real, I could now afford to buy say, Eastern Europe. I am sure I could afford Russia by the end of the month, too. That's right...I would acquire through lottery winnings and my dead 7th cousin's estranged uncle's vast estates AND over the internet what Napoleon and Hitler were trying to do by force over the course of many years. I would then buy controlling interests in other parts of Europe and Scandanavia, plus the British Isles, and I would call this empire 'New Caucasia', so that when I fill out forms and applications and have to check off 'Caucasian', it'll actually make sense. But the nation would be open to all races and whatnot...so putting 'Caucasian' on an application wouldn't work, anyway. Seriously, does that bug anyone else? Shouldn't white people be 'European Americans' or something? Are we allowed to go raise a stink about that? For continuity's sake, we should either all go with colors or all go with '(continent)-American'. Just my opinion.

Time for foodening. Later.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-05-09T15:29:00.003-04:00

Or more accurately, twas the day before Fliven spends lots of money. Either way. Tomorrow I go to pick up my fully-repaired guitar, and I'm already on e-bay looking at another one! Insanity. I'll post the photos on Facebook. For those of you not on Facebook, too bad. You're missing out. I have many random photos, a small portfolio of my work, my Brothers Grimm (a comparison photo will be forthcoming soon between my in-game character and my actual person) folder, and other fun things.

Also, mine and Behtia's custom wedding bands (part 1 anyway...they do wax ones to begin with, kinda like a rough draft) will be done tomorrow, or so I hope. They were supposed to be done today, but I haven't heard from the guy yet.

In other news, Grand Theft Auto. I am a BAD MAN. Do I steal cars from old ladies? Yes I do. Do I drive recklessly and run over pedestrians? Yes I do. Do I gun down complete strangers for cash? You betcha. But you have to draw the line SOMEwhere, so I never cut in line at the hot dog stand, nor do I hit anyone who has a classic ride. Bikers are punks, though, so I hit them whenever possible. Also, given the choice, I let people live. I'm a sociopathic murderer with a warped sense of vigilante justice. What cracks me up is that my brother Charles bought and played this game the day before he was to preach the Sunday sermon at church. I wonder if I should tell the senior pastor...

If you're bored, I found a funny commercial from a number of years ago that makes me laugh...go to YouTube and look for 'jiggly batman'. It has Batman singing the JigglyPuff song. Always makes me smile.

Long Days

2008-04-28T20:24:00.004-04:00

What is it that makes a day long or short? Is it entirely the perception of the individual? Whatever it is, today is a LONG day. The last hour has lasted approximately 1.3 light years, in my reckoning. What makes it worse is that I got up at NOON. I've only been up for 8 or so hours! Ridiculous, right?

Today is dad's birthday. He is 62. Which got me thinking. His dad was in his mid to late 40s when he got MARRIED. And Dad was born in what, 1946? And a second child...so, I'll have to check, but lets say they were married in '43. There's a VERY good chance that I have a GRANDPARENT who was born in the 1800s. How old do *I* feel now?!?! I'll check the dates to be sure and re-post this. 3 generations spanning 3 centuries. Scary.

Umm...not a whole lot going on since Saturday. I've cleaned 2 out of 5 rooms in preparation for Behtia's visit, but have the next 2 days off to get the rest done. My car will NOT be needing washing, as we've had tons of rain, but I did clean out the interior. Does sword cleaning count...? I did that too. Noticed 2 or 3 burrs on my 'swashbuckler' that need sharpened out. I'm toying with the idea of selling it, but can't bring myself to do it yet. Maybe I'll start posting the others on e-Bay and see what I can get.

Off to see if florists carry lilacs. I need to get some for mom for her birthday. I do it every year.

Wads of Cash for the Masses

2008-04-25T17:11:00.002-04:00

Sold my Eddie Izzard tickets. I know, gasps of shock, but it was the best idea. I got, for $200 worth of tickets, $385. And that's a good deal for the people buying them at this point, too. What does that mean? That means that I made a $185 profit. I can give my siblings, who originally had tickets for their gift, a big wad of cash, take them to dinner and to see Iron Man, and it will COST ME NOTHING. BOSS. My fiancee was a little disappointed, but we're going to run around outside looking at gardens and stuff, and go furniture shopping, and look at wedding bands, so I think our docket was fairly full already. Plus I promised to do an opera or a show later this summer/fall. And I've seen Izzard live, twice, so its not the end of the world to miss this one.

Peace out.

Cause its been awhile...

2008-04-21T21:41:00.002-04:00

I really have no specific reason for blogging. I have about an hour to kill until my eBay auction ends. Which DOES bring up a good point...if people don't want other people scalping tickets, quit making it so darn PROFITABLE somehow! Tickets I bought for $50 each are going on eBay for FOUR HUNDRED. EACH. That's outrageous! That's what, like a 700% increase? Insane. I would be loathe to pay that much for tickets, but I am GETTING that much for the tickets I am selling, so it works out even.

What else is going on...um...work sucks. I really am starting to hate it there. The work is fine, but the people are just starting to get on my nerves. The management is incompetent, and my coworkers are either lazy, annoying, or dumb; or some combination of those three. Thankfully, I'm only going to be there for another 2 months. Then its time to move! I will miss the DC area a LOT. But I do enjoy setting up a new apartment...and I'll be with Behtia all the time, which I'm looking forward to immensely. Plus I'll get to hang out and bond with my in-laws. Me and Behtia's sister's husband, Jimbo Baggins, are talking about chores such as splitting logs at the cabin. A suitably manly bonding experience. Also, as I understand it, my future father in law and I, and perhaps Jimli the Dwarf, all like listening to ABBA. My own flesh-and-blood brothers do not. Of course, I despair of the music tastes of everyone in my family with the exception of Mom, who likes classics such as Simon & Garfunkel and so on.

Ok, 45 minutes til auction end, what else can I talk about...umm...Behtia is coming next week. We've got some stuff planned like the Eddie Izzard show, of course, trip to Ikea, maybe see IRON MAN (Na na nanana...nananananana NA NA NA), couple other things. Hopefully my guitar will be fixed when she's here so we can share in the victory of a quest well completed. Then I can serenade her with song. Chicks dig serenading. It would help if I could play more than 2 chords, though. Speaking of things chicks dig, I ordered the chainmail neckties for the wedding, and they should be here in a couple weeks. Awesome. The armorer gave me a discount for being a long-time customer. I would have bought them anyway, though. Cause they're awesome, and I want to share these with my bretheren. I'll tell you the virtues of a chainmail tie:
1. Not a clip on, but is on a chain around your neck, so doesn't need tied...much faster to put on.
2. Always at the same length, so you don't have to retie 4 or 5 times to get it the right length.
3. Doesn't have an extra skinny tie end that will flap around.
4. Does not blow higgledy-piggledy in the wind. At ALL.
5. Will not wrinkle.
6. Will not get stained...whatever it is you can just wipe off.
7. Matches ANYTHING.
8. Versatile...can be worn casually, formally, doesn't matter. Good for all occasions.
9. Forget tie clips. You can use refrigerator magnets.
10. Chicks DIG chainmail. Its a thing. I have had literally dozens of women, most of them strangers, walk up to me, ask about my tie, and then ask if they can touch it. If a woman is a foot away from you, holding your necktie, it gives a fairly good 'in' to get to know her, yeah?

Ok, 30 minutes left on my eBay. This is turning into quite a long blog post. Umm...so after the Rock Band 'Brothers Grimm' got its first gold record, the band has slowly parted ways, perhaps forever. Right up until we get a 'where are they now' special. Or a reunion tour. On the upside, I've achieved the rank of Sergeant Major in RainbowSix Vegas 2. I kick butt. Charles is all about the sniper rifle and stealthy kills. William is all about explosives and traps and the element of surprise. My strategy of choice is to get a big fricken machine gun with lots and lots of bullets and just shoot everything. You go with what works for you, I guess.

Today I cut open my finger on a piece of wire. Little safety tip from Uncle Fliven: don't cut your finger open on a piece of wire. It HURTS. And BLEEDS. I was replacing 2 of the leather straps on my rucksack and was using a thick gauge wire to widen and smooth the buckle holes I had just made, when the moisture from my hands made the hand slip through the wire. Could have been worse if it had caught all my fingers, but it didn't. Just caught my thumb on the way by. Which means my record remains of never having been cut by a sword, despite being a sword owner for 20 years, and only been cut by a knife once, despite being a pocketknife owner for 23 years. Plus working in a knife and sword store for 2 years. This must be my mutant power or something...invincible to cutting implements guy. Sweet. Now, if we want to talk about wire, cans, saws, pencils, rocks, paper, cats, and sledgehammers, that would be a different story. The good news is that I got the rucksack fixed. Its the only thing I own with the strength to be able to adequately store and transport my 50 lbs of chainmail. Which they do NOT have at Target. So we couldn't register for matching sets. Lots of other neat things, though! I'm excited.

15 minutes left. Does anyone know where I can find the opening theme to Contra? I want to use it as my ringtone. Or possibly Double Dragon. Never mind! I found it. Awesome. Now whenever anyone calls, it'll be like I'm playing Contra. If I input the code do I get 30 free minutes...?

Only a few minutes left. I'll sign off now.

I've Just Had An Apostrophe...

2008-03-21T14:50:00.002-04:00

Regarding facial hair. Its a weird thing. I've been trying to grow a goatee for about 2, 2 1/2 weeks now, and have come to some conclusions:

1. I am not a hairy man. There are those guys out there who have to shave twice a day or risk looking like Grizzly Adams, and I am not one of them.
2. What I lack in speed of growth and thickness I make up for in hair length. I have my facial hair long enough now to wax into points and go out for a part in a 3 Musketeers commercial or something. Another few weeks, and I'm looking at curlicues like Dustin Hoffman in "Hook". 6 months and I'll have a goatee that will rival Pai Mei (from Kill Bill Part 2).
3. Hair on face is same as hair on head. As in, fine and silky, not thick and bristly. Which means what when the wind tousles my hair, it also tousles the hair ON MY FACE. Somewhat irritating.
4. While my brothers have told me that if I grow my facial hair and wax it into points for the wedding, they will get me a brace of flintlock pistols as a gift, I'm not sure its worth it to have to smell and taste whatever I ate last in the space between my nose and mouth for 6 months.
5. On the upside, I could go all summer, shave off the hair, and not have to worry if there's a tan line or not.

In other news, I just paid all my bills and have money left over, which is always a fun thing. And I'm still in the running for a guitar on eBay, rather than trying to fix up my current one. I think for that one I may just replace the missing parts and then get it repainted. Won't be playable, but will look awesome.

That is all.

Guilty Pleasures?

2008-03-19T18:17:00.003-04:00

Today has been a good day off. I've been 'puttering' around, doing random things. Got my car to the VEIP for emissions inspection, and bought a CD storage case at Staples. I did this because I have one for music, and now one for software/games and ROMS/movies & TV. I'm thinking of making the transfer from a DVD shelf to an album, but can't decide if that's what I want to do yet or not. Plus my DVDs are a mess, anyway.

So I discovered a new guilty pleasure this week. 'The Cutting Edge'. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I've probably seen it a dozen times, but still get excited when I happen across it on the Hallmark channel or USA or wherever. A lower budget 80's romantic comedy about figure skating...and I'm ADDICTED. How odd. But it got me thinking about the other romantic comedies that I have seen and enjoyed that are somewhat out of character for me...Return to Me, You've Got Mail, Dan in Real Life...am I becoming wussy as I get older? Is the fact that I would equally enjoy either sorting through antique teacups with mom or fragging n00bs with my l33t skillz on X-Box make me somehow less manly? Quite the metrosexual quandary. Not that I feel afraid to embrace the metrosexual lifestyle, in part anyway, but it's SUCH a mental gearshift. I mean, going from a discussion of drapery coordination and colors to the overclocking of a Hemi on a '69 Charger is almost a different way of thinking.

Not much else going on...looking forward to seeing Behtia in a couple weeks...we'll be registering, finalizing tux choices, nailing down a place, and other fun weddingy stuff. Also will be celebrating her birthday. Now here's a tip for those unmarried persons out there...find out when your significant other's family's birthdays are BEFORE you get too involved. B's dad and sister both have early April birthdays as well...bringing my grand total of birthdays between March and June up to at least 8. That's ridiculous. And I have maybe 1 or 2 for the other 2/3 of the year! People need to have more fall birthdays here!

My work here is done. Farewell.

Robble Robble

2008-03-07T12:41:00.002-05:00

Being about a month in to Lent here, I never realized how much a person could crave a simple hamburger. MAD respect for the Hamburglar. Although if you look carefully, every burger he steals, and that are even on his tie, are cheeseburgers. Wouldn't make him the Cheeseburglar? "Robble robble with cheese"? I'll make it through Lent, anyway, but I think a trip to Fuddrucker's is going to be my Easter afternoon activity.

The guitar quest continues. Talked to one 'luthier' this past week, and the prognosis is not good. Have one more option I can explore, but it may be a bust, and end up as decor. Still, got it for a good price and it is a really neat piece.

Eddie Izzard's new tour is going to be here in May! Get your tickets now...

Getting Things Together

2008-03-01T10:07:00.002-05:00

Nothing beats having a wedding in six months to light a fire under you in getting all the little projects and nagging things done in your life.

The past couple weeks I have inventoried my belongings, gotten rid of a bunch of stuff I don't need, and completed several personal projects. For instance, I had my phone upgraded, and at the same time, scaled down my plan to the bare minimum. I have 4000 rollover minutes saved, so it should be about 20 years before I run out of those. I don't talk on the phone much. My siblings are aghast that I only have 18 contacts in my phone, as well. They have between 100 and 300 each. On the upside, it only took me 15 minutes to re-enter all my contacts into my new phone, so nyah nyah to them.

Let's see...oh, the coins I was going to sell, that I mentioned a couple posts ago, fetched a surprising $183! Sweet! Cash in my pocket! Its something I had been meaning to do for some time and finally got around to it. I also found out that I happen to be an undiscovered jewelry genius...or have jewelry luck. Last year, when I bought Behtia's engagement ring, platinum was $1200 an ounce. It is now a bit over $2000 an ounce. Which means I could (but would never) sell back the ring for at LEAST half again what I paid for it. How awesome is that? Got on board the plat train at the right stop!

Other projects have included phone rebates, sending my old electronics to a 2nd-hand place for refurb or disposal, cleaning out the car, and finally taking my guitar in to see about restoration. I'm doing that on Tuesday. My next task, probably next week, will be the daunting attempt of organizing and packing my library. I really don't need every single book and movie right up until moving day, so it makes sense to do it now., when I have the time.

Is it weird for a 30-year-old and a 24-year-old to spend their Saturday night discussing plans and downloading schematics to build a Serenity ship replica out of Legos? Don't answer that.

Can't think of anything else that needs posting...I'm looking forward to my next post, which will be my 200th! I feel that some sort of celebration or commemoration is in order.

Random Thing

2008-02-16T10:31:00.002-05:00

Couldn't think of a good title. Man, what a rough night. Seriously, wanted to get a good night's sleep cause I had to work from 9-1 today, then drive to Greensboro, NC this afternoon. But alas, it was not to be.

First, I needed to update my iPod with fresh tunes and playlist for the journey. Unfortunately, somehow my iTunes library file got deleted! Luckily, I had one that was about a month old, plus all my songs and movies backed up, so it only took about half an hour to get everything back on track. But still, that's really annoying. And the internet connection at the house is being really slow and obnoxious.

Second, Charles has been watching Firefly. I told him MONTHS ago, perhaps even YEARS, that it was a great show and he should watch it, but no. I think he finally saw Serenity a couple months ago, and liked it, and so I pushed the TV series again, and finally he said 'oh, its all the same people...ok'. Strange boy. And he LOVES it. Who was right? I did warn him about post-Firefly 'no new episode' depression. Which he now has. But you can't, as a fan, know that there's Firefly playing in the house and not at least stop by for a bit.

Third, I got addicted to Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series. For those of you not familiar with the original, its an anime show about a card game. Some brilliant mind with a lot of free time has taken each episode, in order, and made 5 minute digest versions that completely make fun of the original and are HILARIOUS. So I was watching a bunch of those. Do a search on YouTube if you are interested. Or really bored.

Fourth, the stupid cat. I don't know WHO opened my hall doorway in the middle of the night, but there I was sleeping, when I woke up to a cat sleeping on my chest, making it hard to breathe. It was like having fuzzy, purring asthma. Why do they INSIST on sleeping as close to your head as possible? Do they not realize that people have to breathe? That and she smacked me in the face with her little paw whenever I moved. So I chucked her out the door.

Anyway, I'm a little tired today. Day 11 of giving up red meat and sweets for Lent. Maybe that's making me cranky. Mom making chocolate chip cookies yesterday didn't help, either.

The good news is that I get to see Behtia today. We're meeting to get caught up on wedding plans, and I'm going to fill out my half of our apartment application. Sweet! New apartment! Still trying to puzzle out how I'm going to get 2 tons of books (seriously, 2 tons) as well as all my other stuff down there.

More next week, as well as an apartment/wedding update if I can.

Porkchop Sandwiches
Hey links are working! This, if I haven't posted it already, is a GI Joe PSA spoof that I thought was a stitch.

Slaying Monsters

2008-02-11T20:27:00.000-05:00

Last night the computer got a virus. Normally I wouldn't care about little insignificant spyware crap, but it was messing with my home internet page and creating pop-ups and all manner of annoyance. Time to hitch up my nerd pants and brandish the 3.5 floppy disk of wyrm slaying! Oh yes. It was awesome. This day and age its easy to forget the DOS commands and 16-bit graphics of the computers of old; now only encountered when you have to perform surgery on your software. The good news is that after using 'safe mode' and doing some DOS commanding and running a reliable anti-virus, I hath slain 16 virii that were lurking or piggybacking or whatever. It was awesome. Except that it was about 20 degrees where the computer is in the house. Makes your victory dance more of a blanket-covered shuffle at that temperature.

Today I'm at work, and its slow, but there's still stuff to do. Am updating my resume (I built it in Adobe InDesign, so it looks awesome. Cause it just doesn't do to have a boring looking resume when you design print items for a living) and will soon be sending it down to the nether realms of ATL. I've also decided that I can make fun of Atlanta, and soon the south in general, since I am going to get married and live there. I'm also looking for Confederate flag decals for my Honda.

Speaking of which, I am going to sell some coin and other historic moneys that I had collected later this week...keep your fingers crossed that I get a good deal. I am expecting around $100 or so for the lot. It would be all coinage, but I have a $10 bill from the CSA (I got it as a gift). I asked Behtia if the money's still good down there, but she said probably not. And that we probably wouldn't want to associate with the persons who WOULD accept it as legal tender. So I'll see what I can get for it at the coin shop.

Transmission ends.

Guitar Heroes & Tuxedos

2008-02-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

This is an excerpt from an email I sent to Behtia describing the joys of tux hunting online that I found amusing, so thought I'd share it:

...a couple of the website names you'd expect, like tuxedos.com, finetuxedos.com, etuxedo.com; but then you divide into 3 categories: gangsta lame, just plain weird, and cutesy lame. Gangsta lame gives you sites like: tuxx.com (like its some kind of edgy thing), cheaptux.com (for the edgy on a budget), and awesometuxedo.com (its AWESOME!). Then the cutesy lame ones take on names like: tuxedojunction.com (I wonder if they have a tux with overalls?), friartux.com (clever, actually, but makes the tuxes seem stodgy and portly), and suityourself.com (ah, i get it, cause a tux is a SUIT and YOURSELF is wearing it ha ha ha...mmm...yeah...). Then there's just plain weird. Like tuxgear.com (sounds ok to start out, but the fact that they use the word GEAR makes it seem like you're girding your loins for battle or something, not renting a suit), or hickeyfreeman.com (its the guy's name, fine, but seriously, you HAD to go with that name for your STORE, too? Isn't the point of wearing a tux to GET hickeys? To be a NOT hickey-free man? Bad call), and tuxedopro.com (not like all those amateur tuxedos...?).

Also being shared today is the fact that Charles, William, and I have formed a band called 'Brothers Grimm' on Rock Band. I, of course, am lead guitar. Its awesome though, cause our little generated characters resemble us! I'm going to try and extract a picture of this somehow, and will post it here or on facebook when I do. We're also on the cusp of embarking on our World Tour. Oh yes. To bring the dulcet tones, hot beats, and smooth licks of the 'Brothers Grimm' to the masses. In a related note, after playing for several hours yesterday, I dreamed I was upstaging Clapton at a children's concert. It was awesome.

Aaaaaand today I'm bored at work. Surprise surprise. Hopefully we get out early, though. I could use the extra time off. Also, I finished my taxes! First time I've ever had them done more than 2-3 days in advance of April 15. Mostly I did them because I'm getting a good chunk o' change back from Uncle Sam. I know it was my money to begin with, but it still feels like free money from the government. I almost feel worthy of some nerd glasses and a blazer with question marks all over it like that crazy man from the infomercials.

So here's a question. Does it make more sense to do 45 seconds worth of work, or to walk over, explain it (2 or 3 times, as apparently I'm stupid...never mind that I've been doing this longer than they've been out of MIDDLE school), go back and sit down, then wait for ME to do 45 seconds worth of work, and then have to review it again anyway? I estimate it takes a total of 4-5 TIMES as long to do it that way. Am I learning anything from it? No, I just transposed 2 letters in one word of one line of one paragraph of text that measures less than an inch square in a page that's more than a foot wide. It HAPPENS. And it will probably happen again. This company is really dumb sometimes. Or maybe its just the people in it, I don't know. To me, and I know this is wacky, it seems logical to generate as little work as possible to achieve the result. Yeah, I could go home today by way of Ocean City, but that doesn't mean I SHOULD. Cause its a waste.

And now its time to get something to eat! Farewell.

Lookin' Snazzy

2008-02-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

Well, since last Saturday, when I posted because I was extremely bored, not a lot has happened, since I am STILL at work, and STILL extremely bored. I have discovered some fun new things online, and have done some small steps in the greater progression of life, however, and will regale you with the tales of such.

So this week continues the 'where to have the wedding' discussions. Looks like it will probably be in the Atlanta area. I know, I know, those of you who are in the greater DC metro area are like 'nooooo!' but please be aware that I DID ask, I HAVE put my two cents in, but I DO want my bride to be happy, and she and the mother-in-law want to have it down there for ease of wedding preparations. No word as to specific location yet. Plus it'll be a good excuse to road trip, (don't speed from Charlotte, NC to Gaffney, SC. The cops are quite vigilant in that area. Also, you can check out the Atlanta Aquarium whilst you are visiting, which is really neat. On par with Baltimore, in fact.

I've also been looking at tuxedos. I know at least some of you will expect that I get a bizarre tux. And I might. There are some VERY nice black velvet pirate coats out there. And I found some Victorian suits (http://www.gentlemansemporium.com for those looking for similar. Good prices, good product)that are neat. I really like a longer coat, and perhaps a 'mandarin collar' option is good too. No bowties. No cummerbunds. I'm thinking monocles might make an appearance, but that really depends on the tux style.

What else is going on...my health is good, I've been eating my citrus. Mmm...Vitamin C...umm...just finished watching The Office Season 3 on my iPod (whom I am naming 'Pequod', for several reasons. One, its got a similar sound to 'iPod', is the name of the ship in Moby Dick, a story about a white whale, and what do whales travel in? Pods! Thirdly, the word Pequod is named after an early American Indian tribe, the Pequot, which translates as 'The Destroyers', which is just cool and will intimidate all the other iPods.) and am now looking for something else to watch. This writer's strike thing REALLY needs to end. The good news is, I got all my iTunes material transferred to my portable hard drive. This was an issue at first because our computer is like, 8 years old and the USB ports were ancient and slow. But I used up all my Tech Geek Mojo and went to Staples, bought a PCI USB 2.0 card, which turned out to be the RIGHT ONE, and got it installed and working on my FIRST TRY. There was a little rush of geeky joy, accompanied by the 'new tech working' jig.

Also, I beat Rock Band. I am a ROCK LEGEND. Just thought I'd share. I have a couple links I wanted to send out too, but blogger.com is being capricious and isn't allowing me to insert links. Still, I'll paste them in below.

This is a 30-second spot combining Toyota and World of Warcraft. Its a stitch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2_ueohYRhU

George Lucas in Love. Classic fan film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STRja-ABexU

Peace out. Colbert for President '08!

Rooks & Squids

2008-01-26T14:09:00.000-05:00

That'd be a fun name for a band. But it also has a much more significant personal meaning. Let's read on.

Last night, Charles and I took on the folks in our favorite card game, Rook. It requires 4 or 5 to play, and is a lot like Spades or Hearts. Its awesome. Dad and Mom have been playing it for like, decades. They won the first game, but Charles and I OWNED the second game. No contest! It is named rook, because there are 4 different colors of number cards (green, red, black, and yellow...oddly Jamaican in that respect) and one high-point wild card with a picture of a hideous bird on it. The Rook. And I did not get it AT ALL yesterday. Stupid bird. Anyway. Yes, I am SO bored at work that I'm writing about a card game in my blog.

I mention squids because of my recent visit to Atlanta. There was much searching for apartments and weddingy places whilst I was down there. Good times. We found a great apartment, but its still a few months early for that. Probably around June I'll be heading down. We also played 'Whirlyball' with the youth group of Behtia's church. For those of you in the northlands, Whirlyball is like polo, but in bumper cars instead of on horses. Its very entertaining. Had dinner with the future in-laws at an Italian place while visiting, which was fine, but the appetizer was Calamari. And I ATE SOME OF IT. Yes, people, I love this woman enough to eat fried squid tentacle. It was like a piece of onion ring that had been left in the fridge for a couple days and then reheated in the microwave. Not too bad if you can get 'tentacle' out of your brain long enough to eat it.

Anyway, made it down and back safely, am narrowing down options on tuxes, and everything is just pretty much going ok! Work is boring, as usual.

Long Live the Band!

2008-01-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

Last night after I got home, me and the brothers went to Best Buy, where I bought a AC/DC power cord for my iPod, and William got Rock Band (Special Edition). All 4 of us siblings played that evening. It was pretty fun. Of course, I was rockin the guitar, with Jean on drums, doing pretty well. Our only negative was Charles' LOUD and OFF KEY singing. But he insisted, and none of the rest of us wanted to do it. Our band name is the Cheeky Monkeys.

Wedding plans are progressing! More updates on this as it develops.

What I'm wearing now: "+2 Shirt of Designing", "Slightly Too Short Jeans of Nerdery" (-1 to charisma, but +3 to all computer skills), "+5 Doc Martens of Butt-Kickage", "Holey Moley Socks" (all resistances -1), and "Seuss's 1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Boxer Shorts" (+2 to charisma, increases morale for all party members).

Today I got a craving for a food I've never had. Ever get that? Its really a weird feeling. This morning I was like "man, I could really go for some fried frog's legs". I've NEVER had those, and would probably find them gross, but I was craving them this morning. Stupid frogs...

Not much else going on today. Looking forward to having Sunday off and then only 2 more days of work til I get to go see my fiancee. By the way, I found out that the difference between Coach and 1st Class is exactly 500 dollars between here and Atlanta. Not worth it. Now, if it was 500 dollar difference between here and say, Belgium, then that extra cushiony seat and leg room becomes more valuable. 500 dollar valuable? Perhaps, perhaps not. Something to think about.

What's up? I'm the Spleen.

2008-01-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

Admit it. You secretly want to be part of the Mystery Men. Well here's your chance! For the low low price of $2,900, you can own the actual screen-used costume of the Spleen! I saw this and had to share. Plus I'm having a good day at work. Could it be because if I was home, the family would be driving me up the wall? Could it be because all the management called out sick? Could it be because I was off for the last 2 days and toured castles? It could be all of those things.

I posted not long ago, and nothing really new has happened...I've been updating my Facebook page. Facebook can be fun. It gives me a way to keep in touch with the most random of people. I have like, 2 dozen friends on there, and I don't think I have more than 3 (those 3 being my siblings) from the same group. Some college, high school, family, 4 places of employment, friends-in-law, fiancees...its quite a collection.

So looking at wedding stuff is cool. People fall all over themselves showing you things and making sure you have everything you need. I guess if you're paying them thousands of dollars for something, it makes people nicer, but still, I feel kinda special. Yesterday I looked at 2 prospective wedding sites up in the Towson area that were so cool. Maybe later on I'll go look at tuxes, since I'm not allowed to have anything to do with the dress. I believe there is the hiding of bridal magazines when I walk into the room, in fact.

iPod iUpdate: This thing is awesome. I can check my e-mail, listen to sweet tunes, DOWNLOAD sweet tunes directly to the iPod (which will upload to iTunes when I sync, not erase it), watch TV and movies...the only beef is that the battery life is pretty weak. Still, its definitely in the 'good stuff' column.

Last night I dreamed weird stuff. Combine a costume party, high school reunion, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and the Dukes of Hazzard, and you might have some idea. Post-apocalyptic evil government, has strict corn (everything runs on corn) regulations, but big, weird looking, punk dudes in freaky cobbled-together cars that shoot flames run through rural USA stealing corn. I had to steal a bunch of corn, so I could take some girl in high school I barely knew and didn't even like to the costume party. Also, the government agents were sketchy and wore weird hats, like in the 'Take On Me' music video.

Peace out.

Bored At Work Again...

2008-01-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

So last night I dreamed that I had to eat mixed vegetables. Pretty awful, right? Of course, those mixed vegetables consisted of spiced potato cubes, broiled butternut squash, carmelized onions, and stewed carrots. I remember being ok with everything but the squash. Maybe it means I hate squash or something. Or perhaps that I am still repressing bad P.E. memories of playing the tennis-like game of the same name for weeks on end.

Nothing much new to post...I know I say that a lot, right? Um...I'm still engaged. The wedding is less than 9 months away now! We've gone location-shopping recently, and have a couple good ideas. I'll let you know as soon as we decide, foregoing the "Swedish surprise" avenue of location announcement.

Do you think its acceptable to put the special edition of Rock Band on your wedding registry...? I've been thinking of lots of random stuff to put on there, but I am told that the registry is for all the boring household stuff like chafing dishes and fruit juicers. It looks like we aren't going to NEED that much of that kind of stuff, both of us being older as we are. I think between us we already HAVE like, 2 microwaves, 3 waffle irons, 2 blenders, 3 sets of dishes, and so on. I even have a vacuum cleaner. Not much left to ask for. Maybe a nice set of kitchen knives, but word is that its bad luck to give knives as a wedding gift, because it symbolizes wanting to sever the unity blah blah blah. I'd LOVE a nice set of Wusthof Grand Prix knives, or, while I'm dreaming, a complete set of left-handed Shun knives. It'd be outstanding!

I'm heading down to ATL in about 2 weeks to see my sweetie. We get to do fun stuff like look at apartments and go furniture shopping. (Blondie, remember when I ran into you at Tyson's? And I suggested the giant bean-bag store? We are SO going there and getting one!!!)

And now I'm just sitting around at work, slowly freezing to death because they have the air conditioning on, and playing online sudoku. Found a good deal on chainmail while online, though. Aluminum, too, which means a suit of it will weigh like, 15 pounds, rather than the 45 pounds my current steel mail weighs. Not that I'm going to get it or can afford it. Perhaps for the registry...his and hers chainmail hauberks are weddingy, right?

Christmas Swag

2007-12-26T13:21:00.000-05:00

So...yeah. Haven't blogged in awhile, so I thought I might, in the post-holiday lull, take the time to do so!

First, I hope all my readers had a lovely Christmas (or other holiday of your choice) and a special thanks to those of you who sent me Christmas cards. They were much appreciated and are sitting on my mantel now. Hopefully Behtia can prod me into doing Christmas cards or letters next year, cause I suck at it.

On to the Christmas swag! First the giving. I gave Mom some 4" wax LED candles from thinkgeek.com that you can actually blow out. They're sweet. Dad got a flashlight for his car (someone keeps stealing his) and some imported British candy that he's addicted to. This year the 4 kids drew names, so William got a mini-fridge for his game room and a set of Batman Legos (he has 4 out of the 7 sets). Behtia got a lovely hostess apron that she was looking for, and I did a 16x20 painting that took several weeks. The 3-panel huge medieval painting project wasn't done in time...can't rush art, unfortunately...but it'll get done sometime. Its about halfway there.

On the receiving end, I got a new green shirt, some slick pajama pants with sock monkeys on them, a wooden carving of a couple hugging, and a pirate calendar (with piratey temporary tattoos! score!) all from Behtia. Jean (who had my name) gave me a copy of "80's Trivial Pursuit" and a hand-made painting of mine and Behtia's names in quasi-Chinese characters. Its pretty. Mom & Dad got me a portable hard drive (120 gig!), so I can finally clean out the 3 spindles' worth of TV shows and portfolio items and movies and emails I've burned and put them in one location, and a decent digital camera. And some socks and undies. Grandad's Christmas cash, as well as the cash from other relatives, went a fair ways towards financing a 16 gig touch-screen iPod. I still ended up paying nearly 200 bucks, but that's worth it, I think. It is muy MUY bueno! Seriously, all my music, favorite TV shows, websites (it has WiFi), and photos all in one handy little touch-screen package. It makes the geek in me quite giddy. :) So, all in all, a good Christmas!

And to all a good night.

Jiggly Jowls...

2007-11-26T18:09:00.000-05:00

...would be a great name for a band. Apart from that, its not a great thing to discover that you have when you run. Here's the scoop. Never in my life have I been what one would call "overweight". In fact, I doubt I could make "average". But lately I have been packing on the poundage, relatively speaking. Mid-150s is pretty big for me. But its not a bad weight for my height. What IS bad is that my sister (who, after having randomly moved to California 2 months ago, is back home again...we're still wondering why, but are afraid to ask. Mostly because we have to live with her) has gotten me to go running.

Running is fun. I like it. I feel better after doing it. But, unlike in high school, or even college, or even post-college, I now feel body movement when I run. Never in my LIFE have I had my belly move when I run. Its a new experience for me. Also, my jowls jiggle if I drop my foot too hard. I use "jowls," because if I say cheeks, you may assume by reading it that I mean the tuckus, which also jiggles during running, but that has always been true, and is not a novel experience. But my jowls could never (after age 2 anyway) have been referred to as chubbly, so this is a slightly disturbing sensation for me.

So my goal becomes "keep the weight, but lose the jiggle". A good goal, and one at least partially attainable. For I know I can easily lose the belly jiggle. But the jowl jiggle is a bit trickier. How DOES one go about losing face weight? Would talking more decrease my face flab and turn it to jaw-chiseled tone? Its a mystery.

Also, Dad tried to kill us by telling us that from our house to the 2nd traffic circle in the neighboring development and back was 1 mile, when in fact it is 2 and a half. I almost killed myself trying to run a mile in under 10 minutes, not a difficult task, even out of shape as I am, and I barely made it under 20! I was a trifle worried at my state of health, but then finding out it was in fact, 2 and a half miles we had done, felt much better about it. That's around an 8-minute mile, and not too shabby for just starting out. Plus I've been able to pass all of my running expertise onto my younger sibling. Such as it is, anyway.

Fliven's goal: de-jowlified and un-jiggly by spring, and then stay that way through the wedding.

Also fun to note is that I am using the same garb I used in high school to get in shape via running...my sweats, green Wilson sweatshirt, running shoes, and SHS marching warriors t-shirt are all the same items of clothing I wore to winter track practice in 12th grade. Sweet. No, I do NOT throw anything away. :)

Transmission ends here.

Nothing New...

2007-11-15T12:32:00.000-05:00

Nothing much going on, but wanted to post something anyway.

Have my plane ticket for a whirlwind tour of ATL for Thanksgiving to have the dinner with the future in-laws. Behtia ASSURES me there's nothing to be worried about, but I can't HELP but be nervous, right? I mean, first holiday with the in-laws! Its scary!

Other than that, my only fun news this week was poor brother William, who bought his X-Box 360 more than a year ago for the sole purpose of playing Assassin's Creed, which was due to come out on Tuesday. He was SO excited, and then they had a shipping delay and it didn't arrive until noon Wednesday. So between Tuesday morning, when I got an anguished txt message, and Wednesday noon, I was giving him SUCH a hard time, and laughing SO hard. Oh it was hilarious. I am not a mean person, but it WAS a stitch. And he tells me the game was worth the wait, anyway.

Have an interview in about 2 hours...not anyplace new, but in a different department than I am in now...instead of doing ad/real estate ad/classified ad design, I'd be working on a quarterly magazine. It'd be more hours and better dough, but I really don't know if its suited to me, still, it can't hurt to try!

Oh! And yesterday I had the most nerve-wracking haircut I've ever had. Went in, my usual lady wasn't there, no big deal. So the 'new girl' is next up and I'm like, ok. She looks to be about 19, generous build, noticeably zaftig, and I'd have been surprised if she was over 5 foot tall. It was funny because sitting in the chair I was as tall as she was standing on the floor. So, getting my haircut, we're chitchatting, and I realize she's flirting with me! What does one do in this situation? Tell her you're engaged and risk a sub-par haircut one week before Thanksgiving with the in-laws as a result? Lie and risk being given digits and/or asked out when you ARE engaged and risk being caught? A sticky wicket. I managed to hem and haw and mutter and hedge the hints and questions until paying, at which point I said thanks, that I was engaged, and hustled for the door. I tipped generously.

That is all.

Winter of Our Discontent

2007-11-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

We've had about 4 cold days here, and already I'm sick of the cold weather. Could be because of being engaged (sorry, no recent developments, although I already told my sister she can't be in the wedding. Not really, though, I just say it so she'll quit annoying me. Also, the Fliven guest list is a bit long at present. As such, the first 10 people to post a response on this blog will be eligible for attendance. Everyone else is CLEARLY not my friend and thus will be cut. Ha ha! Kidding! I'm going to flip a coin later on) or it could have other reasons. But seasonal depression is setting in early this year. Plus my sister wants to do all sorts of "family activities" for Christmas this year, like foregoing the usual coffee and gifts Christmas morning, and getting up and working at a homeless shelter instead. Now, there's nothing WRONG with that, in fact its laudable, but I shouldn't feel pressured from my sibling who may or may not be cut from the wedding if she doesn't shape up to do this on my family day. I mean, don't the homeless need food and blankets in February, too? Wouldn't it be smart to do it then? Lots of people volunteer around the holidays, or more than usual, anyway, so it makes sense to me to do it at an off-peak time. It would be more appreciated or something. But she's got it in her little head that this is what we should do, and if ANYONE'S schedule doesn't allow for it, she's going to pitch a fit and ruin Christmas. I'm going to go ahead and blame Hollywood in advance. Mostly because she lives in L.A. (did I mention that? yeah, she moved out there a month ago. completely randomly.) and has the proximity thing, and because she's seen one too many smarmy Christmas movies. I bet you a dollar she wears a Santa hat to the homeless shelter.

Anyway, lest I appear Grinch-ey, I AM excited about Christmas, have some great gifts for other people lined up, and have no beef with the homeless and would be glad to serve them food at any time of year.

Have you been Simpsonized?

2007-10-11T17:01:00.000-04:00

Check it out...I've been Simpsonized. If I can EVER get Behtia to agree to be photographed (its worse than pulling teeth...well, I don't really know that, as I haven't pulled any teeth, and having your teeth pulled isn't that bad, which I DO know about...um...its worse than something that I've done that's about equal to what pulling teeth would be, but I don't know what that is) I'll drop her in there, too. It'll be awesome. Our wedding decisions to date: I can't wear the dress, she likes the color red, and there will probably be some form of dancing to some type of music at the reception.

Vital Important News

2007-09-29T13:34:00.000-04:00

This morning, as I was putting on my jeans, I found $10 in the right hand pocket. A five and five ones. Rock ON.

That is all.

Chapter 1: Loomings

2007-09-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

So there I was, looking around Yahoo (do you Yahoo?) and I see this article on a two-headed turtle. Which tickled my memory for some reason, but I couldn't think why. Then I remembered! Of course! Two-headed turtle! The symbol of the Ancient Order of Procrastinators! Which means that the coming of this turtle is a portentious omen as to the rise in power of procrastinators. Eventually. When we get around to it. I remember this because I used to have a poster with the "Procrastinator's Creed" on it, which described all this.So how fun is that? And the turtle looks exactly like the one on the poster! An omen, I tell you.
Umm...other news...let's see...nothing new in the wedding arena since last I posted. Starting to look for wedding/reception sites, which should be fun. Anyway...umm...I got a 820-note streak in Guitar Hero...and played Halo 3...and scrubbed the kitchen floor...and have been going to work...that's about it. Not a whole lot going on the last few days.
Anyway, here's the turtle article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_fe_st/two_headed_turtle

Clear Your Calendars

2007-09-25T13:08:00.000-04:00

Good afternoon, sportsfans!

Here is the latest play-by-play in the pre-wedding goings-on. We have tentatively set the date for September 13, 2008. Which will be three years to the day since we started dating, and 363 days spent engaged, for those of you keeping score. The wedding will most likely be 75 guests or less, which means quite an exclusive gathering!

The wedding party will consist of myself and my bride, and our siblings; which, being a sum total of 2 girls and 2 boys, works out well. Assuming that my best man options of Mr. T, Chuck Norris, Jack Black, Laurence Fishburne, and Jet Li all fall through. Yes, I sent e-mails through their official websites asking each of them if they'd be available to be my best man (yes, I actually did...just for laughs). I'd be AMAZED if they're even read, much less answered in the positive. So I'll probably end up with getting one of my brothers to perform the best man duties. Or maybe both, who knows.

Umm...as it looks now, the wedding will take place in the Maryland/DC area (I hear all of you living up here heaving a huge sigh of relief). Unless O & S and ourselves decide to do a double wedding at a Scottish castle, which has been proposed. I have doubts about THAT one, despite the coolness factor. Also have doubts about a Condorman-themed wedding, with swooping from balconies and getaway truck/racecar/hydrofoils. Perhaps the theme song will make a cameo during the reception, though. I'd be happy if I'm allowed to wear a sword.

We will probably end up living in the Alpharetta area after the wedding, at least for a few years, and are considering housing options presently.

No word yet as to the honeymoon destination. That may have to stay a surprise, anyway.

Do NOT miss this post!

2007-09-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

This is the big post my friends...oh yes. I am now engaged. To be MARRIED. I've had butterflies (good ones) about this for 4 days now. I know right now you're all "whoopin' and hollerin'" as the southern people would say, so I'll give you a moment to collect your thoughts and then will tell the story.

*please pause for whoopin' and hollerin'*

Ok! So you want details! Here's the saga.
I started looking for settings back in early April. Went to a few malls, a few jewelry outlets, and learned a lot. Know what "baguettes" are. STILL don't know what the difference is between white gold and platinum, besides about double the price. So I was at Anthony's in Rockville, which is a neat place, and the lady was showing me some settings, and held one of the ones made by their in-house goldsmith. I was like, "that's the one". Plus being a custom, one-of-a-kind item, having it be made there meant that the middle man was cut out, and I got a better deal. Sweet! Then there was the drama of getting one of my grandmother's diamonds that would fit in the setting. Took 3 tries. But then I ended up with a gorgeous .74 carat diamond, platinum engagement ring! Its got ten little diamonds spaced evenly around the rim. But what of the sizing?! I had previously estimated, from eyeballing it, that her ring finger was a skosh (professional jewelry term) smaller than my pinky. The ring I now had (size 4 1/4) was a skosh too small for my pinky, so I thought that may work. Now the TIMING! Lots of opportunities, but her twin sister was getting married in June. So I can't really do it before then, it being May at this point, or it'd steal wedding thunder. Not nice. And then afterwards, it being July, I figured I may as well wait til the fall. Give me time to think about things, plan and plot and so forth.
So! With our two year anniversary coming up, Behtia has her plane ticket up here, I have time off work, all is good. Last Tuesday we have an appraiser guy come through the house (for refinancing and whatnot) so I'm cleaning my room. My bathroom sink is clogged, so I pour some Dran-O down it, like you do, and then wander off, cause it needs 20 minutes or whatever to work. The seal around the sink drain breaks, leaking all this water over my bathroom floor, and dripping into the basement, like half an hour before the guy arrives. NOT cool. So there is much scrambling to get things cleaned up from that, and then later on, I begin to fix the mess. To be fair, the pipes WERE 40 years old, but they could have waited another HOUR, surely. Stupid pipes. Anyway, I get all the old ones ripped out, but by now it is late and the local hardware store is closed. So I leave the mess in there.
Naturally, at 3 a.m., I need to use the facilities, forget that the toolbox is in the doorway, and break my toe on the stupid thing. The one description I have for the pain I felt that day is "pulsating". Anyway, I ended up getting the sink fixed perfectly, and my toe is fine, so all ends well. BUT, I have a large, black-and-purple toe to deal with for Behtia's visit. Not very promising.
Well, last Thursday was our two-year anniversary. So we went to sunny, perfect weather, no crowds Virginia Beach. I swear, the weather was PERFECT perfect. We lounged on the beach Thursday afternoon, and then Friday we spent the day running around Colonial Williamsburg. All manner of cool gardens and historic what-nots. That evening we got all dressed up for dinner, and went to the Black Angus steakhouse. Its the fanciest mostly-non-seafood restaurant in VA Beach. Plus its run by retired supervillains, I'm sure of it. The owners/operators have Eastern European accents, all the workers wear plain black with shirts that have different steak cooking options printed on the back (as in "rare", "well-done", etc), and the chairs are tall, red leather, swivel chairs that would not be amiss around a table belonging to Dr. Evil. So we have a lovely meal, eat WAY too much, (bleahhhh) and make our way out.
We had talked in the weeks prior about how we were looking forward to pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin pancakes and other pumpkin-flavored treats available at nearby locations, and I put forth the idea that a pumpkin ice cream would be good. Well, when we arrived, lo and behold! Kohr Bros. had a pumpkin/cinnamon frozen custard! What are the ODDS?! We made plans to eat there after our villainous steak dinner, but when we arrived, the flavor was unavailable! Disaster! I was most upset. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, as they say.
So Saturday comes. This day, and the resulting engagement, can best be described in a Good Idea/Bad Idea type of situation:
Good Idea: Proposing on our two-year anniversary.
Bad Idea: Not ON the actual anniversary, but 2 days later, creating yet ANOTHER occassion to have to remember/celebrate.
Good Idea: Spending the entire day together as a couple doing fun things.
Bad Idea: Waiting to propose until the end of the day when we were both beat and pretty much ready to crash.
Good Idea: Going, on a perfect day, to a sparsely-crowded Busch Gardens.
Bad Idea: Riding 12 coasters in 4 hours, resulting in nauseous head and bellies; especially since my breakfast consisted of Yoo-Hoo, and Behtia's of an official Simpsons Movie pink sprinkle donut.
Good Idea: Taking her out for a hot, nourishing, evening meal.
Bad Idea: At Wendy's.
Good Idea: Playing a romantic game of mini-golf together at sunset.
Bad Idea: Winning said game, may have been gloated a little.
Good Idea: Going for a romantic walk on the beach.
Bad Idea: Trying to navigate shifting sands and waves in bare feet with a broken toe.
Good Idea: Walking along the shore, hand-in-hand.
Bad Idea: Trying to push her into the ocean, but in a loving, fun way. Plus she started it.
Good Idea: Sitting in a lonely spot together, looking at the waves crashing in.
Bad Idea: At night, so the sand was pretty cold.
Good Idea: Writing "hi" and then "i luv u" and then "marry me?" in the sand for her to read in a spontaneous, romantic manner.
Bad Idea: Still at night...hard to read. Plus I was rushing a bit in the writing by line three.
Good Idea: Pulling off a romantic moment, presenting the ring, and she says yes, AND THE RING FITS PERFECTLY, much hugging and "snogging" ensues.
Bad Idea: Forget about the tide, end up sitting in cold seawater, both of us chilled in the nether regions, resulting in shivering and possible chafing.
Still, all in all, it went well. And we're now engaged. People are ALREADY asking us when the wedding is. My parents asked before I'd been engaged 24 hours. Seriously! Need some time, here! I'd estimate sometime in 2008. Will keep people updated on this as further developments occur. And that's the story! Please enjoy the photo, as well.

Photography

2007-08-29T10:31:00.001-04:00

Last night I had to run over to the church to get my picture taken for the church directory. So I get all gussied up and stuff, and the dude did the standard blue background picture, but then they do all these other poses and backgrounds to try and get you to order pictures. So there I was, looking over the digital proofs with the saleslady, and I gotta tell you...I looked GOOD in some of those pictures!

This surprised me, but I thought about it and realized that the last professional pictures I had done were in the summer before senior year of high school. So its been 12 years. That's 12 years of maturity and relative complexion-clearing up, and an addition of about 35 lbs. That's probably what made the most difference. But all in all, I'm definitely looking better as I age, which makes turning 40 an interesting thing to look forward to.

I'm in-between books at the moment, with nothing coming out I'm really looking forward to at least for a couple months. These are always hard times for the book addict. Good news is only 2 weeks until Behtia is up here for our anniversary (2 years!) which should be a lot of fun. We're going down to the Williamsburg/VA Beach area. Maybe do Busch Gardens, too. The roads down there are a mess, though...hard to find ANYthing. Definitely have to do colonial Williamsburg, though.

That is all.

Amish Country USA

2007-08-27T20:30:00.000-04:00

Please note: no actual Amish were photographed during this journey; their souls remain intact as far as I know in this regard. Enjoy!

There were kittens running around at this strange Amish dairy farm where we got ice cream. SUCH good ice cream, but a strange, surreal kind of place to get it. There were cows, obviously, but also turkeys, kittens, a bulldog, and a peacock. Not your usual "barnyard" selection of animals. Still, I definitely wanted to take all the little floofy kittens home.

Here is an Amish parking lot. All the carts were on the left, all the horses on the right. Which is weird, isn't it? How do they tell them apart? It'd be like us all parking our cars in one spot, and then pulling out the battery or a few wheels and keeping them somewhere else. Why? Those wacky Amish!

Our new band name. Its German for "The Cobblestone Place" as near as we can figure, but is WAY more fun to say. Plus it has that slightly-ominous and menacing grainy sound that so many German names do. Like its a place where they either make beer or torment small children. Or both. It was, in fact, an antique shoppe.

This is my noble steed! My brother William and I were in a constant competition for the day...we could "call" people, animals, and vehicles of any kind with which to make an army that would have to fight one another by the end of the day. It was a stitch. I had 47 train cabooses, a few dozen Amish buggies, 3 classic cars, 2 bunnies, 3 sheep, 200 head of cattle, an Amish girl on a scooter, 2 geese, a broken haywain, tourists, and this little guy, my noble steed. His head reached only just above my waist. I have named him Pepito. And I told William that he breathes fire and flies. I am not sure if he actually does this or not. My guess would be not, but with little donkeys, you never know. Plus we can stay up, swap manly stories, and in the morning...I'm making waffles. William WAS jealous about that.
And that was our family Lancaster trip!

Much Belated Blog

2007-08-25T14:54:00.000-04:00

Umm...let's see. Its been awhile....ok, like almost 2 months....since I've posted. In that intervening time, what has been accomplished? Let's review:
1. I turned 30. Not much different that 29 except that I can feel my memory going and arthritis setting in. BTW, thanks for the book, M. My favorite article is the one explaining how the center of the Earth is made of candy.
2. Got a part-time job. At a newspaper publishing place. I design real estate, classified, and magazine ads. Its grunt work; the graphic equivalent of flipping burgers or stocking shelves, but its a paycheck and it'll look good on my resume.
3. Went to Lancaster with the family last weekend for my belated birthday celebration. It was cool. Knife shop, homemade Amish ice cream (you CANNOT beat it...also, why isn't Butter Brickle a standard flavor?? Its delicious! Peanuts and caramel and stuff...), mini golf, and we managed to show up during the local firehouse's auction and festival...have never seen an Amish parking lot before. It was a bit weird. But I DID decide that small waifish Amish children are the most adorable children on the planet.
4. Have become addicted to Guitar Hero. I can't help it. Its cool. And I RULE at it.
5. Helped Dad by doing some landscaping/yardwork around his office, got half my blood sucked out by mosquitos, have sworn revenge as soon as my blood levels are back up to normal.

I think that's it! Oh, and my passport finally came. Only took 4 months to get it renewed. Still, its nice being able to leave the country if I want to. Not that I will, really, but I CAN. My only travel plans for this year are to VA beach in September, and possibly 1 or 2 trips to Atlanta.

Ummm....not much else to say. I'll post if something of monumental importance occurs, though. :)

Wish I Was There...

2007-07-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the sunny, traffic-congested, odd-smelling, yet delicious restaurant-laden suburbs of Atlanta!

I am down here for a few days doing job interviewing and whatnot. Its going fairly well, I suppose...I had an interview today to be a graphic design TEACHER. How scary is THAT?! Molding young high-schooler minds into graphic designey machines. Imparting the joys of color themes and style guides. I'm not sure, even if they offered, if I would take it, but it'd be something, anyway. And the novelty value is intriguing. Plus I'd have off about a million holidays, plus summer vacation...hmm....

Not much else going on...oh! Went to the Apple store and played with the iPhone. Learned what my "greedy face" looks like. I SO want one of those...they are INSANELY cool.

There's a new development in my "if I won the lottery..." list. Right now "Dracula's Castle" has taken the top spot. Apparently, its going up for sale in the next year or two. Who could say no to a medieval Romanian castle up in the mountains with secret passages, 30 different rooms and halls, towers, dungeons, and a rich history of Turkish despots and nosferatu? Throw in some WiFi and I'd be happy for LIFE. Plus it'd give you an unbeatable trump card in any goth bragging match...all these posers talking about how dark and misbegotten they are, and you walk up and say hi, I own Dracula's castle. NOTHING tops that. :)

My iLife

2007-07-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

So for the first time in a LONG time, this weekend I was actually bored. There was nothing to do, nothing I WANTED to do, and yet I was tired of doing the nothing I WAS doing. What a wretched way to spend a weekend, let me tell you.

The good news is I have brought my 2nd-round bonsai back from the brink of near-death. It was not looking good a few weeks ago. If it had been a person, it would have been in a coma with minimal brain activity and the family already divvying up their stuff. Out of the 3 trees, two had zero leaves and the third was looking a bit wilted. Since then one of the two has recovered, the wilted one has perked up a bit, and the third has started growing new leaves from the sides of the trunk, which gives it an odd appearance. And the moss/grass, which was dead about 20 minutes after I got it home from the store, is a lush, verdant green. Who knew all you needed to do was throw it out in the blistering heat and toss water on it once a week?

Here's a fun pet fact...I am playing a video game wherein you are a ninja in feudal Japan, and I found that of the four animals I've come across, only the cats are good. The dogs are BAD. They bark and attack you and attract the guards' attention. Tattletales. Same with the chickens. Always squawking and flapping about. The bear, I'm not sure. I ran away. Because its a freakin' bear. Just thought I'd share that. The makers of this video game are pro-cat.

Today's fun site to visit is Comic Book Heroes' Religions. Its interesting thinking of the Thing from Fantastic 4 with Yarmulke on head and reading from the Torah...or wondering of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, and Captain America go to the same church and if they are allowed to fight crime on Sundays...apparently the Incredible Hulk is Catholic...Ghost Rider is a Baptist...Batman's Episcopalian...and Superman is Methodist. Who knew?

Cats and Blondes

2007-06-25T20:33:00.000-04:00

On Sunday my sister dropped her pet cat off at the parents' house while she goes to some podunk town in Nebraska to help some friends with something or other. I guranteed her she'd be bored after about an hour and a half. There's only so much corn a person can take before they start foaming at the mouth. This cat is fun; the family has been cat-less (my brother and sister each have one, but there is no "family cat") for some time now. This cat, named Gypsy (Actual name revealed! Special bonus material! Five points to Gryffindor!) is known to me by the alias "eyeball licker." This is because, the one time I was taking care of her for my sister, this horrid creature goes into my bathroom at like, 3 in the morning, drinks out of the toilet (thank God it was clean) and then proceeds to wake me up to gloat about it by licking my eyelids with its cold, cold little face. I was not in the best of moods. My brother's cat, Oscar (ANOTHER name revealed!! Easter egg!! You level up!!) is known by the moniker of "shipwrecker." When I had left the house one day, I come home to find my Lego Pirate Ship (long history, cherished Fliven item) on the floor of my room in about a zillion pieces and a small black face where said ship USED to be with the expression of "what? I was just sitting here!" Anyway, the point is, if I didn't like cats as much as I do, I'd hate them.

Not much else going on this week; debating going down to ATL for the next couple weeks and doing job searching. Otherwise, its life as normal in Flivenville. Cheers.

*Today's blog brought to you by the Special Committee for the Amusement of Blondes (SCAB, oddly enough), your local DTE branch, and contributions from readers like you.

30 in 30

2007-06-18T15:11:00.000-04:00

Wow, its been awhile since my last post, hasn't it? I guess not much that's noteworthy has been going on...but that's about to change, as per my activities over the last couple weeks.

1. Not working at Umbrella anymore. I wasn't happy, they weren't happy, there was just generally unhappiness all around. I started looking around for a new job about 2 months ago, and had an interview two weeks ago that was the same exact kind of work, but I'd be working closer to home, making 15K a year more, free health & dental, mass transit allowance, and would be working 15 hours per week less (35 hours instead of 50 or more). Which made me think that the people at Umbrella are a bunch of jerks and its no WONDER no one stays there long-term. Still waiting to hear on the interviewed jobs. I ALSO applied at Cartoon Network, which would be AWESOME to work at, plus it'd mean I'd be moving down to Behtia's territory. No word on that yet, either.

2. Am turning 30 in 30 days. Its a little scary. I'm trying to find my "100 things to do before I die" list and see what I can get done. But mostly, its been a time of reflections of memories past and future plans, although the odd unanswerable questions still sneak in. It just wouldn't be me, otherwise. Like thinking about 401Ks and IRAs and then thinking "I wonder if food tastes different depending on what I wear?" which IS an interesting question...but not that productive.

3. Relationship-wise things go well...we're still dealing with the distance issue, but everything is on hold for the moment as Behtia's twin sister gets married at the end of the month. That's kinda made everything crazy.

4. Finally got my custom sword...it is wicked cool and totally worth it. I think I blogged about it earlier...

5. Am becoming addicted to Bertucci's. I swear, if they had good rolls, I'd not eat anywhere else. But they have those rock-like tasteless things. Why not soft breadsticks like Olive Garden? Or like Fazoli's? Or cheesy biscuits like at Red Lobster, that are DEFINITELY laced with something...SO good. But yeah...I love their rigatoni, broccoli, and chicken. Its scrumdiddlyumptious.

Not much else! Hope all readers are out living life to the fullest. Sorry for the lack of bloggage.

Today's link: The Scrubs Sound Library
I've recently really gotten into Scrubs. Such a fun show. I think it was when JD and Turk painted a Transformers battle on the baby's bedroom wall. Awesome.

Shocking News

2007-03-07T15:54:00.000-05:00

Its been getting more hectic at work these days...apparently, since I was good little employee and did all my work, they decided to heap work that other people had put off to the last minute on my plate. Is that fair, I ask you? And will I get any kudos for this? Probably not. Not that I'm bitter.

For those blog readers in the DC area, I could use suggestions for places to live...looking for a 1 bedroom, large-enough-to-breathe-in kitchen, close to a metro stop, with a pool available, reasonably priced. Am thinking of swinging by wherever it was that Red was living across from the Zoo and getting some literature. Did that have a pool? I can't remember.

The only things over the next month I'm looking forward to are the movie 300 coming out on Friday, and seeing Behtia at the end of the month. Otherwise, its looking like work and that's about it.

The most amazing thing I have to show you is this coat that was made for women to prevent assaults. But can you imagine wearing this on the metro?! When people are getting in your space and stepping on your feet and sticking their elbows in your ribs and whatnot, just flip the switch and instant space! Brilliant! Plus it would make a good addition to a superhero arsenal. Check out the videos. Here's a blurb:

"The No-Contact Jacket is a wearable defensive jacket created to aid women in their struggle for protection from violence. When activated by the wearer, 80,000 volts of low amperage electric current pulses just below the surface shell of the entire jacket. This exo-electric
armor prevents any person from unauthorized contact with the wearer's body. If an assailant were to grab hold of the wearer the high voltage exterior would interrupt their neurological impulses which control voluntary muscle movement. The neuromuscular system would be overwhelmed causing disorientation and loss of balance to occur and of course pain. The pain experienced is non-lethal but is enough to effectively and immediately deter contact with the wearer and provide a critical life saving oppurtunity for escape."

Pirate Paradise

2007-02-26T10:14:00.000-05:00

Time for another amazing blog update! There will be thrills, secrets, sharks, giants, chases, escapes, true love...stay tuned!

The last month has been pretty good. Things are finally wrapping up here at work, and I'm actually getting to the vendor the projects that were started in November. Plus I have free time to help my fellow designers with their tasks, saving up favors for when things get crazy later this year and I need to call for assistance.

Spent Valentine's Day driving to GA. Yes, there was snow and ice everywhere. Yes, I took my freshly-washed car and drove through that mess. Yes, I could not see out of the windows by the time I hit Richmond because of the dirt and slush and salt. But I did it anyway. Why? Cause she's worth it! :) We had an excellent time. I gave her Heely's in red and white and flowers. In return, I got the collector's edition of Greatest American Hero. Was there a replica cape and instruction manual included? Oh yes there was! Awesomest Valentine's ever!

We have also had a "talk" about our living situation, because I have to tell you, driving 12 hours really bites. Especially when you're taking vacation days to do it. So within the next year, there will either be more Fliven in Atlanta, or more Behtia in the D.C. Its a big move for whomever ends up doing it, and we're trying to iron things out.

On Friday, I went to the firm-wide end of quarter meeting, which was held at Constitution Hall. Not only were the guards ridiculously serious, which is another story altogether, but one of them was pretty close to being the tallest human I have ever seen. He had to be over 7'. I felt almost midget-like in comparison, which is not a feeling I am used to.

Saturday was the company's end-of-year formal party. I didn't go. Mostly cause I was date-less, it was going to be boring, and the food didn't sound good.

My dopey sister got in a car accident yesterday. So she was driving over to my parents' house, in the snow and everything, on bald back tires. She turned a corner, and her car kept turning into a small tree. The front bumper shattered, but otherwise the car was fine. Me and Charles went and got her and I drove her car home. Her car's new name is "Fishtail Surprise". Felt kinda action-filmy swerving wildly around a corner, but still.

Today's link: Florida Castle Timeshare. Yes, its a castle in Florida with all manner of perks, but the best is the shark-filled moat. Let me repeat that. Shark. Filled. Moat. Dead serious. Totally awesome, but way out of my price range.

I am a brag

2007-02-22T16:42:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon.

So today has been a red-letter day. I woke up and got to work on time, have gotten all my work done without having to rush around like a crazy person, went to a yummy lunch with guitar-friend Trinidad, and had a brief chat with St. Jude on AIM! Nice. And to boot, I got another of those cryptic, almost interesting spam e-mails; this time from my good friend "Dewey", with the subject line, "I am a brag". Please enjoy as follows:

Obtain  all of you're tablet needs  wants


www.bellisinom .   c o m


What I once thought was mine
unseen in the frozen snow I stand where the water will part

the saints bright robes and my mothers A jar across the flowers goes

How insane is this?! Methinks all of Dewey's tablet needs/wants are being taken care of, that's for sure. This poem thing has got to be some kind of coded message. I think that the FBI needs to get their people on this. I'll mention a few trigger words to get their attention so they can read it...bombs...terrorist...explode...airplane...donuts...osama...cave...goat...there. That should do it. Here's the really scary part though...the link is to what appears to be a completely legitimate website from "U.S. Healthcare, Inc." So my thoughts are either that this is a very very good front for a terrorist operation, or U.S. Healthcare, Inc. needs to get better mass-email writers. And they can't be terrorists, because the logo says "we care about your health", and terrorists do not care about my health. That would be a lie.
Another oddity I notice about our caring friends at U.S. Healthcare, Inc. is that their logo is pretty lame. You would expect something that symbolizes health, well being, pharmaceuticals, care, medicine, something along those lines. You would not expect multi-hued spinning spermies. Which is what the logo is. Apparently, these drugs are so cutting-edge, that not only will it make men more virile, it will cause your sperm to perform synchronized swimming moves. Which drug is that, I wonder?

Today's interesting site: Mine and Behtia's Favorite Commercial This is a wonderful Arby's commercial. And it is hysterical. Check it out.

What's the iDeal?

2007-01-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

So I tried to find a bunch of songs I've been writing down as ones I'd like to have on my iTunes. Unfortunately, none of them are available! What are the chances?! What is the deal?! How can people live without the original "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC? What is wrong that the iPopulace doesn't demand the melodious tones of Chesney Hawkes? Can people actually be going without the classical hits Die Fledermaus and Dance of the Sabers? Barbarians! How is a person to survive?

This past weekend I saw two movies: "Children of Man" and "Pan's Labyrinth". CoM was a bit of a nail-biter, and the ending was a little weak, but overall very well done. P's L was odd. That's the best phrase I have for it. Combine "Legend" and "Schindler's List" and put it all in Spanish, and you might get something that looks like P's L. Also, on a note to JW, I did in fact go to DSW, and got some freakin' sweet new shoes. Thanks!

I can't believe its only Tuesday. Slowest week ever. I guess because things have slowed down at work. Which is good, I need the down time, but its still not helping the days go any faster.

Today's links are from the 2003 Detroit Auto Show...mainly because the two coolest vehicles I've seen in the last 10 years were unveiled there. The first is the Dodge Tomahawk. A motorcycle with a Dodge Viper engine. 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. Plus it looks like a motorcycle from "Tron" or something. Seriously, paint it blue, give it a dome, and it'd be the thing from Tron. The other is a nice-looking Cadillac. Very slick. And the engine is a V-16. A VEE-SIXTEEN. That's like, 4 of my engines powering ONE car. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 1: Loomings

2007-01-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, its been awhile since I've blogged, hasn't it? Let's see if I can give the run-down of my holiday goings-on.
1. Christmas! Spent it with the family, which was fun. As usual. I slept a lot. Got a video projector *geeky nerd techie drool* so I can watch all my movies and video games in near-life size. Umm...got some new dress pants, socks, and some Legos, too. All in all, a fun time. I'm still figuring out how to rig the surround sound in my living room.
2. New Years! Spent it with Behtia. We were in Atlanta, which was unseasonably warm for the holiday. Made me mad cause I had to check a huge suitcase cause I had all these heavy sweaters and didn't need any of them. It was still a great time, though. I used my Christmas money to buy a snazzy new coat and also a kilt. (Long story short, the GA renfest is in summer, and is usually about 6000 degrees, so I was looking for a cooler, draftier costume.)
3. Now! Have been working like a crazy man during the day, but there haven't been any overtime hours yet, which I'm grateful for. We have THREE studies printing this month. For any average designer, this would be cause for mental breakdown. I, however, am the man. Plus they made me do 5 studies in a month last year, so three is a cakewalk. :) Which isn't to say I won't be working a lot though. And I have a couple free weekends coming up, which I'm looking forward to. My new bonsai is still alive! After 2 whole months! Better be respectin' my mad bonsai skillz, yo. :)
The photo is the sword I have on hold currently with a smith in Texas. Its cool. I had originally put a deposit on a sword 3 years ago, but after the post-CK&T distress, couldn't pay the payments, lost the hold on it. Still had a ton of store credit tho. Put it on this baby. Swash swash buckle buckle!

The Latest...

2006-12-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been pretty bad at work, people, let me tell you. I have worked 28 of the last 31 days. Submitted 117.5 hours on my last timecard (for a 2-week period). However! The good news is, my last day of work before my 13 day vacation is fast approaching! Only 2 weeks away now! Woot!

The bad news is I have a cold or something this week. Its been pretty annoying. I don't feel bad or anything, but just have a consistent cough and sore throat. Stupid winter. Giving people colds and stuff.

The good news is, I saw Behtia last weekend. We couldn't take much time off, so we met half-way. Good times. The photo is from the Arby's down there. I thought this sign was hilarious, because it doesn't really say the name of the restaurant; it just describes the qualities of one of its menu items. And has since led to one of mine and Behtia's first inside jokes. (Awww....)

The bad news is my metro smart trip card died. I feel gypped, actually, cause they say its supposed to last forever, but mine just will not read anymore! So I got a shiny new one today. I'll use the old one to help me jimmy open locked doors or something.

That is all at present. Further bulletins as events warrant.

It's ALIIIIIVE!

2006-11-14T16:36:00.000-05:00

So plans for rebuilding the Watkins Rapier, now lovingly being referred to as "Watkinstein's Monster", continue. This is yet to be confirmed, but it looks like I'm going to need a new neck, new pickups, a new bridge...basically everything but the main body. So I'll be putting a bunch of various parts together and then running electricity through an otherwise dead body in an effort to bring it to life. Ergo, Watkinstein's Monster. But its probably going to take about $300 to get all that stuff done, which may have to wait or done just a bit at a time. We shall see. Still, it'd be worth it to get an ultra-rare 50-year old guitar playable again.

No, I don't really play. I know maybe 2 songs, maybe 2 or 3 chords, and that's it. But I plan on learning to play it. And even if I don't, I'll look cool regardless.

In other news, work is getting nutty. I just put in 4 days in a row working on a deck that's supposed to go to print in 2 weeks, and is only about half done. Ugh. Which means I'll probably be working over Thanksgiving. Sucks to be me. But that's ok, cause I can work in my pajamas and watch anime and eat cookies while working.

Be sure and watch Heroes next Monday. It looks to be a good one.

Just...Flutter Away

2006-11-13T12:37:00.000-05:00

So guess what I bought over the weekend? Based upon the various knick-knacks and odd accoutrements seen in my apartment photos, I am sure you have no idea. So I'll tell you! I bought a guitar. There I was, just killing time on eBay on my lunchbreak, when I decided to see if there were any cool guitars up for bid. And there it was. A 1957 Series 1 left-handed Watkins Rapier. (Yes, apparently there was a company called Watkins in the 50's and 60's in England that made guitars.) Its in pretty bad shape; needs new strings, a new bridge, a half-dozen screws and who knows if the pickups work or not, but it called to me. I swear, when I saw the photo, I audibly heard rock-n-roll riffs emanating from my screen. So I am making it my quest, my life's work, to bring this monster back to life! I know a guy who knows a guy who's the best guitar restorer on the east coast. If he can get it playable, I'll be happy. I can worry about body restoration later. Other than that, I spent the weekend watching movies and doing work in my pajamas. Also this weekend, I bought the 3rd out of the 7 Christmas gifts I need to acquire. And I know what the 4th and 5th will be, but haven't gotten them yet. I feel so on top of my holiday shopping this year.

The quote from the Title of this entry is from Six-String Samurai, a really really ridiculously cheesy and low-budget film made about 6 years ago. I recommend it if you like Elvis-era rock music, cavemen throwing gumballs, a cannibal version of the Cleaver family, lots of kung fu, the Spinach Monster, all in an effort to become the next king of Lost Vegas.

Real Life is Grainy

2006-11-08T09:23:00.000-05:00

Check it out! Here is my new bonsai tree(s), or the entity known as Dee-Mee. Please ignore the hideous tupperware with aquarium gravel, though...I forgot to read the fine print and realized that the trees, being tropical, need lots and lots of water, and my apartment has electric heat, which makes the room on the dry side. Thus, the humidity tray. I didn't have time (or know where) to buy one, and didn't know what one was until I read it on wikipedia yesterday, so I made one out of some ridiculous purple and aqua aquarium gravel and a tupperware cake holder. But it seems to be happier now.

Today I tried something new on my commute. I attempted to employ my portable DVD-player. It has an earphone jack, so no rule-breaking. Unfortunately, I forgot that its very temperature sensitive, and had it in my bag, where it got cold on the drive to the station. It took 3 stops before it would work. Definitely something that will need rethought or put on hold til summer. Still, it was entertaining watching Over the Hedge during my journey in to work.

And here is my new apartment scheme. Ignore the thing on the floor...that's just my cell phone case. But yes! An apartment just isn't an apartment without a throne, a wizard staff, a penguin butler, and a Lego pirate ship (top of the closet on the right). I have to tell you...I love moving stuff around, and rearranging furniture...but its just about the only time I hate having so many books. You're looking at maybe a quarter of them in the photo.

So far I'm enjoying the set-up, although I now want to put a picture of some kind in the little space in the bookshelf with my lantern and chess set. Hmmm...

Cereal Review #2

2006-11-07T13:34:00.000-05:00

Today's Review: Kellogg's Golden Grahams

A classic cereal. Tasty, fragrant, sweet…truly a cereal for the ages. If I had to pick something wrong, I'd go with gets soggy too quickly. Still, quite good. I haven't had this in a few years, having had the bad luck of it being the last thing I ate right before a bout of the flu. Nothing ruins a food quicker than having had it right before the flu. Ugh. But based on past experiences, and observation, I would still give this cereal a solid 6.8 prizes.

In other cereal-related news, Kellogg's has been putting X-Box hand-held games in their cereal boxes! How messed up is that? Like kids don't get enough time with various screen-related activities already. Back in my day I was thrilled to get a little plastic submarine from the Cap'n Crunch.

Foiled again...

2006-11-07T13:29:00.000-05:00

Tried taking photos on my phone of the new digs and new bonsai (which I am reading up on, so I don't kill this one) but they didn't come out very good...there's apparently a lag between when I push the button and when it actually takes the photo. A little lag is expected, but we're talking like, 4 to 5 seconds here. Its tough to keep a phone absolutely motionless for 4 to 5 seconds.

Anyway, I'll try again this evening.

Cereal Review #1

2006-11-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

As per Ms. Wish To See's suggestion, I'll try doing cereal reviews, and see how it goes.

Today's review: Post Cocoa Pebbles

An okay cereal. More cocoa flavor than say, Cocoa Puffs or Cocoa Krispies, which is probably its best selling point. And the aroma is intoxicating. Gets soggy fairly quickly, though. The worst detraction to this cereal, however, is the fact that in seconds all the cocoa seeps off of the "pebbles" and sinks to the bottom of the milk, leaving you with soggy plain cereal in chocolate milk. Where's the fun in that? I'd just put chocolate milk on Rice Krispies if I wanted that. I do like the fact that any prizes that come in this cereal are usually dinosaur-themed. The television commercials are among the most annoying and often-shown cereal commercials on air. Overall, I give it 3.5 prizes out of 10.

My rating system will be "Prizes", and will be on a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely inedible cardboardy nasty yucky why did they make this foul thing cereal, and 10 being I can't live without it I will eat it at every meal and paint the logo on my car cereal.